honey, syrup, fresh fruit or more yoghurt for serving (optional)
Instructions
Place the spinach and water in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high for 2 minutes, or until spinach has wilted. Stir and let cool slightly. Drain excess water (doesn’t have to be completely drained).
Please cooled wilted spinach, banana, sugar, vanilla and oil in a blender and blend until you have a smooth puree. Add egg and yoghurt and pulse to combine.
In a separate small bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt. Then add the dry mixture, half at a time, and milk to the blender and pulse gently until just combined. (Be careful not to over-mix, otherwise, pancakes will become chewy). Add more liquid if the mixture seems to dry -it should be pourable but not runny.
Heat a pan over medium-low heat. Pour pancake batter onto greased pan and cook 2-3 minutes or until air bubbles begin to appear in the tops of the pancakes. Flip the pancakes and cook an additional minute.
Remove from the pan and serve with desired accompaniments.
Easy Version – Fluffy American Pancakes
Ingredients
1 cup (120g) all-purpose flour
2 Tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 pinch of salt
1 cup (240 ml) milk
2 Tablespoons melted butter or vegetable oil
1 large egg
Green food colouring
Assorting toppings such as maple syrup, fresh berries, etc.
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 200°F (90°C), with a heatproof platter ready to keep cooked pancakes warm in the oven.
In a small bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, butter (or vegetable oil), food colouring and egg.
Pour the dry ingredients to the milk mixture, and stir (do not overmix).
Heat a large pan over medium heat, and coat generously with vegetable oil.
For each pancake, spoon 2 or 3 tablespoons of batter on to pan. Cook until the surface of pancakes have some bubbles, about 1 minute. Flip carefully with a thin spatula, and cook until brown on the underside, 1 to 2 minutes more.
Transfer to the heatproof platter, cover with foil and keep warm in the oven until serving. Serve warm, with the desired toppings such as maple syrup, fresh berries or banana slices.
handful grated or shaved parmesan (or vegetarian alternative)
handful cherry tomatoes halved
To finish
handful basil
Make the base: Put the flour into a large bowl, then stir in the yeast and salt. Make a well, pour in 200ml warm water and the olive oil and bring together with a wooden spoon until you have a soft, fairly wet dough. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 mins until smooth. Cover with a tea towel and set aside. You can leave the dough to rise if you like, but it’s not essential for a thin crust.
Make the sauce: Mix the passata, basil and crushed garlic together, then season to taste. Leave to stand at room temperature while you get on with shaping the base.
Roll out the dough: If you’ve let the dough rise, give it a quick knead, then split into two balls. On a floured surface, roll out the dough into large rounds, about 25cm across, using a rolling pin. The dough needs to be very thin as it will rise in the oven. Lift the rounds onto two floured baking sheets.
Top and bake: Heat oven to 240C/fan 220C /gas 8. Put another baking sheet or an upturned baking tray in the oven on the top shelf. Smooth sauce over bases with the back of a spoon. Scatter with cheese and tomatoes, drizzle with olive oil and season. Put one pizza, still on its baking sheet, on top of the preheated sheet or tray. Bake for 8-10 mins until crisp. Serve with a little more olive oil, and basil leaves if using. Repeat step for remaining pizza.
Buon Appetito!
For the burgers
1 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
1 red onion, finely chopped
500g lean minced beef or turkey
1 egg
12 cream crackers, bashed to fine crumbs
2 tsp chilli paste
2 tsp garlic paste
1 tsp each, tomato ketchup and brown sauce
2 tbsp plain flour
6 hamburger rolls, toasted, to serve
toppings of your choice (relish, chutney and salad) to serve
For the wedges
4 sweet potatoes, cut into wedges
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp paprika
Method
Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the onion for about 5 mins or until soft. Leave to cool slightly. When cool, put the onion in a large bowl with the mince, egg, bashed crackers, chilli, garlic, ketchup and brown sauce, and mix well to combine. Divide the mince into 6, roll into balls and flatten each into a nice fat burger.
