Banana, honey and oat smoothie

Smooth, creamy and filling :-)

Makes: 1 serving
Takes: 1 minute

Ingredients

1 ripe banana
1 heaped tbsp oats
1 tsp honey
some milk

Method

1. Peel the banana and break it into 3 or 4 pieces. Put it into a blender with the oats and honey and add some milk. Blend until smooth.
2. Er.... That's it!

Sorry I can't be more specific about the quantity of milk, I basically just pour it in till it looks about right, but it must be about a cupful. You can use any kind of milk (full-fat or lower-fat cow's milk, soya milk, rice milk, almond milk, etc) - my own preference is for skimmed. A bit more milk will make a slightly thinner smoothie; the way I make it, it turns out the thickness of a McDonald's milkshake!

Aromatic Chicken Curry

This is a full-flavoured curry with a rich sauce, delicious with rice and naan bread :-) (Chipped plate optional!)

Makes: 2 servings
Takes: 15 minutes preparation + 30 minutes cooking time

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion
1 garlic clove
3cm piece of fresh ginger root
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp chilli powder
1/4 tsp garam masala
2 ripe tomatoes
2 medium boneless, skinless chicken breasts
150ml (1/4 pint) chicken stock
2 tbsp half-fat creme fraiche
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Finely chop the onion and crush the garlic, add to the pan and cook for 5 minutes until softened.
2. Finely grate the ginger and add to the pan with the spices, cooking for a further minute.
3. Chop the tomatoes and cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Add tomatoes and chicken to the pan with the chicken stock and bring to the boil.
4. Turn the heat down to medium and simmer for about 20 minutes, until the sauce is thick and rich.
5. Turn off the heat and stir in the creme fraiche, adding salt and pepper to taste.

The sauce can be frozen at the end of step 4. Reheat then add the creme fraiche to serve.
It's easy to increase the quantities (especially if wanting to freeze part of the sauce) but allow extra cooking time.
You can use garlic puree, ginger puree and a couple of tinned tomatoes if preferred.

Keralan-style Prawn Curry

I couldn't find any curry leaves so I just missed them out. I was wary of making the curry too hot so I also used just one chilli and removed the seeds, but that did make a mild sauce so if you like hot curries then you may want to use two chillis and include the seeds. It is more of a fragrant, tasty curry than a burn-your-mouth hot curry though!

Makes: 4 servings
Takes: 40 minutes (including cooking time)

Ingredients

2 tbsp mild olive oil
150g shallots
3 cloves garlic or 3 tsp garlic puree
20g fresh root ginger or ginger puree
1-2 fresh green chillis
1 tsp turmeric
small bunch fresh coriander
About 30 curry leaves
200ml vegetable stock
400ml tin of coconut milk
200g green beans
300g large raw peeled prawns

Method

1. Peel and slice the shallots and fry them in 1 tbsp of the oil till softened but not coloured. Peel and slice the garlic and peel and chop the ginger (if not using purees). Slice the chillis, removing the seeds if desired. Remove the leaves from the coriander and set aside for now.
2. Put the shallots, garlic, ginger, chillis, turmeric and coriander stalks into a blender and blitz to a coarse paste.
3. Heat the remaining oil in a large pan and fry the curry leaves for 1 minute (if using). Add the curry paste and cook for 3 minutes then add the stock and coconut milk. Simmer for about 15 minutes.
4. Trim the green beans and cut into short pieces. Add to the sauce and cook for 5 minutes, then add the prawns and cook for a further 3-4 minutes, until cooked through. Season and stir in the coriander leaves before serving.

You can make the sauce in advance then bring back to simmering point and add the beans and prawns when ready to eat.
You could also use fillets of white fish, such as cod, instead of the prawns.

Ginger Tiramisu

I love tiramisu but can't cope with caffeine in the evening - not if I want to sleep, anyway! This version is caffeine-free and full of flavour :-)

Makes: 6-8 servings
Takes: 20 minutes + 2 hours chilling time

Ingredients

3 balls ginger from a jar of stem ginger in syrup
4 tbsp syrup from the same jar
250g mascarpone
300 ml double cream
6 tbsp sweet sherry
3 tbsp orange juice
200g gingernut biscuits (approx)

Method

1. Cut the ginger into small cubes and set aside.
2. Beat together the ginger syrup and mascarpone until smooth. Whip the cream till it forms soft peaks then fold into the mascarpone.
3. Mix together the sherry and orange juice in a shallow bowl.
4. Spread one-third of the mascarpone mixture in the bottom of a serving dish. Dip the biscuits into the sherry and orange juice for a few seconds (not too long or they will be soggy) then arrange a layer on top of the mascarpone, breaking the biscuits into pieces to fill in any gaps.
5. Scatter one-third of the chopped ginger over the biscuits then repeat the layers of mascarpone, dipped biscuits and chopped ginger. (You may not need all the biscuits.)
6. Spread the remaining mascarpone over the top and sprinkle over the rest of the ginger pieces. Cover with cling film and refrigerate for at least 2 hours so the flavours have a chance to develop.

