Spanish omelette packed with veggies

I like broccoli - really I do, but sometimes I don't want BROCCOLI, if you see what I mean - we also have a bit of a glut of red peppers from the veg box, so I wanted to do something tasty but quite quick.  Purists probably wouldn't call it a spanish omelette, possibly a fritatta but they tend to be potato free.  Lots of delicious slaw left over from last night, so a good big serving of that too - that's got to be 7 of my 5 a day, at least!




Veg packed spanish omelette

Olive oil
onion
red pepper
Mixed herbs
Potato
broccoli
eggs (lots)
grated cheese

1.  Sautee onions in olive oil, when softened a little add red pepper, and continue to soften, add a pinch of mixed herbs.
2.  Meanwhile boil sliced potatoes, steaming broccoli florets on the top.
3.  Beat together lots of eggs, season with salt and pepper.
4.  When the veg is cooked drain and leave to cool slightly - then mix into the eggs.  (Allowing them to cool slightly stops them scrambling the eggs as soon as you mix them in, which gives the omelete a peculiar texture.)
5.  Tip the mixture into a spoonful of olive oil in a big deep frying pan, fry gently for about 5 minutes.
6.  Put under the grill to cook from the top.  When the top is set add grated cheese, put back under the grill until its bubbling and delicious.

Crunch slaw

Red cabbage
Green cabbage
Onion
Carrots
Radish
Lemon juice/ cider vinegar
Olive oil

1.  Shred cabbages and chop carrots into slivers.  Chop onion into fine half moons, and radish into slivers.
2.  Mix veg, add a good pinch of salt, and mix again.
3.  Add a spoonful of vinegar or lemon juice and a slosh of olive oil, mix again.
If you like creamy coleslaw you could add mayonnaise and/or natural yogurt at this point.

Burger night

Burger and chips - sometimes it's just the thing.  I have to admit - I made neither the chips, nor the burgers! I did however top them with blue cheese, shredded lettuce and pickle - and make a mushroom, blue cheese and tomato "burger" for the veggie - and put together some delicious crunchy slaw - which is actually pictured on the next recipe - here - so I'll put the instructions there instead.  Burger night comes without formal "recipe" because we can all bung some oven chips in the oven and toast a bun.

Monster pork chop and onions, with cider and mustard sauce

Monster pork chops from Fielden's family butcher, Todmorden market - juicy and delicious!  Served with mash and veg of your choice (ours was left over from previous dinners ... here, and here).  Made the pork extra lovely with fried onions and a cider and mustard sauce.

(Butter from The Crumbly cheese, mustard and olive oil from The Mediterranean Pantry ... great ingredients from Todmorden market).

Potatoes
Onions
butter
Pork chop
cider
mustard

1.  Peel and boil potatoes for mash, mash with butter and seasoning.
2.  Fry onions in olive oil until soft - remove from pan, and keep warm.
3.  Pan fry pork chops in onion pan - when done, transfer to oven dish and keep warm.
4.  Make quick sauce by adding mustard and cider to pork pan - simmer briefly - done.
5. Meanwhile cook/heat veg.
6.  Serve, scoff ...  veggie had halloumi and onoins ... everybody was happy.

Hake with fennel and cavolo nero

Gorgeous silver hake from Paul the fish - some baby roasties and seasonal veg made a very delicious Friday dinner. The aniseediness of the fennel and the celery go very well with the fish, tied in together with a spritz of lemon.

Potatoes
olive oil
Onion
Celery
Garlic
fennel
white wine
cavolo nero
hake
lemon

1.  Chop potatoes into bite sized cubes and roast in olive oil.
2.  Sautee chopped onion and celery, then add crushed garlic and chopped fennel, spritz with lemon juice.  Add half a cup of wine, and the same of water, and simmer gently.
3.  Pan fry the fish, skin side down first - at the same time add shredded cavolo nero to the veg.
4.  Serve, scoff, watch veg dodger have seconds of green veg ... chuckle ...

Lentil ragu, neep and tattie mash

Good wholesome, stick to your ribs, comfort food.  I was going to steam some kale for the "leafy green" health benefits - but we're a bit kaled out - and surely this is healthy enough!

Olive oil
onion
garlic
carrots
celery
chilli flakes.
red pepper
lentils
tomato puree

potatoes
swede
soya spread

1.  Sautee onion in olive oil, add chopped celery and carrot and crushed garlic.
2. Add chopped red pepper, a sprinkle of chilli flakes and a handful of lentils (beluga in this case).
3.  Add about a pint of water, stir and simmer.  After a few minutes add a good squeeze of tomato puree - simmer until done - add more water if it looks like its going dry.
4.  Boil potatoes and swede - cut into even sized pieces, mash with soya spread and plenty of black pepper.

Veggie croque monsieur

Open fridge, sigh, shut fridge, ponder ... brainwave! ... open fridge again.

Onion
Garlic
Sundried tomatoes

Cheese
Eggs
Mustard

Bread (rye in our case, low gluten)

Salad leaves
Olives

1.  Sautee chopped onion and crushed garlic in some of the oil form the sundried tomatoes.  When the onion is soft add in sundried tomatoes and cook, very gently, until they are softenned into a paste.
2.  Grate cheese and mix with eggs and a spoonful of mustard.
3.  Toast slices of bread.
4.  Spread the toast with the tomato paste, and top with cheesey egg mixture.  Return to the grill until the top is golden and the egg set.
5.  Serve with salad and olives - delicious.

