Pan fried Tilapia with Panzanella

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Some dishes just have that Wow factor that make you want to delve in, and this is one of them!

Slice a small ciabatta into 1cm cubes and toss in in 2 tablespoons of olive oil and cook in the oven for 15 minutes – 200 fan.

Meanwhile dice 1/2 a red onion, 1/2 cucumber and 2 large tomatoes and mix them in a bowl with some shredded basil leaves. Now mix in 1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar, 2 table spoons of olive oil, 1/2 a crushed garlic clove and some seasoning.

Next,  dust 2 fillets of tilapia in flour and season well. Heat a little oil in a frying pan and fry the fish for a couple of minutes each side until cooked.

Remove the fish from the pan, turn off the heat but whilst the pan is still hot add a knob of butter and once this has melted stir in the juice of 1/2 a lemon and a handful of fresh chopped Parlsey.

When the croutons are ready, toss them in to the tomato mixture. Serve on a dish with the tilapia on top and drizzle with the lemon butter.


 

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Shepherd’s Hotpot

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Just a minor variation on the popular Shepherds Pie, I sometimes like to give it a hot pot topping just to mix things up.

For the base, follow my Shepherd’s pie recipe below, but instead of adding mash potato, peel 3 medium potatoes and cut into 3mm discs, par boil these for 5 minutes then add to the top of the pie base ensuring to slightly overlap the layers. spray with a little olive oil and then oven for 25-30 minutes until browned.

Shepherds Pie recipe:

First dice a large onion and place in a cast iron saucepan, sweat over a medium heat until softened. Add a clove of garlic and fry for a further couple of minutes. Meanwhile dice two carrots and steam in the microwave for a couple of minutes to soften. Turn the heat up on the pan and add 500g of mince lamb and the diced carrots, heat until the meat is browned. Next add 2 tablespoons of flour and mix in to the meat then add 200ml of beef stock, 125ml of red wine and season with salt and pepper. Bring to the boil then place in a fan oven 180degree for 20 minutes while you prepare the potato topping

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rosti topped Salmon Pie

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The combination of a creamy fish pie with a crunchy potato rosti topping makes this pie really yummy, the fact that the rosti is made with a combination of normal and sweet potatoes means its quite light too

Start by peeling and chopping in to quarters 300g of potatoes and 300g of sweet potatoes. parboil these for about 6-7 minutes in salted boiling water then drain and allow to cool down.

Meanwhile place 3 fillets of salmon in a saucepan with 500ml of milk and poach for 5 minutes until the salmon is starting to flake. Remove from the milk but reserve the milk.

Next, chop 1 large leek into 1/2cm discs and fry in a saucepan along with a knob of butter and 2 crushed cloves of garlic and cook 5 minutes until the leeks have softened. Next add 1 tablespoon of flour to the leeks and mix well so that the leeks are coated. Now pour in the reserved milk and stir continuously until the sauce starts to thicken, this should take 3-4 minutes. Next add approx. 100g of peas, lower the heat and allow to simmer while you grate the potatoes.

Once you have grated the potatoes in to a bowl, add a knob of melted butter and seasoning and mix well.

Flake the Salmon and stir in to the sauce, poor the sauce in to a wide shallow pie dish and top with the potatoes. Bake in a preheated oven for 30 minutes – you may like to grill for the final 5 minutes in order to get an extra crispy topping.

Serve with some greens


 

 

 

 

Seabass En Papillote

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Translated as fish cooked in paper, this is another simple dish that takes less than 20 minutes.

Heat the oven to 200 fan.

cut out 50cm squares of greaseproof paper – 1 for each fillet of Sea Bass you intend to cook.

Slice 2 new potatoes per potions into 2mm disc – as thin as you can then arrange these on to the centre of the paper squares, place the Sea Bass on top, season then add a couple of slices of lemon on top and a little spray of olive oil.

Fold the edges together and scrunch together to make a seal.

Place in the oven and heat for 15 minutes until the fish and potatoes are cooked.

NB if you are unable to slice your potatoes so thin, it might be worth par boiling them for a couple of minutes first before placing them in the parcel.

Serve with some steamed veg.


 

 

Spaghetti Puttanesca

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I love the taste of the Mediterranean, tomatoes, olives, garlic, lemons etc and this contains all the above

First get your spaghetti on according to packet instructions and follow the recipe below for enough sauce for 2 adults

Heat a pan on a medium heat with a little olive oil and add a crushed clove of garlic. Leave until just turning brown then add 4 anchovies, 50 grams of mixed pitted olives, a tablespoon of capers and a sprinkling of dried chilli flakes and 6 chopped sundried tomatoes, stir for a couple of minutes until sizzling then add 100ml of passata and a tablespoon of tomatoes purée. Continue to cook for a further couple of minutes until the pasta is cooked. Finally add a squeeze of lemon juice then drain the pasta and add to the sauce. 

Give everything a good stir and serve up with some fresh Parmesan 

Enjoy

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Moussaka

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I must admit, I struggled to get my 3 year old to eat this, I think it’s a texture issue as Moussaka can have a bit of a ‘sloppy’ texture, so I bribed him with garlic bread and he gave it a bit of a bash – result! I’ll never force them to complete any meal but I always insist they try everything

To make the moussaka, first slice a large aubergine into 1cm disc, sprinkle with some salt and set aside. 

