Sundried Tomato and Herb Bulgar Wheat

This is a staple in my house. I almost always have the store cupboard goods, and I grow chives in the garden so have them for most of the year, so all I really need to make sure I have bought is flat leaf parsley. And if you don’t have flat leaf parsley, you can substitute any green leaves in place, such as lettuce, rocket or even spinach.

I frequently have this as an easy lunch. I prepare it in a big batch and it will last 4 days in the fridge easily. Then I serve with with some salad vegetables, such as tomatoes, cucumber and avocado, and a source of protein. Usually I’d opt for tinned beans or cheeses such as goat’s cheese or halloumi, but fish, even tinned fish, also work well as do left over cuts of cold meat.

Ingredients

  • 100g bulgar wheat
  • 10g stock powder
  • 15g chives, finely chopped
  • 30g flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
  • 35g sun-dried tomatoes, finely sliced
  • Chilli, to taste, finely chopped

Method

  • Bring 120ml water to the boil. Add the stock powder and bulgar wheat, remove from the heat and cover. Leave to cook for 5-8 minutes.
  • Once cooked, fluff with a fork and add all the remaining ingredients.

Per serving: 144kcal/ 1.4g fat/ 0.4g saturated fat/ 27.8g carbohydrates/ 8.9g fibre/ 7.0g 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

Fresh Egg Pasta

Think making your own pasta is hard work and requires fancy equipment? Think again. All it takes is flour really, however I use an egg as my liquid as I always have them thanks to the girls, and it adds a lovely golden colour. If you don’t eat eggs, substitute with either water, or try using roasted and puréed vegetables as the liquid portion.

Roughly speaking, 1 egg will give you enough pasta for 1 person as a main. I always weigh my eggs as I get widely varied egg sizes. This way I know that my pasta dough won’t be either too wet or too dry. If you make too much pasta dough, you can either store it covered int he fridge for a couple of days, freeze it as a block ready to shape at a later date, or you can shape and dry it and treat it like dried pasta when you cook it.

For a full length video visit my channel on YouTube.

Recipe

  • Eggs (water or even vegetable purée)
  • Flour, ideally “00” pasta flour or semolina, but any will do

Method

  • Weigh the cracked eggs in a bowl. Then weigh 1.5 times the weight of the eggs in flour onto the worktop.
  • Make a well in the centre of the flour and add the liquid. Slowly incorporate the flour into the liquid using your hands, a fork or a bench scraper, whatever you have.
  • Once all the flour is incorporated, start the knead the dough. Notice at the start the rough texture of the dough. After 5-10 minutes of kneading the dough should be smooth and elastic. Cover and rest in the fridge for 30-60 minutes.
  • Use a little extra flour to stop the dough from sticking and roll it out on your work surface. To make long ribbons roll the dough as thinly as possible. Dust the pasta with flour and fold in half. Dust again and fold in half again across the same plane. Using a sharp knife cut ribbons of pasta to your desired width. Immediately unravel the strands ready for cooking.
  • To make cavatelli, roll the dough out in thick strands and cut into pillow shapes. Alternatively roll the dough out in a round to the thickness of a pound coin before cutting into small squares with a sharp knife. Using a gnocchi board*, roll a piece of rough under your thumb over the board so it curls and takes the impression of the ridges. Alternatively you can do this across your work surface using your thumb or a knife.
  • Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Dust off any excess flour and add to the pan. Boil for 4-8 minutes depending on the thickness of your pasta. It should have a firm centre like al dente pasta.
  • Serve immediately.

*Don’t have a gnocchi board? Why not substitute in a sushi mat, or the fine side of a grater, or make your own by using a board with some skewers held in place with some elastic bands.

Isn’t this how everyone dries their pasta?

Sourdough

Sourdough. Risen with wild yeast, which come from Bert who lives in my fridge. Something so simple it is literally flour, water and salt. That’s it. It’s as simple as that, yet can be transformed into the most delicious bread. My recipe takes around 36 hours, and while it’s got only a few steps which require a lot of attention, it is well worth the wait. I always make 2 loaves, one to eat fresh on the day, and one sliced and frozen ready for eating later in the week.

If you haven’t got a starter, there’s no reason you can’t make one and have it ready to bake with in a week. Simply start by mixing 50% wholemeal and 50% white plain flour together. Take a handful and mix it with lukewarm water and leave in a cool area for a few days. Once you see bubbles forming, start to feed you starter by discarding about 80%, and adding 1:1 water and 50/50 flour blend to make a thick batter. Repeat this process ever day till it predictively rises and falls between feeds.

For a full tutorial length video visit my YouTube channel.

Makes 2 small loves, 1 large loaf, 3 pizza bases, or 1 large focaccia

Recipe

  • 15g starter
  • 25g wholemeal flour
  • 25g plain flour + extra for dusting
  • 100g strong wholemeal flour
  • 400g strong white flour
  • 8g salt
  • Seeds (optional)
  • Rice flour
  • Ice cubes

Method

  • Start the night before you plan to make the dough. Take 15g of your starter culture, add 50ml lukewarm water, 25g wholemeal flour and 25g plain white flour and mix well. Leave covered overnight at room temperature for around 10 hours. This is your leaven.
  • The next morning, mix the strong flours together in a large container. Measure 300ml of 25°C water, add 100g of leaven and mix. Pour over the flour and mix till a stiff dough forms. Cover and leave to rest for 30-45 minutes.
  • Measure 50ml of 25°C water and add 8g of salt. Stir to dissolve and pour over the dough. Mix in, scrunching and breaking the dough up. Once fully mixed cover and rest for 45-60 minutes.
  • Dipping your hands in water to prevent the dough from sticking to you, perform a coil turn. Start by folding the top half of the dough under itself. Repeat for the bottom half of the dough. Turn the container 90° and repeat the process, folding the top half of the dough underneath itself and the bottom half of the dough underneath itself. This is one coil foil. Cover and leave for 45-60 minutes.
  • Repeat the process 3 more times. If you wish to add anything to the dough, do it before performing the second coil fold.
  • After a 60 minute rest after the 4th coil fold, use a dough spatula to pull the dough out onto the work surface and dust with a 50/50 mixture of plain flour and rice flour. If making 2 loaves, cut the dough into two and flip so the floured side is not on the bottom. Build tension in the dough by folding the edges into the centre of the dough, trying to incorporate as little flour as possible. Flip the ball over, and, using one hand and the dough spatula, work in a series of turns and pulls to create tension on the surface of the ball. Leave to rest on the worktop covered in a tea towel for 30 minutes.
  • Lift each ball off keeping the round shape, flipping it do the underside is now the top. Take care not to knock out air, gently stretch the dough out, folding the bottom half almost to the top. Stretch the sides out, folding the right side into the centre followed by the left side. Finally, take the top, stretch out and fold up and over, and roll the whole ball away so the seams are on the bottom. Round the corners by cupping your hands around and gently pulling to create tension over the surface. Leave to rest for 1 minutes.
  • Dust a proving basket and transfer the shaped dough seam side up, pinching to maintain tension. Cover and leave to rise overnight in the fridge.
  • The next day, preheat the oven to maximum with a cast iron Dutch oven inside. Allow to reach temperature and leave for a further 20 minutes.
  • Remove the dough from the oven and cut a piece of baking parchment larger than your dough. Uncover the dough, place the parchment over the top and gently invert the dough out onto the work surface on the parchment. Dust off any excess flour, and make a deep, yet shallow angled cut across the surface of the bread. This cut will allow for “oven spring”. An unscored loaf will be stunted and may burst.
  • Moving as quickly and safely as possible, remove the bottom pan of the Dutch oven from the oven, leaving the lid in the oven, and place the dough and parchment into the pan. Add a few ice cubes to the pan under the parchment and immediately return to the oven, close the lid to trap the steam, shut the oven door and drop the oven temperature to 230°C and bake for 20 minutes.
  • After 20 minutes, remove the lid and bake for a further 20 minutes till the crust is dark and crispy. Remove and allow to cool on a wire rack. Listen to your bread sing from the oven as the crust cools and crackles.
  • Once cooled slightly, slice and dip into balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil.

No Yeast Pizza

I love pizza, and while I would normally make my pizza base with sourdough, sometimes I don’t have the time to wait for the yeast to work its magic. So I use a quick flatbread base as a substitute, ready in 15 minutes.

Using wholemeal flour in the base helps increase the fibre content. Using half wholemeal gives each pizza 8.1g fibre, whereas using white flour will provide you with 4.2g fibre. This is also with just the basic toppings of tomato and cheese. Consider increasing fibre diversity by adding more vegetables, or fruits if you’re not adverse to it, as extra toppings. My favourite is roasted Mediterranean vegetables with smoked mozzarella, instead of normal, and lashings of basil.

Ingredients

  • 200g tinned tomatoes
  • 1/2 tsp EVOO
  • 1 tbsp tomato puree
  • 1/4 tsp dried herbs
  • 100g self-raising flour
  • 100g wholemeal flour
  • 3/4 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp EVOO
  • 200g yoghurt
  • 1 ball of fresh mozzarella
  • Fresh basil leaves

Method

  • Preheat two baking trays in the oven set to maximum.
  • Add the tinned tomatoes, 1/2 tsp EVOO, tomato puree and dried herbs into a pan and allow to gently simmer till reduced in volume. Season to taste.
  • Meanwhile, mix the flours, baking powder, 1/2 tsp EVOO and yoghurt together till a soft dough is formed. You may need to add 1-3 tbsp water to get a dough depending on the flour used. Knead for a few minutes till smooth.
  • Divide the dough into two, and roll out till the thickness of a pound coin, using a little extra flour if needed. Place on a piece of baking parchment.
  • Take half the tomato sauce and spread it over a base, keeping a rim of dough clear.
  • Take half the mozzarella, roughly tear and place around the tomato sauce, again keeping clear of the sides. Repeat with the second dough ball. Option to add further toppings here.
  • Place on the preheated baking sheets and reduce the temperature to 220°C fan/230°C convection and bake for 8-10 minutes till the edges are golden brown and the cheese is bubbling.
  • Remove and top with fresh basil leaves. Best eaten immediately.

Per serving: 671kcal/ 26.3g fat/ 15.7g saturated fat/ 79.9g carbohydrates/ 8.1g fibre/ 27.5g protein

Wholemeal Pancakes

Start the day right with my wholemeal pancakes. These breakfast treats are delicious straight out of the pan and finished with your favourite toppings. You can go classic with berries and yoghurt as I have done below, or make a drizzle of tahini and honey, or even go more savoury with bacon and eggs.

Each portion of pancakes on their provides you with 6.4g fibre. That’s 21% of your daily fibre recommendation without having even added anything to them, so it really is a perfect way to start you day.

What if you don’t have wholemeal flour to hand? Not a problem, you can use plain flour, but this drastically reduces the fibre content down to just 1.8g per portion of pancakes, so if possible, add some high fibre ingredients back in such as ground linseeds, or try topping with my chia and blueberry compote.

Serves 2

Ingredients

  • 120g wholemeal flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 2 tsp caster sugar
  • 1 medium egg
  • 80ml milk of choice (I’ve used almond)
  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil + extra for cooking

Method

  • Mix the dry ingredients together
  • Mix the wet ingredients together, then combine with the dry ingredients.
  • Heat a pan over a medium heat with a drizzle of oil and drop a spoonful of batter into the pan. Add more batter depending on the size of you pan.
  • Turn the pancake over after 2 minutes, ensuring they are golden brown. Cook for a further 2 minutes on the second side.
  • Best served immediately from the pan with your favourite pancake topping.

Per 3 pancake serving: 384kcal/ 18.1g fat/ 2.9g saturated fat/ 46.0g carbohydrates/ 6.4g fibre/ 9.7g protein

Jerusalem Artichoke and Carrot Soup

Jerusalem artichokes are high in prebiotic inulin, which gives rise to their nickname of fartichokes! They are delicious and earthy, and are surprisingly versatile. Treat them like a potato; boiled, mashed, roasted or sautéed in a pan. Additionally they can also be treated like a water chestnut, eaten raw grated over salads or quickly cooked in a stir fry so they maintain a crunch. Get them while you can, they go like hot potatoes and are only in season during winter months.

Serves 4

Recipe

  • 1 tbsp rapeseed oil
  • 1 onion, finely diced
  • 4 sticks celery, finely diced
  • 4 garlic cloves, finely sliced
  • 500g Jerusalem Artichokes, peeled and roughly chopped
  • 4 carrots, roughly chopped
  • 10g stock powder
  • 10 sprigs thyme
  • 850ml water

Method

  • Gently fry the onion in the oil till soft and translucent. Add the celery and garlic and cook for a further 2 minutes without browning.
  • Add the artichokes, carrots, thyme, stock and water and bring up to a gentile simmer for 20 minutes. Remove any hard herb stalks.
  • Remove from the heat and bend till smooth.

Optional extra: gently fry sage leaves in butter or olive oil till crispy and serve over the top.

Per serving 144kcal/ 4.5g fat/ 0.6g saturated fat/ 23.8g carbohydrates/ 7.3g fibre/ 3.5g protein

Red Pepper and Goat’s Cheese Salad

This recipe is adapted from the Meat Free Monday cookbook. I don’t think I could have assembled the ingredients any better than them, so, as they saying goes, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

I do however alter the methods used. In the cookbook, they peel the peppers once cooked. You could do this if you wanted, but I leave the skins on as this add flavour, texture, fibre and also reduces the hands on time for making this dish. Win win.

I love using lentils in my salads. Not only are the a cheap cupboard food, they are packed full of plant-based protein and high in fibre. So much so, they are the biggest contributor of fibre to this dish which packs a whopping 14.6g per portion – that’s nearly half you daily target just in a single dish.

Serves 2

Recipe

  • 2 red peppers
  • 100g puy lentils
  • 60g goat’s cheese
  • 1 small red onion, finely diced
  • 3-4 sun-dried tomatoes
  • 1 bunch flat leaf parsley
  • 2 tsp olive oil
  • 2tsp balsamic vinegar
  • Juice of half a lemon

Method

  • Preheat the oven to 200°C/ 180°C fan/ gas mark 6. Place the peppers on a tray and roast for 30 minutes till blistered. Allow to cool.
  • Meanwhile, wash the lentils and cover with cold water. Bring up to the boil for 10 minutes, and the allow to gently simmer for 15-20 minutes till just firm in the centre. Drain.
  • Once cool, de-seed and roughly chop the pepper, parsley, sun-dried tomatoes and goat’s cheese, and dress with the olive oil, balsamic vinegar and lemon juice.

Per serving 348kcal/ 13.3g fat/ 8.0g saturated fat/ 30g carbohydrates/ 14.6 fibre/ 19.6g protein

Simple Fresh Tomato Sauce

This is almost store cupboard friendly…. In fact you could say it’s empty fridge friendly! I always use this recipe as a base, as it can easily be adapted to suit your needs. Whenever I look in the fridge and see some sad looking tomatoes at the end of the week, I know I can lovingly transform them into a delicious sauce. An additional bonus is that cooking tomatoes in the presence of fats, EVOO in this case, actually helps increase the lycopene content and absorption. Lycopene is a type of plant phytochemical, which is beneficial to our bodies by having a positive effect on cardiovascular health as well as cancer prevention.

As I said, this is a very simple and basic sauce. You can easily perk it up depending on how you feel. Swap the water for wine for a deeper flavour, add those capers from the back of your fridge, or add some fresh herbs to save them from the bin! You can even spice things up with fresh or dried chilli.

For a Puttanesca sauce add chilli, capers, olives and anchovies. Add some cumin, turmeric and ground coriander as a base for a curry. Or make some baked beans by adding some paprika and a tin of cooked beans.

Once cooked, this sauce can happily sit in the fridge for a few days in an airtight container. Alternatively, you can pop it in the freezer for a fast dinner when you’re in a rush.

I’ve used a red onion, but any onion you have to hand will be fine. Even if you only have spring onions, give it a go!

Serves 2

Recipe

  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 2-3 cloves of garlic, sliced
  • 250g fresh tomatoes, roughly chopped
  • 100ml water, option to use wine if you have any
  • Salt and pepper

Method

  • Cook the onions with the oil on a low temperature till soft and translucent.
  • Add the garlic and cook for a further 2 minutes before adding the tomatoes and water.
  • Simmer on a gentile heat for 15 minutes till the tomatoes burst and the sauce is reduced
  • Serve as is chunky, or if you prefer a smooth sauce, blend

Per serving 110kcal/ 7.8g fat/ 1.2g saturated fat/ 8.5g carbohydrates/ 2.1g fibre/ 1.5g protein

Smoked Mackerel Pâté

One of my favourite ways to eat mackerel is as smoked mackerel pâté. I learnt this while working at Leiths School of Food and Wine, and it is something I’ve made ever since. It would also seem that I’m not the only one in my family to love this recipe. As soon as I took the packed of smoked mackerel out of the fridge, Willow was hot on my heels. Turns out she likes getting her portion of oily fish just as much as I do! And who can resist those big puppy eyes.

Mackerel is an oily fish, and as such is good source of healthy fats, including omega 3 fatty acids which are beneficial to our overall health. In particular, omega-3 has been linked to heart health.

This recipes calls for some fermented foods as well in the form of gherkins. While I realise they might not be to everyone’s taste, I really recommend you trying it with this dish. So if you want to, try serving the gherkins thinly sliced on the side and I’m sure it will win you over.

I also prefer to keep my pâté quite chunky, so I stir it just to combine all the flavours. If you prefer a smoother pâté, mash the mackerel up with a fork.

Serves 4 as a starter

Recipe

  • 220g boneless and skinless MSC certified smoked mackerel
  • 15g chives, finely chopped
  • 15g flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
  • 1 large or 2 small gherkins, finely diced
  • 100g reduced fat creme fraiche
  • Juice of half a lemon

Method

  • Break the smoked mackerel into large chunks and gently combine with the remaining ingredients.

Delicious served with freshly toasted sourdough bread

Per serving 227kcal/ 18.3g fat/ 5.6g saturated fat/ 2.1g omega 3 fat/ 2.7g carbohydrates/ 0.8g fibre/ 12.5g protein

Kale Pesto with Pasta

Super easy to make, taking just the time of the pasta to cook, it’s seasonal, packed full of fibre, providing 5 sources of plant-based goodness….. what’s not to love?!?

I leave the stems of the kale in. It adds an extra crunch to the dish, which I absolutely love, but also means maximising the fibre content of this dish as well as less food waste, which we really hate! Double bonus!

You could make a large quantity of this pesto and store it in an airtight container in the fridge for a few days. Alternatively, pop it into the freezer in portion sizes ready to whip out when the cupboards are looking a little bare.

Keeping the stems on the kale helps maximise the fibre content and reduce food waste

Serves 1

Recipe

  • 100g kale, washed and roughly chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, peeled
  • 15ml extra virgin olive oil
  • 20g toasted pine nuts
  • 20g parmesan, finely grated
  • 75g pasta

Method

  • Bring a pan of water to the boil. Add the kale and garlic clove and blanch for 1 minute. Remove from the water into a jug for blending.
  • Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook for 1 minute less than the packet instructions.
  • Meanwhile, blend the blanched kale and garlic, before adding the oil, pine nuts and parmesan. Blend again, adding a little pasta water if too thick.
  • Drain the pasta, reserving a little of the cooking water. Return to the pan.
  • Add the pesto and return to the heat to warm everything through. Loosen the pesto sauce with the reserved pasta water if needed. Serve immediately.

Per serving of kale pesto 388kcal/ 35g fat/ 6.7g saturated fat/ 3.8g carbohydrates/ 3.8 fibre/ 13.1g protein

Roasted Carrot and Yellow Split Pea Hummus

Visiting the historical town of Winchester, we decided to stop for lunch at Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s River Cottage Kitchen. We shared a starter of a mixed mezze board, but the single dish that stood out from the board for me was the carrot and yellow split pea hummus.

I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it, it may have been the best hummus I have ever had. So I trawled through Hugh’s books to find a recipe, but alas, there were none to be found. So I have endeavoured to make my own.

Cooked Yellow Split Peas

Split peas are a great addition to your diet, naturally low in fat, high in plant-based protein and a source of fibre. We can often forget about including beans and pulses in as part of our weekly plant food diversity, but we should be aiming to eat from all 6 categories of plant-based foods; fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, whole grains, and legumes. This particular recipe covers 4 out of the 6 groups, and by adding some wholegrain crackers, perhaps even topped with nuts you could maximise the diversity of your diet.

Serves 6

Recipe

  • 100g split yellow peas
  • 2 carrots, washed and chopped into large pieces
  • 2 cloves garlic, skins on
  • 30g tahini
  • 40ml extra virgin olive oil
  • 90ml water (you may need more or less depending on the texture you wish for)
  • 1/2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
  • 30g flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
  • Juice of a lemon
  • Salt and pepper to taste

To serve

  • Fresh Parsley leaves
  • Nigella seeds
  • Vegetable crudites e.g. carrots, radish, cauliflower
  • Crackers

Method

  • Wash the split peas in cold water, then top with 500ml water and bring to the boil for 10 minutes before lowering the heat to a gentile simmer for 25 minutes. Drain and allow to cool.
  • When the peas are simmering, roast the carrots and garlic cloves in the oven preheated to 180 ° C/170 ° C Fan/GM4 for 20 minutes. Allow to cool.
  • Add the cooked peas, carrots and garlic clove, removing the skin, to a food processor. Add the tahini, extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, water, spices and parsley and blend. Season to taste and add more water if the dip remains too thick.
  • Serve sprinkled with nigella seeds and fresh parsley leaves.

Per serving 107kcal/ 3.6g fat/ 2.0g saturated fat/ 11.6g carbohydrates/ 3.1g fibre/ 5.3g protein