Keema Matar (lamb mince and pea curry)

Keema Matar

Serves 4-6 depending on how much bread or other accompaniments you serve

This is one of my favourite weekend recipes to make as although it is a little time consuming, it is really easy and the results are worth it. I find I usually have most of the ingredients – maybe just have to go out and get some fresh coriander, chilli and the mince. The results are deeply satisfying, rich, savoury, sweet from cinnamon and warm from the chilli. Eat with naan bread. I forgot to add the coriander for the photo - looks much better with it sprinked over!

2 tbsp oil

Half a cinnamon stick

2 cloves

2 cardamom pods, bruised

3 peppercorns

2 onions, chopped

500g Lean minced lamb

1 tsp curry powder

1 tbsp ground coriander (I like to grind my own)

½ tsp ground cumin (again, I grind mine)

¼ tsp chilli powder/cayenne

¼ tsp turmeric

1 tbsp. coriander stems, finely chopped

1 fresh red chilli, split but not all the way in half

½ tsp garlic paste

1 tsp ginger paste

Salt

½ tsp paprika

400g can chopped tomatoes

1 medium potato, peeled and cut into 2cm dice

150g frozen peas

¼ tsp garam masala

Chopped coriander leaves to garnish

Heat the oil in a wok (with a lid) and add the cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, peppercorns and onions.  Cook on a low heat until turning golden brown, but don’t let it burn. Turn up the heat and add the lamb, curry powder, ground coriander and cumin, chilli powder and turmeric. Stir well and break up all lumps. Stir fry until the lamb is brown – if a lot of fat is release try to drain a bit off, but not all of it.

Add the coriander stems, red chilli, garlic and ginger pastes, paprika and season with about 1 tsp salt. Stir fry on medium-low heat for about 5 minutes to cook out the pastes and spices. Then tip in the tomatoes and about half a can of water. Cover with a lid and cook on a low heat for about 5 minutes.

Add the potatoes, pushing them down into the curry and add a bit more water just to cover if necessary. Pop the lid back on and cover gently for anything from 20-40 minutes until the potatoes are tender. Add the peas and heat through for a couple of minutes. Turn heat off, sprinkle with garam masala and chopped coriander and serve. 

Turkey stir fry

Turkey stir fry

Serves 1

Did a fridge raid and cleared out some of my vegetables that have seen better days – this calls for a stir fry! I usually add the aromatics – garlic and ginger near the end so it doesn’t burn over the high heat at the start, and also it retains a fresher flavour. Just make sure you cook out the rawness. The sweet chilli sauce had also been hanging around in the fridge too long than I’d care to admit, but it all tasted nice :)

1tsp oil

Half a small onion, sliced

¼ yellow pepper, roughly chopped

¼ courgette, sliced

½ carrot, peeled and cut into matchsticks

1 field mushroom, sliced

Leftover cooked turkey strips

2 spring onion, sliced on the diagonal

½ clove garlic, chopped

1 tsp grated ginger root

1 tbsp Kikkoman soy sauce

1 tbsp sweet chilli stir fry sauce

Heat a wok or frying pan with the oil and throw in the onion, pepper and  carrot and stir fry over a high heat for 2 mins. Add the mushroom and cook for another minute until the hard vegetables are starting to soften slightly.  Add the turkey strips, spring onion, garlic and ginger and mix well – stir fry for a minute until the garlic is fragrant and cooked, then add the soy sauce and chilli sauce, stir and serve immediately.

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!

Super Easy Mexican Peppers

Super Easy  Mexican Peppers

Serves 2

This is the easiest lunch/ snack ever! I was going to serve them as a hot starter at a Mexican party but we had way too many nachos and dip so ended up making them yesterday.

2 small green peppers, halved and seeded

Spray oil

1 pouch Tilda Mexican microwavable rice

2 tbsp frozen sweetcorn, defrosted

2 tbsp grated cheddar

Paprika or cayenne

Preheat oven to 200C. Spray the peppers with a little oil and place cut side up in a roasting tin. Roast the peppers for about 30 mins until softened and singed at the edges.

Cook the rice in the microwave for 2 mins. Put the sweetcorn in to heat for the last 10 secs. Mix together and pile into the pepper halves. Sprinkle with cheese and place back in the oven until the cheese is melted and bubbling.

Sprinkle with paprika or cayenne if you like the heat and eat hot or warm with salad. 

You could add chopped coriander and a squeeze of lime if you have any to add extra zing to the rice.

