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, aubergine & adzuki
A break in the sunshine calls for something slightly warmer today and this is a lovely stew that’s lightly spiced with harissa and full of flavour. I’ve used creamy aubergines and sweet peppers to compliment the nutty adzuki beans - which I’d forgotten much I liked!
Adzuki are a great addition to a veggie dish as they give a nice bite and texture, which works well to contrast with the softer vegetables. My husband isn’t a massive bean fan, but he likes adzuki as they’re relatively small compared to other types - they pretty much went under his radar!
This is another dish that I make a big pan of and store in the fridge for quick healthy lunches with a chunk of sourdough, or eat for dinner in different ways - with roasted squash wedges, a baked sweet potato or grilled halloumi, veggie sausages, chicken or fish if you’re BBQing with friends.
Ingredients
Serves 4-6
150g dried adzuki beans
2 aubergines, 1cm slices
2 medium red onions, chopped
3 large garlic cloves, grated
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp ground harissa spice blend
3 red peppers, sliced
2 tins 400g tomatoes
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/2 tbsp maple / honey
1 tsp sea salt
A handful of fresh coriander
Method
Preheat the oven to 180ºc.
Simmer the adzuki for approx 45 minutes until soft, drain and set aside.
Spread the aubergine on a large tray, brush with olive oil on both sides, sprinkle with sea salt, then put in the oven for 10 minutes.
Heat ½ tbsp olive oil in a large pan and fry the onions gently for 10 mins, then add the garlic and ground spices cooking for 30 seconds.
Next add the red peppers and cook for a further 10 minutes.
Then add the tomatoes, aubergine and adzuki, simmer for 20 minutes.
Add the red wine vinegar and maple, simmer for 5 minutes. Then finish by stirring in the salt. Serve with fresh coriander leaves
Tip
Other serving ideas: cous cous, brown rice, top with plain yoghurt or plant-based coconut. I like Coconut Collab, especially with savoury dishes.
Use chickpeas instead of adzuki if you can’t get hold of them.
You can cook the aubergine in the same pan if you prefer - fry on a medium to high heat using plenty of olive oil until 2-3 sides are browned. Set aside and add back in following the instructions above. I prefer to use the oven as I can get on with prepping the other ingredients while the aubergine cooks.
Coriander is optional!
'Chicken' & mushroom pie with cheesy mash
This is the ultimate veggie comfort food for me and is a really good one for families as the kids will barely know that the 'chicken’ isn’t really chicken! Ok so mine won’t allow a mushroom to pass their lips, but they do like the flavour, which I’m hoping will be a step towards eating them eventually! You could switch to carrots, sweet corn or whatever veggies go down better in your house though.
A lot of people tell me that they are either trying to reduce their meat intake or they suddenly have a veggie teenager, so they need more family-friendly vegetarian recipes. This is a great one to add to your menu if you want to start making changes to your household diet because it’s a take on a classic that’s a gentle introduction to anyone skeptical about vegetarian food. I have quite a few recipes on my site (linked below) that use meat substitutes like Quorn or soya as I’ve found that it’s a good way of getting the kids to eat veggie food without sending them into shock with Ottolenghi style salads (which would obviously be my choice of menu!). I’m hoping we’ll reach that goal by the time my daughter is 16… only 5 years to go!
Ingredients
1 large onion, finely chopped
20g unsalted butter
300g chestnut mushrooms, sliced
1 garlic clove, grated
300g Quorn pieces
2 tbsp plain flour
½ vegetable stock cube (I use Kallo low salt)
400-500ml boiling water
½ tbsp Dijon mustard
250ml crème fraîche (I used low fat, but full is fine too)
100g fresh spinach leaves
1 tsp sea salt
Topping
1.4 kg potatoes, chopped
50g unsalted butter
2-3 tbsp milk
100g cheddar cheese, grated
1 tsp sea salt
25g parmesan, finely grated
Method
Heat the butter and a drizzle of olive oil in a large pan. Fry the onion gently for 10 minutes to soften and then add the mushrooms for 5 minutes.
Add the garlic, cook for 1 minute and then put in the Quorn pieces and flour, stirring well.
Next crumble in the stock cube and pour in 400ml of boiling water. Stir in the mustard and then the crème fraîche. Gently warm the sauce for 5 minutes, but keep it on low as it will split if it gets too hot.
Finish by adding the salt and a little extra water if needed to loosen the sauce, it should easily fall off a spoon - like a thickened gravy.
Preheat the oven to 180ºc.
While the sauce is cooking, peel the potatoes and chop. Boil for about 12-15 minutes, so they’re soft enough to mash, drain and allow to air dry for a minute.
Mash well with the butter and milk, then add the cheddar and salt, mix well.
Spoon the Quorn filling into a large oven proof dish (I used 24x33cm) and stir or layer in the spinach leaves.
