If you’ve been reading Tasty Tuesday for some time, you may have gathered I have a thing for salads. I bloody love a good salad.
I’m not talking about flimsy, floppy, leafy salad… I’m more a fan of your robust, filling, vibrant and flavoursome ‘proper meal’ kind of salad. Over the years I’ve shared a bunch of my personal FAVE salads to cook at home – amongst them, this amazing winter tabouli, and my all time favourite green broadbean salad with pine nuts and preserved lemon, and so many more!
This month, though, I’m veering into slightly new territory. The truth is, having recently become a new Mum, I’m craving super satisfying, healthy meals, but I am seriously short on time. I have a new obsession in the kitchen, and it’s called EFFICIENCY.
So, I’m having a little break from my favourite salads, which often require a whole lot of measuring, careful slicing and hard-to-find ingredients. Instead, I’m stocking up on delicious pre-cooked bits and pieces, in an effort to plate up something super tasty each day with a minimum of fuss. My fridge is stocked with smoked fish and chicken, store-bought dips, canned chickpeas, even those 2-minute microwaveable brown rice sachets can mean the difference between eating a decent lunch or succumbing to cheese on toast for the third meal in a row!
This month is more about quick and healthy meal inspiration than actual ‘recipes’. Each dish is a super simple, healthy, tasty meal idea, using ingredients found in most supermarkets, and requiring the bare minimum of prep time.
We’re kicking off today with one of my all time favourite super quick meals – smoked trout, wild rice and edamame bowl. About 10 minutes prep, from fridge to table!
Ingredients
(Serves One)
1 single serve hot smoked trout fillet (available from most supermarkets)
1 cup cooked brown rice or wild rice (try those brown rice microwave sachets if, like me, you’re super short on time)
1 cup frozen edamame
Handful of green leaves (something peppery like watercress or rocket is nice)
Half a ripe avocado
2 or 3 small radishes
1 lemon
1 tbsp sesame oil
Few sprigs of fresh dill
Sesame seeds and/or Japanese ‘gomasio’ sesame seasoning
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
Cook your rice according to packet instructions. Be aware wild rice (as pictured here) takes way longer to cook than brown rice, which takes longer than white rice. If you’re short on time, you could try the brown rice microwave sachet things, which seem like an appalling idea in principle but have somehow become surprisingly acceptable to me now that my priorities have been completely reshuffled!
Once the rice has cooked, fluff it slightly with a fork, and season with a generous drizzle of sesame oil, a squeeze of lemon, some lemon zest, sesame seeds and/or Japanese ‘gomasio’ sesame seasoning, salt and pepper. Seasoned rice really makes this meal taste 1000% better, so don’t skip this step.
Cook your frozen edamame, which takes about a minute in a pot of boiling water.
Slice your avocado, radish and wash your green leaves. Wash and roughly chop dill.
Plate up a serve of your seasoned rice, the cooked edamame, flaked trout straight from the packet, green leaves, sliced radish and sliced avocado. Drizzle some more sesame oil over everything, with a squeeze of lemon. Garnish with lemon zest, sesame seeds, the dill and salt and pepper. Voila! Healthy, filling, deliciousness, prepped in approximately 10 minutes.
Yum, that looks so delicious, just what I need now!
That looks and sounds truly delicious as well as being easy peasy!! Thanks, tonight’s dinner is sorted.
This recipe is ideal. Thank you! I always struggle to get flavours like this in a flash.
I’m heading to the supermarket now! This looks devine and the kind of meal my naturopath would approve of!
Hi Lucy
This looks delicious. I would also recommend the Parsley and Barley Salad from Yotam Ottolenghi, http://www.ottolenghi.co.uk/parsley-barley-salad-shop
That’s hilarious about the microwave rice packets. They are totally acceptable in our house now, and surprisingly fine! This recipe looks delish and exactly what I need to have in my repertoire right now. Thanks!
Yum it looks amazing! I want to eat it right this minute.
Perfection! (And a belated congrats on your bundle of perfection Lucy)
Ah it looks delicious; and as a new mum too i’m glad for more efficient meal ideas. Lucy, I hope you’re getting plenty of time to enjoy baby as well as sharing recipes with us!
Yum! So funny, because I was just extolling the virtue of the brown rice microwave sachet things today (and feeling slightly ashamed about using them – note the coconut and lemongrass basmati sachets are pretty good too…) Thanks for another tasty and easy dish! (and congrats on the Mum role!)
Congratulations on becoming a new mum! This recipe is exactly the sort of hearty, nutritious food I crave too.
looks delicious, where on earth do you get frozen edamame??
OH THANKS so much for the kind words guys!
Therese and Carrie – I am such a convert to the microwave rice too! I will have to try the lemongrass one!
Cyndi – OH they have frozen edamame at my local IGA… I didn’t check if they have them at the big name supermarkets, sorry! I tend to shop at IGA. If you struggle to find them, this dish would be equally delicious with broadbeans or baby peas, also from the freezer section! If using beans or peas, blanch for only a minute in boiling water to avoid them going mushy, and perhaps try dressing with a glug of good olive oil and a squeeze of lemon, with S+P (rather than the sesame oil based seasoning). x