Put the flour on a plate, dab each burger to the flour on both sides, then transfer to a baking tray. Wrap with cling film and pop in the fridge for a couple of hours.
Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. To make the wedges, put the sweet potato on a baking tray and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with paprika, season, then give them a good shake or shuffle around with your hands to make sure they’re well coated. Roast for 30-40 mins depending on how crisp you like them. Make sure you give them a good shake a couple of times to ensure they cook evenly.
When the wedges have been cooking for 10 mins, drizzle the burgers with a little olive oil and put them in the oven to cook with the wedges for the remaining 20-30 mins, flipping them halfway. 5 Serve the burgers in the rolls with your choice of toppings, and a good helping of wedges on the side.
Recipe week commencing 22nd June; Sweet and Sour Chicken
Ingredients
For the chicken
½ small pineapple
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 tbsp sunflower oil
1 onion, cut into wedges
1 red pepper, deseeded and chopped
1 green pepper, deseeded and chopped
1 tbsp cornflour
4 spring onions, trimmed and thinly diagonally sliced
For the sauce
1 tbsp cornflour
300ml/10fl oz fresh pineapple juice
2 garlic cloves, crushed
25g/1oz piece fresh root ginger, peeled and finely grated
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
2 tbsp soft light brown sugar
3 tbsp tomato ketchup
1 pinch dried chilli flakes
freshly ground black pepper
Method
To make the sauce, put the cornflour in a small bowl and stir in two tablespoons of the pineapple juice until smooth. Put the remaining pineapple juice in a separate bowl and stir in the garlic, ginger, soy, vinegar, sugar, ketchup and chilli flakes until thoroughly combined. Set aside.
Put the pineapple on a board and cut off the skin. Quarter lengthways and remove the tough central core. Cut the pineapple into thick slices and set aside. Cut each chicken breast into seven to nine even pieces (depending on size).
Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan or wok and stir-fry the onion and peppers for three minutes over a high heat. Coat the chicken in the cornflour and add to the pan. Stir-fry for four minutes until very lightly coloured on all sides.
Add the pineapple and sweet and sour sauce to the pan with the chicken and bring to a simmer over a medium heat. Cook for 4–5 minutes, stirring regularly until the chicken is cooked through and the pineapple is hot.
Stir in the cornflour and pineapple solution mixture and cook for 30–60 seconds until the sauce is thickened and glossy, turning the chicken and vegetables until nicely coated. Sprinkle with sliced spring onions and serve hot.
Recipe week commencing 15th June; Scotch Eggs
Ingredients
5 large eggs
300g good-quality pork sausage, skinned
1 tsp black peppercorn, crushed
140g cooked ham, shredded
25g sage, apple & onion stuffing mix
1 tsp chopped sage
1 tsp chopped thyme
1 tsp chopped parsley
100g plain flour, seasoned, plus extra for dusting
100g dried breadcrumb (preferably Paxo)
sunflower oil, for frying
piccalilli, to serve
Method
Bring a pan of salted water to a rapid boil, then lower 4 of the eggs into the pan and simmer for 7 mins 30 secs exactly. Scoop out and place in a bowl of iced water, cracking the shells a little (this makes them easier to peel later). Leave them to cool completely, then peel and set aside. Can be boiled the day before.
Put the sausage meat, pepper, ham, stuffing and herbs in a small bowl, mix to combine, then divide into 4 equal balls. Squash one of the balls between a piece of cling film until it’s as flat as possible (step 1-2). One at a time, lightly flour each cooked egg, then use the cling film to help roll the sausage meat around the egg to completely encase (step 3). Repeat with the remaining sausage balls and eggs.
Beat the remaining egg and put on a plate. Put the flour and breadcrumbs on 2 separate plates. Roll the encased eggs in the flour, then the beaten egg and finally the breadcrumbs. Can be prepared up to a day in advance.
