04May / 2016

How do you like your eggs in the morning?

Poached eggs and asparagus

I can’t take much of the credit for this because my boyfriend cooked the eggs using the tips from a TV programme he saw and I cooked the asparagus! However, I decided to use lemon juice and not vinegar and it actually worked! I thought, I should really write this down or else I’m going to forget how to do it next time.

The other thing to note is that if you use an electric oven then it’s very difficult to keep a steady temperature, my hobs go up to 6 and we had to hover between 3 and 4 to keep the bubbles going but avoiding a rolling boil.

The other thing to note is that your eggs should be as fresh as possible. The less fresh they are, the more runny the egg white is and less likely it is to keep together rather than spread out all over the pan. You can test fresh eggs by making sure they sink to the bottom of a glass of water, or just use ones you’ve bought recently. If you’re fortunate to get them straight from the hen, all the better!

Serves 2

1 lemon

2 eggs

14 sticks of asparagus

1 tbsp olive oil

Salt and Pepper

Juice the lemon and boil the kettle.
Heat one hob to a medium heat and place on there a medium saucepan with the boiled water in it.
Heat another hob to a medium -high heat and put on a griddle pan. Drizzle over the olive oil.
Simmer the water so that there are bubbles are the bottom but surface is pretty much flat. Keep it at that state by altering the hob dial as you go.
Put one egg, still in its shell, in the water and roll it around with a spoon for 10 seconds. Put to one side on a plate and do the same with the other egg.
Add the asparagus to the griddle pan at this point, cook for 3-4 minutes turning halfway through.
Meanwhile, add the lemon juice to the water and stir gently.
Then crack the eggs into the water one at a time and simmer gently for 3 minutes.
Bring together any stray egg white with a metal spoon.
Arrange the asparagus onto plates.
When the time is up, place the eggs on top of the asparagus and season with a pinch of salt and pepper.

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04May / 2016

Yoghurt, nut, seed and berry bircher

I was getting a bit fed up of apple porridge every day so I decided to make a bircher. Also the weather is getting warmer and we are getting into berry season. Make sure that you make the yoghurt mixture the night before you want to eat it. The mixture will soak up the millet and soften the seeds.

The yoghurt mixture seems a little sloppy at first but when you refrigerate it overnight, it thickens up. I did start by using only yoghurt but not only was this expensive, it also had a bit of a cement like consistency – not good! This is perfect as it has 2 tablespoons of yoghurt which is exactly the amount my nutritionist advised that I eat on a daily basis. Providing it was natural, full fat, live yoghurt of course! RNI of calcium is 700mg and this has about 110g of calcium in it which is a good start!

I don’t actually measure out 120ml of water, I have a 1/3 cup measure (79ml) which I use for the millet and add a full and about a half measure of water using the same container.

You can use a jar but I use tupperware for convenience. It also means you can grab your breakfast and run out of the door and eat it at work or after a workout.

Serves 1

1/3 cup of millet

120ml of water (or 1/3 cup + half of the 1/3 cup)

2 tbsp full fat live yoghurt

2 tsp each of pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and golden linseed

10 pistachio nuts, shelled

A handful of fresh berries e.g. about 3 sliced strawberries, 5 raspberries, 12 blueberries.

Mix the millet, water, yoghurt, nuts and seeds together and place into a container and put into the fridge overnight.
In the morning, add the fresh berries and serve.
Delicious!

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04May / 2016

Thai Crab Cakes and Papaya Salad

I was a little worried that the crab cakes would come out floppy but once cooled they were the perfect consistency. If you want to eat straight away it might be worth making the crab cakes in advance ready to go in the oven and then leaving them out for half an hour to dry out a little.

Makes 5 lunches

Crab Cakes

75g celeriac

6 lime leaves

zest of 1 1/2 limes

1 stick of lemon grass

3 spring onions

7cm ginger root

2 small/1 big clove of garlic

2 small/1 big chilli

3 170g (120g drained) cans of white crab meat

3 tbsp millet or oats

1 tbsp olive oil

Salad

2 handfuls of bean sprouts

1 – 2 red peppers

1/2 chinese cabbage or any crunchy lettuce

1 papaya

1 bulb of fennel

3 tbsp cashew nuts

1 large handful of coriander leaves

Dressing

1 1/2 limes (use the zested ones as we just need the juice)

