Detox-free health food!

I probably use my dad as the benchmark for whether I can get a healthy dish just counting as normal, tasty food. While he’s more than happy to eat loads of veg any sniff of something being passed off in place of his favourite things and he’s most unimpressed. I’ve managed to come up with a number of options he’ll eat but if its brown rice instead of white or courgetti instead of spaghetti he will always eat it with a slight air of martyrdom - I may finally have found the solution!

BodyKitchen aims to feed people healthy food without allowing their dishes to stray into the boring plain steamed chicken and veg category. They are getting ready to launch in the new year but are giving Tabl members and a few lucky friends the chance to try out the food in advance. Last week, I went to one of BodyKitchen’s taster events in Notting Hill. They’ve brought on a fantastic chef, who cut his teeth in Michelin-starred kitchens including The Fat Duck, and are working with nutritionists to take the healthy eating to the next level.

Our evening included a lovely pressed juice on arrival followed by three courses of delicious food accompanied by ‘healthy’ beer and wine. I only tried a sip of the sour beer courtesy of Tom from The Allrounder who declared he will be buying it in bulk. I can definitely say the biodynamic wine went down a treat!

Our starter was a butternut squash soup topped with parmesan cheese and toasted seeds. I had fully intended to leave most of the soup as I knew there was a huge amount of food to come but it was so tasty I wolfed down the whole lot before I remembered my good intentions.

The main was a choice of:

Slow cooked blade of Highland beef with rich braising juices and caramelised onions
Rabbit leg stuffed with sun dried tomato, rosemary and olives with lentil salsa verde and roast lemon
Whole roast sea bream marinated in aromatic spices with shaved fennel salad
Roast red pepper stuffed with tomato, herbs, chilli, garlic, spinach and feta cheese

I went for the beef as its BodyKitchen’s signature dish so seemed appropriate. It was meltingly tasty topped with shallots and gravy (or jus if you're feeling fancy). The sides were delicious and I especially liked the sweet potato masala - so much so I’m afraid the kale and quinoa were slightly neglected.

The pudding was not quite so healthy but it was so delicious I didn’t care - also fantastically from my point of view it was gluten free so half way there! The creme fraiche cut perfectly through the rich chocolate torte and was a very welcome end to a thoroughly delicious dinner.

There are a few more sneak preview events on Tabl for the new year then BodyKitchen will be launching so the lucky residents of West London will be able to order this healthy-fare to their own doors. 

Usher in the new year with a healthy option you’ll actually look forward to eating!

www.tabl.com

A Very French Weekend

Last weekend I went for a long overdue visit to see my cousin and her family in Paris! I haven't been to Paris in years so I was very excited about actually spending time there with someone who:

1. Speaks the language - my French is basic at best (although I’ve been told my accent isn’t bad).
2. Knows their way around - although its ridiculous I hate to be the tourist walking round with their head buried in a map.
3. Knows the best places to eat - let’s face it this is probably the most important factor, how can I go to Paris without having amazing food?!

I arrived on Friday and met Jane for lunch in the 4th district / Le Marais - thoroughly recommended for a good shopping expedition as I left my heart with a beautiful cashmere dress! We went to eat at a great little place called Au Petit Fer à Cheval so named for its horseshoe bar to have a ‘pichet de vin’ and super cheesy crouton-topped french onion soup. My only piece of advice is beware the loos - I won’t go into detail as this is a food blog but I’ve not experienced a toilet like that in Europe since I last went skiing!

We spent a lovely afternoon wandering round the shops including a great vintage fair full of designer-ware that sorely tempted me. Having resisted picking up a pair of vintage Dior sunglasses we moved on to the more purse-friendly shops along with a few pitstops for another cheeky glass of wine or two. We also wandered down the Rue Saint-Louis en I’lle to pick up some of the best cheese I’ve ever eaten and some lovely bread for dinner - the truffled cheese was particularly delicious. Take note the cheese shop also offers a vacuum packing service for those who wish to take a little piece of Paris home with them. To my great pleasure our walk ended by crossing the Seine and catching a cab from right next to Notre Dame.

The following day we headed out to Montmartre with the kids for a strenuous workout walking up all the steps and a brief view over Paris followed by a more lengthly (and delicious) lunch at Chez Plumeau. I had a classic steak tartare with salad and chips while the kids went for burgers followed by crepes smothered in chocolate and chantilly. Unfortunately I was so busy stealing bits of crepe from the children and drinking vin chaud (mulled wine to you and me) I totally forgot to take any photos - very bad form!

After an afternoon nap - necessary after a huge lunch with wine - we were ready to head out again! We went for a few drinks and an explore followed by an absolutely delicious dinner at Comptoir Gormet. Don’t let the picture fool you, while this might look like a mere sandwich or wrap it is one of the tastiest dinners I’ve had in a very long time - and in my line of work that’s saying something! The piadina was especially good with a generous helping of porchetta, a mix of lovely mushrooms in truffle oil and a good pile of rocket. It was messy eating but the best combination - I’ll definitely be trying to recreate this one at home!!

