Righteous Recipes

Autumn Chicken and Lentil Tray Bake

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After a morning walk and seeing the leaves changing colours,  I was inspired to make this because the colours looked so good together (it also tastes fantastic).

With the days getting colder and shorter this is proper comfort food but still pretty healthy with all your brightly coloured vegetables and plenty of protein from the chicken and lentils.  What makes it even better is that it’s a one pan dish meal.  

I used tinned lentils but you could boil your own if that’s what you have.  Mop up all the yummy juices with some crusty bread or spoon this over some buttery mashed potatoes and greens for the perfect Autumn comfort meal.

Serves 4

1kg Chicken thigh (bone in, I removed the skin but you can keep it on if you prefer)

3 Smallish sweet potatoes (washed, but skin left on, cut into 2cm cubes)

4 Carrots (washed but skin left on, cut into 2cm cubes)

150 Grams Butternut squash  (cut into 2cm cubes)

1 Onion (peeled and cut into 6)

100 Grams Cherry tomatoes  (cut in half)

1 Large red pepper (cut into 2cm cubes)

1 Tsp Salt

1 Tsp Smoked paprika

1 Tsp Dried Thyme

1 Tsp Garlic powder

1 Tsp Chilli powder

2 Tbsp Oil

1 Tbsp Balsamic or cider vinegar

1   x 400 Gram Tin of Green lentils

Method

  • Preheat the oven to 180 degrees
  • In a large oven proof dish add the oil sweet potatoes, carrots, and butternut squash and bake for 20 minutes
  • Add everything else to the tray except the balsamic vinegar and lentils.  Mix well and bake for 30 minutes
  • Add the lentils and balsamic vinegar to the baking tray, mix again and bake for a further 10 minutes (check the chicken is full cooked), and serve with crusty bread

Ginger and Turmeric Shots

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If you haven’t been buying ginger shots already, you’ve probably spotted these little shots of goodness in many shops.

Both turmeric and ginger have powerful anti inflammatory and anti oxidant qualities, and can boost your immune system. So these are great if you are feeling a little bit under the weather, fighting of a colds or flu, and also help if you’re suffering with a hangover.

The little shots you buy cost at least £2 each. I made 4 shots, enough for 4 days in 5 minutes and about a quarter of the cost of buying them in a shop.

You’ll also see some odd ingredients like black pepper. Peperine found in black pepper helps activate some off the anti oxidant chemicals in the turmeric. I promise you won’t taste it, and you can swap it out for cayenne pepper if you prefer this.

A little oil is added as well. The fat helps your body absorb all the good stuff in the ginger and turmeric. You can substitute it for coconut oil if you prefer. Finally, honey is there for a little sweetness, but to be honest I’ll maybe leave it out next time as the oranges I had were really sweet, so maybe check on the sweetness of your oranges before adding. You can also swap the honey for agave or maple syrup if you are vegan.

Most importantly, these taste really good. Next time I make them, I might even go a little heavier on the ginger. I quite enjoy the heat, but it’s purely up to personal preference. The shots are healthy and delicious. They are quick and easy to make if you have a blender. They also cost a fraction of what you’ll pay outside.

Make 4-5 shots (this can live in your refrigerator for 5-6 days)

Ingredients

2 Oranges (peeled and roughly chopped

Thumb sized pieces of ginger (scrape the skin off with a spoon and then roughly chop)

3-4 cm Piece of Turmeric root (scrape the skin off with a spoon and then roughly chop. If you can’t find turmeric root, then replace this with 1 teaspoon of turmeric powder)

1 Teaspoon Honey or maple syrup

2-3 Grinds of black pepper if using a pepper mill or quarter teaspoon of ground black pepper

1 Teaspoon Olive oil

250 Ml Water

Method

  • Add all the ingredients to a blender or food processor and whiz for 1-2 minutes, or until there are no more lumps
  • Pour the mixture in to a mesh sieve with container below and strain (you can also use muslin or clean tea towel if you don’t have a sieve, the turmeric will stain it yellow)
  • When you have strained the liquid you can transfer the liquid to a bottle/s and chill, or enjoy a little shot of sunshine right away

Cabbage Wedges with Miso Butter

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Cabbage is a much maligned vegetable, with many of us having unpleasant memories of watery over cooked soggy cabbage. Cooked with a little care, cabbage is yummy and very good for you. According to nutritionists, we should all be eating more of it. Its nutrient dense, packed with fibre, and generally good for your gut health.

This is really tasty, and fairly easy to prepare with the oven doing the work. The cabbage goes sweet and slightly charred at the edges and the miso butter adds a salty richness to it. I had this along with some chicken I roasted in the oven at the same time. (I’m such a cheapskate I never turn the oven on just to cook one thing). If you don’t eat meat this is also delicious served on a bed of rich creamy hummus.

