Classic Bruschetta

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Bruschetta

I do love Bruschetta, in fact anything Italian, it has to be my 2nd favourite cuisine, next to Scottish Cooking, of course!

This is a classic recipe that never fails to satisfy the taste buds. Bruschetta is an antipasto starter consisting of toasted bread with oil and garlic, topped with tomatoes & basil. It’s light & refreshing, a perfect snack, starter or party food dish.

Serves 10-12

1 Baguette or any crusty bread- sliced diagonally (try Tiger bread, its delicious too)

250g Cherry Tomatoes – sliced into quarters

1-2 Garlic Cloves – crushed

Fresh Basil leaves – chopped or 2 tsp dried basil

30ml Balsamic Vinegar (use a good quality one – you’ll taste the difference)

60ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil (use a good quality one)

1/2 Small red onion – chopped finely

1 Tsp Sea salt

1 Tsp Cracked Rainbow Pepper

  1. Place the diced tomatoes, red onion, garlic, basil, balsamic vinegar & olive oil into a bowl & mix through. Season with salt & pepper. Cover & refrigerate for 1 hour to allow flavours to infuse.
  2. When ready to serve, brush the bread with a little olive oil & garlic, grill lightly under a medium grill heat until lightly toasted.
  3. Spoon mixture onto the bread, sprinkle a little basil & serve. Enjoy!

MEDICINAL GREEN CURRY

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Green Curry with Rice

This time of year (January) it is very cold, wet, windy and snowy, so your immune system can take a bit of a battering. We tend to reach for medications such a cold & flu capsules, ibuprofen etc, which can help, however, I am a great believer that you can repair your body and fight infections from within and eating right does play a big part on that.

This recipe contains the following, so it is the ultimate winter fighter food.

Chillies contain Capsaicin which helps clear mucus. Ginger contains natural antibodies & anti-inflammatory agents & the ability to clear congestion. Garlic has antiviral & antibacterial properties. Butternut squash & wholemeal rice is good for boosting Vitamin C for your immune system. Cashew nuts are good source of fibre & magnesium both good for bone health & energy boosting.

This is also a great dish for batch cooking. It really is a win win all round.

Serves 4

2 Large Chicken Breasts – cut into chunks

2 Tbsp Thai Green Curry Paste (1 used the Blue Dragon Paste, but feel free to make your own)

1 Tbsp Coconut Oil or Olive Oil for cooking

1 400g Tin Coconut Milk

1 Vegetable Stock Cube

1 Tsp Turmeric

300g Butternut Squash, cut into chunks

200g Cauliflower, cut into small pieces

150g Baby Spinach

1 Tbsp Soy Sauce

Salt & Pepper

Juice of 1 Lime

30g Chopped Cashews (to garnish)

Handful chopped Spring Onion (to garnish)

50g Wholemeal Rice per person, cooked as per pack instructions.

  1. Heat the oil in a pan on medium to high heat, brown the chicken and remove with slotted spoon.
  2. If needed, put a little more oil in. Stir fry the curry paste for about 2 minutes to heat through and release the flavours.
  3. Crumble the vegetable stock cube into the coconut milk and stir, pour into the pan with the curry paste and mix through. Add 1 Tsp of Turmeric.
  4. Add back to the pan the chicken, butternut squash and cauliflower, mix and reduce to a simmer for 30 minutes, covered.
  5. 5 minutes before curry is ready, add in 1 Tbsp Soy Sauce, Juice of Lime and Spinach, mix through continue to cook for 5 minutes.
  6. Serve with some wholemeal rice, spring onion and cashew nuts.
Thai Green Curry & Wholemeal Rice

Spicy Carrot & Parsnip Soup

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Spicy Carrot & Parsnip Soup

It is definitely soup season, nights are getting darker, air is getting colder and a bowl of warm soup is the perfect recipe after a long days work. If you are looking for a really tasty soup that is simple to make with simple store cupboard ingredients then this is for you. The things I love about soup is that you can make a huge pot and freezer it for later. Tasty cooking can not get any simpler than this.

I harvested some of my Carrots and Parsnips at the weekend, so this was what I had decided upon. With some good quality crusty bread on the side this is perfect for lunch or dinner. The bright orange colour also brightens up your dinner table.

Full of nutrition too, with Carrots & Parsnips both being full of good Vitamin C this can help boost your immune system at this time of year and very low in calories too. Lets not forget the spices, with cumin being a great aid for the digestive system and also full or iron. Garlic, with its active compounds which can help reduce blood pressure and also combat sickness including the common cold. Turmeric is an anti-inflammatory and a powerful antioxidant, was classed as a Superfood too. It’s a win, win soup for me this season.

