Chickpea and Halloumi Traybake

I love halloumi. The salty, squeakiness is irresistible in my household, so we always have a block or two in the fridge ready for when the fridge is a little bare.

Although I am probably part of a small minority who actually likes halloumi cold, although I am in agreement that hot, crispy, golden and squidgy halloumi is the best. Even when it’s not barbecue season, I still eat it, either by frying it in a pan as part of a mean vegetarian brunch, or roasting it in the oven till it is crispy and golden on the top.

While halloumi is high in salt and fats including saturated fat, as is often found with cheeses, it is a good source of non-meat protein, especially for those wishing to reduce their meat intake. I try to use halloumi less often because of the salt content, and to help combat this when cooking with it I never season the dish with salt.

If you have the time and the will, stick the halloumi and peppers onto the barbecue to get a lovely charred flavour. The remaining ingredients can be cooked as normal in the oven, and then combine the two together to finish the dish.

I love this dish served with simple herbed couscous. You could of course serve it with rice, bulgar wheat, potato salad or even some garlic flatbreads. Alternatively, to make only one dish dirty, slice potatoes into large wedges and roast in the tray for 25 minutes with a little extra oil. Then top with the chickpeas and vegetables and carry on roasting.

Serves 2

Ingredients

  • 1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 2 bell peppers, cut into large chunks
  • 1 large or two small red onions, sliced into wedges through the root
  • 200g baby plum tomatoes
  • 2 cloves of garlic, skin on
  • 3 sprigs oregano, leaves removed from stems
  • 1 red chilli, to taste, diced
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 100g halloumi, sliced into large chunks

To serve

  • 100g couscous
  • Chives, finely chopped
  • Flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped

Method

  • Preheat the oven to 180°C fan, 190°C convection
  • Mix all the ingredients except the halloumi together in an oven-proof dish. Season with pepper to taste.
  • Lay the halloumi over the top and bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes till the halloumi turns golden brown and the vegetables have softened.
  • Meanwhile, prepare the couscous by pouring 110ml boiling water over the top of the couscous with the chives and covering. Allow to steam for 5 minutes before fluffing the grains with a fork. Mix the flat-leaf parsley through.
  • Serve the chickpea and halloumi bake over the couscous and enjoy.

Per serving: 661kcal/ 25.2g fat/ 10.8g saturated fat/ 38.2g carbohydrates/ 14.2g fibre/ 26.5g protein

Spinach and Cottage Cheese Quiche

This is my brother’s favourite quiche. Full of delicious spinach, and a surprise ingredient, cottage cheese. I’ve added a few extra ingredients to the traditional recipe we originally used, this is to add a little extra fibre diversity, but also gives a little more depth of flavour.

The surprising use of cottage cheese in this dish means that some of the cream is replaced by this lower-fat dairy product. Cottage cheese is a low-fat cheese made using both curds and whey, meaning it retains some of the protein found in some dairy products. The little curds stay whole in the quiche so you get delicious nuggets of soft cheese throughout the quiche, giving an amazing texture and taste to the dish. No wonder it has been a favourite of my brothers for such a long time!

If you don’t have a 9″ flan tin, you can make smaller quiches using cupcake or muffin trays. Growing up my mum would always make these for birthday parties, so making mini individual quiches is perfect for hungry little fingers! It also freezes really well; if you want to serve them hot from the freezer, only partially cook them the first time round so you can re-crisp the pastry in the oven after defrosting.

This is perfect as a light dinner, or even served cold at a picnic or to take to work for lunch. I love serving it simply with a salad.

If you don’t want to make your own pastry then shop bought is fine. I use a full butter recipe in my shortcrust pastry recipe, but for those who need to watch their saturated fat intakes, using shop bought vegetable fat based shortcrust pastry is an option here. If you need to make a gluten-free version, use a gluten-free pastry, or alternatively if you want a crustless quiche butter the sides of a cake tin.