What’s even better it has only 3 ingredients, and is almost too good to be described as just a side dish. I used a sweetheart cabbage, and because of its shape, it made more sense to cut it into wedges. You can make this with other types of cabbage. Cut them into steaks if you prefer.

Serve 4 (but if using a large cabbage, up the ratio of butter and miso paste)

Ingredients

1 Sweetheart cabbage (tough/damaged outer leaves removed if necessary and cut into quarters with the core parred back but not removed completely as this with help the wedges stay in one piece)

40 Grams Butter (melted)

1 Tbsp Miso Paste

Method

  • Preheat your oven to 180 degrees (Celsius), and prepare a baking sheet (I usually line mine with foil because I’m lazy and it cuts down on washing up)
  • Melt the butter in a bowl in the microwave (or in a pot if you don’t have one), and then stir in the miso paste until thoroughly combined
  • Lay your cabbage wedges on the tray and brush evenly with the miso butter, before baking for 15-20 minutes (depending on the size of the wedges) until the cabbage has softened
  • Serve immediately

Crispy Rice Salad

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One of my many faults is a total inability to judge the amount of rice I need to cook, which usually results in making enough rice to feed a small island nation.

As I hate food waste I was left with some leftover brown rice and decided to try a version of a dish I had once when travelling in Asia.  The results were yummy and I keep making this as it’s really versatile and you can swap around the veggies/herbs and protein to stop yourself getting bored with this.

If you’re  vegetarian/vegan you can swap animal protein for tempeh, nuts or tofu. I used a tahini dressing but again you swap this for a yoghurt dressing or just a plain vinaigrette if you prefer.

Serves 2-3

Ingredients

For the crispy rice

200 Grams Cooked brown rice

1/2 Tbsp Soy sauce

1 Tsp Sesame oil

1 Tsp Chilli powder (less if you prefer it less spicy)

Large pinch of garlic or onion powder

For the salad

150 Grams Edamame (soy) beans (I buy these frozen from the supermarket and just defrost them as I need them)

100 Grams Red Cabbage (shredded)

250 Grams Prawns (I used pre cooked frozen ones that I defrosted)

Spinach

1-2 Carrots (grated)

For the dressing

1-2 Tbsp Tahini

1 Clove of garlic (minced)

1/2 Lemon

Method

  • Pre heat your oven to 180 degrees (Celsius)
  • Line a baking sheet with foil (I do this to save on washing up)
  • Add the ingredients for the crispy rice to a bowl and stir well to make sure all the grains are coated. 
  • Transfer the rice to the baking sheet and smooth out evenly and bake for 20 mins.  Stir once or twice (the rice at edges of the sheet will crisp up faster).  The texture should be crispy but with a bit of chew to it (it shouldn’t  be so crisp you feel like you’re eating uncooked rice).  Once cooked, allow to cool before adding to the salad
  • To make the dressing, combine all the ingredients in a small bowl.  I usually add a couple of tablespoons of warm water to loosen the dressing, but it’s up to you, how thick you want the dressing
  • Add all the ingredients to a large bowl, and toss the dressing through and serve immediately

Rice Paper Dumplings

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Everyone loves a dumpling and these are quick and easy.  They are a little fiddly to make at first, but once you’ve made a couple you’ll get the hang of it.

I used pork mince these but you can swap this for crumbled tofu if you’re vegetarian or vegan.  I also used shop bought stir fry vegetable mix, which makes this even quicker and easier.  The filling can also be used for rice bowls, and wraps

