Cabbage & Tofu stir fry with Egg Fried Rice

My lunch, for your delectation. My Asian friend assures me this is very far from being an authentic Chinese dish but good all the same!

Cabbage & Tofu

Serves two, or one very greedy person (me).

• 200g firm tofu
• Half a Savoy cabbage, shredded
• 2 spring onions thickly sliced
• Little thumb of ginger, thinly sliced
• As much sliced red chilli as you're comfy with
• Soy sauce
• 1 lemon wedge per person

1. Take tofu slices and cut into triangular chunks. Pat dry with a teatowel.
2. Heat oil in a wok (sufficient to cover about half the thickness of the tofu) and fry the tofu, about 4 minutes on each side.
3. Drain and reserve the oil, leaving a couple of tablespoons for frying.
4. On a high heat, add the cabbage, onion, ginger and chilli. Stir fry for a few minutes until the cabbage browns very slightly.
5. Add soy sauce and a splash of water and stir, then add the tofu.
6. Cook the cabbage for a few more minutes. It's done when it's al dente, slightly crunchy but cooked through.
7. Drain the cabbage and liquid into a serving dish.
8. As a final touch, squeeze lemon juice over the top.

Egg fried rice

This is my favourite way of using up leftover rice from the night before. It's great just for breakfast with chilli sauce on top.

There are several ways to make egg fried rice, but I like this style which leaves distinct bits of egg. Also saves you the bother of beating the egg first

• Cooked rice
• 1 egg per person
• Chopped spring onion (optional)
• 1/2 tsp sesame oil

1. Add a tablespoon of the reserved oil to the wok and heat.
2. Crack in an egg. Leave the white to cook for a few seconds, then scramble it all.
3. Add the rice (and onion if using), stir and let it heat through and cook for a few minutes.
4. Take off the heat, stir in the sesame oil and serve immediately.

Chickpea and butternut squash tagine

This quick tagine was totally a random recipe, but packed with warm Moroccan spices it's so delicious I wished I'd invited people over! It'll look elegant served by candlelight on a hot summer's evening, or as a tasty lunch with couscous, rice or flatbreads.

I just wanted a way to use up a squash and leftover chickpeas from making hummus, but oh my, this is sooo good it's a new favourite.

• 1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into slices
• 1 large onion, roughly sliced and chopped
• 2 sticks celery, chopped
• 1 orange
• 400g chickpeas (approx, cooked or canned)
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 medium chilli
• Ground coriander or coriander seeds
• 2 tsp cinnamon (or a stick)
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 2 tsp allspice
• 2 tsp vegetable stock
• 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
• (Dried chilli if you want more heat)

1. Preheat the oven to 180C.
2. Put the squash slices into a bowl. Splash with oil and a sprinkling of salt, enough to coat. Roughly chop one clove of garlic and mix everything together.
3. Spread the squash mixture on a baking sheet and roast for approx 20 mins until the slices start to caramelise on the outside but are still firm.
4. Meanwhile, splash oil into a large pan and gently fry the onion and celery.
5. When translucent, stir in the chilli, garlic and dry spices.
6. Add the tomato and stock powder. Fill up the can with water and add to the pan.
7. Peel a few strips of zest from your orange with a potato peeler, then juice it. Add both to the pan.
8. Add the chickpeas and cook for 5 minutes or so.
9. Check seasoning - add more salt if it needs, and dried chilli if it needs more oomph.
10. By now the squash will be ready. Remove from the oven, and chop the slices into bite-sized chunks. Tip into the pan and stir. Add more water if it's too dry, you want the squash to be covered.
11. Turn down to a gentle heat and cook until both the chickpeas and squash are tender.
12. Serve topped with chopped fresh coriander or parsley and a squeeze of lemon juice. 

Variations

If you want more sweetness, try adding dried dates or apricots.

When serving, a drizzle of tahini on top adds a nice nutty addition. Or top with toasted flaked almonds to add crunch.

