Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls

This was my absolute favourite dish whilst I was on my travels around South East Asia. As I have a fantastic Asian supermarket around the corner from my house, I had no excuse not to give them a go. I used no instructions and went simply by memory of what they consisted of- so feel free to add whatever you fancy.

They are really easy to make but very fiddly- it's due to the rice paper being sticky so you have to watch out they don't crease up when you take them out of the water.

I used prawns as that is what I always had when I ate them but you can use chicken or beef etc if you so wish. Please make sure that your prawns are responsibly sourced by checking the packaging has the MSC tick.

This is going to be quite brief this recipe because they are so quick to make. I made enough for 6 rolls.

ingredients

150g cooked king prawns

45g glass noodles (also known as vermicelli)

6 sheets of spring roll wrapper (rice paper) I used the 22cm sheets

1 carrot

half a cucumber

a couple of leaves of lettuce 

a bunch of mint leaves (you can use coriander but mint is the best)

half a red pepper

1 red chilli (optional)

sweet chilli dipping sauce

a cup of water

about 1 pint of boiling hot water

First wash your prawns. Put the kettle on to boil. Peel your carrot- cut in half and then thinly slice length ways. Do the same with the cucumber and pepper. Thinly slice your lettuce, chilli and pull the leaves off a few springs of mint.

Put the rice noodles in a bowl and pour over the boiling hot water. Leave for 3 minutes (no longer!) and drain- I also rinsed with cold water.

Have all your ingredients ready in front of you as this is really quick to do. 

You want to soak a sheet of rice paper in a shallow dish of water- I used a frying pan as they fit really easily. Make sure you soak one at a time as they will stick together. You want to soak them for around 20 seconds- keep checking throughout so they don't go too soft and slimy but then at the same time they are not too stiff to roll.

Take the rice paper out using your fingers and lay onto a chopping board. Then it's all about piling it up... time for you to get creative! I lay the prawns first- landscape in a line (because I am a fuss pot!) in the middle of the sheet, making sure you leave about an inch free at the ends (no less) Next lay on top around 3 mint  leaves, then all the salad, then a little of the noodles. Try not to pile too much in as you will have to roll them. 

Time to get rolling- you want to fold the ends in first (this will stop everything falling out when you come to bite into your roll) then fold over the bottom of the sheet over your ingredients then roll the bundle to meet the end, in order to make it into a spring roll. 

Then continue the above in order to create another 5 rolls.

Serve with a slice of fresh lime and dipping sauce or even soy sauce. I will attempt to make my own dipping sauce next time but a delicious Vietnamese sauce winked at me whilst I was at the Asian supermarket! 

Time to enjoy your healthy, honest and not forgetting tasty fresh spring rolls!

Veggie Chilli Con Carne

This is an absolutely delicious chilli con carne. It makes enough for 4 to 6 people. I make it for 4 people but I am always left with quite a bit so I often freeze it then use it another day with warm soft wraps, sour cream and guacamole. Always the perfect hangover cure if you ask me!

For all you meat lovers out there- have no fear! Trust me on this one- you may be swayed into this meat free option. I have convinced two men (who are the type that if meat isn't on your plate then it can't be classed as a real meal) so before you turn your nose up... give it a go and you may surprise yourself.

Ingredients

4 cloves of garlic

a heaped teaspoon of coconut oil/glug of oil

1 large onion

1 red pepper

1 large carrot

half a teaspoon of chilli powder

1 teaspoon of cumin

2 teaspoons of chiptole

400g passata and one tin of plum tomatoes

tin of lentils

1 tin of black beans

1 tin of kidney beans

4 tablespoons of tomato puree

a good pinch of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

fresh coriander

You want start by prepping your vegetables. Chop the onion, carrot and pepper into 1 cm cubes. Chop the garlic finely (or you can use a grater to get it super fine!). 

Heat the oil in a large saucepan and add the veggies along with the spices ( a part from the chiptole) including the salt and pepper. Cook on a medium heat for around 10 minutes until they have become quite soft- remembering to stir often so they don't catch (if they do feel like they might burn add a dash of water). After  10 minutes you want to add your chiptole. Give the pan a right good stir.

You want to add your tomatoes next and bring it to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

Next rinse your beans and lentils and add these a long with the tomato puree and a cup of water. Bring to the boil and then simmer for another hour- adding additional water if needed.

I prefer to turn off my tomato based sauces and leave to stand before serving as I think they taste  better as everything has had time to relax and mingle. So after it has finished cooking, turn off the gas and start cooking your rice.

