Mains – Page 5

Lamb siniya

11.04.2014 by georgie // 2 Comments

I’m starting to write more of my own recipes again, but this is one that caught my eye a few months ago when I was religiously working my way through a mound of cookbooks. It is from the fabulous Honey & Co book, a lovely book filled with delicious Middle Eastern treats from their Central London restaurant.

This recipe attracted me as it sounds like nothing I have ever tried before. It is very simple to follow and quick too (perfect midweek dinner). In the intro the authors describe it as a lighter version of a shepherd’s pie, to which I wholeheartedly agree. It isn’t stodgy, and goes wonderfully with salad and pickles. Definitely a recipe I will be making again and again.

As much as I would have loved to have shown you inside this dreamboat of a recipe ain’t a looker. It’s aaaaaall about the flavour.

Honey and co extract — Honey and Co extract

LAMB SINIYA (from the Honey & Co cookbook)

I made two alterations when I made this the second time. One being that I added chopped baby spinach to the base, as I like to get greens into our diet whenever possible, and it is a very beige recipe (works a treat). The second being instead of pine nuts on top I sprinkled crushed sesame and coriander seeds. Purely because my husband has a nut allergy, and also I love the flavour.

Serves 4 – 6 (very easily halve-able)

1 small cauliflower, broken in to florets
2 onions, peeled and finely chopped
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
500g minced lamb
1 teaspoon fennel seeds, coarsely ground
2 tablespoons baharat spice mix (or Lebanese seven spice mix)
1 tablespoon tomato puree
5 balls of frozen spinach or 150g chopped baby spinach (my added extra)
200g natural yoghurt
200g tahini
2 large eggs, free range or organic
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons pine nuts (or sesame and coriander seeds)
1 tablespoons chopped parsley, to serve

Place the cauliflower in a saucepan with a litre of water and a teaspoon of salt. Bring to the boil and cook for 5 – 6 minutes until the florets are soft. Drain and place in a shallow casserole dish (about 22cm in diameter).

Fry the onions on a medium heat in a frying pan with the oil and half a teaspoon of salt until the onions start to go golden. Add the minced lamb and another half teaspoon of salt, increase the heat to high and use a spoon to break the meat into small pieces. When the lamb starts to brown, sprinkle on the ground fennel and baharat spice mix and cook for 3 – 4 minutes. Stir in the tomato puree and spinach (if using) and continue to cook and stir for around 3- 5 minute or until the spinach has cooked down. (If using frozen spinach it may take a little longer). Spread the lamb mixture around the cauliflower. You can prepare this stage up to a day in advance – just cool, cover and store in the fridge until needed.

Preheat the oven to 180/ gas mark 4.

Mix together the yoghurt, tahini, eggs and lemon juice. If the mixture is very thick, stir in rough water to loosen slightly, a couple of tablespoons perhaps – the consistency should resemble thick yoghurt. Spread the topping over the lamb in the dish. Sprinkle the pine nuts (or seeds) all over and bake in the centre of the oven for 15 minutes or until the tahini looks set and slightly golden. Sprinkle with the parsley and serve.

NB: if you can’t find baharat spice mix, have a go at making your own.

Tofu and peanut bun cha

10.28.2014 by georgie // 3 Comments

I’ve spent a lot of my late twenties/ early thirties eating Vietnamese food. Heck, if we were tallying up take-aways and meals out, I would put a bet on pho being the front runner. I love it, it is my ultimate healthy eating comfort food (as long as it isn’t laden with MSG, I’m too old to deal with MSG hangovers now).

We live Shoreditch, a part of London with brilliant authentic Vietnamese eateries and shops; I honestly never tire of their offerings. We love it so much in fact that we went to Vietnam about 3 years ago, purely because of how much we love the food. (We now love the country too. What a place). My order will usually be along the lines of salt and pepper squid/ banh xeo and a pho. However occasionally I’ll mix it up a bit and order a bun cha. Perfect for warmer days, lighter meals and very easy to make at home (unlike pho where you need hours to get a good stock). Traditionally you’re looking at pork, prawns etc for your protein, but for this particular lunch I went tofu. It’s perfect for me during the day, a meal for one, easy to do, nutritious and delicious (albeit high in salt) and really quick.

TOFU AND PEANUT BUN CHA

Serves 1 (multiply as needed)

You could use crushed, roasted (unsalted) peanuts on here instead of the peanut butter. But I like the creaminess it gave the tofu, and think it works well once dressed.

