family food

Croque Monsieur Bake

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Stop throwing away stale bread and use it for this yummy unctuous comforting bake.  You can make most of it the night before and impress everyone with a super chic breakfast, but it’s great at any time of the day.  This is best if you can start it the night before but if not allow the bread to soak up the egg mixture for at least an hour or two

If you’re being totally authentic you should use Gruyere cheese, but I didn’t have this so I used cheddar and it was yummy too.

Serves 4

Ingredients

8 Slices of stale white bread

175 Grams Cheese (save about a third of the cheese to sprinkle on top before you put the bake in the oven)

4 Slices of ham

6 Eggs

350mil Milk

2 Tbsp Soft butter

2 Tbsp Dijon mustard

For the bechamel sauce

40 Grams Butter

20 Grams Plain Flour

4000 mil Milk

Salt and pepper

Method

  • Butter 4 slices of bread, and spread the other 4 slices with mustard
  • Thinly slice two thirds of the cheese, and with ham make 4 cheese and ham sandwiches
  • Cut each sandwich into 4 triangles.  Lightly grease an oven proof dish and arrange the sandwiches in the dish.
  • Whisk the eggs and milk together with a pinch of salt and pepper and pour over the sandwiches making sure they are all coated
  • Cover the dish with cling film and allow to sit overnight in the fridge (or for at least an hour or two)
  • Preheat the oven to 180 degrees (Celsius)
  • Make a bechamel sauce, melting butter in a sauce pan before stirring in flour to make a roux type paste and then gradually stir in the milk and heat until the sauce thickens and doesn’t taste floury anymore, season with salt and pepper
  • Grate the remaining cheese, and remove the oven proof dish from the fridge.  Top the sandwiches with the bechamel sauce and sprinkle with cheese
  • Bake for 30-40 minutes until deeply brown and bubbly.
  • Allow to sit for 10 minutes before serving

Halloumi Meatballs

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I make a big batch of these and freeze them, so feel free to reduce the amount of ingredients if you want to make a smaller batch.

These were baked in the oven, but you could cook them in an air fryer or fry in a pan if you find this easier.

I used a mix of minced beef and pork, but lamb works well and you can also swap out the herbs for what you have (parsley and dill are nice combo to use).  Breadcrumbs soaked in milk help keep these moist, and I’m going to say it again, but always have a bag of breadcrumbs in the freezer.  It makes recipes like this super quick and easy.

These are great with sweet potatoes/rice and veggies if you’re doing meal prep, or in meatball subs.

Ingredients

800 Grams Minced Beef

500 Grams Minced Pork

75 Grams Breadcrumbs

150 Mls Milk

3 Cloves of garlic

1 Tsp Black pepper

1 Tsp Smoked paprika

1 Egg

2 Tbsp Mixed herbs (I used mint and oregano)

Method

  • Line 2 large baking trays with tin foil or bsking parchment
  • Add the milk to the breadcrumbs and allow to soak in
  • Add all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix with your hands until all the ingredients are well combined
  • Lift enough of the mix to make a meatball about the size of a golf ball and set on the lined tray.  Continue doing this until you have used up all the mix
  • Put the trays into the fridge and chill for 20-30 minutes
  • Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius
  • Bake meatballs for 25-30 minutes (or until cooked through).  If you are freezing some of these allow to cool complete before freezing

