Cinnamon Salmon with harissa youghurt

I've never cooked salmon with cinnamon before, but this has gone straight into my top 5 for speedy, tasty, easy meals! Plus it ticks the healthy box which is always good :)

Ingredients:

1 salmon breast per person

3 tsp Cinnamon

Handful of chopped coriander

Olive oil

1 tbsp Honey

75g Couscous (per person)

100ml greek yoghurt

1 tbsp harissa paste

Recipe:

1. Place the couscous in a bowl with the chopped coriander, 1 tsp of cinnamon and seasoning. Cover with boiling water and leave to absorb for 10 mins
2. In a small bowl mix the honey, remaining cinnamon and olive oil.
3. Place the salmon fillets on a baking tray and rub the cinnamon honey mixture onto them
4. Grill for 12-15 mins until cooked through
5. Serve with a salad or green veg (if you remembered to cook them unlike me!)

Enjoy!

Halloumi, aubergine and harissa burgers

Ingredients (serves 2):

Half an aubergine (sliced into 4 slices)

100g halloumi cheese (sliced)

1 onion (sliced)

half a pepper (chopped)

2 tsp harissa

1tsp brown sugar

houmous

burger buns

salad

Recipe:

1. Fry the onions in olive oil until softened, then add the peppers and cook until softened
2. In a separate frying pan gently brown the aubergine slices in oil until tender
3. Place the aubergines to one side and fry the halloumi on a medium heat until golden brown
4. Mix the sugar and harissa in with the onions and stir through
5. Slice the buns and spread with houmous
6. Serve by placing the aubergine and halloumi in the buns and topping with the onion garnish, with salad to the side

Pancetta wrapped lemon sole with vegetables

Ingredients (serves 4):

4 fillets of any white fish (here I have used Lemon Sole)

8 slices of pancetta

600g new potatoes

200g green beans

2 lemons

vine tomatoes

balsamic vinegar

olive oil

salad leaves

salad dressing

Recipe:

1. Boil the new potatoes for 12 minutes, adding the green beans for the final 3 minutes
2. Cut the potatoes into halves and spoon both the potatoes and green beans into a large ovenproof dish, season with the zest from both lemons
3. Season the fish then wrap each fillet in 2 slices of pancetta and place on top of the potatoes and bake for 15 minutes
4. At a similar time, place the tomatoes (still on the vine) on a baking tray and coat with 4 tbsp of balsamic vinegar and 2 tbsp of olive oil and roast for 15 minutes
5. Serve immediately with a quick dressed salad garnish, a sprinkle of tarragon and a wedge of lemon.

Hearty tomato and basil soup

Ingredients:

3x 400g cans of plum tomatoes

2 cloves of garlic (diced)

1 onion (chopped)

1 stick of celery (chopped)

6 sun dried tomatoes (chopped)

250ml of chicken / vegetable stock

handful of basil (chopped)

3 tbsp of basil pesto

140ml pot of sour cream

Recipe:

1. Gently fry the garlic and onions in a large saucepan until softened
2. Add the celery and sun dried tomatoes, then pour in the tinned tomatoes and stock
3. Simmer for 15 minutes then blend using a hand blender
4. Stir in half of the sour cream, 2 tbsp of pesto and the basil leaves, blend again if required
5. Serve into bowls with a sour cream and pesto swirl

Stuffed mushrooms

A great way to use up left over roast veg and couscous, or make from scratch!

Ingredients:

Roast veg (peppers, aubergine, tomato, courgette) diced

100g Couscous 

Large flat mushrooms

Butternut squash

Salad

Cheese

Salad dressing

Seasoning

Recipe:

1. If you are not using pre-prepared roast veg; dice the vegetables and roast in balsamic vinegar and olive oil for 30 minutes
2. Slice the butternut squash into wedges, season well and roast separately for 30 minutes
3. Cook the couscous by covering with boiling water in a bowl and leaving to stand for 10 minutes
4. Prepare the mushrooms by carefully breaking off the stalks and scraping out the inside
5. Mix the inside of the mushrooms with the couscous, and stir in the roast veg
6. Stuff the mixture into the mushrooms and top with cheese (if you want to), bake in the oven for a further 10 minutes
7. Serve altogether with salad if you please!

Balsamic roasted veg couscous salad

Ingredients:

2 carrots

1 courgette

1 leek

a handful of mushrooms

150g couscous

Rocket leaves

Balsamic vinegar

Olive oil

seasoning

Recipe:

1. Roughly chop all of the veg and place into a large ovenproof dish, pour on 4 tbsp of balsamic vinegar to 2tbsp of olive oil,  season well and roast for 30-40 minutes
2. Meanwhile, pour boiling water over the couscous in a large bowl, season and cover. Leave for 10 minutes then fluff up with a fork.
3. Spoon the couscous on top of a base of rocket, top with the roast veg and dress with balsamic vinegar

Chicken with assorted roast vegetables

Ingredients:

1 chicken breast per person
4 asparagus steams per person
300g sliced butternut squash
1 pepper
200g mushrooms
2 chopped chillies
olive oil
seasonings of your choice (salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, chilli, oregano etc)

Recipe:

1. Rub the chicken breasts with the chopped chillies and olive oil, and bake in foil parcels for 30-40 mins at 180 degrees.
2. Season the butternut squash, peppers and mushrooms and roast for 30 mins at 180 degrees.
3. 10 minutes before serving, season and bake the asparagus spears, laying them side by side in a baking dish.
4. Serve with a drizzle of chilli oil, or an alternative dressing of your choice.

Thai butternut squash curry

A light vegetarian take on a classic Thai red curry

Ingredients:

3 tbsp red curry paste
2 tbsp coconut cream
400ml skimmed milk
3 chopped spring onions
500g butternut squash
12 halved button mushrooms
250g cherry tomatoes
fish sauce
small chopped bunch of coriander
cooked rice / noodles
1 lime (cut into wedges)

Recipe:

1. Heat the curry paste and coconut cream in a deep frying pan, add in the milk and simmer
2. Add the spring onions and butternut squash and cook for around 15 minutes until the squash is tender
3. Add the remaining vegetables and simmer for an extra 5 minutes
4. Season with the fish sauce (to taste) and serve with rice / noodles, with coriander sprinkled on top and lime wedges to the side.