Breakfast burritos

Wanting a filling breakfast yesterday I threw this together to keep me going through till lunch.

Onto a warmed tortilla wrap I spread some pesto, topped with fresh baby spinach, feta and sliced plum tomatoes. After lightly scrambling two eggs I added this to the pile up and seasoned generously with salt and pepper.

Curl it all up in the wrap and enjoy - a great start to the day! 

Roasted Broccoli Soup with toasted walnuts

This is a great way to make a basic broccoli soup more exciting. Roasting the garlic and broccoli before combining to make the soup can add a nice bite to the flavour.

I began by preheating the oven to 200F and dicing up a head of broccoli and spreading out on a baking tray with three cloves of garlic and splashing with olive oil. Place this in the oven for 20 minutes until crisp. The garlic will roast and become soft once removed from their casings.

Once roasted, place into a large saucepan. Remove the garlic from their casings and smash with the edge of a kitchen knife to create a garlic paste, add to the saucepan. Dice up half a white onion and two sticks of celery - these will go in the saucepan too.

Add a stock cube to a pint of boiling water and allow to dissolve - once dissolved add slowly to the saucepan, allowing to mix with the vegetables. Now add in half a pint of milk (to make this soup vegan, add almond milk instead) - allow to simmer for 15/20 minutes until the flavours have all mixed together. Blend the mixture together until smooth.

Return to the heat and finish by adding some seasoning and top with toasted walnuts and a drizzle of chilli rapeseed oil for a kick.

Cauliflower based pizza

I'd heard about this and wanted to make my own - and I can report it is AMAZING. Yum

Start by blending a head of cauliflower florets until a grainy consistency. Place into the microwave for 

7 mins until cooked through - allow to cool. Add 3 tablespoons of parmesan, salt and pepper and an egg to combine. 

Spread out onto a oven tray coated in tin foil. Place in a preheated 200C oven for 10 minutes. Meanwhile in a bowl throw halved cherry tomatoes, two diced cloves of garlic, a handful of chopped walnuts, a big bunch of wilted spinach (I microwave fresh spinach leaves in the microwave for a minute), a dollop of pesto and a squirt of tomato paste. Mix these together - this will make up the topping. 

Once the base is crispy, remove from the oven and pour the mixture onto the base, spreading evenly. I also made sure all the tomatoes were facing upright so they could cook properly. Place this back in the oven for another 10 minutes. Remove when complete and allow to cool. 

A-ma-zing. 

Oven baked Aubergine with roasted tomatoes and garlic

This is an amazing meal and quick to prepare - After preheating the oven to 200C, slice an aubergine in half and splash with olive oil. Coat in a layer of spices, I used an African rub mix containing cumin, coriander and ajowan. I also added paprika and chilli flakes. Surrounding the aubergine on a oven tray, I laid out whole cherry tomatoes on the vine alongside whole cloves of garlic and diced onions.

This will go into the oven for 30 minutes until the aubergine is soft. Once cooked through, along to cool while preparing some cous-cous to serve with the dish. I finished the cous-cous with some olive oil, salt and pepper and the roasted onions.

Perfectly healthy and delicious to eat - enjoy!

My Chicken soup

This chicken soup recipe is my answer for all ailments and I make it once a week or whenever we have some left over roast chicken.

The lengthly process is always the better option - so I'll explain it that way:
I start by frying two cloves of garlic in a large saucepan, and add in two diced carrots. Taking the chicken, pull apart the meat from the bones, the more the better! Don't be afraid to throw in large parts of the chicken, bones and all - this will all add to the overall flavour once finished. About half a roast chicken is best. I lightly heat these ingredients together and then add a litre of water, allow to boil and simmer, softening the chicken. Now turn the heat right down and leave for about two hours. The chicken meat will fall away from the bones and create amazing flavour.

After two hours the broth should be coming together nicely. Remove any bones or unwanted reminisce from the roast chicken, leaving the meat behind. Add a vegetable stock cube and a large splash of chilli flakes as well as a sliced leek. I sometimes add a dollop of chilli rapeseed oil for extra bite.

Bring to the boil again and enjoy while hot.

My simple take on my Mama's fish pie

The perfect comfort food - this is the simple way to create your favourite fish pie - My mother is an amazing cook and when I was traveling this was always my requested homecoming meal upon return. Her version is much better but this is my take on it - a simplified version if you will.

Dice the potatoes into cubes and boil until completely soft, removed from the stove and add a knob of butter, and a cup of milk, along with a large dollop of cream cheese. Mash together and add scallions (spring onions) right at the end. Set aside.

In a frying pan, sauté some prawns in light melted butter, add in two fillets of cooked salmon, flaking them as you go. Mix this together and allow the butter to light fry the fish and prawns.
Throw in a handful of scallions here too, one bunch should suffice over both parts of the dish. The add in a large amount of light cream cheese, maybe three large table spoons (again, one tub of cream cheese should suffice of the two parts of the dish) If it is not creamy enough add some boiling water. Allow this to simmer gently and create a creamy fish sauce.

