Ingredients

2 cloves of garlic, peeled

A pinch of salt

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp tomato paste

1 tsp Espelette pepper (we don’t have this, so used sweet smoked paprika instead – you could use cayenne pepper)

2 medium aubergines (eggplants)

A handful of chopped parsley to garnish (we used chives instead)

For the couscous

160g/1 cup of couscous

Zest of 1 lemon

A pinch of salt

180ml/ 3/4 cup boiling water

1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

For the yoghurt sauce

6 tbsp plain natural yoghurt

1 tbsp lemon juice

A pinch of salt (we left this out and it was still yummy!)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Line a baking tray with baking paper.

2. Pound the garlic and salt in a pestle and mortar until it forms a smooth paste. Blend in the oil, tomato paste and Espelette pepper (or alternative).

3. Cut the aubergines lengthways into 2cm-thick slices. Cut out the spongy core and then place the batons on the tray. Brush with the spicy marinade and then place in the middle of the oven to cook for 30 minutes (or until tender).

4. When you have just over 5 minutes to go, boil the kettle for the couscous. Place the couscous in a large bowl with the lemon zest and salt, and then pour over the boiling water. Leave to stand for 5 minutes.

5. Make the yoghurt sauce by mixing the yoghurt with the lemon juice and salt. Drizzle the oil over the couscous and fluff it up with a fork.

6. Serve the aubergine chips on a bed of couscous, drizzle over some yoghurt sauce and sprinkle with some chopped parsley or chives. Enjoy!

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The recipe is originally from the BBC Good Food website.

Ingredients (serves 2)

2 tsp olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

1 tbsp paprika

2 garlic cloves, crushed

300g mixed mushrooms, chopped

150ml vegetable stock

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, or vegetarian alternative (like Henderson’s relish)

3 tbsp half-fat soured cream or creme fraiche

small bunch parsley, roughly chopped (optional)

250g pouch cooked wild rice (or serve with pasta like we did)

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan and soften the onion for about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and paprika, then cook for 1 minute more. Add mushrooms and cook on a high heat, stirring often, for about 5 minutes.

2. Pour in the stock and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to the boil, bubble for 5 minutes until the sauce thickens, then turn off the heat and stir through the soured cream or creme fraiche and most of the parsley. Make sure the pan is not on the heat or the sauce may split!

3. Heat the rice or pasta following pack instructions, then stir through the remaining parsley and serve with the stroganoff. Enjoy!

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You can find the original recipe here. It’s called ‘open ravioli’ but we think that ‘open lasagne’ might be a better idea

Ingredients

8 lasagne sheets

1 red onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, chopped

1 courgette, chopped

1 tsp chilli flakes

1 can of chopped tomatoes

100g feta cheese

Mint leaves, chopped (we left these out but used fresh thyme instead)

We also added a chicken breast, but this is optional

Method
1. Bring a pan of water to the boil and cook the lasagne sheets until soft. Meanwhile, spray a frying pan with low calorie cooking spray (or use 1tbsp olive oil if you prefer), add the onion, garlic and courgette, and cook for 5 minutes or until soft. (Cook the chicken before adding these ingredients to the pan, if you’re adding it too.)
2. Stir in the tomatoes and chili flakes and cook on a low heat for another 5 minutes. Towards the end add the diced feta and a sprinkle of mint (or the thyme), reserving a few mint leaves for garnish. 
3. On a plate add a lasagne sheet and a spoonful of vegetable filling. Repeat the process, adding 3-4 layers and garnish with the extra mint. 

Enjoy!

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Ingredients

Olive oil, for cooking

2 large red onions, finely chopped

6 cloves garlic, finely chopped

400g red lentils

800ml vegetable stock – plus extra boiling water to avoid sticking

6 skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces

2-3 tablespoons madras curry paste (or use a milder one if you prefer)

300g baby spinach leaves

Sea salt and black pepper to taste (we don’t usually add additional salt)

Thick live probiotic yoghurt, to serve (optional)

Method

1. Heat a little olive oil in a pan, add the onions and garlic and cook for 4-5 minutes until softened.

2. Add the lentils and a little of the stock and simmer. Keep adding small amounts of stock bit by bit as the lentils cook and soften, as if you were cooking a risotto.

3. Once the lentils are starting to soften and break down, add the chicken and curry paste and stir well. Continue simmering and adding the stock until the chicken has cooked through. If the lentils start to stick to the pan at this point, just add a little extra boiling water to loosen it. We have found that we usually add at least 300ml extra boiling water as they do tend to stick quite a bit.

