Hello May!......

I hope you’re all well.

We might still all be in lockdown, but how beautiful is it to appreciate the smaller things that come from staying home; whether its spending more time with your nearest and dearest or taking time out to walk daily and see the spring flowers bloom ! Thankfully the weather has been wonderful in Yorkshire.  I’m sure we are all trying our best to become a bit more adept at daily life in between home schooling  and day to day activities, which  can be a struggle, but remember, we are all in this together and will come out stronger for this challenge….

This month’s recipes focus on making the most of pantry staples that are easy to get hold of at the moment as well as and substitute ingredients where necessary. I’m bringing you 5 of my May favourites and hope you enjoy!

 XOXO

Spicy Bean burgers with roasted red pepper chutney and mint yogurt

A really healthy way to enjoy a hearty burger without meat!! There appears to be an abundance of tinned mixed beans in the supermarket and I for one am taking advantage of that. With 4 different types of lentils and beans, a healthy dose of veggies and all topped with homemade sweet pepper and tomato chutney. Everything you need to satisfy your veggie burger craving right here. So healthy, so wholesome and just so easy to make. 

Ingredients 

• Makes 8 patties

• 1 tin mixed beans 

• 1 tin puy lentils or green lentils

• 3 spring onions finely sliced

• 2 carrots grated

• 1 zucchini grated

• 1 cup breadcrumbs

• 1 tsp smoked paprika

• 1 tsp cumin powder

• 1 tsp good quality curry powder

• 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste

• Salt to taste

Garnish

• 1 cup Greek yogurt

• 1 tsp mint sauce

• Red pepper chutney

• Bread buns to serve

Method

Pre-heat the oven 200C or 180C fan forced. Place all the ingredients in a large bowl. Using a wooden spoon mix up all of the elements. feel free to use your hands. If necessary use a potato masher to break down the beans and lentils. Once thoroughly combined, make patties in the palm of your hands. Place them carefully on a lined baking tray with vegetable oil (ideally sprayed onto the baking paper). Bake in a pre-heated  oven for 20 minutes until golden and crispy on the outside

Garnish:

Combine the yogurt and mint sauce 

Serving suggestion

Place the cooked bean burgers on a bed of salad over half a bread bun (toast the bun if desired). Place a tsp Greek yogurt and 1 tsp red pepper chutney over the burger. Cover with the other half of the bread bun. Eat immediately. Enjoy!

Oat, date and mixed fruit flapjacks

The original granola bar ! As far back as I can remember, I have loved oat and grain bars; we used to call them flapjacks growing up in Yorkshire. They were filled with pantry staples, (sometimes surpluses) that were cheap and easy to get hold of like oats, grains and dried fruits. Bound together by honey or treacle (I prefer honey) they’d be filled with the above mentioned ingredients and also versatile enough to throw in whatever dried fruits and nuts were to hand. Each bite took a while to savour and break down whilst tasting every ingredient, from the sweet fruit to the soft oats chewing your way through it. I can’t think of a better way to describe my experience of a flapjack!!

I’m still partial to this oaty bar, but see many variations on it now, which is a good thing. The more 'trendy' version I see are  'granola bars',  which are essentially made up of pretty much the same ingredients. It’s all good. Anyhow; I  made a big batch of these with the help of my 4 year old who now also loves them. A great alternative to what children like to snack on.. result !!   Add your own bits and pieces; I threw in goji berries, flax seeds and chia seeds;  that’s the beauty of this wonderful treat. I love them for breakfast as well as picking at them shamelessly through the day....Who else calls it flapjack?

Ingredients

• Makes 12 chunky bars of 24 normal sized bars 

• 500g porridge oats

• 125g light brown sugar (optional) leave this out if you don't like too much sugar

• 250g butter melted

• 8-10 tbsp golden syrup or honey (depending on how gooey you want it)

• 5-6 pitted dates chopped up

• 1 cup dried mixed fruits - I used sultanas, raisins, cranberries and gogi berries (feel free to use your own choice of fruit, it all works)

• 1 tbsp chia seeds

• 1 tbsp flax seeds

Method

Pre-heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Place the porridge oats,  melted butter, sugar and  golden syrup / honey in a large bowl and mix together very well until combined. Alternatively, use a food processor and pulse until mixed, being  careful not to over mix as  the oats may lose their texture.

Place baking paper into a baking tray 1 inch deep (ideally square or rectangular) and spoon in the mixture. Press the mixture firmly into the corners with a spatula or the back of a spoon so the mixture is flat. Score  into 12  or 24 squares.

Bake for approximately  15 minutes until nicely golden brown at the edges

Enjoy!

Baked Samosa

We all love a samosa! I'm partial to them whenever I see one within reach or indeed decide to make a big batch from scratch for the family.

I'm not a huge fan of deep frying however and have found a really easy and time saving way to enjoy them without the fat and most importantly less calories; which means you can eat more!! A bonus is the pastry is a store bought wrap; yes! a great hack I discovered that makes a great alternative to a homemade pastry. Time saving and tasty - a winner for so many reasons!!

This was a huge hit on Instagram and so many of you tried them and showed me your amazing versions of my recipe.

These are traditional vegetable samosas baked and not fried. 

Here it is, step by step to follow from scratch again... Perfect pre-dinner treat or snack.

