Author: Sophie

Banana bread with marzipan and chocolate chips

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I don’t know how we can possibly continue to pretend that banana bread is a health food when it is clearly CAKE. And this is the purest expression of that. My other banana bread recipe has walnuts and cranberries so it pretends to be health-full. This one has chocolate chips and marzipan… No excuses

  • 180g plain flour
  • 2 heaped tbsp ground almonds
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda 
  • 2 heaped tbsp ground flax seed (see – health!)
  • ½ tsp salt 
  • 120 g dark chocolate chips – darkest possible to offset the sweetness of everything else
  • 120 g marzipan, cut into small cubes (easiest if it’s been in the fridge to harden a bit) 
  • 50 g sunflower seeds
  • 75g unsalted butter, at room temperature 
  • 175g caster sugar 
  • 2 eggs, beaten 
  • 2-3 brown bananas, mashed
  • ½ tsp almond extract
  • Flaked almonds, to sprinkle thickly over the top
  1. Preheat oven to 160C fan (180C)
  2. Line a loaf tin. Try scrunching up the baking paper and then smoothly it out again, it will be much easier to use
  3. Put the flour, ground almonds, baking powder, bicarb, ground flax seed and salt into a bowl 
  4. Stir in the choc chips, marzipan and sunflower seeds
  5. In another bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy
  6. Add one egg at a time and beat well as you go
  7. Stir in the mashed banana and almond extract (don’t beat or it will look unappetisingly split – although it doesn’t affect the final result)
  8. Tip in the flour mixture and stir together until just combined
  9. Coax into the loaf tin, make sure it gets into all the corners
  10. Smooth the top and sprinkle over flaked almonds
  11. Bake for 1 hour then use a skewer to check if its done – if you poke it into the middle of the loaf, it should come out clean. If it’s not, give it a further 15 mins or so

Leave to cool in the tin for 10 mins, then lift out using the baking paper and cool on a rack until completely cold. Wrap with foil and leave 24 hours before you eat it.

Chorizo rice

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Savoury, delicious, one-pot dinner. Feeds 4

  • 200 g raw cooking chorizo, cut into cubes
  • 1 red onion, peeled and diced
  • 3 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
  • 1 red chilli, sliced
  • 200 g tomatoes – large ones diced, small ones halved
  • 10 g fresh coriander, roughly chopped
  • 1 chicken stock cube
  • 1 tbsp capers, roughly chopped
  • Ground black pepper
  • 200 g basmati + wild rice (or any other rice you fancy)
  • 350 ml boiling water
  • Fresh coriander and parsley, chopped
  1. Heat a large deep frying pan (one with a lid) on a low heat and add the chorizo (no oil needed)
  2. Cook gently for 7–8 mins, stirring occasionally until browned and the oil has leaked out
  3. Add the onions, garlic and chilli and fry until softened
  4. Stir in the tomatoes, coriander, stock cube, capers and a decent amount of ground black pepper
  5. Cover the pan and simmer for 7 mins, stirring a couple of times until the tomatoes have broken down
  6. Add the rice and stir well to coat until it crackles
  7. Pour over boiling water, turn the heat up and bring to a bubble. Then cover the pan and cook on a low heat for 12 mins, stirring once halfway through
  8. Turn the heat off, but leave the pan covered for a further 10 mins
  9. Fluff up the rice, sprinkle with fresh herbs and serve (maybe with a wedge of lemon on the side)

To bulk it up as a main course, add a pouch of cooked puy or beluga lentils at the end

Shirunushi tantanmen (soupless tantanmen ramen)

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Quick, easy, super-tasty dinner. Spicy, silky, savoury, sesame-rich noodles. All the s-words.

  • 300 g minced pork
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1½ tbsp mirin
  • ½ tsp ground Sichuan pepper
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 3 spring onions, finely chopped
  • 1″ ginger, minced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tbsp doubanjiang/chilli garlic sauce
  • 6 leaves chinese cabbage, chopped
  • Ramen noodles

