Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘Healthy’

Low-fat Curry for Autumn

Posted in Asian, Food, Healthy, Indian, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , on 1 November 2011| Leave a Comment »

This is a handy mid-week curry with nothing like the calorie and fat content of an Indian take-away!

Indian butternut squash curry – to serve 4

  • 200g brown basmati rice
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 butternut squash, diced
  • 1 red onion, diced
  • 2 tbsp curry paste (we used Patak’s Madras paste but you can go for a milder paste if you prefer)
  • 300ml vegetable stock
  • 4 large tomatoes, roughly chopped
  • 400g can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
  • 3 tbsp fat-free Greek yogurt
  • small handful coriander, chopped

Cook the rice in boiling salted water according to the instructions on the pack. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large frying pan and cook the squash for a few minutes until lightly browned. Add the onion and the curry paste and fry for another 3 or 4 minutes.

Pour over the stock, then cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until the squash is tender. Add the tomatoes and chickpeas, then gently cook for a few minutes, until the tomatoes slightly soften.

Take off the heat and stir through the yogurt and coriander. Serve with the rice.

(Original recipe from BBC Good Food)

Read Full Post »

Woohoo it’s sunny! An Irish/Italian Salad

Posted in Food, Italian, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on 10 September 2011| 1 Comment »

Irish SaladThis caprese salad is made from all Irish ingredients – even the mozzarella (fellow Dubliners can pick some up in Fallon & Byrne). Perfect for what will probably be one of our last sunny lunches for this year.

Caprese di Mozzarella – serves 2

  • mozzarella cheese
  • 2-3 tomatoes, sliced
  • basil leaves
  • olive oil
  • salt
Drain the cheese and cut into thin slices. Arrange the tomato and mozzarella slices in concentric rings on a nice plate. Sprinkle with basil leaves, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt (salt is a necessity here!).

Read Full Post »

Time for something a little lighter…

Posted in Food, Healthy, Shellfish, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , on 11 August 2011| 1 Comment »

Easy-peasy and used up some prawns that had been in the freezer for nearly too long.

Lemony prawn pasta with broccoli – to serve 4

  • 300g farfalle pasta
  • 1 head of broccoli, cut into small florets
  • 200g large cooked prawns
  • 3 tbsp double cream
  • juice of 1/2 a lemon

Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the pack and scoop out and keep a bit of the cooking water near the end. Add the broccoli to the pasta pan 3 minutes before the end of the cooking time and cook for another 3 minutes. Drain and tip back into the pan.

Turn the heat down very low and add the prawns, cream, lemon juice and some seasoning. Add a bit of your pasta water if you need to thin the sauce a bit.

Healthy and low-fat dinner is served (the 3 tbsp of cream is divided between 4 people!!)

(Original recipe from BBC Good Food)

Read Full Post »

Super-healthy salmon & rice salad

Posted in Fish, Food, Healthy, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , on 24 July 2011| 2 Comments »

We made this salad because we were trying to use up some brown basmati we’ve had sitting around in the cupboard. The flavour and texture combination turned out even better than expected and it was just as delicious for dinner as well as the next day for lunch. Fresh and light and yet filling and very satisfying. Definitely will be done again.

We reckon this would be a fabulous as part of a buffet; easy to prepare in advance and bursting with colours and flavour.

Don’t be put off by microwaving the salmon – it really does work a treat!

Zingy salmon & brown rice salad (serves 4)

  • 200g brown basmati rice
  • 200g frozen soya beans, defrosted (we used peas because we couldn’t find he soya beans)
  • 2 salmon fillets, skin on
  • 1 cucumber , diced
  • small bunch spring onions , sliced
  • small bunch coriander , roughly chopped
  • zest and juice 1 lime
  • 1 red chilli , diced, deseeded if you like
  • 4 tsp light soy sauce
  1. Cook the rice following pack instructions and 3 mins before it’s done, add the soya beans. Drain and cool under cold running water.
  2. Meanwhile, put the salmon on a plate and microwave on high for 3 mins. Allow to cool slightly, remove the skin with a fork, then flake.
  3. Gently fold the cucumber, spring onions, coriander and salmon into the rice and beans. In a separate bowl, mix the lime zest and juice, chilli and soy, then pour over the rice before serving.
Original recipe BBC Good Food

Read Full Post »

MoroccanTurkey Meatballs with Citrus Couscous

Posted in Healthy, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , on 22 July 2011| 2 Comments »

