Mexican Roast Potatoes & Beans

We seem to be alternating between pasta and rice for carbs recently, so I googled 'potato main meals' and turned up this Mexican Bean & Potato Bake.  It is a pretty versatile bake - the original recipe says to use kidney beans, but I was going to use pinto beans until I discovered I had leftover Chilli con Veggie.  You could also use Chilli con Carne if not vegetarian.  

Serves 4

1kg potatoes, cut into bite sized pieces

2 tbsp olive oil

1 pepper, cut into bite sized pieces (optional)

400g drained kidney, pinto, black beans, or leftover chilli

400 g tin chopped tomatoes

2 tsp smoked paprika (if not using using leftover chilli)

1 tsp ground cumin (if not using using leftover chilli)

1 tsp hot chilli powder (if not using using leftover chilli)

Salt & pepper

100g cheese, grated

Preheat the oven to 200C/190C Fan.

Toss the potatoes in the oil in a lasagne dish and roast for 45 minutes, stirring around half way through the roasting time, until lightly browned and nearly cooked through.

After 45 minutes, stir through the beans/chilli, tinned tomatoes, spices, salt and pepper. Sprinkle cover the cheese, and return to the oven for a further 30 minutes until bubbling hot, the potatoes are cooked through.  

Instagram: leesashomemade

Facebook: Leesa's Homemade

TikTok: @leesashomemade

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

Instagram: leesashomemade

Facebook: Leesa's Homemade

TikTok: @leesashomemade

Pumpkin Muffins

We regularly have a coeliac trick or treater visiting us the last few years, so I always make a gluten free treat.  This year I have made Pumpkin Muffins, using gluten free self raising flour rather than self raising flour, and the scrapings from inside a couple of pumpkins we've carved.

Any leftover muffins will be used for grab & go breakfasts, in lunchboxes, or snacks next week.

Makes 12

125ml vegetable or light olive oil

2 large free range eggs

250g pumpkin puree 

100-150g sugar

100g mixed dried fruit

2 tsp pumpkin spice (or 1 tsp cinnamon + 1 tsp ginger)

250g self raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

Make pumpkin purée by simmering 250g of pumpkin in water for 15 minutes.  Drain and liquidise.  

In a mixing bowl, whisk the eggs into the oil, followed by the cooled pumpkin purée, sugar, dried fruit, spices and baking powder.  Mix well then stir in the self raising flour.  This is a quite a wet mixture, so unlike other muffin recipes don't be afraid to mix the flour in thoroughly, as the muffins still rise well having done this.

Divide into 12 muffin cases. Bake at 200C for 15 minutes, until a metal sewer comes out of the central muffins clean.

Instagram: leesashomemade

Facebook: Leesa's Homemade

TikTok: @leesashomemade

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.

Instagram: leesashomemade

Facebook: Leesa's Homemade

TikTok: @leesashomemade

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.

Instagram: leesashomemade

Facebook: Leesa's Homemade

TikTok: @leesashomemade

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. 

Instagram: leesashomemade

Facebook: Leesa's Homemade

TikTok: @leesashomemade

Feijoada, Brazilian Pork & Bean Stew

Last night was the first slow cooker meal of the autumn/winter, prompted by a glut of beans.

It was such a treat to come home from tidying the allotment during the tail end of Storm Amy in southern England to dinner already cooked.

Serves a hearty 4

8 pork belly strips (I had 4, as my butcher cut me 4 massive one!)
4 cooking chorizo (I used 8 mini chorizo, or use 200g cured chorizo cut into 8)
1 large onion, peeled and thinly sliced
2 large garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
2 bay leaves
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
A pinch of hot chilli flakes
2 cans beans (black, borlotti, pinto, cannellini), or 250g dried beans, soaked and cooked

If using dried beans, soak and cook these before hand.  Keep the cooking water.

Brown the pork belly and the whole chorizo in the olive oil in a frying pan over a medium high heat, and place in the slow cooker in a single layer on the bottom of the slow cooker that is warming up.

Turn the heat down under the frying pan and gently fry the onion and garlic until soft and translucent.  You can brown the chorizo now if it didn’t fit in the frying pan with the pork belly. Add a little more olive oil if required. Spread over the pork belly in the slow cooker when soft.