Tantanmen Sauce

  • 2 tbsp sesame paste/tahini
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1½ tbsp maple syrup
  • 1 tbsp rayu
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil
  • 100 ml water
  1. Marinate the pork with soy sauce, mirin and sichuan pepper. Set to one side
  2. To make the sauce, mix the sesame paste, soy sauce, maple syrup, rayu and sesame oil. Whisk until smooth then mix in the water. Set to one side
  3. Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the ramen noodles
  4. Make the pork topping for the tantanmen by heating veg oil over medium-low heat and add the spring onions (saving some of the green bits for a garnish)
  5. Sauté until starting to colour. Add the ginger and garlic and fry until golden
  6. Add the doubanjiang and stir into the oil until it’s all vibrant orange and fragrant (about 20 secs)
  7. Add the marinated pork and any marinade to the pan and break the meat up
  8. Turn the heat up and cook until the pork is cooked through and crumbly
  9. Add the chinese cabbage and cook for another minute until wilted
  10. When the noodles are cooked, drain and transfer into a bowl. Stir in the tantanmen sauce, tossing the noodles to coat
  11. Divide the noodles between 2 bowls then top with the minced pork. Garnish with the reserved spring onion greens, plus some toasted sesame seeds, pickled mustard greens and half a jammy egg if you fancy it

Lamb dhansak

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A labour of love, and such a lovely delicious, nourishing, well-spiced and comforting curry. Feeds 4.

  • 2 tbsp veg oil
  • 2 cm piece ginger, minced
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • 8 curry leaves
  • 2 dried chillis
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1 star anise
  • 1 large onion, finely chopped
  • 30 g tamarind paste
  • ½ tsp turmeric
  • 30 g fresh coriander, chopped
  • 20 g fresh mint, chopped
  • 3 large tomatoes, chopped
  • 2 big green chillis, chopped
  • 1 tbsp brown sugar
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp fenugreek seeds / ½ tsp ground fenugreek
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • ½ tsp ground black pepper
  • Grated nutmeg
  • 1 tsp kashmiri chilli powder
  • 400 g lamb neck fillet, trimmed and cut into pieces
  • 200 g butternut squash, diced into 1 cm pieces
  • 100 g mixed lentils
  1. Wash the lentils well, then leave in fresh water to soak while you prep and cook
  2. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a deep pan over medium heat
  3. Fry the mustard seeds and curry leaves until they crackle
  4. Add the star anise, cinnamon, dried chillis, garlic and ginger and cook briefly until the garlic is softened
  5. Tip in the onion and saute, stirring frequently, until soft
  6. Add the tamarind, turmeric, fresh coriander, mint, tomatoes, green chillis, sugar and lime
  7. Stir well and cook until the tomatoes have started to break down
  8. Add salt, fenugreek, ground coriander, cumin, black pepper, nutmeg and chilli powder, stir together
  9. Add the lamb and butternut squash, mix to coat with the spiced tomato paste
  10. Pour over 450 ml boiling water, add the wet lentils and stir together
  11. Bring to the boil then turn the heat down to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally (and adding more boiling water if needed) for 30 mins 
  12. The lentils should be fully cooked, the lamb tender and the squash squishy

Serve on spinach rice with aubergine pickle and a blob of thick yoghurt. In a bowl, on the sofa, feeling quietly grateful that the house is momentarily peaceful

Spinach pilau

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Delicately green and fragrant. Just 1 step fancier than normal rice – like when you invite a friend over for dinner during the week and you want to show off a bit but not go overboard. Feeds 4

  • 250 g basmati rice
  • 1 tbsp veg oil
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • ½ tsp fenugreek seeds
  • 1 bay leaf
    • 1 onion, finely chopped
    • ½ tsp salt
    • 1 green chilli, sliced
    • 3 cloves garlic, minced
    • 1 inch piece ginger, peeled and minced
    • 100 g frozen chopped spinach, thawed in a sieve over the sink
    • Juice of ½ lemon
  1. Wash rice well
  2. Heat veg oil in a saucepan over medium heat and add the mustard seeds, cumin, fenugreek and bay leaf
  3. Cook until they crackle, then add onion, chilli and salt
  4. Saute for 5 mins until softened, then add garlic and ginger
  5. Cook for 2 mins more then add the wet rice, stir together
  6. Add 450 ml boiling water and thawed spinach
  7. Stir once and turn the heat up to bring to the boil. Stick a lid on and turn down to the lowest simmer
  8. Cook for 10 mins then turn the heat off and leave without touching for a further 5 mins
  9. Add the lemon juice and fluff the rice up before serving

Schnitzel

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A long-standing family birthday tradition, this is a labour of love, especially made for large numbers. Known as snitchel by the children, and řízky by my dad. Always made of pork in my family and always cooked in massive excess so there are leftovers for sandwiches and snacking. No amount sorry, this is strictly a case of ‘measure with your heart’.