If you’re looking for a post dinner drink in the area I would thoroughly recommend Les Etages. Although their drinks menu is limited they are more than happy for you to go off menu whether you’re looking for a cocktail or a cheeky glass of fizz. The other equally lovely option is to head further down the same road to La Belle Hortense for a post-dinner digetif.

Sunday was a walk from near the Eiffel Tower, down the Seine to the Musée d'Orsay. If you get a chance to go there I’d really recommend checking out the view through the clock face!

Monday everyone was back to work and school so I took myself off to Le Bon Marché for a shopping expedition. Not surprisingly I ended up spending almost all my time in La Grande Épicerie de Paris aka foodie paradise! It was full of the most delicious smells, products and testers - as you can see from the below I particularly enjoyed the fruit section. If you’re in Paris and have a couple of hours to kill I’d recommend having lunch there too - annoyingly I had a train to catch so I just filled my basket and legged it to the Metro.

All in all a very satisfactory long weekend - bring on the next visit!

Stale bread?

This is more of an idea than a recipe but I couldn't resist sharing! I watched Hugh's War on Waste recently - yes I know I'm behind but I've been busy and my Sky box was totally full of foodie programmes to catch up on! I'm a bit of a fanatic when it comes to using everything but this spurred me on to new heights.

Anyone who follows me on Instagram or Twitter will know I hosted my very first supper club with a colleague from Tabl just over a week ago. One of the dishes I cooked was a pulled pork slider with winter slaw - these were served in a little brioche bun (which I'll admit to buying rather than cooking myself).

There were a couple of buns left over, they sat in our office for about a week until they were horribly stale then I took them home - I had the perfect plan!! I'm not even going to pretend these were healthy as they definitely aren't but they are super tasty and make the perfect brunch/pudding/midnight snack.

Brioche french toast with honey

Stale brioche buns sliced in half (I had two but any bread or amount is fine, just adjust the eggs)
2 free range eggs, beaten
Glug of double cream
Flavourless coconut oil
Butter
Tiny pinch of salt
Honey

Beat the eggs and cream together with a tiny pinch of salt in a shallow bottomed dish that you can fit the brioche into, soak the brioche buns on both sides in the egg mix.
Heat the butter in a pan with a bit of oil to stop the butter burning.
Once your brioche is suitable soaked with egg mix, fry in the butter, turning over when browned.
Slide out onto a plate and drizzle with honey.
This would also be great with some sliced banana, mixed berries or even a dollop of whipped cream.

Best leftovers ever!

I love the chance to use up some of my leftovers - even better if I can create something totally different out of them! We had our Christmas party on Friday so by Saturday morning I was feeling a little worse for wear and may have gone totally overboard during a takeaway order from the Chicken Shop - I mean does anyone need a whole chicken and burger to themselves with all the side dishes?? No they do not!

Nevertheless I worked my way through a good portion then broke the chicken down into strips to be used in another recipe. Ironically I think the leftovers were actually better than the original chicken but that may be because they weren't eaten extremely hungover!

Here is the original order just for reference :)

Spicy chicken

2 red onions, chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 green peppers, chopped into chunks
4 jarred red peppers - the jarred option was mainly as I ran out of red peppers, 2-3 fresh red peppers would also be lovely (if you're using fresh peppers then add at the same time as the green)
1/2 bottle passata
Good squeeze tomato puree
Lots of leftover roast chicken, shredded - alternatively add raw chicken cut into chunks at the paprika stage
Heaped teaspoon hot smoked paprika
Dried basil - a good shake
Salt and pepper
Coconut oil - non-flavoured version
White or brown rice cooked according to packet instructions - I used white as I'm out of brown (and fancied the less healthy option on a Sunday night!)
Grated cheese, optional

Heat some coconut oil and fry the onions and garlic with a pinch of salt
After a couple of minutes add the paprika and green peppers, cook until slightly softened.
Add the basil, red peppers, passata and tomato puree - rinse out the passata jar and add the tomato water to the pan, let this come to a gentle simmer and reduce.
Add the chicken (if using cooked), stir through and season to taste.
Once hot, serve with rice and some grated cheese (if you fancy) - I used a bit of cheddar and it was yummy!

Salad for brunch?

I love a brunch on the weekend but sometimes I really crave a big pile of veg - this may or may not be linked to the wine consumption of a Friday night! Since I hadn't managed to get up until quite late on Saturday I thought I may as well create exactly what I was craving - the brunch elements of smoked salmon and a poached egg went perfectly into a huge bowl of salad leaves. The photo is missing avocado as I totally forgot to put it in until I'd taken a few bites and realised - to my horror!!! - that my favourite ingredient was missing :)

I won't lie this is definitely more of a suggestion than a recipe but the ingredients worked well together so I've included them here. You can of course substitute any vegetables you have hanging around in your fridge. The 'recipe' below serves one but can easily be doubled, tripled etc.

