Roasted Tomato & Apple Soup

A perfect winter treat - this soup is both sweet and sharp, thanks to the roasted tomatoes and sharp Granny Smith apples.

Ingredients (to serve 4)

1 Granny Smith Apple, peeled and rougly chopped
1 white onion, roughly chopped
2 cloves of garlic
1 can of chopped tomatoes
1/2 a leek, roughly chopped
1/4 teaspoon of smoked paprika
1 teaspoon of mixed Italian herbs
4 vine tomatoes, halved
1 1/2 pints chicken stock (or vegetable!)

Directions

1. First, preheat the oven to 180*C (fan). Next, pop the tomatoes into a glass dish and add 4 teaspoons of chicken (or vegetable) stock. Stir to combine, then roast in the oven for 45 minutes.

2. Next, fry the onion, leek, apple and garlic until lightly golden. Add the herbs and paprika, stir well and then add the stock and chopped tomatoes. Allow to simmer while the tomatoes roast.

3. Remove the tomatoes from the dish after 45 minutes - add 1/4 cup of water to the pan and put back in the oven for 5 minutes to loosen the baked on juices. Then, scrape the pan and add this to the soup - well worth it.

4. Add the roasted tomatoes to the soup and allow to simmer for 10 minutes.

5. Blend well in the blender and then push through a sieve - this will produce a smooth soup. If you like your soup with a bit more texture, omit the sieve step.

This improves with keeping in the fridge (max 2-3 days) and can be frozen.

Fiesta Pasta

I promised quick meals – this is really quick, tasty, reasonably healthy and cheap (so perfect for students). You can throw more veggies in to the dressing if you’ve got them on hand; sundried tomatoes, roasted peppers and courgette ribbons would all be delicious in this recipe.

Ingredients (for one portion)

1 cup pasta, cooked per instructions (any shape will do)

1 clove of garlic

1 red chilli (deseed if you dislike spicy food)

1 tablespoon of Red Pepper Pesto (roasted, find in Waitrose – one pot will last you a few weeks in the fridge, well worth the investment)

3 mushrooms (I used closed cap)

1 rasher smoked bacon

Directions

1) Chop the bacon into small diced pieces.

2) Peel and slice the mushrooms into long slices.

3) Chop the chilli into very small dice.

4) Chop the garlic into very small dice.

5) Place the bacon, chilli and garlic into a hot, oiled pan. Stir frequently for 2-3 minutes.

6) Add the mushrooms and stir for 2 minutes.

7) Add the hot pasta to the pan. Stir well, and add the Red Pepper Pesto in. Allow to warm through for 2-3 minutes until piping hot – stir to prevent the pasta catching on the bottom of the pan.

Serve with crusty bread or a light salad for the perfect summer lunch.

Time = Taste?

There's a myth knocking about the luxe ready meal market. If you want food like this, you will need to slave in the kitchen for simply hours to get something even halfway similar in taste and looks. It's a clever strategy. I'm a bit impressed. But I'm also a bit annoyed; time does not = taste, when time is spent in preparation. Was it not Delia Smith that made pastry in her food processor to cut time?

With this salient point in mind, I'll be posting some speedy (~15 mins cook+prep time) dishes that don't compromise on taste over the next few weeks. Of course, these will also be reasonably cheap -so that even the meagre student budget can stretch to a tasty treat.

Lemon Cake

When life gives you lemons, make cake! You'll need unwaxed lemons for this recipe.

Ingredients

Cake

250g unsalted butter
250g white granulated sugar
250g self raising flour
4 eggs, beaten well
Zest of two lemons (see 3. for tips)

Icing

Juice of one lemon
2 cups of icing sugar
3 tablespoons of butter

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180*.
2. Cream the butter and granulated sugar together.
3. Zest the lemons, and add the zest to the butter and sugar mix. Make sure you don't get any white pith from the lemons in to the butter and sugar, because that will make the cake taste bitter. You just want the yellow zest.
4. Fold in the flour and add the eggs alternately (flour, little bit of egg, flour etc) to the lemony buttery sugar.
5. Pour the cake batter into a cake tin and bake for 30 mins - check for doneness with a knife in the centre of the cake - the knife should come out completely clean. If it doesn't, just bake for 10 mins more and check it again.

Icing

1. Mix together the icing sugar and butter together until fluffy and creamy.
2. Juice 1 lemon and mix the juice in to the icing.
3. Check the consistency - it needs to be really thick and creamy. If it feels too loose, add more icing sugar.

***NB - before you ice the cake, make sure it is completely cool. We're using buttercream, which will melt into the cake if it is the slightest bit warm.

**NB - you will have a zestless lemon to use. This is completely optional, but you can always make a simple syrup (1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup water, juice of the lemon, boil until thickened and reduced by half) and pour it over the cake. It'll keep the cake really yummy, but please be careful not to add too much at once - add tablespoon by tablespoon. You can do this step when the cake is warm (in fact, it works best when it is warm). Ice the cake after you have put the simple syrup in the cake!

Quick & Easy Chicken

Well, hello there! I've been busy, but I popped back on to my blog to let you know about this gorgeous recipe :) It's so easy, fairly healthy, and it won't break the bank either - perfect!

Ingredients (to serve 4)

3 chicken breasts, cut into two pieces each (lengthways)***
2 slices of bread, made into breadcrumbs
1 egg
Paprika (smoked is nice!)*
1 teaspoon assorted dried herbs (marjoram, oregano, basil, thyme)*
Black pepper, cracked
Salt, to taste
2 tablespoons flour (any type)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 190*.
2. Mix together the herbs, breadcrumbs, pepper and salt. Place on a plate, shaken to a level surface.
2. Place the flour on a different plate, sprinkled evenly.
4. Beat the egg well and place in a shallow bowl.
5. Dip the chicken pieces (separately) into the flour, then egg, then breadcrumb mix. Make sure the surface is well coated, and set aside on a baking tray.
6. If you've any breadcrumbs left over, sprinkle on top of the chicken/fill any spaces where the chicken shows through. (optional)
7. Bake for 30 minutes until cooked (completely white throughout).

