Great recipes for sharing with friends

These mouth-watering recipes from founder and director of MAYYA + Movement, Nealy Fischer, are perfect for sharing with friends and family and are packed with nutritious, healthy ingredients, too.

Shaved Brussels Sprout Slaw Salad with Grilled Chicken

Brussels sprouts often get a bad rap, but they’re one of the most nutritious cruciferous veggies on the planet, rich in cancer-fighting phytonutrients, vitamin C and vitamin K.

My Shaved Brussels Sprout Slaw Salad with Chicken has the texture of coleslaw yet seeps with a robust flavour (thanks to the radicchio and Parmesan) which makes it very moreish. Given the low calorie count of Brussels sprouts (only 38 calories in a cup) don’t hold back on seconds. Top it with simple slices of grilled chicken and there’s a healthy lunch or dinner sorted for the day and one that you can dish up for visiting friends.

Ingredients

• Brussel sprouts
• 1 head of radicchio
• ½ cup green onions
• cup toasted pecans

Dressing

• 2 tsps mustard
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tsp honey
• ¼ cup lemon juice
• Cup olive oil
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Parmesan cheese, optional for serving

Chicken

• Grill a breast of chicken seasoned with salt and pepper until cooked through

Instructions

1. Prepare vegetables: slice Brussels sprouts very thinly.
2. Add radicchio, green onions and pecans and set aside.
3. Make dressing: whisk mustard, garlic, honey, lemon juice and olive oil in a medium size bowl.
4. Pour desired amount of dressing to coat the slaw and top with Parmesan cheese.
5. If desired, top with grilled chicken.
6. If you don’t have chicken already prepared, season some boneless chicken with salt and pepper and your seasoning of choice. Either pop it under a grill or pan fry until cooked through.
7. The slaw is very robust in flavour so the chicken is best cooked simply.

Notes

Feel free to top the slaw with any fish or meat protein of your choice.

Salmon and Spinach Burgers

Did you know salmon is a bit of a rock star? This oily fish is a great source of omega-3 fatty acids which are considered essential for the body. Plus, salmon is a great source of protein and marries well with a variety of flavours. This recipe was created by accident – how many great dishes are invented! I was looking for a use for day-old grilled salmon and whipped up these veggie-infused, super moist burgers in a pinch. Ever since, they have become staples in our kitchen and I hope they become favourites in yours, too.

Ingredients
Salmon

• 6 salmon fillets, roughly 8oz each
• 4 cloves garlic
• ¼ cup tamari
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Juice of one lemon
• Touch of honey

Burgers

• Cooked salmon, flaked (recipe above)
• Olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh ginger
• 2 cups fresh spinach
• 2 eggs
• Salt and pepper

Instructions
Salmon Prep

1. Marinate salmon in the fridge for one hour, tossing to coat as needed.
2. Prepare oven or outdoor grill.
3. Cook on each side for approximately 5 minutes or until crisp on edges.
4. Let cool.
5. Using a fork, remove skin and flake salmon into bite size pieces.
6. Set aside.

Burger Prep

1. In a large skillet on low heat, fry onions until translucent and slightly golden.
2. Add ginger and cook until fragrant.
3. Raise heat and add spinach until wilted.
4. Set aside and cool.
5. In a large bowl, mix spinach mixture and flaked salmon.
6. Add eggs.
7. Add salt and pepper to taste.
8. Form burgers into palm sized patties and arrange on a greased baking sheet.
9. Refrigerate to set.

Cooking the burgers

1. In a large skillet fry burgers in a touch of olive oil to brown each side.
2. Transfer burgers to oven and finish cooking.

The best gluten-free dairy cheesecake

For the last few years I’ve been on a mission to upgrade my recipes with a nutritious twist.

My challenge has been to tweak rich and classic delicacies for extra nourishment, leaving you feeling light yet satisfied. I’ve virtually eliminated dairy, gluten, processed foods and almost all grains from my testing kitchen. But this year my kids begged me for real, dairy-full, rich and decadent cheesecake. The so-good-you-drop-to-your-knees kind my Mom makes, with a crumbly, buttery crust and just a hint of cinnamon – when you take your first bite, your mouth glides effortlessly into a creamy cheesecake party topped with a tart and sweet raspberry topping.

I have modeled my gluten-free version on Marlene Sorosky’s favourite cheesecake recipe in The Dessert Lover’s Cookbook. This cookbook is a dessert book classic – almost everything she makes is divine.

So here it is folks. Since I know what’s in it (and now you do too) it’s hard for me to eat much more than a sliver. But for my kids’ sake this year, if I must, I’ll bake my cake and eat it too.

Prep time 20 minutes
Cook time 2 hours

Serves: Serves 12

Ingredients
Crust

• 2½ cups gluten free cookie crumbs*
• 1 stick plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Filling

• 19 oz cream cheese
• 1¼ cups sugar
• 5 eggs
• 1½ tablespoons lemon juice
• Finely grated peel of one lemon
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• Pinch salt

Topping

• 2 cups sour cream
• cup sugar
• Finely grated peel of one lemon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• Pinch salt
• ½ cup raspberry jam**

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 150°C, or as low as your oven will set.
2. Prepare a 9 by 3 inch springform pan by greasing sides and placing a parchment paper round on the bottom. This makes sliding the cheesecake onto a platter effortless later.
3. Process cookies to create crumbs and melt the butter. Mix the two together, in a bowl or processor.
4. Press the crust mixture into the bottom of your pan and slightly up the edges. Set aside.
5. Beat cream cheese and sugar in a large bowl until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, lemon juice, lemon peel, vanilla and salt. Beat until incorporated and creamy.
6. Pour cheesy mixture into the crust.
7. Bake on a low heat for about two hours. The outer two inch edges of the cake should bounce when you touch but the centre should still feel slightly soft. Shut off the oven and let cake cool in the oven. This technique will prevent the top of the cake from cracking!
8. Remove from oven and cool. Meanwhile, in a small bowl whisk the topping ingredients – sour cream, sugar, lemon peel, vanilla and salt.
9. Cover the cheesecake with a thin layer of the topping. You may have some left over.
10. Bake the cheesecake again for about 8 minutes to set the topping. Remove it from the oven and cool.
11. Refrigerate the cheesecake (up to 4 days). To serve, melt jam and pour evenly over cake.
12. Transfer the cake to a platter and enjoy!

* I like graham cracker crumbs or a cinnamon cookie
**Recipe calls for seedless. This is hard to find in Hong Kong and I’ve used regular, which was just as good!

Editors note: Park n Shop sells Waitrose seedless raspberry jam

Frozen Watermelon Mojito

The last time I made my Frozen Watermelon Mojito the crowd went a little wild. The combination of watermelon and mint screams a bit of a party, doesn’t it? With natural sugars from the watermelon and a refreshing contrast of lime and mint, this one’s definitely a winner. Serve it up at your next party. Cheers, everyone!

Ingredients

• 5 cups watermelon, frozen
• 1 cup rum
• A bunch of fresh mint leaves
• Lime juice from 3 limes
• Mint and lime, for garnish
• 1 cup sparkling water

Instructions

1. In a high speed blender add watermelon, rum, mint and limes.
2. Pulse and taste.
3. You’re after a nice balance between the sweetness of watermelon, the acidity of limes and the kick of rum. It should taste strong!
4. Add sparkling water to your liking and drink immediately.

Notes

Freeze watermelon in small cubes in advance so you’re ready to make this in a flash.