Parmesan and Herb Crusted Cod with Garlic Vine Tomatoes and Roasted New Potatoes

Parmesan and herb crusted cod served with extra green veg

 

Happy Wednesday eveyone!

- I'm saying that sarcastically. Can you tell?

 

On Monday it seems l set myself up for a bit of a fall. With all the best intentions in the world l said that on Wednesdays l would try to keep posting my recently developed recipes.

 

Low and behold just two days later when l should be writing up my latest post, I'm in the office working late.

 

I'm not going to complain though, l get paid 1.5x my hourly rate AND there's a special cupboard that gets opened at 6:30 full of sweets, fizzy drinks, biscuits and more!

l need to make the most if it because when l'm a trainee many of these perks will disappear.

 

A bit of local history
- Check out the inscription -
"Metropolitan Drinking Fountain and Cattle Association"
I love Smithfields!

BUT less about work. l may have struggled to get pen to paper but I've still had plenty of time to cook!

 

Some of you will already be familliar with my healthy fish and chips. This is an evolution of that same dish!

 

The idea is that the flavour of the bread crumbs is ramped up with lashings of parmesan and traditionally ltalian herbs. The health factor comes from the oven roasted vine tomatoes cooked with garlic (which is great for your heart) and olive oil, one of the so called good fats.

No meal would be complete - or should l say balanced - without some carbs so the fish is lovingly served up with new potatoes roasted in the oven.

 

Have you noticed the real selling point of this meal yet though? It all just goes in the oven.

 

No pots and pans or complicated techniques!

 

And that's why this is a fab mid-week meal!

Italian Turkey Burgers

The leaning tower of Turkey Burgers

Last week I gave you the chance to vote on which recipe you’d like to see on the blog next in a poll on my Facebook page. I’d got a few ideas floating around but I’ve been so busy what with my final exams at law school and looking for a job, I hadn’t quite had the chance to put pen to paper so to speak.

Those of you that voted decided you wanted to see my Italian Turkey Burgers!

I used to make burgers a lot at university and over the last few months I’ve reignited my passion for them. Not only is it slowly but surely becoming BBQ season – the time during which burgers are king – I’ve also recently bought a burger press so I can finally produce professional looking patties.

The patties

What I love most about a burger is that you can flavour it with almost anything!

The meat you choose is your base. I find beef is particularly good with deep flavours. It is stronger than turkey mince so can take the addition of smokey BBQ flavours, as well as salty cheese. Turkey mince on the other hands requires more delicate flavouring.

This burger is very much a “light” burger – not only because it’s made with turkey mince which is leaner than beef mince, but because it is built up in its bun with fresh spinach, succulent beef tomato slices and creamy (low fat) mozzarella as well as sweet caramelised onion rings. Each layer is carefully selected to bring a fresh, summery (and Italian) flavour to the burger.

Arancini – Crispy (Leftover) Risotto Balls

Cripsy Risotto Balls

Hands up if you have ever cooked a delicious risotto only to realise you had used twice as much rice as you needed to, and you now have enough to feed a small army?

I thought so...

It happens to the best of us. Before the grains of rice have plumped and swollen it’s easy to convince yourself just to add another half a cup or so more and before you know it your pan is overflowing with the stuff.

But fear not! Never again will you have to throw away tasty, leftover risotto! This recipe is incredibly simple to follow, and deliberately so.

It is thought that arancini originates from Sicily, though there are similar recipes elsewhere in Italy. They are often stuffed with a meat sauce or even cheese, but so that you don’t have to buy in any extra ingredients to make these, I’ve decided to give you a basic recipe and method so that you can use any leftover risotto you might have.

[Matcha May] Matcha Tiramisu Cake

Matcha Tiramisu Cake

When I heard that teapigs  were holding ‘Matcha May’ I just knew I had to get involved. I am a HUGE matcha fan - obsessed with the stuff - so I dropped them a line and before I knew it a sample was on its way. A sample I could experiment with...

The idea behind Matcha May is to get people talking about all things matcha, and to tell everyone and anyone who will listen just how great it is.

I’ve been drinking Matcha for quite a whole now and it definitely gives you more energy. I’d also agree that it is more slow releasing than your regular tea, coffee or bottle of coke. This means that you don’t get that mid morning, pre-lunch caffeine crash!

