Secret Veg-filled Spaghetti Bolognese (20 mins prep; 35 mins cooking; serves 4)

Continuing my current theme of cooking healthy meals that my five year old son will eat, this week I created a delicious Spaghetti Bolognese. Everyone knows how to cook spaghetti bolognese, but this one is filled with loads of hidden, secret vegetables. Result!

1 tbsp olive oil 

1 large onion, diced

1 red pepper, diced very finely            

1 large carrot, grated    

2 courgettes, grated

250g mushrooms, diced finely

2 garlic cloves, crushed

400g minced beef

1 beef stock cube, dissolved in 300ml hot water

1x 400g can chopped tomatoes with Italian herbs

½ jar green olives, sliced

2 tbsp tomato purée

Splash of Worcester sauce

Wholemeal spaghetti to serve

In a large saucepan add the olive oil and brown the mince.

Add the onions and gently fry over a low heat, stirring fairly frequently for about 5 minutes until the onions are a bit see through.

Throw in everything else, bring to the boil, stirring constantly, then turn down the heat and simmer with the lid on for 30 minutes. Stir occasionally to make sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.

Meanwhile, cook the wholemeal spaghetti and remember to end up with 25% spaghetti and 75% bolognese mixture on your plate.

Bon appetit!

child-friendly, chicken curry triumph (serves 4, preparation 20 mins, cooking 45 mins)

My son has recently started school and I thought it would be lovely if we could eat together in the evenings. Many of my favourite meals are (a) vegetarian and (b) spicy, both of which my son finds challenging. And so began my quest to adapt some of my recipes and find new ones to permit family meal-time.

This one is absolutely delicious and was a total triumph. If you do prefer vegetarian dishes, then feel free to replace the chicken with a greater quantity of cauliflower and mushrooms.

Ingredients

1-1½ tsp coconut oil (or olive oil if you don't have any)                      

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed 

1cm fresh ginger, grated 

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp brown mustard seeds, crushed

1 tsp garam masala

½ tsp ground cumin

1 x 400g pack of diced chicken

1 x whole cauliflower, diced into small pieces

100g mushrooms, sliced

 300ml chicken stock

1 cinnamon stick

250g Greek yogurt

A handful of fresh, chopped coriander (optional)

A handful of sultanas (optional)

Gently fry the onions for 5 – 10 mins on a really low heat until soft and a bit see through.

Add the crushed garlic, grated ginger, ground coriander, ground mustard seeds, garam masala and ground cumin and cook for 1 - 2 minutes.

Add the chicken and cook for 10 mins over a gentle heat, stirring occasionally. Add the cauliflower and mushrooms and stir around before adding the cinnamon stick. Then pour in 300 ml chicken stock.

Simmer for 45 mins with the lid off so the sauce reduces.

(Cook some brown rice, which needs to simmer for 25 mins, to accompany the curry). 

Before serving, stir in the yoghurt and heat through. You can add sultanas and /or coriander if desired. My son likes sultanas whilst I am a huge fan of coriander.

Sea Bass and Courgette Salad (serves 1; 25 minutes prep and cooking time)

I do love salad in the summertime.  Tonight I had a wonderful sea bass and courgette salad. Here's how I made it:

1 sea bass fillet

1 x courgette, in ribbons

juice of 1/2 lemon

1 sprig of mint leaves, chopped finely

50g baby salad leaves
5 x baby plum tomatoes
1 x ripe avocado, scooped out with a teaspoon into segments
1/4 red pepper, sliced
5 x green olives, sliced
balsamic vinegar and olive oil dressing

First, put on the grill to heat up to a medium temperature.

Use a vegetable peeler to slice the courgette into fine ribbons. Spread these out onto a grill pan in a single layer. Pop this under the grill for about 5 minutes, until just starting to char. You can turn these over but I think they taste good cooked on one side only.

Put the sea bass fillet into a frying pan with a little olive oil to cook over a medium heat for 15 minutes. A lid on the frying pan is a good idea to limit spitting.

Into a salad bowl, add the leaves, tomatoes, avocado, red pepper and green olives. Add a little dressing and toss the salad.

Turn the sea bass over half way through cooking. 

Remove the slightly charred courgettes from the grill.  In a separate bowl, cover the courgettes with the lemon juice and a drizzle of olive oil and stir, together with the chopped fresh mint, until the courgette is fully coated.

Add the courgette to the salad bowl.

As soon as the sea bass is cooked, add that to the bowl also. 

Enjoy!

Lamb Quinoa Tagine (serves 4 ; prep time 15 mins ; cooking time 40 mins)

This is a lovely take on a tagine, using the healthy, protein-rich quinoa in place of processed cous cous. The lamb and spices provide a wonderful flavour which is absorbed by the quinoa.  You can use any cut of lamb. 

350g lamb steaks, cut into 1" cubes
1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 stick celery, diced very finely
2 medium carrots, diced finely
1 tbspn wholemeal flour
1/4 tsp ground cinamon
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp turmeric
150ml white wine
500ml chicken stock
100g quinoa
2 x 400g tins of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
Fresh coriander

First, brown the lamb in olive oil, remove from the frying pan and set aside.

To the frying pan, add onion, garlic, celery and carrots to the pan and fry gently for 10 minutes until softened.

Mix together the flour and spices before stirring into the pan. Continue cooking for a minute or so. 

Return the lamb to the pan, stir, pour over the wine and stock and simmer for 20 minutes.

Add the chickpeas and quinoa and continue to simmer for a further 20 minutes.  Keep an eye on the liquid level and top up with boiling water if it looks to be getting dry.

Stir in the chopped coriander just before serving. 

Spinach lasagne (serves 4. prep 20 mins, cooking 35 mins)

I love this comforting lasagne, it's creamy and cheesy with the sharpness of tomato and onion to cut through. delicious!

3 onions, diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 red pepper, diced
4 tins chopped tomatoes
2tbsp tomato puree
2 tsp oregano
2 tsp thyme

500g spinach
200g cottage cheese

6 x wholewheat lasagne sheets

200g cheddar cheese, grated
Worcester sauce


Fry the onions, pepper and garlic for 5 mins on a low heat. Add the tomatoes, tomato puree and herbs and simmer for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, wilt the spinach by putting it in a sieve or colander over a pan of boiling water. Once wilted, squeeze out any excess liquid before transferring it into a jug. Add the cottage cheese and use a hand blender to blend the spinach and cottage cheese into a green paste. Add some black pepper if desired. 

In a dish, approx 1.5 inches tall, start with a layer half the tomato mixture. Put 3 sheets of lasagne on top. Then put half the creamy spinach paste on top of the lasagne. Add a second layer of tomatoes using the remainder of the mixture. Add one more layer of lasagne sheets, with the rest of the spinach mixture on top. Finish off with the grated cheese and splash with worcestershire sauce.

bake in the oven at 180 degrees for 25 minutes.