Cheese and Onion Tear and Share Bread

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Serves 8

500 Grams Strong White (bread) Flour

1 Sachet dried yeast

350Mil Luke warm water

1 1/2 Tsp Salt

1 Onion (cut in half and finely sliced)

125 Grams Grated Cheese (I used 100 Grams of mature cheddar and 25 Grams of parmasan, but use any combination you have)

1 Tsp dried Thyme

Black pepper

1 Tsp Oil

  • Stir the yeast into the luke warm water
  • Add the salt and flour to a large bowl before pouring in the yeast mix and mixing well until it forms a dough
  • If you have a mixer with a dough hook, mix for 5 minutes.  If you don’t, turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead for 10 minutes
  • Transfer the dough back to a bowl that has been wiped with a little oil. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and and prove for 1 hour
  • When the dough has proved, uncover and hit it a punch to knock out the air and then form it into a ball
  • Turn onto a floured surface and with a rolling pin (or wine bottle if you don’t have one) roll out the dough into a rough rectangle 12cm x 24cm
  • Sprinkle the surface with the grated cheese, finely sliced onion, thyme and black pepper
  • Roll the dough into a sausage shape (using the long side of the dough)
  • Cut the dough into 8 equal sized slices
  • Line a spring form baking tin with parchment (scrunch the sheet up first, it makes it easier to spread out)
  • Place the slices of dough into the tin in a circle, cover the tin with a tea towel and prove again for 15 minutes
  • Preheat your oven to 200 degrees Celsius
  • Bake the bread for 35-40 minutes until golden brown
  • Serve while still warm (your kitchen will smell amazing)

Chicken and Prune Tagine

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I visited Morocco years ago and fell in love with the food (not so much the scorching heat and hard sell tactics of the street hawkers).

Tagines are kind of a stew containing meat and or pulses, vegetables, dried fruit, and lots of spices all cooked in a special clay pot that gives it its name (I did have one but broke it because I’m incredibly clumsy and is part of the reason why I can’t have nice things). An ordinary casserole dish will do the job, or cover an oven proof dish with tin foil.

You can swap the ingredients based on what you have or what is in season, and adjust the spicing to suit your own taste.

Ingredients

8 Chicken thighs (skin on and with the bone in)

1 Large onion (thinly sliced)

1 Red pepper (cut into 2-3cm chunks)

150 Grams Green beans (I used frozen)

12-16 Prunes (without stones, you can also swap these for dried apricots if you prefer)

2 Cloves of garlic

1Tsp grated ginger

1Tsp Ground coriander

1Tsp Ground  Cumin

1Tsp Ground cinnamon

1Tsp Salt

400 Mil Passata

250 Mil Chicken stock (its OK to use a stock cube)

400 Grams Can of chick peas (drained)

Method

  • Preheat oven to 180 degrees
  • Heat a heavy pan and add the chicken thighs skin side down and brown before turning and cook for another couple of minutes before adding the rest of the ingredients and mixing well
  • If your pan isn’t oven proof, then transfer everything to a casserole dish and cook in the oven for 30-40 minutes
  • Serve with cous cous or other grains. Flat bread are also great to mop up all the tasty juices.  This is even better served the next day

Fesenjoon (Persian Chicken or Aubergine and Walnut Stew)

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This dish was would have traditionally been made with duck (which I think would be too rich), and is now usually made with chicken. I have also made a vegan version with aubergines and I have to say I think it was my favourite.

This is quite a rich dish and the use of pomegranate molasses (available from most big supermarkets or Asian grocers) gives the stew a tangy sweet and sour flavour.

I call this a weekend recipe, meaning its something that requires low and slow cooking and you aren’t going to try and do for a quick weeknight dinner.

Serves 4

Ingredients

8 Chicken thighs (bone in, but skin removed), or 2 large aubergines (cut into bite sized chunks)

1 Tbsp. Tomato Puree

250 Grams Walnut pieces

1/2 Tsp Ground Cinnamon

2 Tsp Salt

1 Tsp Black pepper

125 Mil Pomegranate molasses

1 Tsp Sugar (or more to taste)

Pomegranate seeds to decorate (optional)

Method

  • Add the walnuts to a food processor and whiz until they become fine crumbs and start to stick together in a paste
  • Move the walnuts to a large pot with a lid, and add 1 litre of cold water to the walnuts. Bring to the boil for a couple of minutes, and then reduce the heat and cover with a lid simmer for 2 hours.
  • Stir in the pomegranate molasses, tomato purée, cinnamon, sugar, salt and pepper until well combined. Return the mixture to a simmer
  • Add the chicken thighs or aubergine chunks to the pot and cover with the lid again and simmer for a further hour. Remove the lid and simmer for another 10-15 minutes to allow the sauce to thicken.
  • Sprinkle with pomegranate seeds if using just before serving rice or flat breads

Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Lasagne

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Traditional lasagne is pretty epic, but it does no harm try new versions of things and this is pretty amazing. This was a giant lasagna, but you can reduce the recipe if you need to make a smaller one.

