Recipes | Leah Itsines

Are you needing a winter warmer? This soup is going to be your JAM!  This Quick Chicken Noodle Soup recipe is nothing short of amazing! Healthy, easy and so delicious. It's a great kid friendly dinner idea that the whole family can enjoy it together.Ingredients: 1 whole leek, sliced thinly1 small brown onion, diced finely2 small carrots, sliced in rounds 3 celery stalks, sliced thinly 1-2 garlic cloves, crushed 3 tbsp parsley, chopped finely 1 tbsp chives, chopped finely 3 cups of rotisserie chicken, shredded 2 bay leaves 1 tbsp dried oregano 2.5L chicken stock 1 lemon, juiced 200g egg noddle pasta (thin) Olive oil, for cooking Directions:  In a deep pot, heat olive oil over a medium to high heat.  Add leek, brown onion, garlic, celery, parsley, chives and carrot into the pot and cook for 5 minutes, or until they have lightly softened.  Add chicken stock, bay leaves, oregano and lemon juice into the pot and cook for 15 minutes to enhance flavour. Add the pasta noodles to the pot and cook for 5 minutes. Place shredded chicken into the pot and continue cooking the noodles until ready.  Add lemon juice and serve!   

I'm getting in a little early this year, we have these at Christmas! They're sooooo delicious and perfect as a shared appetiser! Really fresh and lemony, perfect for those super hot days. Makes four pockets Ingredients: 500g smoked salmon 2 avocados, diced 2 red tomatoes, diced 2 Lebanese cucumbers,  diced 1 red onion, diced 1 lemon, juiced 10 fresh chive leaves, finely sliced 1 tbsp olive oil Salt and pepper to taste Directions: Add avocado, tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, olive oil, chives lemon, salt and pepper into a large mixing bowl. Taste, if you need more salt.  Using plastic cling wrap, line 4-5 small sauce bowls that are at least 7-8cm deep. Make sure the cling wrap is big enough that it has extra around the sides. Line the bowl with smoked salmon sheets; ensuring no area has been missed. Also, there needs to be enough around the edges to be able to “close” the dish. Once all dishes have been lined with salmon, place the salsa into each bowl, filling up to the top. Close the dish by using the excess salmon left around the edges. Seal the dish by wrapping the cling wrap into the middle of the dish. Place into the fridge for 3 hours. When ready to serve, open up the glad wrap and place a flat plate on top (so the dish is upside down). Turn the plate around while holding onto the saucer bowl. Remove the bowl and glad wrap and serve with a squeeze of lemon and a sprinkle of chives.  Eat eat eat! 

HOMEMADE BREAD 😍 Like seriously, what else you gonna do in self isolation other then become a professional baker???? 😂 I had a wonderful lady DM me this recipe (she said it’s doing the rounds!!) After posting this to the #gram I found it was @recipe_tins OG recipe, and I’ve added some flavourings to it 🥰🥰 When you’re having your yummy BARE breakfasts at home, maybe to make time fly a little faster, bake some of your own bread!  Ingredients:  3 cups plain flour 1.5 cups warm water 1 tsp dried yeast Pinch of salt flakes Pinch of dried rosemary Pinch of dried oregano Directions:  Pre-heat oven to 220° Celsius Mix warm water with yeast until dissolves. Add it into the bowl with flour and mix well. Lightly flour a bench and knead the bread until it forms a perfect little ball. Place back into the bowl and cover with a tea towel. Leave to rise for 2-3 hours. Remove from bowl, sprinkle herbs and then shape into a ball and place into a oven safe pot. Sprinkle salt flakes on top and cover with a lid. Cook in the oven for 30 mins, remove lid and cook for another 10. If adding olives or any other additions- add them in when you add the herbs - not beforehand so the bread can rise on its own. :) 

