Quick Harissa Paste

My tried and tested Harissa recipe calls for roasted peppers, but not having the time to roast peppers (nor having a jar of roasted peppers) I experimented with making a smaller quantity with a small pointed red pepper.

Makes about 4 tbsp

1 red pepper or a whole roasted red pepper from a jar, roughly chopped and deseeded

1 tbsp tomato paste

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp red wine vinegar

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 small garlic clove, peeled & crushed

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

1/2 tsp chilli flakes

A pinch of salt

Add all the ingredients to a blender cup and blitz to as smooth paste as you can (a little hard with not much in the blender cup).

We mixed this into cooked couscous to serve with merguez.

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Green Cheesy Pasta (or Rice)

I have been making Green Cheesy Pasta/Rice ever since my now adult kids were little.  Like many kids, they were wary of vegetables but loved pesto.

One teatime I didn't have ingredients for my usual Watercress Pesto, so had to improvise with chard.  A suspiciously toddler poked the green pasta and asked what it was. I simply said it was green, cheesy, pasta.  She loved it, and the name stuck.  You can also make Green Cheesy Pasta with chard, spinach, kale, beetroot tops

Serves 2 as a main dish

200g dried (wholemeal) pasta
200g large leaf spinach, chard, kale, beetroot tops
50g mature cheddar or parmesan, grated
1 small clove of garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
Extra virgin olive oil

Bring a large pan of lightly salted water to the boil.  Add the pasta and about a teaspoon of olive oil.  Stir the pasta around, cover, and bring back to the boil.

Once the pasta is boiling again, poke in the greens.  You need large leaved greens so you can fish them out again!  Crack the lid of the pan open and boil for 5 minutes, then fish the greens out and leave to cool in a pasta bowl.  Continue cooking the pasta for the remaining cooking time.

When the pasta is cooked, reserve about half a mug of the cooking water, and drain.  Toss the hot pasta in 1-2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. 

Place the cooled green is a blender cup, stripping out the tough stems if using kale.  Add the cheese, garlic, 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, a pinch of salt, and liquidise to the consistency of double cream, adding a little reserved pasta water if needed. 

Scrape all the sauce onto the pasta and mix thoroughly, again adding more water if you want a looser sauce.

This sauce works well with cooked rice, sticking the rice grains together, and making it easy for toddlers to eat.

The cheese can be replaced with 30g cashew nuts (soaked in hot water before liquidising) if preferred.

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Air Fryer Green Beans

I have a glut of runner beans and purple Trionfo Violetto French beans, and am constantly on the look out for new recipes.

I saw a recipe for griddled green beans, but thought it would be a lot simpler to air fry green beans.  Once cooked, I added these to a potato salad.

Handful of beans per person

Toss in a drizzle of olive oil and a tiny pinch of salt.

Air fry for 10 minutes at 180C, stirring half way through the cooking time.

Serve as a side with a drizzle more of olive oil, and garlic if liked. Or add to a salad like me.

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Fasolakia, Greek Green Bean & Potato Stew

Fasolakia is such a simple, wholesome plant based dish, ideal to use up surplus green beans.  It can be made without potatoes if preferred - just double the beans. 

The traditional Greek recipes I looked at all cooked the potatoes and beans for 40 minutes, but my homegrown potatoes would have dissolved after much more than 10 minutes cooking, and a prefer a slight crunch to my beans.

Serves 2-3 as main dish

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, peeled & crushed

1 tin chopped tomatoes

500g salad potatoes, halved lengthways

250g green beans, topped & tailed and cut in half

In a wide saucepan, fry the onions over a medium heat until they start go a slight golden colour. Stir in the garlic, then the chopped tomatoes, half a can of recently boiled water, and the potatoes. Scatter the beans over the top.  Bring to the boil, then cover with a lid and simmer for 10 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender when poked with a fork.

Serve with crusty bread.  Fasolakia can be sprinkled with feta, or served as a side to sausages, or simply cooked meat, chicken, or fish.

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Budget Marinated Olives

 

I lived in Lisbon 1995-1996, working for a British bank. A work colleague took pity on me living on me living on my own and invited me to join his wife and family on a bank holiday weekend in Nazaré, 77 miles to the north.  Preparing for an extended family gathering (his elderly mother told showed me her charm bracelet with a charm for each of the 18 children she had had!), he showed me this quick way to make marinate cheap olives.

1 tin of pitted black or green olives, or a mixture of both

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp oregano or mixed herbs

1 small garlic clove, peeled and crushed 

Simply mix everything together and leave for a few minutes, if you can, for the flavours to infuse.

