Chorizo & Chickpea Stew

I’m pretty sure that I bought a bag of chickpeas specifically to make this which of course does lengthen the cooking time somewhat making it more of a weekend than weeknight meal (unless of course you cook in advance). In all honesty I don’t think much would be lost by using a decent tin of chickpeas and a lot of time would be saved.

I made this with chorizo and sherry to give it a Spanish edge but you could also try merguez sausages and red wine or even a good quality English sausage with white wine or cider. Some nice buttered chunky or crusty bread alongside is a perfect accompaniment.


Chorizo & Chickpea Stew
serves 3

150g dried chickpeas, soaked in cold water overnight
olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 stick of celery, finely chopped
2 carrots, peeled & finely diced
2 sprigs of thyme
1 tbsp tomato purée
small tin chopped tomatoes
100ml sherry
250ml chicken stock
200g cooking chorizo, cut into chunks
½ tbsp dried chilli flakes
small handful flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Drain and rinse the soaked chickpeas and set aside.

Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a saucepan and add the onion, half the garlic, the celery and carrots. Cook over a fairly low heat until the veg are softened then add the tomato purée, thyme and tinned tomatoes and cook for a minute more.

Pour in the sherry and let bubble for a couple of minutes to reduce then add the chickpeas and stock. Top up with a further 500ml of water so that the chickpeas are covered and bring to a boil.

Turn the heat down and then simmer on a low heat for 1½-2 hours or until the chickpeas are soft. Keep checking the water and add more if it looks like the chickpeas are drying out.

In a frying pan heat a little more oil and add the sausage, browning all over. Tip the sausages in with the chickpeas, cover and cook for 20 minutes or so. Take off the lid and simmer so that the sauce has thickened and then carefully check the seasoning and stir through the chopped parsley.

Meanwhile add extra olive oil to the now red oil in the saucepan in which you browned the chorizo, to make up 2-3 tbsp. Scatter in the chilli flakes and remaining garlic and warm over a very low heat until the garlic has softened and turned golden (but be very careful not to let it burn!).

Serve the stew in shallow bowls with the garlic chilli oil drizzled over.

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Gorgonzola Gnocchi with Parsley Salad

A brace of Olive mag recipes, as often seems to be the case when I cook from it. Here we have a very simple gnocchi dish served with just as simple salad.

You could use any sort of cheese with the gnocchi but as we’re talking shop bought gnocchi here it is best to use something quite robustly flavoured, the gorgonzola works well but other blue cheeses would be equally good or maybe a herbed goat’s cheese.

The parsley salad really lifts this dish and adds a little zing. If raw red onion is a bit too pungent for you you can take the bite out of them a little by submerging the slices in a bowl of cold water. Let them sit for at least ten minutes, stirring now and then before draining and tossing with the rest of the salad.

Gorgonzola Gnocchi with Parsley Salad
serves 2

1 pack of gnocchi (400-500g depending on where you buy them)
100g gorgonzola
100g half fat crème fraîche
2 tsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp capers
½ small bunch parsley, leaves only
½ small red onion, thinly sliced

Cook the gnocchi (they are done when they rise to the top of the salted boiling water, a matter of minutes), then drain and toss with the crème fraîche and cheese and tip into an ovenproof dish.

Meanwhile whisk the olive oil and vinegar together, season and then toss with the parsley, capers and onion in a small bowl. Set aside.

Grill the gnocchi until golden and bubbling.

Divide the gnocchi between two plates and scatter the salad over each before serving.

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Lemon Buttermilk Chicken with Piccata Sauce

This was a recipe in one of my Olive mags earlier this year and one which was completely delicious and well worth the little bit of effort you need to put in (and it still isn’t that much really). Buttermilk is reasonably easy to get hold of these days: certainly in the larger Tescburys and also in Waitrose you shouldn’t have a problem.

I’d bought some Kewpie mayonnaise back from Japan which I LOVE and it goes really with this due to its umami piquancy (alas I think this is due to an overload of MSG but I’ll overlook that as it tastes sooo good). It is possible to get it here too, can be a bit spenny so maybe try chinatown or an oriental food shop where it may be a bit more reasonably priced. Obviously you can just use any shop bought mayo of choice or even make your own if you are so inclined. Pretty sure that once you try Kewpie though you won’t go back.