Ingredients

Serves 8

1Kg Chicken Breast (cut into 2-3cm chunks)

500 Grams Mushrooms (roughly chopped)

50 Grams Dried Mushrooms

200 Grams Spinach

750 Mil Milk

75 Grams Butter

75 Grams Plain flour

1 Tsp Salt

1 Tsp Black Pepper

2 Tbsp Oil

250 Grams Cheese (grated, I used a mix of mozzarella and Cheddar)

1 Tbsp Rosemary (chopped)

4-5 Cloves of garlic (crushed or finely chopped)

12 – 14 Lasagna dried sheets (the type that don’t need pre-cooked)

Method

  1. Before doing anything else, place the dried mushrooms into a bowl and cover with 350 mil of warm water
  2. Add 1 table spoon of oil to a large high sided pan and heat over a medium heat. Add the chopped chicken and colour on all sides before removing from the heat and setting to one side
  3. Add a second table spoon of oil to the pan and add the roughly chopped mushrooms, cook for around 10 minutes (don’t stir too often or they will start to release water)
  4. Drain the dried mushrooms (keep the water they were soaked into one side as it will go into your sauce later)
  5. Stir in the dried mushrooms and spinach to the pan with mushrooms (it will look like it won’t fit, but it quickly wilts down
  6. To make the sauce, melt the butter, and add the crushed garlic to let it infuse and flavour the butter. Add the flour and stir well to make a loose paste
  7. Over a medium heat, gradually whisk in the milk and a water the dried mushrooms were soaked in as this will be packed with flavour.
  8. As the sauce starts to thicken, stir in the rosemary and salt and pepper (you can adjust the seasoning to your own taste). Cook the sauce out for a further 10 minutes, stir regularly until the sauce no longer tastes floury. The sauce should not be especially thick, so add more milk if you think it needs it.
  9. Pre-heat you over to 180 degrees (Celsius)
  10. In a lasagna dish, ladle in enough sauce to cover the bottom of the dish add about a third of the chicken and mushroom mix before topping with lasgna sheets. Repeat this on two more layers, making sure you ladle in liberal amounts of the sauce over the lasagna sheets
  11. Top with grated cheese and bake for 45 minutes until deep golden brown Enjoy with salad and garlic bread

Healthy Mexican Breakfast

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I love a hearty breakfast, and this is quick enough for a weekday breakfast but you might prefer to save it for the weekend as it makes a great brunch/lunch dish.

I have shown quantities per person, so just up the amounts based on how many people you’re cooking for. I know we don’t usually use herbs at breakfast time, but the coriander and mint really make this delicious (I love picking this from my window box). This meal has plenty of fibre and protein and will fuel you for a good part of the day. If you are gluten free, you can swap the wholemeal tortilla for corn tortilla (just make sure to check the label, to ensure they are GF)

Ingredients (per person)

1 Wholemeal torilla

2 eggs

1/2 Avocado (diced)

6 Cherry tomatoes (halved)

1 Spring onion/scallion (finely sliced)

1 Tbsp Mint (finely chopped)

1 Tbsp Coriander (finely chopped)

100 Grams Canned black beans

Chilli powder – according to taste

1 Tsp Oil

Method

  1. Heat oil in a small pan, crack both eggs into the pan (I like to add a little water and cover with a lid so they steam fry, but feel free to cook the eggs your preferred way)
  2. While your eggs are cooking, slice the vegetables and herbs. Place the tortilla on a plate
  3. Place your eggs on top of the tortilla, and use the same pan to warm through the black beans
  4. Scatter the vegetables, herbs and heated black beans, across the tortilla and eggs and sprinkle with chilli powder (or sliced fresh chillies if you prefer) according to how spicy you like your food.

Potato, Cheese and Broccoli Pasties

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It’s cold, wet and sh*tty outside. No wonder your body is craving carbs and needs comfort food.

You can add some patterns to fancy these up. But they’ll taste delicious regardless

I hate food waste. So when I have bits and pieces hanging around in the fridge I try to come up with a recipe to use them. Left over potatoes and broccoli from previous meals are delicious when well seasoned and combined with cheese. This recipe isn’t dainty or sophisticated, but it does taste really good.

