5 Minute Food Fix – Details, episodes & analysis

It's true that we "eat with our eyes".

Most cooks consider the appeal of contrasting (and bright) colours when putting together a meal.

Simon gets deep today, asking, "Is there a place for grey food?"

Yes, if you count oysters as a grey food!

What else?

Listen here...

Tomato Tonnato recipe

Arrange 5-6 big chunky vine tomatoes (about 900g), sliced on a gorgeous platter.

In a blender

5 tbs olive oil

85g tin of tuna in oil

2 anchovy fillets

2tsp drained capers

1/4 cup of mayonnaise

juice of 1/2 a lemon

1 garlic clove

a few basil leaves

Whizz until creamy. Adjust the seasoning to taste. Spoon the sauce over the tomatoes. Sprinkle with sea salt, black pepper and more basil leaves. Serve with crunchy bread.

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We can't nail every meal!

Especially when we're cooking in someone else's kitchen!

On today's episode, Yumi and Simon both get pod therapy about their most recent disasters, and Simon does a do-over on a delicious Baba Ganoush.

DO-OVER BABA GANOUSH

2-3 eggplants, pricked with a skewer or fork (if you don't want to live dangerously)

Cook the eggplants WELL on the BBQ. Like, REALLY WELL, so they're blackened and blistered and completely yield.

Allow them to cool and sweat a bit on a plate, then rub off the skin, cut off the heads, and with the remaining soft cooked flesh, chop in up on a big board with a big knife.

In a big bowl, season with salt (but not too much), a good glug of olive oil, the juice of at least 1 lemon, and some spoons of tahini. Greek yoggut *could* be deployed here but is optional.

Serve with crusty bread or on the side with lamb. Yum.

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On today's episode Simon and Yumi reminisce about when they first started recording the podcast more than 280 episodes ago - in the KiiS Sydney studios, using Kyle Sandilands's diamond-encrusted microphone.

It's been an incredibly fun and delicious ride since then and today's a bit of a full-circle moment as Simon builds on that first ever episode's food suggestion - try grating a tomato on your box grater. Add olive oil and a generous pinch of salt, garlic if you want (don't have to), and then spoon this simple mixture onto sourdough toast. Unbelievable!

So what now? Cook it? Add seafood? You'll have to listen! And share the podcast with your people!

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[RECIPE IN SHOW NOTES] 

When I worked at a café I was often elbows-deep in salad. This tuna salad was SO POPULAR that I’ve included it in our cookbook, The Food Fix (OUT THIS WEEK!). It’s a great one to make in advance and use to fill your sandwiches all week. Surprisingly delicious, filling and healthy. 

Want more food tips? Check out the 5 Minute Food Fix Instagram. 

RECIPE

INGREDIENTS 
1 small red capsicum 
3 spring onions (green tops only) 
150g celery stalks and leaves, washed and dried 
4 tbs finely chopped parsley 
425g tinned tuna, well drained 
½ cup (120g) mayo (I use Golden Soya Mayo for this recipe) 

METHOD 
Cut all the vegetables including the celery leaves to a 5mm dice. Add the tuna and mayo and mix gently. Refridgerate immediately and use within 1 week.  

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[RECIPE IN SHOW NOTES] 

Low-stakes, high reward recipes don't get much better than this! 

An unexpectedly brilliant and nourishing salad dressing that takes 2 minutes to make, contains 5 simple ingredients and can turn your humble iceberg lettuce into a meal?

Halfway through this I suddenly got real with myself and went. "You're going to want more." So this recipe is for the larger amount - it's easy to scale up and down, customise with chilli, etc, and I recommend croutons! (Even 4 is enough.) @simonpdavis @yumichild @iheartradioau @gourmetgarden_aus #gourmetgarden #freshfor4weeks #sponsored 

Want more food tips? Check out the 5 Minute Food Fix Instagram. 

Recipes 

ZESTY HUMMUS DRESSING
2 tbs apple cider vinegar
2 tbs olive oil

2 tbs Gourmet Gardens Zesty Lemon Paste

4 tbs shop-bought hummus

1 tsp ground cumin

Combine all ingredients in a small jar, mix well, then pour over salad leaves, eg., iceberg lettuce, and croutons, and enjoy!

Fresh and zesty red sauce

Serves 4

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 large onion, halved and sliced

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 tablespoon puréed lemon zest OR zest of 1 large lemon

6–8 tomatoes, finely chopped (or 1 x 400g tin chopped plum tomatoes)

Sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper

¼ cup water, plus extra if necessary

a small handful of black olives, torn

1 bunch of flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked and finely chopped

Method: 

Heat the olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed frying pan over a high heat. Add the onion and cook stirring, for 2–3 minutes until slightly softened, then add the garlic, lemon zest and olives and cook for a further minute.

Add the tomatoes to the pan, season with a generous pinch of salt and a good few grinds of pepper and cook, stirring, for a few minutes until the tomatoes have broken down and started to release their liquid. Add the water and continue to cook, bubbling away, for 10–15 minutes, stirring as necessary and adding a splash or two of extra water if it looks like things might dry out. When the sauce is thickened and glossy and the tomatoes have broken down completely, remove from the heat and stir in the parsley. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary and you’re sauce is good to go.

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Here’s your reminder that polenta is excellent and maybe deserves a place on your table tonight?! A cheesy, warm, unctuous polenta is one of the most delectable luxuries to enjoy in cold weather. It’s got a bit of stigma as something you have to stir and stir, but honestly, it only takes about 10 minutes!! 