4. Add the baby spinach at the last minute, season with salt and pepper and stir until the spinach has wilted.

5. Serve immediately, with a dollop of yoghurt on top, if you like. Enjoy!

Edit: Want to make your own curry paste?

Little One absolutely loves this curry! We’ve been doing Baby Led Weaning with her since she was almost 6 months, and we must have tried this with her a couple of months in. We didn’t want to use a jar of curry paste with her because of the salt levels, so we made our own curry paste using a recipe from The Baby Led Weaning Cookbook. It’s so delicious! She loves naan bread too so we always serve this with naan and a little bit of rice, which helps to make this go further too.

This curry paste will keep in the fridge for a couple of weeks. You can either use ready ground spices or grind your own in a grinder (or use a pestle and mortar). We usually leave out the chilli at the moment, but you can make this as hot as you like!

1 fresh mild/medium chilli pepper, deseeded (optional)

5-6 garlic cloves, finely chopped or grated

2cm (3/4″) piece of fresh ginger, grated

4 tbsp ground coriander seeds

4 tbsp ground cumin seeds

2 tbsp mustard seeds, crushed

1 tbsp chilli powder (optional)

1 tbsp turmeric

1 tbsp paprika (we use sweet smoked paprika)

Olive oil

Put all of the ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Add as much oil as you need to get the desired consistency.

Post updated 6th May 2017.

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I tried out this recipe this evening and it’s really easy, really tasty and low fat – brilliant! I halved the quantities here for the two of us, except for the 400g tin of chopped tomatoes. I think next time I’d put a whole chilli in for 2 people, but that’s just personal preference! I used linguine here, which was slightly on the done side because we were trying to rescue a butterfly…

This recipe comes from the July 2014 edition of BBC Good Food magazine.

Ingredients (serves 4)

2 tbsp olive oil
1 large aubergine, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
1 tsp dried oregano
400g/14oz fresh tomatoes, roughly chopped (or a 400g tin of chopped tomatoes)
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
400g/14oz dried tagliolini pasta (we used linguine)
Small bunch of basil, roughly chopped
50g/2oz pecorino, grated (or veggie alternative)

Method

1. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan and cook the aubergine for 5 minutes until starting to brown and soften.

2. Add the onion, garlic, chilli and oregano and cook for just a few minutes. Add the tomatoes, balsamic vinegar and about 200ml water, then reduce the heat and simmer gently for about 20 minutes until the tomatoes are reduced and the sauce is thickened.

3. Meanwhile, bring a large pan of water to the boil and cook the tagliolini following the pack instructions. Drain the pasta and return to the pan. Add the sauce and toss well into the pasta with the basil. Serve with the grated pecorino.

Enjoy!

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This recipe takes hardly any time at all to make, so it’s a delicious meal for a weeknight. The combination of flavours is really good (although the first time we made it we were missing the sage because I couldn’t find any at the supermarket!). You could easily make a bigger batch for family or friends, or even leave out the Parma ham for a veggie version. I had linguine, but Tom has wholewheat fusilli instead – use whichever pasta you prefer.

Ingredients (serves 2)

2 tbsp olive oil
400g cherry tomatoes
2 tbsp chopped sage
a pinch of dried crushed chilli flakes
3 garlic cloves, crushed
sea salt flakes, crushed
85g Parma ham, slices separated
150g dried linguine
125g ricotta

Method

1. Warm the oil in a medium pan and tip in the cherry tomatoes, sage, chilli flakes, garlic and a generous pinch of sea salt.

2. Cook together for 10-15 minutes, stirring now and then, until the tomatoes have begun to soften – press them with the back of a spoon to squash them slightly.

3. Bring a pan of salted water to the boil. Separate the slices of Parma ham and slice into strips – dry-fry in a frying pan for a few minutes until crisp.

4. Boil the pasta according to pack instructions, drain, then return to the pan and toss with the hot tomato mixture and the strips of Parma ham.

5. Add the ricotta, in small pieces, toss once more and serve in warmed bowls.

This recipe is taken from the Sainsbury’s magazine website.

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I often decided to make up a recipe when I have a particular ingredient that needs using up, and this recipe came out of one of those occasions. We had a little bit of goats cheese left and, after feeling uninspired following a quick internet search, I decided to get a few simple ingredients and go for it! You don’t need much of the goats cheese at all – if you don’t like really rich food then you could probably just leave it out. We used some salami Napoli here, which is optional too if you would prefer a meat version.

