There’s something special about watching the steam rise from a hot bowl of soup after you’ve been working in the garden all morning; you just know it’s going to fill you up. My smoked bacon and kale soup came about simply to use up some ingredients in the kitchen. I cooked up enough for six portions so there’s plenty in the freezer for a wet and windy day. We have rather busy weekends and when lunchtime comes it’s nice to stop, take some time and eat something nourishing.
Spinach and Potato Kofta Curry
I love koftas in a curry. More often than not they are lamb based and I wanted to try and make a vegetarian version. My spinach and potato kofta curry came about because I wanted the main part of it to be roughly based on saag aloo. This is a bit more effort than some of my other recipes, but, I’ve made double batches of both the koftas and the sauce and frozen them so I can have it again with no effort at all!
ingredients
You will need (for four portions):
For the koftas:
- 600g potatoes, peeled and diced
- Oil for cooking (I use rapeseed)
- 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
- 2 tsp cumin seeds
- Pinch turmeric
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 4 large garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
- Thumb size piece ginger, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 chilli, finely chopped
- 5 nuggets frozen spinach (you can use fresh, wilt it and chop it before using)
- 2 tsp garam masala
- Salt and pepper
- Salt and pepper
For the sauce
- 2 large onions, sliced
- 4 large garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
- Thumb size piece of ginger, finely chopped
- 1 tsp ground fenugreek
- Oil for cooking (I use rapeseed)
- 1 chilli, finely chopped
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp garam masala
- Salt and pepper
- 200ml water
- 75ml double cream (you can leave this out or use a plant based alternative to make it vegan)
- Small handful fresh coriander, roughly chopped
method
For the koftas
Put the potatoes in a saucepan and cover them with cold water. Bring the pan to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer the potatoes for 8-10 minutes, or until they are cooked.
Easy Vegetable Lasagne
There’s a very good reason why this is an easy vegetable lasagne: there’s no béchamel! One of the things I love most about lasagne is how comforting it is, all those layers of pasta and sauce, so I didn’t want to miss any of that by cutting out a few steps. It’s still creamy and cheesy but only uses one sauce. This is such an easy recipe and you can use whatever vegetables you have to hand.
ingredients
You will need (for four portions):
- 1 onion, roughly chopped
- 1 aubergine, roughly chopped
- 2 peppers (whatever colour(s)) you like, seeds removed and roughly chopped
- Handful cherry tomatoes, halved
- Any other vegetables you like, such as courgette, carrot, etc. prepared and roughly chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed but left whole
- Olive oil for cooking
- Salt and pepper
- 600ml passata
- 200ml crème fraîche
- 1 tbsp red pesto
- 25g Parmesan, grated
Method
Start by preheating an oven to 180C.
Put all of the prepared vegetables onto a baking tray and drizzle over enough oil to give everything a light covering. Add a little salt and pepper and give everything a good mix with your hands.
Creamy Lentil Pasta Bake
You know those small pasta shapes you can buy which are ideal for minestrone? Well, it turns out they make a really good pasta bake. I found this out by accident when making my creamy lentil pasta bake and looked in the cupboard to find only teeny tiny bows to hand. This is a seriously tasty and very filling vegetarian pasta bake which is crammed full of veg with a little added double cream for a touch of weeknight luxury.
Ingredients
You will need (for two plus leftovers):
- 180g pasta
- 250g cooked puy lentils
- Handful grated cheese, cheddar or Parmesan both work well
For the creamy tomato sauce
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 pepper, finely chopped
- Olive oil for cooking
- 600g tomato passata
- 1 tbsp sundried tomato paste
- 3 nuggets frozen chopped spinach (you could use fresh that has been wilted and chopped)
- 150ml double cream
- Salt and pepper
Method
Start by making the sauce. Get a saucepan onto a medium heat and add the onion with a glug of olive oil. Fry gently for 10 minutes.
