Vegetarian

PEA RISOTTO

Pea Risotto

Risotto…difficulty rating is nearly zero! However it requires constant attention so, pour yourself a large vino and get your spoon ready for a lot of stirring!
Serves 4
50g Butter

2 Shallots, finely chopped

300g Fresh or Frozen Peas (If frozen, defrosted)

1.7l Vegetable or Chicken Stock

350g Risotto Rice

200ml White Wine

40g Parmesan Cheese, grated

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Maldon Sea Salt and Pepper

Melt the butter in a pan and gently fry the finely chopped shallots.
Add 100g of the peas to a food processor along with a dash or two of stock, and purée.
At this point, add the rice and increase the heat a little and cook for one minute.
Pour in the wine and let it bubble until absorbed. Turn down the heat a little as you do not want it bubbling vigorously.
Add a ladle full of stock and stir really well until completely absorbed.
Keep ladling the stock one at a time and stirring until it is lovely and creamy and all the stock absorbed.
Now add the pea purée and the remaining peas, stir well.
Add the Parmesan and season.
Now add a little knob of butter and give it a good vigorous stir.
Leave to stand for a few mins, stir and serve in some shallow bowls topped with a few Parmesan shavings.
This can be eaten like this alone or if you have someone in your house that craves meat, a nice pan fried chicken breast would go beautifully with it!

#risotto #vegetarian #peas #lovefood #arestaurantinmykitchen

CREAMY MUSHROOM PASTA

Ok, I have to be honest here, this is not super low fat but it is super gorgeous!! Save it for your cheat/treat meal at the weekend!! As always everything in it is totally natural.
Another super bonus…my kids totally love it!

Serves 6

500g Pasta of your choice
Olive Oil
2 Shallots (1/2 Onion would do!)
2 Cloves Garlic Crushed
600g Chestnut Mushrooms Sliced(if you are lucky to have them, throw a few wild ones in!!)
100ml White Wine
100ml Chicken or Veg stock
100g Parmesan Cheese grated
300g Mascarpone Cheese
Handful of Chopped Parsley

Cook pasta according to instructions.

In a large frying pan, on a medium heat, add olive oil and sauté shallots and garlic for 2 – 3mins. Ensure you do not burn the garlic!

Add the mushrooms and cook until tender.

Turn up the heat and add the wine, stir until the wine has nearly all evaporated.

Add the stock and allow to reduce slightly.

Stir through the mascarpone.

Site through a large handful of Parmesan.

Add the pasta to the sauce and stir to coat it well.

Top with some parsley and Parmesan and serve!

WARM CAJUN SWEET POTATO SALAD WITH LOW FAT SPICY YOGHURT DRESSING

Warm Cajun Sweet Potato Salad with Low Fat Spicy Yoghurt Dressing

New Year, New start! You can rustle this up in a matter of minutes and I made double so I had some for my lunch next day! It will make no difference if you use ready cooked quinoa or cook it yourself!
The combination of the feta with the sweetness of the potatoes is lush…good carbs only!

Serves 1

75g Quinoa (cooked)
1 Sweet Potato cut into small cubes
Handful of Baby Spinach Leaves
Feta Cheese
Cajun Seasoning
Dash of olive oil
Maldon Sea Salt and Pepper

Dressing
75ml Low Fat Natural Yoghurt
Juice 1/2 Lemon
1/2 tsp Baharat Seasoning

Heat oven to 180c

Throw the sweet potato into a freezer bag, add a dash of oil and Cajun seasoning to taste and mix it up well.

Place the sweet potato on a heated non-stick baking tray and cook for 20-30 mins until soft.

Meanwhile make the dressing by simply using a small whisk to combine the yoghurt, lemon and Baharat.

In a big bowl, add the quinoa, put a large handful of baby spinach leaves on top.

Sprinkle with the sweet potato and feta and drizzle with the dressing.

Taste and health combined…boom!

LEEK AND POTATO SOUP

Firstly, a very Happy New Year to all my fellow foodies! I hope you will join me for another year of super tasty, healthy food.

I got today off to a good start with a rather tasty soup, you can rock this one out in a matter of minutes!!

Leek and Potato Soup

4 Leeks, white bits only, trimmed, washed and sliced

1 Onion, finely chopped

2 Medium Potatoes, peeled and finely diced

Glug of Rapeseed Oil

1.2litres Chicken or Vegetable Stock

Dash of White Wine

Bouquet Garni

Maldon Sea Salt and Black Pepper to taste

Dash of Milk or Cream

In a big pot, add the oil and heat. Chuck in the onion and soften for about five minutes.

Now add the leeks and soften for another few minutes.

Add a Dash of White Wine and the bouquet garni.

Add the potato and the stock and cook for around 15 mins on a medium/low heat.

Add 100ml Milk and stir.

Remove bouquet garni and whizz!

How easy is that!

