Tag: easy recipe

Roasted Mushroom Pate

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Combining deliciously roasted and sticky garlic with vitamin D-enriched mushrooms (read my previous post on enriching your mushrooms with vitamin D by clicking here) for a delicious and nutritious spread. Make a large batch and I promise you won’t regret it! Try serving these up as little canapes on thinly sliced toasted bread at your next dinner party.

Roasted Mushrooms
Roasted Garlic

Makes 17 portions

Ingredients

  • 1 bulb of garlic
  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 500g mushrooms of choice
  • 1 tbsp rapeseed oil
  • 20 sprigs of thyme
  • 300g cream cheese
  • 15g chives, chopped
  • 1/2 tsp white pepper
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice

Method

  • Preheat the oven to 160°C fan/ 180°C convection
  • Slice the top off the garlic bulb to expose the very tops of the cloves. Place in a mini cocotte or on double-layered tin foil. Drizzle with the olive oil, cover and place into the oven.
  • Meanwhile, add the mushrooms to a large tray, drizzle with the rapeseed oil and 10 sprigs of thyme. Roast in the oven for 1 hour till the mushrooms are sticky and shrunken.

  • Once the mushrooms are cooked check the garlic is soft and remove from the oven to cool – it may need a further 10-15 minutes depending on the size of your bulb and your vessel.
  • Once cooled, to a food processor add the mushrooms, remove the thyme leaves from the roasted thyme, chives, white pepper, and lemon. Add the remaining fresh thyme leaves and 5-6 cloves of roasted garlic. Blend to the desired consistency, checking the seasoning is to your taste.
  • Serve with crusty bread, crackers or stir into a risotto just at the end. Any leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days, or frozen for up to 2 months.
Roasted Mushroom Pate

Per serving: 58kcal/ 4.8g fat/ 2.9g saturated fat/ 1.6g carbohydrates/ 0.5g fibre/ 1.7g protein

One Pan Orzo and Courgette Bake

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An easy one-pan dish means cleaning up after eating is easy. Any leftovers are delicious the next day for lunch or dinner so don’t be put off by the large volume you make.

Serves 6

Ingredients

  • 1 large red onion, sliced
  • 400g courgettes, roughly chopped
  • 2 sprigs of rosemary, leaves removed
  • 5 sprigs of oregano, leaves removed
  • 4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
  • 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 500g orzo
  • 2 tbsp pesto of choice (I used my Spinach Pesto)
  • 250g baby tomatoes, halved
  • 1 ball of mozzarella
  • 50g parmesan, grated
  • Basil to serve

Method

  • Preheat the oven to 180°C fan/ 200°C convection
  • In a large pan, add the onion, courgettes, herbs, garlic and olive oil. Bake for 15 minutes.
  • Add the orzo, pesto and 800ml water before mixing. Layer the tomatoes over the top and bake for 20-25 minutes.
  • Roughly mix the orzo mix before layering the mozzarella and parmesan over the top.
  • Bake for a final 15 minutes and serve with fresh basil.
Orzo and Courgette Bake

Per serving: 525kcal/ 20g fat/ 6.9g saturated fat/ 62g carbohydrates/ 6.3g fibre/ 20g protein

Sourdough Croutons

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Sourdough Bread

If you ever have stale sourdough bread, here’s the easiest way to use it up. No food waste in this house, they keep in an airtight container for a few weeks ready to sprinkle on anything that needs and extra piece of crunch!

The recipe is super easy, I roughly uses 1 sprig of rosemary, 1 clove of garlic and 1 tablespoon of oil for every 100g of bread. But of course you can change this up according to your taste.

Ingredients

  • Sourdough bread, cut into 1″ cubes
  • Garlic cloves, crushes
  • Rosemary, roughly chopped
  • Olive oil

Method

  • Preheat the oven to 150°C fan/ 160°C convection
  • Mix the oil, garlic and herbs together in a large bowl. Add the bread cubes and mix to completely coat the cubes.
  • Transfer to a baking tray, spreading the cubes out and bake for 25-30 minutes, till golden brown and crispy.
  • Sprinkle over your favourite soups or salads, or allow to cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

Baked Goats Cheese and Blackberries

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Blackberries are a quintessential fruit of British summer. Growing wildly in hedgerows all over the UK, these delicious dark jewels can be easily picked at your leisure for both sweet and savoury dishes.