Vegetable Harvest, Carrots & Parsnips

Serves 4

8 Medium Size Carrots, Chopped (I keep the skin on but you can peel if you prefer)

6 Medium Size Parsnips, Peeled & Chopped

3 Celery Stalks, Chopped

1 White Onion, Chopped

1 tbsp Olive Oil

1 tsp Ginger Granules or 1 tbsp freshly grated Ginger

1 tsp Garlic Powder or 2 garlic cloves – minced

1 tsp Cumin

1 tsp Ground Coriander

1 tsp Turmeric

1.5 litres good Vegetable Stock

Salt & Pepper to taste

A Little Swirl of Cream to serve and a sprinkling of pumpkin or sunflower seeds (Optional)

Crusty Bread to serve (Optional)

  1. Pre heat the oil in a large pot on medium to high heat, add the onions and celery and cook until onions are translucent.
  2. Add in the spices (cumin, garlic, coriander, turmeric, ginger) and mix through until coated.
  3. Add in the parsnips, carrots and vegetable stock, season & bring to the boil then reduce and simmer for 25-30 minutes.
  4. Take off the heat and using a hand blender, blend the vegetables to make a smooth thick consistancey.
  5. Serve into bowl and finish with a swirl of cream and sprinkle of seeds.

You can keep soup in a fridge for about 3 days and freezer for up to 3 months.

Spicy Carrot & Parsnip Soup

Chicken & Chickpea Thai Cakes

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Chicken & Chickpea Thai Cakes

These little cakes are so easy to make and quick too, a great mid week dinner or even a quick lunch bite. What’s even better is that they are healthy, low in fat & low in calories at just 150 per cake.

Makes 8

2 Chicken Breasts

4 Spring Onions – chopped finely

1 tsp garlic granules or 2 garlic cloves, crushed

1/2 tsp ginger or 1″ fresh ginger chopped finely

1 tbsp dried coriander

2 tsps Soy Sauce

Zest & Juice of 1 lime

Salt & Pepper

1 tin of Chickpeas drained (400g)

1 tsp dried chilli flakes

Sweet Chilli Sauce to serve.

  1. Preheat oven to 180 deg and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.
  2. Using of food processor blitz the chickpeas and chicken until minced.
  3. In a bowl mix everything together with your hands and form 8 small cakes about 1cm thick, place onto baking paper and bake in the oven for 15 minutes.
  4. Serve with some Sweet Chilli Sauce. Yum!
Making Chicken & Chickpea Thai Cakes
Chicken & Chickpea Thai Cakes

Thai Beef Balls

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Thai Beef Balls

I do love it when an ad hoc recipe comes together. We fancied some Thai tonight but didn’t really have the right ingredients, so I compromised! I am so bad at compromising…..lol….. I am forever adding and changing things to suit what I have in my cupboards…..but that’s where good recipes come from…right?

This was one of them, super tasty and satisfied us for dinner tonight.

Thai Beef Balls & Thai Potato Wedges with Lime & Mayo

Made 18 Bitesize Balls

250g Scottish Beef Mince (you could use Chicken or Turkey)

2 tbsps Soy Sauce

4 Spring Onions – chopped finely

1 tsp Dried garlic granules

1 tsp Dried ginger powder

2 tsps Dried coriander

1 tsp Chilli flakes

Zest of 1 lime (keep lime for juice later)

150g tin Broad Beans (crushed) (Water chestnuts, blitzed in a processor would be nice too)

  1. Preheat oven to 180 deg and place greaseproof paper onto a baking tray.
  2. Mix the Soy sauce, ginger, garlic, chilli, lime zest, coriander, spring onions and seasoning in a bowl. Then add mince & broad beans, mix together with hands until it comes together.
  3. Take a small amount and roll into a ball, put onto baking tray. Bake in oven for 15 minutes. At end of cooking, turn on grill and brown for a few minutes.
  4. Serve with a Lime Wedge. I also served with Thai Potato Wedges (recipe below) and some Lime & Coriander Mayo.
Thai Beef Balls on Baking Tray with Potato Wedges

For the Potato Wedges

Slice your potatoes into wedges and place in a food bag or bowl.

