Coriander & Chilli Sweet Potato Cakes

You probably know by now about my worrying obsession with fishcakes, I really do love them. I spent the day craving my fishy fishcakes but there was one tiny problem; I had no fish. Therefore I had to find an alternative way to fulfil my bazaar cravings. This was perfect opportunity to make use one of my favourite orange foods, the sweet potato. Sweet potatoes are packed full of vitamin A which is essential for strengthening your bodies immunity against infection. They also help regulate blood sugar levels and are jam-packed full of fibre, with nearly seven grams per serving - twice the amount of normal potatoes! Not only are they super healthy, but they're wonderfully tasty too. They have a delicious creamy texture and a sweet-spicy flavour which makes them the perfect component to a savoury dish. 

These sweet potato cakes are the perfect replacement to that fishcake craving, with the same mouth-watering crispy outer and squishy inner of my fishy fishcakes. To all you meat eaters out there that scowl at the sight of this vegan dish - stop right there! The chilli kick combined with a good seasoning completely transforms these sweet potatoes and stops you from missing any meat on your plate. Trust me, I'm a meat lover but would have them every day of the week if I could. The crushed coriander seeds and tomato puree brings the cakes to the next level. I like to enjoy these squishy orange delights on a bed of homegrown salad with juicy tomatoes and sliced avocado.

Makes 2 cakes

2 sweet potatoes

1 tsp hot chilli powder

juice of 1 lemon

2 tsp coriander seeds

2 dessert spoons tomato puree

1 tablespoon quinoa flour (or wholemeal flour/ brown rice flour/buckweat)

salt & pepper to taste

olive oil

Method

- Preheat oven to 200C/ Gas mark 6

- Peel the sweet potatoes and cut into equal sized chunks. Steam the chunks for about 10-15 minutes or until they're soft and easily pierced with a fork. 

- In a large bowl, mash the sweet potatoes with a fork until they're nearly smooth but still a bit lumpy. Grind the coriander seeds with a pestle and mortar. Stir in the crushed coriander, chilli powder, seasoning, juice of 1 lemon and tomato puree. 

- Mould the mixture into 2 even sized cakes. 

- To ensure a crispy outer, dust the cakes with flour, place in a baking tray and cook for about 7 minutes at 200C. Then place them flour side down in a frying pan over a high heat with a drizzle of olive oil. Leave for about 5-7 minutes or until brown and crisp. Do the same with the other side and flip the cakes over until brown and crisp. 

Serve on a bed of fresh salad and enjoy!

Savoury Pancakes with Avocado & Feta

Like a dog isn't just for Christmas, a pancake isn't just for pancake day. It was one of those days, when you look into the fridge and get that despaired feeling - how on earth am I going to make dinner with any of this? I always have plenty of eggs from my chickens and in the fridge I managed to find an avocado, one spring onion, some feta and a pint of milk. Great, so now what -  Scrambled egg? Omelette? In the larder, I found two more ingredients: flour and a large pot of sun dried tomatoes. Hey presto, savoury pancakes it is!

Savoury pancakes really are the ultimate dish to make when you look into an empty fridge or you simply just want to use up that last knob of cheese or that sad-looking spring onion. They're so fantastically simple and quick to make and best of all, they're so delicious. You can use the pancake mix as a base, then literally add any savoury topping you want. Whether it be ham and cheese, chorizo and onions or feta and avocado, I'll guarantee you it'll be delicious. 

This avocado and feta pancake is super healthy too! Avocados are one of the healthiest foods on the planet as they contain in excess of 25 essential nutrients. They also have some pretty awesome anti-inflammatory properties which have been well documented to help a range of illnesses caused by excess inflammation. On top of this, they help to increase nutrient absorption of other foods, they're high in fibre and provide a great dosage of vitamin K, essential for good blood sugar regulation. Needless to say, just the avocado alone makes these pancakes super heathy!

