One of our favourite week-night recipes, this is somehow so much more than the sum of its parts. Though it sounds a bit fancy, ‘caponata’ basically just means ‘stuff’ in Italian – this is a Sicilian dish that’s excellent for using up leftovers and relies on store-cupboard basics for a great depth of flavour. Finely…
Real Bread: Chorleywood, sourdough, intolerance, flavour and health
In July 2011, a loaf of ‘factory bread’ was carried across the common of Chorleywood, a picturesque village on the outskirts of London, to the Beaumont House Care Home to be settled into retirement. The stunt was part of the annual Chorleywood Village Day, and intended to symbolise the sun setting on the additive-laden, time-and-nutrient-poor supermarket…
Coconut and lemongrass Thai cod with spring greens
The cabbage here could be substituted for leeks, wilted spinach or pak choi, spring greens or omitted entirely – perhaps serve broccoli on the side or mix chopped carrot, peas or sweetcorn into the accompanying rice. Serves 2 Ingredients 350g cod fillet, skin removed 1/2 lime, zest and juice, and another half to cut into…
Vegetarian burritos with easy refried beans, guacamole and tomato salsa
This recipe has been devised so the ingredients match up across each element, to make your life easier and save waste – so half a lime in the guacamole, half in the salsa; shallots in everything etc. Use spring onions if you have them, or regular onion – just use half an onion in the beans, and…
Sugar-free chocolate covered flapjacks
The ultimate combination of the fabulous sugar-free mousse and ‘baby crackjacks‘! Though free from refined sugar, these should still be seen as a treat – particularly for young children – as they have a lot of dried fruit in, which is high in sugar (but also high in fibre, vitamins, minerals etc), as well…
Sugar-free banana bread
Makes one very large or two medium sized loaves. Ingredients 4 large, very ripe bananas 180g dried apricots or dates 120g butter 2 eggs 250g self-raising flour 50g wholemeal flour 1 medium apple or 80g apple compote 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Method Preheat oven to 180C…
Baby’s first sugar-free flapjacks
This is based on a recipe that went viral among my group of ‘mum-friends’ – for a while, at any playdate, someone would pull out a tupperware of these flapjacks. They were so popular with all the children we called them baby crackjacks…They work with any dried fruit you have around, and freeze well. You can…
Sweet potato falafels
These freeze well, and are as good for babies (leave out the chilli!) as they are for party snacks, picnics or lunch boxes. Ingredients About 450g sweet potato 200g gram or plain flour 1 tin chickpeas, drained 1 small onion 4 cloves garlic A small bunch each of fresh coriander, parsley and mint 1/2 teaspoon…
Pork and ginger wontons
Steam them soft, bake them crispy, pop them in a soup or the freezer: wontons take a bit of repetitive work to make, but are easy, versatile, healthy and fun. Just think of the time spent filling them as a mindfulness exercise! A great party appetiser alongside a dipping sauce, or a comforting addition to…
Taste not waste: Strawberry and panettone crumb pudding
A quick and simple concoction invented around elderly things in my fridge and a bag of leftover Christmas panettone that I’d blitzed into crumbs and frozen. A bit like bread pudding with a fun souffle rise to it: you could use any berries of course, and substitute panettone crumbs for normal breadcrumbs plus a tablespoon…
Squash, spinach, mushroom and feta rotolo
A rotolo is kind of like a sideways lasagne or cannelloni – it looks impressive, but although like a lasagne there are a few components to it, it’s not difficult to make. It’s also not that heavy on pasta, so it’s lighter than lasagne and packed with vegetables. Serves 4 Ingredients 3 sheets of fresh…
Tips for making week-night cooking easy, interesting and less wasteful
How to make cooking every night of the week as stress-free and enjoyable as possible. Plan what you’re going to cook next week. This means you can make/marinade/prep ahead to make it easier on the night and more interesting meals possible, and also avoids that last minute panic at 6pm when you don’t have anything in…
Time to Cook 