To serve, combine the two parts and enjoy. Easy! I added fresh peas to the dish giving a splash of green to the plate!

Delicious. But my Mama's is still the best!

Homemade Basil and Cashew nut Pesto

I ran out of pesto recently and decide to just make my own! This is even better than store bought pesto and simple to make. I love having a basil plant in the house to add to dishes whenever needed, so I pulled off about two handfuls of basil leaves, and threw them into a blender with a handful of cashew nuts (usually pesto uses pine nuts but I improvised) two bulbs of garlic, and a big gulp of olive oil.

Blend until smooth and add seasoning - this is amazing on fresh pasta or use a tablespoon in homemade mash potatoes to give the dish some extra flavour.

Chicken bake with African spices

Ok I know, it doesn't look like it's going to taste amazing - but trust me it does!

Before starting anything I soaked a barley and split pea soup mix over night. The following day I cooked up the legumes in some stock and allowed to simmer for a few hours as instructed on the packaging. Two hours before starting the bake I marinated the chicken cubes (about two handfuls of chicken breasts should be enough) in olive oil and spices. I chose an african rub my Mum gave me from Cape Town to remind me of my hometown - it's a mix of cumin, coriander and ajowan. 

Preheating the oven to 200C/Gas 6, I mixed the two together, allowing the barley and split peas and lentils to cover the chicken. I added some of the stock I had cooked the soup mix in, this will help keep the dish moist when in the oven. I then added an additional layer of spices, with some chilli flakes to complete. 

Bake in the oven for 30 minutes and watch it bubble over in the oven. Let it sit before eating - it's the perfect winter evening meal! 

The Perfect Spring Salad

This salad is so simple and quick to make for the perfect lunch or dinner companion.

Mixing rocket leaves and watercress along with other mixed leaves of your choice, I build up the base of the salad. I added lentil salad sprouts, sliced spring onions and finely sliced radishes. Add a generous dash of olive oil and balsamic reduction for the finishing flavour.

Easy, but delicious.

Breakfast Pizza

This is a really fun way to start you day and even better when shared amongst friends. So simple too!

Lightly warm some medium sized round pita breads and smother with smashed avocados, season with salt and pepper. Once this is ready, lightly fry an egg and pile on top of the avo & pita once done.

Slice through like a pizza. Great for sharing! Enjoy!

Lemon and chickpea detox soup

When life gets a little indulgent, I like to detox, cleanse, and start over. This soup is a fantastic way to kick start your health kick and detox your body.

Start off the base of the soup with a diced garlic clove, a sliced onion, and a splash of olive oil.

Add big slices of ginger, two bay leaves and a cup of chopped broccoli. Allow to simmer lightly, adding half cups of water when needed. Add in a cup of lentils and a tin of chickpeas. 

Halving a lemon, add the juice of one half and slice the other half and add to soup. Allow to simmer for 20 minutes, until the lentils have cooked through. 

Serve with all the trimmings, but avoid eating the bay leaves, lemon slices and sliced ginger - these are only meant for fuller flavour! 

xx

Coconut oatmeal with blueberries

Now THIS is how you start your day off with a spring in your step.

In the cold winter mornings of January and in an attempt to begin the year with a healthy diet, I began making oatmeal in the mornings for myself and my boyfriend. 

1 cup oats/1cup Koko milk (a coconut milk alternative to regular milk)/1 cup boiling water.

Allow to simmer lightly on the stove for 3/4 minutes until the oats have swelled and cooked.

Top with blueberries and sizzles of honey to serve.

Good morning!! 

Rice stack with Prawns and Steamed vegetables

The perfect light dinner, and easy to make - start by boiling the rice until fluffy, I usually find one part rice to two parts boiling water does the trick for perfect rice. To create the stack I added a small amount of butter to the cooked rice and pressed it into a cup before turning it out upside down on a plate.

The vegetables I chopped roughly and added to a pan with garlic, ginger and olive oil.

To sauté the prawns flash fry in a pan with some herbed butter until pink and cooked through.

Top the whole lot onto the stacked rice and finish with a splash of soya sauce.

 - it's too easy!! 

Homemade Spiced Potato Wedges

Despite not eating chicken, I do love a trip to Nando's for their Peri Peri wedges. Deciding to attempt them at home, I was delighted with the results! And they are pretty easy to conquer:

Wash and dice a handful of medium potatoes, the amount according to your required quantity/appetite.
Make sure you don't cut the potato wedges too thin, and you want to have the soft fluffy interior and crispy exterior once done.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C.
Boil the potatoes on the stove, leaving the skins on (this adds both nutrients and flavour) - cook the potatoes until they are soft, and a knife can easily be poked into the centre of the wedges.

Now on an oven dish, display the cooked potatoes and smother them with a generous splash of olive oil. Coat the potatoes with paprika, chill flakes, ground ginger, cumin seeds and if you have some Zimbabwe Peri Peri at hand (my sister lives in Zim and hand delivers mine) throw that on there too.
Mix it all together making sure the wedges are coated evenly. Place under the grill for approximately 30 minutes or until golden.

Serve with Peri Peri mayonnaise. Delicious!