Roast gammon, potatoes, carrot and swede, courgette frittata and some steamed kale

OK - I'll not pretend that shortages have begun to bite yet - but I though it was still worth sharing the basic timings of a good roast dinner.  This was our Mother's Day tea (not my Mum, sorry Mum - we couldn't risk visiting) - which is slightly hilarious, as the Mum in question is veggie - but this was to cater for all!

The ingredients were all sourced from Tod market - which is doing its best in these troubled times.

The ham joint is a big 'un - so that it can be used for sandwiches and other stuff, over the next few days.  All the left over veg will go into "leftovers soup" so there is zero wastage.

Start the ham early - it needs to poach for 3 hours, then get a glaze on and bake for another hour or so.  It was so worth it!





Baked, glazed ham

Ham joint
Mustard (english and wholegrain)
Honey
Olive oil

Potatoes
Olive oil
Carrots
Swede
Butter
Courgette
Eggs
Kale

1.  1 o'clock - put the ham in a large pot of water, boil for 3+ hours - topping the water up as necessary, but otherwise ignore and get on with the rest of your day.
2.  About 4pm - take the ham out of the pan, transfer to an oven dish.  Leave to settle for 30 minutes.
3.  Make the glaze - mix mustards, a small spoon of honey, salt and pepper and olive oil - paste over the joint.
4.  About 5 ish - pop the ham in the oven - turn to 180.
5.  5:30ish - start the veg prep - cut potatoes into even sized pieces (these were baby potatoes, so I just halved them).  Toss in olive oil and salt and roast - check them after about 50 minutes - if they are doing too fast - take them out and put them back in for the last 10 minutes to heat through again.
6.  Peel and chop carrots and swede - boil for about 20 minutes - when cooked mash them with butter and seasoning and pop in the oven.
7.  Chop courgettes into small cubes, whisk eggs.  Mix the eggs and the courgette and pour into an oiled baking dish - bake for about 25-30 minutes.
8.  Take the ham out of the oven to rest for about 20-30 minutes.
9.  Prep the kale by removing the hard stem, shredding, and steam for 15 minutes.
10.  serve, scoff - delish

Fish pie, garlic courgettes and steamed veg

It's British pie week, and Paul had some fabulous fish, so I got to make one of my favourites, a really good fish pie.

Cooking the courgettes long and slow in olive oil with plenty of garlic even made the veg dodger sit up and have seconds.

Fish - a combination of cod, haddock, smoked haddock and a little salmon.
Soya milk
Cornflour
Potatoes
Butter
Frozen peas
Carrots
Leek
Courgette
Garlic
Olive oil

1.  Peel potatoes and boil for the mash.
2.  Cut fish into bite sized pieces and poach in soya milk (or dairy milk).
3.  Drain the milk from the fish and thicken with slaked cornflour, ie.  heat in a pan, add cornflour mixed to a paste in water, and heat through, stirring continuously until it thickens. add a good grind of black pepper.
4.  Place the fish in an oven dish and cover with the thickened sauce.
5.  Mash the potatoes with a knob of butter.
6.  Chuck a good handful of frozen peas over the fish mixture and then cover with mash.
7.  Bake to get a crispy brown top, for about 20 minutes.
8.  Dice the courgette, fry in olive oil with crushed garlic.  Kepp it on a low-medium heat and let them cook through gently.
9.  Steam washed, sliced leeks and carrot batons.
10.  Serve, scoff …

Smoked mackerel, courgette and green bean pasta

Cheap, quick and healthy - can't beat it.  All ingredients (except frozen peas) available at Tod market.  Mackerel from Paul outside, veg from Kev outside and everything else from The Mediterranean Pantry inside.

Olive oil
Onion
Garlic
Courgette
Italian seasoning
Green beans
Frozen peas
Pasta (GF, or otherwise)
Smoked mackerel

1.  Gently fry chopped onion in olive oil until soft, then add courgette and garlic and continue to cook until courgette is soft, stirring occasionally.
2.  Cut green beans into bite sized pieces and place in a steamer pan.
3.  Boil the kettle, pour boiling water into a pan, bring back to the boil and add pasta and a pinch of salt.
4.  Steam the beans over the pasta, after 5 minutes add frozen peas.
5.  Break the mackerel into bite sized flakes, discarding the skin.
6.  When the pasta is done, drain and then throw in all the other ingredients and stir.
7.  Serve, scoff

Under 20 minutes and under £1 per portion.

Seared scallops, with roe sauce, garlic beans and herby courgettes

The picture really does not do this justice - it was delicious.

We found some lovely looking scallops in Leeds, with the coral attached - this is quite unusual these days, so I thought we would treat ourselves.  And, what a treat it was!

Scallops
Butter
Olive oil
Red onion
Garlic
Cognac
Lemon
New potatoes
Green beans
Courgettes
Tuscan mix

Make the sauce first, then half prep things, then finish off with the scallops.