Heat the liquid from the cans of beans or the equivalent of two cans of cooking water (about 400ml) in the frying pan, together with the vinegar, chilli flakes, and bay leaves.  When boiling pour over the pork belly and onion mixture. The liquid should just cover the pork belly at the bottom of the slow cooker (don’t worry about covering the odd piece of chorizo or onions).  If it doesn’t cover the pork, add little more boiling water from the kettle but go easy.  Slow cooker dishes can be quite watery as they do not reduce like casseroles in the oven or on the hob.

After 5 hours on High, stir in the canned/cooked beans.  Leave for another hour on High to heat the beans through.

Serve with white rice and a Kale Chimichurri.

Instagram: leesashomemade

Facebook: Leesa's Homemade

TikTok: @leesashomemade

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.

Instagram: leesashomemade

Facebook: Leesa's Homemade

TikTok: @leesashomemade

Quince Gin

I was given some rather underripe quince, possibly Japonica, but they were too immature to tell apart.  So the most fitting end to them.

700ml fine
120g granulated
375g quince 

Wash the quince and rub off any furry coating to the skin.  Quarter the quince and add everything into a large preserving jar.  Mix well until the sugar is dissolved and leave in a cool dark place for 2-4 weeks, checking for the first few days that the sugar has dissolved.

Strain into a clean bottle after the 4 weeks is up.

Instagram: leesashomemade

Facebook: Leesa's Homemade

Sweet Potato & Lentil Mulligatawny Soup

Mulligatawny is a curried vegetable soup from the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, taking it's name from the Tamil words for 'pepper' and 'water'.  The traditional Indian version is vegan, but the British of the Raj liked to add chicken or mutton - Mulligatawny with Lamb.

This vegan Mulligatawny is from diabetes.org.uk's recipes, with a few tweaks of mine.

Serves 4 (original recipe suggests 8 servings)

2 tsp olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and diced
1 carrot, diced
1 sweet potato, diced (250g)
400g tin tomatoes
75g red lentils
2 cloves garlic, peeled & crushed

1cm root ginger, roughly chopped (optional)
1 vegetable stock cube
1 tbsp medium curry paste (or powder)
1 litre boiling water
75g brown rice

Soften the onion in the olive oil in a soup pan for about 5 minutes until it starts to brown.

Stir in the carrot and sweet potato (I did not peel either, as the soup is liquidised), and cook for a further 5 minutes stirring regularly.

Add tomatoes, lentils, garlic, stock cube, curry paste/powder and 1 litre of boiling water. Bring to the boil, turn down the heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.  I added cooked rice at this stage, not realising the recipe said to add it after the soup had been liquidised, for texture.

Blend the soup with a stick blender or food processor until smooth.

Instagram: leesashomemade

Facebook: Leesa's Homemade

Spicy Aubergine & Bean Soup

I was gifted several large aubergines that needed eating.  The one that didn't find it's way into an Aubergine Parmigiana or Babaganoush has been made into a warming hearty soup on this frosty day.

Serves 4

2 tbsp olive oil

1 large onion, peeled and diced

1 large aubergine, cut into 2 cm cubes

1 large garlic clove, peeled and crushed

400g tin of borlotti beans, pinto beans, or chickpeas

400g tin of chopped tomatoes

100g roasted red peppers, chopped into bite sized pieces

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp smoked paprika

1/4 tsp hot chilli flakes

1 tsp red wine vinegar

500ml recently boiled water

2 vegetable stock cubes, crumbled

Chopped flat leaf parsley or coriander to garnish (optional)

In a soup pan, fry the onion in the olive oil over a medium heat for about 5 minutes until it starts to soften.

Add in the aubergine and fry for another 10 minutes until lightly browned.  The aubergine will absorb the olive oil.  You can add more olive oil if you wish, or keep moving it around the pan to brown.

When the aubergine is browned, stir in the garlic and cumin seeds, and then the rest of the ingredients apart from the parsley/coriander if using.

Simmer the soup for 20 minutes. Serve with a sprinkle of chopped herbs if you have any.  The herbs not only add a nice contrast of colour, but another layer of Middle Eastern flavour.

This soup can be thickened into a stew by adding 100g red lentils or 50g soup pasta with the wet ingredients, or simply reducing the water by half.  Serve over couscous or rice if serving as a stew.

