Mediterranean Roast Vegetable Couscous

This is a simple and delicious recipe that will help you get to your 5-a-day vegetable intake. This can be eaten straightaway, or cool in the fridge and have for your lunch the next day. Either way, it tastes great! You can also choose to amend the selection of vegetables in this dish - aubergine would also work great in this recipe.

Serves 2

1 courgette, cut into 1cm discs
1 large red onion, cut into large chunks
1 red pepper, sliced
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
Half tsp chopped basil
Half tsp chopped rosemary
Half tsp chopped thyme
Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper

120g dry couscous
100ml vegetable stock

Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius

Put the vegetables into a roasting dish. Add the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and herbs. Season and stir well. Roast in the oven for 15 minutes.

To make the couscous, put the dry couscous in a bowl, add the stock (at near boiling temperature), and cover. Leave for 5 minutes. Then fluff up the couscous with a fork.

Remove the roast vegetables from the oven. Tip the couscous into the roasting dish and mix with the vegetables to get all the flavours from the roasting dish.

Serve with a roast chicken or salmon fillet and this also tastes great with a dollop of hummus :-)

Veggie Sausages with Baked Beans

Looking for something for the weekend..?

This recipe works as both a fantastic veggie breakfast/brunch or lunch. Packed with protein and low in fat, this meal will keep hunger at bay and provide you with energy. It may not look the most appetising, but it tastes fantastic...

Of course, if veggie sausages are not your thing, this works perfectly with meat sausages too :-)

Serves 1

2 veggie sausages (I use the Linda McCartney range)
1 small tin baked beans
6 cherry or baby plum tomatoes, halved
2 thick slices wholemeal/wholegrain bread
Freshly ground black pepper

Turn on the grill and cook the sausages as per pack instructions. I use a George Foreman grill for this and it cooks the sausages faster - usually in 4-5 minutes.

When the sausages are nearly cooked put the beans into a pot and put on a low heat. Then put the tomatoes and bread under the grill too.

Remove the sausages when cooked. Cut in bite-size pieces and stir into the beans.

Remove the tomatoes from under the grill when they have softened. And don't forget to turn the bread!

Stir the tomatoes into the beans too.

Remove the bread from the grill and spoon the bean and sausage mixture on top. Season well with freshly ground black pepper.

Chicken Noodle Soup

With Christmas over, all that remains of winter is the cold...and holding out for the first signs of spring, which will probably be cold too anyway...But at least the cold provides a need for some hot and spicy dishes. Food can provide both a defense and comfort against the harshness of winter and one thing I generally opt for is a good, hot and spicy soup. Chicken noodle soup is a classic and for good reason. The inclusion of noodles make it feel like you are having a proper meal. The addition of a chili adds the necessary heat to tackle the winter chill. This soup does work without the chili, but in winter I love the cosy comfort offered by a good, spicy soup. This is a very quick recipe and can be easily reheated - in fact, this soup is delicious reheated as all the flavours have had time to combine together.

Serves 2-3

2 chicken fillets
800ml chicken stock
1 tsp finely chopped root ginger
1 red chili, sliced
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
50g wholewheat noodles
2-3 mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 spring onion, thinly sliced
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp chopped basil

Pout the stock into a pot with the garlic, ginger, and chili. Bring to the boil and add the chicken fillets. Reduce to a simmer, partially cover, and leave for 15-20 minutes.

Remove the chicken from the pot. Slice into small pieces then return to the pot with the noodles, mushrooms, spring onion, and soy sauce.

Simmer for a further 5 minutes. Add the basil and stir.

Ladle into bowls and serve with crispy bread to really bulk this meal up.

****It is easy to make a vegetarian version of this soup. Use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock and omit the chicken. In place of the chicken, add more mushrooms or an extra portion of noodles. Or you can include additional vegetables, such as sweetcorn - just add with the mushrooms and noodles.

****For a lighter, or carb-free version, omit the noodles. This makes a delicious, light, and spicy broth. Perfect as a starter.

Chicken and Cashew Nut Stir-Fry with Oyster Sauce

A stir-fry is one of my favourite meals. And if I am in the mood for something really nourishing and packed with goodness, it's my number one option. Stir-fries are also incredibly versatile. They work with most meat and you can choose to include pretty much any vegetables you want. Make sure that you do vary the vegetable selection and try some less common vegetables, such as pak choi (Chinese cabbage) or tender-stem broccoli.  The other great addition to a stir-fry is the cashew nut. If you have never tried cashew nuts in a stir-fry then get to it now! Cashew nuts taste great in a savoury meal, and their crunchy texture works perfectly in a stir-fry.