  • As much pork fillet as you think you can eat – probably a touch more
  • Dried breadcrumbs (or matzo meal)
  • Egg
  • Flour mixed with a bit of garlic powder, paprika, salt and black pepper
  • Butter
  • Veg oil
  1. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and, if you’ve got a lot of pork, cut a few additional pieces so you can layer them up
  2. Cut the pork fillet into 3 cm rounds, then butterfly each one (cut it almost completely in half lengthways and open it out like a book), and bash it out with a big wooden hammer until it’s about ½ to 1 cm thick
  3. Set up your seasoned flour, beaten egg and breadcrumbs in separate wide bowls or lipped plates
  4. Dip each schnitzel into flour on both sides, shake it off, then dip into egg on both sides. Gently lift it out, let it drip for a moment, then lay it in the breadcrumbs. Flip it so both sides are covered and then put to one side on the lined tray. Once the tray is covered with a single layer of pork (with minimal overlapping), put a piece of baking paper on top and keep going with single layers of pork and paper until you’ve done it all
  5. Turn the oven on to 75C and get out a wire rack or two
  6. Heat a large frying pan over medium-high and add ~1 tbsp butter and roughly the same amount of oil. Swirl around to mix and coat the pan
  7. Once it’s sizzling, add a couple of pieces of the breadcrumbed pork (don’t crowd the pan). Cook on one side until golden brown, then flip and cook the other side. It’s quick because the pork is so thin, so don’t leave it alone – this is a job which requires your attention. As you go, put the cooked schnitzel onto a wire rack in the oven to keep warm while you cook the rest. Add more butter and oil as you go along, and periodically wipe the pan out so you avoid burnt crumbs.

Serve with boiled, buttery new potatoes, a wedge of lemon (and anchovy fillets if you’re my mum – ew) and plenty of cucumber salad aka okurkový salát

Sunday morning pancacakes

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Our Sunday morning tradition, called pancacakes for at least 9 years due to a pre-school spelling mistake. Medium-healthy, high in protein, so simple there’s no measuring except a spoon. And therefore less washing up. It’s the ideal Sunday morning blurry start while you stand over a pan feeling like you’re doing decent parenting, drinking tea and trying to remember what on earth you’ve committed yourself to today. Makes 5-6 pancakes, enough for 1 hungry teenager or 2 as part of a bigger breakfast.

  • 2 big heaped tbsp plain flour
  • 1 big heaped tbsp ground almonds
  • Pinch of salt
  • ~1 tsp baking powder (the tip of the big spoon)
  • 1 egg
  • 1 heaped tbsp greek yoghurt
  • A smidge of vanilla extract
  • A splosh of milk
  1. Mix the flour, ground almonds, salt and baking powder in one small-ish bowl
  2. Mix the egg, yoghurt, vanilla and milk in another small bowl. No whisk, just spoon
  3. Scrape the wet mixture into the dry mixture and stir together – again, just the spoon
  4. The consistency should be thick and spoonable. Adjust if you’re bothered with a bit more flour or a bit more milk, but it’s very forgiving if you have Sunday morning fuzz and you can’t be bothered
  5. Heat a frying pan with a little oil over a high heat (use a wad of 2 kitchen towels to spread it and then keep it to re-oil the pan in between rounds)
  6. Turn the heat down to medium-low and dollop 1 heaped spoonful of mixture per pancake into the pan. My pan fits 3 pancakes at a time
  7. Cook until brown underneath (you can tell from the edges) and then flip and repeat on the other side. If they’re still oozy inside, turn the heat down. If it’s taking forever, turn it up a bit.

Serve them as you make them. Apparently no fruit allowed, only syrup. But you can do what you like. I like a diagonal slice of banana in the pan with mixture added over the top so it becomes embedded in the surface of the pancake. You can also do this with thinly sliced streaky bacon. 5 stars, highly recommend.

Any leftovers (or intentional leftovers if you double the recipe) can go in a tupperware in the fridge and they re-heat excellently in the toaster for weekday morning breakfast when you just can’t face cereal again.

Amba chicken with green tahini sauce

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Mildly obsessed with the Farmer J amba chicken bowl, this is my best guess (also based on the ingredients in my cupboards) and it is both delicious and Elena-endorsed.