This recipe uses the creamy basil pesto recipe that I’ve already posted, so you’ll need to make a batch of that before cooking the rest of the ingredients.

Ingredients (serves 2-3)

Linguine (cook enough for 2-3 people)
Olive oil
1 small red onion, chopped into fairly small pieces (but not finely chopped)
A handful of cup mushrooms, quartered
8 slices of salami Napoli (optional)
Ground black pepper
100g baby leaf spinach
1 batch of creamy basil pesto (click on link above)
25-50g goats cheese to serve (optional)

Method

1. Add some boiling water to a pan and cook the linguine according to the packet instructions.

2. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large pan, and add the onions. Cook until softened and beginning to brown before adding the mushrooms.

3. If adding the salami, tear each slice in half and add to the pan. Leave for a few minutes to cook.

4. Just before the pasta is ready, add the spinach to the onion and mushrooms, along with some ground black pepper. Allow the spinach to wilt a little.

5. Drain the pasta and stir the pesto through. Then add the vegetables and stir again. Plate up and then crumble a little goats cheese over the top, with a little more black pepper.

Enjoy!

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This ‘Super Soup’ lives up to its name – it’s really healthy and tastes delicious! And it doesn’t take very long to make, which means that you could whip up a batch during the week. You can pretty much put any vegetables you like in a soup, but this seems to work well as a combination! This will make a huge pan of soup, which you can freeze in batches if you wish.

Ingredients

Olive oil
1 large onion
2 cloves of garlic
3 medium sized leeks,
2 sprigs rosemary, chopped
500g carrots
1 tin chopped tomatoes
600ml boiling water (you can always add more if you need to)
1 heaped tbsp bouillon
2 peppers
a handful of mushrooms
250g red lentils

Method

1. Finely chop the onion and garlic, and then heat the oil in a large stock pan before adding them to the pan.

2. Chop the leeks and carrots and add them to the pan once the onions have softened a little. Add the tomatoes, water and bouillon and stir well. Leave to simmer for a few minutes.

3. Next, chop the peppers and mushrooms. Add to the pan with the lentils, stir well and season (I don’t add extra salt here because the bouillon is quite salty, but do this to your own taste).

4. Put the lid on and leave to simmer away until the carrots and lentils are cooked. Use a hand blender to blend to your preferred consistency.

5. Enjoy with some crusty bread or oatcakes

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There are occasions when I open the fridge and realise that I should have gone shopping…today was one of those days! But the weather has been pretty rubbish and I didn’t fancy going out, so I decided to cobble something together with what we had. What we had turned out to be a couple of leeks, some potatoes, some mushrooms and a bit of bacon, which could only mean one thing: SOUP! You could make this without the bacon for the traditional potato and leek soup and it would be great – either way, it tastes even better with a bit of homemade bread.

Ingredients

2 leeks, chopped
5 rashers of streaky bacon, cut into medium-sized pieces (optional)
8 small/medium-sized potatoes, chopped (I left the skins on, but peel if you prefer)
700ml boiling water
1 vegetable stock cube (I used a heaped tablespoon of Bouillon)
A teaspoon of mixed herbs
Black pepper
A small handful of mushrooms, chopped

Method

1. Heat a small amount of olive oil in a large pan and add the leeks (and bacon if your wish). Leave to cook for a few minutes before adding the potatoes.

2. Add the stock cube to the boiling water and stir well before pouring into the pan. Add the mixed herbs and pepper and stir well, before leaving to simmer for a few minutes (I didn’t add salt because the Bouillon is quite salty, but you could add some if you wish).

3. Add the mushrooms and stir again, cover the pan and leave to simmer for around 15 minutes (or until the potatoes are soft).

4. Blend a little before serving if you prefer, or leave chunky. Serve with some freshly made bread and enjoy!

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We had some leftover ricotta cheese after making our Butternut and sweet potato lasagne with sage, toasted pine nuts and nutmeg and so I decided to use the recipe finder on the BBC Food website to see if I could find a recipe to use it up. This is what I found – a recipe by Simon Rimmer that is easy to make but really delicious.

Ingredients

For the filling
400g/14oz aubergines, sliced into thin rounds
50ml/2oz vegetable oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 red onion, finely chopped
1 red pepper, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
50g/2oz tomato purée
400g/14oz canned chopped tomatoes, drained
1 cinnamon stick
100g/3½oz red lentils, cooked according to packet instructions
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

For the topping
125g/4½oz ricotta
125g/4½oz Greek-style yoghurt
3 free-range eggs
freshly grated nutmeg
salt and freshly ground black pepper
50g/2oz freshly grated pecorino

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.

