Greek tomato chicken with lemon basil orzo

I love to cook this kind of chicken for friends and family as I can make it ahead of time and just reheat while the orzo cooks, before serving. You can also prep the basil lemon butter a day or two ahead, store in the fridge and quickly stir into the cooked orzo at the last minute. I like to serve this dish with a leafy green salad and lemon dressing. This recipe also makes a great mid-week dinner as it's quick to prep and goes down well with everyone. It's so full of flavour with minimal ingredients and effort, just browning the chicken and slow cooking the onions makes a lovely rich sauce that tastes like you've spent hours on it! 

I've added some creamy cannellini beans for extra fibre, plant protein and lots of vitamins and minerals. Cannellini contain vitamin B9 (folate) for DNA synthesis and repair, K for blood clotting and bone strength, plus antioxidant vitamin E to mop up free radicals and reduce oxidative stress. They also provide minerals such as copper, iron, potassium and phosphorus. Copper is needed for iron absorption and the formation of red blood cells, so both these mineral may be important for energy levels, while vitamin K and phosporus are associated with bone strength and density. BUT if you just don't like beans you can leave them, there's plenty of nutrients in this meal without them! It's high in lean protein from the chicken and vitamin C and folate in the onions, plus healthy fats in the olive oil. Alternatively you could replace cannellini with chickpeas, or even a tin of lentils. If you're using beans or chickpeas, I really recommend the Bold Bean Co range - they have a lovely creamy texture and favour.

Ingredients

Serves 4 generously

• 8 chicken thighs 

• 1 large red onion

• 1 garlic clove

• 1 x 400g tinned tomatoes 

• ½ of a 570g jar @boldbeans cannellini beans or 1 x 400g tin

• Handful chopped parsley

• 1 tsp sea salt 

• 400g orzo

• 2 tbsp salted butter, room temp

• 15g basil, chopped roughly 

• Zest of ½ lemon

• Handful of toasted pumpkin seeds, optional 

  Method

• Heat a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil in a large wide bottomed pan. 

• Fry the chicken in batches for around 5-7 mins a side until browned. Set aside on a plate. 

• Add the onions to the pan and fry gently for 10 minutes, then add the garlic and cook for a minute longer. 

• Next, put the chicken back in the pan, followed by the tomatoes and beans (if using Bold Beams, spoon them out from the jar; don’t dry to drain. If using a tin, add the beans plus half their water). 

• Simmer for 20 mins with the lid on and then remove for another 20 mins. 

• While the chicken is cooking, make the orzo. Place the pasta in a saucepan of boiling salty water. Simmer for 5-7 mins (check packet instructions). 

• Mash the lemon, basil, and a pinch of salt into the butter. 

• Drain the pasta thoroughly, stir in the lemon butter, and mix well. 

• When the chicken is cooked top with crumbled feta and chopped parsley straight into the pan or when plated. 

• Serve with a crisp green salad and lemon dressing (a drizzle of olive oil, a squeeze of lemon juice, and sea salt). 

Asparagus with white bean dip & feta

Asparagus is one of my favorite vegetables. I love the taste, but it also signals the start of spring and warm weather. The name even originates from the Greek word ‘asparagos’, meaning ‘to spring up’!

Asparagus is typically in season for around 8 weeks, from the end of April until the summer solstice on June 21, but the season varies a bit according to the weather. The first crop after planting can take up to 3 years, which is one reason why asparagus tends to be a little more expensive.

It’s a great veggie to add to your diet if your budget allows as asparagus is rich in minerals and vitamins A, C, K, and folic acid and is also high in fiber to keep your microbes happy. Asparagus acts as a prebiotic, feeding good bacteria in the gut. A higher fibre diet (UK Government recommends 30g per day) has been linked to weight loss (increased satiety, regular bowel movements, blood sugar regulation), reduced blood pressure, and improvement in menopausal symptoms (hot flushes, mood swings, and anxiety).