I serve my with rice, sour cream, home-made guacamole (see previous post for recipe), a wedge of fresh lime and coriander.

My mouth is watering. I hope I have convinced you that this is a damn good meat-free dish!

Holy Moly Guacamole

This is a a firm favourite amongst friends and family. It's tasty and super healthy to boot. You can have it with chilli con carne (recipe will be added later this week) you can add it to your burgers... dollop it on sour dough bread topped with the a poached egg or just serve on the side of your nachos. If you haven't tried making your own, well now is the time. 

ingredients

1 ripe avocado

juice of half a lime

3 spring onions

1 large garlic clove

a glug of extra virgin olive oil

a small bunch of fresh coriander

a good pinch of dried chilli flakes 

4 cherry tomatoes

sea salt and freshly ground pepper

fresh chilli to garnish

First finely chop your garlic and slice your spring onions- with my spring onions I try not to waste too much so I do chop the green leaves until about 2 inches from the end. Chop your cherry tomatoes into quarters. Next you want to mash your avocado with a fork in a bowl. Once this is too a a slightly smooth ( I don't like it too smooth but up to you) add the glug of extra virgin- I would say a tablespoon. Add a little lime juice (I say half a lime but it might be less as you don't want it to be too runny) and stir it all together. Next add your garlic, spring onions, the tomatoes, dried chilli flakes and the chopped coriander. Season with salt and pepper. Stir and taste.  

Garnish with a few slices of fresh chilli and a little coriander. 

Now...be prepared for to be loved even more by your friends.

Chickpea Curry

This is a fab and cheap curry to make. Completely veggie and it uses turmeric which has so many health benefits so it's definitely worth having a go of.

ingredients

1 can of chickpeas

1 can of chopped tomatoes

1 onion

2 clove garlic

1 thumb-sized fresh root ginger

1 red chilli (you can use less if you're not a fan of hot spice)

2 tablespoons of oil ( I used coconut oil if not vegetable)

1 teaspoon mustard seeds (I used yellow but you can use black)

2 teaspoons of garam masala

2 teaspoons of ground coriander

2 teaspoons of cumin

2 teaspoons of paprika

Half a teaspoon of turmeric

2 tablespoons coconut milk

1 handful of fresh coriander 

half the juice of a lime

sea salt

Drain and rinse your chickpeas. Finely dice the onion, finely chop the garlic and grate your ginger ( I freeze mine which makes it easier to grate and it also lasts a life time!) Next you want to heat the oil in your saucepan- you want to do this on a medium heat. Add the onion, making sure to stir until the onion starts to soften and go a golden colour. Next you want to add your garlic and ginger and cook for a minute- watch out because garlic burns very easily!

You then want to add all your spices, a long with a good pinch of salt and chopped chilli. Turn down the heat so they don't burn.

Chuck in your chopped tomatoes and give everything a big stir. Once it has been cooking for a couple of minutes you want to add your chickpeas and coconut milk. Cook for a few minutes to make sure everything is well mingled together and also heated through. Add your lime juice and stir.

Your curry is now ready to serve with a little fresh coriander sprinkled on top. I serve mine with rice or cauliflower rice... it's your curry so you decide!

Delicious.

Homemade Hummus

This is something I am well known for- mainly because I make it by the vat load for get togethers... at least that way all my pals have garlic breath together at parties!

This is very cheap, simple and ridiculously fast to make. It is a dip that you may change slightly to suit your own taste but I will give you the basic measurements but don't be afraid to add maybe a little more cumin or garlic... or even adapt it by adding a little fresh coriander or spinach!

This will make a cereal bowl size pot. If you are going to keep I would say it will last 2-3 days. It will be a little dry so just add a tiny splash of water and stir it up.

Ingredients

1 tin of chickpeas

1-2 garlic cloves (I would say to add 2 because I love garlic)

2 dessertspoons of tahini

2 teaspoons of cumin

Half a teaspoon of paprika

Half a teaspoon of dry chilli flakes (you can add more)

The juice of half a fresh lemon (I only end up using half of this, so really it's a quarter of a lemon)

2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

Salt and freshly ground pepper

A little cold water

First rinse you chickpeas and leave to drain. Next roughly chop the garlic and add to your food processor. Add the tahini, spices, salt and pepper, chickpeas, half of the lemon juice and the oil. Whizz up. It will be a little dry so add a little water to loosen. You can also add a little extra oil as this will add more depth to the taste of your hummus or if you want it more zesty add more lemon juice. 

