A perfect refreshing side dish or simple main meal!
Over the last couple of months, the day and night temperatures have gotten quite warm. Almost too warm to be slaving over a hotplate or BBQ, or anything else that requires significant amounts of heat. A super delicious Mediterranean Pasta Salad recipe was surely on the agenda.
So we blended up quite a superb dish that is sure to ignite your taste buds! It is vibrant, refreshing, and a little bit tangy, and a perfect pasta salad to make for picnics, a light lunch, BBQ occasions, or as a general side-kick side dish.
Here is Our recipe for jaysndees Super Delicious Mediterranean Pasta Salad.
INGREDIENTS:
For the Salad you will need:
300g Durum Wheat Macaroni Pasta (fusilli, penne, or farfalle work well also)
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 Continental cucumber, diced
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and halved (optional)
1/2 cup Danish feta cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup semi sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
1/4 cup fresh basil, roughly chopped
1/4 cup roasted/dry fried red capsicum, chopped (optional)
For the Dressing you will need:
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
INSTRUCTIONS:
Cook the pasta: Boil the pasta according to package instructions until al dente. Drain the pasta and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking process. Stand aside and let it cool.
If you are using a fresh red capsicum, now is a great time to prepare it as desired. We dry fry ours, which is simply heating a flat pan to a medium high heat, dropping the chopped capsicum into it when at temperature, and giving it a good sizzling for 5 or so minutes, stirring it around the pan regularly. You will know when it is done by the change in look of the produce, and also by the change in smell as it is sizzling away. When done, remove from heat and set aside to cool down.
Prepare the vegetables: While the pasta cools, chop the cherry tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, Kalamata olives, sun-dried tomatoes, and roasted red peppers. Set aside in seperate containers for the moment.
Prepare the dressing: In a small bowl or cup, whisk together the olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper until well combined. Put it aside for a moment.
Build your salad: In a large bowl, combine the cooled pasta with the chopped veggies, crumbled feta cheese, and fresh basil. Give it a good mixing as you combine them all together.
Dress the salad: Pour the dressing over the pasta salad and toss everything until it is all well coated.
Chill and serve: Let the salad chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before serving to allow the flavours to meld together. Garnish with extra basil or feta if desired.
EXTRA NOTES:
Our 4 Jays and also D2 do not like olives. So we leave these out, and if I (D1) feel like adding them, I do so at the end when it gets served up.
Fresh sliced chilli adds an interesting dimension to the dish. Be careful not to add too much though, as you do not want to overwhelm all of the other delicious flavours!
As we grow garlic, at harvest time we end up with an amount of unformed garlic bulbs. We call them ‘Onyaks’ (pronounced ‘ung-yaks’). These make a great all purpose punchy flavour, especially when sliced very thinly and dry fried. Toss them through the salad before adding the dressing to add another interesting flavour.
We use the 97% fat free semi sun-dried tomatoes that we get from the Deli at our local Coles.
The Bread Thing recipe and instructions. We at jaysndees absolutely love food. So much, that occasionally we will come up with a new idea or improvement on an existing one to satisfy the needs and hungers that occur with Our Family of 6 people – 4 of whom, are growing people. When we find almost perfection to something we have cooked up, it will be shared here. So read on to find out how to make a super yummy The Bread Thing!
Basic Information:
History/inspiration. This particular dish that is known as The Bread Thing in our family was randomly thought up not too many months ago now, drawing inspiration from consecutive cold wet nights, a few too many drinks, and also some fond memories of when my (D1) deceased dad used to talk of some of the foods he ate growing up- one of those being a whole loaf of bread, ripping the guts out of it, and stuffing it with chips and gravy. Basic dish information. Although there is not a vast amount of veggies to be found in this dish, it does go well when complimented with a side of nice fresh veg. There is not much to the dish, but there is a decent amount of preparation work that goes into it. Cooking style – Pot/Pan, frypan, bbq, slowcooker, etc. BBQ or oven; we only use a bbq for it though, except the mac and cheese, veg, and bacon. We use a pot for these on a gas cooker. Preparation Time. First time with the dish, expect and allow for about half an hour. Cooking Time. We allow about 45 minutes for this part. Remember that this includes the initial preheat of the loaf too. Serves. Serves 2 adults and 4 children, aged between 12 and 2, with enough left over for a lunch or major snack the next day.