A dish that is super-healthy and easy to cook makes this a great weeknight dinner and lunch (if you make too much the night before). It’s a tiny bit dry on it’s own even with the juicy orange in the couscous so we recommend you serve some Tzatziki on the side – even though that’s Greek. The Moroccans will forgive us.
Serves 4

  • 500g turkey mince (they have it in Tesco)
  • 2 tsp each chilli powder, ground cumin and ground coriander
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 onion, coarsely grated
  • zest 1 orange, then peeled and orange segments chopped
  • 250g coucous
  • 250ml hot chicken stock
  • 2 tsp olive oil
  • small bunch coriander, roughly chopped
  1. Mix the mince, spices, onion and orange zest together in a big bowl with your hands. Roll the mixture into about 20 walnut-sized meatballs.
  2. Put the couscous in a bowl, pour in the hot stock, cover with cling film and leave to stand for 10 minutes.
  3. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan. Add the meatballs and fry for about 12 minutes until nice and brown all over and cooked through.
  4. Fluff the couscous up with a fork, stir in the chopped orange, coriander and some seasoning. Serve with the meatballs and some tzatziki.

Read Full Post »

Sloe Gin Rhubarb (yum!)

Posted in Brunch, Dessert, Food, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , on 21 July 2011| Leave a Comment »

Really interesting flavours that celebrate each component: sloes, gin and rhubarb. Great served chilled with plain yogurt or muesli for your morning breakfast – the alcohol burns off in the oven. If you haven’t got any sloe gin we’re definitely not suggesting you go looking for some just for this recipe. On the other hand if  you happen to have some lying around, then it’s definitely worth trying.

Nigel Slater’s Sloe Rhubarb – to serve 4

  • 750g rhubarb
  • 100g sugar
  • 120ml sloe gin
  • 2 tbsp water
Heat the oven at 160°C/Gas 3. Cut the rhubarb into short sticks. Put it into a glass, stainless steal or china dish (not aluminium, as it will taint the rhubarb).

Stir the sugar, sloe gin and water together and pour over the rhubarb. Bake for 40 minutes to an hour – if the rhubarb is tough it will take the full hour to soften. Keep and eye on it and baste now and then.

When the rhubarb is tender, remove it from the oven and leave to cool. Can be served warm but we liked it chilled.

(Original recipe from Tender – Volume 2 by Nigel Slater)

Read Full Post »

Chicken with Courgettes and Garlic

Posted in Chicken, Food, Healthy, tagged , , , , , , on 20 July 2011| Leave a Comment »

Apologies to any of you that don’t like courgettes but as long as people keep donating us homegrown ones we’re going to keep on cooking them.

This dish is based on courgettes, onions and garlic and it’s so tasty that you can’t tell it’s low fat. The recipe is to serve 8 (to serve buffet-style) but we just cooked half and it worked well.

The original recipe suggested side dishes of tomatoes, peppers and aubergines. We had some new potatoes to use up so we roasted them with a bit of oil and some herbs from the garden.

Chicken saute with courgettes and garlic – to serve 8 (easily halved)

  • 8 x chicken breast fillets
  • 8-10 small courgettes – we used a giant one
  • 2 onions
  • 2 large garlic cloves
  • 2 red chillies
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 50g butter
  • juice of 2 small limes
  • lime wedges, to serve
  1. Cut the chicken into 1cm thick strips and the courgettes into 1cm thick slices on an angle. Slice the onions finely and separate into rings. Slice the garlic very finely. Deseed the chillies and shred finely.
  2. Heat a large frying pan or a heavy roasting tin on the hob. Add the oil and sauté the onions and courgettes until golden brown – you might have to do this in a few batches. Season and transfer to a plate.
  3. Add the butter to the frying pan. When it sizzles, sauté the chicken strips in batches until golden brown all over. Add them all back to the pan together and cook for another minute before seasoning and adding the onions, courgettes and sliced garlic.
  4. Keep cooking for another few minutes until everything is almost tender, then add the lime juice, and check the seasoning. Scatter over the chillies and serve with lime wedges.
(Original recipe by Gary Rhodes for BBC Good Food Magazine July 2003)

Read Full Post »

Wasabi salmon with cucumber salad

Posted in Asian, Fish, Food, Healthy, tagged , , , , , on 30 June 2011| 2 Comments »

This was another of our heathy weeknight ideas – some of which turn out surprisingly well and others that turn out a bit bland and boring (we don’t blog the bland ones). This was great, though beware of wasabi fumes coming down your nose, a sensation we quite like but mightn’t be for everyone. The cucumber salad was a real hit too – salty, sweet, hot and sour. Felt like a bit of a treat in fact.

