🥘 1 pan and 2 mixing bowls 🍽 Serves 12 🛒 4 ⏱ 30 mins £8 (V) (LF) (LS)
Nothing quite beats the taste of homemade granola and once you get used to making your own, shop bought will never taste as good again. Use nuts of your choice, we use Sainsbury’s So Organic mixed nuts. Not the cheapest option, but they give great results.
Ingredients:
350g oats
300g mixed nuts
120g light butter
100g honey
Step by step:
1 Set your oven to 160C (140C fan), gas 3.
2 Stir and mix together the oats and nuts in a large bowl.
3 Melt the butter and honey, and stir well to combine. We do this in the microwave for convenience, otherwise use a saucepan over a medium low heat.
4 Tip the butter and honey mixture into the bowl of oats and nuts. Stir well so the granola mix is well coated with the butter and honey.
5 Spread the granola mix on a baking tray and place on a low shelf in the pre-heated oven. Keep checking the mixture every 10 minutes and keep turning the mixture so it cooks evenly.
Cook your burgers on the grill and pop your Spanish style grains either in the microwave or in a pan on the stove.
Rustle up a salad and dressing or boil some peas.
Notes:
Rooster chicken burgers contain fewer nasties than many other processed foods and are a good quick on-the-go meal. They are low fat and a little salty, so you only need a good grind of black pepper for seasoning.
The Spanish style grains are a nice blend of whole long grain rice, and black rice, spiced with chilli flakes, smoked paprika and yeast extract.
The Mr Organic range of tinned tomatoes are free from added sugar and salt. The tins are BPA free which means they do not contain bisphenol A. BPA is a chemical often used in industrial food packaging.
Available from Waitrose, Ocado and Holland & Barrett the Mr. Organic range of pastas and sauces are perfect store cupboard items. Made in Italy with no added preservatives, we love them for their no added sugar or chemical ingredients.
Penne £2.12 / 500g Ocado
The Mr Organic range includes whole wheat pasta. It’s nutty flavour is superb and makes for a really healthy option.
£1.60 / 400g Ocado
Plum, cherry or chopped tomatoes are all packed within a few hours of being harvested. Mr Organic tomatoes 4 pack offer from Ocado > HERE
£2.25 / 350g Ocado
Made with sun ripened Italian tomatoes and mushrooms this is an authentic flavoursome sauce.
Chorizo, courgettes and chillies added to a basic carbonara make a delicious, quick and easy lunch or weeknight supper. Quartering and slicing your courgette and finely slicing the spring onions gives an attractive finish.
Get your ingredients ready while the spaghetti is cooking
Ingredients:
150g spaghetti
50g lardons
50g chorizo, chopped
1 medium size courgette, chopped
2 spring onions, chopped
1 small chilli, chopped (optional)
50ml single cream (optional)
1 pinch chilli flakes
1 lemon, zested and juiced
basil, a good handful
Step by step:
Step 1
Put your spaghetti on to cook as per the pack instructions, minus about one minute than stated cooking time.
Step 2
Prepare your ingredients and cook off the lardons, chorizo for a couple of minutes until they are nice and crispy. Add the courgette and chilli. After approximately 5 minutes, turn the heat down.
Step 3
Add your spaghetti to the pan, using tongs and stir in a little cream and cook for about a minute on the low heat. Add a splash or two of the pasta cooking water if needed. If you want more of a classic carbonara flavour, add a beaten egg with some grated parmesan to the sauce.
Step 4
We have used a thin spaghetti and made a light creamy sauce, Penne also works well. Chilli flakes are always a favourite store cupboard item.
Stir the spaghetti through the other ingredients in the pan and check the pasta is done. Serve with the basil scattered over and a bowl of grated parmesan to the side. A squeeze of lemon juice is always welcome.
Store cupboard essential
We use a generous handful of Basil
Using Penne, the pasta soaks up all the sauce and a good grating of parmesan on top to serve.
Shakshuka originates from North Africa and the Middle East and the name comes from the Arabic word meaning “mixed” or “shaken up”. Originally a vegetarian dish, it is often cooked with chorizo or merguez sausage.
You can vary the colour of shakshuka, simply by changing the ingredients. Make it green using green peppers and chillies and chopped spinach. Yellow peppers and chopped butternut squash will give you a nice orange colour.
Ingredients:
Extra virgin olive oil
1 large red onion, chopped
100g chorizo, sliced
2 roasted red peppers from a jar
1 garlic clove, minced or chopped
a good handful of coriander, chopped
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp sweet smoked paprika
1 birds eye chilli, chopped or chilli flakes or cayenne pepper (optional)
Tomato sauce
4 fresh tomatoes
4 large eggs
chopped parsley and mint to garnish
Chorizo comes in a variety of flavours
Step by step:
Make the shakshuka sauce...