Suggestions


*Instead of a mixture of herbs, try one herb; basil is especially nice with a mozarella, tomato and mixed leaf salad, for example.

*Try making it spicy; add 1/2 teaspoon of chilli flakes and 1/4 teaspoon cayenne. Omit the herbs.

*These are really nice in wraps, with pasta or with yummy salad things or a mezzé selection (more on that later!)

Baked Penne Rigate

This is my take on 'macaroni and cheese'. It's a bit richer, and the pasta clings to the sauce a bit better than traditional macaroni. Penne rigate is 'ridged penne' - short quills of pasta with ridges in the sides. These ridges hold the sauce, as does the hollow middle of the pasta. Result? Delicious comfort food - quick to make, reasonably easy on a student budget and you probably have all the ingredients in the fridge!

Ingredients for 4 portions

4 cupped handfuls of pasta
50g salted butter
75g flour
200ml whole milk
1 egg yolk
125g grated cheese, preferably a medium cheddar - but pick your favourite. As a rule, something like mozzarella is too mild, and something like a sheep's cheese won't melt. Something reasonably strong and creamy would be ideal.
1 slice of bread, made into breadcrumbs*
15g grated cheese for the topping
Salt & pepper to taste

*Slightly stale bread is much easier to make breadcrumbs from. I tend to use the smaller side of my cheese grater to grate the bread, breaking up any large chunks as I go. You can also use a food processor, but this technique will give you gluey bread crumbs if you use a cheaper bread (eg, shop brought sliced).

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 180*C. Place a large saucepan of salted water on the hob; bring to a rolling boil.
2. Add the pasta to the water and allow to boil while we make the sauce. The total cooking time for the pasta is 15 minutes.
3. Grab a second sauce pan. Melt the butter and add the flour, and cook for approx 1 min. This removes any floury taste from the roux (mix of flour/butter). Slowly add the whole milk, whisking constantly over a low heat. Season to taste, add the larger quantity of cheese and mix until smooth.
4. Allow the sauce to cool while we wait for the pasta to cook . Add the egg yolk and mix briskly. You can leave the egg yolk out, but it's really tasty and adds lots of richness (without the need for cream).
5. Drain the pasta thoroughly with a sieve. Add to the pan of sauce and mix well. Empty into a greased casserole dish. Mix the remaining cheese with the breadcrumbs and sprinkle on top of the pasta/cheese mixture.
6. Bake for approx. 25 mins or until the top is golden.

NB: If you're going to store this in the fridge, cover it tightly with some baking parchment or cooking foil. When you reheat it, be sure to use the oven (not the microwave) and bake covered. Make sure it is piping hot (bubbling) and only reheat once. It will store in the fridge for about a day.

Roasted Vegetables: 3 Ways

This is another easy recipe - you can modify it to fit in whatever you have in the fridge. I wouldn't add any root veggies to this (carrot, parsnips or potatoes etc) but generally speaking anything else will work well. I'll pop some serving suggestions under the basic recipe; 2 vegetarian options (with ideas for meat eaters) and one carnivore-tastic one. Veggies will keep in the fridge for 2 days in an airtight container.

Ingredients for Roasted Vegetables

Enough for 1 of the below recipes

6 vine tomatoes, halved
1 red onion, halved
1 red pepper, cut into 1 inch slices
1 green pepper, cut into 1 inch slices
1 courgette, de-seeded* and cut into batons
2 tsp olive oil
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp dried basil or whole basil leaves roughly torn (keep the pieces fairly big, as otherwise the basil will burn!)
Salt & pepper to taste
2 peeled garlic cloves (do not chop these; small pieces of garlic will burn!)

Directions

*The easiest way I have found of de-seeding a courgette is to cut it in 1/2 and then use a dessert spoon to scoop out the seeds. There are other methods, but this is the quickest/easiest I've found :)

1. Preheat the oven to 190*C. Place a rack in the middle of the oven.
2. Make sure your vegetables are roughly the same size. Toss them in the oil, and then add the herbs, spices and seasonings. You can also do this the night before you intend on roasting them - the marinading time does  help, but it's not essential.
3. Put the vegetables in a roasting dish (high sides, deep) and make sure they're in a single layer. This ensures they will roast evenly.
4. Bake for about 30 mins. They should be slightly browned and softened.

Right, that's the basic recipe.  Each of the recipes below will serve 2 ravenously hungry adults.

Wraps

Fairly self explanatory! I tend to add either some grilled chicken breast (1 breast = 4 wraps) or some feta cheese crumbled over the top of the veggies. Before you place the tomatoes in the wrap, gently squeeze each half against the back of a spoon. From experience, tomato juice makes wraps fall apart, so we're going to remove about 50% of it.  Really easy, cheap and importantly, tasty.

Couscous

Prepare the couscous as per package instructions. Allow it to cool, then add the veggies (drained of any residual oil) and any remaining tomato juice. Toss with 2 forks, then add torn basil and a light spritz of lemon juice. This is really tasty as a BBQ salad, but you can also add some roasted chicken (dark meat is especially good). It is also deceptively filling (and really cheap to make)!

With Lamb

Really, really tasty with lamb shanks and some warmed pita bread. A tasty alternative to a traditional sunday lunch - equally good with roasted chicken.