Baked Leeks and/or Cauliflower in Cheese Sauce

 

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 4 medium leeks, halved lengthways  (and/or cauliflower florets) 
• 30g butter
• 4 tablespoons plain flour
• 350ml whole milk
• 50g strong cheddar, grated
• 1/2 tsp minced garlic
• salt and (lots of) pepper

Method

• Grease an oven dish and lay leeks (cut side up) in a single layer
• Melt butter, stir in flour until smooth.  Gradually stir in milk over a high heat, whisking all the time and then add the cheese, garlic and salt & pepper
• Pour sauce over the veg and bake for 30 mins at 200C.  

Walnut Cake (Claudia Roden)

 

Fast, simple, light, delicious dessert.  There is no flour so is it a cake at all? No matter, the fusion of walnut and orange flavours is very Mediterranean.  Make sure the nuts are fresh as they have a tendency to spoil with age.

It's a very thin cake  - about 2cm

Serves 4-6

• 200 g walnuts
• 3 large eggs
• 200g caster sugar
• grated zest of 2 medium oranges
• icing sugar for dusting

Method

• Preheat oven to 200C.  Grease a 24cm round non-stick cake or tart tin with a removable base with butter or oil .
• Grind walnuts in a food processor - not too finely
• Whisk the eggs and sugar until pale and thickened.  Add the orange zest and fold in the walnuts until well mixed.
• Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake until firm to the touch.  Claudia says about 40 mins but more like 20 mins in my experience
• Leave to cool before removing from the tin. Dust with icing sugar before serving

Spiced Lentil & Carrot Soup

 

An RTE Recipe

Ingredients

·         1 tbsp Coconut Oil

·         2 celery stalks, diced

·         2 cloves garlic, minced

·         1 medium onion, diced

·         400g carrots, diced

·         140g red lentils

·         2 tsp cumin

·         3 tsp smoked (or plain) paprika

·         1200ml hot vegetable stock

·         1 tbsp Glenisk Natural Yogurt

·         Salt & Pepper

Method

1.    Heat a teaspoon of coconut oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat.

2.    Add the garlic, celery and onion to the pan, reduce the heat and allow the vegetables to sauté.

3.    Once the onions and celery become translucent, add the carrots and allow to sauté for about 5 minutes.

4.    Mix the spices and lentils through and heat gently for about 3 minutes.

5.    Add the vegetable stock and bring the pan to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cover with a lid for about 20 minutes until the lentils have absorbed the stock and plumped up

6.    Remove from the heat and blend the soup with a handheld blender or food processor to your preferred texture.

7.    Serving suggestion: topped with a dollop of yogurt & sprinkle of smoked paprika served with slice of Oat & Seed Yogurt Loaf.

Balsamic Glazed Red Onion

 

Ingredients

• For the onions
• 4 medium red onions (c. 1kg total)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano
•  Salt and black pepper
• For the glaze
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt and black pepper
• 
  
• Method

1. Prepare the onions:

   Preheat the oven to 200C. Slice off any straggly roots from the onions, leaving the firm root centers intact. Cut the onions in half from tip to root. Peel off the skins until all the papery layers are removed. Cut each half into 4 wedges, slicing through the root so that the wedges stay intact.
2. Pack onions into baking dish:

   Pack the onions as tightly as you can into a 1 to 1 1/2 litre baking dish (225mm round or oval, 200mm square).

   Sprinkle the olive oil, balsamic, 1 tablespoon of the oregano, salt, pepper evenly over the top. 

   
3. Roast the onions:

   Cover the baking dish with foil and roast the onions for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and continue roasting the onions uncovered for 30 minutes more.
4. Make the glaze:

   In a bowl, whisk the balsamic, mustard, salt, and pepper. Gradually whisk in the olive oil.
5. Pour the glaze over the roasted onions and return the dish to the oven:

   Continue cooking another 10 minutes, or until the onions are very tender when pierced with the tip of a knife.