3 tbsp coconut milk

Preheat the oven to 170C.
Boil the kettle and heat up a hob.
Remove the tough outer skin of the celeriac and cube into 1cm pieces.
Add to a medium saucepan with boiling water and bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes until soft.
Meanwhile, top and tail and peel the other crab cake ingredients as necessary, except for the millet and the crab. Roughly chop and blitz in a food processor and leave it in there.
Drain the crab and flake into a large bowl.
When the celeriac is done, drain well, pat dry with kitchen roll and add to the food processor and blitz once again. Add the contents of the food processor to the bowl with the millet to soak up some of the moisture. Mix well.
Oil a couple of baking trays. Using your hands shape the crab cake mixture into little patties about 4cm in diameter. Arrange on the baking trays.
Cook for 25 minutes turning halfway through. ( You might want to wash up the bowl at this point unless you have more than one!)
To make the salad, simply chop out the core of the pepper and discard. Cut into 5mm strips and cut each strip in half.
Shred the cabbage.
Cut off the core of the fennel, cut in half lengthways so the pieces aren’t too big and shred using a mandolin.
Remove the skin and the seeds from the papaya and chop into bite sized chunks.
Finely chop the coriander.
Add all the salad ingredients including the bean sprouts and cashews to a large bowl.
Mix the coconut milk and juice of the limes together and use that to dress the salad.
Arrange into bowls/tupperware and top with the crab cakes when you are ready to serve.

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04May / 2016

Refried Beans, Coconut Green Rice, Grilled Peppers and Avocado

I decided to cook this to use up some ingredients I had in the fridge but it turned out rather tasty so I will write it down and definitely cook it again! The refried beans I have cooked many times and go well with tacos if you want to skip the meat as well. I don’t add any spices to the beans as I just enjoy the sweetness from the onion to flavour them but you could use spices such as cumin, coriander, smoked paprika if you wanted an extra kick to the recipe. The good thing about having things like limes, coriander, coconut milk and peppers in the house is that you can go either way – Thai or Mexican! As you might have guessed – two of my favourite cuisines!

Serves 1

Rice:

60g brown rice

75g spinach

a handful of fresh coriander

1 tbsp coconut milk

Refried Beans:

1 onion

3 tsp of olive oil

1 clove of garlic

1 can of kidney beans

100ml vegetable stock

salt and pepper

Sides:

1/2 each of two different coloured peppers

1/2 avocado

1/2 lime

salt and pepper

fresh coriander to garnish

Boil the kettle and heat up 2 hobs, preheat the grill to medium high.
Put the rice into plenty of boiling water, bring up to the boil and then simmer for 25 minutes
In the meantime, prepare everything else.
Blitz the coriander and spinach in a food processor until fine
Heat 2 tsp oil in a small saucepan and then turn down to low (3).
Dice the onion and add to the saucepan to slowly cook through for 10 minutes until translucent. Any time the pan gets too hot or there is no oil left, pour in a splash of water from the kettle until it has evaporated or been absorbed. We want the onions soft and sweet not crunchy.
Meanwhile cut 2 sides off each pepper, discard any internal flesh and cut each side into 2. Line a grill pan with foil and put under the grill skin side up. This should take about 10 – 15 minutes to brown. You can either brown the skin or char it black and remove it at the end.
Remove the skin and slice the avocado half. Dress with the juice from half the lime, salt and pepper.
Crush in the garlic into the pan of onions and stir fry for 1 minute.
Drain and rinse the beans in a colander and add to the pan with the stock. Turn up high and cook for about 5 minutes until nearly all of the stock has evaporated or been absorbed.
Add a pinch of salt and pepper and mash in the pan. Then add the last teaspoon of oil and a splash of water if it looks too dry and refry the beans on a medium heat.
Drain the rice when ready and return it to the pan. Stir in the spinach and coriander mixture and the coconut milk. Return to the hob to heat through for a minute.
Arrange all on a plate and serve.

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01May / 2016

Thai Steamed Sea Bass with Sesame Noodles, Garlic Pak Choi and Beetroot

My mum is on a Slimming World diet which doesn’t allow oil unless you count it as a syn. So I decided to create something that she could cook. This recipe does include oil but you can omit it as it’s not used in the cooking process or you could swap the noodles for cauliflower rice if necessary. To make cauliflower rice, simply blitz up raw cauliflower in a food processor until fine, put in a bowl covered in cling film with a small slit in the top and microwave for 2 minutes. I definitely cook this for her next time she comes around as she loves fish, loves Thai food and it’s really tasty! I bought my thai ingredients from an oriental wholesaler, they were very cheap. I have about 100 lime leaves in my freezer now!

