Category: Recipes

The most delicious puy lentils

~ Sophie ~ Leave a comment

Inspired by a trip to Duck and Waffle where I blissfully ate their incredible puy lentils with toasted buckwheat, spinach puree, sweet onion, organic yoghurt, miso and nasturtiums – accompanied by a spectacular view across London. This is 100% less fancy than that, but still delights with maximum flavour and deliciousness.

  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 1 carrot, finely diced
  • 1 stick celery, finely diced
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 150g puy lentils
  • 350 ml veg stock
  • 1 tsp white miso
  • 1 sprig thyme
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 onion, finely sliced
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 1 pinch sugar
  • 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • Handful chopped parsley
  • 100g baby spinach
  • Plain yoghurt
  1. Heat 1 tbsp butter in a saucepan over a medium heat
  2. Tip in the diced onion, carrot, celery and garlic, stir and cook until beginning to caramelise
  3. Add the puy lentils and stir in the stock and miso. Add the thyme and bay leaf
  4. Bring to the boil, turn down to a simmer, cover and cook for 30 mins until lentils are soft
  5. While the lentils cook, cook the sliced onion slowly in butter with a pinch of salt and sugar until golden brown
  6. When the lentils are soft, stir in the caramelised onions, red wine vinegar, spinach and parsley and heat through
  7. Serve with a spoonful of plain yoghurt on top. This is amazing alongside roast veg and/or roast chicken

Swedish meatballs in the slow cooker

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So savoury, so soothing. A bowl of these tender meatballs in gravy could solve almost anything. Feeds 4

  • 1 onion, minced
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 350g beef mince
  • 350g pork mince
  • 100g breadcrumbs
  • 1 large egg
  • ½ tsp allspice
  • Salt and pepper
  • 3 tbsp butter
  • 2 tbsp plain flour
  • 1 tsp dijon mustard
  • 500ml beef stock
  • 100ml single cream
  1. Add all the ingredients for the meatballs in a bowl, mix until combined and homogenous. Shape into small walnut-sized meatballs.
  2. Add 1 tbsp butter to a big frying pan on a medium-high heat and fry the meatballs until browned all over but not necessarily cooked through. Fry in batches so you don’t overcrowd the pan.
  3. Transfer the meatballs to the slow cooker and get as much of the juices in too
  4. Then to make the sauce (you can use the same pan if it’s fairly deep, or just use a saucepan – I love not having to wash more things up, so I’ll always re-use pans if possible) – melt 2 tbsp butter over a low heat and slowly mix in the flour.
  5. When fully incorporated, add the stock and mustard. Heat to a bubble whilst continuously stirring. Mix in the cream, taste for seasoning and then pour over the meatballs in the slow cooker.
  6. Cook on low for 6 hours. Serve with mashed potato, rice or (for the full Ikea experience) chips!

To reduce the meat content in this dish, substitute 1 drained and pureed tin of green lentils for either the beef or pork.

And to make it gluten free, substitute the breadcrumbs for 3 heaped tbsp of uncooked basmati rice. Then cook the meatballs in the beef stock and cream without making a roux with the 2 tbsp butter and flour – instead, once it’s finished cooking, remove the meatballs and decant the sauce into a saucepan or deep frying pan. Heat the sauce to a bubble and whisk in a slurry of 2 heaped tbsp cornflour mixed with 2-3 tsp water. Cook gently until it thickens, then return the meatballs to the sauce and serve.

Vietnamese chicken noodle salad

~ Sophie ~ 1 Comment

It’s bun ga nuong! Fresh, crunchy, tangy, spicy and delicious

  • 6 chicken thigh fillets
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • 2 tbsp fish sauce
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp brown sugar
  • 2 tbsp veg oil
  • 200g vermicelli rice noodles
  • 1 baby gem lettuce, chopped
  • ⅓ cucumber, halved lengthwise and sliced
  • ½ carrot, grated/julienned
  • 8 radishes, sliced
  • Bean sprouts
  • Fresh mint leaves
  • Fresh coriander leaves
  • Nuoc cham dipping sauce
  1. In a medium bowl, mix together the garlic, lime, fish sauce, soy sauce and brown sugar
  2. Put in the chicken thighs, stir to coat in the marinade, cover and leave for an hour
  3. Cook rice vermicelli noodles according to the package instructions
  4. Drain and rinse under cold running water and then leave in cold water until ready to use
  5. Heat oil in a frying pan over medium high heat
  6. Drain the marinade off the chicken and fry for about 4 mins per side or until cooked through.
  7. To assemble the salad, drain the rice noodles and place on a plate. Top with the salad vegetables, herbs and sliced chicken. Drizzle with nuoc cham sauce and serve