Ingredients

For the filling

250 Grammes Pork Mince

250 Grammes Stir fry vegetable mix

1 Red chilli (finely chopped)

2 Cloves of garlic (finely chopped

2 Teaspoons Grated ginger

2 Teaspoons Soy sauce

2 Teaspoons Rice wine vinegar (white wine vinegar will do if you don’t have this)

2 Teaspoons Sesame oil

For the dipping sauce

2 Tablespoons peanut butter

1 Teaspoon Honey or maple syrup

1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce

1 Tablespoon Siraccha

For the dumplings

Rice paper sheets

Method

  • Heat a large wok or non stick frying pan and add the pork to the pan, use a spatula to break down and crumble the pork, stirring until its brown
  • Add the pre chopped vegetables and cook for 2-3 minutes, before adding the rest of the ingredients (except to the sesame oil, add this at the very end), cook for another 2-3 minutes.  Remove from the heat and allow to cool
  • To make the dipping sauce, add the peanut butter and honey/ syrup to a bowl and pour in 2-3 tablespoons of boiling water and stir until you have a smooth sauce.  Add the other ingredients a little at a time (taste as you go to check you’re happy with the flavour)
  • To make the dumplings soak rice paper sheets in water.  I soak them one at a time in a flat wide dish and as I lift out one sheet to fill, I add another sheet to the water so it can soften while you’re making the dumpling.
  • Soak the sheet for about a minute, I think it works best when it’s the consistency of cellophane.  If you soak the rice paper for too long it will get too soft and be difficult to use.
  • When you lift out the sheet, put a dessert spoon of the cooled filling  in the centre of the rice paper.  Fold the two sides of rice paper together and then fold the top and bottom of the rice paper towards the centre (the rice paper should stick to itself).  This will create a little square dumpling
  • Heat a light drizzle of oil in a large frying pan. Cook the dumplings in batches, being careful to leave space between them or else will be assholes and stick to each other
  • Fry for 2-3 minutes each side, and serve immediately along with dipping sauce

Creamy Red Pepper and Tomato Soup (with extra protein)

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Apparently most of us don’t eat enough protein and it can be hard to squeeze enough into your  diet (especially if you’re not a meat eater).

This soup is rich and filling and the protein comes from cottage cheese.  I know a lot of people don’t like it, due to its texture.  In this soup it’s blended until smooth and adds a nice creaminess to the soup

Ingredients

500 Grams Tomatoes (I used some cherry tomatoes and chopped a couple of large tomatoes that were getting past their best)

2 Red Peppers (cut into chunks)

2 Red onions (cut into quarters)

1 Bulb of Garlic

2 Tbsp Oil

300 Gram Tub of cottage cheese

500ml Vegetable stock

2 Tbsp Basil

Salt and pepper

Method

  • Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees (Celsius)
  • Add 1 tablespoon of oil to an oven proof dish, add the vegetable to the dish.  Wrap the garlic bulb with aluminum foil.  Leave a little opening at the top and drizzle in a little oil .  Bake for 25-30 minutes until the edges of the peppers start to blacken a little
  • Transfer the roasted vegetables to a large pot.  When the aluminum is cool enough to handle,  squeeze out the softened garlic, and add to the pot
  • Add the vegetable stock and begin to heat.  Add the cottage cheese and basil (be careful not to let the soup come to the boil).  Using a stick blender (or transfer to a regular blender) and whizz up until the soup is smooth and creamy.  Check and add salt and pepper if you think it needs it

Pork and Cabbage Stir Fry

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Quick, tasty and easy weeknight night dinners are the best and this is ready in 15 minutes.  It’s also pretty healthy and is packed with vegetables (especially if you’re trying to “eat the rainbow” which is essential for good nutrition).

Pork sometimes gets a bad reputation, but lean pork mince is full of protein and has a good amount of iron.

Serves 4

500 Grams Lean pork mince

1 Red pepper (finely sliced)

1 yellow pepper (finely sliced)

1 Red onion (finely sliced)

Half a small white cabbage (finely sliced)

Handful of sugar snap peas or mange tout

2-3 Cloves of garlic (finely sliced)

4-5 Tbsp Hoi Sin Sauce

Method

  • Heat a large wok or high sided frying pan over a high heat
  • Add the pork mince to the pan (there should be enough fat in the meant to stop it sticking even though it’s lean, but you can add a tablespoon of oil if you think you need to). Stir the meat quick to break it up until it’s mainly brown
  • Add all the veggies to the pan and stir often for 2-3 minutes
  • Stir in the garlic, and Hoi Sin sauce and half a cup of boiling water.  Stir well and let the sauce thicken for another minute until everything is well coated
  • Serve with rice or noodles

Creamy Canellini Beans with Sundried Tomatoes

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It’s comfort food weather, and if like most of us you’re trying to increase the amount of protein you’re eating these are perfect.

I can eat a big bowl of these on their own with some crusty bread, but they also make a tasty side dish.

This is quick and easy to make, using tinned beans but you can use dried beans but these usually need soaked overnight and should be cooked according to the instructions on the packaging.

Ingredients

2 x 400ml Cannelloni beans (drained)

1 Tbsp Tomato puree

125ml Vegetable stock

2 x Cloves of garlic (finely chopped

1 Large sprig of rosemary or 1 teaspoon of dried rosemary

1 Tbsp Oil

1 Onion (finely chopped)

4-5 Sun dried tomatoes

Salt and pepper

Method

  • Heat the oil in a large pan and fry onion gently until it starts to caramelise, stirring occasionally.
  • Stir the tomato puree into the pan and cook for another 2 minutes before adding the beans and vegetable stock.  Stir well and simmer for 10 minutes.
  • With a fork or potato masher gently mash about a third of the beans.  This will release the starch in the beans that will help thicken the beans and give the beans a creamy texture.
  • Stir in the sundried tomatoes and rosemary, and simmer for 5 minutes.  Check the seasoning and add salt and pepper if you think it needs it.

