2/22/14
Spring vegetable soup with basil pesto
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 leeks, washed and chopped
- 100g green beans, cut into lengths
- 1 large courgette, diced
- 1.2l hot vegetable stock
- 3 vine-ripe tomatoes, deseeded and chopped
- 400g can cannellini beans
- 1 nest vermicelli (about 35g)
For the pesto
- 25g pack basil
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 25g pistachios nuts
- 25g vegetarian parmesan -style cheese, (we used Twyneham Grange, available from Sainsbury’s)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
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Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 15 mins
Method
- Heat the oil, then fry the leek until softened. Add the green beans and courgette, then pour in the stock and season to taste. Cover and simmer for 5 mins.
- Meanwhile, make the pesto: put the basil, garlic, nuts, Parmesan, oil and ½ tsp salt in a food processor, then blitz until smooth.
- Stir the tomatoes, cannellini beans and vermicelli into the soup pan, then simmer for 5 mins more until the veg are just tender. The soup and pesto can now be chilled for up to a day.
- Reheat the soup, if necessary, then stir in half the pesto. Ladle into bowls and serve with the rest of the pesto spooned on top. Eat with chunks of crusty bread.
Spring salmon with minty veg
Ingredients
- 750g small new potatoes, thickly sliced
- 750g frozen peas and beans (we used Waitrose pea and bean mix, £2.29/1kg)
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- zest and juice of 1 lemon
- small pack mint, leaves only
- 4 salmon fillets about 140g/5oz each
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Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 10 mins
Method
- Boil the potatoes in a large pan for 4 mins. Tip in the peas and beans, bring back up to a boil, then carry on cooking for another 3 mins until the potatoes and beans are tender. Whizz the olive oil, lemon zest and juice and mint in a blender to make a dressing(or finely chop the mint and whisk into the oil and lemon).
- Put the salmon in a microwave-proof dish, season, then pour the dressing over. Cover with cling film, pierce, then microwave on High for 4-5 mins until cooked through. Drain the veg, then mix with the hot dressing and cooking juices from the fish. Serve the fish on top of the vegetables.
Herby lamb burgers with beetroot mayo
Ingredients
- 400g lamb mince
- 1 small red onion, ½ grated, ½ thinly sliced
- handful parsley, roughly chopped
- handful mint, roughly chopped
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 3 tbsp mayonnaise
- 2 cooked beetroot, finely chopped
- 4 bread rolls
- couple handfuls watercress
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Method
- Mix the lamb, grated onion and herbs in a bowl with some seasoning, then divide the mix into 4 and shape into burgers.
- Heat a griddle pan until hot, rub the burgers with oil, and cook for 5-6 mins on each side, or until cooked through.
- Meanwhile, mix the mayonnaise and beetroot with some seasoning. Fill the bread rolls with some watercress, a burger, a dollop of beetroot mayo and a few onion slices. Serve immediately.
Springtime spaghetti & meatballs
Ingredients
- 400g pork mince
- 1 small onion, grated
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- zest ½ lemon
- 50g grated parmesan
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 400g spaghetti
- 150ml double cream
- 200g fresh or frozen peas, defrosted if frozen
- handful parsley, roughly chopped
-
Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 20 mins
Method
- Mix the mince, onion, garlic and zest with half the Parmesan and some seasoning, then shape into 16 walnut-sized meatballs. Heat the oil in a non-stick pan and fry the meatballs for 10-12 mins until golden.
- Meanwhile, cook the pasta following pack instructions, drain and reserve 150ml of the cooking liquid. Add the cream and 100ml pasta water to the meatballs, scraping the bottom of the pan to get all the sticky bits off. Bubble until thick and the meatballs are cooked through.
- Add the peas, cook for a further 2 mins, then add the parsley. Stir through the pasta with a splash more pasta water to make the whole thing saucy. Sprinkle over the remaining Parmesan and serve.
Spring chicken in a pot
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 500g boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 300g small new potatoes
- 425ml low-salt vegetable stock (such as Kallo low-salt vegetable stock cubes)
- 350g broccoli, cut into small florets
- 350g spring greens, shredded
- 140g petits pois
- bunch spring onion, sliced
- 2 tbsp pesto
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Method
- Heat the oil in a large, heavy pan. Add the onion, gently fry for 5 mins until softened, add the chicken, then fry until lightly coloured. Add the potatoes, stock and plenty of freshly ground black pepper, then bring to the boil. Cover, then simmer for 30 mins until the potatoes are tender and the chicken is cooked. Can be frozen at this point.
- Add the broccoli, spring greens, petit pois and spring onions, stir well, then return to the boil. Cover, then cook for 5 mins more, stir in the pesto and heat through.
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