Feta is a healthy alternative to many other types of cheese, such as cheddar as it's lower in calories and fat. Spring onions naturally contain more plant-derived antioxidants and dietary fibre than onions and shallots. They also are packed with essential vitamins and are in fact one of the richest sources of vitamin K. I could go on for ever about the health benefits of these pancakes but I think it's about time we start cooking!

Makes 1 large pancake 

Pancake mix 

1 free range egg

15g wholemeal flour

15g plain flour 

100ml/3.5 fl.oz of milk

salt & pepper to taste

tiny knob of butter

Topping

50g of greek feta 

5 sun dried tomatoes, sliced

1/2 avocado

1 spring onion, finely sliced

Method

- In a large bowl, beat the egg. Add the flour and beat again. Then add milk and a light seasoning. 

- Put a large frying pan over high heat until very hot. Add the knob of butter and grease the pan to ensure the pancake doesn't stick. Then put the pan over a medium-low heat. Pour the batter mix into the pan and immediately tilt the pan side to side to get a thin, even layer of batter covering the base of the pan.

- Cook for about 30 seconds or until the underside is golden and flip with a palette knife. 

- Immediately add the toppings and fold the pancake in half, then half again. Slide the pancake onto a plate to serve. 

Top tip: If you have a very large pancake and struggle flipping it without breaking it, just leave it for 20-30 seconds longer, add the toppings, fold then serve. I had to do this and it still tasted great!

Enjoy!

Diced Lamb with Creamy Tomato Sauce & Quinoa

This lamb dish is beautifully simple and fantastically creamy, with a punchy paprika kick. It's certainly a dish to make when time and an endless supply of ingredients aren't on your side, but you still want something super light, healthy and nutritious to eat. Students, take note! 

I am a big meat eater and absolutely adore lamb. For me, there is nothing better than enjoying a roast leg of lamb, stuffed with apricots and a good serving of rosemary roast potatoes. However, when you are pushed for time, I'm sure roasting a leg of lamb wouldn't be top of your 'to do' list. This recipe is a creamy meaty delight and you will love it.  Don't be scared off by the term 'creamy'. It suggests that the recipe is highly calorific and high in fat, but this is certainly not the case. The secret behind it's creaminess is thanks to Total 0% plain greek yoghurt. It's thickening and fat free so therefore a great addition to any tomato sauce. 

Serves 2 

1 tin of chopped tomatoes 

1/4 of a freshly grounded nutmeg 

1 1/2 tsp paprika 

1 tsp ground cumin

300g diced lamb

salt & pepper to taste 

olive oil

1 spring onion, finely sliced.

3 dessert spoons total 0% plain yoghurt

2 cups quinoa, 4 cups water

Method

- Put a pan of water onto boil over high heat. Add the quinoa and a pinch of salt. Allow to simmer for 10-12 minutes. If it starts to boil dry, add a little more water. 

- In a large bowl, stir in the nutmeg, paprika, cumin & seasoning to the diced lamb. Put a pan onto high heat, add a drizzle of olive oil and cook the lamb for about 3 minutes or starting to turn golden brown. Stir in the tomato sauce and the yoghurt to the lamb. Let it simmer for a couple of minutes and until the lamb is golden brown. Taste and add more spices/ seasoning accordingly. 

- Whilst the lamb is simmering on a low heat, finely slice the spring onions. Once the quinoa is cooked, remove from the heat and stir in the spring onions.

Serve and enjoy! 

Fishy Fish Cakes with Coriander & Basil

Anyone who has been out for a meal with me will know that I am a huge fish cake fan. I think I can back this up with my Branca restaurant review…! When I have a fish cake, there is one thing that can really annoy me: an unbalanced potato to fish ratio. There is nothing worse than ordering a fishcake and all you can taste is potato. If I wanted a potato cake, I would have ordered a hash brown or a side of mash! OK, rant over but I hope you see my point. 