Serves 4 as a starter

Ingredients

  • 180g log of goats cheese
  • 200g blackberries
  • 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • A few sprigs of thyme

To serve

  • Bread of choice, toasted if desired

Method

  • Preheat the oven to 180°C fan/ 200° convection
  • Slice the goats cheese in half and place in an ovenproof dish.
  • Scatter the blackberries around the edge, then drizzle the oil, honey and thyme over the top. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
  • Serve immediately with your choice of bread.
Baked Goats Cheese and Blackberries

Per serving: 198kcal/ 13.0g fat/ 8.2g saturated fat/ 9.4g carbohydrates/ 3.4g fibre/ 9.8g protein

Hot Cross Bun French Toast

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Leftover hot cross buns? Fancy an alternative breakfast this Easter weekend? Here is a delicious way to enjoy your hot cross buns. You can use shop-bought, or try my delicious Best of Both Apple & Cinnamon, or my vegan St. Clement recipes.

Serves 2

Ingredients

  • 2 hot cross buns
  • 1 egg
  • 50ml milk of choice
  • Pinch of cinnamon
  • 5g butter or cooking oil

To serve

  • Yoghurt
  • Berries

Method

  • In a flat-bottomed container, mix the egg, milk, and cinnamon.
  • Slice the hot cross buns in half and soak in the mixture for 5 minutes.
  • Heat a pan over a medium heat, and add the butter or oil.
  • Cook the soaked buns in the pan for 2-3 minutes per side till golden brown.
  • Serve hot with yoghurt and berries

Porridge Pancakes

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A delicious and easy way to start the day. Perfect for Pancake Day, or make a stash for on the go. Naturally sweet from the banana, these have no added sugar. You could further flavour the pancakes with fruits such as blueberries, or use dark chocolate chips for an extra sweet kick.

Use gluten-free oats to make this gluten-free, or dairy-free by using a milk alternative and yoghurt alternative (I have used soya products in this recipe).

Porridge Pancakes

Serves 2

Ingredients

  • 1 large banana
  • 1 egg
  • 100g rolled oats
  • 50ml milk of choice
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional)
  • Oil for frying

To serve

  • 150g strawberries
  • 80g raspberries
  • 160g yoghurt (I have used soya yoghurt)
  • A few mint leaves

Method

  • Mash the banana in a bowl with a fork till you have very small lumps.
  • Add the remaining ingredients, except for the oil, and mix well.
  • Heat a frying pan over a low heat.
  • Wipe 1/4 tsp of oil around the pan before adding spoonfuls of the mixture, spaced out. You should be able to make 6-8 pancakes from the batter.
  • Cook for 2 minutes, before flipping and cooking for a further 2 minutes.
  • Serve in stacks with yoghurt, berries and mint.
Delicious served with fruit and yoghurt

Per serving*: 430kcal/ 11g fat/ 1.9g saturated fat/ 60g carbohydrates/ 12g fibre/ 15g protein

*Analysis based on unsweetened soya milk and unsweetened soya yoghurt

Easy Hummus

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A super easy hummus recipe that can be ready in minutes. Use this as a healthy snack alternative, or as a component of a larger meal.

Chickpeas are good sources of plant-based iron, and the combination with lemon juice as a source of vitamin C means that the iron absorption from these sources will be increased; something that vegans and vegetarians will need to be aware of. Iron requirements differ according to sex and age; for pre-menopausal women a serving of hummus will provide 18% of iron requirements, whilst for men and post-menopausal women it’s over 30%.

Separately, chickpeas and sesame seeds, or tahini, in this case, are a good source of calcium. Each serving of hummus provides you with 8% of your daily calcium requirements, and that’s on its own. You could further increase the calcium content of your hummus meal by using broccoli crudités, or serving with brown or white bread which is fortified with calcium in the UK by law.

