Prep: 10 mins | Cook: 30 mins | Serves: 2
Nutritional info: 691 kcal, 74g carbs, 35g fat, 23g protein

INGREDIENTS PHOTO: (I forgot the parsley)

So, first up, stick the walnuts in an oven on around 180’c for 6-8 minutes, so they’re browning but not getting hard or bitter.

Then chop off about 2cm of the end of the broccoli – the dried up bit, and then slice the rest of the stalk right up to the florets, chop it up a little if massively thick. Then add the oil to a large frying pan, and gently sautee the stalk sections for about 5 minutes.

Then add the broccoli heads, and keep them cooking until tender. 5-8 minutes. MEANWHILE. squash and chop the garlic, chop the parsley, zest and juice the lemon, and probably take the walnuts out already.

By the time you’ve prepped all the stuff, the broccoli should be about tender. Add all of the stuff apart from the ricotta and lemon juice:

heat this through for 5 minutes, and put the pasta on.

Then add the ricotta and lemon juice, stir around and heat very gently until the pasta is ready. Season well. Really well. Lots of salt (I like salt, please make sure it’s to your taste).

When pasta is ready, drain, combine, serve, enjoy.

Prep: 10 mins | cook: 20 mins | Serves: 4
Nutritional Info: 321 kcals, protein 9g, carbs 18g, fat 20g, saturated 10g, fibre 8g, salt 0.23g

Ingredients, mostly:

I used shallots. I didn’t know if that’s the same as ‘baby onions’. They’re little anyway. melt the butter, and then add the onions and gently cook for 8-10 minutes until soft.

Add the wine and the leeks and simmer until tender, about 5 mins

Add the peas and simmer for 5 mins more, if you’re doing pasta, start it here.

then add the lettuce and simmer for 3 mins

Start your couscous, if you’re doing that. Stir through the creme fraiche and herbs, season through and warm gently for 2-3 mins

Serve on a bed of couscous (well seasoned and stirred through with oil) or pasta. DONE.

Assemble it all, put the oven on to preheat (180C, Gas mark 4):

Warm the oil in a non-stick pan. Chop the onion (medium/fine) and add it to the oil. Chop the chilli, or get a teaspoon of chilli powder/flakes (you know how spicy you like it), and add to the onion and oil. Warm on a medium-low heat for 5 – 10 minutes:

Meanwhile, drain and rinse the kidney beans, and then roughly mash them in a bowl with a fork or potato masher:

Add them to the onion and chilli, stir to combine. Heat for another 5 minutes:

Grate the cheese. On this occasion I used a combination of cheddar and mozzarella:

The refried beans will become a bit gooier (sp?):

Split the french stick lengthways, and cut into appropriate sized sections. The original recipe suggests tearing some of the bread out of the middle if your french stick is too fat, but on this occasion that didn’t seem necessary. Spread the refried beans evenly over the bread:

Add the cheese:

add more cheese…

Put them in the oven until the cheese is golden brown:

Serve with salad, guacamole, soured cream, salsa:

These go particularly well with a Portuguese red wine, preferably an Alentejo.

Aaaaaah, it’s been bloody AGES since my last recipe. Apologies. First I was finishing a PhD, then I was doing a residency where I was travelling to Yorkshire most weeks and cooking on the go, then I was POOR, and I couldn’t afford to experiment with food. And now I live in London. And am even poorer really, except the difference is I have less time because 2 hours of my day is commuting. But determined to get back on the food blog wagon. (WAGON). So expect a series of CHEAP EATS, for making in bulk and reheating for lunch or dinner. This week I have lentil chilli and this fine recipe; butternut squash and chickpea curry based pretty faithfully on a Good Food recipe. Served with rice in the evenings, or with a pitta for lunch.

Prep: 10 mins | Cook: 35 mins | Serves: 4

Nutritional Info: 393 kcalories, protein 14g, carbohydrate 71g, fat 8 g, saturated fat 1g, fibre 9g, sugar 16g, salt 0.94 g

NB I got this info off the recipe and I’m too tired to work out if it includes the rice or not, so when I record it, I just add on 50g of basmati rice, which brings the meal to: 571g kcalories, 110g carbs, 9g fat, 18g protein, 376mg sodium, 16g sugar.