Ingredients

Makes 12 samosas

Filling 2 -3 tbsp of rapeseed oil or sunflower

4 large or 6 medium potatoes cubed and boiled

50g frozen peas

1 tsp of cumin seeds

1 tsp of salt (or to taste)

½ tsp chilli powder

1 tsp coriander powder

 2 chillies, finely chopped

1 tsp of garam masala

1 tbsp ginger, grated

2 tbsp of fresh coriander, chopped

Tortilla wraps - I used Sainsbury's soft tortilla wraps; a pack of 8 large size (see image below)

2 tbsp Plain flour and 3 tbsp water mixed to create a "glue" to seal the wraps

Method

Filling Cook the potatoes gently (do not boil too vigorously) for about 25 minutes until soft. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.  In a small frying pan heat the oil and fry the cumin seeds. When sizzling, carefully add the peas and fry gently for a few minutes to soften. Remove from the heat and leave to cool before adding to the potatoes. Add the grated ginger, salt, chilli, chilli powder, garam masala and fresh coriander to the potatoes and stir - check seasoning and refrigerate for 10 minutes.

Pastry 

Take a tortilla wrap and slice it through the middle, yielding two halves.

Place the cooked filling in the centre of the wrap as shown in the image and fold it over from both sides to form a triangle. Using the plain flour "glue" spread it on the inside edges of the pastry and press firmly to seal the edges so they stick together. See below:

 Mix the flour and water to create a runny consistency glue

Fold one edge inwards like so to get a feel for the centre of the samosa

 Fold it back out again, then place 2 tbsp of cooked filling in a triangular shape in the centre

Fold the edge over again

 Use the glue to stick all edges down including the outer edges

Your wrap samosa should look like this.

Once you have created a batch, brush lightly with rapeseed or sunflower oil and place on a lined baking tray. Place the prepped samosas into a pre -heated oven 180 or  160C fan forced for approximately 10 minutes each side until golden and crispy. Serve immediately with your favourite condiment - I love a good mint raita, but feel free to enjoy them with ketchup!!

Enjoy! 

Roasted red Pepper Chutney

I might re-name this to “quarantine chutney” as it’s been an incredible “go- to” for so many reasons. Not just a chutney, it can be used as a marinade and a great addition to many things from pasta sauce, curries to casseroles.  Thankfully peppers and tomatoes are still in abundance as is garlic so it’s an easy one to put together

Ingredients

• 4-6 red bell peppers

• 6 vine tomatoes

• 2 bulbs garlic sliced across the middle to reveal garlic inside the bulbs

• White vinegar

• 1 tbsp black mustard seeds

• 1 tbsp fennel seeds (optional)

• 1 cup tomato ketchup 

• 2 heaped tbsp. sweet paprika

• 1 tsp chilli powder

• 1 tbsp Salt (or to taste)

• 1 tbsp Cajun spice blend ( optional)

Method

Pre – heat the oven to 160C or 140C fan forced. Cut the red peppers into 8 pieces taking out all the seeds. Lay on a baking tray and sprinkle with olive oil and generously with rock salt. In another tray, place the whole tomatoes and halved garlic bulbs and sprinkle generously with oil and rock salt Roast the peppers and tomatoes for approximately 20 minutes until sizzling and slightly charred on the edges (peppers). Remove from the oven and leave to cool. Place 2 tbsp olive oil in a saucepan. When the oil is hot add the mustard seeds and wait until they start to “pop” – you’ll hear a popping sound! Add all other whole spices  and stir fry for a few minutes. Add the roasted tomatoes (remove the vine) and garlic which should have come away from the peel. Add the peppers and stir into the whole spices. Add the ground spices, spice blends, vinegar and ketchup and turn down the heat to a gentle simmer for 20 minutes. Check the seasoning and add more spices in particular salt if necessary. After 20 minutes, take a hand held blender (or place in a food processor) and process until relatively smooth. It doesn’t have to be too smooth, some texture is good. Let it cool down before transferring into jars and refrigerating. Lasts up to 2 months in the fridge. Add it to your cooking such as pasta sauces, use it as a marinade or eat it as a chutney – it’s so versatile!

Enjoy 

Fruit and Nut Cake 

Fruit and nut cake. Cakes at the moment are all about using up ingredients I’ve had squirrelled away (pre-lockdown) such as dried fruits, nuts and these gorgeous glacé cherries. This is so easy to bake and it goes down well with a fine cuppa; the spring flowers I found cheered me up too. 

Ingredients

• 4 free-range eggs 

• 225g/8oz caster sugar  plus a little extra for dusting the finished cake

• 225g/8oz  self raising flour 

• 1 tsp baking powder 

• 225g/8oz butter   at room temperature, plus a extra to grease the tin

• 200 dried mixed fruit - sultanas, cranberries, raisins etc

• 100g chopped nuts - hazel nuts, brazil nuts, walnuts and pistacchio (use whatever you have ) 

Method 

Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4. Grease and line 1 round 20” cake tin. Cream together the eggs, sugar, and butter then gradually add the flour, baking powder. Mix together until well combined with an electric hand mixer or wooden spoon. Add the mixed fruit and nuts and stir through. Place the mixture into the cake tin. Bake the cake on the middle shelf of the oven for 40- 50’minutes. The cake is ready when it’s golden-brown and coming away from the edge of the tin. Place on a cooling rack and dust with extra sugar and serve with whipped cream.

Enjoy!