It can be kept in the fridge for 6 weeks or in the freezer for 3 months.
TANDOORI SPICE MIX
MAKES: A 100g JAR TOTAL TIME: 5 MINUTES
This recipe will make you a huge batch, but I use this in practically everything! You’ll need it for the ‘Tandoori’ Oven Chicken (see p. 178), but it’s a great addition to any marinade or curry. It’s also good rubbed into fish or chicken, and will work really well as a seasoning for potato wedges or burger patties.
28g jar ground ginger
41g jar ground cumin
34g jar ground coriander
46g jar paprika
40g jar cayenne
40g salt
60g jar garlic granules
Place all the ingredients in a large jar and shake really well to combine.
MY FAVOURITE CURRY PASTE
MAKES: APPROX. 900g TOTAL TIME: 25 MINUTES
This is one of my favourite bases for a curry. It packs loads of flavour and is so versatile. It works with meat or fish, or just any leftover veg you might have in the fridge.
200ml vegetable oil, plus extra for cooking
200g jar of chopped garlic
190g jar of chopped ginger
3 tablespoons garam masala
650g frozen chopped onions, thawed
4 tablespoons chilli powder (or paprika, if you prefer a milder curry)
2 teaspoons ground turmeric
3 tablespoons salt
4 tablespoons honey
4 tablespoons tomato paste
3 teaspoons tamarind paste or sauce
1 lemon, juice only
Put all the ingredients in a food processor and blitz to a smooth paste. Add 3 tablespoons of oil to the base of a pan and heat. Scrape all the mixture from the food processor into the pan, and stir frequently over a medium heat for 20 minutes. The mixture will turn into a rich, dark paste. Once cooked, transfer to a clean jar and leave to cool completely before storing in the fridge. Will keep in the fridge for 1 month, or in the freezer for 3 months.
PANCAKE BATTER
SERVES: 4 TOTAL TIME: 10 MINUTES
This is one of the quickest things you can whip up in the morning – it practically takes the same amount of time as pouring a bowl of cereal. And it’s always a winner with the kids. Top with fruit and maple syrup – or use in the traybake on p. 24. You can also prepare it in advance – and in fact, batter is often better if it has rested – so make it the night before and after a quick stir in the morning, it will be ready to pour into a hot pan.
250g plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon table salt
3 tablespoons caster sugar
170ml whole milk
2 medium eggs
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Make the batter by adding the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar into a bowl. Whisk the dry ingredients together.
Make a well in the centre and add the milk, along with the eggs and oil. Whisk it all until you have a thick, smooth batter.
Heat a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Add a knob of butter and swirl it around. Add a large spoonful of batter (or less depending on what sized pancake you’d like to make). Once a few bubbles start to appear, flip it over and cook for a further minute or two until both sides are golden. Serve hot with toppings of your choice.
GARLIC BREAD
MAKES: 12 TOTAL TIME: 2 HOURS 30 MINUTES ACTIVE TIME: 30 MINUTES
What meal isn’t improved by garlic bread? It’s especially lovely along-side my Mushroom Lasagne (p. 156) or Chorizo Fish Stew (p. 168).
450g plain flour
7g fast-action yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
5g salt
50g butter
300ml warm water
2 tablespoons coarse semolina
75g butter, melted
5 cloves of garlic, grated
a small handful of parsley
a good pinch of rock salt
Add the flour, yeast, sugar and salt to a bowl. Add the butter and rub it in. Make a well in the centre and add the water. Bring the dough together and knead until it is smooth and stretchy. This takes 5 minutes in a food processor with a dough hook, and 10 minutes by hand.
Put it back into the bowl, cover and leave to prove for 1 hour or till the dough has doubled in size.
Lightly grease a roasting tray and sprinkle semolina over the base. Take the dough and knock it back in the bowl. Tip out on to a floured surface and divide the mix into golf ball sized pieces.
Add the dough balls to the tray leaving small gaps in between to give the dough room to grow. Cover and leave to prove till doubled in size.
Preheat the oven to 160°C/fan 140°C. Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes.
Meanwhile, melt the butter and add the garlic, parsley and salt. As soon as the rolls come out of the oven, brush all the butter on top.
Any leftovers can be frozen (you could also freeze the uncooked dough balls and cook from frozen).
PITTA
MAKES: 12 ACTIVE TIME: 30 MINUTES TOTAL TIME: 1 HOUR 30 MINUTES – 2 HOURS 30 MINUTES (DEPENDING ON PROVING TIME)
Another bread staple in my house. You can always make a meal quicker by buying these, but they’re so amazing when they’re baked fresh. Use with Harissa Bean Pizza (p. 22), Paneer Pitta (p. 104) and Chicken Shawarma (p. 177).
250g strong bread flour, plus extra for dusting
7g fast-action yeast
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons oil
150ml cold water
Place the flour in a large bowl. Add the yeast to one side and salt and oil to the other. Give it all a rough mix with your hands.
Make a well in the centre and add the water. Gradually bring the dough together.
Rub the work surface with a little oil and tip the dough out. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes till it’s smooth, shiny and very stretchy.