Chilli hummus

Another sparkling summer recipe today! Hummus is endlessly variable, you can really add whatever flavourings you like. Home-made is miles better than the bland beige stuff that ends up going fizzy in your fridge.

Personally I like the bold heat of garlic, chilli and cumin, but add whatever flavourings you most enjoy. Serve it as a dip with chopped veg, but even better, spread a big dollop on a plate and pile savoury things on top - a herby salad with feta, any kind of roast veg, or even (shh) meat! Ditch the cutlery and mop it all up with tasty Mediterranean flatbreads.

Personally I prefer using chickpeas I've soaked overnight and boiled for an hour or so, I think the flavour is better. It's also much cheaper than canned! But if you're pushed for time, tinned chickpeas are just fine.

• 400g chickpeas (cooked or canned)
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 small medium-heat chilli (deseeded if you're nervous)
• 3 tbsp olive oil (the better the oil, the better the flavour)
• 2 tbsp tahini
• Juice of a lemon (two if they're tiny)
• Pinch of salt
• Pinch of cumin

1. Putting everything into a blend, and whizz til smooth.
2. Test it, and taste it. Add more flavourings if you fancy!
3. At this stage it will probably be too thick. If so, add a splash of water and rewhizz until its a smooth, thick, but not too dry consistency.

Homemade sun-blush tomatoes

Sadly I can't grow my own tomatoes, but instead I bought a big bag of juicy ones for just a pound at the market! Far tastier and more economical than the overpriced anaemic rubbish you get in supermarkets.

A great way to deal with a glut of tomatoes is drying them. I love sun-dried or sun-blush tomatoes, they're delicious in a rocket salad, with pasta, in sandwiches, a whole array of different uses! Sadly in the UK we don't have that blazing Mediterranean sun to dry things in the air, but instead, it's quite simple to put them in a very low oven for a few hours.

If you want oven-blush tomatoes, take them out when they're still juicy, keep in the fridge and use them in a few days. Otherwise leave them til they've shrivelled but not too dark, and pack them in jars of olive oil. The tomatoey oil is delicious for cooking, salad dressings or with bread dipped in it!

Recipe

• Lots of tomatoes (say 300-500g)
• Oil
• Thyme or oregano
• Salt
• Few cloves of garlic

1. Cut your tomatoes in half across the middle.
2. In a bowl, mix them with 2 tbsp oil, herbs and salt so they are all coated.
3. Pack them into a baking dish or tray, cut side up.
4. Put your oven on a low heat (80-100C), and cook for about 3 hours or more until they've reached the consistency you require.
5. Remove and cool.
6. Slice or thickly chop a couple of cloves of garlic.
7. Take a couple of sterilised jars and pack the tomatoes and garlic inside.
8. Top up with good olive oil.

Variations

Add as much garlic as you like, personally I love the garlicky oil. Sliced or dried chillis also add a good kick.

A food dehyrator is obviously a good way to dry tomatoes, but if you're lucky enough to have sun hot enough to actually dry things, prepare them as above then put on racks in full sun. Cover with muslin to keep the flies off and bring in at night. They'll dry in a couple of days. Apparently leaving them in a hot car also works!

Pan-roasted plum tomato pasta

This is absolutely one of my favourite tomato recipes for juicy ripe cherry or small plum tomatoes. It looks simple but it's a real taste of Mediterranean summer, and ready in minutes. The tomatoes roast in the pan and pop, so the sweet juice mixes with the lovely blackened skin to produces a delicious sauce.

• Handful of plum or cherry tomatoes per person, washed and dried
• One large or two skinny spring onions per person, roughly chopped
• 100g of conchiglie/pasta shells per person
• Tbsp or so of chopped fresh basil or parsley

1. Start cooking the pasta as per instructions.
2. Heat a frying pan or wok with a generous slosh of oil.
3. Drop the whole tomatoes into the pan. Keep rolling them around the pan for five or so minutes, during which time they'll shrivel, the skin will split and go a little black.
4. Add the chopped onions and stir, they don't need much cooking.
5. Deglaze the pan with a splash of the pasta cooking water.
6. Drain the pasta and add it to the tomatoes.
7. Stir and serve, sprinkled with fresh basil or parsley and some parmesan!

