Thai Quinoa Fishcakes (Serves 4; prep 20 mins; cooking 20 mins)

These thai fish cakes are absolutely divine! The use of quinoa instead of potato makes them crunchier, less stodgy and low GI!!

100g quinoa
1 salmon fillet, skinless and boneless
250g cooked prawns
28g coriander, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
Juice of 1 lime
1 tbspn sticky plum sauce
1 tbspn soy sauce
1 tbspn fish sauce
5 spring onions, sliced finely
2 eggs, beaten

Pre-heat the oven to 180.

Firstly, cook the quinoa by simmering in water for about 10 minutes until soft. When cooked, drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, poach the salmon in milk. This will take about 6 -10 minutes. When cooked, drain and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, mix together the salmon, prawns, coriander, garlic, lime, plum sauce, soy, fish sauce and spring onions and blend with a hand blender until it's mostly a smooth paste with some chunks remaining.

Add the quinoa and beaten egg and mix well.

Divide the mixture into approximately 14 small patties and bake in the oven for 20 minutes. I use a muffin baking tray to keep the fishcakes intact.

Spanakopitta (Serves 4; prep 15 mins; cooking 35 mins)

A wonderful lunch or snack, this is delicious.

1kg spinach (frozen or fresh)
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 small onion, diced
3 mushrooms, diced
juice of 1 lemon
125g filo pastry (shop bought)
50g toasted cashew nuts, ground
300g cottage cheese or soft goats cheese, depending on the strength of flavour you prefer

Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees.

Whilst the oven is heating up, wilt the spinach in a pan and drain thoroughly to remove as much water as possible.

Whist the spinach is cooking, prepare the onion and mushrooms. Gently fry them for about 5 minutes in a little olive oil and scatter with the cumin.  Stir until fully coated. 

When the spinach is drained, use a hand blender to mix it together with the cottage cheese and lemon juice. 

To the spinach/cheese mixture, add the cumin-flavoured onions and mushrooms and the cashew nuts.

Put in the bottom of a baking dish and cover with the layers of filo pastry.

Bake in the oven at 200 degrees for 25 minutes. 

Cajun chicken and lentils [serves 5; preparation 15 mins; cooking 30 mins]

This recipe requires a few pans, but it's worth it! Recommended by my friend Jade, with a few adaptions.

·      750g chicken, diced into small pieces

·      2 tablespoons of Cajun spice

·      150g quinoa

·      200g puy lentils

·      450ml chicken stock

·      2 onions, diced

·      2 small courgettes, sliced in rounds

·      1 red pepper, diced or sliced

·      1 small bunch of coriander, chopped

       Sour cream to serve

First, dice and slice everything and make the chicken stock so you are ready to roll.

Cut the chicken into small pieces, cover with Cajun spice and spread in a roasting tin in a single layer. Bake for 20 mins at 180 degrees. When cooked, turn off the oven and set the chicken aside.

Whilst the chicken is in the oven, cook the lentils for 20 minutes in water until tender. When cooked, drain in a sieve or colander and set aside.

At the same time, cook the quinoa for 10-15 minutes in chicken stock until tender. When cooked, set aside (if there is still some stock that’s fine)

Fry the courgettes, onion and red pepper in an almost dry pan, coated with just a little olive oil until they are looking a bit chargrilled.

Finally, mix together all the ingredients in the chicken pan, including the coriander.

Serve with a generous blob of sour cream. 

Coconut cauliflower curry (prep time: 25 mins. cooking time: 10 mins. serves 4)

The coconut in this curry is delicate and subtle, not overpowering. It underscores the flavour of the vegetables whilst the coriander provides the top note. 

(Warning: Some like it hot! This recipe uses Scotch Bonnet chillies which are super hot, although you should be fine with just half of one. If you prefer it less hot, switch for green or red chillis.)

Contents:
1 small cauliflower, diced
250g broccoli, diced
3 x medium sized carrots, cut into batons
500g spinach (I use frozen)


Sauce:
1 onion, diced finely
1 stick celery, diced finely
3 x garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 scotch bonnet chilli, diced finely
20 cardomom pods
2 x tsp ground cumin
1 tsp pimenton or paprika
250ml stock
1 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
160ml tin of coconut cream


Garnish:
A good handful of chopped, fresh coriander

First, steam or boil the vegetable contents so everything is al dente.

Meanwhile, gently fry the onion, celery, garlic and chilli in a drop of olive oil. After 4 or 5 minutes, add the dry spices and continue to stir and fry for a further 2-3 minutes.Then add the stock and tomatoes and coconut cream. Bring to a simmer before removing from the heat. Pick out the cardomom pods before using a hand blender to mix it into a smooth sauce.
Add the sauce to the vegetable contents, and heat to a simmer. Add the coriander and allow all the flavours to meld together for a further 5 minutes or so. 
Eat with brown rice or a chapati. You can also add more stock and eat it as a soup / dahl.

Turkey and spinach lasagne (20 mins prep; 35 mins cooking; serves 6)

The addition of turkey to this recipe means my son wolfs it down, whereas he wasn't keen when it was purely vegetarian.  I love it, too, especially when my nanny cooks it for us on a Friday :)  See what you think....

Mince layer

500g minced turkey

2 onions, diced

1 garlic clove, crushed

Tomato sauce for mince layer

1 red pepper, diced

1 carrot, grated

1 courgette, grated

2 tins chopped tomatoes (with Italian herbs from Waitrose Organic)

2tbsp tomato puree

Creamed Spinach layer

500g frozen spinach

300g cottage cheese (you can use ones with chives if you like)

Build

6 x wholewheat lasagne sheets

250g cheddar cheese, grated

Worcester sauce

Brown the turkey mince in a pan with a little olive oil.  Add the onions and garlic for 5 mins on a low heat.

In a separate pan, gently fry the red pepper, carrot and courgette on a low heat until soft. Add the tomatoes and tomato puree and simmer for a couple of minutes.

Blend the sauce with a hand blender until smooth.

Mix together the mince and sauce and stir well.  Set to one side.

Meanwhile, wilt the frozen 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 the white plastic jug.  Add the cottage cheese and a dash of salt and black pepper. Use the hand blender to blend the spinach and cottage cheese into a green paste.

In a shallow rectangular dish, approx 1.5 inches tall, start with a layer half the mince and tomato sauce mixture. Put one layer of lasagne sheets on top. Then put half the creamy spinach paste on top of the lasagne. Add a second layer of mince/ tomato mixture 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.