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Romesco (Red Pepper & Almond) Sauce

A Spanish red pepper and almond sauce from Catalonia. I first had this a few weeks with hake at Rockfish in Poole several weeks ago.  When I made my own, it makes quite a lot for one person, and I've ended up eating it a variety of ways - as a pasta sauce, on sourdough toast, stirred into a salad, and as a dip - all equally good.

Serves 4, as a pasta sauce

200g roasted red peppers
100g almonds

1 garlic clove

1 tbsp sherry or apple cider vinegar

1 tsp smoked paprika

50ml olive oil

Simply blitz everything together in a food processor to a hummus like consistency,  I didn't add any vinegar as the jar of roasted red peppers I used was quite vinegary. Season to taste.

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Vegetables & Rice in Miso Broth

My TikTok account is mostly saved recipes (plus veg growing and travel), and recently a series of miso rice dishes.

These recipes seem to cook the rice together with the vegetables, but a quicker option is to use leftover rice and vegetables.

Serves 1

150g High Fibre Brown Rice

Handful of cooked vegetables & pulses.  This bowl had leftover chickpeas, air fryer roasted butternut squash, air fryer roasted kale.  I have made other bowls with fried mushrooms and spinach/Swiss chard.

1 tbsp miso paste

500ml just boiled water

Seasoning/flavouring (optional) - soy sauce, sesame oil, chilli oil, chilli flakes, finely grated garlic, finely grated ginger, kimchi

In a small pan, pour the boiling water over the rice and vegetables.  Dissolve the miso paste into the hot water.  Bring to the boil.  Simmer for two minutes, then serve.

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Mushroom Chilli

I had a delicious Mushroom Chilli Tacos at Overdraft in Winchester recently, and thought I'd try to recreate it at home. 

Serves 4

2 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, peeled and thinly sliced

300g mushrooms, thinly sliced

3 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp smoked paprika

1-2 tsp chipotle paste (optional)

500g passata 

1 can black or pinto beans

Season to taste 

Fry the onion in the olive oil over a medium high heat, stirring regularly, until they start to develop a golden colour.

Add the mushrooms and continue to stir and fry until they stop looking raw.  

Stir in the garlic and the spices.  Once you can smell them cooking add the passata and beans, including the liquid in the can.

Simmer for 20 minutes, reducing the sauce as much as desired.  A thicker sauce works best in tacos and burritos, and a looser sauce works better for a chilli over rice.

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Cauliflower Alfredo Pasta Sauce

Fettuccine Alfredo is a pasta dish (fettuccine) coated in a rich Parmesan sauce originating in Rome in 1907/8.  Many additions/adulterations have come about over the last century, notably in the US - cream, chicken, salmon, mushrooms.  And now cauliflower.

In our house the cauliflower florets usually get air fried or used in Piccalilli, with the stalk and leaves used in Cauliflower Cheese Soup or Cauliflower Masala Soup.  But the weather is warming up in the UK so I'd thought I'd use the leaves in a pasta sauce.

I added anchovies, reminded of a Bagna Cauda Dip/Sauce, but you can omit these adding more Parmesan, or nuts if preferred 

Serves 4

350g cauliflower stalk & leaves, roughly chopped

1 large garlic clove

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tin anchovies in olive oil, or 100g parmesan, or 40g walnuts or cashews

Parmesan/Grana Padano for serving (optional)

Chopped parsley for serving (optional)

Chilli oil or flakes for serving (optional)

Cover the cauliflower with water in a small pan.  Bring to the boil then cover and simmer for 10 minutes until really tender.  If using nuts, add these to the pan to soften with the cauliflower.

When tender, drain the cauliflower and nuts, keeping the cooking water.  Liquidise the cauliflower and nuts together with the rest of the ingredients in a heatproof container, adding enough cooking water to make a thick hummus consistency sauce.

Serve over pasta, with freshly grated parmesan, parsley, and chilli to taste.

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Jollof Rice & Beans

Jollof Rice & Beans is an easy, cheap, nutritious plant based one pan dish.

Jollof Rice is a spicy West African dish of rice, tomatoes, chillis, onions, spices, often served with a meat stew.  To add more protein and fibre to the rice I had the idea to add beans, similar to Caribbean Rice & Peas.

All recipes online use Scotch Bonnet chillis, so use one or two if you want a more genuine flavour, but beware these are very hot!

And I highly recommend Afrizi, an African restaurant in Festival Place in Basingstoke to try 'proper' Jollof rice and other West African dishes.  

