Healthy recipe

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

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

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

Easy Autumn Granola Pots

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Spiced apple is the taste of autumn for me, but if its not your thing, you can swap it for other fruit.  If you’re vegan you can swap out plant based yoghurt for Greek yoghurt.

I’m always shocked at how much fancy coffee shops charge for those individual pots many of us grab for a quick breakfast on the way to work .  This recipe makes 4 generous portions for less than the cost of one of the granola pots you buy at well known coffee shops.  A bit of time at the start and you have tasty, healthy, grab and go breakfasts for during the week at a fraction of what you’d pay in a chain cafe

Make 4 portions

For the spiced apple layer

4-6 Dessert apples, (peeled, cored, and chopped into 2cm chunks)

1 Tsp Ground cinnamon

1 Star anise

For the yoghurt layer

2 Tbsp of Greek yoghurt per person

For the granola

50 Grams Porridge oats

15 Grams Desiccated coconut

15 Grams Pumpkin seeds

20 Grams Hazelnuts

1Tbsp Oil

1Tbsp Maple Syrup

25 Grams Dried fruit (use any type you like)

Method

Put the chopped apples and spices in a large pot with a splash of water and simmer until the apple starts to break down (I like to keep a bit of texture). Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees (Celsius)

While the apple is simmering, mix all rhe ingredients for the granola in a bowl (except the dried fruit, I add this when this when the granola comes out of the oven, or else I find it gets tough and can burn easily)

Transfer the granola to a baking sheet and bake for minutes, stir well as the outer edges will brown more quickly and return to the oven another 5 minutes.  When toasty and golden brown remove from the oven allow to cool.

To assemble each pot, put a quarter of the cooked apple in a jar/container, top with 2 tablespoons of Greek yoghurt and the sprinkle the granola mix on top

Chicken Tagine

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Chicken Tagine

Moroccan food is amazing, and healthy to boot. I had a proper tagine pot (authentic clay pot with a cone shaped lid), for all of 3 weeks before breaking it. The good thing is that you can make in any pot or dish with a well fitting lid. I cooked my tagine on the stove top, but can bake it in the oven if you prefer.

Tagines are slow cooked stews, and can be made with a variety of meat, and vegetables. Authentic tagines often use dried fruit such as prunes or apricots to add sweetness to balance out the heat of the harissa. I didn’t have any dried fruit, but this is still delicious. This is pretty hot, if you can’t handle alot of spice use less harissa or do what it did and add a dollop of yoghurt to cool things down.

Serves 4

8 Small Chicken thighs

1 Tbsp Olive oil

1 Large carrot

1 Large onion

1 Large courgette

1 Red pepper

1 Tsp Ground cumin

2 Cloves of garlic (minced)

1-2 Tbsps Preserved lemons (I made these myself, but you can also buy them from most supermarkets

1 Tbsp Harissa Paste (Again I made this myself, but you can buy this in supermarkets)

500ml Chicken stock (I used a stock cube)

400gm Can of chickpeas

1Tsp Salt

Method

  1. In a large pan with a lid, add the olive oil, and when hot add the chicken thighs and seal
  2. Cut the vegetables into chunks (I like this quite rustic)
  3. Add the vegetables and cook for 5 minutes
  4. Chop the preserved lemons finely and add to the pan along with the other ingredients and stir
  5. Put the lid on to the pot and reduce the heat to a gentle simmer. Cook for 45 minutes
  6. Serve with cous cous and a dollop of yoghurt