This recipe can also works as a vegetarian dish - just treble the amount of cashew nuts and remove the chicken. Or, just replace the chicken with tofu. If using tofu, make sure you add it at the end of the stir-fry, just before adding the sauce.

Finally, if you don't have a wok don't worry. It's the best to use, but I've made plenty of delicious stir-fries in a good sized pot. But do try to have two wooden spoons or spatulas to cook the stir-fry. In order to stop overcooking the food needs to be constantly moved around the wok, this is easiest to do with two wooden spoons.

Serves 2

2 chicken fillets

1 onion

Selection of vegetables (pick 3-4), such as mushrooms, red pepper, broccoli, green beans, mangetout, or pak choi

2 cloves of garlic, chopped finely 

1 inch of ginger, chopped finely 

1 green chili (optional), sliced (I keep the seeds in)

75g cashew nuts

6-7 tbsp Soy sauce (you will need about 4 tbsp for the marinade and the remainder for the sauce)

4 tbsp Oyster sauce

1 tbsp Nam pla (fish sauce)

Pinch of chili flakes (optional)

Olive oil

First prepare the chicken. Do this 2 or 3 hours beforehand if you can. If not, give the chicken at least 10 minutes to absorb some of the flavours. Cut the chicken into good sized chunks. Place in a bowl and add the ginger and garlic, and the chili if you want to add a little spice. Then add the soy sauce - about 4-5 tbsp should ensure that all the chicken pieces are covered. Next, using your hands (make sure they are clean first...) massage the chicken pieces, ensuring that all the flavours from the ginger, garlic, and chili get right into the chicken. Cover the bowl and leave to sit in the fridge. 

To prepare the veg, chop it all into chunks. The key for a stir-fry is that the vegetables maintain their crunch so make sure you don't chop anything up to small. This goes for the onion too. I like to chop an onion into 1.5-2 cm wide rings, then cut each ring in half and peel off the pieces of onion. This means that the pieces of onion won't get lost in the stir-fry and can maintain a nice crunch which is the perfect stir-fry texture. 

Heat the oil in a wok over a medium heat. Add the chicken to the wok along with the rest of the contents of the bowl. Stir-fry for 2-3 minutes, constantly moving the chicken pieces around the wok. Make sure that the chicken is white all over but don't let it cook too much as this means will be quite tough by the end of cooking.

Add the cashew nuts next and stir-fry for about a minute. 

Then begin adding the veg. If you are using mushrooms I would add these first, to ensure that they are cooked through by the end of the cooking. Leave then to cook for about 2 minutes. Then add the remainder of the veg and stir-fry for 3 minutes, again, making sure that you keep everything constantly moving around the wok.

Next, add the sauce. Add about 2 tbsp of soy sauce and 1 tbsp of nam pla (fish sauce). Then add the oyster sauce - about 4 tbsp. Add as much of these sauces as you think necessary, depending on the amount of sauce you would like, and the amount of vegetables you cooked. However, don't add too much soy sauce as this will overpower the oyster sauce. 

To finish off, add some chili flakes if you want some added spice. 

Serve with brown rice or wholewheat noodles. 

  

Char-grilled Peppers

This recipe for chargrilled red peppers is simple and the peppers taste delicious in several different recipes. I particularly like adding these to a tomato sauce, with some other veg and serving with pasta. Both the taste and the texture is better than using sautéed peppers.  

Serves 1

1 medium red pepper

1 tbsp good olive oil

Heat a grill to a medium-hot temperature.

Slice the pepper into full-length strips, about 1-2 inches wide. Place on tinfoil, skin side up, and drizzle with the olive oil.

Place under the grill for 10-12 minutes. Turn the peppers every five minutes. Remove when the skin of the pepper begins to blister and black spots appear.

Serve warm in a salad or with tuna steaks, or stir into a tomato-based pasta sauce (especially good as part of a veggie-pasta dish). 

Quick Moroccan Tagine

I have had the pleasure of eating some great tagines in the last while and I have an ever-growing obsession with cous cous so cooking and enjoying both of these at home is a must. To cook a 'real' tagine can take several hours but this 'cheaters' tagine can be prepared and cooked in under a hour, and still tastes delicious. This is a vegetarian recipe but it is easy to add chicken to this for a meat version.