Top the pie with a layer of mash and sprinkle with parmesan.
Put in the oven for 20-25 minutes. If you can see that the sauce is bubbling underneath, but the top hasn’t browned then place under a hot grill for a few minutes to finish off. Keep a close eye on it though as it will easily burn.
Tip
Make the filling the day before to get ahead.
Gently top the pie with mash - flatten on the back of a large spoon with a fork and then nudge off onto the filling.
Meat eaters can swap the Quorn for chicken, just brown it separately first and then set to one side while you cook the vegetables. Add the chicken back in with the crème fraîche.
Or if you don’t like Quorn use a tin of chickpeas, using same method as in the main instructions.
More family favourites: Everyday chilli, Sausage spaghetti, Bolognese, ‘Chicken’ supreme, ‘Chicken’ pie, Creamy sausage, mushroom & spinach pasta, Tomato & mascapone sausage rigatoni
Spinach & mushroom lasagne
I love lasagne, but I often end up making either a classic style using vegetarian mince or a tomato based cheesy veggie one. So I thought I’d experiment and make it different this time using spinach and mushroom in a creamy sauce. I used a ‘cheats’ white sauce made from crème fraîche and parmesan, so its super quick and easy to whip up. Like all lasagnes this one is best eaten on the day, but if you have leftovers they’ll still make a pretty good lunch!
Ingredients
Serves 4-6
450g spinach
1 large red onion, thin half moons
300g mushrooms, sliced
1 clove garlic, grated
400ml crème fraîche
½ tbsp Dijon mustard
½ vegetable stock cube
200ml water
1 tsp sea salt
A good grind of black pepper
250g fresh lasagne sheets
100g parmesan, finely grated
Method
Preheat the oven to 180ºc.
Heat a knob of butter and ½ tbsp of olive oil in a large pan and gently wilt the spinach. If you’re using frozen then either defrost n the fridge overnight or steam for around 8 minutes.
Put the spinach in a bowl and set to one side. Add ½ tbsp of oil to the pan and fry the onions for 10 minutes on low until softened.
Next add the mushrooms and cook for another 5 minutes, then stir in the garlic and fry for 30 seconds more.
Add 300ml crème fraîche, mustard, ½ stock cube and 200ml of water, warming through gently.
Then add the salt and pepper, stirring well.
Mix the remaining 100ml crème fraîche with 20ml water and 20g of parmesan
Assemble the lasagne (I used a 20x26cm oven proof dish) by starting with a layer of the spinach mix, a sprinkle of parmesan (approx 1-2 tsp) and then cover with pasta sheets, repeat until the top layer.
Cover the top layer of pasta with the crème fraîche and parmesan mix, finish by sprinkling over the rest of the parmesan, you may need a little more to do this depending on how much you use in the layering.
Bake in the oven for 25 minutes. If the top needs to brown a bit more then place under a hot grill - I use pieces of tin foil to cover over any already browned parts, so only the pale bits are browned.
Sweet potato & black bean chilli
I always cook a big pot of chilli as it can be turned into a few different meals through the week. I made this pan for a couple of friends the other night (how nice is it to have friends in the garden?!) we had it with brown basmati, sour cream, guacamole, a few homemade tortilla chips and a handful of cheddar or feta. As we were eating outside, I made up chilli bowls with a bit of everything in so it was easier to serve.
I definitely recommend taking a few minutes to make a quick guacamole as it works so well in the bowl - I did a speedy version without any chopped chilli: just mashed avocado, a little finely chopped red onion, garlic, lime and salt. The tortilla chips take 5 minutes in the oven, so very little work to make and worth the effort to add a crunchy texture.
If you have a some leftover for lunch, you could make a ‘chilli bowl’ wrap or a quesadilla would be delicious too (here’s one I made with black beans, but just use the chilli instead) with lots of melted cheese. If you want to go carb-less, serve with crumbled feta and a slaw.
Ingredients
Serves 4-6
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, grated
2 tsp smoked paprika
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp dried oregano
¼ tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cayenne pepper
2 medium sweet potatoes (approx 500g), 1cm cubes
2 tins of tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato purée
1 tin black beans
1 tin cannellini beans
1 ½ tsp sea salt
1 lime, quartered
A few spoons of plain or coconut yoghurt (Coconut Collaborative is my fave)
Method
Heat ½ tbsp olive or rapeseed oil in a large pan and then fry the onions gently for 10 minutes.
Next add the garlic, stir well and cook for a minute or two.
Stir in all the dried spices and heat through for a minute to release their flavour and then add the sweet potatoes, tomatoes, tomato purée and all the beans.
Pour in ½ bean tin of water and mix well.
Cook for 30-40 minutes, until the sweet potato is fully softened. Put the lid on for the first 20 minutes and then remove.
Add a little extra water for the last 10 minutes if needed.
