Not Quite Paella

I make no claims about the authenticity of this but it makes for a delicious Paella-style dish.  I sauteed sliced onion, a Romano red pepper and the remains of last night's fennel bulb with half a horse-shoe of chorizo in olive oil, until all was just beginning to become tinged gold and the oil has rendered from the sausage.  Grate in a couple of garlic cloves, add half a teaspoon of hot smoked paprika and a teacupful of Bomba or Callasparra Valencia rice (Waitrose sells it).  Stir well, then stir in a mixture of 3/4 pint veg stock, a teaspoon of tomato puree, a good pinch of best-quality saffron (I use Iranian, brought from there by my friend Noshin) and 1/4 pint of dry white wine.  Bring to the boil, turn the heat right down, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.  Then stir in about 12 peeled de-veined King prawns and tiny broad beans or petit pois.  Cover again, and simmer for 4-5 minutes.  Finally, add chopped parsley and serve with lots of lemon chunks.  Lovely!  We started the meal with fresh corn cobs with chilli and coriander butter and washed down with Margaritas - Ay Carrumba!!!!

Quick Roasted Pepper and Tomato Soup

There is still sufficient nippiness in the air this dank Jubilee holiday to warrant a soup, and this one is simplicity itself, using some judicious prepared products.  We picked up some bargain roasted peppers in a jar the other day, and it is always worth scouring the supermarket shelves for these, either in a jar or in a tin - much cheaper than buying fresh peppers and no hassle with roasting, peeling etc.  Simply saute a large chopped onion and a couple of garlic cloves (keep them whole for ease) in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil.  Drain a large jar or can of ready-roasted peppers, and add to the onions along with a tin of tomatoes and a pint and a half of vegetable stock.  Simmer for 10-15 minutes and then blend with a stick-blender.  Stir in some chopped basil and serve with a swirl of good olive oil.  With Parmesan toasts and lots of fruit to follow, this makes a cheap supper or lunch.

Onion and Pepper Balsamic Marmalade

OK, so this isn't a quick recipe for a 30 minute supper, but it is nice to do at the weekend and it keeps well in a sterilised jar for a week or so in the fridge.  Great to spoon next to bangers, chops,  cheese on toast, with soft goats cheese and a crusty baguette and with courgette fritters - my favourite.  The list is endless.  To make a standard jam jarful, you need 2 or 3 large onions (I like red onions but ordinary ones will do), peeled and sliced, a large red pepper, seeded and cut into strips a little smaller than the onion, a clove of garlic, crushed.  Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a heavy pan and add the prepped veg.  Stir well, turn the heat to low, cover, and leave to cook for 30 minutes, stirring every now and then.  The volume will decrease dramatically.  Now, stir in a dessertspoon of brown sugar and a dessertspoon of balsamic vinegar.  Add some salt and pepper, tasting and adjusting all of these ingredients until you get the balance between sweet and sour that you like.  Stir well, cover the pot and cook for a further 15 minutes or so until all is jammy and caramelised.  Take the lid off, turn the heat up and stir constantly for another minute or so to drive off any remaining liquid.  Either use straight away or pot into your washed and sterilised jam jar and use for up to a week later.  Because this doesn't contain large amounts of sugar, it isn't a preserve, do it won't last for ever!  You can vary the flavours by changing the vinegar you use (Sherry vinegar is good) and the sugar.  I also sometimes add black mustard seeds or chilli flakes depending on what it is accompanying.  PS: to sterilise a jam jar.  Simple if you have a dishwasher - for those of us without, wash in hot soapy water (inc the lid) rinse in really hot water, then put on a baking sheet in an oven set to 150C for 10 minutes.

Roast Tomato and Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce

This combo works really well in a lasagne, so I thought it would be good for a pasta sauce - and I was right!  Roast some ripe fresh tomatoes, chunks of butternut, onion and garlic, blend with some roasted red peppers from a jar and lots of basil, and you have a sweet sauce that coats penne or other pasta shapes perfectly.  I imagine this would be a popular sauce for kids, with its sweet tomatoey flavour they seem to love.  Frankly, you couldn't cram more veg in to them if you stuck a funnel down their throats and force-fed them like fois gras geese.  Anyway, simply chop and de-seed a small butternut, and sprinkle with olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper.  Do the same with three or four big, ripe tomatoes.  Peel and quarter a large onion and drizzle with oil.  Roast at 180C for half-an-hour, then tip it all into a food processor, (scoop the butternut flesh from the skin) with the drained contents of half a jar of roasted red peppers, and blitz to your desired consistency.  I like it chunky, but kids might prefer a smooth texture.  Reheat until bubbling, thinning with a little hot water if you want, adjust the seasoning, stir through some fresh basil, and then fold through freshly-coooked pasta.  Lots of grated parmesan is a must to add some counter-balance to the sweetness.  Easy, simple, and cheap - definitely an under a fiver job.