Summer Rolls

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It’s not quite Summer, but after all the over indulgence of Christmas I wanted something lighter.  These are packed with fresh veggies and herbs, and you can add whatever protein you like.  I used prawns because I had some left in the freezer, but left over cooked chicken or pork can be used and vegetarians can use firm tofu or tempeh.

You can find rice paper in Asian supermarkets and I’ll be honest it can be fiddly when you start working with it.  The one I used needed to be soaked in a bowl of water for a minute and I made a mess of the few I tried.  But you’ll get into a rhythm where you have a leaf of rice paper soaking while you assemble a roll and you be a total  machine at making these in no time.

You can spend time making designs etc, that can be seen through the rice paper to make them pretty ( I was hungry so decided not to faff about).  You can also use any variety of vegetables you enjoy.

I served this with a peanut (sort of stay sauce), which is quick and easy.

Serves 2

Sheets of rice paper (you’ll probably struggle with the first couple so consider these practice ones, but you’ll get into the way of doing it in no time)

Half a red pepper (thinly sliced)

Quarter head of red cabbage (thinly sliced)

Handful of sugar snap peas or mange tout (thinly sliced)

1 Carrot (thinly sliced)

50 Grams Thin rice noodles (cook according to instructions on the packet)

Herbs – I used mint and coriander

100 Grams Tiger prawns (use whichever cooked protein you have.

For the dipping sauce

2 Tbsp Peanut butter

Juice of half a lime

1 Tsp fish sauce

Pinch of sugar

1/2 Tsp Chilli power (or 1/2 fresh chili)

Method

  • Assemble all your ingredients
  • Check the instructions on the rice paper, mine told me to soak for 1 minute.  I used a large flat bowl and topped it up with warmish water. 
  • Soak one sheet at a time, adding a new sheet to soak when you lift one out.  The paper should be soft enough to be pliable but not mushy
  • Lift the soaked rice paper onto a board and fill with a selection of your fillings in the centre leaving a 2cm edge.  Don’t over pack or it will split.
  • Fold in the edge closest to you and then tuck in the sides and fold into a roll (a bit like a smaller version of a burrito).  Set to one side and then start the next roll
  • For the dipping sauce, adf all the ingredients to a bowl and stir in a couple of tablespoons of boiling water to loosen up the mixture and stir well before checking the seasoning
  • Best eaten the day they are made

Chicken with 30 Cloves of Garlic

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Yes, you read it right, 30 cloves of garlic.  Before you imagine that you will stink enough to scare off a small town of vampires I promise you won’t, the garlic mellows and becomes almost sweet. This is a classic French dish, and it’s a classic for a reason.  Traditionally it’s made with a whole chicken, but I prefer chicken thighs

The garlic cooks gently in wine and the chicken juices until they are soft and delicious.  Cook them with their skin on and when cooked squeeze the soft garlic onto the bread you serve with this dish., they taste amazing.

I used a dish that could be used on the stove top and in the oven.  If you don’t have one just transfer to an oven proof dish before putting in the oven.

The whole dish is incredibly tasty, serve the soft  chicken with salad and crusty french bread, to spread the confit garlic on and mop up the sauce with it.

Ingredients

1 Kg Chicken thighs (skin on and bone in)

30 Cloves of garlic (about 3 bulbs, remove most of the papery outside, but leave on the tight pink/white skin around each clove)

250 mil White Wine

2 Sprigs of rosemary

25 Grams Butter

1 Tbsp Oil

Salt and pepper

Method

  • Pat the chicken dry with kitchen paper and season with salt and pepper
  • Preheat the oven to 180 degrees (Celsius)
  • In a large oven proof dish heat the oil and butter together.  Over quite a high heat brown the chicken thighs on both sides (you might need to do this in a couple of batches, because if you crowd the pan the chicken won’t brown and you don’t want to lose the flavor)
  • When all the chicken has been browned add the wine and rosemary to the pan and scrape the bottom to release the yummy brown bits
  • Add the garlic cloves to the pan and stir well, before covering the dish with a lid (if your dish doesn’t have a lid, cover tightly with tin foil
  • Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes (maybe a little longer if the chicken thighs are large, just check they are cooked through)
  • Serve with salad and crusty bread, squeeze the garlic out of it’s papery cover onto the bread and spread with a knife, you can thank me later