Asparagus is a good source of antioxidants like Vitamin A and Vitamin E, glutathione, and quercetin. Antioxidants may protect against cell damage by free radicals, which are highly reactive and unstable molecules produced by normal metabolic processes in the body, as well as external sources such as poor diet, smoking, alcohol, and pollution. These molecules can cause oxidative stress and inflammation, which have been linked to aging, heart disease, neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, and cancer. Antioxidants and polyphenols in asparagus may have an anti-inflammatory effect on the body, helping to prevent chronic disease.

This dish is a great starter or side dish, but it’s also really nice for lunch with toasted sourdough.

Ingredients

Serves 2-3 for lunch with sourdough or 4 as a starter

• 230-250g asparagus (depending on bunch size)

• 20-30g pine nuts

• 100g / ½ tin cannellini beans

• ½ garlic clove, grated finely 

• Handful of parsley

• Juice of ½ lemon

• 1-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• A good pinch of sea salt

• 50-80g feta (depending how much you like)

Method

• Heat a griddle pan, or frying pan if you dont have one (you just wont get the lines). 

• Trim the woody ends off the asparagus, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt and mix together. 

• Cook one side of the asparagus for about 6 mins, push the spears down with a spatula to help the black griddle marks form. Turn and repeat. 

• Remove and set to one side on a plate. 

• Toast the pine nuts in a dry frying pan for a few minutes until golden - dont take your eye off them or they’re burn!!

• Next blitz the beans, parsley (reserve a few leaves for serving), garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and salt in a small mixer until it forms a smooth paste. 

• Spoon the dip onto a serving plate, place the asparagus on top then crumble over the feta, adding the pine nuts on top along with the reserved parsley leaves.  

• Drizzle with olive oil and a squeeze of lemon and sea salt to serve. 

Tip

• If you are vegan, just leave off the feta and add a few more pine nuts as this dish is also lovely without the cheese.

• Pine nuts can be switched for toasted hazelnuts, almonds or sunflower and pumpkin seeds

Broad bean pea & feta salad

This is a lovely fresh salad taking advantage of the super fresh tasting ingredients around at the moment. I have added a little zing of wood sorrel as we happened to find some on a walk at the weekend, but the salad is lovely without this addition anyway, so it’s by no means essential!

*Please don’t forage unless you know what you’re looking for or you’re with someone who does. And never take too much!

Ingredients

Serves 4-6

• 500g podded broad beans in pods

• 500g peas in pods

• A couple of handfuls of fresh spinach, chopped roughly

• 2-3 tbsp crumbled feta

• A small handful of fresh mint, chopped

• Optional: small handful of wood sorrel, washed, dried and tough red parts of stalk removed.

  Dressing

• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 1 tbsp lemon juice

• ¼ tsp sea salt

• A good grind of black pepper

method

• Blanch the broad beans in a pan of boiling water for 3 minutes, Remove with a slotted spoon and put in a bowl of iced water. Remove the light green outer skin which is tough and put the green beans in a bowl with the chopped spinach.

• Blanch the peas for 2 minutes, drain and cool under a cold tap for a few seconds. When dry add to the broad beans and spinach.

• Mix the dressing ingredients.

• Add all the vegetables to a large bowl, mix in the dressing and the mint, then top with feta and wood sorrel.

Harissa & honey roast carrots with lemon feta

I bought some lovely lunched carrots this week, so I felt like they deserved to be showcased in their very own dish! So here they are: super easy to make, spicy and slightly sweet with creamy salty feta and a sprinkle of sumac on top. They’d make a great a side to serve with a tagine or any Middle Eastern style stew or with cous cous and a green salad for a light lunch.

Ingredients

Serves 4-6

• 400g bunched carrots (with tops)

• ½ tbsp honey

• ½ - 1 tbsp harissa dried spice blend

• 100g feta, crumbled

• Zest of 1 lemon

• A pinch of sumac, optional

Method

• Pre-heat the oven to 180ºc.