Leave in a bowl, covered with clingfilm or a tea towel, in a warm place for an hour or until the dough has doubled in size.
Preheat the oven to 250°C, or the highest temperature you can get it.
Place a baking tray in the oven.
Tip the dough onto a very lightly dusted surface. Knock out all the air and divide the mixture into 12 equal-sized balls. Roll out each ball into an oval shape, about 3mm thin.
You will need to cook these in batches. Place as many as you can fit on the tray and bake for 2-3 minutes until they are golden brown and puffed up. Repeat with the leftover dough, leaving the baked ones wrapped in teatowels to keep warm.
WHITE BAPS
MAKES: 8 TOTAL TIME: 2 HOURS
I find it’s great to have a reliable recipe for lovely soft white rolls that you can keep returning to again and again. I use these for my Fish Pie Burgers (p. 114) but you can, of course, use them for absolutely anything – the Corned Beef Subs (p. 108), Falafel (p. 100) or Coronation Tuna (p. 96), alongside a soup (p. 130) and absolutely anything else you can think of …
500g strong bread flour, plus extra for dusting
7g fast-action yeast
2 teaspoons caster sugar
1 teaspoon salt
300ml warm water
5 tablespoons oil
1 egg, for glazing
1 teaspoon poppy seeds
Put the flour into a bowl with the yeast and sugar on one side and the salt on the other. Give them a quick mix, then make a well in the centre. Pour in the water and oil and bring everything together gently until it forms a dough. Tip it out on to a floured work surface and knead until the mixture is elastic and smooth. It will be sticky, but be sure not to add any flour to the work surface.
Place back in the bowl, cover with clingfilm and leave in a warm place to double in size (approx. 1 hour–1 ½ hours).
Take the dough out of its bowl and put it on a lightly floured work surface. Have a baking tray at the ready, lined with baking paper. Knock the air out of the dough and divide into 8 equal balls. Place them o
n the tray a few centimetres apart, cover with a piece of greased clingfilm and leave to double in size again.
Preheat the oven to 240°C/fan 220°C. Brush the rolls with the beaten egg and sprinkle with poppy seeds. Place in the oven and bake for 10–15 minutes.
Remove from the oven and wrap in a clean tea towel to help absorb any extra moisture as they cool.
HOME-MADE BUTTER
MAKES: APPROX. 250G BLOCK TOTAL TIME: 30 MINS
600ml double cream
1 tablespoon sea salt
Put the cream into a mixer, or use a hand-held mixer, and whisk on high for about 5 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl every now and then, until it gets to the soft-peak stage. After that it will quickly get to stiff peaks and then it will curdle. This is exactly what you want. As soon as it does that, it will change fast – you will be able to hear it. There will be a lot of sloshing, where the water separates from the fat. What you should be left with is crumbly looking butter and liquid in the base of the bowl.
Have ready a colander lined with muslin, or a thin piece of cotton (e.g. a clean tea towel). Tip the butter into the colander and leave it for all that excess liquid to drain off. As the dripping slows down, give it a good squeeze to get rid of as much moisture as possible. Pop into a clean bowl, add the salt and mix through until the crystals are dispersed. Now either store in a jar or mould into a block and wrap in parchment paper. Refrigerate until needed.
You can customize this however you like. Some sweet options I like are brown sugar butter, apple butter (simply add apple sauce), cinnamon butter, vanilla butter and strawberry butter (add freeze-dried strawberries).
PEANUT BUTTER
MAKES: A 100G JAR TOTAL TIME: 5 MINUTES
You’ll need peanut butter for my traybake (see p. 24) and the One-Tray Peanut Chicken (see p. 147), but frankly who doesn’t need a jar of peanut butter in their cupboard? And it’s so much more satisfying when you’ve made it yourself. You can of course swap in practically any nut you want – almonds and cashews work well, too.
500g peanuts
1 teaspoon salt – (optional – omit if you use salted peanuts)
1 tablespoon honey
4–5 tablespoons vegetable oil
Add the nuts to a processer with the salt and honey and blitz till the whole thing starts to change texture. Add the oil slowly and watch as it turns to butter in front of your very eyes. As soon as it’s smooth and shiny, stop and transfer the mixture to a jar.
GRANOLA
MAKES: APPROX. 17 SERVINGS ACTIVE TIME: 10 MINUTES TOTAL TIME: 45 MINUTES
Home-made breakfast, all ready to go in the morning. Serve with yoghurt and fresh berries, or with just a dash of milk. Add some chocolate chunks to it for a real treat. You could also use this in the Pruney Granola Cake (p. 43) or the Breakfast Trifle (p. 47).
3 tablespoons melted coconut oil
140ml maple syrup or runny honey
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
1 teaspoon almond extract
300g rolled oats
100g sunflower seeds
100g flaked almonds
100g dried cranberries/ blueberries/ raisins – or a mix if you prefer
Preheat the oven to 150°C/fan 130°C and have a large, lined baking tray at the ready. Put the coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla and almond extract into a bowl and mix together. Add in the oats, sunflower seeds and almonds and mix really well until everything is coated and looking glossy, then spread the mixture out on to the baking tray. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and scatter the dried fruit over the oats, then bake again for 15-20 minutes or until the oats are a light golden colour.