Step 1.
In a large lidded pan, sautee the chopped onions and chorizo and cook for 4-5 minutes.
Add the peppers and garlic with a splash of extra virgin olive oil. Season with salt, coriander, paprika, cumin and chopped chilli, or chilli flakes (if using) and cook for another 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Chop or mince your garlic to vary the flavour
Step 2.
Add the tomatoes and a good glug of tomato sauce. Bring to a boil, cover and leave to simmer for about 15 mins. Uncover and continue cooking until the sauce has thickened.
When the sauce is ready, add the eggs...
Step 3.
We added poached eggs separately on this occasion. Normally, we just make wells in the sauce and crack in the eggs.
Serve the dish in the pan garnished with the parsley and mint. Some crusty baguette is great for mopping up the sauce.
Tips and variations:
Use fresh peppers if you prefer
Chopped spinach goes well, added after 10 mins of cooking
Mince your garlic for a milder flavour
Add a drizzle of tahini when serving for extra flavour.
Use a sweet paprika – Tesco have a great one for £1
Seasonal asparagus with a nutty brown butter pastry crust, punchy capers and gruyère – perfect for lunch or tea time snack.
Ingredients:
250g asparagus, trimmed
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
250ml double cream
1 lemon, zested and segmented
50g gruyère, finely grated
2 tbsp capers, drained
Brown butter pastry:
225g plain flour
150g butter
1 egg
Step by step:
First – make your pastry
Heat the butter in a small frying pan, swirling frequently, until foaming. Cook for 1-2 minutes until it starts to turn brown and smell nutty. Transfer to a bowl to cool. When it is cool, transfer to the fridge to chill and turn solid. Once cold, cut into cubes.
Whizz the flour and brown butter in a food processor until it looks like damp sand, then add the yolk and 1-2 tbsp of ice-cold water to bring it together. Wrap and chill for 30 mins.
Now make the filling
Steam the asparagus for 3 minutes, then rinse under cold water and pat dry with kitchen paper. Keep 6-8 of the best spears whole, and chop the remainder into 1cm pieces.
Heat your oven to 200C / 180C fan / Gas 6. Roll out the pastry to 2-3 millimetre thick and use it to line a 23cm tart tin. Prick the base all over with a fork. Fill with a piece of baking paper and baking beans. Cook for 15 minutes, then remove the paper and cook for another 5 minutes until the base looks dry.
Meanwhile, whisk together the eggs, egg yolks, cream, lemon zest and cheese with some seasoning.
Trim the pastry case and place the chopped asparagus over the base. Scatter over the capers and pour over the egg mixture. Arrange the remaining asparagus spears on top and cook in the oven for 35-40 mins or until set but still with a slight wobble to the middle. Serve at room temperature or cold.
Tips
We roll the pastry to just 2-3 millimetre thickness which makes a nice texture and helps ensure you don’t get a soggy bottom
Steaming the asparagus retains more of the nutrients and flavour. M&S have an excellent quality steamer for £55.
Whole wheat pasta is better for our health because the whole grain is milled and therefore it contains more nutrients than white pasta equivalents. The outer membrane contains a lot of fibre, vitamins and minerals including vitamins E and B plus magnesium and iron.
The higher vitamin content in whole wheat pasta increases phytochemicals that help protect against some cancers.
Consuming whole grains is beneficial in many ways including:
Heart health…
Recent studies have shown that people who eat the right amount of whole grains every day reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease by up to 30%.
Reduce your risk stroke and obesity by aiding weight control, digestive health and reducing calories intake and cholesterol levels.
Diabetes…
Whole grains help maintain insulin levels which in turn helps improve our body’s glucose control. Adequate intake of whole grains lowers the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by around 30%.
Whole wheat pasta is not the cheapest option, but it is useful if you are making health conscious decisions about food. Whole wheat pasta has a lower glycemic index than refined pasta which means means it is helpful in controlling blood sugar levels.
You can cook most pasta recipes successfully using whole grain pasta. Whole wheat pasta tends to be brown in colour and has a nuttier taste. If you are using flavoursome pasta sauces the taste difference will be negligible.
Generally, whole wheat pasta takes a little longer to cook and overcooking will result in a mushy texture.
Photo courtesy Craig Melville – Acekreations
Best Buys
We have tried several brands and the overall winner in taste test and value for money is Barilla.
Barilla have recently done away with the plastic window on their packaging which together with a great flavour and mid price makes them our first choice. Fusilli £1.50 / 500g
Mr. Organic with paper bag packaging and nice flavour but nearly twice the price of Barilla was second choice. Fusilli £2.70 / 500g
Sainsbury’s was the cheapest (currently price matched to Aldi) and a good flavour. However, the plastic packet which tears very easily on opening made that third place. Fusilli 75p / 500g
HEAL 