• Trim the carrot tops and reserve the leaves, then cut the carrots in half length ways.

• Line up on a tray and drizzle with rapeseed oil, honey and sprinkle over the harissa, plus a pinch of salt.

• Roast for 25 minutes and then turn. Cook for a further 15 minutes until soft and starting to brown at the edges.

• While the carrots are roasting, roughly chop the carrot top leaves (throw away the stalks) and mix with the feta and lemon zest.

• Serve warm, topped with the feta mix and sumac if you’re using it.

Red pepper & tomato baked rice with lemon feta

I love baked rice as you can add so many different vegetables, spices and herb combinations to make it really interesting without too much work. It’s great as a side dish, or I had it as a main with a green salad. If you want to go vegan, then just stir through a tin of chickpeas (or any beans) and top with roasted pumpkin seeds.

As you can make the rice ahead, it’s a really good one to cook for friends as all the work is done beforehand, so it only needs a quick reheat in the oven. Perfect for a spring/summer BBQ, now we’re allowed to socialise outdoors again! Let me know if you make it for 5 friends!

Ingredients

Serves 4 as a main, or 6 as a side

• 2 red peppers, 2cm slices

• 250g cherry tomatoes, halved

• 4 cloves garlic, unpeeled

• 1 tbsp rose harissa

• 2 tbsp rapeseed or olive oil

• 300g white basmati rice

• ½ tsp sea salt

• 600ml boiling water

• 200g feta cheese

• Zest of 1 lemon

• Handful of coriander leaves

method

• Preheat the oven to 180ºc.

• Spread the red pepper slices, tomato halves and garlic cloves on a large baking tray, drizzle well with rapeseed or olive oil and a sprinkle of salt. Place in the oven for 20 minutes.

• Once the vegetables are roasted scrape them into a large casserole dish (I used 24 x 33cm).

• Deglaze the roasting tray with 200ml of boiling water: gently scrape the flavoursome bits and juices off the tray and tip all the water into the casserole dish as well.

• Add the rose harissa, oil, rice and salt to the vegetables, stirring well and then pour over 500ml of boiling water.

• Cover really tightly with tin foil - it helps if you have a small lip on the top edge of the dish to scrunch it round.

• Place in the oven for 25 minutes.

• While the rice is cooking, crumble the feta into a bowl and mix with the Lemon zest.

• Serve topped with the feta and a green salad.

Broccoli, sweet potato & tahini salad

Salad season is back! I feel ready to say goodbye to soups now! Or may be I’m getting over excited as it’s sunny AND warm today. Feels really good after a long Covid lockdown winter and now we can have friends in our gardens, life just feels that bit better. I’ve missed seeing my family and friends so much!

This was a hastily put together salad based on what I fancied last night. It was a rare evening when everyone else had either leftovers or a packet pie (yes, they’re my lifeline some days) to eat and I was left to my own devices. So I made a salad with roasted vegetables, harissa spices, quinoa and tahini dressing, which I enjoyed so much. I took the rest to eat lunch with a friend in the park and added some falafels and pitta, which felt like a real treat!

* If you want to make the salad vegan, just leave out the feta and top with a few toasted seeds.

Ingredients

Serves 2 as a main, or 4 as a side

• 1 red onion, sliced

• 100g tenderstem broccoli

• 1 medium sweet potato, 1½cm cubes

• 1 tsp dried harissa spice blend

• 120g quinoa

• A handful of coriander leaves

• 100g feta, crumbled (optional)

  Dressing

• 3 tbsp tahini

• 5-6 tbsp water

• Juice of ¼ lemon

• ¼ small clove garlic

• Pinch of sea salt

Method

• Preheat the 200ºc. Mix approx 1 tbsp olive oil and the harissa into the onions and sweet potatoes and roast for 15 minutes.

• Turn the onions and potatoes, then add the broccoli to the tray and drizzle with a little oil. Roast for 15 minutes and then set aside to cool a little.