Chop up the butternut squash. This is the worst bit of the recipe. From here on in it’s plain sailing. I chop squash the lazy way: slice off sections horizontally, so you have a load of cross section disks, then chop the skin off the sides with it laying flat, you end up with octagon-ish bits of just flesh, which then I section into chunks. Top Squash Tip.

Add the oil to the pan, heat, then add the squash and sautee until browning, about 10 mins

Then add the onion and the garlic, stir, and soften for 5-10 mins more

Add the curry paste, pop it on a high heat, and get it all lovely and covered and fragrant

Then add the stock, stir well, and simmer until squash is almost perfectly soft. Pop your rice on just as it’s getting soft-ish. About 5 minutes for basmati, and 10-15 for brown, before you think the squash is at almost.

Add the chickpeas and tomatoes (I used tinned), stir well, and simmer for a last 5 mins.

Just before serving, stir through chopped coriander. Serve with rice and soya yoghurt. Or pitta. Or naan. Or chapati. You get it.

Put the oil in a pan over a medium/low heat. Add the mustard seeds, the sausages and the onion. Cook for five minutes to soften the onion and colour the sausages.

Stir occasionally. Add the chilli and garlic:

Add the lentils, the chopped tomatoes, and 100ml of water. Stir in and bring to the boil. Then turn the heat down and cover. Cook for 10 minutes.

Add the sage, and then cook uncovered for about 10 minutes, maybe a bit longer, until the liquid has reduced enough.

Serve with boiled potatoes, baked potatoes, or, as in this instance, mustard mash.

Wine with that? Why not a Portuguese Alentejo Tinto?

Prep: 5 mins | Cook: 30 mins | Serves: 2

Nutritional info: 514kcal 63g carbs 20g fat 15g protein

Obligatory ingredients pic:

First up, set a pan of salted water on the boil. Then pop the oil and butter in a pan, melt together, add the mushrooms and fry until brown and yummy.

Add the pasta about half way through browning mushrooms

Add the thyme, garlic and balsamic vinegar to the mushrooms, cook for a couple of minutes

When that’s reduced, add the wine and do the same

Then add the cream and half the parsely

reduce until nice and thick, and add the pasta when al dente, keep cooking until it’s… well, risotto texture. Damn.

Serve with the rest of the chopped parsley on to. It’s not half bad. And tastes lighter than risotto.

So, how to:

Prep: 10 mins | Cook: 25 mins | Serves: 4
Nutritional info: 494 kcal, 32g carbs, 28g fat, 12g protein

Ingredients pic (less the wine, and pictured for one)

Prep the onion, garlic, weigh out the other things, make the stock, and cube the butternut squash to approx 1cm cubes. Be careful not to slip with the knife on the squash. I do this all the time. Unfun.

And then, before you start, toast your pine nuts, watch them carefully in a dry pan and brown all over, then tip out.

Next, melt the butter in a large pan, add the onions, soften, and then add the garlic and stir for a couple of minutes. Here are some pictures in case you can’t imagine how that looks:

Next, add the cubed squash, stir around for a couple of minutes, then add a good splash per person of white wine. Let that reduce a little, then add the veg stock (it should just about cover the squash), add the nutmeg (to taste), bring to the boil, and simmer gently until the squash is soft. MEANWHILE

Start the water boiling for the tagliatelle, and about 5 minutes in chuck it in the water with a bit of salt. When the squash is soft and lovely, blend it with 1/3 of the chives, and return to the pan with the cream, stirring through. (NB. I later discovered it was better to blend with the cream and then heat through)

Once the sauce has warmed through, hopefully the pasta should be done, add it to the pan, with 2/3 of the pine nuts, and 1/3 of the chives. Mix together

Then dole it onto plates, scattering the remaining chives and pine nuts over the top.

Doesn’t look mega appetising, but it’s warm and filling and tasty. So, y’know, whatevs.

