This recipe is a world away from the kind of ‘spag bol’ I used to make in my student days – a quickly cooked sauce using just minced beef as the meat base which always seem to end up very watery. A good ragu on the other hand is a rich sauce, full of flavour…
Haricot bean and halloumi bake
This was a recipe I made a couple of Saturdays ago, conjured up at the last minute based on ingredients I happened to have in the cupboard and fridge (a typical ‘Cheap, Fresh and Easy’ approach). I usually plan for the week’s meals in advance and shop accordingly, as it’s cheaper that way. But lately…
Mussels with saffron and vermouth
Mussels must be among the most affordable non plant based proteins you can eat. A bag of mussels from the supermarket serves around four people as a starter or two people as a main course and costs well under £3. Bargain. I have a recipe for Moules marinière on this blog which has a creamy…
Pan griddled tuna steak with artichokes
This is a nutritious and very fresh tasting fish recipe which is ready in about 10 minutes. I’ve used canned artichokes, mixed with capers, artichokes, lemon juice, parsley and mustard as the sauce. There is a big range of prepared artichokes available – my current favourite is a jar of artichokes marinated in oil, mint…
Baked mackerel with fennel and pine nuts
This is such a cheap and easy tray bake it hardly needs a recipe at all. I originally wanted to make something with fresh sardines but couldn’t find any in the supermarket so went with mackerel instead. Mackerel is incredibly cheap and sustainable and a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids, I’m going to eat…
Creamy cauliflower tagliatelle
Here’s another recipe to celebrate Veganuary (although I should say I’m not doing the full vegan diet this month, just using this time as an incentive to cut down on meat). This recipe is from Miguel Barclay’s book Vegan One Pound Meals – part of his fantastic One Pound Meals cook book series which is…
Black bean vegan burgers
I’m not a big fan of shop bought vegan burgers – I am still on the hunt for one that I really like, both in texture and taste. In the meantime I prefer to make my own with pulses or as I did once with beetroot. This recipe using black beans is nice and quick,…
Butternut squash lasagne
I love this recipe because it is so seasonal – the butternut squash was in my Oddbox recently and I already had most of the other ingredients in stock (including sage from my garden). I just needed to buy the ricotta and mozzarella. One of the pleasures of subscribing to Oddbox is that I start…
Stuffed cabbage
I’ve recently signed up to Oddbox, a brilliant way to reduce food waste. Basically it’s a solution to the 40% or so of all produce in the UK which would otherwise be thrown out even before it leaves the farm just because it doesn’t look right (eg mis-shapen looking fruit or veg). Oddbox also coordinates…
Afternoon tea
This is an afternoon tea with a difference because it’s deliberately lighter and healthier. There are no jam and cream laden scones as you’d normally expect from a traditional British tea. This is because I was making a healthy tea for a friend who was recovery from heart surgery. Sweet treats I made chocolate beetroot…
Creamy chicken and mushroom pappardelle
The inspiration for this recipe was the ingredients I just happened to have in my fridge. It’s a bit like the TV show ‘Ready, Steady Cook’ where contestants have to create a dish from four or five random ingredients. I used to love watching ‘Ready, Steady, Cook’ when I was in between work contracts (a…
Chilled leek and courgette soup
In my house soups happen more by accident than by design – usually because I need to use up some vegetables before they go off. Having said that, on Friday I made gazpacho as the weather had been sweltering and a friend was coming for lunch so I planned to make that traditional cold Spanish…
Cheap, fresh and easy 