TARKA DAL

This is super delicious, super cheap and super healthy! Eat with whole meal chapati or chargrilled chicken…

300g Chana Dal (yellow dried split peas) rinse them until the water runs clear
1 Onion, finely chopped
2 Green Chillies, pricked with a knife
1 tbsp Cumin Seeds
2 in Piece Fresh Ginger
3 Garlic Cloves, peeled and left whole
3 Tomatoes
1 tsp Turmeric
1 tsp Garam Masala
1 1/2 tsp Ground Coriander
Maldon Sea Salt and Black Pepper
A Handful of Chopped Coriander leaves
Coconut oil or Rapeseed Oil

Once rinsed, place the lentils and 1 litre water to a pan, bring to the boil and stir. Skim off any froth.

Reduce to a simmer, cover with a lid and simmer for around 40 mins. Add some more water if necessary.

When done, drain any excess water out, whisk to break the lentils up a bit. Set aside.

Heat the oil over and medium heat and add the onions, fry gently for around 6 mins, stirring to ensure they do not burn?

Add the cumin seeds, ginger, chillies and onion, continue to cook for another 4-5 mins.

Blend the tomatoes and garlic to a purée then add to the pan.

Now add the rest of the spices and 100ml water to the pan and stir well.

Add the lentils. Season and leave over a low heat for around 10-15 mins

If necessary, add more water.

Stir in the chopped coriander and stir. Lush!!!

Red Onion, Courgette and Feta Tart

Using a standard quiche dish, serves roughly 4

It’s Friday night, I have one too many eggs, and some other random ingredients rocking around my fridge! Add a cheat ingredient in the form of Ready to Roll Shortcrust (normally make my own, so this kills me a little 😂) and boom, I have a rather lush, tasty tart!

Ready to Roll Savoury Shortcrust Pastry at room temperature
2 Large Red Onions, peeled, halved and finely sliced
2 Courgettes, sliced
1/2 Block Feta Cheese
Dash of olive oil
7 Egg
75ml Milk
Maldon Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper
Flour

Heat oven to 200c

Dust your work surface and the surface of the pastry with flour to ensure it does not stick.

Roll the pastry out until it is really thin and fits the quiche dish.

Gently fit it into the dish, line the dish with grease proof paper and fill with baking beans.

Put into the oven for 10 mins, then remove the beans and put it back into the oven for 7-10 mins to crisp up.

Take out of the oven to cool.
Meanwhile, add a dash of oil to the pan and cook the onions gently for around 10 mins.

Add the courgette and cook for a further 5.

Set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, add the seven eggs and the milk and whisk up really well.

Season the eggs with salt and pepper.

Add the onion and courgette mixture to the pastry case.

Sprinkle with crumbled feta.

Now pour in the egg mixture.

Turn the oven down to 180c and cook for 35-40 mins until well set and nicely browned.

Serve with a nice green salad.

Simplicity at its best! ❤️

#vegetarian #tart

Tomato Chilli Jam

This wee number is fairly quick to throw together and definitely worth it! I served it with the Yoghurt Spiced Chicken Kebabs I put on my blog a couple of days ago, but it works with so many different things! Gorg with a gourmet burger, a posh dog or even some nice white fish to add a bit of extra special flavour! 😋❤️

4 Punnets Cherry Tomatoes, halved
220ml White Wine Vinegar
4 tbsp Caster Sugar
½ tsp Dried Chilli Flakes

For the jam, place all the ingredients into a saucepan and bring to the boil.

Reduce the heat and simmer for up to an hour until jam-like.

Cool and serve with spicy chicken, burgers or hot dogs for something a little bit different!

Tortilla Española

The simplest ingredients, combined creating a wondrous flavour! A cheeky touch of cumin adds a little je ne sais quoi! Eat for lunch or a light dinner. You can make in advance and reheat too or eat cold.

1 Large Onion, cut into very fine slices
3 Medium Potatoes cut into very fine slices
6-7 Large Eggs
1/2 tsp Cumin
Maldon Sea Salt and Black Pepper
Olive Oil

Add about 1 tbsp of oil to a large non-stick frying pan with a lid. Soften the onions for around five mins on a gentle heat before adding the potato.

Add the potatoes, season well and fry very gently for a few mins stirring from time to time to prevent any sticking. Put on the lid and keep the heat nice and low. Stir very gently from time to time until the potatoes are nice and soft, replace the lid. Take the lid off for the last few mins so any water evaporates. This generally takes around 15-20 mins.

In a large bowl, crack in all of the eggs.

Add a few pinches of salt, some black pepper and the cumin. Whisk up really well.

Add the potato and onion mixture and combine well.

Add the mixture to an omelette sized pan and cook on a gentle heat until it feels nice and firm.

When it is firm, using a plate slide it out and flip it over to cook on the other side.

Again cook very gently until cooked through.

Lush served with a nice green salad and some crusty bread. 😋

A Restaurant in my Kitchen

Create restaurant food easily at home!