  • 8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
  • 4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
  • 1″ ginger, roughly chopped
  • 1 tbsp amba spice (made with ¼ tsp ground fenugreek, ½ tsp turmeric, ½ tsp pul biber, ½ tsp sumac, 1¼ tsp paprika)
  • 1 tsp dijon mustard
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • 2 tbsp pomegranate (or date) molasses
  • 1 tsp mango chutney
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • ½ tsp salt
  • Ground black pepper
  1. Whizz up all the ingredients except for the chicken to make a thick paste
  2. Mix the marinade into the chicken thighs until thoroughly coated and leave for 2 hours
  3. Grill for 15 mins or cook in the oven at 180C fan for 20 mins, turning over halfway through cooking
  4. Drizzle with the cooking juices while they rest – happy to be served at room temp

Serve with brown rice, spicy coleslaw or crispy green salad, a handful of Bold Bean chickpeas, sliced gherkins or pink pickled onions, and green tahini sauce

Green tahini sauce

  • Large handful of your favourite fresh soft herbs – coriander, parsley, mint, dill, chives – roughly chopped
  • Juice of ½ lemon
  • 1 clove confit garlic
  • Big pinch salt
  • 2 pickled guindilla chillis
  • 2-3 heaped tbsp tahini
  • 125ml water
  1. Whizz everything up together until smooth and thick, check seasoning and scoop!

Soy sauce chicken broth

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Fragrant, comforting and restorative. And super-simple to make. Feeds 2

  • 3 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
  • Veg oil
  • 4 slices ginger
  • 3 cloves garlic, peeled and squished
  • 1 small onion, peeled and quartered
  • 3 spring onions, trimmed and cut into pieces
  • 1 small piece fresh turmeric, sliced (if you have it)
  • 1 lemongrass stalk, bashed
  • 6 black peppercorns
  • 4 tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp black vinegar
  • 2 tbsp shaoxing rice wine
  • 2 tbsp brown sugar
  • 650ml water
  • Fresh coriander
  • Rice
  1. Brown the chicken in a little veg oil in a deep frying pan on a medium heat
  2. Once browned on both sides (doesn’t need to be cooked), remove it from the pan and add the ginger, garlic, onion, spring onion, turmeric, lemongrass and peppercorns
  3. Once these start to soften, add the soy sauce, vinegar, shaoxing, sugar and water. Bring to the boil
  4. Pop the chicken back in on top and push under the surface of the liquid
  5. Simmer with the lid on for 45 mins. Meanwhile, cook your rice
  6. Strain the broth, shred the chicken and serve together over the rice
  7. Scatter with fresh coriander, some fresh or pickled chilli if you like

Almond and cardamom cake

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I made this recipe as a mini cake, big enough for 2 or 3 people, but by all means expand it out x3 for a conventional cake size. It’s gluten free, squidgy and marzipan-ish, but still light and fluffy, and the cardamom adds a fragrance that perfectly compliments the almonds. I made this in the air fryer, which pleased me exceedingly, but you could use a regular oven

  • 2 eggs
  • 70 g caster sugar
  • ½ tsp almond extract
  • 70 g ground almonds
  • 1 tbsp GF flour or plain flour
  • Seeds of 5 cardamom pods, lightly ground up
  • Pinch of salt
  • 30g flaked almonds
  1. If using a regular oven, pre-heat to 160C fan (180C)
  2. Line a small round baking tin with baking paper – the easiest way to do this is to tear off an appropriately-sized piece and then scrunch it up. Flatten it out and it will press into the corners and around the edges much more effectively
  3. Separate the eggs and whisk the whites into stiff peaks in a small bowl
  4. In separate bowl, beat together the sugar, yolks and almond extract until mixture turns pale yellow
  5. In another separate bowl (trust me, it’s worth the washing up!) mix together the ground almonds, flour, cardamom and salt
  6. You’re going to combine everything in the egg yolk/sugar bowl, but one spoonful at a time of egg white and then ground almonds, folding them together between additions. The batter should be palest yellow and fluffy when you’re done
  7. Spoon gently into the lined tin, top with flaked almonds, and bake for 20 mins (either in the oven or air fryer)
  8. Once baked, leave to cool in the tin for 5 mins, then pick it up using the paper and cool on a rack (paper in situ)
  9. Serve with raspberries and marscapone. Or just eat it directly from the tin with your hands, you don’t have to be fancy