Roasted Cauliflower, Sage & Almond Risotto

It’s odd how many Australian chefs I come across when I trawl the web looking for new inspiration. This is a recipe from one that I don’t think I was aware of: Donna Hay and very glad to come across it I am as it is absolutely terrific: gorgeously oozy risotto with nuttiness from the roast cauliflower and almonds and offset by a hint of bitterness from the sage.It could well be one of my very...

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Vegetable & Lentil Stew

This is another 5:2 recipe that I came across - and one if I’m honest that I didn’t have particularly high hopes but it was soooo good: really hearty and comforting and just incredibly tasty. I’ve adapted it slightly from the original here mainly in adding some garlic and swapping out soya mince (I really didn’t fancy it) for Quorn (which I appreciate lots of people don’t fancy) but it would...

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Carluccio's Tuna Linguine

This is reasonably similar to some other tuna pasta recipes I cook but the addition of the ginger in the sauce really intrigued me so I decided to give it a go anyway. I was glad I did as it is really good on top of being simple and pretty much a store cupboard standby. It is an Antonio Carluccio recipe: he of the eponymous Carluccio’s and generally quite fascinating life - see here. In following...

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Stir-fried Garlic Beef & Ong Choi

Ong choi (or choy) is the Cantonese name (空心菜) for a leafy vegetable that is eaten all over Asia. It is also known as water spinach or morning glory although the Cantonese literally translates as "hollow vegetable" which is completely understandable once you get your hands on some. I’d seen some in one of our local supermarkets and snapped it up (let’s face it Tescbury tends not to have anything...

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Smoked Haddock & Pearl Barley Casserole

At the time of cooking this I was back on the 5:2 as it was the start of the year and I was feeling a bit lardy. Fish is an easy thing to build into 5:2 meal plans as it is so low in calories, even smoked fish as is used here. I’d also decided, as a type of new year’s resolution, to incorporate more whole grains into our diet and so coming across this recipe was a bit of a godsend as it meant...

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Baked Chicken with Tomatoes & Brown Rice

This is adapted from an HFW recipe which I saw on the Guardian website and by all accounts is his version of a one pot (well two really, if you’re being picky) chicken cacciatore. I used brown rice which meant that the total cooking time was at the longer end of the scale but use what you fancy and to ensure a quicker cooking time basmati is a good option or you could try a short grain rice...

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Smoky Bacon & Pea Pasta

A ridiculously simple recipe here adapted from the stable of super easy, super tasty Jamie Oliver pasta dishes. He makes it with mini pasta shells, and to be fair that would cut down the cooking time, but it’s pretty quick as it is. I used, as you can see, linguine.For me this is pretty much a store-cupboard dinner given that I will always have pancetta or lardons in the fridge or freezer and...

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Green Herb Prawn Curry

I found this at Olive magazine when I was on the hunt for some low calorie recipes that seemed decadent: important I think when you are going for low-cal as the decadence helps your tummy think that it is being properly sated (in my opinion anyway). I slightly buggered this up in that I should have added the ground seeds from 2 cardomom pods into the spice mix. I’m not sure how I missed them...

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Potato, Pea & Spinach Curry

A really lovely vegetarian main here that is pretty quick to cook as long as you are parboiling the spuds. A quick note about cooking with yoghurt which can often curdle when cooked. The trick is to make sure you have brought it to room temperature, whip it lightly with a fork and then add it to the curry off the heat. And speaking of which, you can use coconut milk or yoghurt if you like...

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