Nuoc cham

~ Sophie ~ 1 Comment

Fragrant, pungent and tasty. Use as a dressing for Vietnamese chicken salad, dip spring rolls in it, drizzle over beef lettuce wraps. Yum.

  • 1 clove garlic, chopped
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • 2 tbsp rice vinegar
  • 2 tbsp fish sauce
  • 2 tbsp caster sugar
  • 1 red chilli, deseeded and chopped
  • 4 tbsp water
  1. Combine all the nuoc cham ingredients
  2. Stir until the sugar has completely dissolved

Crepes

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Thin and delicate and eminently foldable around delicious things. Like lemon and sugar, nutella and banana or cheese and spinach. But not all at once. Works with buckwheat flour too! Makes 6 pancakes.

  • 100g flour
  • Big pinch salt
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 60ml water
  • 200ml milk
  • Veg oil
  1. Put flour and salt into a big bowl
  2. Make a dip in the middle and add the water, milk and eggs
  3. Beat together briefly with a whisk or just a spoon until just combined
  4. Put a few drops of oil into your big frying pan over a medium-high heat and use a paper towel to smear the oil over the whole surface
  5. Pour a ladleful of batter into the centre of the hot pan and immediately pick the pan up to swirl the mixture out as thin as possible to cover the whole pan
  6. Cook until it starts to go golden around the edges (just a minute or so) and then flip and cook the other side for a moment
  7. If you want melted cheese (and why wouldn’t you?), put the grated cheese onto the crepe as soon as you flip it, and then fold it over to enclose the filling

Meatballs and noodles

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Meatballs, vegetables, sauce, noodles. Everything delicious, a brilliant quick weeknight dinner.

  • 400g pork mince
  • 4 tbsp dried breadcrumbs
  • 1 egg
  • 1 green chilli, finely chopped
  • 1 garlic clove, grated
  • 5 spring onions, finely chopped
  • 2 tsp sesame oil
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 2 tbsp veg oil
  • 1 inch piece fresh ginger, grated
  • 200ml chicken stock
  • 2 tbsp hoisin sauce
  • 3 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp soft light brown sugar
  • 400g fresh noodles, such as udon or flat rice noodles
  • 100g mange tout, sliced in half lengthways
  • 100g baby corns, quartered lengthways
  • Fresh coriander, chopped
  1. In a bowl, mix together the minced pork, breadcrumbs, about half the spring onions, the egg, garlic, 1 tsp sesame oil, chilli and salt
  2. Using your hands, roll into around 16 meatballs
  3. Heat the veg oil in a large, deep, lidded frying pan over medium-high heat
  4. Add meatballs and use tongs to brown them all over
  5. Remove the meatballs, turn the heat down and add the remaining 1 tsp sesame oil
  6. Add the ginger and cook for around 30 secs before adding the chicken stock, soy sauce, brown sugar and hoisin
  7. Stir to combine and bring to a bubbly simmer
  8. Return meatballs to the pan and put the lid on
  9. Cook for 6 mins then scatter the baby corn over the top and put the lid back on for 2 mins
  10. Then add the mange tout to the pan and cook with the lid on for a further 2 mins
  11. Add the noodles to the pan and use the tongs to fold everything together until completely coated in sauce
  12. Serve garnished with the remaining spring onion and fresh coriander

Squash with tamarind, cashew nuts and coconut

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Sweet and sour, spiced and fragrant. Beautiful shades of orange and red, you can use any variety of squash for this dry curry. Scoop it up with delicious dosa, naan or chapati. Feeds 4