Tuna and olive pasta

Tuna and olive pasta

Serves 2-3

I eat this at least once a month – usually in the run up to pay day when there’s nothing in the house to eat! If you have any leftover it will sit happily in the fridge until the next day. The sauce is quite punchy with salty olives and capers and a bit of warm heat from the chilli flakes, but you can always leave the chilli out if you are giving it to kids.

125g rigatoni or penne pasta

2 tsp olive oil

1 sprig rosemary (or use ½ tsp dried mixed herbs)

1 garlic clove, squashed

1 stick of celery, finely chopped, reserve a few leaves if there are any

400g tin chopped tomatoes

Seasoning

1 pinch dried chilli flakes

1 small can tuna

6 black olives, sliced

1 tsp capers, rinsed and chopped

3-4 basil leaves (only if you have any)

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp flat leaf parsley, chopped

1 tbsp grated Parmesan, optional

Cook the pasta according to instructions – about 12-14 minutes.

Heat the oil in a sauté pan and add the rosemary , garlic and celery and cook until lightly golden. Then add in the can of tomatoes – be careful as it will probably splutter! – and the chilli flakes and season, but go easy on the salt. Leave to reduce and thicken – about 5 mins.

Flake in the tuna, but don’t break up too much. Then add the olives, capers and tear in the basil if using. Add the balsamic and cook for another minute or two. Fish out the garlic and discard.

Take off the heat and stir in the parsley and any chopped celery leaves.

Drain the pasta and toss in the sauce. Serve with parmesan if you like.

Coq au Vin

Coq au Vin

Serves 2

A casserole for 2 people isn’t any bother to make but it might be worth doubling the recipe and freezing half for another time. In fact I think it tastes better when made the day before so you could just make extra and eat it again the next day – you will see from the pics I had it with polenta the first day and broad beans the next . By the way, the sauce will turn into jelly after it’s been in the fridge and there will be a layer of white fat on the top. Just scrape the fat off with a teaspoon and the stock will turn back to liquid when you reheat it.

Another thing to point out, the wine will make the chicken skin go an interesting dark purple! But it still tastes fab.

2 chicken thighs, skin on

2 chicken drumsticks, skin on

Black pepper

1 chicken Oxo cube

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp butter

100g smoked bacon lardons

10 shallots, halved if large

3 cloves garlic, squashed

10 button mushrooms, halved

Small bunch parsley, tied twisted into a knot

1 tsp dried herbs

Few whole peppercorns

1 bay leaf

½ bottle red wine

Water for topping up

Chopped parsley

Preheat oven to 180C. Season the meat all over with pepper and crumbled Oxo. Heat a sauté pan with oil and butter and brown the chicken pieces all over. Transfer to a casserole dish. If there is lots of fat left in the pan drain most of it off.

Put back on the heat and fry the lardons, shallots, garlic and mushrooms for a few minutes until crisp and browned. Add all the herbs and peppercorns and pour in the wine. Leave to bubble away for a couple of minutes then tip over the chicken. Top up with water to cover the meat if needed.

Cook for 1 hour until meat is tender and the sauce is rich. Sprinkle with parsley and serve with crusty bread, rice or polenta.

Divine and decadent mushroom and truffle oil tagliatelle

Divine and decadent mushroom and truffle oil tagliatelle

Serves 1

Wow! This is another dish which hardly warrants a ‘recipe’ but it tasted so good  do not let its simplicity deceive you! In fact it is good to keep the ingredients short because it is the truffle oil that does the talking in this dish. The shoddy picture just doesn't do it justice. I suppose a glug of cream would be nice but I didn’t miss it. Be a great dish to double up for serving on a date J

PS I bought the black truffle oil from the BBC Good Food Show. Was £6 for just 100ml but the nice boys that sold it said it was real truffle steeped in mild grapeseed oil and far superior to supermarket oils that just have truffle “flavouring” added to them. Maybe I’m a mug but I was sold on the taste

60g tagliatelle

1 tsp butter

1 field mushroom, finely chopped

Salt and pepper

2 spring onions, chopped

¼ tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary - a bit of parsley would also be nice

1 tsp black truffle oil

1 tbsp grated parmesan

Cook the tagliatelle for 9-10 mins until al dente. Meanwhile heat the butter in a small frying pan and gently fry the mushrooms with some seasoning on a low heat. When beginning to soften and release moisture add the spring onion and rosemary and continue to cook gently for about 4 minutes until the mushrooms are dark and the onions have lost any rawness.

Drain the pasta and tip in with mushrooms, toss together and drizzle over the truffle oil. Place in a bowl and sprinkle over the parmesan and extra pepper if you like. Eat seductively by yourself or with someone also tasty.