Wasabi salmon with cucumber salad – to serve 2

  • 2 salmon fillets, c. 125g each
  • 1 tbsp wasabi paste
  • half a cucumber
  • 1 small red chilli, cut into rings
  • 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
  • 1tsp golden caster sugar
  • 1tsp salt
  • 2 tsp poppyseeds
  • steamed rice to serve

Rub the salmon all over with a tiny bit of oil and then the wasabi paste.

Split the cucumber in half lengthways and discard the seeds. Cut into large diagonal chunks and put in a bowl. Add the chilli, rice vinegar, salt, sugar, poppyseeds and a bit of pepper. Mix well until the salt and sugar have dissolved. There will be quite a lot of liquid but don’t worry and don’t be tempted to leave out the salt as it is essential for the hot, sour, salty, sweet balance.

Preheat your grill and grill the fish for 5-6 minutes or until is turned a nice colour on top and is just cooked through (no need to turn it over).

Serve with the cucumber salad and steamed rice. The salad dressing is nice drizzled over the fish too.

(Original recipe from BBC Good Food)

Read Full Post »

Superhealthy Chicken Bake

Posted in Food, Healthy, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , on 29 June 2011| Leave a Comment »

Until very recently we had terrible trouble finding skinless, boneless chicken thighs but lately we’ve got them in M&S, Tesco and Sainsbury’s. They are really cheap and much tastier than chicken breasts that can dry out easily. We now have a freezer full of them (just in case they become illusive again) so expect plenty more ideas for chicken thighs here over the next while. All this dish requires is minimal chopping, bung it all in the one pan and bake – perfect for a weeknight (and it’s really healthy too!).

Chicken bake – serves 2

  • about 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
  • 6 new or salad potatoes, halved
  • 1/2 a lemon, cut into wedges
  • 6 cloves of garlic, skins left on
  • 1 red pepper, siced
  • a few thyme sprigs
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 25g pitted black olives
  • 250g cherry tomatoes

Heat the oven to 200C/180F/gas 6.

Put the chicken, potatoes, lemon, garlic, pepper and thyme onto a large baking tray. Drizzle the oil over and season. Then roast for 30 minutes.

Add the olives and tomatoes and roast for another 10 minutes or until the chicken and potatoes are browned and cooked through.

We served this with a rocket salad.

Read Full Post »

Italian Summer Avocado and Prawn Salad

Posted in Food, Healthy, Shellfish, tagged , , , , , , , on 6 June 2011| 2 Comments »

It’s avocado season and we have a big bag of prawns in the freezer. This is one of two prawn and avocado salads we’ve tried in the last few days. The seasoned pistachios make this one a bit special. We loved it.

Avocado and prawn salad (Insalata di avocado e gamberetti)

  • 50g pistachio nuts, shelled and chopped
  • 2 avocados
  • juice of a lemon
  • 200g cooked peeled prawns
  • olive oil
  • salt and white pepper
Mix the pistachios with a pinch of pepper in a bowl.
Peel, half and stone the avocados. Slice them thinly and drizzle with the lemon juice.
Put the avocado in a salad bowl, add the prawns and stir gently.
Sprinkle the pistachios over, season lightly with salt, drizzle with oil and serve.
Wine Suggestion: Try a dry Gasgogny rose (ours was Domaine de Pellehaut from Mitchell & Son on offer for €7.95. Bargain!)
(Original recipe from ‘Recipes from an Italian Summer’ published by Phaidon)

Read Full Post »

Healthy Thai Prawn Stir-fry with Ginger and Scallions

Posted in Asian, Food, Healthy, Shellfish, tagged , , , , , , on 27 May 2011| 2 Comments »

This tastes so much better than it looks and it looked really good on the plate when served, but by that stage we were so starved we ate it instead of taking pics! So much healthier than a Thai takeaway and dead-on tasty. The marinade is a really neat trick which we’ll definitely use again.

