Author: amy

Quorn & Spinach Casserole

350g Quorn pieces

1 large onion roughly chopped

2 large carrots cut into cubes

1 large glass of dry white wine

2 bay leaves

1 large potato cut into small pieces

300ml boiling water

2 Kallo chicken stockcubes (or veggie)

1 dessert spoon corn flour

6 leafy stems parsley

– stems finely chopped

– leaves roughly chopped

4 large handfuls of spinach leaves, finely chopped

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

 

Heat a tbs of olive oil in a Le Creuset casserole pan on 7. Add the quorn and brown it off, stirring from time to time, add more oil if necessary. Once brown, reduce the heat to 5 add the onions and a large pinch of salt and cook until the onions are soft.

 

Add the white wine and bay leaves, using a spoon to scape the bottom of the pan and reduce by half. Add the carrots and potato, the stock cubes and boiling water and the parsley stalks. Reduce the heat to 4, add some black pepper and cook with the lid off stirring from time to time until the potato is cooked (about 30 mins).

Mix the corn flour with a little cold water so it is runny. Pour in half to the casserole and stir well, if it is still not thick enough add the rest and stir again. Add the parsley and stir.

Add the spinach on top and cover for a couple of minutes until wilted. Stir well and check the seasoning and serve.

Goes well with roast turnips and some green veg.

amyLeave a comment

Aloo Gobi – Cauliflower & Potato Curry with Chickpea Flour Pancake

Serves 4 for large mains or 8 as a side

For the curry

1 large onion roughly chopped

1 heaped tsp grated ginger 

2 cloves garlic roughly chopped

1 green chilli roughly chopped

1 tin chopped tomatoes 

1 small cauliflower cut into bite size pieces

2 medium potatoes cut into small dice (bite size)

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp ground cumin

2 tbs sunflower or coconut oil

1/2 tsp turmeric (or haldi)

1 tsp curry powder

1 tsp garam masala

Salt and pepper

Water

Half bunch chopped coriander and yoghurt to serve

Chickpea Pancake

Serves 2 as a main

1/2 cup chickpea flour

Sunflower oil

Water

Salt and pepper

Heaped tbs chopped coriander

Method

Cook the potatoes until just tender, just before they are ready add the cauliflower for the last couple of minutes, they should be pretty crunchy still. Drain and set aside.

Heat a Le Creuset on number 6. Meanwhile put the onion, ginger, garlic and chilli in a jug and use the stick blender to make a paste or chuck it in the food processor in the smallest part and blitz. 

Add the oil to the pan and add the mustard and cumin seeds and fry until popping a little, then add the onion paste and fry for a few mins. Add the tinned tomatoes, and the powdered cumin, curry and garam masala and stir well, cook for a few mins stirring regularly. Add some water to slacken off the paste and add the potato and cauliflower to the pan. Stir and turn the heat down to 4 maybe 3, it should just be gently cooking, not boiling.

Heat a large black frying pan on 7. Put the chickpea flour in a medium bowl and add about 1/4 cup water and stir well with a fork to make a smooth paste. Then add some more water you want the mix to be about the consistency of single cream/pancake batter. Add the coriander and season well. 

Add some oil to the frying pan (about 1/2 tbs) and swish around. Add the pancake mix and turn the pan so it is well distributed. Leave until you can see bubbles forming and bursting and that the bottom is brown (it will be about 4-5 mins) then flip over with a fish knife. You might need to add a little more oil…

Check the seasoning of the curry and add more garam masala if needed and some more water if it is too thick. 

Serve with the pancake cut into triangles and some yoghurt and fresh coriander on top. 

amyLeave a comment

Lentil Cottage Pie

Serves 8-10

Olive oil

2 diced onions

2 carrots diced into small cubes

2 sticks celery diced into small cubes

250g dried red lentils

1 tin tomatoes or 2/3 jar passata

1 tbsp sun-dried tomato paste

500ml stock (veg or chicken)

Salt and black pepper

6-8 tbs frozen peas

1Kg floury potatoes cut into roast potato size pieces

500g sweet potatoes cut into roast potato size pieces

Skimmed milk

Grated hard cheese like cheddar (optional)

Warm the olive oil in the green Le Creuset on 6 and add the onion, carrot and celery with a large pinch of salt and fry until soft. Once soft add the tomato paste, tinned tomatoes (or passata) and stir well and then add the stock and lentils and stir again, turn the heat down to 5 and add the lid. Keep checking every few minutes and add more water if necessary (it can get dry).