Here is my take...

Serves a greedy 4

1 large onion, peeled and roughly chopped

2 large cloves of garlic, peeled and roughly chopped

2 red peppers, deseeded and roughly chopped

1 tbsp rosemary, dried or fresh

1 tbsp thyme, dried or fresh

2 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp hot chilli powder 

1/2 carton passata

2 tbsp light olive oil

1 mug basmati rice

2 cans of mixed beans in water (or kidney, pinto, black beans)

Recently boiled water

1 vegetable stock cube 

2 bay leaves

Liquidise the onion, garlic, peppers, rosemary, thyme, coriander, chilli powder, and passata.

Heat the oil in a shallow casserole dish.

Carefully pour in the blended sauce, bring to the boil, then turn down to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

After 5 minutes, stir in the rice into the sauce and drain the liquid into the mug.  Top the mug up with recently boiled water, pour over the rice plus another 1/2 mug of hot water, the crumbled stock cube and bay leaves.  

Stir everything in, sprinkle over the beans, cover, and bring to the boil. 

Turn down to the lowest heat and cook for 20 minutes.

Stir in the beans and sauce that will have risen to the top during cooking and serve.

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Air Fryer Brussel Sprouts, Chestnuts, & Squash

I bought a pack of reduced 'Red Darling' brussel sprouts in Aldi a few weeks ago to decorate our Christmas wreath, but had quite a lot left over.

I'd bought Aldi Whole Chestnuts around the same time, and had half a small pumpkin that needing using too. So I thought I'd toss them all in the air fryer.

If you like kale crisps, this is definitely one for you, as the outer leaves go lovely and crispy.

Serves 2

200g ready to eat chestnuts

200g trimmed brussel sprouts, halved

200g cubed squash (butternut squash, pumpkin)

1 tsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling

A large pinch of salt.

Place all the ingredients into a air fryer liner, and toss well to coat in the oil.

Air fry at 180C for 8 minutes, stir everything around, then air fry for another 8 minutes.

I was going to make hummus to serve this on but ran out of time, so instead made a hot salad with some lettuce and thinly sliced onion.  I made a tahini dressing with 2 tbsp tahini, 4 tbsp kefir (or plain yoghurt), and crushed garlic.

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Pickled Red Cabbage Salad

Pickled cabbage is a sugar free alternative to traditional braised red cabbage served with the Christmas roast.  The mild vinegary tang works well with roast turkey, roast pork, or roast lamb.

Serves 4 

Half a red cabbage, cored, quartered & thinly sliced

Half an onion, quartered & thinly sliced

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

2 big pinches of salt

Put all the ingredients into a bowl and mix with your fingers, scrunching and rubbing the ingredients together.

Leave for as long as you can, ideally overnight, but it can be eaten within 10 minutes of making it you like crunchy vegetables.

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Beetroot Risotto

I peeled one more beetroot than I needed to make Borscht yesterday, so decided to make myself a Beetroot Risotto for dinner.

Most recipes call for roasted beetroot to be added once the risotto rice is cooked.  I neither had the time nor the inclination to roast one solitary beetroot so I added raw beetroot right at the start, hence the orangey rather than purpley red hue to the risotto. 

An additional benefit of cooking the beetroot with rice is that it mellows the earthy taste of beetroot which might make it more palatable to those less sure of beetroot.

Serves 2

180g risotto rice

1 small onion, peeled and diced

1 large clove of garlic, peeled and crushed

500ml hot vegetable stock

50ml white wine (optional)

1 medium raw beetroot, peeled and grated

1 large handful of chopped rainbow chard, shredded or baby spinach (optional)

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

50g crumbled feta, grated parmesan, or extra mature cheddar (optional)

Soften the onion in the olive oil over a medium high heat. 

Once softened and translucent, stir in the rice and garlic and coat the rice grains in the oil.

Stir in the grated beetroot and any chopped chard stalks.

Pour in the wine if using, or roughly 100ml of the hot vegetable stock.  Bring the wine or stock to the boil and turn down to a rapid simmer.

Stir pretty much constantly with a wooden spoon.  Once you can see the bottom of the pan for a few seconds when the wooden spoon is dragged across the centre of the pan, add in another 100ml of stock.

Keep stirring the risotto, and adding more stock when needed, until all the stock has been added.  When you can see the bottom of the pan again, taste the rice to see if it is cooked.  If it is soft like al dente pasta it is cooked. If it is crunchy in the middle of the grain it needs more cooking.