Instagram: leesashomemade

Facebook: Leesa's Homemade

Zoe Science & Nutrition Baked Root Vegetable Medley

With beetroot and half a butternut squash to use up on New Year's Eve, and a vegetarian to cater for, I tried this recipe I saw on @Zoe instagram account.  In spite forgetting to set an oven timer due to the jollity of board games and sparkling wine, it turned out well.  I had the last serving today on homemade wholegrain sourdough toast drizzled with extra virgin olive oil.

Serves 2 as a main or 4 as a side 

1 sweet potato

1 small squash

1 beetroot

5 Jerusalem artichokes (didn't use - used several small beetroot and large sweet potato instead)

1 handful cashews, soaked in boiling water for at least 10 minutes

400g tin of white beans (recipe said drained, but I didn't) 

1 tsp miso paste

a few sprigs of thyme

2 cloves of garlic

100ml milk of choice (used the bean liquid instead)

2 tbsp olive oil

Salt & pepper to taste.

Preheat the oven to 190C.

Thinly slice your vegetables using a knife or mandolin and layer into an ovenproof dish with fresh thyme.

In a blender, combine the beans, soaked cashews, garlic, milk and miso paste into a pourable sauce. Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed.

Cover the vegetables with the sauce and push down to ensure they are submerged. Drizzle the olive oil over the top and place in the oven for around an hour until the vegetables are soft and the top is golden and crispy.

My tips; brush some additional olive oil over the bottom and sides of your baking dish.  Also, my vegetables were not submerged by the sauce so I covered the dish with some aluminium foil.

Instagram: leesashomemade

Facebook: Leesa's Homemade

Air Fryer or Oven Roasted Vegetable Salad

Now it is Sunday Roast season, I am putting a tray of mixed vegetables in the oven whilst the roast is cooking if there is space, or after.  These vegetables are then a potted up with some pulses, seeds/nuts, and a dressing as a grab and go midweek packed lunch.

Last Sunday I roasted half a cauliflower and half a squash, and mixed in a can of drained chickpeas after roasting the dish.  As the spice mix (leftover from my son making southern fried chicken) I tossed the veg in before cooking was really quite spicy, I made a cooling tahini dressing with a few spinach leaves whizzed in just for colour. It filled three takeaway containers.  A few weeks before I roasted 500g beetroot and 750g sweet potato

Firm vegetables roast well; squash, sweet potato, cauliflower, beetroot, carrot, parsnips, celeriac, fennel. But softer vegetables (aubergine, courgette, onion, peppers, cabbage) work well too, just with less cooking.

Toss the vegetables in a few tablespoons of olive oil and roast for around 45 minutes at 200C in a fan oven, or 20 minutes in an air fryer at 180C. You can add a little salt, paprika, cumin, or harissa as you wish. Toss/stir around halfway through the cooking time. 

Add a tin of drained green lentils, beans, or chickpeas, sprinkle over some mixed seeds, add some cheese (feta, goats cheese, cottage cheese) if you like, and a dressing like tahini dressing, vinaigrette, chermoula, chimichurri, zhoug, or salsa verde.

If feeling the need for some more carbs, adding some cooked quinoa, pearl barley, pasta, couscous etc

Instagram: leesashomemade

Facebook: Leesa's Homemade

Stuffed Spaghetti Squash

An unexpected spaghetti squash arrived in our Riverford vegbox last week.  We had such a meaty cooked breakfast for yesterday morning for one of my daughter's birthday meals, that my partner half jokingly said we should eat the squash for dinner, before he went out for the day to his elderly mother's.

Googling 'spaghetti squash recipes' brought me back to Riverford's recipes, and their Pesto Stuffed Spaghetti Squash with Breadcrumbs & Mozzarella. As we did not have any mozzarella to spare (today's homemade pizza is the last birthday meal) I thought I'd use feta, which sent me off on a Greek inspired filling.

Serves 2

1 medium to large spaghetti squash

200g feta

50g pine nuts

1 tbsp chopped or dried mint

1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed

1/4 tsp chilli flakes (optional)

1 handful breadcrumbs (1 thin slice of bread 'liquidised)

Extra virgin olive oil

Pepper & salt

Preheat the oven to 180C whilst you split the squash in half from top to bottom.  Scrape out the seeds, and reserve for roasting.  Rub a little olive oil, salt,and pepper on the flesh of the squash.