These fish cakes will never have the potato to fish ratio problem because guess what - they're 100% potato free! They're fresh, fulfilling and oh so fishy. They truly are the fishiest fish cakes around. You can make them in less than 20 minutes and they're so much better than shop bought ones because you can both control and know exactly what goes into them. If you make a large batch, you can always freeze them and save them to enjoy on another day. 

Makes 5 large fish cakes

50g hard white bread*

390g mixed fish (cod, salmon, smoked cod)

small handful fresh basil

small handful fresh coriander 

1 egg

 juice of 1/2 lime or lemon

salt & pepper to taste

olive oil

* I used stale bread as fresh isn't essential. 

Method

- Put the bread into the food processor until fine breadcrumbs are formed. Then add the egg, fresh fish, citrus juice, seasoning and fresh herbs and blitz until a soft paste is formed. 

- Divide the fish cake mixture into 5. Put a frying pan on high heat and add a lug of olive oil. Once the oil is nice and hot, add the fishcakes. You may need to cook them in two batches. Cook each side for 5 minutes until crisp and golden.

- Serve straight away with lemon halves for squeezing over, serve with beautiful veg or a crisp salad. I like to add a spoonful of mango chutney on the side for extra flavour. 

Enjoy!

Tuna Steak With Red Pepper & Spring Onion Quinoa

I'm a massive tuna fan and nothing quite beats this recipe. I got it from Jamie Oliver's cookbook The Naked Chef (pg 95) and wanted to share it with you. It is the definition of delicious simplicity which I adore. The fresh coriander and basil seared encrusted tuna steak is perfectly complimented by the light, fluffy quinoa gains and the slight crunch from the red bell peppers.

Tuna has many health benefits; it is low in cholesterol and saturated fat and high in healthy omega-3-fatty acids. There are many types of tuna, blue-fin tuna is the best quality and mainly used for sushi dishes, then big-eye tuna is a close second best. However they're both very expensive, so yellow-fin tuna is a better alternative. You will generally find better tuna in fishmongers, however supermarkets can also get good batches in too, so you just have to keep your eyes peeled. Oliver explains in his cookbook the importance of getting the right tuna steak. He suggests that when buying fresh tuna, look for steaks that are dark and evenly coloured, and have a tight grain without sinews. Good quality fresh tuna should be served rare or very pink, but you can cook it longer if you prefer. 

Serves 2

Seared Encrusted Tuna Steak with Fresh Coriander and Basil

1/2 small dried chilli 

1/2 table spoon coriander seeds

1/4 clove of garlic

1/2 handful of fresh basil, finely chopped

1/2 handful fresh coriander, finely chopped

salt & freshly ground black pepper

juice of 1 lemon

2 tuna steaks, 225-285g/8-10oz each, about 2cm or 3/4 inch thick

Red Pepper & Spring Onion Quinoa

100g quinoa

2 cups water

1/2 red bell pepper, diced

3 spring onions, chopped

salt & pepper to taste

Method

- Add 2 cups of water to the quinoa in a pan and bring to boil. Then simmer for 12 minutes. 

-  Whilst the quinoa is simmering, in a pestle & mortar, coarsely grind the chile with the coriander seeds. Add the garlic and mash to a paste. Stir in the basil, coriander and lemon juice. Season the herb paste with salt and pepper.

- Lightly brush a grill pan with vegetable oil and set it over moderately high heat until very hot but not smoking. Season the tuna steaks with salt and pepper and rub the herb paste all over both sides. 

- After the quinoa has been simmering for 12 minutes, add the diced red bell peppers, seasoning & chopped spring onions. Pick up the tuna steaks and you'll notice that not all of the paste will stick to the tuna, but that is fine as you can also add some of it to the quinoa. Put the tuna back onto the plate. Stir the quinoa for a further 2 minutes then serve onto a plate because the tuna only takes 2 minutes max to cook so, you can just plate it up straight away.

- Sear the tuna steaks for 40-60 seconds per side for rare or until cooked to your desired taste and put straight onto the quinoa. 