1.  Finely chop a red onion, and crush a couple of cloves of garlic.
2.  Sautee half the onion and half the garlic gently in a mixture of olive oil and butter, until they are soft.
3.  Put the other half of the onion, with a good pinch of salt, in a big bowl, with some olive oil - into which you mix the hot potatoes when they are ready.
4.  Put the other half of the garlic into a small frying pan with a knob of butter, which you will melt and add to the green beans when they are done.
5.  Chop courgettes, put into a bag with a spoon of Tuscan mix, jiggle it about until they are all covered, they add in a glug of olive oil, and jiggle it about again.
6.  Separate the coral from the scallops and rinse both parts gently.
7.  Add a glug of cognac to the softened onions and garlic, then add the corals.  Cook for about 3 minutes.
8.  Boil new potatoes, steam prepped beans on top.
9.  Transfer coral mixture to a small blender, add a grind of black pepper and a squirt of lemon juice.  Zizz until fairly smooth.
10.  Griddle the courgettes, for a couple of minutes each side, then keep warm.
11.  Sear the scallops in a hot pan for a minutes or two each side.
12.  Toss the beans in garlic butter, and the potatoes in chopped onion.
13.  Serve, scoff

… have seconds, and then thirds.

Borlotti bean and cheese burgers, with potato wedges, sauteed cabbage and griddled courgettes

Following on from the batch of borlotti beans I made burgers from the mix I made yesterday vegan borlotti buritto mix , with some cheese in the middle to ooze out when cooked.  I served it with potato wedges, griddled courgettes, stir fried cabbage and the red pepper sauce - also from yesterday.  It was very good.  I used Pearl Wen, from the crumbly cheese, as it's my current favourite but you could use cheddar, mozzarella or pretty much any other cheese.  The stir fried cabbage came from an idea of a take on coleslaw - but no carrots ... so I thought I would soften it slightly and add some zest with the lime .. it works, I promise!

Borlotti bean mix (as above)
Porridge oats
Cheese (Pearl Wen, or other, as above)
Olive oil
Potatoes
Courgettes
Tuscan seasoning
Cabbage
Spring onion
Garlic
Lime

1.  Cut potatoes into wedges, toss in olive oil and roast for about 40 minutes.
2.  Mix the bean mixture with oats - about 1/2 the volume of oats to bean mixture. Mix well, chill in the fridge to firm up slightly.
3.  Cut 1 inch slices of cheese - one for each burger.  Form the burgers by wrapping a slice of cheese with the bean mix, place on a greased baking tray and bake for about 25 minutes, turning over half way through.
4.  Slice the courgettes and toss in Tuscan seasoning mix.  Griddle for a couple of minutes on each side.  Keep warm until everything is ready.
5.  Shred the cabbage and spring onion.  Crush a clove of garlic.  Stir fry the cabbage, onion and garlic, add a pinch of salt, for 2-3 minutes in hot olive oil.  Spritz with lime juice.
6.  Serve, with red pepper sauce (again, as above), scoff ... really delicious!

Roast dinner - veggie style

It was Sunday, and I fancied a roast dinner, so I made one.  Well, when I say "I" I mean Lidl and I ... I don't mention may products on this blog, partly because most of the time I cook from scratch, and when I don't it's not usually worth writing about.  Don't get me wrong, convenience food has its place, but I don't like to use it all the time - I mean, if I did, I'd probably not be writing a food blog!  Anyway, we tried Lidl's cashew, quinoa and carrot nut roast - and it is very good.  I was glad that I made a gravy to go with it, because I think it needs it - but all in all - we'll be buying it again!

Potatoes
Olive oil
Cashew nut, quinoa and carrot nut roast
Onion
Garlic
Tomato ouree
Marmite
Polish mustard
Veg oxo cube
Courgette
polenta
mixed herbs
chili flakes

1.  Peel the potatoes, cut them into pieces and roast in olive oil, for about an hour.
2.  Follow the instructions on the nut roast - takes about 35 minutes.
3.  Make the gravy - sweat down chopped onion and garlic.  When it's soft add tomato puree, a spoonful of marmite, stock cube, water and mustard.  Stir and simmer until reduced to how you like it.  Make sure it's had a good 10 minutes to cook out the tomato puree.
4.  Slice courgettes, mix polenta, herbs and seasoning, toss courgettes in herby mix and fry for a couple of minutes on each side.  Keep wrm in the oven until everything else is done.
5.  Scoff, be impressed by the shop bought nut roast... have seconds.

Lamb breast and mediterranean vegetable bake

I love a bargain.  I had to go to the supermarket to pick up soya milk, so glanced in the last minute bargains section - and saw lamb breast for 50p!  50p! ... so, that was enough of a spark to dictate what we were to have for dinner.  I only bought one each, but they worked so well I wish I had bought more, for the freezer.

