Curried Turkey Pilaff

Curried turkey pilaff

Serves 1

A great quick dinner using just a few ingredients and some leftover cooked turkey. Some coriander, mango chutney, fresh chillies, a squeeze of lemon and anything else you fancy would be very tasty additions but this is simple and very filling – not to mention cheap as chips!

1 tsp oil

Half an onion, finely chopped

2 tsp curry paste

Few strips of cooked turkey or chicken breast

½ tsp tumeric

½ pouch Tilda white basmati microwaveable rice

1 tbsp frozen peas

2 tsp flaked almonds

1 tsp sultanas

Few pumpkin seeds (optional)

2 pinches nigella seeds (optional)

Sprig of fresh mint, chopped

Heat the oil in a frying pan and cook the onion for a couple of minutes until starting to soften. Add the curry paste and cook for a min or two more to cook-out the spices. Add the turkey and turmeric and stir fry for a minute to heat through.

Open the rice and squeeze half a pouch into the pan and stir to break up any lumps and coat in the paste. Add the peas, almonds, sultanas and pumpkin and nigella seeds if using. Add a splash of water to help coat everything nicely and to stop the rice from being dry.

Tip into a bowl and add the chopped mint and eat!

Kind of Mediterranean Pasta Bake

Mediterranean Pasta Bake

Serves 1

Leftover turkey and pasta sauce to use up! Pasta bake is a-calling! I tend to go through phases of eating pasta quite a lot and then don't use it again for weeks. No one said I'm normal :)

60g pasta e.g rigatoni

Olive oil

½ turkey or chicken breast, diced

50g smoked bacon lardons

½ clove garlic, chopped

½ stick celery, diced

Few olives, sliced

1 tsp capers

¼ jar tomato and basil pasta sauce

2 tsp parsley, chopped

1 tbsp grated Parmesan

Cook the pasta in boiling salted water for about 15 mins until tender.

Meanwhile fry the turkey or chicken, bacon and celery in frying pan for a few mins until cooked. Add the olives, capers, pasta sauce and parsley and simmer gently for 3-5 mins to heat through.

Mix with the drained pasta and transfer to an oven-proof dish. Sprinkle over cheese and cook under a grill until toasty and bubbling. Eat!

Chicken jalfrezi

Chicken Jalfrezi

Serves 2

This is another great leftovers kind of a dish. You can add extra veggies in such as courgette, beans, spring onions etc or use turkey, pork or lamb. It is a fairly dry, stir fried curry that can be made in 10 mins! Serve with either rice or naan. I once ate some leftover jalfrezi in a wrap at work the next day and stunk out the whole office – whoops!

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, sliced

¼ green pepper, sliced

¼ red pepper, sliced

1 chicken breast (or cooked leftovers), diced

1 green chilli, chopped (deseed if you don’t like too much heat)

½ tsp garlic paste or 1 chopped clove

1 tsp ginger paste (or 1 knob finely grated root ginger)

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp paprika

½ tsp ground cumin

1 tsp turmeric

1-2 tsp curry powder

1 squeeze tomato puree

Half a can of chopped plum tomatoes (save rest for a pasta sauce)

To finish:

A shake of garam masala (optional)

Fresh coriander, chopped (optional)

Heat the oil in a large frying pan or a wok and fry the onion and red peppers until softened but not brown. Add the chicken and continue to stir fry for 3-4 minutes. Next add the chilli, garlic, ginger and spices and mix well so everything is coated for 1 minute. Then squeeze in about a teaspoon of tomato puree and half a can of chopped tomatoes. Keep cooking for a few more minutes until the sauce is thick and reduced. You may need to slacken with some water to get the consistency you like, but it is meant to be quite dry.  Sprinkle with garam masala and coriander and eat asap!

Turkey, Asparagus and Baby Vegetable Risotto

Turkey, asparagus and baby vegetable risotto

Serves 1

So, having some of Sunday night’s leftover cooked turkey breast and lovely fresh asparagus to hand, I thought a risotto would be nice. Be careful with the seasoning – I found it didn’t need any salt.

5 stalks young asparagus, thick end trimmed off and set aside

1 tbsp frozen baby broad beans

1 tbsp frozen petit pois

3 spring onions, finely sliced

1 tsp olive oil

Half a garlic clove

50g carnaroli risotto rice

Splash of white wine

1 pint boiling chicken stock – I used fresh from a tub

Two thick slices cooked turkey breast, diced

Half a lemon

1 tsp fresh chopped mint, finely chopped

Parmesan cheese for grating over

Slice the thick ends of asparagus into 0.5 cm rounds. Bring a small pan of water to the boil with a little salt and blanch the sliced asparagus and broad beans for 3 minutes. Then add the peas and asparagus tip and cook for 1 minute more. Drain and refresh under cold tap. Leave to drain. I decided to peel the broad beans as their vibrant green colour inside are more visually appealing, but must admit I didn’t bother doing every single one. It’s up to you.