Top tip: try not to leave the tuna in the pan whilst fiddling around with the quinoa as it'll overcook. As said above, it's best to serve up the quinoa before the steaks are cooked so there is no fuss and you can plate up straight away. 

Enjoy!

15 Minute Tuna, Red Pepper & Quinoa Salad

This is one of my favourite dishes to make at the moment. It's particularly satisfying for a post-work out meal, when you are craving something filling, healthy and quick to make. 

Quinoa (pronounced: keen-wah) is amazingly versatile and can be added to any meal as a nutritious side or, in this case, as the foundation for the whole dish. It's packed with dietary fibre, phosphorus, magnesium and iron. It is also gluten-free and easy to digest. People who know me know that I love tuna. Nothing fancy, just the tuna you get out of a tin but guess what, it's another superfood! Not only can improve blood vessel function for weight loss, it contains high-quality protein, selenium and potassium as well as essential omega-3 fatty acids and B vitamins. The red bell peppers give the dish a beautiful crunch, whilst packing it with valuable nutrients, fiber and antioxidants. 

I could go on about how super healthy and delicious this dish is, but I think I've said enough. Put 15 minutes on the clock, let's get cooking. 

Serves 2

100g quinoa

30g red (or green)  jalapeño peppers

1 red bell pepper

2 cans of tuna

2 dessert spoons of ketchup

1 can red kidney beans

60g sun-dried tomatoes

salt & pepper to taste

Method

- Add 2 cups of water to the quinoa in a pan and bring to boil. Then simmer for 12-14 minutes

- Dice the red bell pepper and pan fry for 8-10 minutes. Whilst this is cooking, chop up the jalapeño peppers and sun-dried tomatoes then strain the tuna & kidney beans. Then add the jalapeño peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, (drained) kidney beans, ketchup and tuna to the bell peppers. Continue to fry for 5 minutes  on a medium-low heat and season. 

- To finish, serve the quinoa on a plate or shallow bowl with the veg on top. Garnish with chopped coriander or parsley.

Serve and enjoy! 

Thai Green Curry

I'm 19 years old, so it's about time I throw my own dinner party with absolutely no help from Mum. I promised my friends a three course meal and I chose to do Jamie Oliver's, Thai Green Curry for the main. I first tried this when Mum put on a dinner party for her friends, they were all commenting on it and saying how fantastic it was so I had a little portion to myself (the perks of being a waitress). It was the best thai dish I'd ever tasted. It was fresh and powerful and a dish I thought I would need many years experience to make..I was wrong.

This recipe may seem daunting due to the overwhelming amount of herbs and ingredients needed, but it's actually dead easy. The handy food processor is the hero to this recipe. You literally chuck in all the curry paste ingredients in, whiz it all up together and you're pretty much there!

Serves 4

Prep Time: 45 minutes 

Cook Time: 20 minutes 

6 spring onions, washed and trimmed 

4 to 6 medium green chilies, seeded and finely chopped 

2 cloves garlic 

1 tablespoon fresh ginger root, peeled and finely chopped 

1 tablespoon coriander seeds, pounded and crushed 

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste 

1/2 handful lime leaves, torn 

2 lemon grass stalks, trimmed back and finely chopped 

2 good handfuls fresh basil on the stalk 

3 good handfuls fresh coriander on the stalk 

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 

4 limes, zested and juiced

16 ounces (two tins) coconut milk 

1 handful chopped pistachio nuts

4 chicken breasts without bone and skin, each cut into 5 large pieces 

Method

- Put all the green curry paste ingredients in a food processor and whizz to a smooth green paste. 

- Marinate the chicken in a little of the paste for 30 minutes, then add a little oil and the chicken pieces to a hot casserole-type pan or wok. Fry for 4 minutes, then add the remainder of the marinade - it will sizzle and spit.

- Stir in the coconut milk, bring to the boil and simmer gently for 8 minutes until the chicken is cooked. Season to taste. The flavour should have a kick but be reasonably mellow - very fresh and fragrant. 