Serves 2

1 400g tin tomatoes
1 400g tin chickpeas, drained
100ml vegetable stock
1 onion, finely chopped
1 green chili, chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 cm cube of ginger, grated
6 cherry tomatoes, halved
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 tbsp coriander leaf
Salt and black pepper

To serve

100-120g of cous cous
100g green beans
2-3 small pitta breads


Sweat the onion for 10 minutes in a pot on a low heat.

Add the garlic, ginger, and chili and stir for a minute

Add the spices and stir for another minute

Add the tomatoes, vegetable stock, chickpeas, and the coriander leaf and stir. Season with salt and black pepper. Simmer for 20 minutes on a low heat, stirring occasionally. With 5 minutes to go, add the cherry tomatoes.

With 5 minutes to go, prepare the cous cous (about 100-120g for two people)

Serve the tagine with the cous cous, some green beans, and some warm pitta bread.


*****Chicken Version

If you want to add some meat to this quick tagine then simply cut some chicken into cubes and place in a bowl. Add the garlic, ginger, and chili to the bowl, and rub the ground cumin and ground coriander into the meat. Leave to marinade for a hour or two, if you can. When cooking add the chicken (with the garlic, ginger, chili and spices in the bowl) to the pot after you sweat the onions, the continue with the recipe as above. I would switch the vegetable stock for chicken stock too, put it will not impact on the recipe if you stick with the vegetable stock.

Haddock with Lentil and Bean Stew

This delicious fish stew is made with haddock but any white fish such as cod or hake will do just as well. The stew is hearty enough for winter dish but light enough to enjoy in summer too.


Serves 2

2 fillets of haddock (or other white fish)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
400g tin tomatoes
400g tin cannellini beans
40g green lentils
1 tbsp rosemary
1 tsp thyme
3 handfuls of spinach
6 cherry tomatoes, halved
1 tsp of sugar
Salt and Black pepper

Heat oil in a pot on a low heat and sweat onion and garlic for 10 minutes

Add the tomatoes, lentils, sugar, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper. Bring to the boil and then reduce to a simmer for 30 minutes, uncovered. Stir occasionally.

Add the spinach and stir well until the spinach has softened. Add the beans and leave to simmer for another 10 minutes.

Add the cheery tomatoes and stir. Add the fish - place the fillets in the pot but leave the top of the fillets peeking out of the sauce. Cover and leave for 3-5 minutes.

Serve in bowls, piping hot, with some crusty bread.


**For a lighter option, leave out the lentils

**For a vegetarian option, leave out the fish and and double the lentil portion

Maple Syrup Roast Vegetables

I have been pouring maple syrup over my porridge most mornings recently and I'm loving it! In fact, I've been loving it so much that I have been seeking out more uses for maple syrup. I often make roast vegetables as a side dish and I think they are a great accompaniment to a meal. But I have been using the same recipe for a while so I decided to try something a little new recently and so threw in some maple syrup. Great results!

I like to make roast carrots and parsnips but sometimes throw in peppers and shallots as well. It's all about personal preference!

Serves 4

2 large carrots
2 large parsnips
1-2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 190 C

Chop the carrots and parsnips into chunks. I would recommend par-boiling the carrots for 5 minutes before roasting.

Add about 1 tbsp of good quality olive oil and 1-2 tbsp of maple syrup.

Season with salt and pepper and add some finely chopped garlic.

Roast for 20-25 minutes

Serve with meat, fish or more vegetables!

Veggie Bean Burgers

I am not a vegetarian but I really appreciate a good vegetarian meal. Vegetarian food has been unfairly accused of being boring and plain but this is such an unwarranted claim! Aside from the health benefits that can be attained from cutting down on our meat intake, vegetarian cooking can be an absolute joy for the taste buds!

This recipe for veggie bean burgers proves that point! These burgers are lightly spiced with ground cumin and tobasco sauce and make for a very, very tasty dinner. Eat with or without burger buns.

Serves 2

1 tin 400g black-eyed beans
25g sweetcorn
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp tobasco sauce
1 tblsp coriander leaf

Drain the can of beans. Put half of the beans into a blender and blend into a paste.

Put the other half of the beans into a mixing bowl and using a masher lightly mash the beans, but leave some of the beans whole.

Add the the bean paste, sweetcorn, ground cumin, tobasco and coriander to the mixing bowl. Season with black pepper and salt. Mix all together.

When well mixed together form into two patties.

Fry on a medium-heat pan for 5 to 10 minutes, turning every couple of minutes.

Serve with homemade chips or sweet potato wedges.