Want more food tips? Check out the 5 Minute Food Fix Instagram. 

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[RECIPE IN SHOW NOTES] 

Personally, I ADORE the challenge of unexpected guests because I'm a prepper - for food emergencies! HOWEVER, if I didn't already have a freezer bursting with emergency gnocchi, I'd send out for sausages, chicken fillets, more milk, more bread, (check to see if you need) more tomato sauce, and I'd also order in a couple of butter lettuce.

The trick? Make that beautiful dressed lettuce leaf salad LIKE A CHEF. Which is to say, confident, elegant, and not over-fussed. Lettuce, done well and on its own = 👌. And then spaced out generously on an oversized platter? Heaven.

Want more food tips? Check out the 5 Minute Food Fix Instagram. 

Recipe

Here's one of our favourite, most simple and elegant salad dressing recipes EVER.

40ml white balsamic vinegar

80ml Australian olive oil

1 tsp seeded mustard

1 tsp honey

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 clove finely grated garlic

Combine everything in a small, clean jar and shake well to combine. 

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Cabbage lasts forEVER but it’s better to USE it than have it sitting in the fridge taking up real estate! In this recipe we talk you through a DELICIOUS cabbage salad that uses up that cabbage and is zingy, delicious and NOT AT ALL TRICKY TO MAKE. A peanut satay saucy dressing is a keeper FOR LIFE, and it’ll use up your cabbage beautifully, as long as you listen to us and HOLD YOUR NERVE! Find the full recipe with pictures in our new cookbook, The Food Fix! Which is out this month in all good bookstores. 

Want more food tips? Check out the 5 Minute Food Fix Instagram. 

RECIPE

DRESSING 
100g peanut butter (use whatever peanut butter you have – I use crunchy) 
juice of 1 lime (save the lime halves) 
2 tbs sesame oil 
2 tbs rice vinegar 
1 tbs plain oil (eg., grapeseed) 
1 tsp finely grated ginger 
salt, to taste 

SALAD 
¼ white cabbage 
¼ purple cabbage 
2 green apples 
1 ½ cups roasted peanuts 
1 large carrot, peeled and cut into matchsticks (I use a V-slicer or specialised peeler for this) 
large handful of mint leaves, chopped 

METHOD 
Combine all the dressing ingredients! It should taste really good already so give it a taste. 
Shave the cabbage as thinly as possible. Core and slice the apples and give the pieces a little rub with the lime halves to stop them going brown. 
Crush the peanuts a little by either bashing them in a mortar and pestle, giving them a quick whizz in the food processor or chopping them with a knife. (I prefer the food processor.)  
Combine the cabbage, apple, peanuts, carrot and mint and toss well before adding the dressing. 
This salad lasts well for office/uni lunches – as others might be allergic, be mindful of the peanuts!  

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We’re always charging to get pasta into little ones. Why? Well, it goes down extremely easily, the whole family can have it and enjoy it and that means job done for the night/easy win. But are we forgetting how good ‘grown up’ pasta can be?  

This recipe is very much a grown-up pasta, leaning into the aniseedy flavours of fennel and dill to give you something sophisticated, moreish and (if you’ve made up your own fresh noodles) out of this world outrageously good.  

Want more food tips? Check out the 5 Minute Food Fix Instagram. 

THE RECIPE 

Prawn and fennel tagliatelle 

Slice 2 medium-sized fennel bulbs in half and then into thin slices. Melt 30g of butter and warm in a deep-sided shallow pan with 3 tbsp of olive oil. Add the fennel and the juice from half a lemon. Cover with a lid and leave to cook over a low to moderate heat, stirring ocassionally for a good 20 minutes, until the fennel is soft and translucent (this slow cooking is important).  

Roughly chop a handful of dill. Bring a deep pan of salted water to the boil. Peel and very finely slice 2 cloves of garlic (optional), then add them to the fennel after 15 minutes. Rinse and dry 6-8 large prawns, then add them to the fennel. Let the prawns steam for 3-4 minutes. They are done once their shells have turned pink. 

Drop 150g of fettuccine or tagliatelle into the boiling salted water. ***OPTIONAL Pour 250ml of pure cream into the fennel and stir gently, removing from the heat as soon as it is hot. ***OPTIONAL*** Drain the pasta and toss with the fennel, prawns and cream. Divide between 2 plates, finishing the dish with a fine grating of lemon zest, the dill and a grinding of black pepper. 

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We talk about that SMUG feeling a bit on this podcast and we simply ADORE the smug feeling of having chicken marinating in the fridge! It’s like having money in the bank - you know it’s sitting there waiting to be GORGEOUS. And chicken is a bit of a BLANK CANVAS (like tofu) and you need to put your art into it to turn it into something wonderful - what better way than with a marinade?  

Want more food tips? Check out the 5 Minute Food Fix Instagram. 

RECIPE

2 tbs tikka masala curry paste 

+ 2 cloves of garlic 

2 tbs ginger 

2 chillies 

Cumin seeds, ground 

Lime juice 

Tsp salt 

1 can coconut cream 

Oven at 190C. Cook for 50 minutes. Serve on rice. 

(I use chicken marylands, a whole butterflied chicken or chicken thigh cutlets. The cooking time will vary depending on which cut you use.) 

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