Earlier this year, I decided to stop eating beef, and I’ve long given up ham, bacon and processed style meats or cold-cuts. My choices are for a mixture of reasons - the beef was an environmental decision, I can’t ignore the harmful impact cattle farming has on the planet. As for ham and bacon etc., well, that was more for personal health reasons. Without getting into all of that just now, it made sense to cut these foods out of my diet. It was the right decision for me for sure, and I don’t particularly miss them.

Anyway, enough of the health rant. Back to today’s recipe, delicious herby potato salad. Made with fresh dill and parsley, plus chopped red onion and gherkins for extra punch, coated in lots of extra virgin olive oil, a touch of dijon mustard and some seasoning.

I’ve left the real corker in the story until last though, and quite obviously the reason why this potato salad is stupidly easy to make, I love how simple it is (as is well documented in this blog, I love food, I love cooking, but I like it easy ). I’ve used tinned potatoes for the ultimate in recipe hacks! They work an absolute treat, and although they might never quite beat the flavour of freshly boiled new potatoes, they taste perfectly fine, so I’m more than happy to take the short cut now and then.

Here’s the recipe:

Herby Tinned Potato Salad (Mayo-Free)

PREP TIME - 5 mins |  SERVES 2 - 4  | RECIPE TYPE - SIDE | VEGAN

Ingredients

• 1 800g tin of peeled new potatoes

• a small handful of dill

• a small handful of parsley

• 1 small red onion

• 4,5 small gherkins or 2,3 large

• 4tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 1 tsp dijon mustard

• seasoning

Instructions

1. Drain the potatoes and set aside in a large mixing bowl.

2. Add red onion and gherkins to a mini blender and pulse until chopped evenly and add to the bowl pf potatoes.

3. Chop the herbs by hand and add those also to the potatoes.

4. Whisk together extra virgin olive oil and some mustard, pour over the potato mix and combine well so everything is coated evenly.

5. Add some seasoning to taste.

My tips

My main tip for this dish is to remember less is more, as in making it to your taste. I like a lot of dill, and a lot of everything on top of the spuds, in fact, but you can use less. 

I like the onions and gherkins quite chunky, but you also could pulse for longer until almost a paste though if you prefer.

I’ve advised chopping the herbs by hand; this is because I find they go a little soggy if added to the electric chopper, but you can use one if you prefer.

The dijon mustard can be quite overpowering, my recipe reads 1tsp, if you’re not a big fan, I’d say go for half, or omit altogether.

As for seasoning, as ever, taste as you go, once it’s there you can’t take it out!

My last, and most important tip is to check out my other potato side dishes of course;-) Baked Potato Wedges and Basil and Tahini Potato Salad.

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My interpretation of Sally’s fries are home-baked wedges. In keeping with most of what I do, I don’t use a deep fat fryer or any other greasy chip-making method here (there's a time and a place for that). Mostly this is a health choice, but I don’t have this kind of gadget anyway.

I bake these beauties in the oven, then toss them in a mixture of minced garlic, fresh parsley and grated Parmesan. Simple but epic!

Did I mention that there’s no need to par-boil? I spent years fussing around boiling my chips then finishing them off in the oven. Perhaps potatoes have changed a bit (that can happen😉), or maybe I’m truly the laziest home cook ever! Probably 🤷‍♀️.

I’m such potato lover, and I want to pay homage to the humble white spud, she gets a tough rap - stay away from the carbs and all that.

The thing is, we need carbs for a balanced diet, it’s quite simple, and whether consumed before or after 6 pm will have little impact on our waistlines! Sorry, I have no scientific proof on that, but I believe it’s another media-hyped nonsense diet tip. Potatoes are a natural source of goodness, and that surely is a scientific fact! If you’re still not convinced or you’d like some further information, read this article.

Baked Potato Wedges

PREP TIME - 10 MINS  |  COOK TIME 45MIN-1HR  |  SERVES 1-2  RECIPE TYPE - SIDE | VEGETARIAN

Ingredients

• Floury white potatoes

• 1 tsp olive oil or rapeseed oil for baking\

• Grated parmesan

• Small bunch of chopped parsley

• 2 cloves of garlic, minced

• Seasoning if desired

• Small knob of butter or 1 tsp of extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180c.

2. Add the chopped potatoes with the oil to a baking sheet, season if you wish.

3. Give them a shake or turn half way through cooking.

4. Once cooked, add the parsley, butter or oil, Parmesan and garlic to a large mixing bowl, ad the chips and mix until coated well.

5. Add further seasoning if you wish, serve and enjoy.

My notes and tips

I’ve been a little vague with measurements (as usual), taste as you go and add more as you prefer.