As much as I love Matcha I won’t lie to you, it can be a bit of an expensive habit. If you have the money then I highly suggest you take it up and keep to it – especially if those stats are correct.

Because it’s a little bit pricey I’ve always been a bit wary to experiment with it, instead I simply drink it in the traditional way (or as close as you can get to doing so in an English town.) But I’ve finally decided to see what else Matcha offers in terms of cooking.

Although it was originally only used in Japan for tea ceremonies it is now used in a whole variety of dishes such as green tea ice cream, I’ve even seen it used to flavour and colour soba noodles, and it is also used in Wagashi which is a Japanese confectionary.

Thinking about Wagashi led me to think of other sweet dishes I could cook using this special tea. After careful consideration I decided to do a twist on a classic. What if instead of making tiramisu with coffee...I made it with Matcha tea!

And so the Matcha Tea-ramisu was born.

Baked Pasta Florentine

These last few weeks really have been all about clearing out the cupboards and fridge – partly in preparation for all of the yummy Christmas food that we’re slowly starting to build up. Over the last two weeks I’ve posted two risotto recipes, one for Chicken and Tomato Risotto and another for Sausage and Asparagus Risotto both of which went down really well! But with Christmas shopping, Law Exams (Im officially two exams closer to being a solicitor!) and keeping down a part time job, it's been really hard to stick to any sort of meal plan and our fridge is looking a little sad and lost.

 Yet again this week we had a number of ingredients sat at the back of the cupboard that desperately needed eating up in particular spinach and eggs. I’ve always thought that spinach and eggs were a GREAT combination! Whether you’re making eggs Benedict, a spinach omelette, or even on a pizza... Who else loves the Fiorentina pizza in Pizza Express? And it seems that the people of Florentine agree so this dish is inspired by them. It may not be traditional, but it’s my twist on their way of cooking.

With all of these dishes in mind I decided to come up with a pasta dish that would be rich and filling, without going straight to your hips. Portion control is key with this dish; with the cracked egg oozing on top you don’t need to pile your plate high with the pasta underneath, and a little cream goes a long way. We are not looking to have a thick sumptuous sauce, but instead a flavoursome coating which brings all the ingredients together. If you are extra careful and make substitutions like 1 cal spray instead of olive oil, and use a low-fat cream this doesn’t have to spell the end of a diet.

Chicken and Tomato Risotto

I overheard my parents talking the other day...they were wondering what they’re going to do when I leave home for good. Food-wise that is! I’m sure they’d love to have their house back; it would be clean, tidy and quiet. But they can’t deny one thing – they eat much better when I’m around!
We’ve nicknamed Mum’s cooking cordon bleu because it couldn’t be further from the truth! She’s well aware that she only has a few recipes in her repertoire that don’t involve packets of frozen food but having said that what she can cook isn’t half bad. When she's not cooking fish fingers it's probably a Chicken Supreme or a Bolognase!

Dad’s a much better cook and he’s probably where I get my cooking skills from. Every now and then he’ll decide to cook a Chinese feast from scratch, or whip up a curry. He’s also not half bad at puddings! It’s just a shame he’s not in the kitchen more often when I’m not around.

I don’t think my Mum is half as bad as we make her out to be. I think a lot of being a good cook is about having the confidence to try new things and the imagination to create something different when faced with the same old ingredients in the cupboard. A couple of weeks ago I cooked a sausage and asparagus risotto for the first time. It was completely unplanned and was based on what I could find in the fridge, but it worked so well we’ve tried it a few times and it now has pride of place on my blog. This recipe isn’t too dissimilar. Not only is it a risotto recipe, but it uses up all of those ingredients you usually have lurking at the back of the fridge; chicken breasts, tomatoes, stock, tomato puree and rice. Nothing here – bar the basil if you don’t grow your own – is special or fancy, they are every day flavours that when combined together make something really quite special!

Sausage and Asparagus Risotto

Updated: 19/04/2013

When I first posted this recipe I highlighted the age old issue of buying food that you just don’t get round to eating.

