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Italian style shakshuka or eggs and beans

Hello lovely people 😉 I haven’t done a post in an age, even though there are quite a few drafts just waiting here for my attention – oops! This one is a very handy and tasty one pot wonder which is enough for four for a light lunch or brunch or two hungry people for dinner!

2 tblsp olive oil

1 red onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 red pepper, chopped

2 portobello mushrooms, chopped

1 tsp italian dried herb mix

1 tsp tomato puree

2 tins cherry tomatoes

2 tins cannellini beans, drained

handful of baby spinach leaves

4 large eggs

salt pepper and grated parmesan

Heat the oil in a large shallow pan – I love using my cast iron 30cm pan which comes with a lid and is probably my favourite piece of kitchen equipment. Add the onion, garlic, mushrooms, pepper and season, allowing the veg to soften but not colour too fast.

Add the dried herbs, puree, tinned tomatoes and beans and stir to combine, allowing them to simmer for a few minutes. Follow by adding the spinach, more than you think you need as it shrinks to nothing! Once the veg base has reduced a small bit and is looking good – about five minutes, make 4 wells and crack an egg into each. Season and let this gently simmer with the lid on (use a baking tin if your pan doesn’t have a lid) until the eggs are set – about five minutes.

Sprinkle with parmesan and serve with toast.

or bacon on the side 🙂

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Kimchi Pancakes

 

Kimchi is a fabulously tasty Korean staple made from fermented salted vegetables, usually chinese cabbage. It has hugely grown in popularity since the discovery of the benefits of fermented foods, so that it’s very easy to buy a jar (no I will not force you to make your own!) It is traditionally served alongside Korean dishes and rice bowls and in pancakes but now finds its way in lots of  dishes including scrambled eggs, pimping a fried-egg-on-rice, salads, burgers, cheese toasties but here today is my simple version of a kimchi pancake.

100g kimchi, chopped

200g finely chopped/grated vegetables – I used peppers, scallions, courgettes and carrots, sometimes a little coriander

3 tblsp kimchi juice

120g flour

2 eggs

1-2 tsp sesame seeds

Oil for frying the pancakes

First of all get to chopping and grating your vegetables and mix them in a medium sized bowl. I grate the courgette and carrot and finely chop the peppers as grating peppers grates on my sanity quite literally. Chop the kimchi and mix it together with the vegetables.

Now beat the two eggs together with the kimchi juice.

Mix into the vegetables, until combined.

Now add in the flour and mix well.

Heat the oil in a frying pan and spoon mounds of the mix into the hot pan (careful!) they take two to three minutes each side or so to cook through and colour so keep an eye.

 

This pancake can also be cooked whole in one go and then sliced into wedges – it is more difficult to flip!

 

Serve with a dipping sauce, something like soy with a dash of rice wine vinegar and sesame oil works well here with some sesame seeds (toasted or otherwise) for good measure

 

 

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Butterbean and Rosemary Soup

I am a sucker for a bowl of homemade soup and this is a fantastic solution for when you truly think you have nothing in your cupboard. You do! It’s ready in minutes and is so warming.

1 large onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tblsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
knob of butter and a dash of oil
2 tins of butter beans, drained
1 litre of stock (I love Marigold boullion and always have it in my larder)

Melt the butter and oil in a medium pot and slowly saute the garlic and onions for a few minutes, without colouring them.

Now add in the rosemary (doesn’t it smell lovely?!) Add in the drained beans and stir, then follow with the stock. Allow to simmer for 10-15 minutes, then blitz to a smooth velvety consistency.

 

I sometimes swirl a teaspoon of fresh pesto on top if I have some which adds a little color and a nice extra dimension, but it’s perfectly delicious on its own.

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Goat Cheese and Dill Potato Cakes

Here’s a quick and easy supper or lunch solution – tasty and not totally making you go cold turkey (!) this January 😊 Baby steps!

500 g leftover mashed potato (well mashed, cooled)

100g creamy goat cheese (I used St Tola)

3-4 tblsp fresh dill, chopped finely

1 egg beaten 1 tblsp fresh lemon juice

flour to coat the cakes

oil for frying

rocket and garlic mayo to serve

Mix the mash with the cheese, dill egg, lemon and garlic in a bowl until they are well combined. Chill in the fridge for an hour which will make the mix easier to form into patties.

Scoop the mix into golf ball sized amounts and gently flatten and dust with flour. Handle gently they are delicate!

Heat the oil in a pan and gently fry until golden and cooked through. Serve with the rocket and mayo.

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Mushrooms Stuffed with Cashews Halloumi and Mint

I’ve been reading through Sabrina Ghayour’s new book, Feasts which is just delectable. I want to cook and eat everything in it! It so happened that I had Portobello mushrooms and halloumi in the fridge and was leafing though her book and made a few substitutions and changes for the sake of instant gratification!

4 large Portobello mushrooms, wiped clean

50g butter, softened

120g halloumi, grated

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tsp fresh red chilli, minced

3 tblsp cashew nuts, roughly chopped

small bunch of mint and coriander, finely chopped

drizzle of oil as needed.

 

Preheat the oven to 200c. Place the mushrooms in a roasting tin, gills up.

Place remaining ingredients in a bowl and mash together well to combine with a drizzle of oil. Divide among the mushrooms, pressing the filling into each with a fork.

Bake for 30 minutes until brown and bubbling and serve with salad.

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Chopped Asian Salad with Lime and Coconut Chicken

This is a tasty dressing that is lovely mixed with a chopped vegetable salad and grilled chicken or prawns. It’s just perfect for the warm weather we are having right now. I like to make it up in a jar and it will happily sit in the fridge ready to be used. I paired it here with an old Good Food hack for a pack of mini chicken fillets. It turns them into something interesting! We ate this warm and also cold for lunch too. Gotta love a dish that keeps on giving.

I chopped up a whole mix of veg – salad leaves, mint, coriander, carrots, peppers, sugarsnaps, scallions, some broccoli and mixed it with quinoa too. Anything goes.

Asian dressing

1 tblsp shallot, minced/diced very finely

3 tblsp rice wine vinegar

2 tblsp dark brown sugar

1 tblsp wholegrain mustard

pinch maldon salt

pinch cayenne

1/2 tsp ground ginger

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 tsp sesame oil

80 ml olive oil or rapeseed oil.

 

Mix the shallot, vinegar, sugar, mustard, salt, cayenne, ginger and garlic together and leave for a few minutes. Then gradually whisk the oils in. Season to taste, if necessary. Keep in a jar in the fridge for a few days.

Lime and Coconut Crusted Chicken

Pack of chicken mini fillets or 3 chicken fillets

zest and juice of 2 limes

2 tsp curry powder

pinch chilli powder

75g dessicated coconut

Preheat the oven to 180C. Slice the chicken fillets (if using). Mix the chicken with the zest, juice, curry powder and chilli powder in a bowl. Place the coconut in a ziploc bag. Line a baking tin with foil and a slick of oil.

Once the chicken has sat for a few minutes, then place it in the bag so that the coconut sticks to it and shake it around making sure the chicken pieces are coated.

Place them carefully on the tray and bake for 20 minutes or until cooked through and toasted, turning once. Serve with the chopped salad and asian dressing.