Spinach and pesto spaghetti (V)

This was a handy recipe I adapted as a meal-for-one. It was originally vegetarian but I used some shredded cooked chicken in mine.
Ingredients
75g wholewheat spaghetti
2 tbsp green pesto
Handful of spinach leaves
Handful of sugarsnap peas
1 egg
Optional: Handful of cooked chicken, shredded

Method
Cook the spaghetti in boiling water for around 10 minutes, adding the sugarsnap peas and cooked chicken after 5 minutes.
In a separate pan of boiling water, poach an egg. I always find this a rather laborious and messy process. The best way I can find (without resorting to a plastic microwave egg-poacher) is to crack the egg into a ladle and slowly lower it into the boiling water so that it doesn't fly out everywhere and boil over. Luckily it only takes 4-5 minutes to cook so you don't have to stand there for long. If you're tempted to skip this part, don't. I did initially, tasted the dish and thought, maybe the egg will make a real difference. So I then cooked the egg and yes, it was amazing! Totally worth the extra effort. But that's why there's no egg in my picture above. True story.
Drain off the water from the spaghetti and stir in the pesto and spinach. Serve with the poached egg triumphant on the top. Take a picture so I have a replacement for my blog. (OK that part is optional. But I would appreciate a pic!)

"Healthier" Cakes

OK so cake isn't exactly high up on the nutrition stats, but I am someone who likes treats! And I thought I'd try out some recipes of healthier versions of cake to see if they still taste good...

Beetroot Brownies
I've decided this is the only way I will eat beetroot from now on. Joking! But seriously, I am not a fan of beetroot and I really love this recipe. I've tried it three times now. The first time, I didn't grate the beetroot. That was a mistake! So don't be tempted to skip the grating. It's not a massively healthy recipe (it was originally in Sainsburys magazine), but I replaced the butter with vegetable oil to lower the amount of saturated fat, and the beetroot's got to be one of your 5-a-day right?
Ingredients
150ml vegetable oil
200g dark chocolate
3 eggs
225g dark brown sugar (like molasses style)
2 tsp vanilla extract
50g plain flour
50g self raising flour
100g grated cooked beetroot (from the vacuum packed stuff but not in vinegar)

Method
Preheat oven to 190 degrees.
Break the chocolate into squares and melt it down in the microwave in a large bowl, taking out to stir frequently.
Pour in the oil then add the three eggs and beat together.
Add in the vanilla extract and the sugar. Beat and mix together.
Fold in the flour (I used half self-raising because I found it tended to sink in the middle otherwise).
Stir in the grated beetroot, transfer to a baking tin, and bake for approx 35 minutes. A skewer should come out with moist crumbs on after this time. Leave the brownies to cool in the tin.

Dairy free Chocolate Cake

From the Co-operative Food magazine
It says dairy-free but it does still use eggs!

Ingredients
200g light soft brown sugar
150ml olive oil
3 eggs
50g cocoa powder
200g self-raising flour
100ml unsweetened soya milk, warmed
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

Method
Preheat oven to 170 degrees.
Beat the sugar and oil then gradually add the eggs with a little of the cocoa powder.
Fold in the remaining cocoa powder and half of the flour.
Mix the soya milk and bicarb together in a jug, then pour in. Fold in the rest of the flour.
Pour into a round tin and bake for 40-50 mins.

Verdict: It doesn't taste too different from my normal chocolate cake, but I felt it went dry pretty quickly, after just a day. Perhaps would need a chocolate sauce with it. The recipe had a chocolate icing element which I didn't do, for the sake of trying to be a bit healthier, but it does mean you perhaps need a squirt of cream or creme fraiche when serving.

Banana and almond cake

From Sainsburys magazine, with some adaptations
No sugar (except natural sugars) or wheat (though I did use some flour)

Ingredients
75g melted butter (I used soya milk, just because I wanted to use more of the ingredient up as I bought it for the other cake!)
4 mashed up bananas
4 large eggs
2 tbsp maple syrup or honey
200g ground almonds (I only had 150g, so I used plain flour to make up the rest)
1 tsp cinammon
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp vanilla extract
For the icing:
100g soft cheese
1 tbsp maple syrup or honey
A dash of lemon juice

Method
So you may well say I've already butchered up this recipe by using soya milk. Well when it comes to the method the magazine said to blend everything in a food processor and I thought 'no way!' So whether this cake actually resembles anything like its original version is up to you to decide!
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
Mix the mashed up bananas with the melted butter / soya milk and the eggs. Add the syrup and the dry ingredients.
Pour into a cake tin -don't use a springform or loose-bottomed one.
Bake for 45-55 mins until a skewer comes out clean.
Cool completely before icing.

Verdict: The cake works, which is perhaps impressive given the lack of ordinary ingredients like flour and sugar and butter (if using soya milk like me!). But it is definitely more on the pudding consistency than cake - a bit moist for me. It tastes good, the banana isn't too strong. Nice subtle flavour.