Hallooo! I’ve been itching to guest post this pie, because pies are excellent things for those slightly challenged in the fine motor skills and presentation departments, as I am (and as you’ll see from the photographs). I’ve been making it for around 10 years now and it’s never let me down (if you don’t count the times I burnt or dropped it), and several meat-devouring mates have asked for the recipe. And I know it wasn’t out of politeness because they then made it themselves. And my mates aren’t that polite. It was originally from a Tesco Vegetarian magazine, but I’ve tweaked a bit.

Anyway, that pie…

Obligatory pack shot (the greenfly got our thyme so I’m using dried here).

Preheat the oven to 220˚C/425˚F/Gas Mark 7. Divide the pastry into two and roll into 25cm circles. Actually, just roll it to what feels the right thickness and then cut round a large plate – it’ll be fine. Prick with a fork and chill. (You’ll notice below I have pastry rectangles: apologies, the shop only had pre-rolled last week. Circles look better).

Heat the butter and oil in a pan until it bubbles. Add the leeks and cook gently for 3-5 minutes, until they look softened but haven’t coloured.

Mix the creme fraiche, mustard, thyme and  nutmeg together. Season and add to the leeks. And FYI – a teaspoon of nutmeg takes about 5 minutes and slightly sore fingers to achieve.

Place the mixture in a dome shape on one pastry circle, leaving 3cm of space around the edge. (Again, looks way better with circles).

Brush the edges with water. Top with the other pastry circle (it doesn’t look like it’ll be big enough, but the heat of the leeks makes it stretch pleasingly), lightly press together, and make small vertical cuts around the edge with a very sharp edge (so as not to drag the pastry).  This helps the pie to rise more evenly.

Then make scores across the top of the pie in whatever pattern takes your fancy. Just don’t go mad or it’ll shrink or break. Finish by brushing with the beaten egg.

Cook in the middle of the oven for 30 to 35 minutes. I always check after 20 as we have an insanely fierce oven and I sometimes put foil over it for the last 10 minutes to stop the pastry singeing.

Serve with fresh veg of your choice and new potatoes smothered in butter and pepper.

And to drink?  I dunno, ask Alex. I’ve been pregnant or breastfeeding for the last 7 years, so I generally wash it down with a cup of decaf tea. [I always think a red Portuguese Alentejo works very well with this – Alex]

Variations: You can make the filling with just about any veg that goes with creme fraiche: mushrooms work particularly well but sweet root vegetables and others in the onion family are good too.

Footnote: this pie is pretty good the day after, cold or reheated.  Nice change from butties.

Serves: 6 | Prep: 10 mins | Cook: 30 mins
Nutritional info: 227 kcal, 35g carbs, 7g fat, 8g protein

Ingredienty:

Prep: get the stock boiling. Chop the onion, cube the tomatoes, crush and chop the garlic, break up the spaghetti, drain the chick peas, chop up the beans into 1-2cm pieces.

Get a big pan, put the oil and onion in it. Soften the onion. I have illustrated this in case you are uncertain.

Add garlic. Fry for a couple of minutes more.

Add everything that isn’t the rocket.

Bring to the boil, simmer for 15-20 minutes, until pasta is done.

When the spaghetti is cooked, stir through the rocket. Season to taste. Serve.

How easy?

Serves: 4  |  Prep Time: 10 mins  |  Cook time about 30-40 mins
Nutritional Info: 593 kcal, 74g carbs, 25g fat, 15g protein

Ingredients pic!

weigh everything out, slice the leeks thinly, crush and chop the garlic, break the cauliflower into florets, taking off the thickest bit of the stalks. Set the stock on to boil. Heat the oil in a well big pan.

Add the garlic, leeks and cauli and soften over the heat for 5-10 mins

Add the risotto rice, stir through and cook for about 2 mins until the rice is slightly glossy

Add the wine, stir until absorbed

If you’re not in a mega rush like I was, add the stock a bit by bit until absorbed and the rice is al dente. If in a massive rush add it all and hope it’s the right amount. Reduce for about 2o-25 mins

When it’s reduced, add the butter and parmesan, stir through for a couple minute more

Then add the parsley, season to taste (loads of black pepper) and serve. Voila: