There are so many delicious cakes and biscuits which appear from the recipe books ready for Easter. Simnel cakes, hot cross buns and Easter egg nest cakes to name a few. Frankly I think it’s shameful that all the Easter treats aren’t served all at the same time with a huge pot of tea and some excellent company. So that’s exactly what an Easter afternoon tea is all about. An excuse to scoff all the tasty cakes and biscuits along with some sandwiches (which of course contain some sort of vegetable to negate the cake calories) and scones (because it’s not afternoon tea without a scone).
Keema Spice Mix
Pouring rice into a pan with some vegetables, seasoning and water has to be one of the most satisfying meals to cook. It all goes in together, bubbles away and then in no time a deliciously fragrant meal is ready. My keema spice mix is designed just for this purpose; to be simply added to rice dishes for a fantastic flavour in moments. You’ll find a few recipe suggestions for using this spice mix below and you can of course add in or leave out any spices you want more of or don’t like. You can’t do that with a shop bought mix.
Carrot, Chickpea and Harissa Soup
I meal plan. Only the dinners mind you. I’d like to think I was organised enough to plan fantastic breakfasts and fabulous lunches but I’d much rather have longer in bed each morning than fuss around with an avocado and quickly grab something easy for lunch in the week. However, there are consequences to this nonchalant attitude of mine. What if disaster strikes? What if, as I enjoy my chicken sandwich for lunch I realise that chicken is on the meal plan for that night? It doesn’t bear thinking about. So I don’t; I have a very simple way round this predicament instead. Make lunches vegan, and if not vegan, vegetarian. Hello Carrot, Chickpea and Harissa Soup.
Smoked Pea and Potato Soup
There’s been a spate of soup recipes appearing on my blog recently. I’ll tell you for why: because there’s nothing more comforting I would like to have for lunch during the week. Sure, a steaming bowl of cauliflower cheese would be a fantastic winter luncheon but that’s more effort than I am willing to put in for what is effectively the most rushed meal of the week. So instead I take a bit of time at the weekend and batch cook some soup, freeze it and reap the rewards in the weeks to come. This Smoked Pea and Potato Soup is probably one of my favourite soups of all; all the salty, smoky tang as if it had bacon or ham in but it’s vegan.
Tomato, Butterbean and Spinach Pesto Soup
Sometimes I make something like a veggie stew or pasta sauce and realise that it could become a delicious soup with just a little extra water. That’s exactly how this Tomato, Butterbean and Spinach Pesto Soup came about. I had made it as a sauce for baking with gnocchi, similar to this recipe, and I thought it would make a great soup; something a bit different from a normal tomato soup. And I was right. Full of flavour, colour and easy to make from a few ingredients you probably already have in the cupboards.
Blood Orange Posset
Slicing open a blood orange has an air of anticipation about it. Will it be intense purple almost throughout, have a few red stripes or actually be mostly orange? Whichever colour you end up with they all have the same fantastic flavour. I love cooking with blood oranges; adding a splash to a cocktail or baking them into something delicious. This recipe for blood orange posset was something I had never tried before and I couldn’t believe how easy it was to make. Just three ingredients are needed for a pudding that tastes so much more than the sum of its parts.
Cauliflower and Sundried Tomato Pasta
I always think cauliflower is at its very best when served with cheese. As much as I think this is still true I have been really enjoying roasting and frying it lately and this cauliflower and sundried tomato pasta is my current favourite way to eat cauliflower. Cheap to make, vegan, delicious and so fast to cook; we’re talking 15 minutes from fridge to table. If only all weeknight cooking could be like this!
Ingredients
You will need (for four servings):
- 300g pasta £0.30
- 1 small romanesco (or other) cauliflower, chopped into small florets £1.50
- 6 sundried tomatoes, finely chopped £0.30
- 2 small garlic cloves, crushed £0.10
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil £0.15
- Pinch saffron £0.50
- Salt and pepper £0.02
Total £2.87
Method
You’ll need a pan full of boiling water with a steamer to go on top. It’s no problem if you don’t have a steamer; you’ll just need an extra pan of boiling water for the cauliflower.
Beetroot, Horseradish and Salmon Sandwiches
Just look at those Chioggia beetroot. Aren’t they beautiful? Not only do these beetroot, also known as candy beetroot, look brilliant their vibrant stripes can’t fail to cheer you up even on the gloomiest of days. These beetroot, horseradish and salmon sandwiches came about because I love the combination of earthy, sweet beetroot and fiery horseradish with smoked foods. That, and I fancied something for lunch that wasn’t just toast! Another great thing about this variety of beetroot is that you don’t need to clean the entire kitchen after peeling them; they have hardly any of the staining power of their deep purple cousin.
Upside Down Lime Cake
Citrus in January is obligatory as far as I’m concerned. Whether its limes, lemons, grapefruits, blood oranges or, if you’re lucky, bergamot lemons there’s always got to be something citrussy in the kitchen. That sharp hit of acidic, fresh taste is just what I need on these cold, grey days and if that lifting flavour can be added to a cake then it’s all the better. This Upside Down Lime Cake was born out of necessity; my need to be greedy and a need to use up all the limes I had in my fruit bowl.
Roasted Baby Onions with Cheese on Toast
There’s always something leftover at this time of year; some sort of ingredient hanging around in the fridge that needs using up. I’d bought some baby onions for making a boeuf bourguignon and had half the pack left. I thought about slicing them and lightly pickling them but I then realised I also had some leftover cheese. You can never go wrong with cheese and onion so half an hour later we were tucking into roasted baby onions with cheese on toast.
Ingredients
You will need (for two):
- 12 (ish) baby onions, peeled
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- 1 tsp sugar
- 4 slices white bread, the crustier the better
- Leftover cheese, grated
Method
Put the onions and rosemary into a baking dish and drizzle over a little oil and salt and pepper. Roll the onions round in the dish so they get well coated in the oil and seasoning.
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