Week 5: Mustard and Rosemary Pork Chops (with roasted veg), Rice pudding
Mustard and Rosemary Pork Chops (with roasted veg)
Ingredients:
- Pork loin
- Dijon mustard, garlic, rosemary, olive oil, sherry (or red wine if you don’t have sherry)
Method:
- Marinate the pork for 3-5 hours in a bowl with chopped rosemary, garlic, sherry and Dijon mustard.
- Peel, chop and toss all the root veg in a bowl with some oil and seasoning. Roast in the oven for about an hour or until cooked and lightly browned.
- Heat a frying pan on the hob with a little oil until hot and place the pork loin in. Cook for up to 4 minutes on both sides depending on the thickness of the meat. Check internal temperature with a probe if you are unsure how much to cook the meat (74 degrees Centigrade, or 68 degrees if the meat’s fresh and you like the meat a bit more rare)
Rice Pudding
Ingredients:
- 130g uncooked rice (or 1 cup rice: 3 cups milk if you have no scales)
- 800ml Milk (preferably full fat)
- 70g Sugar
- Vanilla / cinnamon / nutmeg / raisins (whatever you like the sound of!)
Method:
- Mix all the ingredients together in an oven proof dish and cook in the oven for an hour and 15 minutes, until all the milk has been absorbed and the top turns golden.
TIP: It’s more cost effective to use the oven to roast the vegetables at the same time as making the rice pudding, making best use of the energy you are paying for.
Week 4: Black bean and quinoa enchilada bake, Cinnamon toffee apple wedges
Black bean and quinoa enchilada bake
Ingredients:
• Quinoa – Rinse before cooking to get rid of the saponin and its bitter flavour
• Onion (sliced or chopped) and garlic (plus oil)
• Jalapeño – remove the seeds (leave this out if you don’t like spice!).
• Bell peppers (sliced or chopped) – you can use red, orange, yellow or all 3!
• Corn – Frozen (or fresh if available)
• Lime Juice – fresh
• Spices – cumin, corriander and chili powder (leave out chili for less spice)
• Fresh corriander – chop up the leaves and discard the stems.
• Canned Black beans – Rinse and drain before using (we’re using leftover frozen rice too)
• Enchilada sauce (see recipe below) and grated cheese
Method:
• Preheat the oven and grease a baking dish.
• Cook the quinoa and set aside.
• In a large frying pan, heat the tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, and jalapeño. Sauté until softened.
• Add the peppers, corn and any other vegetables you would like. Cook for about 3-4 minutes. Add the lime juice, cumin, chili powder, and coriander powder. Stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper.
• In a large casserole dish add the cooked quinoa, black beans (and rice if you like). Add the sautéed vegetable mixture and stir to combine. Pour in the enchilada sauce and stir.
• Add grated cheese on top and cook until cooked through and browned on top.
Topping ideas:
• Avocado or Guacamole
• Sour cream or Plain Greek Yogurt
• Jalapeño Slices
• Tomato Salsa
• Pickled Red Onions
Enchilada sauce:
• Oil
• Flour (can swap the flour for gluten-free flour or corn flour)
• Spices (chili powder, cumin, cayenne pepper, dried oregano, onion powder, minced garlic)
• Tomato puree / paste
• Vegetable broth (can use chicken broth if you aren’t vegetarian)
Method
• Start with a large saucepan, vegetable oil, and medium heat. Add flour and whisk it for one minute. It will get nice and smooth. This is going to provide a nice, thick base for the sauce.
• Add all the spices and garlic and stir. The cayenne pepper is optional.
• Whisk in the tomato paste until it’s totally combined. Slowly pour in the stock, continuing to whisk until it’s smooth and incorporated.
• Let the sauce heat to a simmer on medium-low heat for about 10-12 minutes.
Cinnamon toffee apple wedges
Ingredients:
• 100g butter
• 100g golden caster sugar
• 6 apples, cored and cut into wedges
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• Handful pecans, toasted and chopped
Method:
• Heat the butter and sugar in a pan set over the fire or a medium heat. As it begins to bubble and turn golden brown, add the apples and cinnamon and cook for 5 minutes, turning to coat the apples in the toffee mix.
• Stir in the pecans. Serve immediately on the This toffee apple recipe is quick and easy to prepare. Serve with giant chocolate cookies. or cool, then pack up in a container to transport to a party.
Week 3: Curry with Red Lentil Dhal, Gluten-free Bread & Butter Pudding
Curry Ingredients:
• Chicken breast, onions, garlic, ginger
• Mild curry powder, ground coriander, cumin paprika, cinnamon, salt, pepper.
• Sauce: Tinned tomatoes; tomato puree, coconut milk, chicken stock.
• Additions: spinach, yellow squash, fresh corriander, fresh chillies (add more vegetables or spices if you like)
Method:
1. Seal the chicken in a pan with a little oil.
2. Add chopped onion and cook for 5 minutes to soften.
3. Add in garlic, ginger, curry powder, ground coriander, cumin, paprika, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Stir and cook for a further minute.
4. Add in tomato puree, tinned tomatoes, stock and coconut milk.
5. Simmer for 10 minutes – until the chicken is cooked through.
6. Add in extra vegetables or spices for added nutrition! e.g. Squash, spinach, green beans
Red lentil dahl ingredients:
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped small plus 5 cloves garlic minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and grated
• 1 tblspn garam masala,1 tspn ground turmeric
• 1 1/2 cups dried red lentils
• Tin of diced tomatoes
• Tin full fat coconut milk
• 3 cups vegetable stock
• 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• half a lemon, juiced
• baby spinach – as much as you like!
Method
1. In a large pot or pan over medium heat, sauté the chopped onion in the olive oil for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Then add the garlic and ginger and cook 1 more minute, until fragrant.
2. Add the garam masala, turmeric and red pepper flakes to the pan and stir into the onion mixture. Add a few tablespoons of water if the mixture is too dry.
3. Now add the dried lentils, canned tomatoes and their juices, coconut milk and vegetable broth to the pan. Stir well and turn the heat to high. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for about 15 minutes, until the lentils are cooked and soft. Stir occasionally.
4. Squeeze the lemon juice into the pan, and stir in the spinach as well until wilted. Add salt to taste. I used 1 teaspoon.
GF Bread and butter pudding ingredients:
• GF tea cakes
• Butter
• Milk
• Eggs
• Sugar
• Nutmeg
Method:
1. Slice teacakes and spread thickly with butter, sprinkle with sugar. Put into an oven proof dish
2. Beat eggs, milk, and nutmeg together and pour over the teacakes. Allow to soak for 5 minutes
3. Sprinkle with sugar
4. Bake in the oven until browned on top