Lemon Buttermilk Chicken with a Piccata Sauce
serves 2

2 skinless chicken breast fillets, flattened to approx 1cm thick
1 lemon, zest & juice
1 sprig rosemary, leaves only, finely chopped
150ml buttermilk
3 cloves garlic, 2 peeled & brusied, 1 finely chopped
80g panko breadcrumbs
sunflower oil
1 banana shallot, finely sliced
200ml chicken stock
small handful flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 heaped tbsp capers
20g salted butter, cubed
baby gem lettuce, to serve
mayonnaise, to serve

Put the chicken in a ziplock bag along with the rosemary, buttermilk, 2 tbsp lemon juice and the bruised garlic. Season well and toss the chicken around to ensure it is well coated in buttermilk. Put in the fridge to marinate overnight (or for at least 2 hours).

Remove the chicken from the marinade, shaking off any excess and coat with the panko.

Heat ½cm oil in a frying or sauté pan over a medium heat and fry the chicken for 6-8 minutes, turning once, until cooked through and golden. Set aside on some kitchen roll to keep warm and sprinkle with a little salt. Wipe out the pan and add another tbsp oil.

Add the shallot and chopped garlic to the pan and fry gently until soft and golden. Add the stock and simmer until reduced by half then add the remaining lemon juice along with the zest, the parsley and capers.

Give it a good stir then add the butter and swirl around to melt. Season carefully and then serve over the chicken along side some lettuce leaves and a good dollop of mayonnaise.

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Red Lentil Dal & Coconut Rice

A very good standby veggie staple here (standby staple? Hhm.) and one where you could probably use any sort of pulse really. I use red lentils though, apart from the fact that I like them, because they cook quickly and don’t need any soaking etc.

For the rice I cooked some basmati with a couple of cardamon pods and a tin of coconut milk (about twice the volume of rice I think) - the creamy and fragrant rice goes beautifully with the dal.

There's something very restorative about this dal (or daal, dhal, or dahl): it feels like it is very good for you but in a soothing, comfort food type way.

The next time you have a cold or a bit of a hangover give it a go. In fact, give it a go anyway.


Red Lentil Dal
serves 2

small knob of butter
200g red lentils
small onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp grated ginger
1 large garlic clove, crushed
1 tsp turmeric
pinch cayenne
2 small tomatoes, finely chopped
1 tsp rapeseed oil
2in piece cassia bark (or small cinnamon stick)
2-3 small dried red chillies
1 tsp brown mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
8 curry leaves
small handful coriander, finely chopped (optional)
½ lime, to serve

In a frying or sauté pan, melt the butter and gently fry the onion in it over a low-medium heat until softening and starting to brown at edges. Add the ginger & garlic and let sizzle until aromatic.

Add turmeric, cayenne, tomatoes and lentils and stir around.

Add enough water to cover by about 2cm. Turn the heat right down and let simmer until the lentils are tender and starting to disintegrate. This will take about 15 minutes. Add more water if necessary.

Heat the oil in a small frying pan and when hot add the cassia (or cinnamon), chillies, mustard and cumin seeds and curry leaves. Heat until the seeds are popping.

Pour into the lentil pan, off the heat. Cover and leave for 5 minutes then stir through.

Serve immediately over rice with the coriander, if using, sprinkled over and lime wedges alongside.

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Beef & Broccoli Noodles

Unfortunately the beef I bought for this came pre-prepared in a soy & ginger marinade - it was all I could get, weirdly, unless I wanted to spend a fortune on fillet or get a massive sirloin steak - which I didn’t. However if yours comes unadulterated (as I’m sure it will, I think I just shopped on a bad beef day), mix the strips with some soy as well as the rice wine to marinate for 30 minutes or so.

I also bought a bag of ready-to-cook broccoli florets in a moment of laziness, hence the rather specific 240g.

Adding to our list of go-to quick, easy and tasty weeknight stirfries, this is pretty good.