To serve, sprinkle with the pistachios and some coriander leaves and serve with steamed rice or noodles, and chunky coconut, tomato, cucumber and lime relish.

Enjoy! 

Have a lovely weekend x

Red Pepper & Chicken Summer Spaghetti

A 20 minute summer spaghetti sensation..good old alliteration at it's best. But it's no exaggeration. Mum & Dad were going to be back from work late so I knew they were going to be exhausted with it being the end of the week (yay!). Earlier in the day I saw a mediterranean pasta dish and its fresh, vibrant colours reminded me of those incredible pasta dishes you get on holiday. I wanted to produce something similar whist being cheap, quick and easy to make (students, take note). I find that measuring ingredients takes time and is a little tedious so I literally chucked this recipe together and you will be able to do the same if you just follow this...

Serves 4 

wholemeal spaghetti (75g per person)

1 can chopped tomatoes

4 dessert spoons cider vinegar

2 peppers (I used 1 red & 1 yellow)

1 large squidge of ketchup (about 1 dessert spoon)

salt & pepper

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 160g bag of spinach

cooked chicken 

1/2 teaspoon hot chilli powder (optional)

Method

- Boil water in a large pan. Insert spaghetti and leave to cook, stirring occasionally. 

- Dice the peppers and cook for 3 minutes. Add the cider vinegar and allow to simmer for 5 minutes. Then add the chopped tomatoes and ketchup, then season to taste. 

- Add the spinach, nutmeg, (chilli powder) and chicken. I just put half a whole cooked chicken in, but you can judge for yourself how much you think you would need. Stir and allow to simmer for 5 minutes. 

- Check the pasta is done. Sieve out the water, place in a presentable bowl and stir in the pasta sauce. 

Serve and enjoy! 

Have a beautiful weekend x

Tip: Before you serve, make sure you've tasted it to see whether it needs more seasoning. 

You could also add courgette in with the peppers.

Mum's Cod & Chorizo Stew

This is a quick and extremely easy recipe to make and I would highly recommend it to all you uni students out there as it's inexpensive too! 

Serves 4

4 fillets of fresh cod 

2 tins of chopped tomatoes 

6 spring onions 

Handful of torn fresh basil 

4 mini cooking chorizo 

Salt & pepper 

16 new potatoes 

2 handfuls of green beans

1 dessert spoon of capers (optional)

Method

- Preheat oven to 200Celsius / gas mark 6. Halve and par boil new potatoes until just cooked. Whilst the potatoes are cooking, steam the green beans for about 5 minutes (or until just cooked).

- Empty the tomatoes into an oven proof dish and place the cod fillets on top. 

- Chop the spring onions into small pieces. Then cut the cooking chorizo into small chunks. Season the cod with salt and pepper and add the chorizo, spring onions, torn basil and capers. Cover with foil and put into the oven for 30 minutes.

- Once the green beans and potatoes are done, take out the cod dish, remove foil and add them to the cod. Put back into the oven for about 10-15 minutes. The fish should be translucent and flaky. 

Serve and enjoy! 

Mint Pork Chops With Nutmeg Spinach

Scrumptious simplicity. Sunday evening, home alone and no food left in the fridge. A foodies nightmare. The only thing left was a pack of lamb chops and a bag of fresh spinach - perfect! Only two ingredients, but enough to enjoy a mini roast for 1.

Serves 1

1 Pork chop

 3 large handfuls of fresh spinach

Fresh mint leaves

Olive oil

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Salt & Pepper

Method

- Cover the pork chop with a little olive oil and season well with salt and pepper.

- Tear a few mint leaves and stick them on either side of the pork chop.

- Drizzle some olive oil into the grill pan over a high heat and place in the chops to cook. Leave for about 3 minutes each side or until golden brown.

- After the first side of the chop is done, place the spinach into the same pan and allow to wilt. Stir in the nutmeg and place onto a plate to serve. Add the pork chop on top.

Top tip: Also scrummy to serve with cooked apples and boiled new potatoes. 

Enjoy!