Serves 4 as a main, 6 for a lighter lunch or starter

Ingredients

  • 260g shortcrust pastry
  • 1 onion, finely diced
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 400g spinach, fresh or frozen
  • 1/2 nutmeg, grated
  • 300g cottage cheese
  • 3 large eggs
  • 50 parmesan, grated
  • 90ml double cream
  • 100g tomatoes, sliced

Method

  • Roll the pastry out to a thickness of 2mm and line a 9″ flan tin, leaving excess pastry overhanging the edge. Chill in the fridge.
  • Preheat the oven to 180°C fan, 190°C convection, and once up to temperature, prick the base of the pastry with a fork and blind bake the pastry case using non-stick paper and baking beans or dried rice for 15 minutes.
  • Remove the baking beans and paper and return the tin to the oven for a further 5 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, gently fry the onion in the oil till soft before adding the spinach and cooking until all the water evaporates. Turn off the heat and allow to cool slightly.
  • Mix the cottage cheese, eggs, parmesan and double cream together and season with nutmeg and pepper to taste.
  • Once the spinach has cooled, add to the wet ingredients and mix before pouring into the pastry case.
  • Top with sliced tomatoes and bake for 30-35 minutes till puffed up and golden brown*^.

Per sixth of a quiche: 376kcal/ 22.9g fat/ 13.5g saturated fat/ 24.9g carbohydrates/ 2.0g fibre/ 16.4g protein

*If freezing, part bake for 15-20 minutes till puffed up but without a golden brown colour. Allow to cool fully before storing in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. To reheat, pre-heat the oven to 180°C fan, 190°C convection, place back into the tin, and bake for 15 minutes till golden brown.

^If making mini individual quiches cook for 15-20 minutes.

Miso Aubergine with Crispy Chickpeas

Miso is a kitchen shortcut to a deep umami flavour boost for so many different dishes. My miso aubergine in influenced by the Nobu miso black cod. I’ve changed up a few ingredients to make it slightly healthier, and this works on cod too, so for those who eat fish, you can make the same marinade, but cook the fish for less time, around 15-18 minutes depending on the size of your fillets.

If you can get sake, the traditional Japanese rice wine, that would be true to the Japanese miso cod recipe. However, if you are unable to get it, Chinese rice wine is a good substitute, as is a dry white wine.

This dish is delicious served with steamed brown and wild basmati rice, garlic ginger dressed pak choi and quick pickled carrots for further fibre diversity!

Ingredients

  • 30ml sake
  • 30ml mirin
  • 5ml rice wine vinegar
  • 2 tbsp white miso paste
  • 20g stoned dates
  • 1 large aubergine
  • 200g tinned chickpeas, drained
  • 1 tsp EVOO
  • 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds
  • 1 spring onion, finely sliced
  • Chilli to taste, finely diced
  • Coriander leaves

Method

  • Mix the sake, mirin, rice wine vinegar, miso paste, dates and 20ml water into a small pan. Cook over a low heat till the dates have softened and the alcohol has cooked off. Blend to a smooth paste.
  • Slice the aubergine in half and score the fresh in diamond shapes, ensuring you do not cut through the skin. Place in an oven-proof dish.
  • Pour the miso sauce over the cut side of the aubergine and gently open up the cuts to allow the marinade to penetrate into the flesh. Leave to marinade to 30 minutes at room temperature, or put in the fridge if making in advance.
  • Preheat the oven to 200°C Fan, 220°C convection, gas mark 6.
  • Add the chickpeas and oil to the pan with the aubergine and gently toss in any excess marinade. Add 30ml water to the pan.
  • Cook for 30 minutes, mixing the chickpeas after 15 minutes. If the chickpeas look like they might burn add a little extra water.
  • Remove from the oven and scatter with sesame seeds, spring onion, chilli and coriander.

Per serving 288kcal/ 6.6g fat/ 0.9g saturated fat/ 37.9g carbohydrates/ 10.1g fibre/ 11.8g protein

Yellow Split Pea Curry

Yellow split peas are such a versatile bean. So simple to cook and they make a really mean curry as would any lentil.