For the coating, mix 3 tbsps olive oil with 1 tsp chilli flakes, 1/2 tsp ginger, 1 tsp garlic and 2 tsps coriander. Season then mix with the wedges and cook as normal. (I use my Crisper plate in my microwave to cook them as it only takes 10 minutes) Check below for info on the Crisperplate. https://www.hotpoint.co.uk/Appliances/Cooking/Microwaves

Thai Potato Wedges

Caribbean Beef Stew

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A Bowl of Caribbean Beef Stew

When I think of Caribbean Food, I think beans, rice, peppers, sweet potato & tomatoes to name a few. This dish is a mix of all my favourites and I was using up leftovers too. I hope you enjoy. This dish would be lovely with Lamb too.

Serves 2

300g Scottish Beef Mince

150g Diced Butternut squash (or sweet potatoes)

1 onion, chopped

1 Red Pepper, chopped

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

1 cm fresh ginger, finely chopped

1 tbsp sweet hot paprika

120ml Beef Stock

200g chopped tin tomatoes

200g Black Eyed beans

Handful of peas

Salt & Pepper to taste

  1. Heat some oil in a large pan and brown the mince.
  2. Add in the butternut squash, onion, red pepper, garlic, ginger, paprika and mix through, cook for 1 minute then add in the stock, tomatoes, peas and beans, bring to the boil then simmer covered for about 30 minutes. Season.
  3. If using Lamb I would slow cook this so the Lamb in tender.
  4. Serve on its own or with some rice.
Bowl of Stew

Chicken Dopiaza (lower calorie option)

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I recently purchased a new cookbook by Pinch of Nom, I loved their last one so had to get their new one. This is a recipe from their Fakeaway options and at under 400 calories per serving it is definitely my new takeaway at home. Super tasty no compromise on flavour at all. I served with a little Basmati and Wild Rice along with my homemade Sweet Potato Roti, a perfect Saturday night home takeaway.

 

Makes 2 Servings

2 Chicken Breasts – cut into small chunks

1 red onion – diced

1 garlic clove – grated

1 cm piece of ginger – grated

1 tsp chilli flakes or 1 red chilli- diced

1 tsp curry powder**

1 tsp mixed spice**

**(I used this as an alternative to gram masala as I didn’t have any)

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

1 x 400g tin tomatoes

100ml chicken stock – 1 stock cube

1 red pepper – diced

1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander to serve.

 

  1. Heat a little low fat spray oil in a fry pan on medium heat
  2. Brown the onion, garlic, chilli and ginger together for a few minutes
  3. Add the chicken and brown all over.
  4. Next add in the curry powder, cumin, mixed spice, ground coriander and mix through until coated.
  5. Add in the tin tomatoes, red pepper and stock and bring to the boil then reduce and cook on a low heat for about 15 minutes lid on, then 15 minutes with lid off to help thicken the sauce slightly.
  6. Serve a sprinkle with some fresh coriander…..YUM!

Beetroot Hummus

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In a bid to eat a bit healthier, this little dip was perfect as I love Beetroot and always looking for different ways to use it. I saw this from The Veg Space, a great website if you love vegetables, some great ideas too.

The great thing is you can freeze hummus, so I made a big batch and split into smaller portions for later.

 

Makes approx 600g

3 Large cooked Beetroots, diced

1 can 400g Chickpeas

2 garlic cloves, crushed

Juice & zest of 2 Lemons

4 tbsp tahini

2 tsp smoked paprika

Salt & Pepper

 

  1. Drain the chickpeas and keep the juice.
  2. Put the chickpeas, beetroot, lemon juice & zest, tahini, paprika, garlic and seasoning into a blender or food processor and blitz to a smooth paste.
  3. Gradually add about 1-2 tbsps of the chickpea juice until you get the consistency you want.

Serve as you please. Makes a great dip.

Healthy too at just 71 calories per 50g.

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Mince Beef Rogan Josh

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I’ve had an Indian Superfood Cookbook for ages but for some reason never actually attempted to make anything from it. So today was that day it got opened. I wish I had opened it up sooner, this dish was super tasty and full of good antioxidants. I served it with a chickpea chapati, made from my original Chapati recipe, I changed the plain flour for Gram Flour.

 

Serves 2

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tsp ground cardamom

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp salt

1 onion, sliced thinly

1 tsp garlic granules

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp gram masala

1 400g can chopped tomatoes

1 tbsp grated fresh ginger

2-3 chillies chopped or 1 tsp chilli flakes

250g scottish beef mince

225g can of chickpeas

Small handful of Fresh coriander to serve.

