Today I cooked lunch for my parents. They went out and I prepared a healthy lunch for them before they came back. It was quick and easy. It was just a chickpea salad with greens and capsicum, and simple baked potato wedges. Nothing difficult about it. But my parents enjoyed it and appreciate it when I cook.
Anyway, the chickpea salad is nutritious as it has protein from the chickpeas. I used olive oil and lime juice as the dressing, so there are less calories. I had soaked the chickpeas overnight so that they would expand and be ready to cook. That is the preparation one night before.
The wedges were seasoned with olive oil, coarse salt and paprika. The paprika gives it a smoky flavour and goes well with potato. I sliced the potato thinly and dressed it, then popped it in the microwave to cook for 3 mins before transferring to the oven to bake. This is so it cooks faster and saves time in the oven. Basically the microwave cooks it and the baking makes it crispier.
So we had protein, greens and carbs. A good balance. Below are the recipes.
Chickpea salad
serves 3-4
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup raw chickpeas, soaked overnight
- 1 bunch romaine lettuce
- Half a large capsicum or 1 small one
- 1 sprig coriander
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- Juice of 3 small limes
- Black pepper to taste
Method
- Boil a pot of water enough to submerge the chickpeas.
- Once boiling put in the chickpeas. Will need to boil until cooked, but still crunchy.
- Meanwhile, chop the romaine and coriander roughly, cut the capsicum into cubes and put it all into a salad bowl.
- Make the dressing by mixing olive oil, lime juice and pepper.
- Once cooked, strain the chickpeas and let cool.
- Add the chickpeas into the salad bowl and toss with the dressing.
Potato Wedges
Serves 2
Ingredients
- 2 russet potatoes, washed and scrubbed
- 1/2 tsp coarse salt
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp paprika
Method
- Cut the potatoes into thin wedges and put onto a microwave safe plate.
- Drizzle olive oil onto the cut potatoes. Add salt and paprika and toss.
- Microwave the potatoes for 3 mins on high.
- Tranfer to a lined baking tray and bake for 5-10 mins at 180℃ until crisp.
- Transfer to a serving dish and serve immediately
Labels: healthy, home cooking, meals, recipe, salads