2. For the filling, toss the aubergine slices in the vegetable oil, then drain and season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

3. Heat a frying pan over a medium heat, add the aubergine slices in batches and fry for 2-3 minutes on each side, or until golden-brown on both sides. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside to drain on kitchen paper.

4. Add the onion, pepper and garlic to the pan and fry for 2-3 minutes, or until softened.

5. Add the tomato purée, stir to coat the vegetables in it, then continue to fry for a further 4-5 minutes.

6. Add the canned chopped tomatoes and cinnamon stick and simmer for 4-5 minutes.

7. Add the lentils and return the fried aubergines to the mixture. Simmer for a further 2-3 minutes, or until warmed through.

8. Transfer the mixture to an ovenproof dish and sprinkle over the chopped parsley.

9. For the topping, in a bowl, beat together the ricotta, Greek-style yoghurt, eggs and grated nutmeg until well combined. Season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

10. Pour the topping mixture into the ovenproof dish on top of the filling. Sprinkle over the grated pecorino. Transfer the veggie moussaka to the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the topping is golden-brown and has set and the filling is bubbling. Serve immediately and enjoy!

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Another of the new recipes that we have tried out this week is Nigella Lawson’s Chicken with Tomatoes and Peppers. This is a super easy recipe to make and it’s really tasty, and you could cook it on a school night which is always great! I also think that leftovers would make an excellent lunch too, or just pop it in the freezer for another day. We served this with orzo pasta, but it would go well with green veg or some crusty bread.

The original recipe states that you should use chicken thigh fillets – we couldn’t find any but bought thighs with the bones. Tom spent ages (and I mean ages!) removing the meat from the bones before cooking, and he has told me to say ‘Do not do this!’ Either cook the chicken with the bone, or use breast fillets – but trying to remove the meat from the bone is really more hassle than it is worth! We couldn’t find a jar of flame-roasted peppers in our local supermarket, so roasted a couple of red pointed sweet peppers instead.

Ingredients (serves 3-4)

1 x 15ml tablespoon garlic oil
1 small brown onion, finely chopped
500g chicken thigh fillets, cut into bitesize pieces
1 tsp dried oregano
2 x 15ml tablespoons marsala
1 x 400g can chopped tomatoes, plus water to rinse out can
1 tsp sea salt flakes, or 1/2 tsp pouring salt
1 x 290g jar (190g drained weight) flame roasted red peppers (or use 2 peppers and roast yourself)

Method

1. If you are roasting peppers, heat the oven and chop the peppers into medium sized pieces. Place on a tray and cover with olive oil before roasting.

2. Pour the garlic oil into a pan and cook the onion until soft, stirring frequently. Add the chicken along with the oregano and turn in the hot pan. Add the marsala and watch it bubble up, before promptly adding the tomatoes and the salt.

3. Half-fill the empty can with water and pour it into the pan, swilling out as much of the tomato as you can.

4. Drain the peppers and snip with scissors into bitesize pieces (or remove your roasted peppers from the over). Add to the pan and then bring to the boil before turning down the heat and leaving to cook at a steady simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes until the sauce has thickened.

5. As the pan is simmering, cook the orzo pasta. When the pasta is done and the chicken cooked through, serve in bowls or serve straight from the pan at the table. Enjoy!

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Ingredients (serves 4)

For the rice:
1 mug (300g) of quick cook basmati rice
1 big pinch of dried porcini mushrooms (or a handful of field mushrooms)
1/2 a lemon
A few sprigs of fresh lemon thyme

For the pork:
500g pork fillet
1 heaped tsp ground coriander
1 heaped tsp sweet paprika
Olive oil
1 small red onion
A few sprigs of fresh sage
1 swig of Marsala
70ml single cream (we used 2 heaped tbsp low fat creme fraiche instead)

For the broccoli:
250g trimmed tenderstem broccoli
Zest and juice of 1/2 unwaxed lemon
30g parmesan (freshly flaked or supermarket tub)
1 x 15ml tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Put one mug of rice and two mugs of boiling water into a pan, tear in the porcini mushrooms and add a pinch of salt, the lemon half and lemon thyme. Put the lid on the pan and leave to simmer. (If you’re not using porcini mushrooms, follow the steps minus the mushrooms – we cooked ours separately and added them later.)

