Slow Roasted Tomatoes

A quick one from me, a ridiculously simple and awesome way of turning some watery supermarket tomatoes into sweet, intensely flavoured ones. Rachel at Gastronomic Girls posted this a couple of weeks ago and I was drawn to the simplicity of it, and because I had some tomatoes getting lonely in my fridge.

You simply coat halved tomatoes in olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic (which I actually didn't bother with), sugar and seasoning and then roast on a tray for around 3 hours until they are 'semi dried' - still juicy but packed with flavour.

Rachel used hers to make pesto and tomato tarts for cocktail nibbles. We had them alongside some roasted aubergine and feta, and then the next day on a pizza.

You must give it a go, you don't need anything special and you can pretty much leave them alone for the whole three hours. I bet they'd be great stirred into pasta or with a cooked breakfast.

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Easy Paprika Chickpeas

A little lunch idea for you which is ridiculously easy, healthy and cheap to make! It is in a similar vein to my recipe for Spiced Chickpeas and Peppers but I've altered it so all you need to do is chuck in some flavourings with some freshly boiled chickpeas.

I used dried chickpeas which I soaked and boiled with stock for 40 minutes before draining and adding the dressing. But because these are meant to be easy I'd recommend using tinned. All you need to do for tinned chickpeas is boil them for about 5 minutes. Having the chickpeas warm when you add the dressing really helps them to soak it up a bit more.

For the dressing - dresses 1 400g tin of chickpeas

1 tablespoons of good quality olive oil
1 teaspoon of red wine vinegar
1 heaped teaspoon of smoked paprika
pinch of cumin seeds
salt and pepper to taste
handful of parsley, chopped.
half a chilli, finely chopped.

Add all this to your bowl/pan of freshly cooked chickpeas, stir, cool, store in the fridge and then put into your tub for lunch. I put some fresh spinach on top of mine, the whole thing gets a quick 1 minute zap in the microwave to wilt the spinach and lunch is done! I have mine with a dollop of houmous.

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Untimely Cucumber Pickles

The timing of this blog post is slightly bad in light of recent news/scare stories. But if you buy some lovely local cukes like I did then you will be fine, I'm sure. Trust me, I'm not a Doctor.

Anyway.
There is another disclaimer that goes with this blog post, I don't like cucumber.
There is something about the odd watery taste of cucumber that just sets my teeth on edge. But pickling it in rice vinegar, herbs and chilis takes away the odd unfinished flavour of cucumber. It might sound odd but I know what I mean.

This recipe is super easy, no cooking required, just some slicing and pouring and waiting.

Cucumber Pickles
fills one 250ml kilner jar

1 whole cucumber
1/2 red chili or pinch of chili flakes
handful of soft herbs - thyme, oregano, basil, coriander
100ml of rice wine vinegar or white wine vinegar
1/2 tablespoon of caster sugar
pinch of salt

Slice your cucumber thinly into coins, about 1/2 cm thick, and then half the coins into half moons. Salt them and leave them for about 10 minutes in a colander over a bowl. This will remove some of the water from them so you get nice crunchy pickles. Rinse under cold water.

Layer up the cucumber neatly in a wide mouthed glass jar, a kilner jar is great. In between the layers put in the herb leaves and chili so it is well incorporated. Mix the vinegar and caster sugar together until the sugar dissolves. Then pour into the jar slowly so it reaches all the cucumber. If you find you don't have quite enough vinegar just add a bit more on top.

Seal and leave in the fridge. They are ready to eat after about 2-3 hours, and keep for about 2 weeks in the fridge. And like most pickles they are really good after a few days.

I am mainly eating mine at lunchtimewith cous cous and vegetables, but I am sure they are fantastic with a nice burger.

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Spiced One Bowl Brownies

I have encountered and made many brownie recipes, each one different from the next in technique and flavour. I like them with coffee, with nuts, even with bacon, but sometimes I want them to be quick and easy - because everyone needs brownies in a hurry sometimes.

These recipes require something which I don't normally ever use in baking - a microwave. The butter and chocolate is melted in the microwave for a couple of minutes and then the other ingredients stirred in one by one.

I've adapted the recipe to include some spices (something that feels very autumnal!) - ginger, cinnamon and smoked paprika - trust me the smoked paprika is good.

I much prefer very gooey brownies but my husband prefers his more like a moist cake - these are more of a cakey brownie with a lightly crisped top. If you like gooeyness then use about 50g less of the flour.