Pinto Bean Chilli

OK, so there were no tinned pinto beans in Sainsbury's (though they had shelves full of tinned Aduki beans - what's that about?), so I used kidney and cannellini beans instead for this lovely Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall recipe from River Cottage Veg Everyday.  Seriously, if you haven't got this book yet, do yourself a favour and get it asap - Amazon has it for £15 in hardcover, and it will be money very well spent if you are a veggie or trying to eat more meat-free meals.  I have marked so many recipes to try and each one I have used so far works a treat.  The inclusion of red pepper and courgettes makes for a light and healthy version of chilli and we served it with the full works of home-made guacamole, shredded organic lettuce and grated cheese, all wrapped in warm wheat tortillas.  Delicious - just add chilled Mexican beer for a Friday night treat.  Definitely under a fiver.  I am afraid I can't find any official recipes for it online, and I don't want to break any copyright, so you will just have to buy the book!  Or leave a comment and an email address and I'll send the recipe separately.

Nigel Slater's Roasted Peppers with Pasta and Basil

We have been getting some wonderful long 'ramiro' peppers from Riverford this Autumn.  They are sweeter than traditional 'bell' peppers, and when I saw this recipe on Nigel's recent 'Simple Cooking' series, I knew I had to make it.  It is a variation on Piedmontese Peppers, where the halved peppers are stuffed with cherry tomatoes and garlic.  You make basil oil by blitzing a lot of fresh basil with olive oil, spoon over the peppers and tomatoes, and bake for 20 minutes or so, until the peppers are soft and juicy.  Serve with orechiette pasta, dressed in the remaining basil oil and the juices from the baking tin.  A delightful dish.  It would work with regular peppers, I'm sure, but do try to get the ramiro ones

Cottage Cheese and Roasted Red Pepper Spread

Delicious little spread or dip, this and so simple.  Take half a tub of plain low-fat cottage cheese, plenty of black pepper (the cheese is usually plenty salty, so don't add any more) a squeeze of lemon juice, a small roasted, skinned red pepper (some from a jar is fine but blot as much oil off as possible) and a tablespoon or so of basil leaves.  Blend in a processor or mini chopper - try to leave some chunkiness for texture.  Now, taste and adjust the seasoning with some Tabasco sauce to spike it up, if liked, and serve as a sandwich spread with lettuce and cucumber or as a dip with crispbreads, tortilla chips, crudites, etc.  Yum!

Five-spice Chicken and Ginger

I love stir-frying, and it fits in nicely with our 'eat healthier' regime at the moment - provided you measure the oil carefully and use reduced-salt soy sauce.  Use plenty of garlic, chilli and ginger to boost the flavour.  I coated some organic chicken fillets in a little five-spice powder and then sauteed in a non-stick pan with just a teaspoon of oil.  Set aside while you fry the veg - today, a wonderful fresh onion, some calabrese broccoli, celery and red pepper, but you can use whatever you have.  Add lots of garlic, ginger and chilli - as much as you can take!  I used about a dessertspoon of oil in my non-stick wok, and added a splash of water when the veg looked like it needed a bit more welly.  Return the chicken to the pan and pour over a mixture of a tablespoon of low-salt soy sauce, a tablespoon Chinese rice wine, 120mls water, a dessertspoon of sweet chilli sauce and a teaspoon of cornflour.  Allow to bubble and thicken for a minute and serve with some plain steamed rice - preferably brown basmati, but I only had plain white.  Not too much, mind!  All in all, this came to around 450 cals with the rice. 

Roasted Tomato and Red Pepper Soup with Toasted Corn

The sainted Mary Berry does a roasted red pepper soup where she blends the whole lot, blackened skin and all. I was sceptical until I tried it, and now will never bother skinning a roasted pepper for a soup again! The skin adds a deep, smoky resonance to proceedings, almost as though you've used smoked paprika. Anyway, this recipe is so simple it is scarcely even cooking. Line a baking tray with parchment paper (saves a lot of washing up!). Halve a good kilo of ripe tomatoes and spread over the tray. Next, halve 2 red peppers and remove the stem and seeds. Halve again and add to the tray. Skin a red onion (or any other one for that matter!) and cut into wedges. Add to the tray along with a good number of whole, peeled garlic cloves, depending on size. I went for 6 yesterday, but we like garlic! Drizzle with a couple of tablespoons olive oil and roast in a medium oven for 40 minutes until well roasted and blistered with some nice charring on the pepper skins. Now, tip it all into a pot, and just cover with veg stock. Simmer for about 15 minutes and then blend. You can add some basil if you have it and a spoon of cream to soften the flavours a little. A nice garnish is some toasted corn kernels - simply brush an ear of corn with a little oil and grill for 10 minutes, turning from time-to-time, until it is nice and toasty. Allow to cool for a few minutes and then strip the kernels off with a sharp knife. Delicious!

Roast Tomato Soup with Basil and Olive Oil Toasts [#124]

Lovely smoky soup with a good aniseedy basil hit. The thin olive oil toasts were a lovely textural counterpoint. We ate this hot rather than cold, as the weather wasn't really suitable for chilled soup, but I imagine it would be lovely iced on a hot day.....should we ever get another one! I upped the quantity of red pepper in this, mainly because I had extra in the house, and also, I just love the flavour of roasted red pepper, especially in a soup. I also added onion, because I couldn't think of a soup without it.