I told you how in my house we ALWAYS have a pack of sausages just sitting there waiting to be used. Unfortunately this hasn’t changed since my original post…

I also bet every single one of you can look in the fridge on a weekly basis and find that ONE thing you seem to buy no matter what. No matter how dedicated you are to meal planning, and using up everything so that you don’t create waste, there’s always something lurking in the back of the fridge that just sits there. It’ll be something that you just don’t really know what to do with, but that you love nonetheless.

We also tend to buy a lot of asparagus. And, it is a pretty expensive vegetable to be buying when you have no plans to use it.

I’ve tried a whole range of recipes. From griddled asparagus with almond butter (yet to make it’s way to the blog) to simply steamed alongside salmon. But the more times you have it steamed, or with butter, it starts to get boring.

Luckily for me it seems sausages and asparagus work quite well together!

At university I used to love coming up with sausage dishes mainly alongside pasta as always had some in the cupboard. Sausages are so versatile they can be put with the spiciest of tomato sauces and the creamiest of white sauces .

Here are just a few examples:

· Creamy Sausage Pasta

· Sausage and Pasta Pieces in a tomato sauce

· Sausage Stew

Before I came up with this recipe, at home (meaning my parent’s house), our sausage experiences are a little more conservative...usually toad in the hole, or sausages and mash! Not that I’m complaining! They are two of the best comfort foods.

Now, this recipe makes it’s way on to our dinner table every couple of weeks! And I’ve managed to stop the ‘rents buying sausages if we don’t have any need for them. It’s a miracle!

---

Until my original post a couple of months ago, I’d never really thought of pairing sausage and asparagus together before but the more I considered making a creamy sausage dish, the more it just made sense! So with the addition of some onion, mushroom, stock and risotto rice I soon had a new and exciting midweek meal.

To balance out the creaminess of this dish add to give it a bit more personality I find a good helping of pepper really helps, so don’t be afraid to give the pepper mill a good twist or two…or three…or four. You get the picture.

So, if you ever find yourself left with the odd pack of sausages and bunch of asparagus give this a go. If they’re not two ingredients you often find in your fridge then this is something you definitely have to try – head down to the supermarket now and treat yourself!

 

Total based on Asda’s own unless otherwise specified:

Sausages £1.38, onion 15p, asparagus £1, mushrooms 40p, aborio rice 75p, Knorr chicken stock (from cube) 16p, pepper 1p = £3.85

Per person = 96p!

Calculated on or before 29/11/2012

Lemon and Amaretti Cheesecake

This is the second of my party food posts from the weekend! First I posted a yummy Tenderstem Broccoli and Sundreid Tomato Quiche which formed part of our buffet dinner. Today I’m sharing one of the puddings, my lemon and amaretti cheesecake!

Lemon cheesecakes are perhaps my favourite cheesecakes because the acidity beautifully cuts through the rich creaminess of the cheese, but a simple lemon cheesecake is not enough, I had to jazz it up a little more.

Turkey Mince Ragu with Pasta

My Mum decided not to go to university because she had had enough of exams. She has a number of stories related to her hatred of exams but one that is always struck me goes a little something like this. When studying for her A-levels she was so nervous that she completely lost her appetite. She literally couldn’t look at a plate of food without feeling physically sick and so instead spent the whole time grazing on small bowls of fruit and nuts. Her parents were convinced she was anorexic, she lost so much weight they had her clothes taken in, despite my Mum’s protests saying it was just exam nerves. But, her parents, as worried as they were, decided once exams were over she should go and stay with an aunty who would hopefully feed her up and knock her out of this “anorexic” stage with plenty of steamed puddings and stews. Funnily enough...my Mum was just nervous...and within weeks of finishing her exams she’s piled back on all of the weight and more and her old clothes were now useless! Not necessarily a bad thing if you ask me. Now the reason this story mesmerises me so much, is that, I just can’t imagine feeling so nervous I can’t eat! When I came to take MY A-levels, I found it impossible to concentrate without a big bowl of salted Doritos or popcorn by my side.

Needless to say I went the opposite to my Mum and didn’t fit in any of my clothes once exams were over for all of the wrong reasons! Every summer for me the pattern has been the same, but this year I was determined to break the cycle, and I’m proud to say that for once I managed to buck the trend! I didn't quite go to the extremes that my Mum did but by watching my revision snacking and eating healthily I've actually managed to loose weight. Though it wasn’t easy I must admit.