Stir in the salt and serve with a lime wedge plus any of the sides suggested above.
aubergine parmigiana
Inspired by my friend Anna, who makes an amazing aubergine parm, I thought I’d have a go at making my own version. I’ve stayed traditional in that I haven’t messed about it a classic (if it ain’t broke..?!) : there are layers of creamy aubergine, my go-to tomato sauce and LOTS of cheese.
This would be another great dish to make for friends if you’re eating outside over Easter. Aubergine parmigiana makes a lovely side with a BBQ (chicken or white fish would work really well), or you could stay veggie and serve with baked rice or a salad and some greens.
A note on the tomato sauce - my recipe is for a large batch, so you’ll have plenty to keep in the fridge (for up to a week) - I have lots of serving suggestions on the recipe page, so you can turn it into different meals. Or freeze the rest of the sauce in small tubs for quick dinners or to use on homemade pizzas.
If you don’t want to make extra, I would probably halve the recipe especially if you’re adding the celery an carrots as suggested below in the Tips.
Ingredients
Serves 4 as a main or 6 as a side
700ml tomato sauce (recipe here)
3 aubergines, 1cm slices
50g breadcrumbs
50g parmesan cheese, grated
150g mozzarella, halved and sliced (double if you like it really cheesy!)
Method
Make the tomato sauce.
While the sauce is cooking, preheat the oven to 180ºc. Brush a couple of large baking trays with olive oil and spread out the aubergine slices. Brush the top side of the slices lightly with oil .and place in the oven for about 20 minutes until softened and browned on one side.
Mix 20g parmesan with the breadcrumbs.
Assemble by layering the tomato sauce, a generous sprinkle of parmesan, a few pieces of mozzarella and then the aubergine in an oven proof dish (I used 21x27cm)
Repeat 2-3 times, finishing with a layer of tomato sauce topped with the breadcrumbs and a few pieces of mozzarella if you have any left.
Place in the oven for 25 minutes.
Serve with baked rice, orzo salad (no feta), mini roasties, grilled fish or roasted chicken and a green salad.
tip
You can add finely chopped celery (3 -4 sticks) and carrots (4 chopped in small cubes) to the tomato sauce to add extra flavour if you want to, just put them in with the onions right at the beginning of the recipe.
Use 2 balls of mozzarella to dial up the cheesiness!
If I can, I make the tomato sauce a day or two ahead, so I can quickly assemble the dish in 20 minutes.
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.
pea & Kale risotto
Reasons to be cheerful: spring is in the air, I’m wearing my green hoodie, the kids have gone back to school after the longest Christmas holiday in history and it’s International Women’s Day! Sending love and a fresh green risotto recipe to all the amazing women in my life!
Ingredients
Serves 4
250g Frozen peas
1 vegetable stock cube
100g cavolo nero, stalked removed, leaves chopped roughly
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 celery stick, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, grated
150ml white wine or 100ml sherry / vermouth
320g risotto rice
50g parmesan, finely grated
3/4 tsp sea salt
Juice of ¼ lemon
Method
Melt the stock cube in 1L boiling water (I always dilute stock cubes way more than the packet instructions as I find their flavour is too strong otherwise)
Put 150g peas in a small saucepan, pour over 100ml stock and bring to the boil. Turn off and leave to cool.
Steam the kale for 4-5 minutes and then blitz in a food processor with a knob of butter.
Once the peas have cooled, then add to the kale and blitz until smooth.
Heat 20g of butter and a drizzle of olive oil in a large shallow pan and fry the onions and celery on low for 10-12 minutes.
Add the garlic to the onion and cook for 1 minute.
Warm the stock in a pan on the hob or microwave.
Next stir the rice into the onions, 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 start adding the warm stock. I usually pour in about a ladle or 100ml at a time.
After 10 minutes add the pea and kale purée and continue pouring in the stock for another 5 minutes and then add the rest of the peas. Cook for a further 3-5 minutes.
Check the rice is cooked (it should still have a little bite to it), add a little more water if needed (a risotto shouldn’t stand up in your bowl, it should melt to the sides) and then stir in 10g of butter, 30g parmesan, salt and a squeeze of lemon.
Serve with the rest of the parmesan, warm ciabatta and a green salad.
Tip
The way I got my fussy meat-eating son to eat a very green risotto was to: not tell him about the kale, only the peas, fry some crispy bacon bits and put them on top and serve with warm ciabatta bread. He will eat a significant amount more things if there is white bread or a wrap on the side!
I used cavolo nero or black kale, but you could switch to curly if that’s what you’ve got in. Just make sure you take the tough stalks out and only use the leaves.
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 pine nuts or pumpkin seeds.
I use a Microplane or fine grater for the cheese and garlic.