  • 1 tbsp coconut oil
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • 15 fresh curry leaves
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • 1 star anise
  • ½ fenugreek seeds
  • ½ tsp kashmiri chilli powder
  • 30g fresh ginger, grated
  • 1 big red chilli, finely chopped
  • 200g tinned chopped tomatoes
  • 2 tbsp tamarind concentrate
  • 1 tbsp soft light brown sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 kg squash, peeled, deseeded and cut into roughly 2cm cubes
  • 1 generous handful cashew nuts, toasted
  • 1 handful desiccated coconut, toasted
  1. Heat the oil in a large pan. When it’s hot, add the mustard seeds which will sputter and pop
  2. Add the curry leaves and fenugreek
  3. Stir into the oil, turn the heat down and add the cinnamon, star anise and chilli powder
  4. Stir in, frying for 30 secs or so then add the ginger and chilli
  5. Stir and fry until fragrant, then add the tomatoes, tamarind, sugar, salt and 100ml water
  6. Cook over a medium heat for 5 mins until it forms a velvety sauce
  7. Tumble in the squash cubes and stir them gently until they are coated in sauce
  8. Cover the pan, lower the heat and cook for about 40 mins, stirring occasionally until the pumpkin is soft but not collapsed
  9. Add the cashews, cover and cook for a further 5 mins
  10. Stir in the toasted coconut and serve

Delicious with this split pea daal, and you’ll use up a whole tin of tomatoes if you make them both!

Dim sum dipping sauce

~ Sophie ~ 1 Comment

Make your dim sum happy.

  • 3 tbsp soy sauce
  • 3 tbsp black vinegar
  • 2 tbsp Szechuan chilli oil (including some of the flakes from the bottom)
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1 garlic clove, peeled and squashed lightly-but-not-disintegrated
  • 1 minced spring onion
  1. Mix all of the ingredients together about 15 mins before you want to use it. Then discard the garlic clove
  2. Drizzle, dunk and douse your dim sum in it

Mulled wine

~ Sophie ~ Leave a comment

A spicy-sweet alcoholic treat to warm the cockles of your heart on a chilly day. And doing it this way stops you from boiling all the alcohol away!

  • 1 bottle fruity red wine
  • 1 large orange
  • 1 satsuma, cut into thick slices
  • 4 heaped tbsp sugar
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • 6 allspice berries
  • 3 cloves
  • 6 gratings of nutmeg
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 star anise
  • 1 inch piece fresh ginger, sliced into 3
  1. Pare long strips of zest off the orange, dropping the fragrant curls into a large saucepan
  2. Halve the orange and squeeze the juice into the pan
  3. Add the sugar, satsuma slices and spices to the pan
  4. Pour over roughly a glassful of wine and turn the heat on to medium-high
  5. Stir gently while the syrup bubbles, the sugar dissolves and it starts to smell of Christmas
  6. Boil and bubble for 4-5 min before pouring in the remainder of the bottle of wine
  7. Turn the heat down and warm the wine through without boiling it
  8. Sieve out the spices etc and serve piping hot
  9. Then get another bottle out, squeeze a new orange, grab the sugar jar and re-use the spices because everyone is going to want more!

Extra lovely served with cheese straws, smoked paprika and almond biscuits or caramelised chilli nuts.

Confit garlic

~ Sophie ~ 2 Comments

The perfect purpose for a surfeit of garlic, the result is sweet, savoury and mellow. A brilliant jar to have in the fridge for all occasions – use the cloves to make garlic bread, add to mashed potato, smear under the skin of a roast chicken, jazz up pasta sauce, use in hummous etc. And of course use the oil to cook with, dress salads, make bruscetta.

  • Loads of garlic cloves, peeled
  • Enough neutral oil to cover (3 bulbs of garlic will need around 300ml oil)
  • Pinch of chilli flakes or stalk of rosemary for additional flavour (optional)
  1. Place the garlic (and flavourings if using) into a small saucepan
  2. Pour in oil until the cloves are submerged
  3. Heat over the very lowest heat for 30-40 mins, until the cloves are just starting to turn golden
  4. Decant into a sterilised jar and keep in the fridge