Bake cut side down with 1 tbsp water under each half for 25-30 minutes until the flesh can pulled into shreds easily with a fork.

Scrape the flesh into a bowl with the feta, pine nuts, mint, garlic, chilli if using, and 1 tbsp olive oil.  

Mix well and refill the two squash shells.  Sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the filling and drizzle over a little olive oil.

Bake for another 8-10 minutes until the breadcrumbs are a golden brown.

Instagram: leesashomemade

Facebook: Leesa's Homemade

Roasted Beetroot, Sweet Potato, & Chickpeas

With children back in college, and OH working back in the office more days a week I have been trying (and usually failing) to meal prep a couple grab & go lunches so they can be alternated throughout the week.

My son made Lentil Bolognese on Sunday night, and had four pasta dishes that he didn't need to worry about keeping cold until lunchtime.

On Thursday night I finally got round to roasting some vegetables I bought on Monday to bake.  And this dish would have had some kale in it, had I not used is as a Super Green Pasta Sauce last night

500g beetroot

750g sweet potato (I took 2 sweet potatoes out of the 1kg bag to make soup)

1 can of chickpeas, drained

3 tbsp olive oil

Wash but do not peel the vegetables and chop into bite sized pieces.

Toss in the olive oil with the drained chickpeas.

Bake for 40 minutes at 180C, stirring around halfway through the cooking time.

This quantity made three portions.  Today, for a fry filling lunch, I microwaved a portion and added halloumi, za'atar, and tahini dressing. Other ideas of ingredients to add are feta, goats cheese, cottage cheese, quinoa, pearl barley, Chermoula, Chimichurri, Zhoug, or a good old Italian Salsa Verde.

A single portion could be made in an air fryer with one beetroot, one sweet potato, and about a third of a tin of chickpeas.  Cook for 20 minutes at 180C, mixing halfway through the cooking time.

Instagram: leesashomemade

Facebook: Leesa's Homemade

Jamie Oliver's Creamy Mushroom Soup

I make Jamie Oliver's Creamy Mushroom Soup every few weeks, and although I know most recipes by heart that I cook regularly, this one I cannot.   So in fear that one day Jamie's recipe will vanish from his website I will copy it here.

600g mushrooms

1 onion

2 sticks of celery 

3 cloves of garlic

a few sprigs of fresh flat-leaf parsley

a few sprigs of fresh thyme

1 tbsp olive oil

1.5 litres organic chicken or vegetable stock

75 ml single cream

Brush the mushrooms clean if required and tear into pieces.

Peel and finely slice the onion, celery and garlic, then pick the parsley, finely chopping the stalks. Pick the thyme leaves.

Heat a splash of olive oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat, add the onion, celery, garlic, parsley stalks, thyme leaves and mushrooms, pop the lid on and cook gently until softened.

Pour the stock into the pan and bring to the boil over a medium heat, turn the heat down to low and simmer for 15 minutes.

Season to taste with sea salt and black pepper, then whiz with a stick blender until smooth.

Pour in the cream, bring just back to the boil, then turn off the heat.

Instagram: leesashomemade

Facebook: Leesa's Homemade

Tandoori Salmon & Potato Traybake

Oven season begins, and with a surplus of potatoes I thought I'd combine Tandoori Salmon with potatoes and cook a hands off traybake.

Serves 4

500g salmon fillet

100g greek yoghurt

2 tbsp tandoori masala powder

1 clove of garlic, peeled & crushed

Juice of a small lemon

1kg white or salad potatoes

1 tbsp light olive oil

Mix the yoghurt, tandoori masala, garlic, and lemon juice together.  Spread over the flesh side of the salmon and leave to marinate for at least 30 minutes.

About an hour before you want to eat turn the oven on to preheat to 220C/200C Fan.

Cut the potatoes into wedges, or in half if smaller salad potatoes.  Place in a high sided baking dish big enough to spread them into a single layer, toss in a tablespoon of light olive oil and turn skin side down.

Bake the potatoes for 30 minutes then remove the dish from the oven.  Toss the potatoes so the ones on the outside are moved to the middle then make space in the middle of the dish for the salmon. Scrape all the marinade onto the salmon, and arrange the potatoes around it.

Return the baking dish to the oven for 15 minutes.

Serve with something green like wilted spinach, peas, green beans, or cucumber raita. 