5 ingredient tomato & mascarpone sauce
Here’s a quick mid-week recipe that always goes down well in our house. It’s made from 5 ingredients (excluding the salt and pasta!) and is a lovely creamy tomato sauce that works with any pasta. You can also easily adapt the recipe for meat-eaters by changing the sausage or switching for crispy bacon pieces.
Personally I think the sauce is really nice used on it’s own with just a little parmesan, if you want to leave out the sausages completely, or stir in a couple of handfuls of spinach to change things up.
Ingredients
Serves 4-6
6 veggie sausages, 1 cm slices
1 large onion, chopped finely
1 large garlic clove, grated
2 x 400g tinned tomato
100g mascarpone cheese
1 tsp sea salt
400g rigatoni
Method
Heat ½ tbsp rapeseed or olive oil in a large shallow pan and cook on a medium heat for around 8-10 minutes until browned.
Remove from the pan and set aside in a covered bowl.
Heat a little more oil in the pan and then add the onions. Cook on a low heat for about 10 minutes until softened.
Next add the garlic and stir in well. Allow to cook for about 1 minute.
Pour in the tinned tomatoes and ½ a tin of water (swill out the remaining tomato juice) then simmer for 20 minutes.
Cook the pasta after the sauce has been bubbling for 10 minutes, so they’re ready at the same time.
At this point you can either break the tomatoes up with a wooden spoon or blitz the sauce with a hand blender. I prefer to do the latter, then add the mascarpone, salt and sausages. Stir well and make sure the cheese has completely melted and the sausages have warmed through.
Serve with plenty of grated parmesan and a green salad.
Family favourite veggie lasagne
I’ve been working on this veggie lasagne on and off for a while now as I wanted to get exactly the right balance of tomato and cheese sauce to pasta. I think I went through five different versions, each with slight tweaks to the sauce and a streamlining of the ingredients to keep things as simple as possible, without compromising on taste obviously! Finally, I think I’ve cracked it, so here’s the recipe for you guys to try, let me know what you think.
As there are two main elements to making a lasagne, the way I do it is to cook the tomato sauce the day before (or even two), so all I need to make is the cheesy béchamel and then assemble. This cuts the work time to 20-30 minutes on the day as lasagne can sometimes seem too time-consuming. A bonus is that this recipe serves 6-8, so you should have dinner sorted for a couple of days too.
When we are finally allowed to socialise, lasagne is a great dish to make for friends (roll on June!!) as you can do all the prep ahead, pop it in the oven when your guests arrive and serve with a big green salad. I’d be pretty surprised if you got any complaints from meat-eaters as this lasagne is full of flavour, from the umami of the tomato sauce to the lovely rich cheesy béchamel. It’s certainly a favourite in our multi-diet house!
Ingredients
Serves 6-8
1 aubergine, ½ cm slices
2 large onions, finely chopped
2 celery sticks, finely chopped
2 large cloves of garlic, grated
2 red peppers, small dice
1 courgette, sliced
1 vegetable stock cube
800g tinned tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato purée
½ tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp sea salt
1 handful of basil, stalks chopped, leaves torn
500g fresh lasagne sheets
Cheese sauce
90g butter
90g flour
1L milk
1 tsp sea salt
150g Gruyère or Comte cheese
150g gouda, grated or sliced
50g parmesan, grated finely
Method
Preheat the oven to 180ºc. Brush a large tray with oil and spread out the aubergine, turning to make sure both sides are coated in oil. Sprinkle with sea salt. Roast for 20 minutes turn and cook for 5-8 minutes more. Cut the slices in half and set aside.
While the aubergine is roasting, heat 1 tbsp olive oil in large pan and cook the onion and celery for 10 minutes.
Next add the peppers for 5 minutes and then repeat adding the garlic and courgettes.
Pour in the tinned tomatoes, tomato purée, basil stalks and ½ a tin of water (swilling out to get the last bits of tomato juice). Simmer for 20 minutes.
Then add the aubergine, red wine vinegar and sea salt for another 5 minutes. Finish by stirring in the basil leaves.
Cheesy béchamel sauce: while the tomato sauce is bubbling away, melt the butter in a large non-stick saucepan and then tip in the flour, use a silicon whisk to mix thoroughly and allow to warm through for a minute.
Start pouring the milk in slowly, 50ml at a time, so you don’t get lots of splashing as you whisk it in.
Quickly add the next 50ml, whisk rapidly and repeat until you’ve used about 300ml, then you can start adding 100ml each time. Once you’ve poured in all the milk leave on a low heat for a further 10-12 minutes to thicken, but whisk or stir regularly so you don’t get lumps.
Add 100g of Gruyère or Comté, 25g parmesan, sea salt and a good grind of pepper; stir well and allow to melt for a couple of minutes.
Now assemble the lasagne in a large oven proof dish (I used 24 x 33cm) by first adding a big spoon or two of the tomato base, a ladle of cheese sauce (drizzle over the tomato generously), gouda and then 2 lasagne sheets. Repeat until the last layer of pasta and then cover with cheese sauce and the rest of the Gruyère/Comte and parmesan.