Make sure to taste it before serving- I sometime have to add a little extra cumin or salt and pepper- it's all a matter of taste really.

I usually sprinkle a little extra paprika with seeds and a little drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

That's it done. You will never want to buy shop bought hummus again!

Funky Beans on Toast

Yet another easy peasy dish to rustle up. A delicious lunch which is made in just a few minutes plus a great source of fibre and minerals to boot!

Ingredients

Half a tin of butter beans (you can use haricot or chickpeas if you wish)

Half a ripe avocado

1 clove of garlic

The juices of half a fresh lime

A quarter of a red onion

Half a red chilli

A small bunch of coriander 

2 teaspoons of extra virgin olive oil

Salt and fresh ground black pepper

Your choice of toasted bread- I went for rye bread

This is basically the same as the chilli infused poached egg but I have added beans to the recipe for a twist. 

This will literally take three minutes to make so first things first... pop the kettle on for a cuppa and put your bread in the toaster. 

Are you ready...

Chop your garlic finely. Mash your avocado in a bowl and add the garlic, lime juice, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. Stir. Next add your drain tin of beans. Stir. Check taste to see if you need a little more seasoning or lime or oil.

Chop the red onion and coriander. Slice finely the chilli.

Place the smashed avocado mix on your toast and sprinkle with the chilli, coriander and red onion. You can add a sprinkle of paprika or cayenne pepper if you wish.

Serve with a cuppa.

Smokin' Turkey Burgers


I have never been a massive meat lover- ever since I was born. I know that is not a great way to advertise my burgers but one thing I do enjoy is my own homemade burgers. 


These are simple to make and easy to adapt in order to suit your taste. You can change the meat to whatever you fancy, even chop and change the herbs or spices to create a totally different tasting burger. 


These are ridiculously delicious and have over half the fat content of your average beef burger- plus turkey cost half the price!


Ingredients

450g turkey mince


1 free range medium egg


1 small red onion


2 cloves of garlic


Half a teaspoon of chilli flakes (you can add more if you wish)


Half a teaspoon of smoked paprika


A tablespoon of chopped coriander (if you don't like coriander you can use parsley)


A handful of breadcrumbs


Salt and freshly ground black pepper
 

A glug of oil- either olive or cold pressed rapeseed

Chop your garlic, red onion and coriander. Heat the oil (on a medium heat) in a frying pan and once to temperature add your red onion- add a tablespoon of water to stop the onion from browning. Turn off the heat and allow to cool.

Add your minced turkey to a bowl, crack the egg, add the garlic, chilli flakes, paprika, the cooked onion and season with salt and pepper. Mix with your hands (as this is the best way to do it) and once everything is incorporated add the breadcrumbs and mix. Make sure you mix everything well, you will feel the mixture coming together. If it still feels too wet add more breadcrumbs a little at a time until you reach a point where it comes together and feels like a pate.

Split the giant burger into half, then half again so you have 4 portions. Roll each portion in your hands to make a ball then flattered on a plate. Once you have 4 burgers wrap in cling film and leave in the fridge to set for at least half an hour (if you have a BBQ you can always make the night before or in the morning, perfect!) 

Then either cook on a bbq... or if like me last night (January is the wrong time to BBQ in the UK!) grill until cooked and then finish off on either a hot plate or griddle pan (make sure they HOT before placing the burgers on) to get that BBQ'd look and flavour.

Serve with a salad, your kick ass fresh tomato and red pepper salsa and of course beetroot. Or in a bun with whatever else you want to pile on top.

Tasty stuff eh!

Kick Ass Fresh Tomato and Red Pepper Salsa

This is enough to make a small bowl of salsa

Ingredients

A handful of ripe baby plum tomatoes (or cherry tomatoes)

A quarter of a red pepper

A quarter of red onion

1 clove of garlic

a small bunch of fresh coriander

half a lime

a glug of extra virgin olive oil

a good splash of tabasco 

salt and freshly ground black pepper

First chop the baby plum tomatoes into quarters, chop the pepper into small squares and add to a bowl.  Next, finely chop the garlic and red onion (I was super lazy and super hungry so I used my little hand blender) and add to the bowl. Season everything with the juice of the lime, extra virgin olive oil, tabasco (go as crazy as you like, I must have added around 15 splashes!) salt and pepper. Chop the coriander and add to the rest of the ingredients and stir.