HEY YALL! Back at it again with a killleerrrr yiayia recipe - her delicious Koulouria! These are so yummy and perfect with a little cup of greek coffee (a must have at yiayias place!) Alright, here we go!  Makes: Cook time:  Ingredients: 4 ¼ cups self raising flour6 tablespoons cornflour3 teaspoons vanilla sugar 4 medium eggs250g unsalted butter (melted)60ml milk1 cup white sugar 4 teaspoons baking powder Egg Glaze1 egg (beaten)  Directions:  Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius.  Sift together self raising flour, cornflour, and vanilla sugar in a large mixing bowl.  Separate egg yolks and egg whites into separate bowls and set aside.  Add butter and sugar to a mixer and beat on medium for 2 mins Add egg yolks and continue beating until they look light and fluffy. Add milk and combine.  In a separate bowl add egg whites and beat until a meringue like consistency Turn your mixer to a lower speed and slowly add egg white mixture to the butter and sugar mix.  Change your attachment to a dough hook, add baking powder and the other dry ingredients. *Add flour slowly as you might need more or less depending on your egg size. Turn off mixer and knead in bowl adding more flour (if needed) as you go. (Your dough should be soft and not too sticky) Cover with cling wrap and leave for 20 mins before making your koulourakia. Working on a clean dry surface, take a little dough and roll into long sausages. This is when your imagination can come into play! Twist into braids, make circles or even into the letter S. Line a baking tray with baking paper and place your koulourakia leaving distance between each one. They do rise when cooking (not a lot, but they do expand).  Brush with egg glaze and place in oven for around 20 minutes rotating the trays halfway. Cool Koulourakia on wire rack completely before storing in an air tight container. Hope you guys LOVED this recipe!! Let me know how you go :)  Love, Leah xx 

Uhhhh I LOVE protein balls! They're so delicious and a really quick snack to meal prep in advance for those busy weeks! These one's are ESPECIALLY great because they have a little jam surprise inside.. just like the real lamingtons! 😍 Lamington Protein Balls Makes: 12Ingredients:1 cup instant oats½ cup desiccated coconut2 Tbsp cacao1/3 cup vanilla flavoured protein powder2 Tbsp coconut oil2 Tbsp rice malt syrup1/3 cup water2 Tbsp strawberry jam (if you can get a low sugar option..get it!) ¼ cup extra desiccated coconut for rolling  Method: Combine the oats, coconut, cacao and protein powder in a bowl. Heat the coconut oil and rice malt syrup together in the microwave for 30 seconds, stir and add to the dry ingredients with the water. Roll a heaped teaspoon of the mixture into a ball. Create a deep hole in the centre with your thumb and drop a little jam inside. Press the edges together to seal, roll to reshape into a ball then coat in coconut. Repeat with remaining mixture. Store in the fridge.

Hey Guys!  You've been waiting for this one - and so have I! I absolutely love how rough this recipe is, but thats the beauty of how my grandparents work - they had to find things and make them work, and now it's carrying on the tradition to us kids.  So, every greek family household that I know, has the obligatory olive tree - that Papou comes around, takes the olives and then makes them and returns them in a jar, ready for you to put on everything!  Below is the recipe, but I want you understand that the SALT is a necessary part of the olives, and yes its a lot - but it's necessary to make them perfect.  I'm not going to give you actual quantities, because it is rough, but can be altered depending on how many olives picked.  All you'll need is: Freshly picked olivesWaterSalt (500g +)One Fresh egg  Step 1:  Submerge the olives in cold water. For 7 days, you need to change the water each day. This process allows the olives to draw out bitterness and be more plump. Papou says "don't be impatient, you MUST do this" because he clearly could see that I couldn't be bothered doing this step, but he assured me in all his greek wisdom that this was a necessary process so... listen to the man.  Step 2:  It's time to party! Firstly you're going to need enough boiling water to cover the olives in a container. Once it's completely boiled, allow it to completely cool. Once almost cooled, we need to start adding the salt. Here is where the egg comes in. Add the salt to the water and stir until it begins to dissolve. Once you've added an impressive amount of salt (I'm talking cups and cups here), to test if the water is ready, add the egg into the water and if it floats, with around a 10c piece amount of the egg exposed out of the water, then it's ready! If it still needs more salt to float, then you need to keep adding more salt, allowing it to dissolve and then re-testing with the egg to find the perfect balance.  Some people like to make slits in their olives, but Papou only does this for some of his olives, but couldn't really give me a reason as to why - I'm thinking its more of a time thing, because making 2-4 cuts in each olive can be time consuming (and I sure don't have time for that!)  Once you've found the perfect balance, allow this water/salt mixture to completely cool before moving onto the next step.  Step 3:  In glass jars with lids, start to add olives to just under the brim of the jar. Then, pour in that cold salty water to submerge. Add around 1cm of olive oil into the top of the jar (this will float at the top and seperate). Add a little bit of cling film into the olive oil, covering the olives completely. Leave the olives for around 4-6 weeks before they're ready to eat!  These can be kept for months in the jar inside the water, but always make sure you have the layer of oil over the top and the cling film, otherwise it's super easy for the olives to grow mould - yucky!!  GOOD LUCK - here's to never ending olive jars!  Love Leah xx 