Bake in the oven at 180ºc for 35-40 mins. If the top still needs a little browning then place under a hot grill for a minute or so, but watch like a hawk so it doesn’t burn!
tip
There’s no need to pre-cook fresh lasagne sheets, although the packet will tell you to do so.
Cut any leftover lasagne into thick strips and use like pappardelle.
Stir a couple of handfuls of spinach into the tomato sauce to add some greenery.
Super quick cheese & red onion galettes
These are the easiest tarts to make and they’re so more ish. They take minutes to prep and taste so good. We had them for lunch with salad yesterday, but they would great for dinner too. When we all get back to socialising you could serve a bite size version of these to guests as appetisers or canapés. Just divide the pastry into smaller rectangles, repeat the steps below with less of the toppings and cook for a shorter amount of time.
I used the red onion chutney I made a few weeks ago, but you could use a good quality shop-bought instead to save time.
Ingredients
Serves 4-6
320g packet pre-rolled puff pastry
6 tbsp sour cream
6 tbsp red onion chutney (recipe here)
200g block Comte cheese, rinds trimmed then grated
1 egg, lightly whisked
method
Take the pastry out of the fridge about an hour before you plan to make the galettes, so it can warm to room temperature. Otherwise it will crack as you open it out.
Preheat the oven to 200ºc.
Open the pastry out keeping it on the parchment wrapping and place on a large baking tray. Use a sharp knife to divide the pastry into six rectangles (cut right through it).
Then score each one with another rectangle 1 ½ cm inside the outer edges (see photo steps below).
Place a tablespoon of sour cream into the middle of each tart and spread out evenly inside the inner rectangle.
Repeat with a tablespoon of chutney, then top with a large pinch of cheese (approx 25-30g), making sure all the toppings are within the inner rectangle.
Carefully brush the egg around the outside border making sure the toppings aren’t spilling on to it at all.
Place in the oven and cook for 18-20 minutes until the pastry is golden brown and has puffed up all around the outside.
Serve with a crisp green salad or coleslaw.
tip
You could use any cheese that isn’t too oily like cheddar and melts well, like Gruyère, goats, Gorgonzola, Camembert.
Sweet potato, lentil & chickpea curry with raita
Here’s my take on a traditional Indian dish called chana masala. I realise I’m being totally inauthentic adding sweet potato and lentils, as this should be made only with chickpeas, but I wanted a slightly different texture and taste this time.
The curry works really well with a side of raita as you have a nice fresh crunch from the cucumber and cooling creaminess from the yoghurt to counteract the spicy heat.
I served ours up with a combination of brown basmati, raita and chapatis (recipe here).
Ingredients
Serves 6-8
1 large onions, half moon slices
2 large garlic cloves, grated
1 tsp garam masala
½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp dried red chilli flakes
¼ tsp turmeric
2 x 400g tins tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato purée
2 x 400g tins chickpeas
1 sweet potato, cubed
150g red lentils, rinsed well
1 tsp sea salt
20-30g fresh coriander, optional
Raita
250ml Greek or plain yoghurt
2 spring onions, sliced finely
15cm cucumber, small cubes
Juice of ½ - 1 lime
½ tsp sea salt
¼ tsp ground cumin
Method
Heat 1 tbsp rapeseed oil in a large pan and then add the onions, frying on low for 10 minutes.
Next add the garlic for 1 minute and then the spices, warming through for 30 seconds.
Pour in the tomatoes, plus 1 ½ tins of water, tomato purée, chickpeas, sweet potato and lentils.
Simmer for 25 minutes.
Mix all the raita ingredients together.
Add the salt and a handful of coriander and stir well.
Serve with basmati rice and or chapatis and extra coriander leaves.
Tip
If you’re making chapatis then get the dough ready before you start on the curry. That way the dough can rest and then you’ll be ready to roll them out and cook while the curry bubbles away.
I’ve listed the coriander as optional as I know a lot of people don’t like it. Personally I think the curry tastes more interesting with it in, but it will still be tasty if left out.
Spinach & cashew pesto
Spinach pesto is a bit lighter and less aromatic than straight-up basil and works really well with the delicate flavour and texture of homemade gnocchi.
Now I realise that making gnocchi from scratch is probably not exactly at the top of your job list in the middle of lockdown when we’re all juggling a million things, so you could easily just use shop-bought or any kind of pasta as a sub - it’ll still be really delicious. The cooking method I recommend for shop-bought gnocchi is frying with olive oil in a hot pan for about 5 minutes, no need to boil. I think you get a better taste and texture that way.
As I haven’t actually made much gnocchi until recently (thank you Lockdown 1 & 3), I haven’t developed my own recipe as yet, so I’ve been using a really reliable one by The Smitten Kitchen if you fancy giving it a go. I’m not quite sure how I could improve on it to be honest, but I’ll experiment with a few different methods over the next few weeks and then develop my own version.