6. Serve

7. Sprinkle the onions with the remaining 1 teaspoon oregano before serving

Smokey Fish Pie

 

Everyone has favourite fish pie recipes. This one is mine

4 generous portions

Ingredients

• 900g potatoes,  peeled and diced
• 25g butter
• 4 spring onions, roughly chopped (or 1 regular onion finely chopped)
• 1 tbsp sunflower oil
• 2 garlic cloves finely chopped
• 1 large carrot, cut into matchsticks
• 2 celery stick, finely chopped
• 300g smoked coley or haddock, skinned & bones and cut into chunks
• 300g firm white fish (hake, cod, haddock) skinned & bones and cut into chunks
• 75g butter
• 75g plain flour
• 500ml warm milk
• 100g cheddar cheese, grated
• 3 anchovy fillets
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

• Preheat the oven to 200C
• Boil or steam the potatoes until tender, drain and mash with 25g butter and stir through the spring onions
• Heat the sunflower oil in a frying pan and gently sauté the garlic, carrots and celery until tender.  Remove to a high-sided baking dish with the fish chunks
• Melt the 75g of butter in a saucepan over medium heat.  Add the anchovies and break them up then stir in the flour and whisk in the warm milk until it boils and becomes thick. Stir in three quarters of the cheese and season with salt and pepper
• Pour the sauce over the fish and vegetables.  Gently spread the mashed potatoes over the top and sprinkle over the remaining cheese.
• Bake in the oven at 200C for 35 minutes

Curried Mushrooms

 This one ticks all the boxes for NicheD - Nutritious Inexpensive Convenient Healthy Ethical Delicious - from Bellefontaine 100 Great Indian recipes. And it cooks in one pot.

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

4 tbsp oil

2 green chilli, sliced thinly

1 tsp whole cumin seeds

1 tsp black mustard seeds

2 onions, peeled and chopped

450g mushrooms, sliced

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2cms ginger, grated

1/2 tsp chilli powder

1 tsp ground corriander

1 tsp turmeric

1 tin tomatoes (400g)

50g ground almonds

150 ml yoghurt

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

METHOD

• Heat 1 tbsp oil over moderate heat in a large frying pan and cook chillies until they change colour. Remove and put aside
• In the same pan, add the reamining oil and cook cumin and mustard seeds for a couple of minutes then add oinions, mix and cook until transparent
• Add mushrooms and cook until they soften stirring occasionally
• Add the garlic, ginger and spices and cook for 2 minutes.  Stir in the tomatoes and ground almonds.  Simmer gently for 15 mins,  then stir through the yoghurt and season to taste.  Garnish with the fried chilli and serve with rice, cous couse or upma

Honey and Garlic Salmon

Based on a Cafe Delites recipe Honey Garlic Salmon is a throw together recipe in one pan and a perfect sweet and savoury 5-ingredient garlicky sauce with a hint of lemon!

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time10 mins

Total Time20 mins

Servings: 4 people

Ingredients

• 4 salmon fillets about 200 grams each, skin off or on
• Salt and pepper, to season
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika (mild, sweet or smokey)
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped or minced
• 4 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon water
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice, (plus extra to serve)
• Lemon wedges to serve

Instructions

• Season salmon with salt, pepper and paprika. Set aside.
• Heat the butter in a pan over medium-high heat until melted. Add the garlic and sauté for about a minute, until fragrant. Pour in the honey, water and soy sauce; allow the flavours to heat through and combine. Add in the lemon juice; stir well to combine all of the flavours together.
• Add the salmon steaks to the sauce in the pan; cook each fillet (skin-side down if there's any skin) for 3-4 minutes or until golden, while basting the tops with the pan juices. Season with salt and pepper, to taste (if desired).
• Optional -- Add the lemon wedges around the salmon (adds a stronger lemon taste). 

  Baste salmon one more time then transfer the pan to a hot grill for a further 5-6 minutes, or until the tops of the salmon are nicely charred, and the salmon is cooked to your liking.
• To serve, drizzle with the sauce and a squeeze of lemon juice. Serve with steamed vegetables; over rice or spinach or with a salad.