Tomato, Mozzarella and Pesto Picnic Tart

I am really excited to be starting to explore real summer recipes! I’m sure you’ll agree with me that this tart would look great on a salad table at a BBQ, laid out on a picnic blanket in a field or on a beach, or just in the centre of a dinner table with a big bowl of salad and potato wedges keeping the whole family happy on a summer’s eve!

The quantities of this recipe make a tart 7.5 inches across so it really is the perfect size for sharing among other dishes, but I can guarantee whatever you serve it with, this tart will be the star!

What makes this tart so special are the four distinct layers, melt in the mouth short crust pastry, earthy pesto, creamy mozzarella and then bright and sunny tomatoes – which are now in season by the way! Woo hoo! You don’t know how excited May makes me in terms of food, as some of the best fruit and veg comes in to season, as soon as exams are over I’ll be taking over my Dad’s veg patch, he won’t know what’s hit him!

Not only is this dish in season, but it is also easy to turn into a low-er fat option! Tomatoes will give you a helping hand towards your 5 a day, low fat/low cal mozzarella and pesto are easy to find in any good supermarket. And I can confirm that the most recent time that I made my pastry, I made it with a low fat margarine substitute! (God only knows what its chemical name is...we will pretend its margarine for now...)

I guarantee that if you try this recipe it will become a staple of your summer.

Creamy Sausage Pasta

My life at the minute is HECTIC! In true law student style, the moutain of reading is piling up, and evening networking events with law firms have meant that I've barely stepped foot in my kitchen for the last two weeks, but last night as I sat watching cookery programme after cookery programme I knew I had to get back into the kicthen and cook a delicious student staple - creamy sausage pasta.

I developed this recipe in my first year of uni - as you probably know Total Yogurt (0% fat Greek yogurt) is one of my favourtie ingredients, good for you but super creamy, it can make any dish feel extremely naughty, without piling on the pounds.

This is just another recipe where that magic incredient makes all the difference!

By combining sausages, plenty of garlic, mushrooms and onion with salt, pepper and vegetable stock cube and that creamy yogurt you are left with a rich and creamy sauce that will rival any carbonara!

But the best thing about this dish isn't the taste...it's the price.

Based on Asda's own brand (unless otherwise specified)

Yogurt 44p, Sausages 26p, Mushrooms 24p, Onion 10p, Spaghetti 9p, Garlic 6p, Stock Cubes 6p

Total based on 2 portions: £1.25

Total for an individual portion: 63p

Here's how you cook it!

Basic Tiramisu

My lovely boyfriend offered to cook me a candlelit dinner last week after 3 hard days of interviews for Training Contracts with law firms in the city.

He cooked a delicious summer vegetable risotto with home-made cheesy garlic bread.

I was in charge of the pudding.

So, on my way back from the train station I popped into Tesco's and hey-presto I had the ingredients for a basic tiramisu!

Here's the recipe!

Home-made Pasta

UPDATED: 17/05/2013

My philosophy has always been that if you cook from scratch you will not only be eating more healthily but you will be eating more cheaply. One of the best examples of this is home-made pasta.

Although dried pasta can be extremely cheap (Asda’s cheapest is just 30p for 500g!) fresh pasta prices however are through the roof. What’s more is that it’s not even that difficult to make at home, requires 2 ingredients both of which I guarantee you will already have in your house, and it’s FUN to make.

 

You’ll notice I have a rather sexy duck egg blue pasta maker on my side, but if you’re thinking about not reading any further because you don’t own one, don’t panic. Pasta can be made entirely from hand. It takes a bit longer, and a bit more man power but all you need is a rolling pin.

Another fab thing about making your own pasta (apart from how fun it is), is that you can make a big batch, freeze it or keep it in the fridge.

Have I convinced you how great it is to make your own pasta yet?

If not, this simple recipe certainly will.

Spaghetti Bolognase

Just-a-like-ma-mumma-made-it...well...not quite!


In my house my dad is the KING of spaghetti bolognase, but since being at uni I've come up with a few tweaks, and I reckon I could give him a run for his money!


This is my scrum-diddly-umptios Spaghetti Bolognase, even if I do say so myself!


(Look out for my cheats on how to make it super cheap, on a budget)