Satay chicken skewers with noodle salad

Heads up, although this is from Jamie's 30 minute meals it definitely takes closer to an hour. I think it was worth it though - especially if your a big ol' fan of satay like me!! If your looking for something super simple, I'd go for just mixing peanut butter and soy sauce until it tastes goooooood, then storing that into whatever you fancy - typically chicken noodle stir fry if you are like me. Anyhows, if you fancy making the effort or are looking to impress, read on my friend...

Ingredients:

2 diced chicken breasts

2 nests of egg noodles

Soy sauce

one lemon

2 tbsp peanut butter

A large handful of coriander, chopped

Half a fresh red chilli (or one small one)

Half a red onion

2cm ginger, peeled

50g cashew nuts

Runny honey

Bok choi or similar, to serve

Recipe:

1. In a blender, mix the peanut butter, half of the coriander, 2 tbsp soy sauce and the zest of the lemon with a little water and half of the juice of the lemon.

2. Rub this mixture into the chicken and put onto the skewers 

3. Grill the skewers for 8 mins on each side

4. Meanwhile, cook the noodles in a pan of boiling water for around 6-8 mins then drain

5. In a blender blitz the onion, remaining coriander, chilli, lemon juice and ginger then place in a bowl with a tbsp of runny honey and tsp of both soy sauce and olive oil. When the noodles are cooked add them to the bowl.

6. Place the cashew nuts into a bag and smash them, then put in a pan and toast. Add to the noodle mixture and stir stir stir

7. When the skewers are finished, drizzle with some runny honey and place back under the grill for 2 mins

8. This just gives you time to quickly stir fry the bok choi in the pan you just used for the nuts (or steam it if you prefer)

9. Plate up, sit down, breathe, eat :)

Cauliflower crust, prosciutto, butternut squash and kale pizza

Phew, longest titled dinner ever! And that's without capturing the caramelised red onion and goats cheese elements too :P there may be a lot of ingredients to this but it's definitely one worth trying. The cauliflower crust means it can pass for healthy too which is always nice. I think next time I will bake it for a bit longer (I was worried about burning it) so it can be a 'pick up and eat with your hands' pizza.

Ingredients:

For the pizza base:

Half a head of cauliflower

50g grated cheese of your choice (I went for strong cheddar)

One egg

Salt, pepper and other seasonings of your choice

For the topping:

Finely sliced pieces of butternut squash 

3 slices prosciutto 

A handful of chopped kurly kale

Half a red onion

30g ish crumbled goats cheese

Salt, pepper, seasonings, olive oil

Recipe:

1. Rice the cauliflower using a cheese grater, then place in a bowl (no water needed), cover with cling film and microwave for 8 minutes to cook.

2. Preheat the oven and prep the butternut squash in a tray, season and roast for 10-15 mins

3. Once the cauliflower is cooked, stir in the grated cheese, egg and seasonings and stir until the cheese melts

4. Line a pizza tray with grease proof paper and spray with oil, then pour in the mixture and smooth down until it is a thin square / circle (/whatever shape takes your fancy)

5. Cook the base on its own for 15 mins until turning golden brown

6. Caramelise the onion in a frying pan with a little oil 

7. When the base is ready, place the onions, prosciutto, kale, butternut squash and goats cheese on top and then put it back in the oven for around 10 mins until cooked to your taste 

Caribbean salmon

Yes it's yet another salmon recipe! 

Like spice? Like lime? Like salmon? I do...hence this dish! Tasty and summery for a Sunday in June. Just remember to marinade the salmon half an hour in advance.

Ingredients:

Salmon fillets

100g rice

Diced cherry tomatoes

A handful of sweet corn

Chopped coriander

1 tbsp jerk seasoning

Grated thumb of ginger

1 lime 

100g green beans

Olive oil

Recipe:

1. Zest the lime and mix with the ginger, jerk seasoning and oil. Rub it over the salmon and leave to marinade for at least 30mins

2. Meanwhile, start cooking the rice and prep your veg

3. Mix the rice with the tomatoes, sweet corn and coriander 

4. Cook the beans in a steamer or pan of boiling water for 5 mins

5. Griddle the salmon for c. 5mins until cooked through with crispy skin (mmm) with the lime face down in the pan

Serve up and dig in.