If the rice needs more cooking, add another 100ml of just boiled water from the kettle and keep stirring as before.

If the rice is cooked, stir in shredded chard/spinach and cheese if using, cover, and turn off the heat and leave for 5 minutes to wilt the spinach and melt the cheese.

Serve immediately

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Air Fryer Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Oh my, why didn’t I try roasting pumpkin seeds in the air fryer sooner?

I didn’t have room in the oven last night for a tray of pumpkin seeds, so thought I’d try roasting them in the air fryer.  It works so well! 

Rinsed pumpkin seeds

1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

Paprika 

Salt

Rinse the pumpkin seeds to remove as much of the pumpkin flesh stuck to them as possible. I do this by covering them with water and swirling them around with my fingers. Most of the flesh will sink to the bottom of the bowl, leaving clean(ish) seeds floating on top. 

Drain the pumpkin seeds and roast them in the air fryer for 5 minutes at 180 C to dry them a little.

After drying, tip in a small bowl and stir in the olive oil, and paprika and salt to taste.

Return the seasoned seeds to the air fryer and cook for a further 10 minutes at 180C.

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Vietnamese Noodle Soup (Pho)

A little bit of leftover roast pork inspired me to make Pho (apparently pronounced 'fuh', like 'huh' but with an f)

It can be made with chicken, beef, pork, or tofu.  A lot of online recipes suggest homemade stock, and whilst authentic I made it with good quality stock cubes.  Even using stock cubes, the broth still requires a lot of spices.  I note that ready made pho broth is available in UK supermarkets, but no vegetarian option as far as I can see.

Serves 4

1 tbsp vegetable oil
3 shallots or 1 onion, peeled and finely sliced
3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely sliced
1 lemongrass stalk, halved and squashed
2.5cm piece ginger, sliced
3 star anise
1 cinnamon stick or 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp coriander seeds or ground coriander
¼ tsp Chinese five spice
8 black peppercorns
1 tsp caster sugar (optional)
1 tbsp fish sauce
1.5 litres good quality chicken (for chicken or pork pho), beef (for beef pho), or vegetable stock

4 rice noodle nests (I used wheat noodles as I didn't have any other noodles)

A handful of sliced cooked pork, chicken, or beef.  For vegetarians/vegans -a 200g block of sliced tofu, or 
1 large carrot, shredded or peeled into ribbon with a vegetable peeler
8 pak choi or Chinese Leaf leaves, cut into 2cm strips
Large bunch of fresh coriander, chopped
Small bunch of mint, chopped

4 spring onions, finely sliced 
1 red chilli, thinly sliced, or ¼ tsp dried per bowl
1 kaffir lime leaf, thinly sliced (optional)
1 lime, cut into 4 wedges

In a saucepan big enough to take 1.5 litres, fry the onion and garlic in the vegetable oil over a medium high heat for about 5 minutes until lightly brown and caramelised.

Add the stock and the rest of the flavourings.  Cover and bring to the boil, then simmer for 15 minutes.

Whilst the noodles are cooking according to the instructions on the packet, chop/shred all the remaining vegetables and herbs.

When the noodles are cooked, drain and divide between four large bowls.  Divide and arrange the pak choi, carrot, meat/tofu/mushrooms (the mushroom slices can be browned in a non stick frying pan over a high heat to give a little more depth of flavour) on top of the noodles, followed by the coriander, mint, spring onions, chilli, and kaffir lime leaf if using.

Pour the hot stock over the four bowls when the 15 minutes is up, and serve immediately with a quarter of lime to squeeze over.

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Hot Chocolate con Chilli

It may look like ordinary hot chocolate, but this simple Mexican inspired version packs a little punch!

Serves 1

1 mug whole or plant milk 

1 tbsp 100% cocoa powder

1/8th tsp ground cinnamon 

Large pinch of chilli powder to paste

Add the cocoa, cinnamon, and chilli to a mug together with enough milk to mix everything to the consistency of double cream.

Fill the mug with more milk, stirring in the cocos mixture.

Microwave for 2 minutes on high power. 

If you don’t have a microwave pour the contents of your mug into a small saucepan and heat gently, whilst stirring constantly to ensure it doesn’t catch on the bottom, until piping hot.  Pour back into the mug to drink. 

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Basic White Sauce

This basic white sauce is so useful - for lasagne, macaroni cheese, fish pie etc. I cannot claim credit for the method - Delia Smith should take that, for her all in one method.  No more lumpy white sauce for me. I find it works a treat, if you keep a close eye on it. I can be vegan, if made with plant milk.