Weekend Brunch Salad

Spinach
Kale, briefly steamed then cooled
Roasted red pepper, cut into strips (as always I used jarred)
Smoked salmon
Toasted pumpkin and sunflower seeds
Half an avocado spooned out in chunks
1 large, free range egg
Lemon juice
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
Goats cheese, optional extra

I'm lazy so I used one pan for all the cooking - start by toasting your seeds in the dry pan, then steam your kale in a tiny bit of water with a pinch of salt.
Once you've done this use the same pan to poach your egg.
While the egg is poaching you can assemble your other ingredients, toss everything together with a good squeeze of lemon juice and drizzle with olive oil, season to taste.
Once the egg is cooked and drained slide it on top of your salad and grind over some black pepper - if you're like me you might need a pinch of salt as well.
Serve up your delicious, protein packed and super filling brunch salad - enjoy!

NB: I added a bit of goats cheese to this as I had some hanging round in the fridge but its not needed so totally optional.

Lunch with a difference

Having met the lovely owner of Dhaba Lane at an event we ran recently she was kind enough to let me try some of the delicious healthy curries they offer as a lunch delivery option - after all you never know when we might need a working lunch in the world of food tech startups.

Here is the menu we were treated to - a normal portion of each easily went round between three of us for lunch with a little to spare so I had a number of grateful colleagues too!

Menu from Dhaba Lane

Kadai Paneer: Peppers, Onions and Paneer in a thick tomato gravy. The fresh peppers add spicy and sweet flavour to the spices.
Dhaba Chicken: Chicken curry as found on Indian highways. This is simplicity at its best, with freshly ground spices.
Paneer, pepper & gobi paratha: Hand rolled stuff flatbread, its like Paneer pizza flavours stuffed in a paratha, without the grease! We use wholemeal flour.
Salad: Fresh mix leaves tossed with yellow split lentils, spinach, minted courgettes and oil free roasted cauliflower & broccoli. Served with home-made dry mango chutney.

The Dhaba chicken curry and stuffed paratha were my favourite dishes and the ones I would go back to order again. They were both nicely spiced - as you'll remember from previous posts I'm a bit of a chilli fiend - and were even better when pimped up with a bit of the super hot chilli sauce that accompanied the dishes.

The salad made a tasty side and, although I'm not a lover of yellow split peas, they went really well with the rest of the dish a made a filling side to share or even a salad in its own right. The paneer curry was delicious but a bit on the mild side for me. My colleague who prefers to steer clear of spicy dishes loved it.

It made a lovely change for lunch and everything was really clean and fresh tasting. Its hard to find healthy options to eat at work and a healthy curry is an even more unusual find so well worth checking out!

A Cheeky Italian

I was lucky enough to be invited to lunch at Clapham-based Donna Margherita on Friday to check out the menu for their Napoli in Clapham event. The food was amazing and it was great to hear the owner, Gabriele's, passion for Neapolitan food and culture.

As we ate our way through the bruschetta, parmigiana, calamari, pizza margherita (which I learned to fold like a true Italian), gnocchi and two of the most delicious cakes I've ever tried, we chatted about food - of course!! Gabriele is passionate about the difference cooking methods and the resulting food between Southern Italy - especially Napoli - and the rest of the country. You'll have to come to the event to learn more but one of the things he did tell me about was the importance of al dente pasta - apparently those from Napoli like a bit more bite than the result of the country. He was kind enough to send me on my way with a packet of spaghetti so I felt like it was only fair to share the results!

To get the best taste of the spaghetti itself I decided to do a simple tomato sauce but this evening I couldn't resist eating even more pasta so cooked a 'meatier' version with prawns. I'm sure its not remotely authentic Italian food - you'll have to head to Clapham for that! - but it was delicious and the bite of the pasta definitely made a difference. I think I may have even been converted to Rummo.

 Spaghetti with slow cooked tomato sauce

1 red onion, roughly chopped
2 large garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
Punnet of good quality tomatoes, organic if possible
Dried basil
Dried chilli flakes
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
Marsala wine, if needed

Fresh basil to finish

Fresh grated parmesan to finish

Heat the oil in a frying pan and add the onion and garlic with a good pinch of salt, fry until soft.

Add the tomatoes, dried basil, chilli flakes and cover.

Leave to cook down for a while, if the tomatoes are not that ripe add a small splash of Marsala to sweeten them, if not using wine then add a splash of water.

Cook on a low heat with a cover on for as long as you can bear, I cooked these tomatoes for about 40 minutes whole then blitzed and returned to the pan with a bit of water and cooked for a further hour.