• While the vegetables are roasting, rinse and cook the quinoa as per the packet instructions - I usually rinse it 3-4 times so the water runs pretty clear and then simmer for 20 minutes.

• Make the dressing by putting all the ingredients in a jar and mixing well. Just add the water slowly until you get the right consistency - tahini sometimes varies with the amount of water it needs to let it down.

• Drain the quinoa and allow to cool, or run it under some cold water if you’re in a hurry and then drain again.

• Layer the ingredients, including the dressing, in a large bowl or platter, finishing with feta and coriander on top.

Butternut squash & spinach risotto with crispy sage

Risotto is the perfect comfort food and it’s so versatile in terms of flavours you can never get bored of it. I love the combination of squash, sage and feta here, it’s creamy, sweet and salty, which works so well. Although my kids aren’t massive squash fans they really like this risotto, ok so they pick out the pieces of squash, but as I’ve mashed some in they can’t avoid eating it altogether! I topped my son’s with crispy bacon to keep him happy and if you serve with garlic ciabatta as well I don’t think you’re going to get too many complaints!

Ingredients

Serves 4

• ½ large butternut squash (approx 800g unpeeled)

• 10-12 sage leaves

• 30g unsalted butter

• 1 onion, finely chopped

• 1 stick celery, finely chopped

• 1 clove garlic, grated

• 150ml white wine or 100ml sherry or vermouth

• 350g risotto rice

• 1-1.2L vegetable stock

• 30g parmesan, finely grated

• 1 tsp sea salt

• 3 handfuls spinach leaves

• Approx 100g feta, crumbled

Method

• Preheat the oven to 180ºc. Chop the squash into 2cm chunks and put on a large baking tray, drizzle with ½ tbsp olive oil, mix well and spread out. Sprinkle with sea salt. Roast for 20 minutes and then turn and put back in for a further 20 until browned on at least two sides.

• Leave the squash on the oven tray, mash half with a fork.

• Heat ½ tbsp olive oil in a small frying pan, next add the sage leaves and cook for about a minute on each side. They should turn a little darker, but not brown. Place on a piece of kitchen roll to absorb the oil. They’ll crisp up as they cool.

• Warm the stock on the hob or microwave.

• Heat 20g of butter and ½ tbsp olive oil in a wide low-sided pan, add the onions and celery, cooking gently for 15 minutes until soft, but not browned.

• Next add the rice, stirring well, after about a minute it should look slightly translucent at the edges.

• Then turn up the heat and pour in the wine or Sherry. Allow the harsh alcohol taste to bubble off and once the rice has absorbed the rest of the wine (about 2 minutes) start adding the warm stock. I usually pour in a ladle or about 100ml at a time.

• Next add the mashed squash and keep adding the stock slowly, each time it is absorbed, pour in another ladle, stirring regularly.

• After 10-12 minutes add the squash chunks and continue pouring in the stock for another 8 minutes.

• Check the rice is cooked (it should still have a little bite to it) and then stir in the spinach, 10g of butter, 30g parmesan and the salt. Mix well and allow the spinach to wilt for a minute.

• Crumble a sage leaf and feta or grated parmesan on top.

• Serve with another couple of whole sage leaves, garlic ciabatta and a green salad.

Tip

• A note about stock - if I’m using a cube then I will double the amount of water recommended on the pack, so for this recipe I just used one cube for one litre of water. Otherwise you’ll end up tasting the stock cube rather than it being a savoury back note.

• I don’t always want to open a bottle of wine just for cooking, so I keep a bottle of Sherry or Vermouth in the cupboard to use for risotto. It doesn’t go off like wine, so you can just use a glass as and when you need it.

• To make the risotto vegan, you could use non-dairy butter and add a tablespoon of nutritional yeast and or a little oat cream instead of cheese. Top with toasted pine nuts or pumpkin seeds.

• I use a Microplane or fine grater for the cheese and garlic.

