As much as we love a good food IG account, it’s hard to be a foodie and remain healthy. The most mouth-watering food isn’t always the best thing for us. So how do we manage a healthy, balanced diet and a passion for food? It’s actually pretty simple – by following Lucia Lee.
Lee is a chef and minimalist, and she combined those two loves by creating simple, healthy, and easy recipes that also look good and taste amazing. Her inspiration comes from everywhere – from Asian to American cuisine and from high-end, sophisticated courses to simple street-food.
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Broiled baby eggplants with roasted sungolds, drizzled with garlic-infused honey, toasted pine nuts, torn mint and urfa pepper. __________________ Eggplant: Cut a few baby eggplants (sometimes called Indian eggplants) in half, then score in a criss-cross pattern with a paring knife. Sprinkle kosher salt generously all over cut side and let sit for about 30+ min. to draw out excess moisture and bitterness. Rinse under cold water and pat dry. Drizzle or spray neutral oil all over eggplants. Broil, cut side up, on high for about 3-4 inches from the heat source until eggplants are golden brown and a little charred in some spots. Meanwhile, toss a few handfuls of sungold tomatoes in oil and roast in the oven (until slightly bursting) on a lower rack while the eggplants are broiling. Remove everything from oven and let cool a bit. __________________ Drizzle garlic-infused honey over everything, sprinkle on some seat salt + smoky urfa pepper. Add on some torn mint + toasted pine nuts. Serve at room temp as is or with yogurt. __________________ Garlic-infused honey: Peel and smash a few cloves of garlic, keeping them mostly in large pieces. Mix and cover with about a cup of honey (preferably raw) in a clean jar. Infuse for an hour or for a few days on the countertop. You’ll have a lot of infused honey left–use on pizza, roasted meats and vegetables. If you’re iffy about leaving the garlic-honey on your countertop, feel free to refrigerate it. But take the honey out of the fridge and bring it to room temp so it’s easier to drizzle.
A post shared by Lucia L. (@foodminimalist) on Jul 25, 2019 at 5:25pm PDT
The results are awe-inspiring. She uses fresh, healthy ingredients to create well-balanced dishes, but she doesn’t stop there: the dishes are gorgeous to look at. We can scroll through her grid all day long and not get tired of it (but we will probably get hungry).
Lee
wants to spread her love of yummy, healthy food, so she doesn’t just upload
photos of her creations to Instagram – she also shares the recipe of each and
every dish! In the spirit of her account, those recipes are easy to follow and
use basic ingredients that are available in every supermarket. Even someone
with no cooking experience whatsoever can make them and have a lovely meal.
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Juicy and tender seared lamb leg steak, topped with a bright and tangy herb-cucumber salad. __________________ Season a 1 lb., 1-inch thick lamb leg steak with kosher salt and bring to room temp for about an hour before cooking. In a super hot cast iron pan, add a bit of neutral oil, sear about 2-ish min on each side, including fat cap + edges, total of about 6-8 min for medium-rare. Let rest for about 10 min, then slice. __________________ Herby cucumber salad: Mix your preferred amount of tender herbs such as mint, parsley, cilantro, and basil with finely diced cucumbers, a minced small shallot, minced pickled banana peppers, fresh lemon juice, olive oil, sea salt, smoky urfa chili pepper. Taste and adjust amount of seasoning to your preference. Serve with the lamb and enjoy!
A post shared by Lucia L. (@foodminimalist) on Jul 11, 2019 at 5:40pm PDT
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Fregola salad with high-quality jarred tuna in olive oil, farmer’s market tomatoes that are still warm from the summer heat, kalamata olives, basil + parsley, tossed in a simple and punchy dressing and topped with an 8-min farm egg. __________________ Serves 2: In a large bowl, mix a generous dollop of dijon mustard with a crushed garlic and stir in a generous splash of red wine vinegar. While continuing to stir, drizzle in good-quality olive oil, until the dressing seemed to have thinned out a bit. Add in some sea salt + pepper, taste and adjust with more vinegar or oil as needed. The dressing should taste a bit aggressive at this point. __________________ Cook about 1 cup of fregola (or orzo or any short pasta of your choice) according to package directions. Drain, set aside and let cool a little. Meanwhile, cook about 1-2 eggs per person, boil for roughly 8 minutes, then transfer to a bowl of ice water. Peel off shells and set aside. __________________ Add the slightly warm pasta to the dressing, throw in a handful of chopped parsley and a few torn pitted kalamata olives, toss everything to combine. Transfer the dressed fregola onto a serving plate and top with tuna chunks, sliced tomatoes, basil, chili pepper flakes and an egg. Enjoy!
A post shared by Lucia L. (@foodminimalist) on Jul 8, 2019 at 5:33pm PDT
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Leftover grilled steaks, turned into a quick lunch of simple + tasty tacos. 🥩🌮 Spread warmed corn tortillas with sour cream, top with steaks (or whatever protein you have left over from your holiday grilling), avocado slices or guacamole, more sour cream, cilantro, pickled onions and/or peppers. Squeeze lime juice and sprinkle smoky urfa pepper over everything. __________________ Quick-pickled red onion (for one large thinly-sliced red onion) In a bowl, whisk ½ cup apple cider vinegar or unseasoned rice vinegar together with 2 tsp sugar and 1 tsp kosher salt. Put red onion slices in a large glass jar, add in coriander seeds/mustard seeds/a sliced garlic, whatever extra flavors you want, although it’s totally optional. Pour vinegar mixture over onions and let sit for at least an hour. Keep any extras in a tightly-sealed glass jar in the fridge and use as soon as possible.
A post shared by Lucia L. (@foodminimalist) on May 27, 2019 at 5:38pm PDT
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Pasta with prosciutto, peas, a cream + mascarpone cheese sauce, topped with lemon zest, scallions and pea shoots dressed in lemon and olive oil. __________________ Serves 2: In a medium pot, cook ½ lb. of pasta of your choice according to package directions. With about 4-5 minutes left of the al dente cooking time, add about a cup of thawed from-frozen or fresh-shelled peas. Bring water back to boil and cook the pasta and peas together for the remaining time. Drain, reserve and set aside about a cup of pasta water. Return pasta and peas back to the pot, reduce heat to very low and add about ½ cup of mascarpone cheese (Italian cream cheese), a generous drizzle of cream and a dash of nutmeg. Cover for about a minute, then give everything a stir. The mascarpone should be melting and coating the pasta + peas in a sort-of sauce. If things look a bit dry, add some pasta water (and/or more cream) and stir to combine. Salt and pepper to taste. __________________ Meanwhile, toss a handful of pea shoots with a squeeze of lemon juice and a dash of olive oil. Set aside. Transfer pasta + peas onto a serving dish. Add on prosciutto, scallions, lemon zest, Aleppo chili pepper flakes and top with dressed pea shoots. #f52greenspring
A post shared by Lucia L. (@foodminimalist) on Apr 1, 2019 at 5:40pm PDT