Variations

If you have it, a splash of balsamic vinegar adds bite and sweetness. Tomatoes are also great with thyme, add fresh sprigs when the tomatoes are nearly cooked.

Ruby Grapefruit Marmalade

Just showing off my Ruby Grapefruit Marmalade! I love hot buttered toast and marmalade in the morning, and the fragrant tang of grapefruit is just perfect. Using red, pink or ruby grapefruit gives it a lovely colour too.

But marmalade isn't just for toast - it's great as a glaze on duck and ham (see, I can do meat suggestions!), in a marmalade sponge cake, or as a glaze on top of a rich fruit cake. It's also tasty with a sharp cheese!

Cook it just like my plum jam recipe, equal amounts of sliced fruit and sugar but I add the juice of a lemon but to make it sharper. I love a chunky marmalade, but if you don't like "bits", whizz up the cooked fruit with a hand blender before adding the sugar.

Halloumi & beetroot salad

A quick lunch post as this looked pretty!

This is almost veg that I needed to use up. The salad consists of one fresh beetroot and one carrot, grated; chopped spring onions, tomato and cucumber; and some fresh parsley. I tossed it together with salt and a squeeze of lemon juice, and nestled it some shredded iceburg lettuce.

I had leftover new potatoes so made a quick potato salad with yoghurt and spring onions, fried up the halloumi and popped a few olives on top. A filling and colourful summer salad.

Curry Night! Quorn Tomato and Spinach Curry with Green Bean Fritters

Friday night is curry night! When the weather's hot, a spicy curry and a cold beer go down a treat. Here's my takeaway alternative: quorn palak with green been fritters and a refreshing raita.

Quorn Palak (Curry with tomato and spinach)

Clarified butter or ghee gives it that rich flavour, restaurants generally use far too much which makes them greasy and fattening! Alternatively use creamed coconut, or just fry things in oil then add a knob of butter into the sauce later as a cheat.

This serves 2, scale up for more.

• 4 Quorn fillets (or equivalent chunks)
• 2 tbsp curry paste (Madras or whichever you prefer)
• 2 medium onions or 1 large
• 4 chunks frozen spinach or equivalent fresh, wilted
• 2 tbsp coconut butter or ghee
• 1 tin chopped tomatoes

1. Slice the quorn fillets into thick slices of assorted sizes.
2. Chop the onions in half, and then into thin slices.
3. Chop the spinach.
4. Add ghee or oil to a pan and fry them together til the quorn slightly browns and the onions go translucent.
5. Add the curry paste (how much really depends on how strong you like it!). Mix with the onion and quorn til everything is coated.
6. Add the spinach, then the chopped tomatoes.
7. Cook on a medium heat til the sauce reduces and thickens.
8. Season with salt to taste at the end.
9. Serve with rice or flatbreads!

Variations

This also works well with chickpeas or paneer.

Green bean fritters

2 handfuls of French beans (imprecise but it depends how big the beans are!)

5 tbsp self-raising flour

1 tsp turmeric

1 egg

Trim the beans. If using frozen, defrost them then press them dry with a tea towel.

Mix the flour, turmeric, egg and a pinch of salt into a sticky batter.

In a large bowl, mix the batter with the beans. Make sure each bean is coated with a thin sticky layer.

Form the beans into about 4 lumps, or 6 if you prefer smaller.

Heat a pan, wok or deep-fat fryer. Drop the fritters into the oil for a few minutes each side. They should puff up a little. Cook til golden.

Drain them on kitchen towel then serve hot.

Raita

Raita makes a lovely cool side dish if you're having something spicy. Mix chopped cucumber and mint with thick yoghurt and a pinch of salt. Enjoy!