Yellow split peas are also extremely high in fibre, containing around 16g fibre per 100g cooked peas. In comparison, red lentils provide 6g fibre, and green lentils 8.7g when cooked.

Yellow split peas also retain a firmer texture when cooked, even for a long period of time. This means that they won’t fall apart, so you always get a rewarding chunky texture to your dish.

Serves 6

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 2 large onions, sliced
  • 4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
  • 20g ginger, roughly chopped
  • 2 tbsp tomato puree
  • 2 tsp ground turmeric
  • 2 tsp garam masala
  • 2 tsp chilli powder (or to taste)
  • 200g yellow split peas
  • 200g fresh tomatoes, roughly chopped
  • 1 large aubergine, roughly chopped
  • 1 courgette, roughly chopped
  • 300ml coconut milk
  • 30g coriander, chopped

To Serve

  • Lemon wedges
  • Cooked rice
  • Kefir naan

Method

  • Soften the onion in the oil till translucent but not brown.
  • Crush the garlic and ginger in a pestle and mortar and add to the onions. Cook for 2 minutes before adding in the tomato puree, dried spices, split peas, tomatoes, aubergine and courgette. Add 600ml water and simmer for 40 minutes till the peas are cooked through.
  • Add the coconut milk 5 minutes before serving.
  • Sprinkle in the coriander and serve with a wedge of lemon.

Per serving 334kcal/ 16.1g fat/ 1.6g saturated fat/ 25.4g carbohydrates/ 19.4g fibre/ 14.0g protein

Spinach Macaroni

I have lovely fond memories of walking into Godalming high street and lunching with friends in the local vegetarian and yoga café.

This gorgeous café, Café Mila, inspired this dish. Here I have had countless macaroni cheese dishes after walking several miles to get there, all as part of a team challenge to accumulate the highest number of steps.

I always remember the dish coming out, golden brown bubbling cheese covering macaroni with swirls of spinach. This dish is worth the trek! I do love my macaroni cheese, so sometimes I make my own “lighter” version by using reduced-fat cheddar cheese to help keep the total saturated fat under some control. However, if you don’t eat this all the time, and I don’t, using standard fat cheddar is completely fine. In addition, using mature or extra mature cheddar gives a stronger cheese flavour which can help you keep the quantity of cheese used overall lower.

This dish is perfect to make at the weekend when you have time, and then store in the fridge for a quick and easy meal later in the week. Alternatively, why not try making a larger batch and popping one in the freezer. Cooling cooked pasta has been shown to help further increase the fibre content through the formation of resistant starch, adding other benefits to this dish!

Another great way to increase the fibre content of this dish is to use high fibre pasta. This could either be using wholemeal pasta, where the whole grain is used or alternatively, there are now ranges of high fibre pastas. These are where fibre, such as oat, are added to the pasta before it is shaped. Adding extra fibre to your diet in this way is a really easy method for increasing your fibre intake without much effort. On average UK people eat only an average of 18g fibre per day, and the target is 30g fibre per day. This dish contains 5.7g fibre, but a simple swap to fibre enriched pasta could boost the fibre up to 12g per portion!

Serves 2

Recipe 

  • 15g butter
  • 20g plain flour
  • 360ml semi-skimmed milk
  • ½ tsp English mustard
  • 100g mature cheddar cheese, grated
  • 150g dried pasta
  • 140g spinach

Method 

  • Set the oven to 180°C fan/190°C convection.
  • Melt the butter in a medium-sized saucepan. Add the flour and cook for 1 minute before adding the milk a little at a time, stirring constantly till thick. Add the mustard and half the cheddar cheese and season with pepper to taste.
  • Meanwhile, cook the pasta for 2 minutes less than the packet instructions.
  • Once the pasta is cooked, add the spinach into the cheese sauce and mix, followed by the drained pasta.
  • Pour everything into an ovenproof dish and top with the remaining cheese and cook in the oven for 15-20 minutes till the top is golden brown and bubbling.
Spinach Macaroni Cheese

Per serving: 711kcal/ 28.9g fat/ 17.4g saturated fat/ 78.6g carbohydrates/ 5.7g fibre/ 31.7g protein

Tomato and Goats Cheese Risotto

Sticky slow-roasted tomatoes and crumbled goats cheese over a tomato risotto. A delicious summertime recipe I made in honour of British Tomato Fortnight.