Beef & Broccoli Noodles
serves 2

1½ blocks egg noodles
240g broccoli, cut into small florets
2 tsp sesame oil
300g pack soy marinated beef stir-fry strips
2 tsp rice wine
1 birds eye chilli, finely sliced
3 spring onion, sliced on the diagonal
For the sauce

2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
3 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp tomato ketchup
2 medium or 1 large garlic cloves, crushed
1 thumb-sized knob ginger, peeled and sliced into matchsticks
½ tsp sugar
½ tsp sesame oil
½ tsp potato flour mixed with 1 tbsp water

Mix the beef strip with the rice wine and set aside in a bowl while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Mix all the ingredients, bar the potato flour mix together in a small bowl and set aside.

Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and add the noodles & broccoli. Cook according to pack instructions for the noodles then drain well. Separate the broccoli from the noodles, add a tsp of sesame oil to the noodles, mix well and set both aside.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a wok until very hot, then stir-fry the beef for a minute or so until browned.

Add the chilli and stirfry for a minute or two more.

Tip in the sauce and mix it all together well. Let simmer for a couple of minutes then add the potato flour mixture before stirring in half the spring onions and the drained noodles and broccoli.

Cook for a minute so the noodles are warmed through then serve straight away, scattered with the remaining spring onions.

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Mixed Mushroom & Spinach Lasagne

We try and incorporate at least one, if not two veggie meals a week into our diet (as well as fish once or twice a week) and to be honest, while it is good to not have meat occasionally, I’m not too sure on how healthy some of the veggie dishes I come up with are as they often seem to have cheese or a creamy sauce.

I found this recipe which calls for cottage cheese rather than the usual ricotta: the cottage cheese stays moist during cooking but also adds a sharp tanginess which the otherwise potentially bland ingredients need plus, bonus, to my mind at least the fat content is lower.

Similarly I have used low fat mozzarella as well as Elmlea “fake” cream rather than full fat double cream. The decadent creaminess and flavour is still present in spades but the fat content has been cut. A little at least.

Adapted from recipe here.


Creamy Mixed Mushroom & Spinach Lasagna
serves 2-3

35g unsalted butter, plus more for greasing baking dish, divided
1 large garlic clove, pressed
260g bag of spinach leaves, washed, dried & roughly chopped
190ml double cream, divided
¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
150g cottage cheese
5g chopped parsley, divided
1 egg, beaten & halved
5 sheets fresh lasagne (ready to cook)
225g mixed mushrooms (I used chestnut, shiitake & portobellini), finely chopped
1 medium shallot, finely chopped
⅔ tsp thyme leaves, picked & finely chopped
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp fresh lemon juice from 1 lemon
2 tsp flour
150ml whole milk
115g mozzarella, grated, divided
20g parmesan or gran padano, grated

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

Melt 15g butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat and add garlic. Cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the spinach in batches, allowing the previous batch to wilt before adding the next. Once all spinach is added, add 80ml cream. Bring to a boil, and reduce to a strong simmer. Cook, stirring frequently, until thick and reduced, about 15 minutes. Add nutmeg, and season to taste with salt and pepper.

While the spinach is cooking, combine the cottage cheese, half the beaten egg, and 2 tablespoons of parsley in the bowl of a food processor. Process until combined and cottage cheese is broken up to the texture of ricotta cheese, about 5 seconds.

Combine the cooked spinach and cottage cheese mixture in a large bowl.

Wipe out the spinach pan and return to a medium-high heat with another 15g of butter and heat until melted. Add the shallots and cook until softening, about 5 minutes and then add the mushrooms and thyme. Cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid evaporates and mushrooms start to sizzle, which will take about 10 minutes.

Add soy sauce and lemon juice and stir to combine. Add the remaining cream and bring to a simmer. Cook for about 3 minutes until lightly thickened. Season to taste with salt and pepper and transfer to another bowl.

Wipe out the pan again and return to a medium-high heat. Add the remaining butter and heat until melted. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly with a whisk, until light golden blond in colour. Slowly pour in milk, whisking constantly. Bring to a simmer, then remove from heat. Stir in 2/3rds of mozzarella and parmesan, then season to taste with salt and pepper.