Preheat the oven to 185C (fan) if cooking immediately.

Boil the potatoes while the sauce is cooking and drain and allow the steam to evaporate. Mash well with enough milk to make a smooth mash and season well with salt and pepper.

Check the lentils are cooked, add the frozen peas and season the mix well then smooth down. Ideally allow to cool so it forms a hard base for the mash but not essential.

Add the mash in dollops to the top and carefully smooth down and then fork over. If using the grated cheese sprinkle over the top.

Bake for 30 mins until the top is golden and allow to stand for 5 mins before serving with any green veg.

amyLeave a comment

Arepas

Makes 4 arepas

1 cup  PAN flour
1.25 cups water
Pinch of salt
1 dsp olive oil

Put the water oil and salt in a bowl and stir. Gradually add the PAN flour and stir until it forms a ball. If too stiff add a little more water. Knead for a min by just grabbing and squeezing the dough. Cover and leave to rest for 10 mins.

While the dough is resting heat a black frying pan on 6 for at last 5 mins to warm through.

Form 4 balls from the dough and flatten into about 1.5-2cm disks. Add a little olive oil to the pan and brush around to cover the base. Fry for 7-8 mins each side until golden.

Rest for 5 mins  before cutting open like a pitta bread and fill.

amyLeave a comment

Chilli non Carne

Depending on what you are serving with this will make 10-12 portions.

Ingredients
400-500g green lentils
3 red onions (or 2 large) finely diced
2 medium carrots finely diced
2 sticks of celery finely diced
4 cloves of garlic grated/mashed
Olive oil
2 heaped tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp ground allspice
1 cinnamon stick or 1 flat tsp ground cinnamon
3 bay leaves
2 birds eye chillis finely chopped
2 dried chipotle chillis (rehydrated in some hot water for 10 mins and then finely chopped)
3 tbs cider vinegar
1-2 dsp of Marmite
2 x 400g tins of good quality chopped tomatoes
2 tbs ketchup
1 heaped tbs dark brown sugar
1 heaped dsp of cocoa powder
1.2l (ish) of boiling water
2 x 400g tins of kidney beans (optional, black beans also work)

To serve
Grated cheese like a strong cheddar
Chopped fresh coriander
Finely sliced radishes
Jalapeños from jar chopped a bit
Creme fraiche if it is very hot
Salted tortilla chips/rice/jacket potato/cauliflower rice/roast squash

Hydrate the chipotle in hot water and set aside before chopping.

In a very large and deep pan, sweat the onion, celery and carrot and a large pinch of salt on a medium heat until soft (at least 10 mins) then add the garlic, spices, and chillis and stir and cook for a couple of mins.

Add the tomatoes and swill out each tin filled with about 1/3 cold water into the chilli. Add all the other ingredients EXCEPT the kidney beans and cook on a low heat for at least an hour, stirring regularly. Keep checking and add more water if your lentils are thirsty. Add the kidney beans about 20 mins before you want to eat. Season at the end, not while it is cooking.

Serve with the any of the listed schizzle on top.

amyLeave a comment

Chorizo, Kale and Chickpeas (quick)

Serves 3 normals or 2 Jamies

10-15cm piece of skinny chorizo chopped into small pieces

Pinch chili flakes

Jar of good chickpeas

3 large handfuls of kale, stalks removed and chopped well

Lemon juice

Eggs

Fry the chorizo on a medium heat until golden, add the chilli flakes and chickpeas and a pinch of salt and cook for 5 mins stirring often.

Warm some oil in a frying pan.

Add the kale to the chickpea mix and wilt (not too much, keep some crunch) and add squeeze of lemon juice and season well. 