When you're happy with your tomato sauce you can get your pasta on - cook according to packet instructions (9 minutes in this case). I've been strictly told you need to time this to get true al dente pasta and it did work perfectly so I'm not going to deviate from instructions.

Once the timer has gone drain your pasta reserving a bit of water in case your sauce is too thick.

Add the pasta to the warm pan of sauce along with the fresh basil, adjust of flavouring and toss the pasta through the sauce ensuring everything is evenly coated.

Plate up and cover with lots of freshly grated parmesan cheese.

I also did another version of this dinner tonight, almost exactly as above but instead of fresh tomatoes I used tinned and I skipped the wine.
Once I'd blitzed the sauce and returned to the pan I added chopped roasted pepper and some big fat prawns - I always use frozen but if you can get good fresh ones then this will be even better!
Cover and allow the prawns to cook while you do your pasta.
Again the rest of the instructions would be as above - the perfect super fast recipe for a delicious midweek supper!

POPdown at The Vaults

Being part of Tabl means I am lucky enough to go along and try lot's of amazing food - it's a hard life I know! Last week I went to the opening night of POPdown at The Vaults so wanted to share a bit of the foodie goodness with you.

POPdown is held in The Vaults under Waterloo station so the walk there and room itself are a welcome step away from another evening in a standard restaurant! As you can see from the pictures below you need to walk down the graffiti tunnel to get there - I got to see artists working on my way in and guys racing motorcycles on my way out!

The food itself was great and sparked a lot of discussion across the table. We were lucky enough to be sat with the lovely Saff & Ade from We Love Food - it's all we eat so we had plenty of foodie chat throughout the meal. POPdown is definitely one of those dinners for foodies as the chefs come round to chat and you even get the chance to go up and learn to plate up like a Michelin star chef! As you'll see from the photos below the plates look more like works of art than food so I think you'll agree the guests did pretty well.

Dinner started with a cultured butter infused with truffle - I'll be totally honest although I could smell a hint of truffle I couldn't taste it so felt it was a little surplus to requirements. Despite this the bread was nice and I was super hungry so was glad there was something on the table we could get stuck into straight away.

Our starter was probably my favourite course and seemed to come up fairly high in the rankings with my fellow diners. The braised cabbage was served with a red pepper foam, dried cabbage leaf (powdered and whole) and roasted hazelnuts with chorizo. It was absolutely delicious and I'll definitely be spending some time trying to recreate my own homegrown version - probably with less powders and foams due to lack of equipment but hopefully equally tasty!

The fish course was cured mackerel with pickled daikon, dill, compressed cucumber and olive ash. I'm not a huge fan of fish skin so I removed it but it was lovely and crispy so perfect for those who do partake. The vegetables complemented the fish well and were fun to pick through and try to identify before the chef came round to enlighten us.

The main was very interesting as it totally divided the table on flavour. I've included an extra picture here as it came with a little cafetiere of 'tea' (a light beef stock infused with herbs) to pour over the dish. The main event was a brined brisket topped with a mustardy-herby crust, the meat was so tender you literally needed to push it apart with a fork and I couldn't recommend it more. It was served with little roast new potatoes and fermented vegetables.

The fermented (pickled) vegetables were the option that divided us - my friend thought they were absolutely delicious, another fellow diner wasn't keen, I was torn as I liked some of the vegetables but not others! Either way it was definitely an interesting taste, you find your brain telling you the slight fizziness must mean the food is past its best but you also know that its just part of the fermentation process. Needless to say we didn't have the same confusion with the fermented grapes from the bar!

The dessert was pumpkin based so very seasonal - there was a pumpkin cake served with pumpkin puree, candied walnuts, a set coconut mousse/jelly, toasted coconut and lavender gel. Overall the flavours went really well together although the lavender gel was a tiny bit overpowering for my tastes. Having said that I'm not great with floral flavours in food so that could just be me! I loved the candied walnuts to the extent that I ended up stealing some off my friend's plate, they went really well with the earthy sweetness of the pumpkin and freshness of the coconut mousse.

All in all I really enjoyed POPdown at The Vaults, not only was the food tasty but it also introduced me to a lot of new tastes and techniques. The flavours were interesting and sparked a lot of conversation across the table. I was left with a really positive impression of Paul and the team as well as some great photos for my Instagram feed!

If you'd like to try out the food for yourself you can buy tickets online at Tabl.

My new late night addiction!

Since moving jobs I've been to a lot more evening events - this has created the need to perfect a super fast late night meal which is still healthy and, more importantly, tasty! This dish turns up in so many guises on my Instagram feed that I felt the need to actually write it down despite the fact that it's not exactly a recipe - as you can imagine it changes slightly each time I make it depending on what I've got in the fridge. It's a great way of cooking something comforting while sneaking loads of veg in so is also a good option for kids.

