2 onions, chopped 3 cloves of garlic, minced 4 carrots, chopped 1 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes 1 x 400g tin of butter beans (or any other white bean, cooked) 4 x 250ml vegetable stock 2 bay leaves 5ml dried thyme 250ml small pasta, e.g. elbows, shells, vermicelli 125ml fresh parsley, chopped salt and black pepper
Add some olive oil to a saucepan set over medium-high heat and fry the onion until soft. Add the garlic and stir-fry for 1 minute. Now add the carrots, tomato, beans, stock, bay leaves and thyme. Cover the saucepan with a lid and simmer for 20 minutes. Stir in the pasta and cook uncovered until done – about 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the chopped parsley over the soup and serve piping hot.
1,5kg lamb ribs 15ml dried origanum 10ml ground cumin grated zest of 1 lemon 2,5ml salt 30ml olive oil
Yoghurt Sauce: 250ml yoghurt 100g feta cheese, finely crumbled a handful of mint leaves, chopped 2 cloves of garlic, minced 2,5ml salt
Preheat your oven to 160℃. Add the origanum, cumin, lemon zest, salt and olive oil to a small bowl and mix together. Cut the ribs into individual pieces. Rub the spice mixture over the ribs and space evenly in a baking tray. Cook in the oven for 90 minutes.
For the yoghurt sauce: Mix the ingredients together and stand for at least an hour to allow the flavours to develop.
9 chicken breasts, skin removed Marinade: 125ml olive oil juice of one lemon 5ml salt 1 clove of garlic, minced 15ml oregano leaves, chopped
Slice the chicken breasts into strips and place them in a mixing bowl. Add the olive oil, lemon juice, salt, garlic and oregano and mix together. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for an hour. Heat a cast iron pan and cook the strips for about 6 minutes, turning occasionally.
Mix all the ingredients together to form a sticky dough. Add more flour if the dough is too sticky to handle. Divide into 6 equal portions. Flour a work surface and roll each portion to a 20cm diameter circle. Heat a cast iron pan until very hot. Add one flatbread to the dry pan and cook for a minute. Flip it around and cook for another minute or so. Repeat with the rest of the flatbreads.
Serve the chicken gyros on the flatbread with Greek Salad and Tsatziki sauce.
Search this site for the recipe for Tsatziki as well as Soft Flatbreads, which offers an alternative recipe.
Tomato Sauce: 45ml olive oil 1 onion, chopped 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 x 400g tin tomato purée 500ml water 4 sprigs of thyme, leaves stripped 1 bay leaf 20ml sugar 1,2ml ground cumin 1,2ml smoked paprika 5ml salt
Add all the ingredients for the meatballs to a mixing bowl and mix it through with your hands. Now shape the mixture into 30-40 fat sausages and place on a baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour.
For the Tomato Sauce: Add the olive oil to a saucepan set over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and fry until soft and translucent. Add the tomato purée and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the water, thyme leaves, bay leaf, sugar, cumin and paprika and simmer until the sauce has thickened. Remove the bay leaf and blitz the sauce with a hand blender until smooth. Set aside.
Preheat your oven to 220℃ and cover the bottom of an oven tray with a thin layer of oil. Transfer the meatballs to this tray and bake in the preheated oven for 12 minutes. Now put the tomato sauce back on the heat and add the meatballs to it. Simmer for 5 minutes. Serve with basmati rice as a main or in the sauce as a Meze.
250ml spelt 250ml fresh tomato, chopped 250ml cucumber, chopped 250ml marinated sweet peppers, chopped a handful of sprouts
Lemon Dressing: 62ml lemon juice 1 clove of garlic, minced 5ml dijon/wholegrain mustard 1,2ml salt ground black pepper 7,5ml honey 62ml olive oil
Cook the spelt according to the instructions on the packet and set aside to cool. Add the spelt, tomato, cucumber, peppers and sprouts to a large mixing bowl. Add the lemon juice, garlic, mustard, salt, a few grindings of black pepper and honey to a small mixing bowl and whisk together. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil while whisking continuously. Keep going until all the oil is incorporated and you have an emulsified mixture. Pour about half of the lemon dressing over the salad and mix through. The rest of the lemon dressing may be kept in the refrigerator.