Mexican wraps

Nothing beats a lovely DIY construction of messy Mexican bits and pieces - some of us enjoyed a lovely mix of meats (or halloumi) refried beans, red peppers and onion, rice and salads snuggled together in a wholewheat wrap ... some of us ... who shall remain nameless - stuffed as much steak and chicken as possible - with a teaspoon of refried beans - into a similar wrap - and scoffed their own meaty concoction with barely an eyebrow raised towards the veg!

Onion
garlic
Olive oil
Kidney beans
Chilli flakes
Cumin seeds
Tomato puree
Lime

Carrots
Red pepper

Avocado
Tomato

Halloumi
Steak
Chicken breast

7 wholegrains - microwavable packet
Salad leaves

1.  Start the refried beans by frying chopped onion, crushed garlic, cumin seeds and chili flakes in olive oil.  Add a drained tin of kidney beans and a bit squirt of tomato puree, with a can of water.  Simmer gently, then crush with a potato masher ... spritz in the juice of half a lime.
2.  Make the guacamole by mixing finely chopped onion, avocado, tomatoes with the juice of half a lime.
3.  Cut the chicken breast into strips and season with cajun seasoning.
4.  Fry onions with strips of carrot and red pepper, adding a pinch of cajun seasonning.
5.  In multiple frying pans cook the chicken strips, the halloumi and sear the steak briefly.  Make sure that you rest the steak before cutting into strips.
6. Bang the grains into the microwave and put everything in the middle of the table, with some salad leaves.
7.  Stand back as the carnevores hone in on the meat!
8.  Eat your wrap, and then beat a hasty retreat leaving the large stack of washing up for someone else :)

Chicken and mushroom pie

... and mushroom and brie pie for the veggie.

We had some left over roast chicken (believe it or not) so I made pie and mash - it was lovely.

The pastry is made with GF flour.  Actually I made 2 pies, one for us meat eaters, and another for the veggie.

GF flour
butter

Olive oil
Onion
Garlic
Mushrooms
Soya milk

Cooked chicken

Brie

Potatoes
Carrots
Kale

1.  Make the pastry by rubbing butter into GF flour, and making a dough with just enough cold water to hold together - put in the fridge to chill - it's much easier to handle.
2.  Gently sautee chopped onion and garlic, then add chopped mushrooms and cook.
3.  Add a spoonful of GF flour to the mushrooms, stir in, then add enough soya milk to make a sauce, cook until a bit thickenned.
4.  Remove half the mushrooms to a pie dish, top with sliced brie.
5.  Add cooked chicken to the remaining mushrooms and stir into the sauce, move to another pie dish.
6.  Put the potatoes on to boil, steam the veggies on top.
7.  Roll out the pastry, top both pies - brush the top with soya milk, and bake for about 25 minutes.
8.  Mash potatoes with butter.
9.  Serve, scoff

Truffle and vegetable risotto

Autumnal, with a deep foresty almost mustiness - the authentic italian risotto mix was livened up with some fresh onion, red pepper, mushrooms and cavolo nero.

Olive oil
Onion
Garlic
Red pepper
Mushrooms
Truffle risotto mix
cavolo nero


1.  Sautee onion in olive oil until soft, add crushed garlic.
2. Add red pepper and mushrooms and continue to fry gently until they are soft.
3.  Tip in the risotto mix and about a cup of hot water, stir.
4.  When the water has mixed in, add another cupful and stir again - keep adding water until rice is just about done.  Then add shredded kale.
5.  Add another cup of water and stir until rice is done, and most of the water is absorbed.
6.  Turn off the heat and stand for a few minutes, this will allow the rest of the water to absorb, so the dish is silky (and not a watery ricey mess)

Vegetable cheese ... and stuff

Today's unappetising looking pile of mush, was actually extremely delicious cauliflower, squash and cavolo nero with a cheese sauce, with roasty potatoes and spicy chicken for the meat eaters.

Squash
Garam masala
Potatoes
Olive oil
Cauliflower
Cavolo nero
Chicken thighs
Garlic
Blackened cajun seasoning
Soya milk
Cornflour
Mustard
Cheddar

1.  Roast squash in olive oil, sprinkled with garam masala (actually we had this roasted already, so just added it to the other veg before putting in the oven in the cheese sauce, but if you are doing it from scratch if you put it in with the potatoes it should take about 40 minutes, so time enough to add straight away.)
2.  Chop potatoes into cubes, toss lightly in olive oil, sprinkle with salt and bake, for about a hour.
3.  Steam cauliflower florets and shredded kale for about 15 minutes.
4.  Put chicken thighs in an oven dish and massage with olive oil a sprinkling of cajun seasoning - roast for about 25 minutes.
5.  Make the cheese sauce - simmer soya milk, add slaked cornflour and stir to thicken.  Add a teaspoon of mustard and the grated cheese - stir until melted.
6.  Transfer all veg to an oven dish, top with sauce, and a handful more grated cheese, put in the oven for about 20 minutes, until top is golden brown.
7.  Serve, scoff