Makes 4 good sized pasties

Ingredients

375 Gram pack of pre-rolled puff pastry

250 Grams Cooked potatoes

150 Grams Cooked broccoli

100 Grams Mature Cheddar (grated)

1 Egg

1/2 Tsp Garlic powder

Salt and pepper

Potato, broccoli and cheese filling

Method

  1. In a bowl break up the cooked potato and broccoli with a fork.
  2. Add the grated cheese, garlic powder and salt and pepper (the mix needs a good amount of seasoning, to don’t forget to taste the filling)
  3. Unroll your sheet of pastry and cut into four smaller sheets
  4. Add the filling to one half of each sheet
  5. Brush the edges of the pastry with beaten egg, and fold the pastry over, crimping the edges of the pastry with a fork.
  6. Lightly brush the top with beaten egg, and bake in an oven, pre – heated to 200 degrees. Bake for 20 minutes until golden brown
Brush lightly with beaten egg.

Champ and Chilli Pie

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It can still get cold, so comfort food is still on the menu. This is a variation on a Shepherd’s pie, I started making this a couple of years ago to use up some leftovers.

If you’re one of those organised people who plans meals for the week then you can make the champ and the chilli for separate meals in advance and just assemble before you bake it

There’s a decent amount of vegetables in this chilli but you could also swap it for an entirely vegetarian chilli if you’re not a meat eater

Ingredients

For the champ

1kg Potatoes

250 ml Milk

5-6 Scallions/spring onions (finely chopped)

Salt

For the chilli

400 Grams Minced beef

1 Onion (chopped into 1cm chunks)

100 Grams Mushrooms (chopped chopped into 1cm chunks)

50 Grams Sweetcorn

2 Stalks of celery (chopped into 1 cm chunks)

1 Red Pepper (chopped into 1 cm chunks)

1 Tbsp Tomato puree

1 Tsp Cumin

1 Tsp Chilli flakes (increase this if you like a hotter chilli)

400ml Passata

400 Gram Can of black beans or kidney beans

Coriander (optional, but I usually add a couple of tablespoons of fresh chopped coriander)

75 Grams Grated Cheese (I used mature Cheddar)

Method

  1. Peel the potatoes and chop into equal sized cubes before boiling in salted water until soft and then mash thoroughly
  2. While the potatoes are cooking add the milk and scallions/spring onions into a small pot and simmer over a very gentle heat
  3. Stir the milk and scallions into the mashed potatoes and mix well, check if it needs more salt.
  4. For the chilli, heat a large high sided frying pan and add the mince and allow to brown
  5. Add the tomato puree, spices and sliced vegetables and beans and cook for 5 minutes
  6. Add the passata and simmer for a further 10 – 15 minutes until the vegetables are soft and the chilli has thickened
  7. Transfer the chilli to a large oven proof dish and then top with the champ mix
  8. Spread the champ across the chilli with a fork, so that the top has a rough texture (this will help give a lovely crunch once its baked). Sprinkle with grated cheese
  9. Cook in an oven pre-heated to 200 degrees (Celsius) for 30 minutes

Chicken and Gnocchi Traybake

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On cold days you want eat something wholesome and delicious with very little effort, and this is perfect. Roast chicken veggies and potato dumplings mmm.

What’s even better is that everything is cooked in the same tray, so you have fewer dishes to wash.

I use shop bought gnocchi, as most of us don’t have time to make them. This helps make this a really easy dish, that just needs to be assembled and then the oven does the work.

Ingredients

8 Small or 4 large chicken thighs

1 Leek (cut into chunks)

1 Red pepper (cut into chunks)

100 Grams Spinach

1 Tsp Smoked paprika

1 Tbsp Olive oil

1 Tbsp White wine or cider vinegar (I promise you won’t taste vinegar, but it will help bring out the flavours)

500 Grams Bag of Gnocchi

Salt and pepper

Method

  1. Preheat your oven to 200 degrees (Celsius)
  2. Sprinkle the olive oil on the base of a large roasting tray
  3. Place the chicken, Leeks, peppers and gnocchi in the tray and sprinkle with smoked paprika, salt and pepper
  4. Bake for 30 minutes, and remove from the oven. Sprinkle the vinegar over vegetables and add the spinach and mix through the contents of the tray
  5. Bake for a another 15 minutes and the serve. Double check that the chicken is cooked (the juices should run clear, cook for longer if they aren’t)