Makes 600ml white sauce 

600ml cold whole or plant milk

1 tbsp vegetable or light olive oil

50g/2 heaped dessertspoons plain flour

Ideally in a non-stick pan, add all the ingredients and whisk with a silicone whisk (as you can see, my old non-stick pan has been scratched by using a metal whisk over the last few years) to break up any lumps of flour.

Heat over a medium heat, stirring constantly with a silicone spatula to stop forming into lumps on the bottom of the pan.

After a minute or so you should start to notice the sauce start to thicken.  Keep stirring.  Once it begins to bubble, turn the heat down the lowest and keep stirring until it is smooth and glossy.

If adding anything else (cheese, nutmeg, or garlic etc) add it now and stir in well.  

Use immediately, or keep over a low heat and stir regularly to stop a skin from forming.

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Kale Chimichurri

Oh my, Kale Chimichurri,  where have you been all my life?

Wikipedia describes Chimichurri as "an uncooked sauce used as an ingredient in cooking and as a table condiment for grilled meat. Found originally in Argentina and used in Argentinian, Uruguayan, Paraguayan and Brazilian cuisines, it has become widely adopted in most of Latin America. The sauce comes in green and red varieties."  

In addition to serving with meat this vibrant punchy sauce, not dissimilar to a Mexican salsa, it is a great vegan sauce for cooked beans or salad potatoes.

This Kale Chimichurri is based upon www.dishingupthedirt.com recipe for Pork & White Beans with Kale Chimichurri recipe. I have made my Feijoada (Brazilian Pork & Bean Stew) following a different recipe, but made Kale Chimichurri from this recipe (with cooked kale, and less olive oil).

200g cooked kale (keep some of the cooking water)

2 tbsp red wine vinegar
6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 large garlic clove, peeled 
1/2 tsp hot chilli flakes
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper 

Put everything into a mini food processor or liquidiser. 

Add a couple of tablespoons of cooled cooking water and liquidise to a pesto like consistency, adding a little more cooking water if required.

Serve with Feijoada, grilled meat, beans, or potatoes.

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Soupe de Haricots Verts (Green Bean Soup)

I did more research for the French regional self catering/simple/camping cookery book I am trying to write during my holiday in France.

The discovery of a recipe from the Lorraine region (now part of Grand Est) for Green Bean Soup was a find, as I picked 3 kg on my return home to the UK.

This is a simple but hearty stew like soup, with a good green bean flavour.

Makes 4 big bowls

1 onion, peeled and diced 
500g French beans, trimmed and sliced in rounds as finally as you can manage
500g potatoes, diced
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed.
1 tbsp olive oil 
1 litre recently boiled water
2 chicken or vegetable stock cubes 

In a saucepan, fry the onion gently in the olive oil over a medium heat whilst you chopped the vegetables.

Add the potatoes to the pan as you chop them, followed by the green beans, and the garlic. Stir every now and then, as the potatoes will start to stick to the bottom of the pan.

Once everything is chopped and in the pan, add the crumbled stock cubes and hot water.

Cover and bring to the boil. Stir to check no potato is stuck to the bottom of the pan, then replace the lid and simmer for 20-30 minutes, until the potatoes are soft enough to crush with the back of a wooden spoon or a potato masher.

Serve with a drizzle of olive oil, or a spoonful of double cream, or crème fraîche.

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Tofu in Black Bean Sauce

My partner bought a jar of Yeo's Black Bean Sauce last weekend to make Beef in Black Bean Sauce.  He used half the jar, so I used the rest to make Tofu in Black Bean Sauce.

Serves 4

400g firm tofu

300g colourful chopped veggies (carrot, red pepper, green beans)

2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

1cm grated ginger root

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1/2 250ml jar black bean sauce

2 tbsp Shaoxing wine, or sherry

1 tbsp sesame oil

Take the tofu out of it's packet and place it in a colander with a plate and a few cans on top of that to squeeze as much liquid out.

Chop the veggies into bite sized pieces, and prepare the garlic and ginger.

Heat the oil in a wok over a high heat.  

Crumble in the tofu, but beware, if it is still quite damp it will spit a lot.

Stir fry the tofu for a few minutes then add the ginger, garlic, and vegetables.  Keep stir frying the vegetables for a few more minutes.

Turn the heat down and add the black bean sauce, Shaoxing wine, and sesame oil.  Mix the sauce in well and serve when the sauce is piping hot over cooked rice or noodles.

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