  • 200g raw, peeled tiger prawns
  • 1 green chilli, chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, crush 1 and finely slice the other 2
  • a bunch of coriander, separate the leaves from the stalks and save both
  • 1 tbsp caster sugar
  • juice of a lime
  • 3 tbsp fish sauce
  • 2 tbsp groundnut oil
  • 3 cm piece of ginger, finely slice and then shred it
  • 8 scallions, finely sliced
  • a red pepper, thinly sliced
  • 85g water chestnuts, sliced (we couldn’t find these and it was fine without them!)
  • 100g beansprouts
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • pack of egg noodles to serve
  • lime wedges
Whiz the chilli, crushed garlic, coriander stalks (snip them with scissors to make them small) and caster sugar in a small food processor. Add half the lime juice and the fish sauce and then pour over your prawns.
Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wok, add the ginger and scallions and fry for a minute. Add the red pepper and fry for another minute or until it starts to soften. Add the water chestnuts and bean sprouts and toss until the sprouts start wilting. Add the soy sauce and plenty of black pepper and tip the lot into a serving dish.
Heat a bit of oil in the wok and toss your egg noodles until hot. They’ll pick up some of the juicy and crunchy bits from the veggies. Mix them into the serving dish with the vegetables.
Lift the prawns out of their marinade and cook in wok with the remaining oil for a minute or two or until they turn pink. Add the marinade and swirl it around in the wok to heat it. Tip everything over the vegetables and noodles. Add the coriander leaves and remaining lime juice before you serve. Put some lime wedges on the side of the plates.
Wine Suggestion: We had a glass of Chilean Sauvignon Blanc which went really well. The fruit was juicy and counter-acted the chilli instead of fighting against it which can happen. It was fresh and zingy.

Read Full Post »

Spicy Houmous

Posted in Food, Healthy, Uncategorized, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , on 20 May 2011| Leave a Comment »

Well here’s a nice tasty houmous and a bit different from the one we’re all used too. We love houmous but it sometimes has that over-powering thing you get from raw garlic (no matter how little you use). This one uses some cooked red onions and indian spices for flavour instead and it’s a winner!

Red onion & Indian-spiced houmous

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • a red onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 tsp each of cumin seeds and coriander seeds
  • 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
  • 400g tin chickpeas, rinsed and drained
  • juice 1/2 lemon
  • 1 tbsp tahini
  • 2 tsp finely chopped coriander
  • pitta bread or grilled soft tortilla to serve
Heat 1 tbsp oil in a non-stick pan and fry the onion until soft and getting a bit of colour. Take off the heat and set aside to cool.
Toast the spices for a couple of minutes on a low heat and then grind to a powder in a mortar and pestle.
Blitz the chickpeas, lemon juice, tahini, ground spices, some salt, coriander and red onion in a food processor until smooth.
Serve dressed with some olive oil and something crunchy to dip in it.
P.S. We spread the leftovers on soft tortillas and stuffed them with roasted veggies and rocket for lunch to take to work.

Read Full Post »

Jono and Jules are back from Tuscany and are very hungry!

Posted in Brunch, Food, Healthy, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , on 18 May 2011| 2 Comments »

Quite a lot has happened since our last post. We moved house, then we got married, then we went to London, Paris and Italy. Lot’s of eating and drinking but no time for blog posts. When we got home we couldn’t work out if our new house had been robbed or if we had just left it in a complete state of disarray. Thankfully the latter. So needless to say we left the mess where it was and headed to the shops to get some ingredients for a tasty breakfast/brunch and two course dinner.

Breakfast/brunch mushrooms on toast for 2

  • 250g chestnut mushrooms, roughly chopped
  • 1 clove of garlic, crushed
  • 1 tbsp chopped parsley
  • butter
  • really nice bread, toasted (we got a white pan loaf from Butler’s Pantry)
You could probably work this out for yourselves.
Fry the mushrooms for about 5 minutes in a knob of butter until they’re soft and your mouth starts watering. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.
Take the pan off the heat and stir in another knob of butter and the parsley.
Throw the mushrooms on top of your toast.
It’s nice to be home.

Read Full Post »

Emergency Red Mullet Recipe

Posted in Barbecue, Fish, Food, Healthy, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on 4 April 2011| Leave a Comment »

Our local fish counter (in Caviston’s, Glasthule) had Red Mullet today, which we never see, so I urgently called Jules to find a recipe. She found this in 2 minutes flat and we went with it as there wasn’t too many ingredients. The salsa tastes absolutely amazing. Now that the evenings are longer we’ve been dying to use the barbecue more so we’re very pleased with ourselves for a Monday night (especially as we’d planned to have  salad!) Very full and satisfied now.