Makes 7 portions

Ingredients

  • 150g drained tinned chickpeas
  • 1 garlic clove, peeled
  • 45g tahini
  • 30ml extra virgin olive oil
  • Juice of 1 large lemon
  • ½ tsp ground cumin

To serve

  • Chickpeas
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • Sesame seeds
  • Sumac
  • Vegetable crudités
  • Bread

Method

  • Add the chickpeas, garlic, tahini, olive oil, lemon juice and cumin to a food processor
  • Blend to your desired consistency, adding 1–2 tablespoons of water if needed
  • Serve in a bowl scattered with extra toppings such as cooked chickpeas, olive oil, sesame seeds and sumac with your favourite crudités
  • Any leftovers can be stored in the fridge in a covered container for three days

Per 45g serving: 114kcal/ 8.9g fat/ 1.2g saturated fat/ 4.0g carbohydrates/ 1.8g fibre/ 3.4g protein

For more information about key nutrients in vegan diets check out the blog I have written for MyNutriWeb.

Spicy Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

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Still looking for ways to use up your pumpkin this year? I’ve covered using the skin and the flesh, so not it’s time to talk about seeds! I don’t even wash the seeds, contrary to what many other people suggest. This helps keep the recipe as simple as possible, and also means that any pumpkin fibres still attached will soak up any flavours added to them aka flavour bomb!

Pumpkin seeds are full of magnesium, phosphorus, vitamin K and manganese, as well as being a good source of antioxidants. In addition, carving pumpkin seeds are higher in fibre than standard green pumpkin seeds bought from the shop – another win for making your own!

These little seeds make the perfect snack on the go, or alternatively, use them to add textures to soups or salads.

You could roast them plain, but I love the little extra kick from the lemon and cayenne pepper – feel free to use more for a bigger kick, or substitute with chilli powder.

Ingredients

  • 150g pumpkin seeds
  • 1 lemon, zest and juice
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 tsp dried coriander
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (option to add more for a bigger kick, or use chilli powder)
  • 1/4 tsp white pepper

Method

  • Preheat the oven to 150°C fan/ 160°C convection
  • Mix all the ingredients together and lay them out on a baking tray
  • Bake the seeds for 30-40 minutes, mixing twice during the cooking time, till crispy and you can just hear them start to pop
  • Allow to cool before storing in an airtight container

Roasted Pumpkin and Cannellini Soup

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This easy soup also doubles up as an easy pasta sauce – win win! It’s naturally vegan if using a suitable stock powder, and if you use a no added salt stock cube it is suitable for babies and toddlers.

Serves 6

Ingredients

  • 600g pumpkin, skin on and cubed
  • 2 large onions, cut into 8ths
  • 2 sticks of celery, chopped
  • 1 tin of cannellini beans
  • 4 garlic cloves, skin left on
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 700ml no added salt stock
  • 100ml boiling water
  • 20g pumpkin seeds, finely chopped if serving to young babies

Method

  • Add the pumpkin, onion, celery, beans, garlic and olive oil to a large roasting tray.
  • Mix well before roasting in a preheated oven set to 180°C fan/ 200°C convection, stirring halfway through.
  • Once cooked, remove the garlic from its skin.
  • Bring the stock up to the boil and add the roasted vegetables, deglazing the roasting tin with 100ml boiling water.
  • Bring the mixture back up to a boil before blending till smooth.
  • Serve with a sprinkle of pumpkin seeds.

Option to serve as a pasta sauce by stirring through freshly cooked pasta. Delicious with a sprinkle of nutritional yeast which is a great source of B vitamins and zinc.

Serve as soup, pasta or baby-led weaning pasta finger food

Per serving of soup: 175kcal/ 8.5g fat/ 1.3g saturated fat/ 17.0g carbohydrates/ 6.0g fibre/ 4.8g protein

Bakewell Breakfast Bar

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Get a head start on the week by whipping up a batch of my Bakewell Breakfast Bars. Naturally sweetened using dates and cherries, these bars contain no added sugar. They also pack some wholesome goodness in the form of oats and wholemeal flour meaning they contain 5.5g of fibre per bar as well as some healthy fats from the seeds and nuts.