Pimped up pasta and pesto

Gluten free pasta (non-gf is also fine if you prefer)
Green vegetables, as many as you like - I tend to use a mix of peas, kale, spinach, broccoli, edamame beans (and/or anything else you have to hand)
Pesto - I use jarred as this is a late night speedy dish but it would be lovely with homemade too
Optional extras - garlic infused rapeseed oil, mashed avocado, herbs (basil and parsley are what I use purely because they grow on my windowsill), parmesan, goats' cheese

Cook the pasta in a large pan of boiling salted water, time it so you add the vegetables as they will need to cook. I normally add broccoli along with the pasta because I like it to go slightly soft so I can mash it up into the pesto a bit.
While the pasta and vegetables are cooking you can do a few extras if you have the energy. To make the infused rapeseed oil I finely chop a clove of garlic and put it in my serving bowl with a thin covering of rapeseed oil, I heat this in the microwave for a super short burst to allow the oil to warm and the garlic to start to infuse.
If you're using the oil method it's quite nice to add some fresh herbs once it's warm as they will infuse throughout the dish - you might also want to add half a mashed avocado if you've got one handy, it's lovely and creamy and adds to your 5 a day, this is a great way of introducing avocado to people who aren't keen on the texture.
Add pesto to this mix and combine with the cooked pasta and vegetables (if you're not using the mix just add pesto on it's own) - I'd also suggest reserving a bit of the pasta water as you may want to add bit of this to thin out your veg and pesto mix.
Serve topped with fresh basil, a grate of parmesan and / or some crumbled goats' cheese - if you only have soft goats' cheese this is also nice stirred in with the pesto.

The perfect pot noodle!

Now before you start thinking I'm about to tell you how to pour water into a shop bought pot noodle don't panic - this is focussed on how to make your own healthy (aka homemade) version. It's the most versatile lunch option I've found as well as being super tasty. Although it's not my prettiest creation it makes everyone in my office jealous. I've even had incredulous questions around whether I made this myself - the secret is that it's much easier than it looks and smells!

Homemade Pot Noodle

Instant rice noodles - I used MAMA Instant Rice Vermicelli Noodles
Miso paste - follow pack instructions but I like a good heaped teaspoon
Chinese chilli oil - I use Lee Kum Kee chiu chow chilli oil
Vegetables - anything will do here, I like mushrooms, spring onions, broccoli, pak choi but anything you've got in your fridge is worth adding
Silken tofu cut into chunks (you can use cooked chicken or prawns if you prefer)
Hot water
Optional extras - finely grated fresh ginger and garlic, tamari or soy sauce, sriracha chili sauce

It couldn't be easier to make, just chop whatever vegetables you're using into small bitesized pieces and put in a suitable container with your tofu and dry rice noodles, add the ginger and garlic at this point if using - you can also add the miso and chilli oil or keep them separate if you prefer.
Once you're ready to eat decant into a large bowl and top with boiling water to allow the noodles to soften - make sure you stir in all the miso paste to create your broth.
Depending on what vegetables you're using you might want to give it an extra boost in the microwave, I did this when I had broccoli but literally just for a minute or two.
Once it's hot adjust to taste - I tend to add a dash of tamari or soy sauce then top with a bit of sriracha for extra heat but this totally depends on your own taste.
As you can see from the picture below you end up with a nice big bowl of soup to keep you going on those days when things are so busy you find yourself eating at your desk!

Cordial based cocktail experiments

The guys at Elderbrook were doing a little giveaway whereby if you sent them a picture of mint growing - which I happen to have on my balcony - they send you a free mojito kit. Seemed like a good idea so I sent them along my picture below and received back a nice little collection of goodies! I'm not sure if they are still doing the offer but if you send them a nice tweet you might get lucky.

The cordial itself is perfect for a mojito - much better than any mix I've tried before. It also works well as it was originally intended as a standard cordial to be mixed with sparkling water. My only criticism is the tiny bottle, I tend to add more than suggested when using cordial so was only able to get 5 servings out of my 10 serving bottle. This could be because like most cordials they underestimate a little or could be because I have massive glasses - either way I'd like them to start doing large bottles!

To make my mojito below I used:

100ml of Bacardi rum (I told you the glasses are big!)

Juice of half a lime

Glug (approx 10ml) of Elderbrook lime, mint & baobab cordial

Sprig of mint (smack this between your palms to release the smell)

Sparkling water

Fill your glass with ice, add your rum, lime and cordial then top up with sparkling water and garnish with mint - super easy and very tasty!!

Chilli rice with chickpeas

I know I only just wrote a post about my favourite bolognese / mince but I made a dish with it that was so tasty it deserved it's own post! We had a pot-luck lunch at work last week where we all had to bring a dish, it being a foodie company it's higher pressure than if I just worked in a standard office (although I'm sure my colleagues would all argue it doesn't matter) - this meant something shop bought just wouldn't do!

