Butternut squash and chickpea curry

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This is one of our favourite curries at the moment, its also mega easy too. Particularly good with some hot lime pickle (instore, by SamosaCo) and mango chutney.

Ingredients (serves 4)

  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp curry powder
  • 2oog butternut squash, cut into small cubes
  • 1 tin of chopped tomatoes, plus some water to swill out the tin.
  • 2oog chickpeas (cooked)
  • handful of sultanas
  • Fresh coriander leaf for serving
  • 280g brown basmati

Method

Fry the onions in 2-3 tbsp of oil for 5 minutes to soften.

Add the garlic and fry for another minute or two.

Add the curry powder, the butternut squash, chopped tomatoes and chickpeas. simmer for 20-30 minutes.

Meanwhile cook the basmati rice in simmering water (30 minutes for brown, 8-10 for white).

Add the sultanas to the curry then plate up with the basmati and some big dollops of mango chutney and lime pickle. If you feeling wild you could even make some chapattis to go with it (recipe here, with our dahl recipe).

Enjoy!

 

Butternut squash risotto

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If you’re anything like us and have a gigantic butternut squash to eat up and are sick of the same recipes try this one. It’s delicious.

Ingredients (serves 4)

  • 1kg butternut squash (peeled and cut up)
  • large bunch of sage, roughly chopped
  • 1.5 litres of vegetable bouillon
  • Olive oil (roughly 3 tbsp but I like to add more)
  • 50g butter (make it vegan with vegan block or similar)
  • 1 onion (finely chopped)
  • 300g risotto rice
  • 150ml white wine
  • 1 tbsp miso paste (available instore only)
  • 1 tbsp nutritional yeast (plus some for sprinkling at the table)
  • 1/2 lemon, juiced

Method

Preheat oven to 220c (200c fan).

Spread the chopped butternut squash on a baking tray, scatter sage leaves over, drizzle olive oil over and mix well. Roast for 30 minutes until soft and brown.

Meanwhile, bring the stock to a simmer. In a separate pan melt half the butter and add the onions, cooking on a low heat for 5-8 minutes until soft but not browned. Add the rice and stir for a few minutes.

Pour the wine in and stir until absorbed. Over a low heat, add the stock, 200ml at a time, stirring well, don’t add more stock until the last addition has been absorbed. Keep stirring to avoid it sticking and after roughly 25 minutes the rice will be al dente. You want the rice to have a creamy consistency. Stir the miso, nutritional yeast and lemon juice through the rice.

Take the squash out of the oven and mash half of it. Leave the rest as chunks. Stir the mashed squash in along with the rest of the butter. Carefully stir in the squash chunks and serve, ideally with some nice crusty bread, like our sourdough.

Enjoy!

 

Super Speedy Egg Fried Rice

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At the moment we are really into our quick meals and this super speedy egg fried rice is an absolute win. Great for children too, it’s got plenty of vegetables and protein, but don’t worry, the Chinese 5 spice gives it a wonderful flavour that satisfies everyone.

Ingredients (serves 4)

80g TVP mince – available in store
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp black pepper (ground)
25ml soy sauce (add to TVP to marinade) – refill in store
2 medium carrots (diced)
Bunch of chard or other leafy green (roughly chopped)
100g fresh or frozen peas
3 eggs (whisked in a bowl ready to scramble). Or drop this to make it vegan
5 spring onions (sliced and whites kept separate from green)
500 grams day old cooked rice
1 heaped tsp Chinese 5 spice – available in store
25ml soy sauce (add to fried rice) – refill in store
1 tsp flour 
Sesame seeds

For the sauce
50g honey (or agave to make it vegan) – refill in store
30ml soy sauce – refill in store
40g ketchup – available in store
20ml white wine vinegar – refill in store
3 garlic cloves (diced)

Method
Simmer the TVP for 8-10 minutes until tender

Drain TVP and allow to steam dry before adding the black pepper, garlic powder and soy sauce to marinade until needed.

Simmer the diced carrots for 8 minutes. Then drain and add to a deep pan with some oil, the chard, spring onion whites and the peas. Leave to cook for a few minutes then push to the side of the pan and pour the eggs in and scramble them. Add the rice, Chinese 5 spice and 25ml of soy sauce to the pan and mix well. Once heated through take off the heat and add the spring onion greens.

Combine the sauce ingredients. Heat the cooked TVP chunks in a hot pan with some oil and then pour the sauce in and stir. Leave it to simmer for a couple of minutes then add the flour and stir until it thickens.

Plate up the rice and veg mix, a big scoop of the TVP and sprinkle over some sesame seeds to finish.

Super Quick Satay Noodles

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Not sure what to have for tea? These super quick satay noodles will tick ALL the boxes. Packed with vegetables, protein from the peanut butter and with a lovely chilli kick it was what all three of us needed. AND, the best bit, it is incredibly quick and easy to make. Read more

Refreshing Orzo Salad

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This refreshing orzo salad is just what you need on a hot day. Not too heavy but filled with flavour and lemony punch, it ticks all the boxes. We make a batch up as it is a little faffy to make but well worth it.

Ingredients:

1 onion (finely chopped)

1 garlic clove (finely chopped)

1 tsp demerara sugar

350g orzo (refill in store)

Olive oil (refill in store)

Juice of half a lemon

Basil (dried or fresh)

Cherry tomatoes (halved)

Method:

Heat some olive oil in a saucepan and add the onion. Fry for 10 minutes until golden and caramelised, stirring regularly.

While the onion is cooking, boil the kettle. Cook the orzo in boiling water for 10 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Toss with plenty of olive oil and leave to cool.

After the onion has been cooking for 10 minutes add the garlic and sugar. Cook for a further 3 minutes then remove from the heat.

Add the lemon juice, basil and sticky onion mixture to the orzo. Chop the cherry tomatoes in half and add. Toss together and season.

Pumpkin koftas with smoky tomato sauce

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This is a seasonal win for me and went down a treat at home. Pre-warning, it is a bit of a faff, so perhaps not your usual run of the mill weeknight meal, but it is a great one for guests or a weekend when you have a little more time. This meal really needs ALL the components though. The koftas are nothing without the tomato sauce, and the sauce is bland on it’s own. Served with delicious focaccia and this will be a winner with everyone. Read more