I find floury potatoes work best for chips - Maris Piper, Russets, or King Edwards.

Cheeky tip - make extra, you’ll always want more of these!!! 😉

There’s not much more to say here, I’m hoping my pictures are communicating how damn sexy these wedges are!

Celebrate potatoes and make them, they are the best.

Bye for now👋.

PS - in case you were wondering, a fishwich is the catch of the day, sandwiched in a crusty baguette with coleslaw😋 .

Check out these fabulous potato wedges recipes:

Ultimate Roast Potato Wedges with rosemary by Matters of the Belly

Smoky Sweet Potato Wedges and dipped in an avocado dip by Flavour and Savour

Easy Peasy Homemade Oven Chips straight-up perfection for the purists by Easy Peasy Foodie

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Why can't the naughty stuff be good for you? Ever asked your self that?

These yummy morsels are that very thing, the healthy snack I can gobble away in gluttonous heaven, but safe in the knowledge I'm putting some good stuff into my body. 

Spicy Baked Chickpeas

PREP TIME - 5 MINS  |  COOK TIME 1HR  |  SERVES 1-2 | RECIPE TYPE - SNACK

Ingredients

• 1 tin (400g) of chickpeas (drained)

• 1 tsp olive oil or rapeseed oil

• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika

• 1/2 tsp dried mixed herbs

• Seasoning if desired

Instructions

1. Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl.

2. Roast in the oven in a baking dish for 1 hr at 180c. Give the chickpeas a shake every 15 mins. They should reach a good crunchy texture.

My notes and tips

This is a versatile snack recipe.  You can mix up the flavours and get very spicy if you dare!

You may have noticed I was vague with portion size, I'd happily munch my way through the whole serving, but I'm just greedy. Call it how you see it, but as a guide, one tin (400g chickpeas) between two is a good snack-size portion.

Hope you've enjoyed this easy-peasy snack recipe.  It's just a quick one, I'm easing myself into 2018. ;-)  I'd love to hear your favourite flavour suggestions for this one so please get in touch.

May your snack times be enjoyable and guilt-free for 2018.

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I'm a big fan of the Brussels sprout, they’re in season from October to March each year, and they're home-grown. Sprouts aren’t just for Christmas. ;-)

I should really introduce this recipe by giving credit to the humble sprout, as it's definitely managed to find its cool somehow in recent years.  Especially for any Instagrammer!

This pleases me a lot, it's such a tasty and important part of Christmas dinner IMHO and I have to say as soon they come into season each year I look forward to eating them in all sorts of yummy ways (believe me, in a frittata with cheese and chorizo is pretty amazing, perhaps that's another one for the blog🤔).

Feelings of nostalgia sweep over me as I cook and smell that familiar Christmassy sprout smell. Do you do that with food? Some smells and tastes will always transport me back, not always in a good way, but definitely funny😉.

I can't help but remember that god-awful sweaty and almost cheesy  flavour of sprouts from my youth. What the hell was all that with boiling the life out of veg?  Sorry, Mum! Yeuch!

Roasting the sprouts is a total game changer.  You'll notice a whole new level of character, I'm sure of it, and the crispy outer leaves are honestly just sublime.

If you served me this plateful for dinner I'd be happy and satisfied (maybe not on Christmas day though, I’m not missing out on the rest of the food on the 25th!).

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pumpkin Seeds and Lemon

PREP/COOK TIME - 40 MINS | DIFFICULTY RATING EASY | SERVES 4 | RECIPE TYPE - SIDE

Ingredients

• 500g of brussels sprouts, cleaned, ends removed and halved

• 1tbsp pumpkin seeds

• 1 preserved lemon or juice of 1 lemon

• 1 clove of garlic

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• Black Pepper

• Lemon zest

• Chopped parsley for decorating

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 160c.

2. Blitz 1 preserved lemon, garlic, olive oil and black pepper together in a min blender until smooth.

3. Mix the wet mixture together with the brussels sprouts in a bowl so they are fully coated.

4. Arrange the sprouts on a baking tray, give them as much space as you can, roast for 20-25mins at 160c or until cooked. They should still have some bite and the exterior shells will have browned.

5. Scatter with parsley, pumpkin seeds and lemon zest. Season if you wish.

My notes and tips

I cook these at 160c as they're only small and the leaves could easily burn.  Make sure to move them around a couple of times during cooking and if they look dry spray with a little oil.

The preserved lemon is the secret to the distinct flavour in this recipe; it works beautifully with the sprouts.  I use Belazu lemons. The juice of a lemon mixed in with the oil would work equally well.