 

  1. Heat the oil in a large fry pan
  2. Add in the onions with the cardamom, cumin, garlic, ginger, salt, turmeric, gram masala & chillies. Cook until onions are slightly browned and softened.
  3. Add in half of the tin tomatoes and cook for about 10 minutes or until the excess juices have dried off.                                                                          20190713_172151
  4. Add in the mince, mix well and cook until mince has browned all over, about 5 minutes.                                                                                                  20190713_172746
  5. Add in the remaining tomatoes & chickpeas, bring to the boil, cover & simmer for about 30 minutes. If the consistancey is too thick just add a little water.
  6. Season with the fresh coriander and serve.

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Moroccan Spiced Meatballs

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I served this little dish with my Moroccan Spiced Cauliflower as a tapas style dinner. These were so yummy and the sauce was rich with a little bit of sweetness.

 

Makes 8 Meatballs

200g scottish beef mince

30g panko breadcrumbs

1 egg

handful chopped coriander

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp dried coriander

1/2 tsp minced ginger

225g tin chopped tomatoes

150ml beef stock

1 red onion – finely sliced

 

  1. Place everything in a bowl and mix. Shape into 1″ balls and chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
  2. Heat up a fry pan with spray oil and cook meatballs until browned all over.
  3. Add in the onions a cook until softened and slightly browned.
  4. Add in the tomatoes and beef stock, bring to the boil then simmer medium heat until sauce starts to thicken, about 15-20 minutes. serve.

 

 

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Smoked Herby Cod & Chorizo Tray Bake

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Oh I do like a nice piece of fish. I picked up some lovely smoked Cod from my fishmonger and decided to do a tray bake with it.

This dish was so delicious and full of flavour. I mixed up the Chimichurri sauce by adding rocket leaves….delicious!

 

Makes 2-4 portions

4-6 Smoked Cod portions

6 Charlotte potatoes – quartered

1 red pepper – sliced

1 red onion – cut into wedges

100g chorizo – cut into 1cm cubes

Salt & pepper to season

For the herb crumb

2 tbsp dried parsley

1/2 tbsp dried oregano

1 slice of white bread

1 tbsp olive oil

For the Chimichurri dressing

2 tbsp dried parsley

1/2 tbsp dried oregano

1 tbsp dried coriander

1 garlic clove

1 tbsp dried chilli

handful of rocket leaves

Juice of 1.2 lemon

3 tbsp olive oil

4 tbsp water

 

  1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC fan.
  2. Toss together the potatoes, seasoning and 1 tablespoon of oil in a large roasting tray. Bake for 12 minutes, then add the chorizo, onion and peppers and roast for a further 15 minutes.                                                                                                 20180528_173438  20180528_150322
  3. Meanwhile, prepare the fish. Blitz together the parsley, oregano, bread and remaining oil to form coarse breadcrumbs. Brush the top of the fish fillets with a little extra oil and press on the breadcrumbs.
  4. Give the roasting tray a good shake, then place the fish and tomatoes on top and roast for a final 15 minutes, until the fish is cooked.                                                       20180528_174944
  5. Meanwhile make the chimichurri dressing. Combine all the ingredients in a blender and blitz to combine. Drizzle over the tray bake to serve.                                                20180528_150329

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Crunchy Peanut Butter Chicken

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If your anything like me……I Love peanut butter, so when I saw this recipe being executed on TV I just had to try it. I have adjusted the ingredients slightly to suit our tastes and I have to admit it’s bloody lovely!   This will soon be a staple recipe in my household I think.

You can serve it with some rice for a dinner, or even just on a toasted open baguette (which we done) or even as a filling in a wrap for lunch, its very versatile.

 

Makes enough for 4 people

For the Chicken Thighs and marinade:-

500g chicken thighs cut into strips

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp cornflour

1 tbsp peanut oil

For the Sauce:-

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar (good quality one)

80g peanut butter – crunchy

1 tsp soy sauce

2 tbsp sesame oil

1 tsp sichuan peppercorns – toasted and ground (you can use rainbow peppercorns too)

2 tbsp peanut oil

2 red chillies – chopped finely or 2 tsp dried chillies

4 spring onions – finely chopped

2 garlic cloves – crushed

1 inch root ginger, finely chopped

 

  1. For the marinade for chicken thighs – Mix the soy sauce, peanut oil and cornflour in a bowl, add the chicken and ensure coated evenly, allow to stand at room temperature for at least 1/2 hour.
  2. Meanwhile for the sauce, combine together balsamic vinegar, peanut butter, soy sauce, sesame oil and peppercorns until smooth. 20170720_205056
  3. Heat a wok or large fry pan over a medium to high heat, add the peanut oil to heat through until pan is coated, then add in the chillies, ginger and garlic cook for about 1 minute.
  4. Add in the marinated chicken and cook until chicken is browned all over. Add in the spring onions and the sauce mixture coating all the chicken pieces, cook for a further 2 minutes.     20170720_205102
  5. Serve with your choice of accompaniment.