INGREDIENTS:
1 x 800g loaf white toasty bread; unsliced. Preparation required.
1 x fresh roasted bbq chicken. Preparation required.
250g bacon pieces. Preparation required. (not shown in image)
1 – 1 1/2 cups grated/shredded cheese.
2 slices of fake cheese (cheese slices).
1 x sachet mac and cheese.
1 x 250mL sachet traditional gravy microwaveable (or make your own equivalent).
1/2 cup frozen veg (winter veg or peas,corn,carrot). Preparation required.
1 heaped tablespoon of crushed/minced/paste garlic.
1 teaspoon crushed ginger.
Garlic and Herb seasoning (shaker type).
“Everything” seasoning (shaker type).
Salt and Pepper. We use pink Himalayan salt, and whole black peppercorns, both in grinders.
1 teaspoon Sugar (we use raw sugar).
BBQ sauce. Try smoky bbq sauce for an interesting variation!
Sweet Chilli Sauce.
Approx 75g Butter/Margarine. We use salted butter.
UTENSILS:
1 or 2 tupperware type containers
Cutting knife, fork, spoon
Measuring implements – cup, tablespoon, teaspoon
Stirring spoon or similar
Small pot
Shallow tray with suitable space for the loaf and the top to sit comfortably
Piece of baking paper to line tray
Microwave safe container/cup
Microwave
BBQ (or oven)
Cooktop for pots/pans
PREPARATION:
– All initial tasks – measuring, weighing, scooping, guestimating, cutting, chopping, grinding, maiming, etc. – Other initial food preparations – preheats, pre cooks, etc
Preheat BBQ/oven to between 150-180 degrees celsius. We use a 4 burner BBQ, and only ignite the two outermost burners on high.
Fully shred bbq chook. We usually remove all of the skin first and set it aside in a corner of a tupperware container. Then we take off the legs and wings, putting them aside on a plate. After that we will strip off all of the major flesh components- breast meat, back meat, etc, until we have reclaimed all of the usable meat. Put all of it on the plate with the legs and wings. Finally we will harvest any stuffing (seasoning) from inside the chook, and put it in the container with the skin. Now to shred the meat – piece by piece off the plate, we use a fork to shred the flesh, placing it in the container as we go. Remove any gristle, bone, and other undesirable parts during this process. Once it has been shredded, we add our sauces over the top and give it a quick hand mix.
Prepare the bread loaf. Cut about 2cm off the bread top, the whole length of the loaf. Remove all inners, leaving around 1.5cm on the walls and 1cm on the floor. Press the top, walls and floor firm, WITHOUT BREAKING the loaf! Once preheat is complete, it is safe to put loaf in, use baking paper on a shallow tray, put the loaf and top on the tray, and place it in the centre of the BBQ for 10-15 minutes, or until the internals are starting to get a feel of toast.
Melt butter in microwave on high for 1 minute in a microwave safe cup. When done, mix in the garlic, ginger, and herbs, and stir very well until everything is blended in consistently. Set aside until ready to use.
Cook Mac and Cheese with the frozen veg + sugar on a stovetop. Follow the directions on the mac and cheese packet for cooking. Set aside until ready to use.
Heat bacon pieces in a shallow pan on stovetop. Stir regularly on a medium/high heat for 3-5 minutes, until it smells like nicely cooking bacon. Set aside until ready to use.
Make or heat the gravy, follow packet instructions if using microwave gravy. This is usually high heat for 1 minute. Set aside until ready to use.
Prepare cheeses as necessary. Break sliced cheese into 5 strips per slice. Set aside until ready to use.
METHOD:
The how to do step-by-steps This section assumes that the bread loaf frame has just finished the initial warm up and is fresh out of the BBQ.