Ever wondered how my yiayia makes her incredible Dolmades? WELL. You wouldn't BELIEVE how many tries it took for yiayia to SLOW DOWN and actually take me step by step on how to make the perfect dolmades 🤣 (like probably about 15 hours of my life that I'll never get back) BUT ITS OKAY. BECAUSE, WE GOT THERE!   Here is her recipe on how to get the PERFECT Dolmades! Yiayia's Dolmades Ingredients: 1 Bunch silver beet OR large Spinach leaves1/4 cup dill - chopped1 cup parsley - chopped1 large onion - finely diced3 large garlic cloves - crushed8 Tbsp. Lemon Juice (more if you like!)1 cup basmati rice, uncooked and washed2 1/2 Cups of waterSalt & pepper to Taste  Directions: Preheat oven to 180degrees Celsius Saute dill, parsley, onion and garlic until soft. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add 3 tbsp. lemon juice, 1 1/2 cups of water and rice. Leave to simmer until liquid is almost gone. Take the pot off heat. Cut the stems off the silver beet. Make sure you cut a triangle shape upwards - If you leave the stem, they become SUPER hard to roll! Place leaves into a bowl and pour hot water over the top. These only need to stay for around 30 seconds. Work quickly, and take out the leaves one by one and hang them over the side of the bowl. Leave 5-10 smaller leaves (those maybe that are ripped or are harder to roll) and save them to place at the bottom of the dish. Dip these leaves in the hot water and fan these leaves out at the bottom of the dish. Using the hanging leaves, ensure to start from the BOTTOM to the top (big to small) and the underneath of the leaf needs to be facing you. Using a small spoon, grab a couple teaspoons of the rice mixture and place at the bottom of the leaf. Start to roll, as tightly as possible. roll in both sides and continue rolling until you reach the end of the leaf. Continue to use each leaf until all the rice has been used. You'll have some left over leaves but you'll need these! Stack the dolmades into the oven safe container super tightly next to each-other. Stack on-top if needed! Into a small mixing bowl, add 3/4 cup of water, 5 tbsp of lemon juice, 1 Tsp of salt, 1/2 tsp of pepper and 1 Tbsp of olive oil.  Mix together. Any remaining leaves, place over the top of the dolmades (just as you did at the bottom) Pour the lemon mixture over the dolmades and (this is optional) place a oven safe plate over the top, to press the dolmades down. Place into the oven for 45 minutes. Turn oven off and LEAVE the tray in the oven to cool down (around an hour). Take them out and place into a plate and EAT!   I love love LOVE them cold, but my family likes them warm. In Greece they serve them with tzatziki, which is extra delicious! However you eat them, I hope you love them as much as we do!!  Love, Leah x

These white choc and coconut cookies are delicious. They're a super amazing snack that won't take you long to prepare or bake, they're the perfect filler for dessert.  Ingredients:1/2 cup butter 1 cup brown sugar 1 egg 1 tsp vanilla essence 1 cup self-raising flour 1 tsp baking soda1/4 tsp salt 1 cup white choc chips 1/2 cup flaked almonds 1/2 cup desiccated coconut   Directions: Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees celsius  Using a hand held beater, beat butter and sugar together until combined (or a crumbly appearance)  Add egg and vanilla essence and continue to beat.  Add baking soda and salt and continue to mix through.  Remove beater (lick the spoon!)  Into the mixture, Sift flour and fold in the white chocolate chips, flaked almonds and desiccated coconut.  Using two tablespoons of the mixture at a time, roll into balls and lightly flatten (they’ll expand on their own) and place into a lined baking tray.  Bake for 10-12 minutes. Careful not to overcook otherwise they won't be soft!  

OH MY - YES YES YES! Chicken nuggets are the best thing since sliced bread. They taste amazing and are super quick and easy to make!  Serves: 2-3Ingredients: 400g chicken tenderloins, cut into bite sized pieces2 cups of panko bread crumbs1 tbsp. dried oregano1/2 tsp salt1/2 tsp cracked black pepper1/2 cup parmesan cheese1/4 tsp turmeric powder2 eggs1 tbsp. Olive oil Directions: Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees celsius Whisk eggs in a small bowl In a seperate mixing bowl, add panko bread crumbs, oregano, salt, pepper, parmesan and turmeric powder. Stir to combine.  Add the chicken pieces into egg mixture and ensure to coat well.  Place each chicken piece into bread crumb mix and coat well, ensuring all of the chicken is covered. (If you want more crunch, you can do a double coat! After coating the chicken once, place back in the egg mixture and then again in the breadcrumb!) Place chicken on a lined baking tray and drizzle olive oil over the top.  Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until completely cooked through. OR, add to the air fryer for 15 minutes on 180°C. Shake the tray half way. If using airfryer, spray with olive oil before adding to the tray.  Serve with tomato sauce or a delicious napoletana! Hope you absolutely LOVE this! Love, Leah xx