If you don’t have cherries you can substitute in other dried fruits such as apricots, raisins, sultanas or even blueberries – just watch out that the dried fruits don’t contain added sweeteners such as glucose or apple juice. You can also swap the almonds and almond butter for other nuts or nut butter, or top with coconut chips.

These are great for on-the-go in the morning or as an afternoon snack. Keep in an airtight Tupperware container for 4-5 days or alternatively freeze them for longer-term storage.

Makes 9 squares

Ingredients

  • 100g pitted dates
  • 25g linseeds
  • 60g dried unsweetened cherries
  • 50g skin-on almonds
  • 75g butter or vegan butter
  • 25g almond butter
  • 100g wholemeal flour
  • 100g oats
  • 15g sliced almonds

Method

  • Preheat the oven to 180°C and line a 25x25cm baking tin with baking parchment.
  • Soak the pitted dates in 50ml boiling water and the linseeds in 50ml tap water for 5 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, roughly chop the almonds and cherries by hand or using a food processor. If using a food processor remove once chopped.
  • After the dates have soaked for 5 minutes transfer them to the food processor and blitz to a paste*
  • Add the butter, almond butter and soaked linseeds with the water and blend together.
  • Add the flour to form a sticky dough.
  • Add the oats and chopped almonds and cherries and pulse until it just comes together. If you want a smoother consistency pulse for longer.
  • Press into the lined tin and top with flaked almonds before baking for 20 minutes.
  • Remove from the oven and allow to cool before slicing.
Bakewell Breakfast Bars

Watermelon Ice Lollies

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A super fun way of getting one of your 5-a-day in! “Watermelon” ice lollies made for a selection of fruits, are the perfect way to say cool in the summer, and if you have kids you can get them to help make them with the blending and pouring.

Using frozen strawberries helps cool the first mixture, making it slightly quicker to add the second layer. Additionally, using the frozen strawberries means you will get slightly smaller ice crystals, as it is semi-frozen, giving a slightly better mouthfeel when you come to eat it.

You can use whatever yoghurt you like, making it vegan or dairy-free if you wish to.

Makes 4 lollies

  • 100g frozen strawberries
  • 200g watermelon
  • 8 teaspoons of yoghurt of choice
  • 1 kiwi, peeled
  • 1/2 a splice of Galia melon

Method

  • Blend the strawberries and watermelon together till smooth. Pour into lolly moulds, filling them up to 3/4 full.
  • Freeze for 30-45 minutes.
  • Layer 2 teaspoons of yoghurt over the watermelon layer.
  • Freeze for 30 minutes
  • Blend the kiwi and Galia melon till smooth. Layer onto the yoghurt to the fill line.
  • Inset the lolly mould and freeze for at least 8 hours or overnight.
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Nectarine Iced Tea

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This is one of my favourite hot summer’s day drinks to help keep me cool. I absolutely love my tea, and no heatwave is going to get in the way of me enjoying my cuppa! I’ve swapped out the milk in favour of fruits and a little honey – you can really make this your own by adding as little or as much honey and lemon as you like to your own preference.

No nectarines? Use peaches instead – flat peaches would be delicious in this drink and would still give the same flavour!

Serves 1

Ingredients

  • 1 teabag of choice
  • 1 tsp of honey, or to taste
  • Juice of 1 lemon, or to taste
  • Ice
  • 1 peach or nectarine, cubed
  • Sprig of mint (optional)

Method

  • Start by brewing the tea bag in around 100ml of boiling water for 2 minutes.
  • Remove the tea bag and add honey to taste followed by the lemon juice.
  • Fill a large glass with ice and top with the chopped nectarine
  • Pour the tea mixture over the top and top up with cold water if needed.
  • Stir and garnish with mint.