Tagliatelle and Crab Salad

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients:

1 pound (500 g) tagliatelle pasta
12 crab sticks, sliced
1//2 cup toasted pine nuts
6 spring onions (shallots), chopped
1/2 cup French dressing
1/2 pint (300 ml) cream
Salt and pepper

Microwave Method:

1. Place tagliatelle into a large bowl. Cover with hot tap water. Cook for 15-20 minutes on HIGH, until tender. Drain well.
2. Toss sliced crab sticks, pine nuts and spring onions through pasta.
3. Mix French dressing and cream. Season with salt and pepper. Pour over pasta. Toss well.

Melon, Ham and Pasta Salad

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:

2 cups spiral noodles
1 cup chopped ham
1 small rock melon, cut into chunks
1/2 cup French dressing
1/2 cup mayonnaise or sour cream
1 teaspoon horseradish
1/2 cup chives

Microwave Method:

1. Place pasta in a large bowl with 4 cups of hot water. Cook for 12-15 minutes on HIGH. Drain well.
2. Mix ham and melon into pasta.
3. In a large jar mix French dressing, mayonnaise or sour cream, and horseradish. Pour over pasta.
4. Season with salt and pepper. Chill for 1-2 hours.
5. Sprinkle with chopped chives before serving.

Chicken and Apricot Salad

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

3 pound/1.5 kg/No. 15 chicken
4 teaspoons butter
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon lemon juice
6 ripe fresh apricots, cut into wedges
2 sticks celery, thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon dried tarragon

Microwave Method:

1. Brush chicken with butter melted for 20 seconds on HIGH. Cook for 35-37 minutes on MEDIUM HIGH, turning halfway through cooking. Cool.
2. Remove chicken flesh from the bone.
3. Combine mayonnaise, sour cream and lemon juice. Stir in apricots, chicken, celery and tarragon until coated. Chill for 1-2 hours.
4. To serve, line a salad bowl with lettuce leaves. Spoon in salad.

Note: Leftover turkey may be substituted for chicken.

Golden Turkey Salad

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:

4 cups cooked turkey, cubed
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup honey
2 tablespoons French mustard

Microwave Method:

1. Combine curry powder, salt, honey and mustard. Heat for 1 minute on HIGH.
2. Pour over turkey.
3. Serve on a lettuce leaf.

Octopus Salad

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:

2 pound (1 kg) octopus
2 cups tomato juice
1/2 cup red wine
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Tabasco sauce
6 pitted black olives, sliced
1 cup bean sprouts
1 avocado, thickly chopped
8 ounces/250 g/1 punnet cherry tomatoes, halved
Sauce:
1/4 cup fat-reduced mayonnaise
2 tablespoons tomato ketchup (sauce)
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Tabasco sauce
Freshly cracked black pepper

Microwave Method:

1. Cut heads from octopus. Wash well.
2. Combine octopus, tomato juice, red wine, Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco sauce in a Pyrex bowl.
3. Cook, uncovered, for 18-20 minutes on MEDIUM, stirring twice during cooking. Chill for 1-2 hours.
4. Combine octopus, olives, bean sprouts, avocado and cherry tomatoes.
5. Gently fold through sauce.

Sauce:

1. Combine mayonnaise, tomato ketchup and Worcestershire sauce.
2. Stir in Tabasco sauce and pepper to taste.

1 serve = 13 g fat, 3 g saturated fat.

Oriental Seafood Salad

Serves: 8-10

Ingredients:

1 pound (500 g) green prawns
1 pound (500 g) scallops
1 pound (500 g) calamari
1 pound (500 g) mussels
1 ounce (30 g) butter
Fresh ginger, grated
2 cups white wine
3.5 ounces (100 g) snow peas
8 ounces (250 g/1 punnet) cherry tomatoes
8 ounces (250 g) oyster mushrooms
3 spring onions, chopped
Toasted sesame seeds
Dressing:
1/2 cup sherry
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon hoi sin sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon honey

Microwave Method:

1. Peel and remove vein from prawns. Wash scallops, calamari and mussels.
2. Heat butter for 30-40 seconds on high. Add ginger, wine and calamari, cook for 5-6 minutes on MEDIUM.
3. Add prawns and scallops. Cook for 10-12 minutes on MEDIUM, stirring 2-3 times.
4. Add mussels, cook a further 3-5 minutes on MEDIUM.
5. Strain seafood. Allow to cool.
6. Mix all dressing ingredients together.
7. Cook snow peas for 1 minute on HIGH.
8. To assemble: Toss seafood, tomatoes, mushrooms and snow peas together. Pour over dressing, toss lightly, sprinkle with spring onions.
9. Serve cold inside a lettuce leaf, sprinkled with sesame seeds if desired.

Brown Rice Salad

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:

1 cup brown rice
2 1/2 cups water
1 egg
7 ounce (200 g) natural yogurt
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon honey
Cayenne pepper (optional)
2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1 cup sliced celery
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts

Microwave Method:

1. Place brown rice and water in a large dish. Cook for 20-25 minutes on HIGH until tender, drain.
2. Combine egg, yogurt, lemon juice, honey and cayenne pepper.
3. Cook for 6-8 minutes on MEDIUM HIGH until sauce slightly thickens. Stir every minute.
4. Mix together hot rice, yogurt sauce, chopped eggs, pepper, celery and pine nuts.