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salmon and veggies with lentils

Our favourite go-to is salmon. There are lots of easy ways to elevate this already tasty quick accessible item into something special, even if you are serving it up on a rainy Tuesday. I happen to do this on a lot of rainy Tuesdays after football – it’s 20 minutes in the oven and the lentils, serving two are microwavable in a pouch, which makes it handy and even faster than a takeaway and healthier to boot. We are also a teeny little bit obsessed with roast sprouts these days. Roasting imparts a deeper nuttier flavour and any dinner that means one tray or dish gets a thumbs up from me. I say the following recipe serves 2 – I eat a fillet of salmon and my better half eats 2 and takes leftovers to work for lunch the next day. You would certainly serve four serving one fillet each and upping the quantity of vegetables.

Roast Salmon and veggies with a side of lentils
Serves 2 -ish!
4 fillets of salmon
1 net of brussel sprouts
1 large red pepper
Schwartz Perfect Shake Italian Garlic and Herb
1-2 Tblsp olive oil

Preheat your oven to 180C. Prepare your roasting tray by covering with foil.
Prep the veggies by cleaning and chopping to even size pieces (see the picture) Drizzle with 1 tblsp of oil and sprinkle with a small amount of the herb shake.
Roast the veg for 5-8 minutes in the oven. You will then add the salmon into the hot tray (careful!) sprinkling same with some of the shake and a drizzle of oil. Carefully mix the veg while you do this. Return the tray to the oven for 15 minutes. Salmon should be done when it is firm to the touch and pale through.
I served this with a pouch of the microwavable puy lentils – they also work really well cold in a salad – the possibilities are endless!

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Goat Cheese Salad with Apples and Almonds

 

This is a super quick starter to make – it’s on the table in a matter of ten minutes and is super tasty. We had it on Friday with a cold glass of white – very welcome prelude to a tasty steak dish which I will post about later! There’s nothing like low effort high reward food at the end of the week and once you’ve a few bits in the fridge it all comes together very quickly. I used a small packet of goat cheese from M&S – the rind holds it together when it’s baking in the oven, it easily cut into three generous slices.

 

Ingredients (serves 2):

Goats cheese with rind, a small log sliced into 1 inch slices

2-3 tblsp of chopped almonds

1 egg, beaten

1/2 red onion, sliced into very fine rings

1/2 apple, either green or golden delicious, sliced into matchsticks

couple handful of lettuce leaves of your choice (I used red gem)

Dressing:

2 tblsp olive oil

1 tblsp balsamic vinegar

1/2 tsp dijon mustard

2 tsp maple syrup

salt, pepper and snipped chives to serve

Set up your small baking tray, lined with a little foil or parchment and preheat oven to 170C. Whisk the egg in a small bowl. Place the chopped almonds on a small saucer and working from one side to the other dip each cheese slice firstly in the egg, then the nuts gently pressing them in to stick, then gently on the tray. Bake in the oven for 7 minutes approximately. Watch them closely. They will go from sturdy to melted in a nanosecond! Prepare the salad. Whisk the dressing ingredients together in a small bowl. (You can do this before the cheese goes in the oven if you like) Plate up the (washed!) leaves, onion and apple sticks. Drizzle the dressing over. Place the baked cheese on top and sprinkle the snipped chives to serve. Arrange to eat in the sunshine if you can!

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the first bite.

Welcome welcome. I’d like to think that you’ll find something inspiring here. Eventually. It’s my first foray into this, so I have a few recipes up my sleeve and I am frantically thinking of some witty anecdotes to dovetail nicely with them. You know, interesting things!! Although as we all know, when thinking of dinner ideas, interesting is often sacrificed for quick and whatever-they-will-all-eat.

 

With that in mind, I’m sharing a handy little number that I often feed my troops. It’s in the oven in a few, takes 25 minutes to cook and I like to serve it with spuds/rice/quinoa and whatever vegetables are in the fridge or those that are the least hateful as far are the kids are concerned. That can change on a daily basis, believe me. It’s even nice served cold in slices with a salad if you’ve any leftovers.

Tasty Parmesan Chicken

Serves 4

 

Ingredients:

4  chicken breast fillets

4 tablespoons natural yoghurt

2 teaspoons honey

2 teaspoons dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

4 tablespoons grated parmesan

Salt and black pepper to season

 

Preheat your oven to 180C. I like to line a shallow baking tin with tinfoil and brush it with a little oil. Of late, I’ve even discovered the nonstick Bacofoil which is pretty handy! Minimise the washing up! Set this aside. Place the chicken breasts between two pieces of cling film and bash them with a rolling pin to flatten them a little. Place the flattened chicken breasts on the lined tray and season.

Mix the yoghurt, honey, mustard and garlic powder in a small bowl. Spread a spoon of the mixture on each flattened breast, taking care not to go over the edges. Sprinkle a spoon of parmesan on each chicken breast.

 

Bake in the oven for 25 minutes or until golden and bubbling, making sure they are cooked through. Check the thickest part of each breast – any juices should run clear.

Enjoy!