Handful of iceburg lettuce, washed and spun dry
1 small or 1/2 a large carrot, peeled
A spring onion, washed
4 sprigs of coriander, washed
40g rice or sweet potato noodles
4cm piece of cucumber
75g fried/ firm tofu
Half a lime
A heaped teaspoon of crunchy peanut butter
A large clove of garlic, peeled
Groundnut oil
A tablespoon of soy sauce
1/4 – 1/2 a red chilli
A teaspoon of golden caster sugar
A tablespoon of rice wine or white wine vinegar
A tablespoon of fish sauce
2cm piece of ginger, peeled

Start by prepping the veg. Shred the lettuce, finely slice the spring onion, julienne the carrot and cucumber and roughly chop the coriander. Cook the noodles according to packet instructions and leave to one side. Make the dressing by mixing together the caster sugar, vinegar, fish sauce and 50ml of boiling water. Finely grate in the ginger and whisk.

Place a small non-stick pan on a medium heat and add a lug of groundnut oil. Finely slice the garlic, finely chop the chilli and chop the tofu into 2-3cm chunks. Add everything to the pan and fry until lightly golden all over. Add the soy sauce and peanut butter and coat the tofu, frying for a further 1 – 2 minutes.

Pour the dressing into a large bowl. Top with the noodles and then arrange the chopped veg and coriander all around it. Spoon the tofu into the middle and then toss everything together, with the squeezed lime half.

My new favourite lunch

10.09.2014 by georgie // 1 Comment

My fridge looks pretty bare right now, but being a little broke and a little lazy (it’s raining) I was adamant to create something delicious and nutritious from what I had at home. And I think I might have just done that. Heck, even if no one else is on board, I think I’ve just created my new favourite lunch.

It ticks a lot of boxes this recipe: unrefined carbs, protein, veg, packed with flavour and I feel virtuous eating it. I love satay style foods, with gado gado being one of my favourite things ever. However with peanut allergic husband its no-go in this house, so I am always looking for ways to create that ‘nutty’ texture, without using nuts. Tahini is great for this, as is my new favourite thing, seed butters. There is a lady at our local food market who sells a range of nut and seed butters and at the moment I have a tub of pumpkin seed butter on the go. It makes a great snack, keeps well and as I have also found out, is a dream in salad dressings. Also its pretty darn good for you.

Mushroom and spinach noodles with lime and ginger dressing — Mushroom and spinach noodles with ginger and lime dressing

MUSHROOM AND SPINACH NOODLES WITH GINGER AND LIME DRESSING

Serves 1 (multiply as needed…)

2 teaspoons pumpkin seed butter (available at most health shops) or use peanut butter if you like
3 teaspoons coconut oil or other unflavoured oil (avocado oil would be good too)
2 teaspoons low salt soy sauce
2cm piece of ginger, peeled
1/4 red chilli (tip: I freeze red chillies, makes them easier to use and finely grate)
Half a juicy lime
1 teaspoon runny honey
a few springs of coriander and mint, leaves picked
50g brown rice noodles (or use normal rice noodle is you can’t get brown rice ones)
5 closed cup mushrooms, wiped
Large clove of garlic, peeled
2 balls of frozen spinach (you can used fresh if you like. A large handful of washed baby spinach, chopped would work)
1 large free range egg (omit to make vegan, or if you just don’t fancy it)

Start by finely slicing the garlic, and slicing the mushrooms. Put 2 teaspoons of your chosen oil in a small non-stick pan, and place on a medium-low heat. Add the garlic and mushrooms and fry for 6 – 8 minutes until golden, and any water has evaporated.

Whilst the mushrooms are frying cook your rice noodles according to packet instructions and leave to one side, in cold water until needed.

Soon as the mushrooms look a little golden add the frozen spinach and turn the heat down to low. Stir occasionally to soften, they should take 3-4 minutes to cook down.

Meanwhile make the dressing by mixing together the pumpkin seed butter, remaining oil, honey, lime juice and soy and finely grate in the ginger and most of the chilli. If you chilli isn’t frozen and won’t grate, then just finely chop it. Chop the coriander and mint leaves and stir most of them into the dressing.

Once the spinach and mushrooms are cooked, crack your egg into a small bowl and whisk. Add to the pan and ripple into the veg until it is just cooked through. If you aren’t adding egg just skip that bit and add the drained noodles straight to the pan. Toss everything together well, then remove from the heat and stir in the dressing. Mix together and plate up. Garnish with the remaining chopped herbs and a little more grated/ chopped chilli. Heavenly.