My other little trick is I like the pumpkin seeds toasted, but I'd rather not add another stage of cooking into the recipe, if you want to though you can sprinkle them onto the sprouts about 5 mins before you remove them from the oven, make sure they get a bit of a coating with oil for the perfectly toasted nutty flavour.

So, that's this year's sprouts sorted.  I'll no doubt try out some other recipes before the big day as I can't resist these seasonal beauties. What do you think, would you give them a try?  I'd love to hear your interesting seasonal recipes.  Send them my way.

Merry Christmas🎄.

Further Sprout reading and some other recipes I’m enjoying:

19 things you might not know about Brussels sprouts

Our 10 best Brussels sprouts recipes

Pan roasted Brussels sprouts and leaks

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I've shared this recipe before on Instagram but it's had a bit of a makeover, and I've been looking forward to unveiling the new look.  (I'll publish the previous version at some point, which includes healthier cream cheese topping). 

When I first stumbled across this yummy recipe, I read the words one-bowl and was compelled to make it. I'm not a natural baker (at all) and mostly a sugar-avoider, but the creative side of baking has always appealed to me.  One of my guilty pleasures is cake-making reality TV shows, Cake Wars, Extreme Cake Makers; I can watch them all day long! Perhaps I need to take a cake decorating class 🤔.

I had some hesitations cos of the whole sugar thang, but I decided to go ahead and share the recipe as it’s pretty marvellous!  If you have any ideas for sugar alternatives, please let me know, I'm swaying towards coconut sugar or stevia, not overly familiar with either, but they’re on the must-try list.

The recipe contains organic honey in place of sugar and instead of butter, olive oil. I reckon that counts as healthier! It’s also straightforward to make, of course, a big plus.

Can you tell how guilty I’m feeling over this? I’ll shut-up now about sugar🙈.

One-Bowl Yogurt Honey and Lemon Olive Oil Cake with Pistachios and Figs

PREP/COOK TIME 45 MINS | DIFFICULTY RATING - EASY | SERVES - 8-10 | RECIPE TYPE - DESSERT/TEA BREAK | EQUIPMENT - ELECTRIC HAND WHISK

Ingredients  - cake

• 1 cup of full fat Greek yogurt

• ⅔ cup of olive oil, ⅔ cup of honey

• 1tsp lemon zest

• 1 tbsp lemon juice

• 3 large eggs

• 1½ cup of plain flour

• ½tsp baking powder

• ½tsp baking soda

• ¼tsp salt

Ingredients - topping  

• ¼ cup of crushed pistachios

• Sliced figs

• Honey

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180c.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the yogurt, olive oil, honey and lemon juice. Then whisk in the eggs one by one until smooth.

3. Add the dry ingredients including the lemon rind and combine well with a spatula (Note, there will be some lumps, it won’t be completely smooth and that’s fine).

4. Prepare a 9inch circular baking tin, springform pan or silicone baking mould by spraying with cooking oil. Either of the tins should be lined with baking paper and spray with more oil if using an ordinary baking tin.

5. Pour the better mixture into the dish and place in the centre of the oven at 180c. Bake for 25–30 mins until a skewer comes out clean.

6. Leave for 10 mins on a cooling rack, then remove from the baking dish.

7. When the cake is room temperature, add slices of figs, a sprinkling of nuts and drizzle with honey.

8. The cake will keep in an air tight container for a few days in the fridge.

 My notes and tips

This recipe is reasonably fail-safe, I find using a silicone baking dish adds to the simplicity and would highly recommend getting one for this or any baking.  I also use mine for cooking tasty frittata or breakfast egg-cups. They're very budget friendly and, easy to use and to clean.

I crushed the pistachios by pulsing them in my mini blender for a few seconds, you can also leave them whole.

I've tried making the cake with a cup of raisins added to the batter mix before baking, works well. Fresh thyme from the original recipe is also delicious.

If you'd rather have a creamy topping, try mixing a tub of full fat cream cheese with 3tbsp of maple syrup.  Add crushed pistachios on top - delicious!

All that's left to say is to get the kettle on, enjoy.😊

Got your own one-bowl or sugar-free cake recipe? Please send it my way.

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The unhealthy side dishes and snacks are the devil for me, always have been, and potato salad used to be right at the top of that list  I’d to tell myself if it wasn't a full meal, it couldn't be that bad. Gross!

I know better these days, and those little creamy tubs full of additives don’t make their way into my basket anymore. But it's more than just the health thing, it's about taste as well isn’t it? The trouble is, if you like something, you like it, and it feels like punishment to deny yourself what you enjoy.  