You’ll be pleased to know that the pesto is super easy to make as long as you have a food processor (I know, Nonna would turn in her grave), if not, it’s the traditional Italian way with elbow grease and a pestle and mortar.. way more authentic, but a little more time-consuming!
Ingredients
Serves 8
60g cashews
1 clove garlic
30g parmesan
4 tbsp olive oil
80g spinach
20g basil
1/2 tsp sea salt
Juice of ½ lemon
Method
Preheat the oven to 160ºc and toast the cashews on a baking tray for 6-7 minutes until slightly browned.
Allow the nuts to cool while you get all the other ingredients weighed out.
Put the parmesan in a food processor and blitz to a crumble, then add the nuts and pulse a few times.
Add all the rest of the ingredients and continue to pulse until you have a paste-like texture. You will need to scrape down the sides at least a couple of times to ensure that all the ingredients are mixed evenly.
tip
You can substitute the cashews for pine or hazelnuts if you prefer.
Moroccan lentil & chickpea stew with tahini yoghurt
Is it a soup, or is it a stew?! I’m going with stew today as it ended up so nice and chunky, but you can call it a soup if you prefer! I like to have a big tub of something tasty in the fridge, so there’s an instant lunch or dinner ready for me when either I can’t be bothered to cook, or I’m starving and need to eat immediately! In the winter it’s a stew or soup and in the summer a salad with roasted veggies and grains. So this is what’s in my fridge at the moment and I’ve been loving it. It’s really warming and quick to make, apart from chopping a few veggies, you just basically chuck everything in the pan and leave it for half an hour.
To make this recipe vegan, all you need to do is switch the plain yoghurt for a plant based variety or just whip up the tahini with water, it’ll still make a nice creamy dressing.
Ingredients
Serves 6-8
2 red onions, chopped
2 sticks celery
2 large garlic cloves, grated
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
4 carrots, cubed
1 tbsp rose harissa
2 x 400g chopped tinned tomatoes
1 x 400g tin chickpeas, or 125g dried
150g cavolo nero, stalks removed, chopped roughly
1 ½ tsp sea salt
A handful of fresh coriander leaves
Tahini yoghurt
240ml (12 tbsp) plain yoghurt
6 tbsp tahini
6 tbsp water
1 ½ tsp sea salt
Method
If you’re using dried chickpeas, soak them overnight and then cook in boiling water for about
45-60 minutes.
Heat ½ tbsp olive oil in a large pan and fry the onions and celery for 10 minutes.
Next add the garlic and ground spices, let them warm through for about a minute.
Add the carrots, rose harissa, lentils and tinned tomatoes, plus 3 tins of water.
Simmer with the lid half on for 30 minutes.
Mix the tahini, yoghurt, water and 1 ½ tsp sea salt in a medium sized tub or bowl.
Serve with a drizzle of tahini yoghurt, coriander and a chunk of sourdough or brown rice.
Tip
You could use red lentils instead of green, but they absorb more water so you would need to keep an eye on the stew getting too thick.
If you’re looking for another recipe to use up some rose harissa, then try this Butternut squash & spelt salad, it’s really good and another one you can store in the fridge for tasty lunches, dinners or as a side.
If you don’t have tahini, you can just use plain or coconut yoghurt instead.
Everyday chilli
Chilli is pretty much a vegetarian staple, so it’s good to have a few versions up your sleeve. Here I’ve gone classic style, with soya mince as it’s one way to get my veggie daughter and meat-eating son to eat the same dish. Neither would go for my bean chilli and they definitely wouldn’t tolerate a full mixed veg chilli, so soya mince is a good compromise, plus I can sneak in some sweet potato without anyone complaining too much. Although there’ll probably be a pile of it left on their plates at the end! I just keep presenting them with food they ’think’ they don’t like in the vain hope that eventually they’ll change their minds.
Ingredients
Serves 8
I large onion, chopped finely
1 red pepper, small dice
300g chestnut mushrooms, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, grated
1kg veggie mince (see Tips below for brands I use)
1 ½ tsp cumin
2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 vegetable stock cube (I like Kallo low salt)
3 tbsp tomato purée
2 x 400g tins tomato
1 sweet potato, 1 ½c m cubes
1 x 400g tin kidney beans
2 tsp sea salt
Juice of 1 lime
Method
Heat 1 tbsp olive or rapeseed oil in a large wide bottomed pan.
Add the onions and cook on a low heat for 5 minutes then add the red pepper and garlic. Fry gently for a further 10 minutes.
Next turn up the heat a little and add the mushrooms for 5 minutes and then the soya mince, warm through and then stir in the cumin, smoked paprika and cayenne. Allow the spices to warm for about 30 seconds.