• Cook the squash the day before to get ahead.

Courgette, pea & spinach soup with lemon feta

I always miss the green vegetables of spring and summer at this time of year, so I wanted to find a way of using them without the environmental impact of cooking with unseasonal ingredients. It’s a compromise as I’ve used fresh courgettes, but in November they don’t have to travel much further than Jersey, along with frozen peas and spinach which are much cheaper for you to buy and work really well in soups.

I love the bright salty taste of the lemon feta as it really lifts the flavour of the soup, so it is really worth adding that element if you can. A good vegan alternative to feta here would be a plant based plain yoghurt; just add the lemon zest and a sprinkle of sea salt.

Ingredients

Serves 6-8

• 1 large onion, chopped

• 1 large clove garlic, grated

• 2-3 courgettes (approx 800g whole), sliced

• 400g frozen peas

• 300g frozen spinach

• 1 handful basil, stalks chopped, leaves reserved

• 1 vegetable stock cube

• 500ml water

• 1 3/4 sea salt

• 2 tbsp lemon juice, plus zest

• 200g feta, crumbled

Method

• Preheat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large pan and fry the onions on a low heat for 15 minutes.

• Next mix in the garlic and cook for about a minute, before adding the courgettes.

• Cook for 20 minutes with the lid on until the courgettes have softened, then add the peas, spinach, basil stalks and stock. Simmer for 10 minutes.

• Add the basil leaves and then blitz with a hand blender until smooth.

• Now add the salt, lemon juice and a good grind of black pepper.

• Mix the feta and lemon zest in a bowl.

• Serve with a sprinkle of feta and a wedge of buttered sourdough toast.

Pea, broadbean & avocado dip

This is one of my fave spring / summer dips to make. It’s light, fresh, soooo green and always seems to be the star of any plate or spread. Everyone always loves it and the good news is that it’s another easy one to whip up quickly.

Ingredients

• 200g frozen broad beans

• 200g frozen peas

• 1 avocado, mashed roughly

• 10 mint leaves

• 15 basil leaves

• 4 tbsp olive oil

• 2 tbsp lemon juice

• 1/2 tsp sea salt

• A good few grinds of black pepper

Method

• Cook the broad beans in boiling water for 2-3 minutes, then take off the heat and pour in the peas. Let then stand for 2 minutes until the peas have defrosted.

• Drain well and put in a food processor along with the rest of the ingredients, except the avocado. Blitz until you have the texture you want, I like mine to be a little rough so I don’t mix it for too long, but if you keep going you’ll get more of a puree.

• While you’re blitzing the peas, scoop out the avocado into a medium sized bowl and mash leaving a few chunks for texture.

• Scrape out the mixture from the food processor into the avocado and mix well.

• Serve!

Giant cous cous, chickpea, courgette, red pepper & feta salad

Summer is all about this kind of healthy salad for me. I love putting this type of dish together as I know I'll have enough for a few lunches and I can also turn it into a dinner in the evening by adding a green salad, fresh bread, roast chicken, or fish. 

This was literally a store cupboard recipe the other day as I needed to go shopping, but hadn't quite got around to it. Anyway, it just so happened that I had a random selection of ingredients which came together to make this rather nice salad :-)

Hope you like it too!

Ingredients

• 200g giant wholemeal cous cous

• 1 x 400g tin chickpeas

• 1/2 red onion, finely chopped

• 1 roasted red pepper ( I like to use one from a Cooks & Co jar when I'm short of time)

• 1 courgette, sliced and griddled or fried

Dressing

• 4 tbsp olive oil

• Juice of 1 lemon

• 1/2 clove garlic, minced

• Handful of chopped coriander

• Handful of crumbled feta

Method

• Cook the cous cous as per the instructions on the packet, I would add a veggie stock cube to give it a bit of extra flavour as well.

• Once the cous cous has cooled, put all the ingredients in a large bowl and pour on the dressing.

• Add the toppings for extra flavour.