So, how do you break the habit? That’s the point my friends, likes and tastes are habit, but habits can be broken. Food is no different to other areas of our lives, it becomes routine, we crave certain things, but discovering new flavour or healthier options is possible and practice makes perfect.

If mayonnaise is your devil (as it was for me), it doesn’t have to be. A creamy sauce or dip can be healthy.

These basil and tahini potatoes are one of many fabulous recipes I love to make, they work in exactly the way they should, a big bowl of yummy goodness.

Mayo-Free Basil and Tahini Potato Salad

PREP TIME - 15 MINS | DIFFICULTY RATING - EASY | SERVES - 4 | RECIPE TYPE - SIDE

Ingredients

• 1 kg boiled small or new potatoes

• 2 tbsp of tahini sauce

• 1/3 cup of water

• juice of 1 lemon

• 2 roasted garlic cloves

• 1/2 tsp of maple syrup

• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

• 10-15g fresh basil (half a small packet)

• A pinch of salt

• Black pepper to serve

Instructions

1. First boil or steam the potatoes for 10-12 minutes until tender, then set aside to cool a little.

2. While the potatoes are cooking, prepare the garlic. Spray with a little oil and roast in a preheated oven at 160c for 8-10 mins until the middle is soft and will squeeze out from the skin.

3. To make the dressing, add all the ingredients apart from the basil and salt, pulse until completely smooth.

4. Add small amounts of basil and pulse again, then taste and add more plus salt if you wish.

5. When the dressing is ready, mix with the warm potatoes and serve with some fresh black pepper.

My notes and tips

You can use any potatoes in this recipe, I think the waxy variety works best; I particularly like small new potatoes as I feel they hold their shape best.  Also, if you'd rather remove the skin that's entirely your choice.

It's not completely necessary to roast the garlic, depends really on how much you like raw garlic but in this instance, I think it works better if roasted, as it brings another touch of sweetness to the dressing with already has a lot of sour and robust flavouring.

You can also serve this dish cold. However, it's nice to add the dressing while the potatoes are warm as they nicely absorb the oil and flavourings.

It's also worth mentioning, the measurements for the dressing aren't strict, but they have been developed to suit my taste buds.  With any sauce or dip I'd say this, but particularly with such pungent flavours as here, it makes sense to taste as you go and learn your preferences. 

I hope you give this one a go. It's a great way to serve potatoes and works really well with some simple pan fried fish or a rotisserie chicken.  There's now no reason to open the jar of mayo, I promise. ;-)

PS - this recipe was featured in Vegan Living magazine

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Anyway, back to today. Suffice to say the days of creamy mayo-laden coleslaw are mostly long gone for me. Who cares though when you discover how easy it is to make tasty, crunchy slaw, how versatile it is and also when you read everywhere about the benefits of raw veggies, especially the gut-healthy properties of cabbage.  #Winning

As I say, I make slaw a lot. For this recipe, I've gone for an Asian feel with coriander, fiery green chilli and a soy-based dressing.  It's simple yet effective. Cliche?  Maybe, but right and that's what counts. ;-)

Green Chilli and Lime Slaw

PREP TIME - 10 MINS | DIFFICULTY RATING - EASY | SERVES - 4 | RECIPE TYPE - SIDE

Ingredients - Slaw

• 1/2 a white cabbage, sliced thinly

• 3 medium carrots, grated

• 1 small bunch of coriander (25g), chopped

• 1 green chilli, chopped

• 1 red onion, thinly sliced

• 1tsp sesame seeds for decorating

Ingredients - Dressing

• Juice of 1 lime

• 1 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil

• 1 tbsp of white wine vinegar

• 2 tbsp reduced salt soy sauce

Instructions

1. *Optional* Prep the cabbage by slicing thinly and placing in a bowl with a pinch of rock salt, a splash of vinegar and extra virgin olive oil. Toss well so that all leaves are coated, cover and leave in the fridge over night or for at least 4 hours.

2. Slice all the other veg.

3. Make the dressing and pour over the slaw. Drain if there's lots of excess.

4. Add sesame seeds before serving.

My notes and tips

Giving the cabbage a night in the fridge with the salt, oil and vinegar gives it a lovely wilt yet the perfect crunch, and the seasoning enhances the flavour.  If possible, give it a shake a couple of times during storage. It's worth doing.

I really like this slaw nice and spicy, however you can dial it down with less if it's too much.

I like white cabbage in this particular slaw; red will work just as well though.

Hope you like this recipe as much as I do, and just so you know, it works quite nicely with some cheese in a sandwich if you were to feel the urge! 

PS - this recipe was featured in Vegan Living magazine

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