Quickly fry the eggs and serve on top of the kale and chickpea mix.

amyLeave a comment

Kale Pesto

2.5 cups of kale (no stalks)

0.5 cup olive oil (good quality)

0.25 cup either toasted pine nuts or almonds

juice one large lemon

1 tsp Maldon salt

Put everything except the nuts in the food processor and blitz, scrape down the sides and repeat. Add the nuts and blits until broken up but not totally smooth. 

Check the salt.

Done

amyLeave a comment

Ginger & Blueberry Cheesecake

Would also work well with roast rhubarb.

Try and make day ahead, if not early morning for dinner.

300g ginger biscuits (see recipe here Easy Ginger Biscuits)

140g butter

150g blueberries

1 tsp cornflour

25g sugar

600g cream cheese

125g thick yoghurt (Greek style)

Zest of 1 lemon

2 tsp ground ginger

2 eggs

2.5 tbs plain flour 

Preheat oven to 200C (180C fan)

Line a 23-25cm spring form tin, allow the paper to come up the sides a bit if you can. Melt the butter and blitz the biscuits in the food processor until crumbs, add the butter and blitz to combine. Tip into the lined tin and spread around as evenly as possible. Take a flat bottomed straight tumbler and use it to push the mix down as firmly as possible until even all over. Wrap a piece of foil around the outside of the tin so it comes at least half way up the tin, this is to catch all the melted butter which will piss out! Bake for 10 mins and then allow to cool. 

Mix the cornflour with 1 tbs cold water and put it, the blueberries and sugar into a small pan and stir. Warm in medium heat, increase heat once warmed though and boil for a minute and then stir well and remove from heat.

When the base is cool, mix together the cream cheese, yoghurt and eggs until smooth then add the lemon zest, ginger and flour and mix until well combined. 

Add half the mix to the base, followed by dotting half of the blueberry mix over the top. Then add the remaining mix and dot the rest of the blueberry mix on top and swirl with a knife to make ripples. 

Bake for 10 mins (keep that foil on the outside) and then reduce the temperature to to 110C (95C fan) and bake for 45-50 mins. Check to see if done, it should be fairly solid on the outer 3-4cm with a wobble still on the inside. Turn the heat off and keep the door closed with the cheesecake inside for an hour, then wedge the door open with a wooden spoon and allow to fully cool. Then finally chill overnight if possible, if not min 3h before serving.

Warm a metal pallet knife in hot water and loosen the sides of the cake from the tin. You should be able to then lift the cake form the base and peel the paper off.

amyLeave a comment

Easy Ginger Biscuits

110g butter

110 caster sugar

100g golden syrup

225g plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

3 tsp ground ginger

Preheat over to 180C (or 170C fan).

Put the butter, sugar and syrup in a pan and melt together (on number 5). Then add all the dry ingredients and stir to make a dough.

Allow to cool a couple of mins.

Put on the rolling mat and divide into 4. 

Roll each into a sausage about 3cm diameter and then chop into pieces and roll in the palm of your hands. Wants to be about the size of a small walnut. 

Grease non-stick baking sheet and put the balls on, leaving space between them for spreading. Will be about 20 for the first batch. Push down firmly on top of each one with a fork to flatten and rib it. 

Cook for 10 mins or a little longer if you want v crunchy. Take out and using a pallet knife put on cooling rack. Then do the next batch.

amyLeave a comment

Mayonaise (Very quick!)

Make in the KitchenAid in the small bowl with chopper

1 whole egg and 1 yolk

1 tsp mustard powder1 tsp mustard powder

1 tsp of Maldon salt 

Generous grind of black pepper

150ml olive oil (good quality)

150ml sunflower oil (good quality)

Lemon juice – about 1-2 tbs but depends on size and taste

Put the egg, mustard powder, salt and pepper in the mixer and blitz to mix.

Pour the oil into the oil nozzle on the mixer (the smallest one with a hole in the bottom) in a few batches letting it drizzle into the mix while you have the mixer constantly running. 

****DO NOT DO THIS UNLESS THE MIXER IS RUNNING***

Add the lemon juice, mix, taste, add more as required, and add more seasoning if necessary. Give a final blitz.

If using fresh eggs will keep up to a week in the fridge in a jar.

amyLeave a comment