Chinese Steamed Chicken

The chicken is so moist and tender and succulent cooked this way! (Sorry about the poor photo - I'll update it when I make this again. And I will make this again!)

Makes: 2 servings
Takes: 10 minutes + 10 minutes cooking time

Ingredients

2 chicken breasts (skinless and boneless)
2 tbsp light soy sauce
4 tsp dry sherry
2 pak choi (Chinese cabbage) or 100g Chinese leaf
a couple of generous pinches of Chinese five spice powder
1 tsp sesame oil
2 spring onions
salt and black pepper

Method

1. Using a sharp knife, cut into the chicken breasts twice on each side. Put into a polythene bag with the soy sauce and sherry, seal the top, shake well and set aside for at least 5 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, set some water to boil in a saucepan and place a steamer basket on top.
3. Halve the pak choi or shred the Chinese leaf. Place into a shallow heatproof bowl that is small ennough to fit into the steamer. Season lightly.
4. Place the chicken breasts on top and pour over the marinade. Sprinkle over the five spice powder and sesame oil. Top with long, thin strips of spring onion.
5. Put the plate into the steamer and cover. Steam for 10 minutes, till the chicken is cooked through.

Serve with rice and steamed or lightly boiled vegetables.

Notes:

We didn't have any light soy sauce, so I used dark. It didn't seem to matter too much.
We didn't have any dry sherry, so I used cream sherry. It didn't seem to matter too much.
We didn't have any pak choi or Chinese leaf, so I used Choi Sum. I found it very bitter but The Doctor liked it.
I didn't feel the need to add extra salt, as the soy sauce is quite salty in itself. It didn't seem to matter too much.
I don't like spring onion, so I missed it out. It didn't seem to matter too much.
We didn't have a bowl that would fit into the steamer, so I lined it with the Choi Sum and was very careful how I poured on the marinade. We lost some of the juices in dishing up but it didn't seem to matter too much.
This appears to be a very forgiving recipe :-)

Tuna Pasta Bake

At its best served hot, but also good cold as a snack or for a packed lunch :-)

Makes: 2 servings
Takes: 15 minutes + 40 minutes cooking time

Ingredients

spray oil
3 1/2 oz dried pasta (I use spirali)
3 1/2 oz broccoli
185g tin of tuna (canned in brine or water)
2 eggs
1/4 pint skimmed milk
black pepper
herbs (eg parsley) if desired
1 1/2 oz mature Cheddar cheese (I use the reduced fat version)

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 190oC/Gas Mark 5 and spritz an ovenproof dish with oil.
2. Cook the pasta shapes in boiling water for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, cut or break the broccoli into florets and add these to the pasta for the last 3-4 minutes of cooking time.
3. Drain the pasta and broccoli and return to the saucepan. Drain and flake the tuna and mix with the pasta and broccoli then tip into the ovenproof dish.
4. Beat together the eggs and milk and season with black pepper (if using tuna in brine you won't need any additional salt). You could also add some fresh or dried herbs. Pour over the pasta mixture.
5. Grate the cheese and sprinkle over the top then bake for 35-40 minutes, till set and golden on top.

Good served with a side salad of your choice!

Monkfish, Ciabatta and Pancetta, on Rosemary Skewers

Oh yum, oh yum!! It is a bit pricey (though you do make the monkfish go a long way), but see the notes at the end for ideas on how to do a lower-cost version.

Makes: 2 servings
Takes: 10 minutes + 20 minutes cooking time

Ingredients

about 8 oz (225g) trimmed monkfish tail
1 ciabatta roll
a few sprigs of rosemary (about 6 or 7, each 6 inches or so in length)
1/2 tsp garlic paste or 1/2 clove garlic
extra virgin olive oil
black pepper
6 or 7 rashers of pancetta
balsamic vinegar

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 220oC/200oC fan/Gas Mark 7.
2. Cut the monkfish into about 12 pieces of roughly equal size. Remove the ciabatta crust and tear the bread into the same number of pieces - they should be roughly the same size as the fish.
3. Keep the top inch or so of each rosemary stalk intact, and remove the leaves from the rest by running finger and thumb down the length of the stalk.
4. Put the rosemary leaves and garlic into a pestle and mortar and bash them together then add 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
5. Put the fish and bread into a bowl, add the rosemary oil and toss together.
6. Cut the bottom of the first rosemary stalk at an angle to create a sharp point. Thread on a piece of monkfish followed by a piece of ciabatta and repeat. Each stalk should hold two pieces each of fish and bread.
7. Do the same with the other stalks until all the monkfish and ciabatta has been used up.
8. Wrap a piece of pancetta loosely around each skewer, tucking it between the pieces of monkfish and ciabatta. Place on a roasting tray then season with black pepper and sprinkle over any remaining oil from the bowl.
9. Bake for about 20 minutes, till the bread is crisp and golden and the fish cooked through.
10. Drizzle with a little balsamic vinegar, a little extra olive oil and any juices from the tray to serve.

Lovely as they are for a starter, or with a salad for a light meal, or with chips or potato wedges as a main course.

For a cheaper version, use any meaty white fish instead of the monkfish, and smoked streaky bacon instead of the pancetta.