Serves 2

Paste:

6cm ginger root

1 garlic clove

Juice of 2 limes

4 lime leaves

2 tbsp water

1 birds eye chilli

1 stick of lemon grass

2 large handfuls of fresh coriander

Fish

2 sea bass filleted or 4 sea bass fillets

Salt and Pepper

Vegetables

2 fresh raw beetroot

2 pak choi

1 clove of garlic

Noodles

2 nests of wholewheat noodles

1 tsp toasted sesame oil

1 tsp sesame seeds

Unsweetened desiccated coconut to serve (optional)

Preheat the oven to 200C.
Peel the ginger and lemongrass and blend it together with the other paste ingredients in the food processor.
Get 2 1 metre pieces of kitchen foil to make your 2 packets for your fish, 1 per person. Divide the 2 portions of fish between the 2 pieces of foil and place them in the middle with space either side to seal. First, lay the fish skin side up and season with salt and pepper. Then turn them over and spread on the paste on each of the fillets.
For each packet, bring the two ends together and scrunch so that there is some space above the fish to make steam. Then seal the sides.
Place in the oven on a baking tray for 15 minutes, then open each packet up and bake for a further 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the vegetables and noodles.
Boil the kettle
Meanwhile, chop off the root and tops from the beetroot, scrub any mud and remove any gnarly bits with a knife. Using a mandolin on its biggest setting (about 2mm) cut the beetroot into slices. Put in a small saucepan with the boiling water and simmer for 10 minutes.
Put a large dry non stick frying pan on a medium heat.Slice the pak choi lengthways into 5mm thick slices. Add to the pan and wait for it to sizzle. Add about 5mm of water from the kettle to the bottom of the pan. Crush in a clove of garlic. If all the water evaporates, add more, don’t let it go dry until near the end. Cook for 3-4 minutes each side.
Add boiling water from the kettle to a medium saucepan and simmer the noodles for 5 minutes with a pinch of salt.
Once cooked, drain and return to the pan, stir in the sesame oil and sesame seeds.
Plate up and sprinkle on the coconut if using.

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19Apr / 2016

Broccoli, Almond and Tahini Soup

This soup was a happy accident. I forgot I already bought broccoli and also had some leftover. It’s a great way to use up leftovers and surprisingly filling. I also realised recently that almonds have quite a bit of protein in them so that’s probably the reason. It was delicious! If you have the vegetable stock already made and in the freezer it’s also very quick to make.

Serves 2

2 heads of broccoli

100g whole almonds

10g butter (optional)

1 1/2 tsp tahini

400ml hot vegetable stock

Salt to taste

Cut off the florets from the head of broccoli so you’re just left with the stalks. Set aside.
Trim off any gnarly bits from the stalks and chip into large chunks (5cm long)
Boil and then simmer the stalks and almonds in water with a pinch of salt for 15 minutes.
Add the florets and simmer for a further 5 minutes.
Drain and reserve some of the cooking water. Put the vegetables and nuts back in the pan.
Add the stock and butter and blitz with a hand blender until it is as smooth as you can get it. The almonds will remain a little chunky.
Season to taste. If it’s looking a little thicker than you would like, add in the reserved cooking water.
Swirl in the tahini and serve.

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19Apr / 2016

Stuffed Peppers with Non Cheese Cheesy Topping

This week I’m trying to eat more vegetarian food for my health, my wallet and for ethical reasons. However, whenever I eat veggie I try and make sure that I get protein from another source.