Firecracker Salmon

 

Based on a Cafe Delites recipe,  this oven Baked Firecracker Salmon fillets with an incredible sauce is an easy to make salmon recipe in minutes! Flakey on the inside with seared, crispy edges, then finished off in the oven to bake until tender!

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time20 mins

Total Time30 mins

Servings: 4 people

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon minced ginger
• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons chili sauce of choice
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar 
• pinch of crushed red chili flakes
• 2 teaspoons sriracha (adjust to suit your heat preference)
• 4 skin off salmon fillets
• Salt and pepper to season
• 1 teaspoon paprika (mild, smoky or spicy)
• Chives chopped

Instructions

• In a shallow bowl, whisk together the minced garlic, minced ginger, olive oil, soy sauce, chili sauce, brown sugar, red chili flakes and sriracha to combine.
• Season salmon with salt, pepper and paprika. Add salmon fillets to the marinade, turning each to evenly coat in the sauce.
• Cover with plastic wrap and let marinate in the fridge for 2 hours or overnight (if time allows).
• Preheat oven to 200°C. Heat an oven proof pan over medium heat with a small drizzle of oil.
• Sear salmon for 2-3 minutes on both sides, undisturbed, to get nice crust. (You may need to sear in batches depending on the size of your skillet.)

  Transfer to plate and repeat with remaining salmon.
• Return all salmon fillets to the pan. Alternatively, transfer to baking dish.Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until cooked to your liking.
• Brush with any remaining marinade and sprinkle with chopped chives

Monkfish, Garlic and Ginger Asian Style

 This is really delicious as well as being fast and healthy - based loosely on a Rick Stein recipe

Serves 2

• 350-400g monkfish tail, filleted

• 1/2 tbsp finely shredded root ginger

• 1 large garlic clove, finely chopped (or use chopped wild garlic if available)

• 1 tsp sesame oil

• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce

• 1 spring onion, finely sliced

Method

• Cut the monkfish tail into thin slices and arrange in a single layer on a plate that will fit into a large saucepan.

• Mix the ginger, garlic and spring onion together and place a small amount on each slice of fish

• Add 1cm of boiling water to a large saucepan.  Bring it back the boil and and place the plate on some sort of trivet to keep it clear of the water. Put the lid on and boil for 4 minutes.

• Meanwhile, mix and heat the sesame oil and soy sauce (microwave or small pot)

• Arrange the cooked fish on serving plates,  add any liquid from the cooked fish to the sesame/soy mixture and spoon over the fish slices.

 Serve with boiled or fried rice

Really Good Roast Chicken

 Really good roast chicken is one of the most delicious meals and I have been experimenting with different approaches for years. A recent particularly tasty effort provoked a request to record what I did as I’m inclined to forget and fail to make it as nice the next time.  The main lesson is to have liquid in the roasting pan for part of the cooking time which keeps the meat moist and gives a particularly flavoursome gravy (or jus).  Essential - start with a good quality bird - at least free range if not organic. Cheap meat tends to involve cruelty.

Smear the bottom of the roasting tin with oil and cover with sliced onion. Place the chicken on top (you may like to put a few slices of lemon and/or garlic cloves in the cavity) and add some chopped carrots which have been tossed in oil. Place in preheated oven at 190C for 20 mins.  

To half a glass of water,  add a good splash each of worcestershire sauce and vermouth or wine and heat (in microwave).  After the 20 mins, turn the oven down to 170C and pour half the liquid around the chicken.  Add more veg around the bird e.g. parsnips.

After another 30 mins,  add the remainder of the (reheated) liquid and any softer veg e,g, chopped peppers and roast for another 30 mins (for an average sized chicken) - so 1 hour 20 mins in total.

Remove the chicken to a warm serving dish and the veg to a warm bowl.  Put the roasting tin on the hob and add a splash of soy sauce and tabasco (or other pepper sauce) and heat.  You may wish to add a tablespoon of Bisto in a few tablespoons of water to the tin to thicken it. Taste and adjust seasoning

If you need a hot oven to crisp up some roast potatoes,  the chicken and veg can be kept warm with a foil cover.

That’s it.  Really moist chicken, delicious veg and the most flavoursome gravy/jus with minimum effort.