Enough of my colleagues are keen on chilli for me to be fairly confident I can pick a spicy dish (my favourite) to cook for them. I wanted to do something that was filling and high protein without being too heavy. Rice is one of my favourite things ever - as I'm sure you've noticed from the number of risottos that end up in my Instagram feed (https://instagram.com/hannahalqadhi/) - so that seemed the perfect carb.

On the day it was just served warm and went very well with everyone else offerings - particularly the warm kale and broccoli salad, the greek salad, and of course, avocado!

Chilli rice with chickpeas

Large red onion, finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 romano peppers, halved then finely sliced
1 tin chickpeas, drained
1 tin tomatoes
Lots of dried chilli
1 heaped tsp hot smoked paprika
Oregano
Salt and pepper
3-4 heaped tbsp mince (previous blog)
Coconut oil
200g rice (dry weight)

Warm the coconut oil to fry off the onion and garlic.
Once softened add the peppers and fry for a couple of minutes before adding the chickpeas along with spices and seasoning.
Once the spices have fried for a couple of minutes add your tinned tomatoes and puree, rinse out the tomato tin with a bit of water and add to the pan.
Cook your rice according to packet instructions, while cooking allow the chickpea mix to cook down a bit - about half way through add your mince.
Just before the rice is done add to the pan of mince and chickpeas, stir through.
Taste for seasoning and serve in whatever way you see fit - it went really well with salad (especially avocado as in the picture above) or if you're feeling adventurous on the weekend have it for brunch with a fried egg (and the obligatory avocado and chilli because I'm obsessed)!

Slow cooked bolognese

I've called this a bolognese but it's basically a one-size-fits-all mince - it can easily be a bolognese sauce for pasta, add some chillies and kidney beans for a chilli, or even layer up with aubergine for a beefy version of moussaka. I cook this a lot in very large batches and make it up into any number of dishes. You'll see a very similar variation on the mince sauce for my take on 'lasagne' in an earlier post. As you'll see this time I decided to get the slow cooker out to make super slow cook version of my favourite mince - I've also included a couple of examples of how I've used it this time.

A note on slow cookers - my grandma passed one of her slow cookers on to me (she had about 10 but that's another story!) with some strict instructions on using it successfully:
1. You must heat the slow cooker before adding your ingredients to it.
2. You must fry / brown off your ingredients before adding them to a slow cooker.
3. Add much less liquid than you think you'll need.

I questioned her and she was a little evasive around the specifics but logically I would guess that you need to treat the slow cooker as if it's the moment you put your dish in the oven. You would never expect to be able to throw a load of raw ingredients into a casserole dish, cook at 60 degrees for 8 hours and it taste as good as if you've taken the time to brown your meat first. To be honest the results of taking the time to follow the above three steps speak for themselves.

Slow cooked bolognese

2 x 400g packs minced British beef (I normally use around 10% fat but use whatever you have)

1 x 400g pack minced free range pork

2 large onions, diced

4-5 large cloves garlic, crushed of finely chopped

3 red peppers, diced

1 pack chestnut mushrooms, quartered or halved depending on size

2 tins of tomatoes

Tomato puree - approximately a tbsp

Large glass of red wine

Lots of dried oregano, basil, salt and pepper (esp. the dried herbs)

Coconut oil or meat fat - I happened to have a bit of coconut oil with chicken fat from previous frying off some chicken thighs but obviously use whatever you have - also if the idea of using meat fat freaks you out then steer well clear! :)

Turn the slow cooker on to low so it gets warm, at the same time heat the oil/fat in a pan on the stove.

Fry off the onion and garlic in the oil, when slightly softened add the meat and brown.

Once brown, add the meat to the slow cooker (you might need to do this in batches depending on how much space there is in the pan).

Once you've browned all the meat chuck the rest of the veg into the pan and cook off - it doesn't need to be soft in any way just start the frying process.

Use the wine to get any meat residue off the bottom of your pan, scrape the pan with a wooden spoon while you're stirring the veg in the red wine.

Add the tomatoes, puree, herbs, salt and pepper.

Bring to boiling point then add all the rest of the ingredients to the slow cooker - you might want to use a bit of water to rinse out the pan into the slow cooker but don't go overboard as slow cookers retain most of their moisture.

Put the lid on and keep the slow cooker on low while you are out for the day (so you get a delicious meal for when you come home from work!) - alternatively you can leave it to cook overnight.

Serve the mince in whatever way you see fit - below I've included a healthier option paired with cauliflower rice (left) or cheat meal style scattered along with jalapeños and olives on a pizza (right).

Baked Spanish omelette

After the overall success of my recent baked omelette / crustless quiche I've been experimenting with other fillings. I really like deep omelettes but they are so tricky to turn over without breaking them. I think I've found the perfect solution - invest in a silicon cake case. I have a bright orange one (pictured below), all you do is spray with a little oil and the omelette comes out perfectly. The recipe below is great with a big green salad for dinner or on it's own as a portable breakfast!