Serves 2

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion

1 clove garlic

1/2 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp dried oregano

50g brown rice

1 can quality chopped tomatoes

1 tbsp tomato puree

700ml boiled water

50g red lentils

3 large or 4 medium red peppers

1 courgette

Salt and pepper

Topping

1/2 tbsp olive oil

1 leek

90g celeriac

4 sun dried tomatoes

4 sprigs of thyme

5 tbsp creme fraiche

To serve

1 aubergine

Salt and Pepper

100g spinach

Pinch of grated nutmeg

Splash of boiled water

Preheat the oven to 200C.
Heat 1/2 tbsp olive oil in a medium saucepan on the hob.
Peel and finely chop the onion. Saute in the saucepan on a medium heat for 5 minutes.
Fill and boil the kettle
Crush in the garlic and stir fry for a further minute
Add the tomatoes, tomato puree, herbs, salt and pepper, 700ml of boiled water and rice. Bring to the boil and simmer for 40 minutes until the rice is cooked. Add the lentils 20 minutes before the end. You can cook let this cool if it’s ready too soon as it will be baked in the oven at the end.
Meanwhile, heat the rest of the oil (1/2 tbsp) in a medium saucepan on a medium heat.
Slice the courgette into 5mm slices and each slice into quarters. Saute for 10 minutes then set aside.
While the courgette is cooking start to prepare the peppers. Cut each pepper into half and remove the stalk and the seeds.
Line a baking tray with foil and place the peppers face down onto it. Roast in the oven for 10 minutes and then leave on the side to cool.
Cut the aubergines in half lengthways and each half into 3 wedges. Rub with oil, sprinkle over salt and pepper and bake in the lower part of the oven for 8 minutes with the skin side down and then 4 minutes on each side.
Heat the oil for the topping in a large saucepan on a medium high hob.
Roughly chop the leek into small pieces as well as the sun dried tomato. Cut off the tough outer edge of the celeriac and grate. Pick the leaves from the thyme.
Stir fry the leek, sun dried tomato, celeriac and thyme in the oil for 4 minutes.
Add the creme fraiche and stir fry for another 2 minutes.
Blitz the topping in a food processor until it’s as smooth as is possible.
Stir the courgettes into the rice, tomato and lentil mixture. Fill the pepper halves with the mixture right to the top.
Spoon on the topping and roast for 10 minutes. Warm the aubergine by putting it into the bottom part of the oven.
Boil the kettle and 2 minutes before the end, put the spinach with the pinch of nutmeg in a saucepan with a splash of water and stir until wilted.
Arrange on a plate and serve.

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17Apr / 2016

Falafel Salad with Tahini Dressing

Apologies for not including the carrot in the picture, it was hiding in my grater and I completely forgot about it!

Makes 5 lunches

Falafel

200g dried chickpeas (makes about 400g when rehydrated)

1 onion

1 clove of garlic

1 handful of fresh flat leaf parsley (leaves of)

1 handful of fresh coriander (leaves of)

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp coriander

A pinch of cayenne pepper

A pinch of all spice

10 cardamom pods

1 egg

1 1/2 tbsp olive oil

Salad

1 large carrot

2 red peppers

1/2 cucumber

5 medium sized tomatoes

1/2 red cabbage

70g rocket

15-20 kalamata olives

Dressing

1 lemon

2 1/2 tbsp live full fat yohurt

2 tbsp tahini

To serve

1 tbsp sesame seeds

Soak the chickpeas overnight.
In the morning, wash through twice, put on the boil and simmer for 45 minutes until soft
Put a small frying pan on a medium heat and add 1/2 a tbsp of the oil
Dice the onion and saute on a medium heat for 5 minutes
Crush the garlic clove into the same pan and saute for a further minute
Use a pestle and mortar to grind the cardamom pods and remove the outer shells.
Drain the chickpeas and add with the cooked onion, garlic, cardamom and all the other ingredients for the falafel apart from the oil into a food processor. Blitz until everything is mixed but still slightly chunky.
Shape into small balls (about 4cm in diameter) and flatten slightly to make a patty.
Put a clean frying pan on a medium heat, add a little more oil and fry the falafel. The ones in the centre need only 3 minutes per side but as you move the ones that are done to the edge, the others will need a little longer. Add a little oil at a time so it isn’t soaked up all at once.
Once done leave the falafel to cool.
Slice the red cabbage into wedges and remove the stalk. Using a mandolin on the thinnest setting, shred the cabbage.
Cut the cucumber into 3 and slice each piece lengthways using the mandolin on the thickest setting. Cut each tomato into quarters and remove the stalk. Slide each quarter into 3 slivers.
Peel, top, tail and grate the carrot.
Remove the stalk and seeds from the peppers and dice small (about 5mm)
Squeeze the juice from the lemon into a bowl, add the yoghurt and tahini and stir vigorously.
Arrange the salad (not forgetting the rocket and olives) with the falafel on top, drizzle over the dressing and sprinkle over the sesame seeds.

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10Apr / 2016

Wholemeal Spelt Tagliatelle with Roasted Aubergine and Tomato

Sorry to labour the point about good quality tomatoes but it makes all the difference! I used wholemeal spelt tagliatelle in this recipe but if you can’t find it, use wholemeal tagliatelle instead, I know they definitely sell it in Sainsbury’s. I managed to find wholemeal spelt pasta in Rome and also in Home Sense! Both times it gave the ingredients in Italian: farina di farro. This is a quick, simple recipe and really good after doing exercise. I garnished with fresh marjoram as I have it growing in my garden and it tastes a little like oregano but this is optional!

