Tag: lunch

🥘 Carole’s Shakshuka with chorizo…

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.

🥘  1 pot  🍽 Serves 2   🛒 13 ingredients ⏱ 30 minutes £5

Did you know?

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

🥘 Carole’s nectarine, tomato and feta salad with balsamic glaze…

🥘  1 mixing bowl  🍽 Serves 6  🛒 13 ingredients  ⏱ 30 mins £5

Because salad doesn’t have to be boring…

Our neighbour has a huge garden and every year she shares boxes of fruit which we make into salads and enjoy with a glass (or two) of chilled cava.

Ingredients:

  • 3 Nectarines or peaches
  • 3 Tomatoes
  • Salt & Black Pepper
  • Basil – a large handful
  • Chopped pistachios
  • Vinaigrette – preferably homemade
  • 200g feta cheese
  • Balsamic glaze

For your vinaigrette:

  • extra virgin olive oil
  • red wine vinegar
  • fresh lemon juice
  • maple syrup
  • sea salt and black pepper

In a small bowl, whisk together all the ingredients, taste and adjust the seasoning to taste.

Use any ripe tomatoes

For your salad:

  1. Cut your nectarines or peaches into thin slices.
  2. Slice the tomatoes and finely chop the pistachios. Tear some of the basil leaves into smaller pieces, saving some whole leaves for garnish.
  3. Make your vinaigrette (see above)
  4. In a large bowl, combine the sliced nectarines or peaches, halved tomatoes, crumbled feta cheese, pistachios and basil leaves.
  5. Pour the vinaigrette over the salad and gently toss everything together until well coated.
  6. Serve the salad immediately or let it chill in the fridge for about 15-20 minutes before serving.
  7. Sprinkle a little extra feta and some more fresh basil on top before serving. Add a few drops of Balsamic glaze for a lovely extra flavour boost.
Use ripe peaches which are still firm

Tips:

  • Your nectarines or peaches should be ripe but still firm enough to retain their shape. Too ripe and they will tend to mush when combining with the other ingredients.
  • Use any tomatoes that are fully ripe. If you use cherry tomatoes, they should be halved.
  • This basic recipe is easily adaptable. Use finely sliced red onion if you want a sharper flavour. Goats cheese, balsamic vinaigrette and kalamata olives all go well and if you want lettuce, try some little gem.
M&S Feta cheese £2.15 for 200g
£1.80 for 215ml

Balsamic glaze is made by reducing balsamic vinegar and adding sugar. Sweeter than balsamic vinegar, the glaze is also thicker / viscous texture which makes it ideal for dressing salads. Use it also on meats and fish where you want the flavour of balsamic but not the runny vinegar consistency.

🥘 Carole’s nectarine, feta and yoghurt salad…

🥘  1 mixing bowl  🍽 Serves 6  🛒 10 ingredients  ⏱ 30 mins £6

This combination of flavours makes a delicious summertime salad. Nectarines, tomatoes and basil with feta and Greek yoghurt – what’s not to love?

Nectarines – high in vitamin C

Ingredients:

  • 3 ripe nectarines
  • 3 large ripe tomatoes
  • Salt & black pepper
  • Basil – a large handful
  • 7 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
  • 100g feta
  • 200g full – fat greek yoghurt
  • 50g chopped pistachios
  • 1 tbsp zaatar
Use any ripe tomatoes

Step by step:

  1. Cut your nectarines and tomatoes into bitesize wedges. Place them in a bowl and scatter over some sea salt and a good grind of black pepper. Tear in the basil, add 4 tbsp of olive oil and the vinegar, leave to steep for 30 minutes.
  2. Blitz half the feta with the yoghurt and a tablespoon of oil in a food processor until you have a smooth and silky dressing. Spoon this into a bowl, cover and store it in the fridge until you are ready to serve.
  3. Chop your pistachios into small pieces and stir in the zaatar.
  4. Assemble the nectarines, tomatoes and basil, spoon over the dressing. Finish by crumbling over the remaining feta and sprinkling over the pistachio and zaatar mixture.
Serve with a small dish of extra dressing

Tips and variations:

  • If your nectarines are under ripe, place them in a fruit bowl with some bananas for a day or so. If you want to use them straight away, pop the slices on a griddle pan and you will have nicely striped, soft, sweet fruit.
  • Add toasted breadcrumbs instead of nuts if you prefer, garnish with some anchovies or add some gherkins or capers.
  • Add some thinly sliced red onions and finely chopped garlic if you like a stronger flavour. If you want a really tangy flavour, substitute the feta for gorgonzola.
M&S Feta cheese £2.15 for 200g
£2.50 from Sainsbury’s 35g

What is Zaatar? A spice used in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cooking. A combination of herbs, sesame seeds, sumac and salt, it is one of the world’s unique and best seasonings.

Choose a zaatar like the one shown above which contains sumac, cumin seeds, oregano and marjoram. Cheaper alternatives substitute these ingredients for citric acid.

🥘 Carole’s avocado, feta and baby spinach salad…

🥘  1  🍽 Serves 2  🛒 13 ingredients  ⏱ 15 mins £5

A quick, easy, and delicious salad with homemade vinaigrette.

Maille Wholegrain Mustard £2.75 – Sainsbury’s

Ingredients:

For your vinaigrette

  • 125ml extra-virgin olive
  • 3 tbsp white wine vinegar
  • 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
  • 2 cloves garlic, 1 chopped or pressed
  • sea salt and black pepper

For your salad:

  • 1 garlic clove, halved (optional)
  • 1 bag mixed salad leaves
  • 1 bag baby spinach
  • 1 large ripe avocado, peeled and chopped
  • big handful of black grapes, halved
  • 1/2 block feta (we used M&S Greek Feta)
  • Extra-virgin olive oil
  • 4 slices streaky bacon, chopped

Step by step:

Step 1

Make your vinaigrette. Pour the extra-virgin olive oil into a glass jug or jar. Add the white wine vinegar and mustard.

Add the garlic and whisk it all together in the jug, or shake it in the jar.

Season to taste with sea salt and black pepper.

The vinaigrette will keep in the fridge for a week.

Step 2

Make the salad. Take a large salad bowl and wipe the sides with the halved garlic clove. Tip in the salad leaves and baby spinach and toss the leaves so they pick up a hint of the garlic.

Add the avocado, grapes and feta cheese.

Meanwhile cook your bacon so it’s nice and crispy. Set it aside on kitchen towel.

Top the salad with the chopped bacon and serve with a drizzle of oil and your own vinaigrette.

M&S Feta Cheese £1.80

Notes:

Experiment with the dressing. Try red wine vinegar which will give a stronger flavour. Balsamic vinegar make a sweeter dressing and goes well with salads containing fruit.

The old classic of olive oil, balsamic vinegar and chopped garlic with crusty bread for mopping up is hard to beat.

Just add radish, cucumber and celery to the salad if you want extra crunch

Filippo Berio is our choice for oil and vinegar.

£2.25 Sainsbury’s
ProCook Garlic Press £12