1,5litre vegetable stock 750g frozen peas 250g broccoli 300g baby spinach 60g almond meal grated zest and juice of 1 lemon a small handful of mint leaves plain yoghurt, to serve
Pour the stock into a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the peas and broccoli and simmer until the broccoli is tender – about 5 minutes. Add the spinach leaves, almond meal, lemon zest and juice and mint and simmer for another 2 minutes. Season the soup with salt and pepper. Taste the soup and adjust seasoning if necessary. Blend the mixture with a stick blender until smooth. Simmer the soup for another 2 minutes, spoon into serving bowls and serve with a dollop of yoghurt.
45ml butter 15ml vegetable oil 2 large leeks, sliced 2 onions, chopped 2 cloves of garlic, minced 600g potato, peeled and diced 2litres chicken stock 5ml salt black pepper 200g mature cheddar cheese, grated 80g cheese and onion potato chips
Add the butter and oil to a large saucepan set over medium-high heat. Add the leeks and onion and cook while stirring until completely wilted and soft. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add the diced potato, stock, salt and pepper and bring the mixture to a simmer. Lower the heat to a slow simmer, cover the saucepan with a lid and cook for about 30 minutes. Check on the soup every now and then and adjust the heat as you go. The potato must be very soft. Decant the soup into a blender and blitz together until smooth and silky. Pour the soup back into the saucepan and place over a low heat. Add the grated cheese and stir the soup until the cheese has melted. Spoon the soup into individual bowls. Crush the potato chips in the packet and sprinkle a generous amount onto each bowl of soup. Serve immediately.
Place a saucepan on medium-high heat and add the oil to it. Add the garlic and onion and cook for 1 minute. Add the carrot and cook for another 3 minutes while stirring every now and then. Turn the heat up and add the beef. Break the meat up with a wooden spoon and stir around until loose and browned from cooking. Sprinkle the flour over the beef and stir through. Add the tomato paste, beef stock, red wine, stock powder, Worcestershire sauce, thyme leaves, bay leaves and salt and pepper. Stir the mixture and bring it to a simmer. Turn the heat to medium and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. You should now have a reduced, gravy consistency that isn’t watery. Taste the beef and adjust the seasoning according to taste. Spoon the mixture into a 18cm x 28cm ovenproof dish and allow it to cool. If the meat is cool when you add the mashed potato topping, the meat won’t cook through the topping.
Preheat your oven to 180℃. Cook the potatoes in a saucepan with boiling water for 20 minutes. Drain the potatoes and add them back to the saucepan. Add the warmed milk and 100g butter and mash the potato until smooth. Season with salt. Spread the mash on the beef and rough up the surface with a fork. Sprinkle the melted butter over and top with a sprinkling of the parmesan. Bake the cottage pie for 30 minutes until it is beautifully golden on top and bubbling on the edges. Serve piping hot.
Pour the chicken stock into a large saucepan and bring to a simmer. Cut the breasts into 5-6 pieces and add it to the stock. Cook the chicken until most of the liquid has evaporated and then break up the cooked chicken pieces with a wooden spoon. Set a frying pan over high heat and add the oil and butter to it. Fry the mushrooms for about 7 minutes, until it has caramelised and has a beautiful golden colour. Turn the heat down to medium-low and add the thyme leaves and garlic. Stir around for a minute or so. Now add the cream to the mushrooms and stir through. Spoon the mushroom mixture into the saucepan with the cooked chicken, turn up the heat and simmer gently for 5 minutes. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. The meat should now be creamy and fragrant. If you find it has too much liquid, simmer it for a while longer so that the liquid evaporates. Serve the chicken on couscous, rice or quinoa.
Place a large saucepan over medium heat and add the oil and butter. Add the onion and stir-fry it until translucent. Add the ginger, cinnamon stick, turmeric, coriander, cumin, curry powder and chilli flakes and gently cook the spices for 2 minutes while stirring. Now add the sugar, coconut cream and cashews. Bring the sauce to a simmer and then take it from the heat. Remove the cinnamon stick and blitz the sauce with a hand blender, until smooth. Place the saucepan back on medium heat and add the butternut and chickpeas. Cook for about 20 minutes or until the butternut is tender but do take care that the sauce doesn’t burn. Stir in the chopped spinach and peas and stir through. Adjust the seasoning according to taste. Garnish the curry with fresh coriander and serve it with jasmine rice.
My Whisk and I 