Lamb breast
Tomato pesto
Garlic
Olive oil
Potatoes
Salt
Aubergine
Courgette
Tomatoes
Cheese (masdaam and cheddar, could have been almost any cheese)
Red onion
Italian herbs

1.  Mix together tomato pesto, crushed garlic and a little olive oil, massage into the lamb breast and marinate for an hour or so.
2.  Sprinkle potatoes with salt, toss in olive oil and roast in the oven.
3.  Put the lamb in the oven, start at a medium heat for half an hour, then at a high heat for half an hour.
4.  Griddle sliced aubergine and courgette in a little olive oil, then stack in an overlapping pattern in an oven dish - aubergine, courgette, tomato ... keep going in a spiral.  Tuck bits of cheese in with the vegetables, sprinkle with italian herbs and finely chopped red onion.  Bake for 20 minutes.
5.  Serve, scoff.

(The veg dodger had seconds of mediterranean bake!)

Kale, spinach and feta tumble top pie, with cumin carrots and herby courgettes

Couldn't think what to do for tea today - but knew we had a load of leafy greens in the fridge so I invented this kind of cottage pie with a Greek-ish twist.  I also added some greek meatballs for the carnivore.

Onion
Olive oil
Kale
Spinach
Potatoes
Feta
Nutmeg
Carrots
Cumin
Courgettes
mixed herbs
GF flour
Meatballs

1.  Chop onion and soften in olive oil.  Add shredded kale.
2.  Dice potatoes and par boil.
3.  When the kale is a little soft add handfuls of spinach to wilt.
4.  Peel carrots, toss in olive oil and cumin seeds and roast for 30 minutes or so.
5.  Add chopped feta to the wilted greens, grate on a little nutmeg, mix through and put into an oven dish.
6.  Drain the potatoes and tumble onto the spinach mixture.  Drizzle with olive oil and roast for 30 minutes, until the top goes golden.
7.  Bung meatballs in the oven.
8.  Slice courgettes and toss in seasonned, herby flour.  Grill on both sides for a couple of minutes.
9.  Serve, scoff.

A touch of sunshine on an autumnal evening.

Lemon sole - with mediterranean vegetables and baby roast potatoes

Paul the Fish on Todmorden market is fab!  The Mediterreanean Pantry inside Tod market is also fab (well, I would say that, it's mine) ... but the fish from Paul is a Friday night treat we look forward to every week.  Today, lemon sole ... yum.

So, from the beginning - the baby roast potatoes take the most time, so get them on ... the do what you have to do when you get in from work ... then finish the other bits.


Potatoes
Olive oil
Spring onion
courgettes
aubergine
tomatoes
garlic
lemon sole
asparagus
salt and pepper

1.  Wash and chop potatoes - boil in salted water.
2.  In a big baking dish heat some olive oil.  Drain the potatoes - add them to the olive oil - turn over in the oil and roast for about an hour.
3.  Meanwhile - slice the spring onions, courgettes, aubergine, tomatoes and finely sliced garlic and roast in another dish, in olive oil for 30 minutes.
4.  Now add the fish to the top of  the veg, drizzle with olive oil and season - roast for another 30 minutes.  (If I had some black olives to hand I would have chucked some on the top - but I forgot to bring some home from work... tskkk)
5.  15 minutes before serving start steaming the asparagus spears.

Serve, scoff, fight gathered people for thirds!

Re-imagined salad nicoise

The end of the veg box included courgettes, cabbage, green beans and tomatoes.  The new veg box brought lots of things, but including some nice new potatoes - so I re-imagines a salad nicoise - green beans in a tasty sauce - new potatoes and boiled eggs (could have added tuna, but preferred to stay veggie today).  Also, a spoonful of steamed cabbage - we have so much, and it's really nice, so why not?

Easy bits, boil - washed and chopped, diced new potatoes, steam - green beans and chopped cabbage on top.

Gently cook chopped celery, courgette, shallot and tomatoes in olive oil with garlic, wild rosemary and a few chili flakes.  Cook them slowly, stirring now and again, until they are all soft and silky in the olive oil.  Boil eggs - peel shells off.

Mix beans and veg sauce - serve with potatoes, eggs and cabbage.

Scoff - have seconds!

Grilled endive, halloumi, red pepper; tomato and courgette bake with new potatoes

It's been pee-ing it down all day... AGAIN.  So, to try to inject a bit of summer into the day I did a bit of a mediterranean grill fest - with endive (chicory), red pepper and halloumi with a tomatoe and courgette back, with some simply boiled potatoes.

In the order of attack.  Turn on oven. Make marinade, chuck in chicory, peppers and cheese.  Chop tomatoes and courgettes and make the bake.  Boil potatoes.  Grill chicory, then add red peppers, then halloumi - the chicory takes about 12 minutes, peppers 6-8 and cheese 5ish.

Marinade

Olive oil
Crushed garlic
balsamic vinegar
chopped fresh rosemary
salt and pepper
chili flakes

Courgette and tomato bake

courgettes, chopped into slices about the thickness of a £1 coim
tomatoes, similarly chopped
olive oil
crushed garlic
salt

Drizzle oil into oven dish, arrange tomatoes and courgettes alternating.  Spinkle with salt and crushed garlic, drizzle with oil.  Bake for 20ish minutes.

I think that's it for recipes.  Was really very nice and brought some sunshine into an otherwise dull May Saturday.