To cook the eggs, heat 5cm of the oil in a wide saucepan or wok until it reaches 160C on a cooking thermometer or until a few breadcrumbs turn golden after 10 secs in the oil (step 4). Depending on the size of your pan, lower as many eggs as you can into the oil (step 5), and cook for 8-10 mins until golden and crispy (step 6). Drain on kitchen paper, leave to cool a little, then serve halved with some piccalilli.
Heat the oven to 190C/170C Fan/Gas 5. Line a 20x30cm/8x12in baking tin with baking paper.
Gently melt the butter and the sugar together in a large pan. Once melted, take off the heat and add the chocolate. Stir until melted.
Beat in the eggs, then stir in the rest of the ingredients.
Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 30–40 minutes, or until the top of the brownie is firm but the inside still feels soft.
Take out of the oven and cool in the tin. Cut into 5cm/2in squares when cool.
Recipe week commencing 1st June; Lasagne al Forno
Ingredients
For the ragu
2 tbsp olive oil
900g/2lb beef mince
2 onions, roughly chopped
4 sticks celery, diced (optional)
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 level tbsp plain flour
150ml/¼ pint beef stock
1 tbsp redcurrant jelly (optional) or 1 tsp caster sugar
3 tbsp tomato purée
1 tbsp chopped thyme
2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes
For the white sauce
50g/2oz butter
50g/2oz plain flour
750ml/1¼ pint hot milk
2 tsp Dijon mustard
50g/2oz Parmesan, finely grated
salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the lasagne
12 lasagne sheets
75g/3oz mature cheddar, grated
Method
Preheat the oven to160C/325F/Gas 3.
For the ragu, heat a large frying pan until hot and add the oil. Cook the mince until browned all over. Remove from the heat and transfer to a plate. Add the onion, celery (if using) and garlic to the pan and cook until softened. Return the meat to the pan and stir in the flour. Add the stock and bring to the boil. Add the redcurrant jelly (or sugar), tomato purée and thyme, then stir well.
Stir in the canned tomatoes. Bring to the boil again, cover and simmer in the oven for 1-½ hours, or until the beef is tender.
For the white sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the flour and cook over the heat for one minute. Gradually whisk in the hot milk, whisking until thickened. Add the Dijon mustard and parmesan cheese and season well with salt and pepper.
For the lasagne, put one-third of the meat sauce in the base of a 2.3 litre/4 pint shallow ovenproof dish. Spoon one-third of the white sauce on top. Arrange one layer of lasagne sheets on top. Season. Spoon half of the remaining meat sauce on top and then half of the white sauce. Put another layer of lasagne sheets on top, then the remaining meat sauce and remaining white sauce. Sprinkle over the cheddar cheese.
Leave for six hours before cooking so that the pasta can start to soften.
Preheat the oven temperature to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
Cook in the middle of the oven for about 45 minutes- or until golden brown on top, bubbling around the edges and the pasta is soft.
leftover chicken, shredded, or other cold meat such as turkey
1 green or red pepper, seeds removed, finely diced
small handful coriander leaves, chopped, plus extra to garnish (optional)
soured cream and guacamole, to serve (optional)
Method
For the salsa, mix all of the salsa ingredients together in a bowl and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
For the quesadillas, lay two of the tortillas out on a flat surface. Top each with the cheese, followed by the chicken, peppers and coriander. Place the remaining tortillas on top and press down gently.
Heat a frying pan over a medium hot and add one of the quesadillas to the pan. Fry, without adding any oil, for 2-3 minutes on each side or until the tortilla is crisp, the cheese melted and the chicken heated through thoroughly. Keep warm whilst you cook the second quesadillas.
To serve, cut the quesadillas into quarters arrange on plates. Spoon a little soured cream on top, garnish with coriander and serve with the salsa and guacamole on the side.
Recipe week commencing 11th May; Sausage Rolls
Ingredients
12 sausages
2 slices white bread, whizzed into crumbs
2 tbsp chopped sage
500g pack puff pastry
3 tbsp caramelised onions
flour, for dusting
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 tsp sesame seeds
Method
Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Squeeze the meat from the sausages and mix with the crumbs and sage. Halve the pastry into 2 rectangular blocks. On a floured surface, roll each block lengthways only until you have 2 thin sheets, about 20 x 45-50cm.