It uses my slow roasted tomatoes which helps increase their lycopene concentration, which is a type of antioxidant found in lots of yellow to red colours fruits and vegetables. In the case of tomatoes, processing helps increase the concentration and bioavailability of lycopene as the cells break down and become more absorbable. In addition, consuming tomatoes with oil also aids lycopene uptake by the body as it is a fat soluble nutrient.

Ingredients

  • 2 small red onions, finely chopped
  • 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 120g tomatoes, roughly chopped
  • 150g risotto rice
  • 150ml white wine
  • 1 tsp vegetable stock powder

To serve

Method

  • Gently fry the onions and oil together till soft and translucent. Add the garlic and cook for a further 2 minutes.
  • Add the tomatoes and allow to start cooking before adding in the rice. Coat the rice in the oil before adding the wine and stock in. Stir continuously and add hot water a little at a time as the liquid is absorbed. Cook till the rice is al dente (20-25 minutes).
  • Serve with the slow-roasted tomatoes and crumbled goats cheese over the top.

Reduced Mince Bolognese

With so many people being more conscious about what they eat and how it affects the climate, but unsure as to how they can reduce their food carbon dioxide emissions, this is the recipe for you. It’s my halfway house to enjoying a little meat, but making it go further with the help of one of my favourite store cupboard staples, lentils.

This is a recipe I developed years ago, when at University and trying to make my student budget go a little further without having to compromise on nutrition, but more importantly taste. Lentils are a fantastic way of adding some extra bulk to a meal, whilst being nutritious on their own. This is perfect for trying to reduce your meat intake in dishes such as spaghetti bolognese where meat is usually the main ingredient of the sauce. Per 100g, turkey mince contains around 23g protein, and lentils are not far shy of that figure at 19.3g protein. And if we were to use mince alone, we will be having 5g less fibre per portion of sauce.

I also use turkey mince in my bolognese, rather than beef. This developed a while ago where I switched a lot of mince based recipes towards turkey mince. It’s an extremely useful source of protein, and comparing gram to gram against other meat minces such as beef, there is a lower carbon dioxide emission (estimated mean 6.0 vs 28.7 kg CO2-eq/kg), which is again beneficial to the environment.

This Bolognese sauce is also the perfect batch cooking recipe. It makes 8 servings of sauce which can easily be frozen down in portion sizes for an easy meal at a later date. Alternatively, make a bechamel sauce and layer up with lasagne sheets, or use some chillis and kidney beans to make a chilli con carne and you’ve got yourself some easy alternative meals to enjoy.

Makes 8 servings

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 large onions, finely diced
  • 3 sticks of celery, finely diced
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 150g mushrooms, finely diced
  • 300g minced turkey thigh
  • 2 tbsp tomato puree
  • 1/2 tbsp mixed Italian herbs
  • 4 fresh bay leaves
  • 2 carrot sticks, finely diced
  • 600ml chicken/vegetable stock (or 1 stock cube made up to 600ml)
  • 250ml red wine
  • 1 can of chopped tomatoes
  • 250g red lentils
  • 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 large courgette, grated

Method

  • Gently fry the onions and celery in the oil till soft and translucent. Add the garlic and cook for a further 2 minutes.
  • Add the mushrooms and cook till soft and their liquids have evaporated.
  • Push the vegetables to the side of the pan and fry the turkey mince in the centre till golden brown and mix with the vegetables.
  • Add the tomato puree, herbs, carrots, stock, red wine, canned tomatoes, lentil and Worcestershire sauce. Cook over a low heat stirring occasionally for 45 minutes.
  • 5 minutes before serving, add the grated courgette.
  • Serve with fresh egg pasta, parmesan and fresh basil.