Halloumi and tomato basket starter

When cooking I often have random inspiration based on what I have in the fridge!  I had this idea for a starter which looks fancy but is very simple.

Bread baskets make a great base for a starter, they're pastry for cheats. Take a slice of bread, roll it flat with a rolling pin, then cut it into a neat square. Lightly butter one side, season with salt and pepper, then firmly press the buttered side down around the underside of a muffin tin or anything similarly shaped. Put in a hot oven at 200C for about 10 minutes til they're crisp.

My tomato salsa is just chopped tomatoes, the juicer the better, with chopped spring onion, chopped parsley (and/or basil if you have it), a splash of balsamic vinegar and a squeeze of lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper, toss together and leave in the fridge til you need it.

Fry the halloumi (cutting it into triangles is slightly more original than rectangles), and assemble, giving a final squeeze of lemon juice over the halloumi.

Tip: a splodge of sticky balsamic vinegar reduction in the centre of the plate stops it sliding around when you serve!

Summer teatime: Plum jam & Scones

The downside of loving food is eating too much of it! I've been on a diet lately hence not posting in a while.

Today I had a basket of juicy black plums. To be honest I'm not keen on eating plums, but I love plum jam. And what's the best use for plum jam? Scones! A perfect teatime treat for a summer's day.

I was always rather afraid of jam making, it always seemed mysterious and complicated. But once I started, I discovered how easy it is once you summon up the courage.

My tips are, get a sugar thermometer, and make sure you keep stirring so it doesn't burn on the bottom! Jam tends to bubble and splash when cooking, so I recommend using a large pan that's only a third full to minimise mess. Rubber gloves also protect your hands from sugar splashes!

Plum Jam

Jam uses roughly equal amounts of fruit and sugar. I always try to use less sugar (say 60/40), but it just makes it trickier to set.

• 750g plums, chopped and stoned
• 750g sugar
• 1 small apple, peeled and chopped
• Juice of half a lemon
• 100 ml water

1. Add the fruit, juice and water to a pan, bring to the boil and simmer for half an hour or so until the fruit is cooked.
2. Take off the heat, and stir in the sugar until it dissolves.
3. Return to the heat and crank up to maximum. I have a sugar thermometer which hangs on the side of my pan so you can always see the temperature.
4. Stir gently every so often so that it doesn't stick to the bottom.
5. Keep checking the temperature. When it rises to 104C, that's the "setting point" at which it turns into jam.
6. To test whether it's set, the traditional method is to put a couple of saucers into the freezer. Drop a small dribble onto a cold plate and poke it with your finger. If it "wrinkles" or just feels jelly-like, it's set. If it stays runny, you need to cook for longer.
7. Once it's reached setting point, take off the heat. Leave to cool for a few minutes. It will thicken as it cools so don't worry if it still seems runny, but if it's very thick while it's still hot, you might want to add a splash of water from the kettle.
8. Pour into sterilised jam jars. I always label my jars so I remember what they are and when I made them!

Scones

Scones are one of my store-cupboard staples. If I was a glamorous housewife I could claim I only make them when unexpected guests pop by, but the truth is I make them for myself because they're so quick! I tend to leave out butter but add 50g for more indulgent scones. Serve them with butter and/or clotted cream for full-fat luxury, or just with greek yoghurt for those watching their waistline!

• 225g self raising flour 
• (or, 225g plain flour plus 1.5 tsp baking powder)
• 150 milk
• Pinch of salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• Handful of dried fruit (optional)

1. Mix it all together in a bowl.
2. Bring together into dough, you just want to mix it so everything is incorporate into a ball.
3. Preheat your oven to 220C.
4. Transfer to a floured surface, and roll so that it's an inch or more thick.
5. I'm greedy and like big scones so I use a large pastry cutter to make 4 scones. A smaller one should make 6, or 8 for bite-sized ones.
6. Punch the cutter straight down, trying not to twist the sides.
7. Pop each one onto a baking tray. You can leave them plain or glaze with milk.
8. Whack into the hot oven and cook for 15 mins.