Instagram: leesashomemade

Facebook: Leesa's Homemade

Pear & Date Chutney

Every year I hunt around for my tried and tested Pear & Date Chutney recipe, so I have finally typed it up and posted it so I can find quicker next time.

1kg firm pears, peeled and cubed

2 onions, finely chopped

250g dates

500ml pickling vinegar
500g sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground ginger (optional)

1/2-1 tsp chilli flakes

Simmer pears, onions, dates, vinegar and spices for 20 minutes to soften the onions.  Add the sugar and salt and simmer for another 20-40 minutes until the chutney is dark and glossy.  Stir frequently to ensure it is not catching on the bottom of the pan.

Pot in sterilised jars and seal with clean lids scalded with boiling water.  Keeps for at least 12 months.

Instagram: leesashomemade

Facebook: Leesa's Homemade

Damson Brandy

Having had a bad experience with gin in my youth, I usually make Sloe Brandy at this time of year.  But my secret sloe hunting ground seems a bit bare this year so I decided to make Damson Brandy.

The recipe I use is from Richard Mabey's Food for Free, and is the sketchiest of recipes.  I simply take one bottle of cheap/value brandy and pour it over about 1lb of fruit (I slit the damsons with a sharp knife) and 1/2lb of sugar in a large kilner jar.  Store the jar in a dark cupboard and turn from time to time to dissolve the sugar.  Richard Mabey then says this will be ready by Christmas.  But I'll be starting it as soon as the liquid has turned ruby red and the sugar appears to be dissolved.

In a similar vein, I made Blackberry Whiskey last year...

Instagram: leesashomemade

Facebook: Leesa's Homemade

TikTok: @leesashomemade

Minestrone - Italian Vegetable, Ham & Pasta Soup

A few years ago Princess' fondness for all things tomato led me to revive a favourite from my childhood in Italy - Minestrone or Italian Vegetable, Ham, Bean & Pasta Soup.

I used to have to purée the soup for her as she has cerebral palsy and has difficulty chewing, plus puréeing hid the vegetables from her younger brother and sister.  But now not only to Sprout & Baby Boy help me make it, but the 'lumps' are positively looked forward to.

Minestrone is great way of getting a hugely healthy amount of veg and pulses into the kids. I remember supermarkets in Italy selling ready chopped minestrone packs of vegetables, but like any traditional family recipe the variations are endless. I feel that tomato, beans, bacon, pasta, and a green vegetable are key to the taste - but you may not. A vegetarian version can be easily make by leaving out the bacon and using vegetable stock cubes

Makes 4 hearty servings

1 medium onion, peeled and diced (optional if you are using leeks)
1 large clove of garlic, peeled and crushed
1 large carrot, diced
1 large stick of celery, diced
100g bacon bits, lardons, or leftover chopped ham
1 can of chopped tomatoes
1 can of beans (haricot, cannellini, kidney, whatever)
1 litre recently boiled water (or ham stock if you boil a ham)
2 chicken stock cube (optional)
Half a small cabbage, finely sliced (or leeks, spring greens, courgettes, kale...)
50-100g soup pasta, macaroni, or broken pasta (50g makes a more soupy consistency, 100g a thicker 
1 tbsp olive oil for frying
1 tsp herbes de provence or oregano or 2 bay leaves (optional)

Soften the onion, carrot, and celery in the olive oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. 

When slightly softened, add the bacon/ham. Stir around for about a minute then add the rest of the ingredients. If using ham stock, do not use stock cubes.

Cover with a lid and bring to the boil, then turn down to a simmer for 20-30 minutes until the pasta is soft. Stir from time to time to stop the pasta from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

My mum always used to say that this soup was better the day after, as the flavours seemed to develop more, but I am never organised enough to do this nor have enough space in the fridge to keep it cool overnight. The closest I get is to make it on a Sunday morning whilst the kids and Dad are having breakfast, then turn the gas off and leave it on the stove with the lid on firmly whilst we go off swimming in the local pool and have this for lunch 3-4 hours later with a sprinkling of grated cheddar (it should be parmesan but I never have it in).

November 2025: Big Boy is now 17 and 6' 2".  He takes Minestrone in a flask as a packed lunch to Sixth Form college. 

Instagram: leesashomemade

Facebook: Leesa's Homemade

TikTok: @leesashomemade