Thinly spread the onions in a strip over the pastry, leaving a 3cm border along one long edge of each sheet. Divide the meat along the onions, shaping into a smooth roll, then brush just the border with beaten egg. Fold excess pastry over the meat and press to stick to the eggy border. Trim this edge, tuck under slightly to hold, then brush all over with egg. Scatter with seeds and slice each roll into 5. Bake on baking sheets for 35-40 mins until golden and cooked through. Once cool, freeze in bags. Defrost overnight in fridge.
Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Butter and line a 900g loaf tin with baking parchment. Beat the butter and sugar with an electric whisk until creamy. Whisk in the honey, egg, milk, spices and a pinch of salt (don’t worry if it curdles slightly, it will become a loose batter), then fold in the flour.
Tip into the prepared loaf tin and bake for 45 mins until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Leave the cake to cool for 10 mins, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
For the glaze, melt the butter and honey in a small pan until smooth. Leave to cool until thickened, then drizzle over the top of the cooled cake. Leave to set before serving.
Recipe week commencing 27th April; Creamy Linguine with Prawns
Ingredients
175g linguine
2 tsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, finely sliced
100ml white wine
2 tbsp reduced-fat crème fraîche
juice ½ lemon (or to taste)
2 handfuls (150g) raw peeled prawns
small bunch chives, finely chopped
Method
Cook the pasta. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a pan and gently fry the garlic for 2 mins. Tip in the wine and bubble over a high heat for 1 min, then lower the heat and stir in the crème fraîche and lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and plenty of black pepper. Simmer for 1 min to reduce a little, then add the prawns and simmer in the sauce until just pink.
Drain the pasta and tip into the sauce with half the chives. Use tongs to mix everything together. Divide between 2 shallow bowls and sprinkle with the remaining chives.
Recipe week commencing 20th April; Katsu Curry
Ingredients
4 tbsp vegetable oil
½ large cucumber, peeled into ribbons
handful of mint leaves or coriander leaves, or both
lime wedges, to serve
For the curry sauce
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 onions, chopped
2 large carrots, chopped, plus 1 peeled into ribbons
2 garlic cloves, crushed
thumb-sized piece ginger, peeled and grated or finely chopped
1 tbsp curry powder, mild or medium depending on your spice tolerance
½ tsp ground turmeric
400ml can coconut milk
2 tsp maple syrup (or use honey if not cooking for vegans)
For the Katsu
1 tbsp cornflour
8 chicken mini fillets, or a 280-300g block firm tofu, or half and half
200g breadcrumbs (gluten-free if necessary)
Method
First, make the curry sauce. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan, cook the onions and chopped carrots until the onions are soft and starting to caramelise about 8 mins. Add the garlic and ginger and sizzle for another 30 secs, then stir in the curry powder and turmeric. Once the spices are warmed through, add the coconut milk, maple syrup or honey and 100ml water. Season well, cover and simmer over a low heat for 20 mins.
Now make the Katsu. In a wide bowl, mix the cornflour with 4 tbsp water and some seasoning. Dip the chicken or tofu into the flour mixture (if cooking for both vegans and meat-eaters, make sure you dip the tofu first to avoid mixing it with meat). Place the breadcrumbs in another bowl and dip the chicken or tofu in it, turning until well coated.
When the onions and carrots in the curry sauce are soft, blitz using a hand or table-top blender. If the sauce is too thick, add a little more water, check the seasoning, adding more salt, maple syrup or some lime juice, if you like. Keep warm.
Heat the oil in a frying pan and cook the chicken or tofu for 4-5 mins on each side until golden and cooked through.
Serve with warm the rice. Top with the curry sauce, katsu chicken or tofu, and add the cucumber, carrot ribbons, herbs and lime wedges.