Baked Spanish omelette

Ingredients:

8 large, free-range eggs

2-3 potatoes, halved and finely sliced

Large white onion, halved and finely sliced

50g smoked, free range bacon lardons

Large handful curly kale

Salt and pepper

Coconut oil

Method:

Preheat the oven to about 160-180 fan.

Cook your potatoes - now controversially I cooked my potatoes in the microwave (about 5 minutes on high) in a bowl covered in cling film, I know some people disapprove of microwaves so please feel free to cook then in some boiling water but if you do this give them a decent amount of time to dry out before you add them to the frying pan.

While your potatoes are cooking fry your bacon lardons and onions in the coconut oil until the onions are soft and slightly browned, the bacon should have browned off at this point too.

By this point your potatoes should be cooked so can be added to the frying pan and lightly seasoned (don't forget you'll be seasoning the egg too so don't go overboard!).

Fry for a few minutes then set aside to cool slightly - I chucked them in my silicon mould to cool as it let some of the bacon and onion flavoured oil come off into the mould so I could use this to grease it.

Next add your curly kale to the pan, you can add some butter at this point if you like but I just used a splash of water to let it steam / fry a bit, once cooked add to the other cooked ingredients.

Beat your eggs in a large bowl and season, once your fillings are closer to room temperature add them to the eggs and stir though (it doesn't matter if they are still a bit hot as it just helps the egg cook a bit faster), pour the mix into your greased mould.

Make sure your mould is sat on a baking tray so it's steady then put in the oven for 20-30 minutes or until it is fully set.

Cut up and enjoy!

NB: You might want to cut up your bacon lardons so you get lots of small bacon bits all through the omelette rather than the odd massive chunk!

British veal meatballs with courgetti

Now before I get in trouble for cooking veal I would like to stress this is British / rose veal which can be bought in the supermarket and is a great alternative to beef. It isn't associated with the crates or live export that normally goes with veal and it's actually been given the ok by the RSPCA. If you've never had it I would really recommend trying it.

In this case I had my parents coming round for lunch (aka putting up pictures) so I needed to make sure I had a decent meal to keep dad happy. Mum's been trying to eat clean too so I wanted to choose a healthy option. The meatballs seemed to be filling enough to keep dad happy as he never once complained at the lack of spaghetti!

Meatballs and courgetti

British veal meatballs - bought mine from Waitrose but you could make your own or use beef instead
2 red onions, diced
3 large garlic cloves, crushed or finely chopped
Roasted and skinned peppers, diced (I normally use jarred)
Tinned tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato puree
Dried basil and oregano
Coconut oil
Fresh basil
3 courgettes, raw, spirulised or cut into ribbons with a speed peeler
Parmesan

Fry the onions and garlic in the coconut oil until soft, add the peppers, tomato, puree and dried herbs.
Rinse the tinned tomatoes out and add the water to the pan.
Let it cook down for a while then add the meatballs and cook for another half hour.
Just before serving stir the courgette through and some fresh basil.
Spoon out into bowls then top with parmesan.

Steak two ways

My housemate was away the other weekend so I stopped off at M&S to treat myself. I found a delicious pink grapefruit liquor which, when mixed with gin, makes a delightful cocktail (picture at the bottom)! I also went for steaks because they were two for £5 which seemed a bargain. I've done steak two ways below. The left hand picture is of steak marinated in a wet rub of Szechuan pepper and soy on top of Chinese greens in miso soup. The right is za'atar crusted steak with green salad and balsamic dressing.

Both steaks were marinated in their rubs for about 30 minutes and fried in a hot pan - I'd suggest oiling the steak not the pan and get the pan on the highest heat possible. You should only need to fry the steak for a couple of minutes on each side for a rare steak (obviously if you like it more well done then a few more minutes). I think the best test for a steak is the hand test if you're not sure I'd go on the soft side as they will need to rest for about 5 minutes. As you'll see from the pictures a dry rub will normally blacken more but don't worry, the steak inside will still be succulent and the crust will taste amazing.

This is the cocktail - so yummy!

Aubergine 'lasagne'

I love lasagne! It's one of my favourite cheat meals but it does always tend to make me feel a wee bit ill. Unfortunately, however much I love wheat (pasta and bread mainly) it doesn't seem to feel quite the same about me. To combat this problem I've replaced the pasta in my lasagne with grilled aubergine slices so I can eat it anytime I like. Not only is it much lower in calories and therefore technically healthier, I can eat vast quantities of it without looking slightly pregnant and it tastes absolutely delicious.

Aubergine 'lasagne'

Mince sauce:
Coconut oil
2 onions
Several large cloves of garlic
500g beef mince
Tinned tomatoes
Tomato puree
Red pepper
Dried oregano and basil
Salt and pepper

Cheese sauce:
2 tbsp cornflour
1 heaped tsp mustard powder
Milk
Cheddar cheese
Parmesan
Salt and pepper

Aubergine layers - grilled aubergine, salt and pepper.