Spiced One Bowl Brownies
adapted from all recipes

NB  - I made this recipe again but with only 75g of flour and 25g cocoa powder, it gave a gooier brownie with a crisper top, good if you like them this way!

100g good quality dark chocolate (70%), broken in to pieces
70g butter
100g sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
150g plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp cinamonn
1/2 tsp smoked paprika

Preheat your oven to 400f, 200c or gas mark 6

Put the butter and chocolate into a large microwavable bowl, microwave on high for 2 minutes.
Remove from the microwave and stir together til the chocolate is completely melted in with the butter.
Stir in sugar til combined.
Stir in your eggs one by one and then add in your vanilla.
Sift in your flour, baking powder and spices, fold in to combine.

Pour into a greased and lined, or non stick, square 9inch pan. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until just done - your knife should come out with a few crumbs when inserted - the great thing about brownies is that it isn't a disaster if they are underdone because it equals more gooeyness!

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A Quick Recipe - Cheats Lasagne

I love spaghetti bolognese, I love mac and cheese and I like lasagne even better. This recipe is great because it is quick to put together, involves less effort than lasagne and is a tiny bit healthier than macaroni and cheese.

This is a fairly simple idea but I liked how it came together with things I had in my freezer and store cupboard already, and it tasted great! I picked a few of the new herbs we've planted in the garden - some oregano and purple basil went in.

Serves 2 greedy people!

250g macaroni pasta
1 tin of plum tomatoes, blended
250g mince lamb or beef
2 shallots or half an onion
1 clove of garlic
pinch of chili flakes
1 tbsp tomato puree
herbs and spices to your liking (I used fresh oregano, purple basil & nutmeg, cumin and paprika)
cheddar cheese - grated - enough to cover the top of your pasta for baking.

Finely dice the onion and fry in a saucepan with olive oil for a few minutes, stirring often. Add the mince and break up and brown. Add in the garlic. Add in your herbs, spices and season. Then add in your tomato puree and blended tomatoes. Bring to the boil then simmer for 1/2 hour  - 1 hour til the mince is tender and tomatoes cooked down.

Preheat your oven to a medium high heat.
Cook your macaroni for half the time as indicated on the pack.
Once done mix your bolognese sauce in and then put into a large casserole or lasagne dish. Cover with cheddar cheese and bake in the oven for 30-45 minutes until the pasta is done and the cheese is bubbling. You can grill it for a few minutes at the end to get the cheese really browned.

Dig in and don't forget to go back for seconds! ;)

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Yummy Lunchtime Peanut Noodles

I'm always trying to find things to make lunch time more interesting, and as we are coming out of the Winter I am looking for things other than soup to take to work.

These noodles take no time to make, all of ten minutes, and pack a really great flavour punch. They are also a great way to use up vegetables in your fridge, I added peppers and grated carrot to mine. I expect lots of other vegetables would work, steamed broccoli, finely shredded cabbage, spring onions, spinach, pak choi...

I found some Sambal Oelek (Indonesian chilli sauce) in Waitrose, a lot of bigger supermarkets seem to stock it now so you might find it in others. If not try your local chinese supermarket. You might be able to get away with a very good quality chili sauce but you won't get the same depth of flavour.


I prefer my noodles hot but you can eat these cold too.

To make 1 lunchbox size portion, this recipe is easily doubled/tripled/quadrupled.

Approx 50g wheat noodles - I used ramen noodles
1 carrot - grated
1/2 red pepper grated
small handful fresh coriander, chopped.

For the peanut sauce:
1/2 inch piece of lemongrass
50ml water
1 heaped tablespoon of peanut butter (smooth is best but i only had crunchy and its fine)
2 teaspoons of sambal oelek (add more if you like your chilli)
teaspoon size of fresh ginger
dash of rice vinegar or juice of half lime
Cook your noodles according to the packet instructions, if you intend to warm your noodles up for your lunch cook them for a minute less than the instructions. Drain and return to the pan.

Simmer the lemongrass with the water in a small pan for a few minutes.

Meanwhile mix the rest of your sauce ingredients in a bowl.

Remove your lemongrass from the pan, turn down the heat and add in the rest of your sauce mixture. Whisk together to combine, if your sauce seems a little thin keep simmering it slowly for a few minutes to thicken it up.

Mix in your vegetables, coriander and your sauce with the noodles.
Pack up in a little box and wait until lunchtime!

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