Take the main loaf and place it on a firm surface. Proceed to spread your garlic butter over each of the walls of the loaf- rotating the loaf as you do so. We prefer to use a spoon for this rather than a butter knife, as it is easier to grab a spoonful to spread and deposit the mixture to where it is needed. Apply liberally so that it looks nice and moist on all of the walls. Once complete, proceed to rub more of the mixture over the floor of the bread loaf. Remember to keep your current working section on a firm surface to prevent breakage of the walls of the loaf. By the end of the main part of the loaf, you should have only about a quarter of the garlic butter mixture left. Coat the inside toasted part of the top piece with the remaining butter mixture.
Now it is the time to assemble The Bread Thing. Make sure to gently spread and pack each layer as you go.
Once it is done cooking, remove from the heat and stand to cool for about 5 minutes. This also helps the external shell to finish hardening to make for easier cutting.
– Floor: Mac and Cheese + veg layer. Cover the entire floor. – Chicken layer. Make sure this layer is a decent thickness, but do not pack it to a smooth layer. – Bacon layer. Fill up all of the random depression areas you created on the previous layer. – Cheese layer. Provide a nice thick layer of the grated/shredded cheese, up to 5-6mm thick. Gently press.
– Gravy layer. Use a generous amount to mostly cover the cheese.
– Stuffing/Seasoning layer (optional). Break apart the stuffing and sprinkle the entire amount across the cheese and gravy layering.
– Bacon layer. A nice quick sprinkle layer with a minor firming press. – Chicken layer. Add a slim layer over the top of the mac and cheese. – Mac and Cheese + veg layer. This layer will use the rest of your mac and cheese and veg. Spread even and firm.
– Sliced cheese layer. Add on this layer as an angled crosshatch vision.
– Chicken layer. Add all the remaining shredded chicken across this layer. Do not pack down this layer. – Gravy layer. Pour out all remaining gravy. Ensure to top up any low spots in the chicken with the mix. – Shredded cheese and bacon layer. Mix together and spread out over the previous layer. Gently firm down evenly. – Final layer: Chicken skin over the entire top. Add a crack of salt and pepper over the top.
– ADD THE LID ON THE TOP NOW.
Put the final construction back into the BBQ, and heat for between 20-25 minutes, or until the shredded cheese is melty looking. Yes, this will require you to lift the lid of the loaf, but no big deal. Also, remember to turn the tray at least once whilst it is cooking.
When ready to serve, slice the loaf without the top on so that you can properly support the sidewalls as the knife is drawn through. Slice the top also to make extra garlic bread.
EXTRA INFORMATION:
..extraPara/closing statements, etc The J2 Plate: Our J2 does not like gravy. I know, what a weirdo, right? Anyway, we make up a special deconstructed version of the bread thing dish just for him. It is literally everything except the gravy, separated. Also, he gets bones, as we give him a drumstick and wing that was pulled off the chook at the beginning. We do not remove the skin or anything beforehand. At least he is still happy to enjoy the dinner with the rest of us! For his garlic bread, we simply cut a couple of slices off the inners we removed, and load them up with some of the garlic butter concoction. Easy, crustless garlic bread!
DISCLAIMER
Whilst all due care is taken with writing out this recipe, we cannot accomodate for any food allergies or intolerances. You as the reader are however, more than welcome, to provide a comment of such as to how you overcome and/or substitute ingredients, methods, or otherwise, to provide YOUR PERFECT VARIATION OF THIS PARTICULAR DISH! We welcome any and all feedbacks, comments, criticisms, or suggestions. All images are copyright and the property of jaysndees.
Additional Information:
VARIATIONS:
Use fresh crushed garlic for a little extra blast of flavour in the dish.
Add chilli if you really want to – we recommend fresh sliced jalapenos. Just make sure to add a bit more milk to the mac and cheese to balance out the heat. If you are not concerned about heat, then by all means, use some carolina reaper sauce over the chicken in place of the sweet chilli sauce! Warning though – IT WILL BE VERY HOT! (Not suitable for children AT ALL!)
Add more variety of veg – some salad, a bean mix, capsicums, etc. This gives a nice colour too when done properly. The next time I (D1) make The Bread Thing, I will add these veggie variations and update this post with the photo.
Pepperoni/salami/kabana always works great as an extra, as does ground beef (mince). Just remember to prepare these before adding into the final construction method (cook, peel, etc)