Gently fry the spring onions in the oil in a wok and add the garlic clove to help flavour the oil with a mere hint of garlic. Once the onions are soft, pick out and discard the garlic and add the risotto rice. Stir to coat in the oil and then add a splash of wine. Bubble away until it is all absorbed.

Then add a little of the stock at a time, stirring continually until it is all absorbed and the rice is almost tender. I think it depends on what brand you use, but mine took about 20-25 mins and it still had a bit of bite. Use some hot water from the kettle if you run out of stock.

Add the turkey and a squeeze of lemon and stir in the mint. Stir to heat through, and add the vegetables. You may need a little bit of water to stock it being too dry at this stage. Taste for seasoning, a bit of pepper is probably all it will need, and then pile into a bowl and scatter over as much parmesan as you like. 

Yup, a regular roast... for 1!

Turkey roast dinner

Ok, I wouldn’t usually post something quite as simple as a roast, but this is a demonstration as to how my meal planning works. So on a Sunday, I decided to cook a roast turkey breast joint that I have had in the freezer as a standby for far too long. But I thought, I am going to have leftover meat and it got me thinking of all the dishes I could make over the next few days. So I will probably try a risotto tomorrow with unused British asparagus left from the roast, possibly risotto and maybe make some wraps for lunch too.

I don’t often cook a roast just for me, but seeing as I haven’t been eating my veggies this weekend I told myself it would be good for me! This makes rather a lot as you can see from the picture, but I was going for a lot of vegetable consumption!!

Roast turkey for 1

1 475g ready to roast turkey breast in a foil tray

2-3 baby new potatoes, halved

1 small carrot, cut into chunky batons

1 small parsnip, cut the same thickness as the carrots

½ tsp dried mixed herbs

¼ small pack Paxo stuffing mix

3 runner beans, trimmed and sliced

About 5 thin asparagus spears, fat ends sliced

2 tsp Bisto gravy granules, mixed with 2 tsp of water to a paste in a jug

Preheat oven to 180C and cook turkey according to instructions (Mine actually took about 40 mins instead of an hour)

Half an hour toward end of cooking, place the potatoes, carrot and parsnip in a baking tray. Spray with low cal cooking oil and season. Sprinkle with mixed herbs and toss about to coat. Put on the top shelf of the oven and cook for 20-25 mins, turning the veg halfway through.

Put ¼ small pack of Paxo into a ramekin and add a couple of splashes of boiling water, until rehydrated but not sloppy. Put in the oven for 10-15 mins until a bit crunchy on top.

Rest the turkey on a board.

Meanwhile bring a small pan of water to the boil, Add salt and throw in the runner beans and fat stalks of asparagus. Turn down to a simmer. After 5 mins are up add the asparagus tips and continue to simmer for 3 mins.

Pour some of the hot water into a jug of bisto, stirring until you have the consistency you like.

Paella

Paella

Serves 2

This is a real leftovers kind of a dish! You can practically use whatever you have in the fridge – in the past I have used chopped sundried tomatoes, leftover pork, quartered artichokes, broad beans, butter beans – most things work well, but maybe don’t add too many things in one dish!

There are no rules to the recipe given either e.g it will taste fine without the green beans and onion, but the absolute must is the chorizo and saffron. It is the key flavouring and won’t be paella-ey without it. Needs no accompaniment except a glass of Rioja.

1 tbsp olive oil

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

½ onion, chopped (optional)

1/2 tsp fresh rosemary needles, chopped or a pinch of dried

½ red pepper, diced

1 chicken breast, diced (or use leftovers from a roast)

10cm long piece of chorizo, thinly sliced

1 tomato, diced

100g bomba paella rice or arborio rice

½ tsp paprika – sweet or picante

Pinch turmeric

Pinch chilli flakes or cayenne pepper (optional)

Few green beans, halved

Pinch of saffron threads, softened in a tablespoon of hot water

1 litre chicken stock, hot

3 tbsp frozen peas

Small handful of peeled prawns, defrosted in frozen

Heat the oil in a large saute pan and gently fry the garlic, onion and rosemary until pale golden. Tip in the peppers and chicken and fry for about 2-3 minutes until the chicken is opaque and firm. Add the chorizo and fry, stirring, until it starts releasing its paprika-red oil and slightly crisp. Next goes in the tomato, rice, spices and season with salt and pepper.  Stir for about 30 seconds until the rice is coated in the spicy oils. Throw in the green beans, saffron and its soaking water and pour in enough hot stock to cover the rice mixture by about 1 cm. Bring to boil then turn heat to a slow simmer and cook uncovered for about 10-15 mins, stirring once or twice to stop the mixture sticking to the pan.

Add the peas and prawns and top up with a couple more splashes of stock to cover. Continue to simmer for another 5-10 minutes until the rice is cooked and the most of the liquid has absorbed.

I like my paella to have a slight glossy sheen of sauce on it, but you may prefer yours a bit drier.