Chicken and Chorizo Tray Bake
It’s late autumn. I want the food on my plate to reflect the leaves on the trees outside and my chicken and chorizo tray bake does exactly that. A sizzling tray of orange, red and purple it smells so good while it’s cooking and also tastes divine. Those orange juices at the bottom of the dish? Don’t waste those. Tear open some crusty bread and get dunking.
Ingredients
You will need (for two):
- 2 chicken breasts
- 2 red peppers, deseeded and chopped
- 1 red onion, peeled and sliced
- 250g cherry tomatoes, halved
- 75-100g cooking chorizo, sliced or diced
- Olive oil for cooking
- Salt and pepper
- Crusty bread to serve
Method
Preheat an oven to 180C.
Put the peppers, tomatoes, onion and chorizo in a baking dish; one big enough to almost hold everything in a single layer. Drizzle over a little olive oil and some salt and pepper then roast in the oven for 10 minutes.
Satay Pork Fried Rice
I really like the flavour of satay: nutty, salty and with a hint of ginger and garlic. Quite a lot of the recipes I have tried involve marinating before cooking and frankly, on a weekday when I want dinner in a flash, mixing up a marinade is not what I want to be doing. My satay pork fried rice has all the flavours you’d want from satay, is super simple to make and contains three different vegetables. As it’s a versatile recipe I’ve popped a couple of variations to the original at the end of the post.
Rainbow Carrot Tart with Summer Herbs and Goat’s Cheese
I often get left with carrots at the bottom of the fridge. They play an overlooked, but important, base in so many meals: part of a mirepoix, in casseroles and in pies to name a few. Rarely, in my kitchen anyway, do the carrots get to be the star of the dish. So when some beautiful rainbow carrots arrived in the veg box it would have been rude to simply chuck them into various dinners. This time, I wanted to celebrate this lovely root in a rainbow carrot tart with summer herbs and goat’s cheese. A seasonal halfway tart if you will; one that is both full of summer flavours and the anticipation of autumn.
Green Summer Vegetable Lasagne
It is important to note that this recipe is not shy on calories. There’s cheese, double cream, lashings of olive oil, layers of pasta and plenty of veg. My green summer vegetable lasagne is quicker to make than a traditional lasagne (there’s no baking) and you can use the sauce with any pasta if you so choose. I like to think that all that green veg negates the calories and I happily ploughed through a whole plate of this. Bear in mind, I am very greedy and although the recipe below says it’s for two, it would definitely stretch to three or four!
Buffalo Chicken Nachos
You know when you see a recipe and you can’t get it out of your head? It all started when I saw a recipe for buffalo cauliflower, it sounded so good. Then I saw an idea for some seriously loaded nachos. The combination of the two sounded like a dream. These pulled buffalo chicken nachos are everything I wanted them to be: spicy, slightly sweet, covered with cheese and full of texture. Perfect for sharing on the sofa.
Ingredients
You will need (for two greedy people):
- Two chicken breasts
- Salt
- 3-4 tbsp buffalo sauce
- 1 bag plain nachos
- 1 small tin sweetcorn, drained
- 4 spring onions, sliced
- 1 green jalapeño chilli, sliced
- 150g mild cheddar cheese, grated
- Ranch dressing
Method
Bring a large pan of water to the boil and add a little salt. Drop the chicken breasts into the water, bring the pan back to the boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cook the chicken for 10-15 minutes or until cooked through.
Tandoori Chicken Flatbreads
There’s no denying that this is a plate full of colour; it’s also absolutely bursting with flavour. These Tandoori Chicken Flatbreads are a recipe of two halves: you can make it all at once, or alternatively, do as I did and batch cook the tandoori chicken and keep it in the freezer to make weeknight meals like this. The flatbreads are topped with a whole load of fresh salad, spiked yoghurt, mango chutney, the warm chicken and fresh chillies. They are really flexible too; you can add or leave out anything that you prefer.
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