Once ready, remove the tray from the oven and allow the granola to cool completely. Once cooled, you may need to break up some of the larger pieces, but it’s nice to keep some small nuggets. Store in an airtight jar - it will last for up to a month.
INDEX
The page references in this index correspond to the print edition from which this ebook was created, and clicking on them will take you to the the location in the ebook where the equivalent print page would begin. To find a specific word or phrase from the index, please use the search feature of your ebook reader.
A
almonds: granola 247
ready breakfast flavoured porridge 39
slow cooker rice 33
apples: apple palm pies 193
ready breakfast flavoured porridge 39
‘tandoori’ oven chicken with burnt butter rice 178
apricots: coconut barfi truffles 189
Florentine cookies 189
arancini balls: sweet 209
asparagus: one-pot tortellini 97
aubergines: Asian aubergine wedges 85
stir-fried noodles with aubergines 85
avocados: avocado pesto 27–9
black pepper poke salmon bowl 116
B
bacon: bacon & bean potato skins 92
tatty cakes 49
baked beans: bacon & bean potato skins 92
baked bean falafel 100
harissa bean pizza 22
bananas: banana tarte tatin with malai ice cream 217
banoffee waffles 56
burnt butterscotch bananas with ice cream and rice pudding 223
bao buns with spicy tuna 160
beans: bacon & bean potato skins 92
baked bean falafel 100
harissa bean pizza 22
lava fries 151
beef: beef and kimchi noodles 81
lava fries 151
meatloaf roll 66
shortcut beef pasty 150
beetroot: blender beetroot 71
Bengali bangers and hash smash 134
Bengali spice mix (panch phoran) 237
black and white sandwich cookies 225
black pepper cake 215
black pepper poke salmon bowl 116
Bombay mix potato skins 92
bread: bao buns with spicy tuna 160
cheese on toast with avocado pesto 29
corned beef sub 108
egg rolls 60
English muffin bake 62
freezing 13
fried bread with raspberry honey 52
garlic bread 242
harissa bean pizza 22
hoop fish bake 138
jackfruit curry with no-yeast naan 162
meatloaf roll 66
olive and rosemary crown 54
paneer pitta 104
pecan brie brûlée 84
pitta 243
pizza paratha 120
savoury French toast 99
scrap soup 77
spotted dick bread with homemade butter 57
Thai red pepper soup 130
ting momo with soya cabbage 171–3
white baps 244
breakfast trifle 47
brie: pecan brie brûlée 84
brioche: breakfast trifle 47
broccoli: chicken shawarma 177
hoop fish bake 138
one-tray peanut chicken 147
burgers: fish pie burger 114–15
mushroom mozzarella burger 133
butter: cod roe pâté 132
freezing 12
home-made butter 246
spotted dick bread with homemade butter 57
buttermilk: pruney granola bake 43
spotted dick bread with homemade butter 57
butternut squash: hasselback squash with burnt garlic rice 180
butterscotch: burnt butterscotch bananas with ice cream and rice pudding 223
C
cabbage: coleslaw 100
ting momo with soya cabbage 171–3
cabbage, pickled: black pepper poke salmon bowl 116
edamame wild rice salad 89
cakes & bakes: black pepper cake 215
caramelized biscuit traybake 218
choc lime roulade 196–8
chocolate and orange blossom baklava 220
London cheesecake 205
<
br /> peanut butter and jelly traybake 24
preserved lemon traybake 212
princess torte cake 226
pruney granola bake 43
ras malai cake 232
capers: creamy marinara chicken 86
caramelized biscuit traybake 218
carrots: black pepper poke salmon bowl 116
coleslaw 100
corned beef Bombay pie 118
masala porridge 38
cauliflower hash and eggs 34–5
cereal milk ice cream 224
cheese: bacon & bean potato skins 92
Bengali bangers and hash smash 134
blender beetroot 71
Bombay mix potato skins 92
cheese on toast with avocado pesto 29
chilli potato skins 92
corned beef sub 108
cottage cheese and onion potato skins 90
crustless spinach quiche 83
English muffin bake 62
fish finger enchilada 143
freezing 12
kiwi salad 88
lava fries 151
macaroni cheese 62
mushroom mozzarella burger 133
nachos with avocado pesto 29
olive and rosemary crown 54
paneer kofta with vermicelli rice 165–6
paneer pasta salad 105
paneer pitta 104
Parmesan scones with salmon paste 64
pecan brie brûlée 84
pesto potato skins 92
pizza paratha 120
poutine 142
sausage and egg sliders 58
savoury French toast 99
slow cooker mushroom lasagne 156
sweet potato and goat’s cheese curry 111
sweet potato and goat’s cheese soup 111
sweet potato and goat’s cheese tart 110–11
three cheese crispy pancakes 72
tzatziki quesadillas 73
cheesecake: raspberry cheesecake croissants 18
Time to Eat Page 17