Pour in the tinned tomatoes plus 2 tins of water, the stock cube, tomato purée and sweet potato. Simmer for 20 minutes with the lid on.
Add the kidney beans and simmer with the lid off for a further 15 minutes.
Add the salt and lime juice to finish.
Serve with rice, sour cream, cheese and guacamole. Roasted squash also works really well with chilli as it’s sweetness counterbalances the spicy heat.
Tip
I’ve tried using a few different brands of veggie mince for this dish and I reckon Sainsbury’s Plant Pioneers is the best. Although I think a 50:50 mix of Plant Pioneers plus Vivera also works really well as you get more variation in texture. The Vivera is a bit too strong for me on it’s own as it has quite a smokey taste, but I like it in combination. For this particular chilli I used Plant Pioneers only.
Gnocchi with fresh tomato & spinach sauce
Yesterday’s alternative Sunday dinner. Now there are more vegetarians in the house than meat-eaters I tend to plan a home-comfort type of dish to end the week rather than a roast. This recipe is not only comfort food, but it barely takes any time to make - which is a double win in my book. I’ll definitely make this one again as it got an all round thumbs up from the fam, even from my daughter, who has been unconvinced about gnocchi until now.
Ingredients
Serves 4
1 large garlic clove
4 large vine tomatoes, small dice
4 stalks of basil, stems chopped finely/leaves ripped
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
100ml crème fraîche
40g parmesan
½ tsp sea salt
120g spinach
1kg gnocchi
Method
Preheat the oven to 50ºc.
Heat ½ tbsp olive oil in a large saucepan. Add the garlic and let it fry for 30 seconds until it has started to turn slightly brown.
Next add the tomatoes and basil stalks, simmer for 10 minutes.
Heat ½ tbsp olive oil in a large frying pan and start cooking the gnocchi in batches on a medium heat for about 5 minutes, so they’re browned on both sides. I cooked about a portion at a time and kept in a warm bowl in the oven while I fried the rest.
Add the balsamic to the tomatoes and cook for 1 minute before adding the crème fraîche. Turn the heat to the lowest setting so the sauce doesn’t split. Allow to warm through and then add 20g parmesan, basil leaves and spinach.
Just before serving, stir the gnocchi into the sauce and serve with the rest of the parmesan and a green salad or roasted broccoli.
Fresh tomato & basil sauce
In our house we eat a lot of pasta, so I’m always trying to make different kinds of sauces to change things up a bit. I often make a big batch of tomato sauce using tinned as it’s is good solid classic that is great vfm, but I like to use fresh sometimes as you get quite a different result. Roasting fresh cherry tomatoes with onion and then blitzing gives a creamier and sweeter taste to the sauce, which in my opinion is the posh sister of the tinned version! It’s a bit more expensive as you’re using fresh tomatoes, but the total cost for 4 portions should be around £2, depending on where you shop, so it’s still pretty good value.
Serve with any kind of pasta, fried or roasted gnocchi, grilled/breaded chicken or fish, veggie/meat balls, courgetti, mix with rice and cheese for stuffed peppers or courgettes, mini roast potatoes, or as a French bread pizza (tomato base topped with cheese). Lots of choices!!
Ingredients
Serves 4
1 large onion, sliced in thin half moons
500g baby plum tomatoes
1 garlic clove
3 stems of basil, stalks chopped finely, leaves ripped
½ tsp sea salt
Method
Preheat the oven to 200ºc.
Put the onions, whole tomatoes and unpeeled garlic cloves on a large baking tray, drizzle with oil and then space out so they’re not too crowded
Place in the oven for 20 minutes.
Check and turn with a spatula and put back in for a further 10 minutes.
Squeeze out the cooked garlic on to the tray and then scrape all the tomato mix into a large saucepan.
Pour about 100ml of water onto the tray and deglaze to get all the lovely flavour from roasting the vegetables of it and add to the pan along with approx 100ml of water, salt, the basil stalks and cook gently for 5 minutes.
Next add the basil leaves and salt, blitz the sauce with a hand blender until it has a smooth consistency but leaving some texture.
You might need to add another 50ml of water to get the right consistency though - the same as a normal tomato sauce for pasta.
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.
Mexican black beans
This is one of my favourite bean recipes; it’s super versatile as it works as a side dish with all sorts of Mexican-style dishes: tacos, burritos or fajitas - anything involving some kind of wrap basically. But equally you could serve them with rice, guacamole, cheese, sweet peppers and sour cream, or nachos with spiced Quorn/chicken and all the toppings.
I had the urge for a lunchtime quesadilla today, so I thought I’d make the black beans as a base and then top with fried yellow pepper (the only colour I had, red or orange would be fine too), cheese, fresh coriander and dried chill with a side of guacamole - I’ll share how I put it together tomorrow. It was SO tasty - one of my favourite things to eat and the good thing about spending a little time making the beans today is that I’ve got a pot of ready to use for lunches all next week.