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Spiced aubergine salad with pistachio yoghurt

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I love pistachio’s and always looking for new ways to incorporate into my dining. This was delicious.

Serves 4

Salad:-

Mixed leaves of choice, Grated Beetroot, Grated Carrot, Cherry tomatoes (halved), cucumber sliced, Feta cheese, Olives (your choice), 1 pomegranate, Olive oil and Balsamic Vinegar for dressing.

Spiced Aubergines:-

3/4 Aubergines (Halved)

1 garlic clove

Olive oil (2 tbsp)

1 tbsp cumin

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp chilli powder

1 tsp garlic

Salt and pepper to taste

Pistachio Yoghurt:-

6 tbsps Pistachio’s

Handful of fresh mint

250g natural yoghurt

1 tbsp olive oil

Method:-

1. Preheat oven to 220 deg.

2. Halved Aubergines longways, and make 1cm deep cuts diagonally about 2-3cm apart. Rub the garlic over the top of each one and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil and bake in oven for approx 30-40 mins.

3. Mix up aubergines spices and dust over then cook for a further 5 mins.

4. For the yoghurt, mix pistachios, yoghurt, mint and olive oil in a blender until smooth. Set aside until ready.

5. Mix all salad ingredients in a bowl with dressing, serve onto a plate and sprinkle feta cheese over.

6. Cut pomegranate in half and carefully remove seeds, discarding any white pith, sprinkle seeds over salad.

7. Place baked Aubergines on top of salad and serve with the yoghurt dressing.

Yummy!

 

 

Sweet Potato and Chicken Curry

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I am loving Sweet Potatoes at the moment, full of flavour and a great source of vitamins and fibre.

 

Serves 2   – This is so tasty!

1 large or 2 small Chicken Breasts – diced

8 Cardamom Pods

1 onion, finely chopped

2 Garlic cloves finely chopped

1 tbsp root ginger, peeled and grated

2 green chillies, chopped finely

1/2 tsp ground turmeric

2 tsp ground coriander

250ml coconut milk

1 sweet potato, cut into small chunks

1 lemon juiced

salt to taste

1 tbsp olive oil to fry

 

1. Heat the oil in a pan, add the cardamom pods and fry over a medium heat for about 2 minutes

2. Add the onion, garlic, chillies and ginger and fry gently, while continuing to stir, for about 5 minutes

3. Stir in the turmeric, ground coriander and coconut milk. Season to taste with salt and bring to the boil

4. Add the chicken pieces, pressing them down into the sauce. Reduce the heat and leave to simmer for 5 minutes, covered

5. Stir in the sweet potatoes, cover and continue to simmer for a further 10 minutes

6. Uncover the pan, increase the heat slightly and cook for a further 10 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through, the sauce has thickened and the sweet potato is tender. Stir once or twice towards the end of cooking time to prevent the sauce from burning.

7. Stir in lemon juice, cook for 1 more minute and then serve on a bed of rice or other preferred choice.

Chorizo, Sausage and Lentil Stew

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Had some leftover Chorizo in fridge, so I decided to mix up my Lentil stew recipe. Please trust me…it tastes better than it looks..lol! Still learning my photography.

Serves 2

200g Brown Lentils

1 red onion chopped finely

1 carrot sliced

1 garlic clove

1 tsp chilli

1 tsp parsley

220g tin chopped tomatoes

250ml beef stock

1 bay leaf

pinch salt and pepper

50g-75g Chorizo

4-6 Aberdeen Angus Beef Sausages (halved)

 

1. Brown onions and garlic in a saucepan with spray oil or tsp olive oil until soft

2. Add in lentils, carrot, chilli, parsley, chopped tomatoes, stock, salt & pepper and bay leaf, bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes.

3. Meanwhile brown sausages and chorizo in a pan with 1 tablespoon olive oil for 5 mins, remove with slotted spoon and add to stew, simmer for a further 25-30 minutes.

4. Serve with some crusty bread. Yum!