To assemble the lasagna, grease a baking dish with butter and then layer up the cheese sauce, lasagne sheets and mushroom mixture then lasagne sheets again, spinach mixture, more lasagne sheets then repeat ending with a layer pasta before pouring the remaining cheese sauce over top. Spread this out evenly then sprinkle with the remaining 1/3rd of grated mozzarella evenly over top.

Bake in the preheated oven until the lasagna is bubbling around the edges, about 30 minutes.

Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

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Chicken Tikka Masala

Now I have to say that I am not really a big fan of Indian restaurant or takeaway Chicken Tikka Masala. I find it them ultimately a bit too mild, creamy and sweet - I’m more a fan of robust, in your face curries such as dansak, rogan josh or madras.

But it was a bf’s son weekend so I thought I’d make him his Indian favourite. Makes a change from spag bol or burgers after all.

Of course he ended up not coming down, last minute, that particular weekend anyway so we were stuck with it as I was committed to cooking it by then. I have to say though that it was really, really good and definitely worth the effort.

I’m pretty sure by the way that this was a Hairy Bikers recipe. I’m not sure where I got it from but it appears to feature in this book (which I’ve actually just decided to buy - this curry is that good!).


Chicken Tikka Masala
serves 2

For the chicken

1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1 whole clove
½ tsp black peppercorns
small piece of cinnamon stick
¼ tsp ground fenugreek
¾ tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground paprika
½ tsp hot chilli powder
½ tsp flaked sea salt
1 garlic clove, crushed
10g piece ginger, grated
2 tbsp plain natural yoghurt
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, each cut into 7 or 8 pieces
sunflower oil, for greasing skewers
For the masala sauce

2 tbsp ghee / clarified butter, or 1 tbsp butter + 1 tbsp sunflower oil
2 smallish onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
12.5g chunk of fresh root ginger, peeled and finely grated
¼ tsp ground turmeric
1 ½ tbsp tomato purée
1 tsp caster sugar
½ tsp flaked sea salt
200ml water
2 tbsp double cream

Put the cumin and coriander seeds, cloves, peppercorns and cinnamon stick in a dry frying pan over a medium heat. Cook for a few minutes, stirring regularly until lightly toasted. Be careful not to burn, you’ll know they're ready as there will be a gorgeous spicy aroma.

Tip the toasted spices into an electric spice grinder and add the fenugreek, turmeric, paprika, chilli powder and salt. Grind it all to a fine powder.

Spoon 1½ tablespoons of this spice mixture into a mixing bowl and stir in the garlic, ginger and yoghurt. Mix thoroughly and then stir in the chicken pieces. Cover with cling film and then pop in the fridge to marinate ideally overnight but for at least 4 hours.

To make the masala sauce, heat the ghee (or butter and oil) in a large non-stick saucepan and add the onions, garlic and ginger. Cover and cook over a low heat for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the lid, increase the heat slightly and stir in the rest of the powdered spices from the chicken, plus the ¼ teaspoon of turmeric. Fry for 3 minutes, stirring regularly.

Stir in the tomato purée, sugar and salt and fry for 2–3 minutes, stirring constantly.

Add the water, bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 5 minutes more, adding the cream for the last 30 seconds of the cooking time.

Remove from the heat and blitz with a stick blender until you have a smooth sauce. Pour this into a heatproof bowl, cover with cling film, cool and chill until you're ready to cook the chicken.

When you are ready to eat, thread the chicken pieces on to lightly greased, long metal skewers, leaving 1–2cm between each piece, you should be able to fit about 6 chunks of chicken on to each skewer.

Preheat the grill to its hottest setting and place the skewers on a rack over a grill pan lined with foil. Position the grill pan as close as possible to the heat and cook the chicken for 5 minutes. Turn each skewer, holding it with an cloth so you don’t burn yourself, and cook on the other side for another 4–5 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and lightly charred.

Meanwhile tip the masala sauce into a large non-stick pan, bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 2–3 minutes, stirring regularly.

Take the chicken skewers from under the grill and slide a fork down the length of each skewer to drop the pieces into the hot sauce. Stir well and let simmer for a minute before serving over rice.

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