I should mention that this is a very cheap way to get more protein into your diet, I reckon this recipe costs about £1.40 and feeds about 4 people depending on how you serve it.
Ingredients
Serves 4
1 medium onion, chopped finely
1 garlic clove, grated (I use a Microplane)
1 tsp ground cumin
2 x 400g tins of black beans
3/4 tsp sea salt
Juice of half a lime
Method
Heat ½ tbsp olive or rapeseed oil in a saucepan and then add the onions. Fry for about 15 minutes on a low heat until softened.
Next add the garlic and stir for about a minute to cook.
Add the cumin, stir and warm for 30 seconds.
Then pour in the black beans and their water, bring to the boil and then simmer for 25 minutes until a lot of the liquid has evaporated. They shouldn’t be dry like refried beans though.
Add the sea salt and a squeeze of lime.
Speedy noodle stir fry
Here’s a dish I often cook during the week as it’s quick and everyone likes it - a win / win. It’s has taken me a few goes to get the timing and quantities just right for the 4 of us, but I think I’ve nailed it now.
It’s a really adaptable recipe as you can switch the tofu for quorn, chicken or pork if you prefer, and veggies to suit your tastes. Just remember that you might need to increase the cooking time for meat though. Also I have added the vegetables in order of time they take to cook, so just have a think about that if you swap any of them. Longer to cook go in first!
Ingredients
Serves 4
3 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp groundnut oil
4 tbsp mirin
4 tbsp soy sauce,
225g tofu, chopped in approx 1.5cm cubes
3 carrots, chopped in batons
100g sugar snap peas/mangetout, halved
100g baby sweetcorn, chopped in diagonal quarters
2 bak choi or sweetheart cabbage, sliced
1 large clove of garlic, grated
Small thumb of ginger, peeled and grated
2 spring onions, chopped finely
1 red chilli, seeds removed, thinly sliced
300g dried egg noodles
2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
Method
Preheat the oven to 50ºc and warm the serving bowls.
Then make the marinade by mixing the sesame oil, mirin and soy sauce in a tub or bowl.
Next add the tofu and set aside to marinate while you prep the rest of the ingredients so you have everything ready to go before you start cooking.
Boil a kettle full of water for the noodles.
Heat ½ tbsp groundnut oil in a wok and then fry the tofu (or meat, but increase the cook time accordingly) on a med-high heat for 4-5 minutes so the cubes have browned on a couple of sides. Remove and set aside in a bowl, cover and place in the oven.
Fill a pan with boiling water, add the noodles and cook as per the packet instructions.
While the noodles are cooking, start the vegetables: fry the carrots on a med-high heat for 3 minutes until browned a little and then add the sweetcorn for a further 3 minutes.
While the vegetables are cooking, drain he noodles and then drizzle with 1 tbsp of marinade and 1/2 tbsp sesame oil and to stop them sticking. Keep warm in a lidded pan.
Next add the bok choi and mangetout to the carrots, frying for another 2 minutes (you might need to add a little sesame oil at this point).
Then add the garlic and ginger, cooking for 1 minute, before pouring in the remaining marinade and heating through for about 30 seconds.
At this point you can either mix the noodles into the wok, or I like to serve everything separately as I think it’s quicker and there is less chance of the veggies over cooking - it’s easier to mix if you’re only making two portions as there’s more room in the pan. Add the noodles to the warmed bowls and then spoon the veggies and sauce on top.
Finish with spring onion, red chilli, a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds and a wedge of lime.
Tip
The tofu I like best is Tofoo. It’s nice and firm so it fries well and has a very neutral taste which works well with marinades.
Marinate the tofu an hour before cooking to inject more flavour, but don’t worry if you can’t, just a few minutes will still make a difference.
The most important things to do when making any stir fry is to get ALL the ingredients ready before you start cooking, turn the oven on low and warm the serving bowls.
Never overload the pan or your ingredients will steam rather than brown. Cook in batches and store in the oven until the last minute.
Filter by Tag
- blueberry
- BBQ
- Mexican
- Spice blend
- basil
- asparagus
- blueberries
- Prawns
- Thai
- Blog
- Breakfast
- Topping
- Winter
- bone broth
- Nutrition
- black beans
- Christmas
- French
- aubergine
- Spanish
- beans
- banana
- apricot
- broad beans
- Italian
- avocado
- almonds
- banana bread
- biscuits
- adzuki beans
- Indian
- Moroccan
- bologese
- almond
- beetroot
- Asian
- Sweet potato
- broad bean
- Yorkshire
- Yorkshire puddings
- Ottolenghi
- bread
- Honey & Co
- Middle Eastern
- asian
- Nigella Lawson
- bake
- Meera Sodha
- Lepard
- baking
Recent Posts