Barbecue red mullet with a hot salsa (to serve 4)

For the fish:

  • 4 red mullet, scaled, cleaned and gutted
  • small bunch of fresh oregano, leaves picked

For the salsa:

  • a handful of black olives, stoned and roughly chopped
  • 3 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely sliced
  • 1 fresh red chilli, deseeded and finely sliced
  • a few sprigs of fresh rosemary
  • 6 ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
  • juice of 1/2 a lemon
  • a small bunch of flatleaf parsley, leaves picked and torn

Get your barbecue hot.

Slash the fish all over on both sides, about 1 cm deep, to help it cook through.

Roughly chop some oregano on a big board and spread it out. Sprinkle with a generous amount of salt and black pepper.

Roll the fish over the board and rub all the flavourings into the slashes you made.

Barbecue the fish for about 4 minutes on each side until you have crispy skin and soft cooked flesh inside.

Heat a little olive oil in a frying pan and add the chopped olives. Warm them through for a minute or two and add the garlic, chilli and rosemary sprigs. Fry gently until the garlic is soft.

Remove and discard the rosemary and toss in the chopped tomatoes. Squeeze in the lemon juice and add the parsley.

Taste for seasoning (you probably won’t need salt as the olives will be salty) and warm through.

(Original recipe from Jamie Oliver)

Wine suggestion: We had a glass of Gruner Veltliner from Marlborough in New Zealand. Very unusual as this grape’s home turf is Austria. Quite peachy with bit of typical white pepper spice. If you fancy something different you can buy it in Mitchell and Son for about €15.95. A refreshing change from Sauvignon Blanc.

 

 

Read Full Post »

Healthy Lemony Chicken and Courgette Couscous

Posted in Chicken, Food, Healthy, tagged , , , , , , on 15 March 2011| Leave a Comment »

This is a good everyday recipe and a really nice way to cook boring old skinless boneless chicken breasts.  We’re hoping the leftovers will make nice lunch boxes for tomorrow too.

Chicken with lemon and courgette couscous – to serve 4

  • 200g couscous
  • 400ml chicken stock
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 4 courgettes, grated
  • 2 lemons, 1 halved, 1 cut in wedges
  • 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Put the couscous into a large bowl and pour over the stock. Cover and leave for 10 minutes, until the stock has been absorbed.

Heat 1 tbsp of oil and fry the courgettes until softened and starting to crisp at the edges. We used very big courgettes which gave out loads of water – it this happens just drain the water off in a colander and put the courgettes back in the pan to crisp up a little.

Tip the courgettes into the couscous and stir in plenty of seasoning and a good squeeze of lemon juice from one of the halves.

Halve the chicken breasts horizontally and put them on sheets of cling film. Cover with another sheet and beat them out with a rolling pin to make them thinner. We had escalopes in the freezer which worked well without bashing. Season.

Heat the other tbsp of oil in a large pan and fry the chicken for 2 minutes on each side. Squeeze over the juice from the other half lemon and serve with couscous and lemon wedges.

Hardly any fat or calories which can’t be bad either.

(Original recipe from BBC Good Food)

Read Full Post »

Keralan Prawns

Posted in Asian, Food, Indian, Shellfish, tagged , , , , , on 10 March 2011| Leave a Comment »

Our cooking’s been very healthy this week but tasty too so don’t despair. It’s nice to find an Indian dish which isn’t full of calories and doesn’t take forever to make. This is very nice but do add a bit of salt at the end to bring the flavours out and balance the spice. We wished we’d had some naan breads or chapatis so you might want to get some of them too.

Serves 2

  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • oil
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
  • 2 cm piece of ginger, grated
  • dried red chilli crumbled or some chilli flakes
  • 400g tin chopped tomatoes
  • 200g raw peeled prawns
  • some low fat natural yogurt

Get your rice on first as this is quick.

Cook the onion gently in a little oil in a frying pan for about 5 minutes or until starting to soften.

Add turmeric, garlic, ginger and chilli and cook for another few minutes or until it smells good.

Add the tomatoes and simmer for 10 minutes – add a splash of water if you need it.

Stir in the prawns and cook until they turn opaque.

Add a bit of salt to season and serve with rice, bread and some yogurt on the top.