Preheat the oven to to 180 degrees.
Fry the onion and garlic in the coconut oil.
Once softened add the beef, fry until brown.
Then add chopped peppers, tinned tomatoes, tomato puree, oregano, basil, salt and pepper.
Let this cook down for about half an hour, taste for seasoning and adjust if needed.
In the meantime warm the milk in a non-stick pan, once warm pour a small amount of milk into a jug with the cornflour and mustard powder, blend to a paste and return to the pan.
Stir this constantly until it begins to thicken, add the cheese and season to taste.
Layer up a large dish with mince, cheese sauce and aubergine, repeat until you fill the dish with the top layer as cheese sauce then top with more grated cheese.
Put in the oven and bake for 40 minutes until golden brown.

Crustless quinoa and feta quiche

Right, apologies for the massive gap in posts. I moved jobs to a great new role with a food tech company. The only downside is that I've been super busy for the last month and a bit. There has still been lots of cooking but taking the time to write it up has been tricky! Going to try and power through the recipes for the last month to make up for the gap tonight. We'll see how far we get!

I've always struggled with breakfast, I don't like to eat very first thing in the morning but can't make it all the way through to lunch with no food. I may have come up with the perfect solution. I love omelettes but they don't tend to travel well. Instead I've gone with a cross between a frittata, omelette and (crustless) quiche. This was an experiment so I didn't write quantities this time but I will make a note for in the future.

Crustless quinoa and feta quiche

Quinoa - cooked and cooled
Kale
Cabbage
Beet tops
Garlic
Butter
Fresh basil
Dried oregano
Chilli flakes
Salt and pepper
Free range eggs - I used 13 but they were pullet eggs from the farmers market
Feta

Preheat the oven to 140 degrees.
Cook the kale, cabbage and beet tops in butter and garlic, allow to cool with the quinoa.
Add the herbs and spices including the salt and pepper.
Beat the eggs and mix through.
Pour the mixture into an oiled cake tin (I use a silicon mould because it's easier to get out - if you're using a standard one then line it to stop any leaks) then top with the feta.
Put in the oven for about 40 minutes until it's fully set.
Allow to cool and cut up into portions.

Veggie Curry

My lovely friend Freya has many excellent qualities but she can be tricky to cook for! I have to make sure I think through a meal if she's coming for supper as she is a very un-fussy eater but is vegetarian and unfortunately can't eat cheese. This shouldn't be an issue but you'd be amazed at how many veggie meals include cheese in some way, shape or form. Previously this would have meant Quorn but since going clean and lean it's off the menu for me as it contains wheat and is pretty processed. This means I have to be a bit more thoughtful in my meal preparation. I often end up going for some kind of spicy meal as I know she is as much of a chilli fiend as I am.

Today this means curry - one of my favourite curries to make at home is a chickpea and veg one so this seemed the perfect opportunity to make one. I also look to Madhur Jaffrey for inspiration so the start of this recipe is borrowed from her wonderful Curry Bible book. After the first few steps I've done my typical wondering off into my own territory! I've served this curry with basmati rice with peas and a bit of spicy mango chutney (not strictly clean and lean I know but I love it!) - you could also go with a cauliflower rice if you are trying to lower your carbs.

Chickpea, Spinach and Potato Curry

Ingredients:

1.5 onions, peeled and cut into chunks

4-5 cloves of garlic, peeled

Mix of dried and fresh chilli - this varies each time I make this depending on what I have available but this time it was 5 small whole dried chillies (grown by my mum!) and one whole fresh red chilli

1 tbsp hot curry powder (I used madras)

1 heaped tsp dried cumin (ideally use whole cumin then toast and grind it but I am lazy and used ready ground - if you have the patience I'd recommend whole)

Salt and pepper

1 tbsp coconut oil

2 small sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

Handful small new potatoes halved

Lots of frozen spinach - mine comes in rounds and I used about 8 of these

Tin of chickpeas with liquid

Approximately 1/2 to 2/3 jar of passata

Squeeze of tomato puree

Fresh coriander

Method

Heat a frying pan with coconut oil, while this is warming blitz the onion, garlic and chilli in a food processor with a splash of water, once smooth add to the pan.

Fry for 5-6 minutes then add in your spices and a good pinch of salt.

Stir through then add your potatoes (sweet and new), chickpeas, spinach, passata and tomato puree. Rinse the chickpea tin and passata jar with a bit of water and add this to the pan too. Cover and let it bubble away for about 30 minutes.

Check your potatoes and depending on how reduced the liquid is you might need to take the lid off and let it bubble away for another 15 minutes or so to thicken. While this is happening I would normally cook my rice. At this point add some finely chopped coriander stalks retaining the leaves to add just before serving.

Once the sauce has reduced add some chopped coriander leaves, season to taste with salt and pepper then serve up.