Roast broccoli fettuccine

After a long cold day out I wanted something filling and flavoursome... Plus I hadn't been shopping in a while and there wasn't much in the fridge.... Here is the result!!

Ingredients:

75g pasta

1 small head of broccoli

Half a pepper

1 clove of garlic

Red pesto

Seasonings 

Recipe:

1. Roast the broccoli florets and pepper for 20mins with diced garlic and olive oil

2. Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions then drain

3. Stir pesto and seasonings through the pasta and mix in the vegetables 

Simples, done.

Aubergine goats cheese salad with flatbreads

It's official. This is the best salad in the world. And it's soooo worth making the flatbreads yourself! 

Ingredients:

Bread dough (see previous recipe)

Aubergine, sliced length ways

100g goats cheese, crumbled

However many slices of pancetta you can find

An avocado, sliced

Salad leaves

Olive oil

Balsamic dressing

Seasonings

Recipe:

1. Season the aubergine slices (I went for cumin and paprika) and roast for 20-30mins at 200 degrees  

2. Roll out the flat breads into thin circles the size of your frying pan ready to fry

3. Place the salad leaves, avocado and goats cheese in bowls / plates

4. Slice and very quickly fry the pancetta, then add to your plates

5. Wipe out the pan so there is no oil left and heat on a very hot hob until smoking, then place the flatbread dough in.

6. Fry for 2-3mins until bubbling with brown spots on the underneath, then flip and repeat. Repeat until you have done all the flatbreads

7. Drizzle olive oil over the flatbreads and season with salt and pepper 

8. Throw in the hot aubergine to your salad, dress and serve with the flatbreads  on the side

Asparagus and goats cheese pizza

I found this in Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's veg everyday book (which is fab btw!!) and have been wanting to try it out for a while. It was great; love a nice posh pizza!

Ingredients:

250g plain flour

250g strong white flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp yeast

1 onion per pizza

A bunch of thin asparagus per pizza

A handful of shredded goats cheese per pizza 

Recipe:

1. Mix the flours, salt and yeast and then add 325ml warm water and a drizzle of olive oil.

2. Mix and then knead for 5-10mins. Drizzle a bit of olive oil in a clean bowl and place the dough in the bowl, rolling it around until a film of oil covers the dough.

3. Leave in a warm place covered by a tea towel for 2 hours to rise. 

4. Poke the dough until it returns to a normal size then split into 3 pieces. Each piece makes a pizza, so if you need less than 3 freeze the rest in cling film. 

5. Roll out as thin as you can on a floured surface and place on a baking sheet

6. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees

7. Thinly slice and fry the onions

8. Scatter the onions over the pizza and place the asparagus on top, drizzle with oil, scatter on the cheese and season

9. Bake for 10-12mins until the pizza is golden brown and the asparagus tender

Fish skewers with coconut rice

I came home this evening after tennis and needed a quick filling meal, this was ideal! I was eating within 20 minutes of getting home - winner.
It was a nice summery recipe too, light but still substantial.

Ingredients (for 2 people):

2 fillets of white fish (I went for haddock)
1 pepper
1 courgette
Teriyaki marinade
Coconut rice (yes I cheated and used a packet cus Tilda rice is so good! You could make it with coconut milk and lemongrass if you prefer...but who has time for that?!)
Juice of half a lime
Spring onion

Recipe:

1. Preheat the grill to 200 degrees and soak 4 bamboo skewers
2. Roughly chop the fish and veg
3. Thread the fish and veg onto the skewers and place on a plate
4. Pour the marinade over the skewers and roll them so they are covered
5. Place on a grill pan, turning regularly, and cook for around 10 minutes until the veg is just browning and the fish is cooked through
6. Serve with the rice, mixed with spring onion and a squeeze of lime