(Original recipe from BBC Good Food)

Read Full Post »

Super-healthy, Italian Chicken & Rosemary Stew

Posted in Chicken, Food, Healthy, tagged , , , , , on 9 March 2011| 7 Comments »

As well as being super-healthy this dish is bursting with great flavour; and it achieves this without the use of salt or pepper. We are usually very generous with seasoning (we take our inspiration for the pros) but this has more than enough delicious flavour without any: we were impressed and helped ourselves to seconds after scoffing the initial bowl.
Serves 4
  • 6 Chicken Thighs, skinless, boneless and quartered
  • olive oil
  • 2 Onions, sliced
  • 2 cloves Garlic, crushed
  • 2 sprigs of Rosemary, leaves picked and chopped
  • 1 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
  • 2 tbsp Pearled Spelt (or Pearled Barley if you can’t find this)
  • 500ml Chicken Stock
  • 250g waxy potatoes like Charlotte, peeled and quartered
  • small bunch of Parsley, chopped
Heat oven to 190C / fan 170C / Gas 5.
Fry the chicken thighs in a little olive oil until browned. Remove and then add the onions and cook until softened.
Add the garlic and rosemary and cook for a minute, add the balsamic and cook for a further minute.
Add the rest of the ingredients, including the chicken, bring to a simmer, cover and transfer to the oven for one hour.
When cooked stir in the parsley and serve in bowls with crusty bread.
(Original recipe from BBC Good Food)

Read Full Post »

Easy Lemon & Pea Risotto

Posted in Food, Healthy, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , , on 7 March 2011| 2 Comments »

An easy and healthy after-work dish done in under half an hour and using things you probably have in the cupboard. We had to buy a lemon, and only because the one on the shelf looked a bit past it.

Serves 2, but easily doubled

  • 200g risotto rice
  • 850ml hot vegetable stock
  • 50g frozen peas
  • 50g Parmesan, grated, plus a bit more for over the top at the end
  • juice and zest of 1/2 a lemon

Heat a large saucepan over a medium heat, then toast the rice, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.

Add one ladle of hot stock and keep stirring until absorbed. The first ladle will be really quick.

Add the rest of the stock, a ladle at a time, until the rice is almost cooked, keep stirring it all the time. It will take about 20 minutes for you to stir in all your stock.

Stir in the peas and cook for 3-5 minutes and remove the pan from the heat.

Add the cheese, lemon juice, seasoning and then stir. Stick the lid on and let it rest for a minute.

Serve in bowls with the zest and a bit more Parmesan over the top.

(Original recipe from BBC Good Food)

Wine suggestion: Have a glass of something white if you have some leftover from the weekend.

Read Full Post »

Easy Prawn & Curly Kale Linguine

Posted in Fish, Food, Healthy, Pasta, tagged , , , , , , , on 3 March 2011| Leave a Comment »

We debated whether this could actually be called a recipe as it is so simple; it’s more of an assembly job.

To serve 2:

  • 200g linguine
  • 200g curly kale or spring greens
  • olive oil
  • 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 red chilli, finely sliced
  • 200g raw prawns

Cook the linguine following the instructions on the pack and add your greens for the last 3 minutes.

Heat a little olive oil in a small frying pan and gently fry the garlic and chilli until soft.

Add the prawns and stir around until they are pink and then season well.

Put the linguine and greens in some bowls and serve the prawns etc over the top.

Drizzle a bit of oil over and you’re done.

Wine suggestion: something light and white and a little aromatic like a Cote de Gascogne. We had a Marsanne/Viognier blend from the Languedoc which was also good.

Read Full Post »

20 Minute Pork & Mushrooms

Posted in Food, Healthy, Pork, tagged , , , , , , on 2 March 2011| Leave a Comment »

This literally takes 20 minutes and you will probably have everything you need except the pork fillet and mushrooms. Cheap, tasty, healthy, and perfect for a Wednesday. We had some potatoes and cabbage in the cupboard which complimented nicely.

20-minute pork pan-fry – to serve 4

  • 500g pork fillet, cut on the diagonal into finger-thick slices
  • 1 tbsp plain flour
  • 2 tsp dried rosemary
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 250g chestnut mushrooms
  • a big clove of garlic, finely chopped
  • 300ml vegetable stock

Tip the flour and rosemary into a plastic food bag and add salt, pepper and the pork slices. Give it a good shake to coat the meat.

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a big frying pan, add the pork and fry for 3-4 minutes until nicely browned, turning once. Remove it from the pan.

Add the rest of the oil and fry the mushrooms for a couple of minutes until starting to soften. Add the garlic and pork to the pan along with any flour left in your plastic bag. Stir in the stock, bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes.

You could add a splash of wine if you like or just drink a glass with it.

Serve with some mash and cabbage or something else green.

Find the original recipe on BBC Good Food.

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »