Tag: easy recipe

Chocolate Courgette Cake

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Chocolate Courgette Cake

This cake secretly hides 2 courgettes in it, and you almost can’t tell bar the few flecks of green and yellow here and there. The courgette helps the cake stay moist, and it is in ways close to the texture of a brownie, but it also happens to be egg and dairy-free, meaning it’s suitable for those following a full plant-based diet.

Makes 16 pieces

Ingredients

  • 2 courgettes grated (approximately 325-360g)
  • 150g caster sugar
  • 120g vegetable oil (I used extra virgin olive oil)
  • 60g plant-based milk (I used unsweetened soya)
  • Juice of half a lemon (15ml)
  • 200g wholemeal plain flour
  • 60 cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 150g dark chocolate chips

Method

  • Mix the courgettes, caster sugar, vegetable oil, plant-based milk and lemon juice together in a large bowl.
  • In a separate bowl mix the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and bicarb together to evenly distribute.
  • Combine the dry ingredients into the wet, mixing well with the addition of 2/3 of the chocolate chips.
  • Spread out into a lined baking time approximately 25cmx25cm, top with the remaining chocolate chops, and bake for 25-30 minutes in an oven preheated to 160°C fan/ 180°C convection.
  • Allow to cool on a rack before slicing.

If you are feeling more decadent, this cake is delicious served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!

Chocolate Courgette Cake with Ice Cream

Per serving: 220kcal/ 13g fat/ 4.0g saturated fat/ 21g carbohydrates/ 3.6g fibre/ 3.6g protein

Whipped Lemon Ricotta and Basil Courgettes

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This is a great dish to have as a sharing starter in the middle of the table with people dipping chunks of sourdough bread in, scooping up a delicious bite-sized piece of summer.

Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 3 courgettes, around 600g, sliced into rounds about the thickness of a pound coin
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 250g ricotta
  • 1 lemon, juice and zest
  • 15g chives, finely sliced
  • 30g flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
  • 15g basil

To serve

Method

  • In a large pan, cook the courgettes in the olive oil, seasoned with a little salt, till slightly soft and golden brown.
  • Meanwhile, whip the ricotta with the chives, parsley and lemon zest.
  • Once the courgettes are cooked, remove from the heat and add the lemon juice along with the basil. Stir to combine.
  • Plate up with the herby ricotta on the bottom of the plate, and courgettes piled up high on top, with slices of bread to dip in.
Lemon Basil Courgettes on Whipped Ricotta

Per serving of dip: 330kcal/ 24g fat/ 12g saturated fat/ 5.4g carbohydrates/ 1.9g fibre/ 22g protein

Courgette Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Courgettes in a cookie? Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it!

These cookies are made with spelt flour, mostly because I didn’t have any plain flour. However, using alternative grains to wheat is a great way to improve the biodiversity of the foods we grow, and not only help look after our planet, but also out gut microbiota which love different sources of fibre.

Makes 18 cookies

Ingredients

  • 1 medium courgette, around 220g, grated and the water squeezed out leaving you with around 150g “dry” courgette
  • 1 egg
  • 125g soft light brown sugar
  • 100g extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tsp vanilla essence
  • 120g spelt flour
  • 1/4 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 1/2 tsp ground sweet cinnamon
  • 130g jumbo rolled oats
  • 175g dark chocolate chips

Method

  • Add the courgette, egg, sugar, olive oil and vanilla to a large bowl and stir to combine.
  • In a separate bowl mix the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and cinnamon together.
  • Add the dry mix to the wet along with the oats and chocolate chip and mix together.
  • Measure out 50g per cookie onto a lined baking sheet, leaving a little gap between each cookie to allow for spreading when baking. You should get 18 cookies from this mixture.
  • Bake in an oven set to 180°C fan/ 200°C convection for 10-12 minutes, or till golden brown on the edges.
  • Allow to cool for 5 minutes on the tray before transferring to a wire rack.
Courgette Chocolate Chip Cookies

Per cookie: 191kcal/ 11g fat/ 3.5g saturated fat/ 19g carbohydrates/ 2.4g fibre/ 3.3g protein

One Pan Courgette Pasta

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Minimal washing up whilst creating a really delicious and balanced meal in 15 minutes! It’s using courgettes, kale, basil and nasturtium all from the allotment. If you haven’t tried nasturtium before, it has a slightly peppery taste that reminds me of rocket – both the flowers and leaves are edible, plus they act as a pollinator for bees which attracts them into the allotments to pollinate my fruits and veggies!

Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 300g pasta
  • 150g kale, roughly chopped, stems separate to the leaves
  • 2 medium-sized courgettes
  • 1 tub of garlic and herb cream cheese (135g) – I used Paysan & Breton
  • 1 tin of butterbeans
  • 1 lemon, zest and juice
  • 10g basil leaves
  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • Nasturtium (optional)

Method

  • Cook the pasta for 4 minutes less than the packet instructions, adding the kale stems in too. Meanwhile, grate the courgettes.
  • Once the pasta is cooked, reserve a mug of pasta water and add the kale leaves in before draining.
  • Return to a low heat and add the grated courgettes, cream cheese, butterbeans, lemon zest and juice, basil leaves and olive oil. Cook for 2 minutes, adding extra pasta water if needed.
  • Season to taste with pepper before serving up and topping with extra basil and optional nasturtium.
One Pan Courgette Pasta

Per serving: 464kcal/ 14g fat/ 6.2g saturated fat/ 62g carbohydrates/ 11g fibre/ 17g protein

Preserved Lemon Courgettes on Garlic Yoghurt

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If you grow courgettes, you’ll know you can easily be overrun with them! As part of National Allotments Week I’m pledging to help you use up your courgettes this year in a series of dishes all revolving around the humble courgette. This is an effortless dish, requiring zero cooking, making it the perfect heatwave meal to prepare.

Serves 2

Ingredients

  • 2 medium-sized courgettes
  • 2 big pinches of salt
  • 1 preserved lemon, pips removed and diced
  • 10 mint leaves, finely sliced
  • 2 sprigs of dill, roughly chopped
  • 10g chives, finely sliced
  • 30g flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 200g extra thick yoghurt
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 2 slices of sourdough bread, toasted
  • 2 pinches of sumac

Method

  • Cut the courgette into ribbons using a vegetable peeler or mandoline. Place in a bowl and sprinkle with all the salt. Massage the salt in and leave for 10 minutes to draw the water out.
  • Meanwhile, grate the garlic into the yoghurt and mix through.
  • Once the liquid has been released from the courgettes, rinse and then squeeze the excess water out before patting dry with a kitchen towel.
  • Add the preserved lemon, herbs and olive oil to the courgettes and mix well.
  • Spread the yoghurt over the sourdough before piling the courgette mix high over the top and sprinkling with sumac. Enjoy straight away.
Preserved Lemon Courgettes

Sausage Rolls

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These sausage rolls come together really easily with minimal effort, but maximal taste. Perfect to rustle up ready for a picnic when the weather looks promising without unnecessary additives in them! Get the kids involved with mixing, rolling and supervised cutting.

Makes 12 sausage rolls

Ingredients

  • 1 red onion
  • 1 tsp rapeseed or olive oil
  • 500g lean pork mince
  • 10-12 sage leaves, finely chopped
  • 1/2 tsp white pepper
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/4 tsp grated nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 1 tbsp cornflour
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1 sheet of ready-made puff pastry (option to use gluten-free pastry if needed)
  • Seeds for sprinkling e.g. nigella seeds, sesame seeds

Method

  • Fry the onion in the oil over a low heat till soft and translucent. Allow to cool.
  • Preheat the oven to 200°C fan or 225°C convection
  • Mix the pork, herbs and spices, bicarbonate of soda, cornflour and half the beaten egg with the cooked onion.
  • Cut the pastry sheet into half to create two smaller rectangles. Divide the mixture in two and create a log down the centre of each pastry rectangle.
  • Brush one edge of the pastry with the remaining egg and fold the other side of the pastry up and over to tuck the meat in. Repeat with the other half.
  • Cut each log into 6 equal pieces, making 12 in total, and spread them out on a lined baking tray.
  • Brush with the remaining egg and sprinkle seeds over the top before baking for 20 minutes till golden brown.
  • Allow to cool slightly before eating.
Easy Sausage Rolls

Per sausage roll: 198kcal/ 13g fat/ 5.1g saturated fat/ 10g carbohydrates/ 1g fibre/ 10g protein/ 0.42g salt

Lemon Blueberry Yoghurt Cake

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This recipe is delicious and zingy from both the lemon, but also the use of yoghurt. The yoghurt also makes the cake so lovely and moist, helping it stay fresh for a few days after baking. I, however, find it’s the perfect cake to store in the freezer for when you fancy a quick sweet treat, or if you have impromptu guest coming over. I simply use the baking parchment I used to bake the cake and cut it up to half wrap each piece before placing it in a Tupperware and freezing. This helps stop them from sticking together so I can take out a single piece whilst still maximising freezer space.

Makes 16 pieces

Ingredients

  • 400g blueberries – fresh or frozen (if using fresh wash so the surface is slightly damp)
  • 350g plain flour – reserve 1 tbsp for the blueberries
  • 4 tsp baking powder
  • 250g Greek style or plain yoghurt
  • 2 lemons – zest and juice
  • 2 eggs
  • 165ml extra virgin olive oil
  • 225g caster sugar

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C fan/200°C convection.
  2. Mix the plain flour and baking powder together in a bowl.
  3. In a large bowl mix the yoghurt, lemon zest and juice, eggs, olive oil and caster sugar together till smooth.
  4. Mix the reserved 1 tbsp of flour with 2/3 of the blueberries and leave on the side.
  5. Add the flour to the wet mixture and stir to create a very lumpy batter before adding the floured blueberries and mixing to evenly distribute through the better – the batter should still be lumpy at this point.
  6. Pour into a prepared lined tin approximated 8x8x1″ square (or 9″ circular) and top with the remaining blueberries.
  7. Bake in the oven, dropping the temperature by 20°C once the cake goes in for 40-50 minutes, or till a skewer inserted comes out clean.
  8. Allow to cool by removing from the tin and placing on a wire rack before slicing.
Lemon Blueberry Yoghurt Cake

Griddled Manouri & Fig Salad

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I know a lot of people love feta, but I’m afraid for me it’s one of my least favourite cheeses. I personally find it too salty, but when I saw this cheese I knew I needed to try it because I love goats cheese. For me this wasn’t as salty in taste as feta, as well as being much milder. What I didn’t realise till I had gotten home, made this dish, and thoroughly enjoyed it, was that manouri cheese is made as a by-product of the feta production, which is something I can definitely get on board with!

I also think this would be a great salad to serve at a barbecue, grilling the cheese and figs before plating up, should the UK weather start to actually resemble summer…

This salad is light enough to work as a side salad or a starter, but substantial enough to also work as a larger portion for a main meal when served with some good bread on the side.

Serves 4 as a starter or 2 as a main

Ingredients

  • 1 block of manouri cheese
  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 8 figs, or around 230g, cut into halves and quarters
  • 120g rocket
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 1 tsp black sesame seeds

To serve

  • Sourdough bread
  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Method

  • If serving with sourdough, brush the sides with extra virgin olive oil and griddle till crispy with charred lines across the surface. Keep warm.
  • Brush the manouri with the olive oil and griddle for a few minutes on each side. Add some of the figs, brushed with any remaining olive oil – you can cook as many or as few as you like.
  • Once cooked through to your liking, add the rocket to a large serving dish and dot pieces of the cheese and figs over the top, drizzle with honey and sesame seeds.
  • Best enjoyed hot.
Griddled Manouri and Fig Salad

Lemon Asparagus Barrata Toast

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June 21st marks the end of British asparagus season, so I’m celebrating it in the same way I started – griddled and on toast with cheese.

It’s a simple yet satisfying flavour combination which is the perfect brunch or light dinner.

Serves 2

Ingredient

  • 2 slices of sourdough
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 200g asparagus
  • 1 ball burrata
  • Zest and juice of a lemon

Method

  • Brush the sourdough with olive oil on both sides before riddling in a hot pan till golden and crispy.
  • Brush the asparagus with olive oil and griddle for a few minutes each side.
  • Assemble the burrata on the toast with grated lemon zest over the top and pile the asparagus up high. Finish with a squeeze of lemon juice and any remaining olive oil.

Smoked Mackerel Potato Salad

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Smoked Mackerel Potato Salad

This potato salad is for all those mayonnaise haters out there! I’m using lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil and Dijon mustard as the base of the sauce, and keeping it light by using a load of chopped herbs, capers and gherkins.

Cooking and cooling potatoes allows for the starch to retrograde into something called resistant starch. Our bodies are not able to digest this type of starch, but instead, it helps to feed the microbiota living inside your digestive tract.

Serves 2 as a main, or 4 as a side dish

Ingredients

  • 500g new potatoes
  • 200g asparagus, trimmed and cut into short lengths
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 heaped tablespoon of Dijon mustard
  • 40g flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
  • 20g dill, finely chopped
  • 20g chives, finely chopped
  • 1 heaped tablespoon of capers, drained and roughly chopped
  • 2-3 gherkins, chopped
  • 1 packet smoked mackerel, skin removed and roughly flaked

Method

  • Boil the potatoes for around 15 minutes untill cooked through, adding the asparagus in for the last minute of cooking.
  • Meanwhile, prepare the sauce by mixing the lemon juice, olive oil, Dijon mustard, herbs, capers and gherkins together.
  • Drain the potatoes and asparagus and add to the sauce, mixing while hot.
  • Serve with flaked smoked mackerel over the top.
Smoked Mackerel Potato Salad
Smoked Mackerel Potato Salad

10 Minute Sesame Udon Noodles

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10 minute sesame noodles

This is my perfect working from home lunch when I have have 10 minutes to cook something. I want it to be nutritious but quick, and this is the perfect meal for that. You can sub the vegetables with what you have, but I always have frozen edamame beans in the freezer ready for a quick snack or meal. They’re a great source of plant-based protein, really affordable and conveniently shelled in the pack so you can just add them to whatever you’re cooking for the last minute or two.

Serves 2

Ingredients

  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1/2″ piece of ginger, minced
  • 3 tbsp tahini
  • 1 tbsp mirin
  • 1 tsp soy sauce
  • 1 tsp sake
  • 2 packs of udon noodles
  • 160g choi sum
  • 160g edamame beans
  • 3 spring onions, finely sliced
  • 2 sheets nori, cut into thin strips
  • 1 tsp sesame seeds

Method

  • Cook the udon noodles according to the packet instructions, adding the veg in for the last minute of cooking.
  • Meanwhile make the sauce by combining the garlic, ginger, tahini, mirin, soy sauce and sake together.
  • Toss the cooked noodles in the sauce to evenly coat, adding some cooking water to get a smooth sauce consistency to your liking, and add the veg, garnishing with the spring onion, nori and sesame seeds.
10 minute sesame noodles
10 minute sesame noodles

Per serving: 511kcal/ 23g fat/ 3g saturated fat/ 48g carbohydrates/ 11g fibre/ 21g protein

Mushrooms & Spinach on Toast

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Mushrooms on Toast

The Easiest Bank Holiday Brunching that’s perfect for my savoury tooth. It would also make the perfect light dinner, or post-gym meal thanks to the combination of carbohydrates, protein, and healthy monounsaturated fats in this dish.

Serves 1

Ingredients

  • 200g mixed mushrooms, roughly torn or chopped
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 clove of garlic, finely grated
  • 80g baby leaf spinach
  • 1 slice of sourdough
  • 2 eggs

Method

  • Heat a pan with half the olive oil. Tear the mushrooms into the pan and cook for 5-10 minutes till golden and crisp on some of the edges
  • Add the garlic and spinach, cooking till just wilted
  • Meanwhile toast your bread with some olive oil and poach your eggs to your liking. I cooked mine for 4 minutes to get a runny yolk
  • Stack the mushrooms and spinach on the toast and top with the soft poached eggs. Enjoy immediately
Mushrooms on Toast
Mushrooms on Toast