Sausage and chorizo casserole

Ingredients
1 onion
2 celery sticks
2 carrots
A big clove of garlic / 1 tbsp garlic puree
1/2 chorizo ring
6 pork sausages (I used chipolatas 90% pork)
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tbsp thyme
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 tin cannellini beans
A few cooked baby potatoes, halved

Method
Chop the vegetables (inc garlic) and gently fry them till soft.
Add the sausages and, after 5 mins, the spices. Cook for a few mins.
Add the tin of tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Add the chorizo, chopped, and simmer for 30-40 mins.
Add the cannellini beans and potatoes and cook for an additional 5 mins.

Cheat version: Make up a tomato soup at the beginning of the week using tinned tomatoes, a few sticks of celery, one or two onions, a few carrots and garlic. Use a blender to make it smooth. Then use this as the sauce for this casserole, which cuts out needing to prepare all the veg.

Curried pumpkin soup (V)

This used up all the rest of the pumpkin after the lasagne :)
Ingredients
1/2 a large pumpkin, peeled and diced
2 sticks celery, chopped
2 onions, chopped
A few cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tbsp curry powder
Black pepper and salt, to taste
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp paprika

Method
Fry the onion and celery and garlic till softened, then add the spices and curry powder. Add a little water if the pan starts to brown.
Microwave the pumpkin in batches and add it to the pan as you go, adding a little water each time.
Simmer over a low heat, stirring frequently. The pumpkin should break up nicely and be very tender.
Using a hand blender, pulp the soup and add boiling water a little at a time, stirring in well. You don't want too much water but you don't want the soup to be a puree. When you're happy with the texture, add salt and pepper to taste. You could use a veg stock cube if you wanted.

Pumpkin lasagne (V)

Ingredients
1/2 a medium-sized pumpkin
1 onion
1 tsp garlic puree
1 yellow pepper
1 courgette
300g passata
1 tbsp mixed herbs
1 packet cheese sauce mix
6 lasagne sheets
100g goats cheese

Method
Start with the pumpkin. Slice off the botton end, creating a hole so you can spoon out the seeds. Then cut from the hole down the natural indents of the pumpkin, to around the halfway point. Snap off the slice of pumpkin, then you can cut any remaining skin off. You should end up with slices of pumpkin that are a crescent shape.
In batches, microwave the pumpkin slices in a dish for 5 mins until soft and tender.
While the pumpkin is being microwaved, fry the onion until soft, then add the garlic puree, yellow pepper and courgette, both cut into large slices. By using a high heat you can get a nicely charred effect on the veg.
Add the passata into the pan with the herbs and heat through (turn the heat right down for this).
Make up the cheese sauce according to packet instructions. You want it to be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, so add more flour if necessary.
Time to assemble the lasagne! I started with a layer of the pumpkin slices, lightly brushed them with cheese sauce, then added 2 lasagne sheets. After coating the sheets with cheese sauce, I poured in all the passata mix, then put 2 more lasagne sheets on top. I then made another layer of pumpkin and crumbled the goats cheese all over before adding the final 2 lasagne sheets. I covered the top with cheese sauce. You might like to grate more cheese on the top, or perhaps add some fresh basil and halved cherry tomatoes.
Bake in the oven - I used a fairly low heat of 160 degrees - for around 30-40 mins.
Serve with salad leaves (I used spinach).

Sweet potato stew (V)

Ingredients
2 small sweet potatoes
1 onion
1 tsp garlic puree
1 red pepper
1 tbsp cumin
1 tsp cinnamon
A pinch of saffron
A pinch of chilli flakes
A few tbsp passata
1 tbsp orange juice
1 tin chickpeas
500ml veg stock

Method
Prick the sweet potatoes with a fork then microwave them, whole, for 6-8 minutes, until they feel easy to skewer with a knife. Set them to one side.
Meanwhile, fry the onion and red pepper with the garlic puree in a casserole dish. Add all of the spices and cook gently until the veg are soft.
When cool enough, peel the skin off the sweet potatoes and cut them into large chunks. Add to the pan.
Add the passata, orange juice and veg stock. Bring to the boil then simmer for 10 mins.
Drain the tin of chickpeas and add to the pan. Cook for another 5 mins and season to taste.
Use a hand blender to roughly blend the stew - don't puree it, just thicken the sauce up.
Serve with bread, soup-style.

Chocolate fridge cake

Ingredients
250g biscuits
100g butter
150g dark chocolate (pref 70% cocoa solids)
4 tbsp golden syrup
100g mixed dried fruit
50g rice krispies

Method
Place the biscuits (I used shortbread but digestives work well) in a sandwich bag, seal, then use a rolling pin to crush them. I usually keep some chunks in there so it's only 50% fine crumbs. Pour out into the cake tin. Add the dried fruit and the rice krispies.
Melt the butter, chocolate and syrup in a small pan, then pour over your biscuit mix inside the tin. Use a metal spoon to stir it in thoroughly and give an even coat.
Place in the fridge to set (probably takes about an hour).