Per serving of Bolognese sauce: 213kcal/ 3.6g fat/ 0.8g saturated fat/ 18.7g carbohydrates/ 7.5g fibre/ 17.5g protein

Spinach Pesto

A delicious way to help increase your vegetable intake by hiding them in your pasta sauce – perfect for children who might be fussy! The vibrant green is also so alluring it may well entice them to give it a try.

It also happens to be a really quick and easy recipe. In the time it takes to bring the water up to the boil and cook the pasta, you will have made the sauce. I use this recipe to finish up big bags of spinach which we haven’t quite managed to eat during the week. Anything left over the can also be frozen for use another day. I always keep a jam jar of pesto in the freezer should I ever be caught short of a meal.

You also don’t have to limit yourself to using with pasta. It makes an excellent topping for roasted vegetables or roasted tofu. Additionally use it to make a crust on your favour meat or fish before cooking. Or try finishing of a soup with a spoonful just as you serve.

If you don’t have pine nuts, other nuts or seeds can be substituted in depending on what you have in stock.

Serves 2

Ingredients

  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 180g baby leaf spinach
  • 1 small bunch of basil
  • 40ml extra virgin olive oil
  • 40g pine nuts, toasted and cooled
  • 40g parmesan, grated

To serve

  • Pasta, cooked

Method

  • Blend the garlic, spinach, basil, and olive oil together to a smooth paste. If you don’t have a blender chop the leaves as small as possible and use a pestle and mortar to make a paste.
  • Add the pine nuts and cheese and blend to your desired consistency.
  • Add to freshly cooked pasta with a little pasta water and cook over a low heat for 1 minute before serving.

Per serving of pesto served with pasta: 685kcal/ 39.6g fat/ 7.4g saturated fat/ 29.8g carbohydrates/ 4.0g fibre/ 18.1g protein

Leek and Potato Soup

This classic soup is as simple as the name suggests. However, a couple of extra ingredients will always help, particularly those base ingredients onion and garlic. If, like myself, you are running low on onions, you can substitute in some celery, or other alternatives include spring onion or chives.

I’ve made this soup smooth, however, I do on occasion make it chunky where I leave cubes of potato and slices of leek whole to add texture to the soup. If you have the time, cut your potatoes into 1cm cubes, and slice your leeks into 0.5cm rounds. Then just before blending, take a scoop or two out and then return once the soup has been blitzed. This method works best with more waxy potatoes which don’t fall apart when cooking, but if you only have floury potatoes they work perfectly for a smooth blended soup.

Serves 8

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp rapeseed oil
  • 1 large onion, finely diced
  • 4 sticks celery, finely diced
  • 3 leeks, finely sliced
  • 4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
  • 800g potatoes, diced
  • 15g stock powder

To serve

  • 150ml double cream (optional)
  • Chives, finely chopped

Recipe

  • Cook the onions on a gentile heat with the oil for 5 minutes before adding the celery and continuing to cook till soft and translucent.
  • Add the garlic and leeks and cook for a further 2 minutes.
  • Add the potatoes, stock powder and top up with water till all the ingredients are almost covered, around 1.2 litres, and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  • Blend the soup till smooth, finish with cream (optional) and chives, and serve.

Per serving 331kcal/ 19.3g fat/ 6.8g saturated fat/ 32.1g carbohydrates/ 5.0g fibre/ 4.6g protein

Mushroom Risotto

Risotto is such an easy dish. The only laborious part about it is the constant stirring to make sure the grains go creamy and release their starch to thicken the liquid.

You can use almost any ingredients to make the risotto too, depending on what you fancy. Roast tomatoes in the oven with garlic and herbs, or use spring vegetables such as asparagus and pea, or a lemon and pea risotto would be delicious served with a pan fried fillet of fish. The possibilities are endless really!

Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 onions, finely diced
  • 3 garlic cloves, finely diced
  • 300g mushrooms, half sliced, half diced
  • 300g risotto rice
  • 200ml white wine (optional)
  • 10g stock powder
  • 60g parmesan, finely grated

Method

  • Sweat the onion and 1 tbsp oil together in a large pan till soft and translucent. Add the garlic and cook for a further 2 minutes.
  • Add the diced mushrooms and cook till soft.
  • Add the risotto rice, stir and cook for 1 minute before adding in the wine and stock powder. Stir continuously, adding boiling water as the liquid is absorbed. This will take around 25 minutes to cook.
  • When the rice is close to being cooked through, heat a separate pan with 1 tbsp olive oil and fry the sliced mushrooms.
  • Turn the heat off the risotto, stir in the parmesan cheese and serve with the fried mushrooms on top.

If you’re feeling a little fancy, why not treat yourself with a drizzle of truffle oil just before you serve?

One Pot Courgette, Kale and Orzo

Looking for a really easy dish which makes almost no mess? This is a one pot pasta dish which requires minimal effort for maximal taste. This dish takes around 25 minutes to make, so it’s also super quick meaning you don’t have to spend all night at your stove (or even cleaning up after yourself!).

Treating the pasta like a risotto rice means that loads of the starch normally lost to the water is retained in the dish. This gives a lovely creamy sauce at the end of the dish. Easily adaptable to whatever you have in the cupboards or freezer, why not give this dish a go!

Serves 2

Ingredients

  • 1 tbs EVOO
  • 1 onion, finely diced
  • 2 cloves of garlic, finely sliced
  • 160g baby tomatoes
  • 160g orzo pasta
  • 500ml stock (I used 1 heaped tsp vegetable stock powder into boiling water)
  • 1 courgette, grated
  • 100g kale, roughly chopped
  • 60g cheddar cheese, crumbled

Method

  • Gently fry the onions in the oil till soft. Add the garlic and continue cooking for a further 2 minutes.
  • Add the tomatoes and orzo with a third of the stock. Simmer over a low heat, stirring frequently to stop the pasta from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
  • When the liquid is almost absorbed add a further third of the stock. Repeat with the final third.
  • When the pasta is almost cooked add the courgette and kale.
  • Remove from the heat, crumble the cheese in and serve.

Per serving: 539kcal/ 17.7g fat/ 6.6g saturated fat/ 69.6g carbohydrates/ 6.8g fibre/ 22.9g protein

Smokey Chipotle Mixed Bean Stew

Looking to increase the diversity of the foods you eat? This is the perfect dish for you, you can add any other vegetables you wish, and serve it with different carbohydrates to further increase the variety of the plant based foods in your diet. I had a tin of 6 different mixed beans, this is a fantastic way to quickly boost your weekly plant variety. If you don’t have a mixed tin, try combining different tins, or use dried lentils to maxmise diversity. This specific recipe gives you 17 different plant foods on its own, and per serving provides 25% of your daily fibre recommendation. So why not try adding a few extra plant foods when serving it as a meal to further boost these numbers.

It’s also a big batch food which can be stored in the fridge for a few days or frozen down as a convenience food for a later date. You can thank me later!

Serves 8

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp EVOO
  • 3 onions, sliced
  • 3 sticks of celery, diced
  • 4 cloves garlic, diced
  • 2 peppers, chopped
  • 1 courgette, chopped
  • 1 can mixed beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 2 tins of tomatoes
  • 2 tsp smoked paprika
  • 2 tsp chipotle
  • 6 oregano sprigs
  • Juice of 1 lime

Method

  • Sweat the onions in the oil for 5 minutes till translucent. Then add the celery followed by the garlic and cook for a further 3 minutes.
  • Add the remaining ingredients and 400ml of water. Bring to the boil and then gently simmer for 45-60 minutes stirring occasionally till the liquid has reduced by half.
  • Remove the woody stems of any herbs and serve.
Delicious served with wholegrain rice, sour cream, fresh coriander and a squeeze of lime

Per serving: 159kcal/ 5.2g fat/ 2.9g saturated fat/ 18.4g carbohydrates/ 7.5g fibre/ 7.1g protein