Serves 1

1 aubergine

1 tbsp olive oil

2 medium good quality fresh tomatoes

1/2 can good quality chopped tomatoes

2 balls of wholemeal tagliatelle/100g other wholemeal pasta

1 tsp dried oregano

salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 200C
Chop the aubergine into 1cm thick rounds and then cut right across each round 3 times to make into bite sized segments.
Put the aubergine into the medium sized roasting tin and drizzle with the oil and season. Toss through the with your hands to ensure everything is evenly coated.
Put into the oven and set the time for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile chop each tomato into quarters, remove the green part of the core and chop each quarter into 2. Season with salt and pepper.
Boil the kettle for the pasta and preheat a hob at a medium heat (4).
2 minutes before the aubergine timer has finished, add the boiled water and pasta to a medium saucepan on the hob. Bring to the boil and simmer for 12 minutes or until the pasta is al dente.
Once the 10 minutes is up, bring the aubergines out of the oven and use a fish slice to scrape them up and turn them over. Add the fresh tomatoes and return to the oven for 8 minutes.
Once the 8 minutes are up, take the roasting tin out of the oven, pour in the canned tomatoes, mix and return to the oven for 2 minutes.
One the pasta is cooked, drain. Take the tin out of the oven, add the pasta and oregano to the sauce and mix so that the pasta absorbs all of the lovely flavours.
Plate up and enjoy!

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10Apr / 2016

Mango Chicken Salad with Lime and Coriander Mayonnaise

I will stretch this out to a week’s worth of lunches but you might want to add more chicken and spices if you think you will need more sustenance. When you make mayonnaise from scratch you realise just how much oil is in there! However, you can also make sure that you only put in the oil that you like and have much more control over the flavour. The mint and mango combination reminds me of mojitos – delicious!

Makes 4 – 5 lunches

For the chicken

3 chicken breasts

1 tsp dried thyme

2 small or 1 large clove of garlic

1 tsp smoked paprika

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1 pinch of cayenne pepper

salt and pepper

For the lime mayonnaise

1 medium sized egg

1/4 tsp salt

10 tbsp olive oil (or other light oil of your choice)

1/2 lime

1 large handful of coriander leaves

For the salad

1 large red pepper

1 courgette

250g mango chunks

small handful of mint

1/2 lime

100g baby leaf spinach

Preheat the oven to 200C
Put slashes 4 into the chicken each side going against the grain so that it will cook quicker and you can get more flavour into it.
Add the thyme, spices and seasoning and rub into the meat.
Crush over the garlic and push it into the slashes in the meat.
Place the chicken breasts in a small roasting tray and put in the oven for 12 minutes each side.
While the chicken is cooking, prepare the mayonnaise.
Crack the egg into a food processor and add the salt. Blend the mixture and add the oil, one tablespoon at a time until the mixture is thickened but not too firm. We want it to be a dressing and not a dipping sauce.
Add the juice from the lime half and coriander and blitz again until all of the ingredients are mixed and the coriander is chopped finely.
Now for the salad. Chop the pepper into 5 mm strips discarding the centre with the seeds. Chop each strip in half so they are easier to eat without chopping.
Chop the courgette lengthways and using a mandolin, thinly slice so that you have half moons.
Finely chop the mint and chop the mango into bite sized chunks if it isn’t small enough already. Add all of the salad ingredients into a bowl. Squeeze in the other half of the lime and toss to dress.
When the time is up, check the chicken is completely cooked through otherwise return it to the oven and keep checking every 2 minutes. It should be white all the way through with no pink.
Leave the chicken to rest for 5 minutes before serving.
If you want to serve the chicken warm then chop it into bitesized pieces, otherwise leave it to cool and rip along the grain and the slashes.
Serve the chicken on top of the salad and drizzle over the mayonnaise dressing.

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How do you like your eggs in the morning?

Poached eggs and asparagus

Yoghurt, nut, seed and berry bircher

Yoghurt, nut, seed and berry bircher

Thai Crab Cakes and Papaya Salad

Thai Crab Cakes and Papaya Salad

Refried Beans, Coconut Green Rice, Grilled Peppers and Avocado

Refried Beans, Coconut Green Rice, Grilled Peppers and Avocado

Thai Steamed Sea Bass with Sesame Noodles, Garlic Pak Choi and Beetroot

Thai Steamed Sea Bass with Sesame Noodles, Garlic Pak Choi and Beetroot

Broccoli, Almond and Tahini Soup

Broccoli, Almond and Tahini Soup

Stuffed Peppers with Non Cheese Cheesy Topping

Stuffed Peppers with Non Cheese Cheesy Topping

Falafel Salad with Tahini Dressing

Falafel Salad with Tahini Dressing

Wholemeal Spelt Tagliatelle with Roasted Aubergine and Tomato

Wholemeal Spelt Tagliatelle with Roasted Aubergine and Tomato

Mango Chicken Salad with Lime and Coriander Mayonnaise

Mango Chicken Salad with Lime and Coriander Mayonnaise

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