There you go- you have yourself a great fresh salsa which is great with burgers (recipe coming up) tacos, fish... anything you wish. 

Thai Green Curry

This is a delicious recipe that got the major thumbs up from the boy. It is spicy, salty and sweet... it's bloomin' delicious and authentic (as close enough to the real McCoy as I possibly could get) to boot.

This is a recipe comes from my travels in South East Asia and one that I learnt from Siam Rice Cookery School in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

This is also great as the quantity will make roughly two batches of paste so the other half you can put in your freezer for another day.

You my friends, are in for a treat!

 Ingredients

Paste

5 green chillies- you can add more if you wish

Half a shallot

3 gloves of garlic

1 tablespoons of grated fresh ginger

2 pieces of lemongrass

1/2 tablespoon of shrimp paste (if you can't find, use anchovies or fish sauce)

2 tablespoons of chopped stems of fresh coriander

1 teaspoon of turmeric

Curry

250g chicken breasts (optional)

1 heaped tablespoon of green curry paste

A choice of vegetables- I used sugar snaps, red pepper, broccoli, mushrooms, carrots, spring onions

1 can of coconut milk

1 tablespoon of fish sauce

1-2 tablespoons of sugar

2 tablespoons of vegetable oil

2 kaffir lime leaves

Chopped fresh coriander

1 fresh lime

Half a red chilli

First things first is to get your paste ready, which is stupidly easy. Simply roughly chop the lemon grass, chillies, garlic  and shallots. Add these, with the rest of the ingredients (for the paste) to a blender and blend until smooth. Done. 

See, I told you that was going to be easy.

Next, heat your oil in your wok or frying pan- on a medium heat and add your paste for around 1 to 2 minutes. Add about 2 tablespoons of coconut milk to stop the paste from burning. Chop your chicken into chunks and add to the pan, making sure they get fully coated with the paste. Once the meat has turned white all over (don't brown it!!) add the coconut milk, sugar and fish sauce. Stir.

If you are not using meat just add the coconut milk etc after the paste has been cooking for a few minutes.

Once it has been cooking for around a minute add the broccoli and carrots (if using baby corn add those too) with the kaffir lime leaves. Cook for around 2 minutes. Next add the rest of the vegetables. Cook for around another 2-3 minutes. If the curry is getting a little thick just add a little splash of water.

I like my vegetables still to have a little bite so turn off the heat when you like the texture of the vegetables. If you haven't cooked this before-  make sure to check your chicken to see if it cooked all the way through!

That's it. Done.

Serve with a rice, a sprinkle of fresh coriander, sliced red chill and a slice of lime.

I hope you like it. 

Chilli Infused Poached Egg with Smashed Avocado

If you haven't guessed by now I love, and I mean LOVE chilli. Anything spicy and I am drooling. So usually when I have a poached egg I partner it with sliced avocado, splashed with tabasco, coriander and lime. This is a slight twist on this. And probably prettier on the eye too.

I eat half an avocado nearly everyday, maybe every single day. I can't get enough of it and I am known for going on about the little fella. I add it to salads, I make guacamole by the vat load, and have it in a sandwich with red onion, tomatoes lime, tabasco (obviously) and coriander. I ADORE the stuff. It is probably my favourite fruit and not only is it tasty but it's bloody good for you in so many ways. 

Avocados are very nutritious and contain a wide variety of nutrients, including 20 different vitamins and minerals. They not only make your hair and skin super shiny but they also help to lower cholesterol and help to prevent cancer... and the list goes on, there is a whole bunch of other goodies under the alligator style jacket of Mr Avocado. 

Now the method of cooking this poached egg is slightly different to the norm. You're going to cook your egg in cling film- yes, you heard right! This is a great way to cook different flavoured poached eggs and funnily enough an ex of mine first introduced me to cook them this way, however he didn't oil the cling film and managed to melt the cling film to the bottom of my mum's frying pan, so we ate over cooked mashed up plastic infused egg... we were 17 at the time. However the past couple of years I have seen Jamie Oliver use this method- and it's a fab way to infuse your eggs... you can even add fresh herbs to the cling film. It makes the egg look beautiful! 

Anyway back to the point... you want to know how to cook the above. And yes, you should have this dish sat in front of you in less than 10 minutes... and probably consumed in less than 5 minutes.

This is to serve one person. Gosh I seem such a selfish cook!