Next, dice one large onion and fry in a large heavy based pan along with 500g of mince lamb, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1 teaspoon of dried oregano, 1 teaspoon of dried mint, 2 cloves of garlic and 2 bay leaves and cook for 10 minutes, next add 1 tablespoon of plain flour, stir and then add 200ml of red wine, a tin of chopped tomatoes,a tablespoon of tomato purée and some seasoning and simmer for 30 minutes. 

Meanwhile rinse and pat dry the aubergines then shallow fry in some olive oil for a couple of minutes each side, remove and place on a kitchen towel to absorb the excess oil. 

Now, preheat your oven to fan 170

Next, make your white sauce. Add 50g of butter to a pan and when melted remove from the heat and add 50g of plain flour and stir until combined. Return to the heat then slowly add 400ml of milk stiring continuously, slowly bring to the boil and when it starts to thicken remove from the heat and add 1/2 teaspoon of grated nutmeg, 15g of grated Parmesan and some seasoning. Stir then whisk in 1 large beaten egg and set aside. 

Next, peel approx 4 potatoes and slice in to 1/2cm disc. 

Finally assemble the moussaka by first adding a layer of mince meat (approx a third of the mixture), followed by a layer of potatoes followeed by a layer of aubergines, repeat another two times so you have 3 layers with aubergine at the top. Pour over the white sauce and ensure you have an even coating on top then sprinkle with a little more Parmesan and bake in the oven for 50-60 minutes – you might need to bake a little longer depending on how thin you were able to slice your potatoes. 

Greek style chicken

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I love a good one pot this recipe and this one is quite delish! 

Slice approx 1kg of new potatoes length ways and trim any access skin or fat off some chicken thighs (skin and bones left on). Season and spray with some olive oil, give everything a mix and place in an oven for 30 minutes. Whilst this is cooking, mix a bowl with 3 tablespoons of red wine vinegar, 200g of feta cheese, 15-20 cherry tomatoes and a teaspoon of dried oregano. Stir these ingredients together and when the chicken has been in the oven for 30 minutes add the remaining these ingredients to the tin, give everything a mix then cook for a further 30 minutes until the chicken and potatoes are both cooked. 

Home style Onion Curry

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So I’m told this is a traditional curry by an old colleague. It tastes so flavoursome yet mild too so it’s great for little ones. 

Start by placing a large onion in a mini chopper along with 50ml of water then blend to form a paste.

Next dry fry a stick of cinnamon along with 2 teaspoons of cumin seeds and teaspoons of fennel seeds (optimal – add 1/4 teaspoon of dried chilli flakes for about 30 seconds before adding the onion paste and cook on a medium heat for 10 minutes until the onions brown and the water evaporates. Next add a crushed clove of garlic and some grated root ginger – approx the size of your thumb. Cook for another couple of minutes before adding 1 teaspoon of the following: sugar, turmeric and garam masala. 

Next add a standard sized tin of chopped tomatoes and simmer on a medium high heat for 8-10 minutes

Finally, add 8 diced skinless, boneless chicken thighs and 250ml of chicken stock and simmer for 15-20 minutes until the chicken is cooked. 

Serve with some steamed basmati rice

Lasagna

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Ok so this recipe is not one of my particularly ‘fast’ recipes but it is delicious so thought I might include it

There are 3 components: the red sauce, the white sauce and the pasta sheets. 

For the Red sauce: Dice one onion and sweat in a pan on a medium heat with a little olive oil. After 5 minutes add a crushed glove of garlic and continue to stir for a couple of minutes before turning up the heat and adding 500g of mince beef. Brown the meat then turn the heat down, add a sprinkling of grated Parmesan, a teaspoon of dried basil, seasoning and a table spoon of tomato purée and stir for another couple of minutes before adding a tin of chopped tomatoes and a mug of beef stock. Stir well and simmer for 15 – 20 minutes whilst you make the white sauce. 

To make the white sauce: first melt 25g of butter in a pan then add 1 heaped tablespoon of plain flour and mix vigorously off the heat. Next return to the heat and slowly add 1 1/2 pints of milk a little at a time ensuring that you continue to whisk, slowly bring the mixture to the boil where it should start to thicken. Once thickened, add approx 1 tablespoon of grated Parmesan, some seasoning and 1/4 teaspoon of dried mixed herbs. 

Next start to construct the lasagna. You will need approx 15 sheets of dried lasagna pasta. 

Start by adding a ladle of the white sauce to the bottom of your lasagna dish. Next layer on the pasta sheet another ladle of the white sauce and follow with a heaped ladle of the red sauce, next add another sheet of pasta and then a ladle of white sauce ensuring the pasta is covered and then red sauce. You should aim for 3 layers of red sauce ending with a layer of pasta and the remaining white sauce poured all over the lasagna. 

Add a small sprinkling of grated cheese and bake in the over for approx 30 minutes on 190 fan 

Tomato and Thyme Cod

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This is definitely an after work dish, it takes 15 minutes but taste delicious

First dice an onion and sweat on a medium heat with a little olive oil for 5 minutes. Next add a tin of chopped tomatoes, a teaspoon of brown sugar, a tablespoon of soy sauce and a teaspoon of dried thyme, continue to cook for a couple of minutes then add some seasoning, stir, then lay your fillets of cod on top. Cover the pan and simmer for 7-8 minutes until the fish is cooked and serve with some crushed garlic new potatoes or rice and some greens