This recipe is an absolute favourite for me, its SO EASY and quick, makes a perfect dinner or an easy meal prep for a couple days ahead!  Serves 4 :)Ingredients:500g Australian beef mince1 zucchini, finely grated4 button mushrooms, finely diced1 small red capsicum, sliced into strips100g string beans, tops and tails cut and halved2 garlic cloves, crushed1 Tbsp. grated ginger10 fresh Thai basil leaves1 brown onion, finely diced1 long red chilli, deseeded & finely chopped2 Tbsp. sesame oil¼ teaspoon fennel seeds½ teaspoon cracked pepper½ teaspoon salt2 tablespoons soy sauce1 teaspoon oyster sauce¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper Directions: Heat 2 tablespoons of sesame oil over a hot wok Once hot, add onion, chilli, ginger, garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes or until onion becomes translucent. Add mushroom and zucchini to the wok and leave to cook for 3-4 minutes. Continue Stirring to ensure it doesn’t burn. Add the beef mince and use a spatula break down into smaller pieces. Make sure you’re continually stirring and breaking to beef apart. Add fennel seeds, cayenne pepper, cracked pepper and salt to the mixture and continue to stir through. When the meat is almost cooked through (around 6-8 minutes later), add the beans, capsicum and Thai basil to the mixture and continue to stir for 3 minutes. Add soy sauce and oyster sauce to the mixture. Serve on a bed of rice. Hope you absolutely love this recipe! It's a new favourite for me! Love, Leah x 

This recipe is so simple! My mother has been making this for us for years and it's the most delicious, fluffy scone that I've ever tasted! They're amazing fresh out of the oven.    Lemonade Scones Ingredients:3 cups of self raising flour1/2 tsp salt300ml fresh, thickened cream3/4 cup of lemonadeToppings: Raspberry JamWhipped cream   Directions: Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees celsius.  Sift the SR flour into a large mixing bowl.  Add salt, thickened cream and lemonade.  Stir to combine.  On a clean surface, sprinkle a small amount of flour and transfer the mixture onto the surface. Begin to kneed, adding the flour as necessary.  Once it becomes fluffy, like a pizza dough consistency, use a rolling pin and roll until it is 1.5cm thick.  Using a circle cookie cutter, cut out the scones and place them onto a lined baking tray.  With the extra dough that is left over from cutting, re-kneed and roll out again, repeating this process until there is none left.  Put the scones into the oven 15 minutes or until lightly browned.  Then serve with jam and whipped cream!

SQUID & RICE! This is straight from the hands of my yiayia! This recipe was originally yiayia's famous "stuffed squid" where she would stuff tiny little squid tubes with the rice and tomato mixture, but it took almost 2 hours of active work before you even started to cook! The stuffed squid was almost like a "treat" dinner at yiayia’s, because it would take forever to make. I really loved it and wanted it to be more of a weekly meal (and a forever recipe I can make for my family in years to come), but I couldn't spend 2-3 hours at night cooking it! I asked yiayia if there was ANY way we could keep the love/flavours but make it easier (the love is SO important!)... so we created a way that it's just as delicious, but now it's 30 minutes max, one pan and the most delicious, hearty and fancy dinner ever (but it won't break the bank either!). This reminds me so so much of when we'd go to yiayia’s as kids, see stuffed squid on the table and we'd all rush to sit down and eat. I love this recipe, it really really feels like home and I'm so glad that now we can enjoy this meal every week! Dinner time with my family is so important, and it should be for you too! Get this on your dinner table!  Serves: 4 Cook time: 30 minutes Ingredients:¼ cup olive oil4 medium whole squid, gutted and cleaned (tentacles included!) and sliced into rings1 medium brown onion, quartered 2 garlic cloves, whole 1 large handful of parsley leaves 1 large handful of fresh mint leaves2 tbsp tomato paste 500g tomato passata sauce 2.5 cups of water ½ cup basmati rice, uncooked & rinsed Generous pinches of salt and pepper Directions:  In a food processor, add the onion, garlic, parsley and mint. Blitz until finely chopped. In a pot, heat olive oil over medium to high heat. Add the onion mixture into the pan and season with salt and pepper. Cook for 2-5 minutes or until onion is translucent. Add the squid tentacles into the food processor and blitz until finely chopped. Add these into the pan and cook for a further 5 minutes. Add tomato paste and stir. Add tomato passata and half of the water. Heat through for 2-3 minutes. Add the rinsed basmati rice and cook for 15 minutes. Continually stir and add more water as it needs. Just before the rice is ready, add the squid rings into the pot and stir. Cook for 5-7 minutes or until they’re completely cooked through and the mixture begins to thicken.   Serve with bread!