Ingredients

1 free range egg

half a red chilli

half an avocado

a quarter of red onion

half a lime

4 cherry tomatoes

a small bunch of fresh coriander

a slice of rye bread

olive/rapeseed oil

extra virgin olive oil

salt and fresh ground black pepper

First grab yourself a sheet of cling film, lay it down flat on your work top. Drizzle with a little olive/rapeseed oil (I use my fingers to spread over the middle of the cling film.). Next thinly slice the red chilli and scatter over the middle of the cling film. Then crack your egg into the centre of the cling film and bring together the corners of the cling film and twist making sure there is no air trapped inside. Leave your little egg parcel to the side whilst you prep the rest.

Mash your avocado in a bowl and add the lime juice, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. Stir.

Chop the red onion finely and in little squares. Cut the tomatoes into quarters. Roughly chop the coriander.

Next boil the kettle and pour into a sauce pan.  Now, I use a skewer to to keep the cling film from the most hottest part of the pan (I pierce the twisted part of the cling film, pull the skewer through and then rest the skewer on either side of the pan so the egg is completely in the water but not touching the bottom of the pan) but to be honest you shouldn't need to do this but I prefer to.

Pop your egg into the pan of boiling water (keeping the gas to a simmer) and cook for usually 6 minutes.

Whilst it is cooking, toast your rye bread and put a good dollop of the smashed avocado on top of the bread. 

Your egg should be ready so take it out of the cling film and place on the avocado. Sprinkle your dish with the tomatoes, coriander and red onion.

Done. Simple eh! On your marks, get set... SCOFF.

Kick Ass Spicy Tomato and Red Pepper Soup

This is a super easy, quick, cheap, healthy soup that will awaken your taste buds. You don't need to be a pro in the kitchen and you can also adapt the herbs if you want a slightly different taste. Most of you will already have these ingredients in your cupboards so you can cook this up pretty much any day.

This soup was made on the spot so my measurements are a rough guess- it's all about trial and error! But hopefully you too will be able to enjoy this simple soup.

Also to note that I cooked the soup for myself so the quantities are for one bowl, if you need to make enough for two mouths, then double the quantity.

Oh and a tip- with fresh tomatoes, don't store them in your fridge as they won't ripen properly and they can absorb the flavours of your fridge, a little like eggs. Leave them out to ripen to their full potential which add a great sweetness.

Ingredients

2 ripe fresh tomatoes 

a quarter of a fresh red pepper

half a red chilli (optional if you're not keen on spice)

half a red onion

1 clove of garlic

a pinch of smoked paprika

a teaspoon of fresh flat leaf parsley (you can use basil if you wish)

half a teaspoon of vegetable stock (I recommend bouillon)

salt and fresh ground black pepper

a drizzle of oil (I used cold pressed rapeseed but if not olive oil)

the juice of half a fresh lime (you can use lemon if you would prefer)

a glug of hot water

First you need to peel the tomatoes. Pop the kettle on and fill a bowl with boiling hot water. Using a knife score all the way around the tomato and do the same on the other half so it makes a sort of X. Place the tomatoes in the boiling hot water for around 15/20 seconds. Pour the hot water out and replace with cold water. Leave to the side to cool.

Next is to prep everything else. I like to get everything ready before cooking.  

Finely chop (but don't worry about being neat as you will be whizzing everything up in a blender anyhow) the half red onion, the garlic and the red pepper. 

Next peel the skins off the tomatoes and roughly chop the flesh. 

Place to one side some chopped parsley.

Heat the oil in a saucepan on a medium heat and add the onion, making sure not to let it catch. Add a splash of cold water to help it soften without browning and stir every now and again. After the onion starts to go a little see-through, add the chopped garlic, chilli and the red pepper and stir. After a couple of minutes add the tomatoes and smoked paprika and stir. Let it cook for a couple of minutes. Add the stock and a glug of water- not too much I would say about a quarter of a cup. Season with salt and pepper and add the parsley. Taste to see if you need any more seasoning but you will be adding lime to the soup so no need to add a huge amount of salt as the lime will add saltiness to the dish.

Allow everything to cook for about 5 minutes-  I would say to try to not let the peppers get too soft, they still want some nutrients left in them plus they will be blended anyway. Just before you switch the hob off add the lime juice and stir.

Then simply blend everything (watch out with the blender as the steam can blow the lid off, yes I am talking from experience! So either wait until cool, blend then reheat or blend a little at a time) I then put a couple of shavings of parmesan, a little parsley and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil (make sure it is extra virgin as this is used for dressings only whereas olive oil is for cooking only) which adds another dimension to the taste of the soup.

Voila. Enjoy.