2. Score lengthways halfway through the centre of the pork, open it out like a book and then flatten it slightly with your fist. Rub it with salt, pepper, the ground coriander and paprika, then put it into the frying pan with 1 tbsp of olive oil, turning regularly until cooked through.

3. If using fresh mushrooms, chop them into pieces and cook in a little olive oil. Finely chop the red onion, pick the sage leaves and add them both to the pork to fry for a few minutes. Heat a pan of water (we pre-boil the water to speed up the process) and add the broccoli, which should be cooked until the stalk is tender.

4. Once the pork is cooked through, add a good swig of marsala – you can light it if you wish (we didn’t) and then let the flames subside. Then transfer the pork onto a board, add the single cream or creme fraiche to the pan and reduce to a good consistency.

5. Fluff up the rice (adding the mushrooms if you have cooked them separately) and carve the pork into 1cm slices. Drain the broccoli and transfer into a warmed bowl, adding the lemon zest and juice. Toss to coat before adding the parmesan flakes and the olive oil, tossing again.

6. Pour the sauce over the pork with the greens and rice to the side.

The photo on this post isn’t amazing (sorry!), but I promise that this Pork Marsala with Mushroom Rice and Broccoli with Lemon and Parmesan tastes amazing. You might also enjoy Jamie Oliver’s chicken pie or Nigella’s chocolate olive oil cake.

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This does make an excellent mid-week meal and you could also use pasta instead of pastry to make a yummy, creamy pasta bake. And it won’t break the bank either! The recipe below is my adapted version of Jamie’s recipe.

Ingredients

4 x 180g skinless chicken breasts

A knob of butter (leave this out if using bacon or chorizo – see optional ingredients)

Olive oil

A bunch of spring onions

150g button mushrooms

1 heaped tbsp plain flour, plus extra for dusting

1 heaped tbsp low fat creme fraiche

300ml chicken stock (I use a stock cube)

A few sprigs of fresh thyme (or a tsp of dried mixed herbs works well too)

1/3 a nutmeg, grated

1 sheet pre-rolled puff pastry

1 egg

Optional ingredients: 2 rashers smoked bacon/100g chorizo, chopped into small pieces/1 leek instead of spring onions

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200°c/400°F/Gas mark 6. Cut the chicken into chunks (I use my kitchen scissors for this – so much easier!). Put a lug of olive oil and butter into a hot, large pan. Add the chicken and cook for a few minutes until sealed. If adding bacon or chorizo, wait until the chicken is sealed before adding to pan.

2. Meanwhile, make the stock and then wash and trim the spring onions (or leek) and slice. Cut the button mushrooms in half before adding to the pan with the onions. Leave for 2 minutes before adding 1 heaped tbsps of plain flour and creme fraiche. Stir well.

3. Add the chicken stock and stir again. Add the herbs and the nutmeg, and season. Leave to simmer for 5-10 minutes or so.

4. Pour the mixture into an oven proof dish. Roll out the pastry (luckily, my dish is just the right size for the pastry so I don’t need to do any rolling out) and place on top, tidying up the edges. Add a little decoration if you like! Beat the egg and brush a little over the pastry.

5. Place in the oven and cook for 15-20 minutes, or until the pastry is golden. Serve with some steamed vegetables and enjoy!

Post updated 24th June 2016.

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Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil

1 large brown onion, finely chopped

3 tins chopped tomatoes

3 red or yellow peppers, diced

300g cup mushrooms, roughly chopped

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 tbsp Bouillon (or 1 vegetable stock cube)

2 tbsp mixed herbs

A dash of Henderson’s relish (or Tobasco)

A big squirt of tomato puree (apologies for the not very technical measurement!)

Black pepper

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the onions and cook until soft. Add 1 tbsp of the mixed herbs and stir well before adding all 3 tins of chopped tomatoes. Add the rest of the herbs, the Bouillon (or crumble the stock cube into the pan), Henderson’s Relish, black pepper and tomato puree. Stir well and leave for about 10 minutes to simmer, stirring occasionally.

2. Add the peppers and garlic and stir well. After another 10 minutes, add the mushrooms and stir again. Leave to simmer for another 15 minutes.

3. Test the peppers and mushrooms to see if they are soft (leave for a little longer if not). Leave to cool before blending.

4. If freezing some of the sauce, divide into boxes and ensure that the sauce is cold before freezing. I’d suggest that 2 ladles is about right for a portion of pizza topping, and maybe 3 – 4 ladles for pasta sauce. Enjoy!

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