Best Baked Potato Ever

I had a craving for baked potatoes last night for tea but also wanted something healthy. Not something layered with sour cream, bacon and cheese. So after searching our cupboards this is what I came up with. It was delicious, and had a fab texture. Best of all we were left full but feeling fresh and healthy.
I have added fish and chicken stock to this recipe but you could easily replace or remove these to make a vegetarian version, and, remove the cheese to create a vegan dish.

Ingredients

Large potatoes

frozen corn

sprouted legumes

splash of chicken stock

anchovies, cut up

cracked black pepper

baby spinach

chia seeds

roast walnuts

avocado

goats cheese/feta/quark

I haven't added amounts to the ingredients - it really just depends on how many people you are going to feed and how hungry you are feeling.

Bake the potatoes whole in a hot oven.

When the potatoes are pretty much cooked heat up a frying pan on the stove. The filling takes less than 5mins to cook.

Place the frozen corn in the pan, let it thaw and allow the pan to become hot again.

Add the legumes, a splash of chicken stock, anchovies and black pepper.

Stir until slightly heated through.

Add the baby spinach. Stir until wilted.

Add the rest of the ingredients, other than the cheese, and stir to combine.

Take the potatoes out of the oven and slice open.

Place the filling on top of the potatoes.

Top with cheese.

Enjoy!

Roast Portabellos with Taleggio, Puy lentils and Asparagus

Mmmm Taleggio. One of my favourite cheeses... so melty and great with so many things. I set out to make this a meat free meal but then I found some smokey bacon in the fridge and it was game over. Smokey bacon and Taleggio together, as I like to say a lot in the kitchen are so banging! You of course use a 1/2 tsp of smoked paprika if you weren't as much of a bacon fan as I am and then it would be vegetarian friendly.

Mushrooms and Taleggio are also a delicious match, so during my yoga class this evening I thought this up. I always seem to plan my dinner when I should be concentrating on something else!  

Roast Portabellos with Taleggio, Puy lentils and Asparagus

1 large onion, finely sliced

35g butter

2 rashers of smokey bacon, chopped (Optional)

1/2 a 400g tin of chopped tomatoes (You could probably use a whole tin if you didn't have some to use up)

250g puy lentils

1 bay leaf

1 cup water or stock

4 large portabellos

4 sprigs of thyme

olive oil

70g Taleggio, sliced into 4 

handful of parsley

70g-100g baby spinach

Zest of half a lemon

1 bunch a asparagus

Start by getting your lentils on to cook. In a small pot cover them with plenty of water and add the bay leaf. Bring to the boil and simmer for 20 or so minutes or until just tender. Strain and briefly rinse. Put a pot of water back on for cooking your asparagus.

Place your Portabellos on a lined baking tray and drizzle with olive oil, thyme leaves and flaky salt and black pepper and roast in a 200 degree oven for 5 or so minutes. Place the Taleggio on top and switch the oven to grill. Leave them aside until you are ready to serve.

Heat a pan and add the butter, onion and bacon and cook slowly with a pinch of salt until the onions are soft and sweet. Add the strained lentils, tomatoes and 1 cup of hot water and cook until the lentils are tender and most of the water as evaporated. Season and add the baby spinach, chopped parsley and the lemon zest.

Now to finish everything off... Place the mushrooms under the grill and melt the cheese and let it caramelise. Place your asparagus into salted boiling water and cook for 2 minutes or until they are done to your liking.

Plate up the lentils, place the asparagus on top and finish with the cheesy mushrooms and if you like things to look pretty then sprinkle on some basil leaves from your garden. Yum!

The left over lentils, if you have any would be pretty delicious with a poached egg on top the next day.

Puy lentil, quinoa and haloumi salad with baby carrots and asparagus

On a hot Sunday night this was just what we felt like for dinner. We picked up fresh asparagus and baby carrots from the market so they were super fresh!

The lentils and Qunioa can be cooked in advance and the dressing can be made up to a day a head or earlier if you omit the tomato and add it on the day. The onions can also be done the night before too.

There are only two of us here but if you upped the carrots and asparagus to say 500g each then it would be plenty for four. We had enough for dinner and some for a lunch the next day.


Puy lentil, quinoa and haloumi salad with baby carrots and asparagus

200g Puy lentils
2 cloves garlic
100g quinoa - I used black Quinoa
200g baby carrots
250g asparagus
1 T olive oil
1 tsp each of cumin and coriander seeds
flaky salt and black pepper

1/2 red onion, finely sliced
1 T red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp Allspice
1/2 tsp Sumac

1/2 cup hazelnuts - roasted and roughly chopped
200g haloumi, thickly sliced
1/2 cup finely chopped parsley
1/2 cup labne or Greek yoghurt

Dressing
1 tomato, deseeded, small diced
2 T red wine vinegar
2 T pomegranate molasses
3 T virgin olive oil
Black pepper
1 tsp flaky salt
2 cloves garlic that you cooked with the lentils, mashed
1/2 tsp sumac


First bring the lentils to boil with the garlic cloves and a couple of bay leaves and simmer for about 20 minutes or until tender. Drain and briefly rinse. Set aside.

I cooked the Quinoa using the absorption method with the ratio of  one and a half times as much water. You don't want it crunchy so keep adding more water if you need.

Finely slice your onion and place it in a bowl with 1 T red wine vinegar and the sumac and allspice, mix it together and leave while you sort out your other bits.

Mix everything for the dressing together and set aside.

Place the carrots, 1 Tablespoon of oil and the cumin and coriander on a roasting tray and roast for about 6 minutes at 180°. Then add your asparagus and cook for a further 5 minutes.

While the carrots and asparagus are cooking you can start mixing your salad together.  In a bowl add the lentils, Quinoa, marinated onions, parsley and dressing. Season well.

Arrange the lentil salad on a serving platter and pile your roast carrots and asparagus on top.

Next you want to cook you Haloumi as you want it more melty and less squeaky. Heat a non stick pan on a medium heat and heat 1 T of oil. Add your Haloumi slices and turn when caramelised. When cooked place the Haloumi on top of the vegetables. Sprinkle with the roast hazelnuts and dollop on the Labne.

Finish with a squeeze of lemon and serve!

Broccoli, Hazelnut and Asparagus Fettuccine

I had a few greens in my fridge for dinner and not much else so I made this quick pasta dish for our dinner tonight. The 400g packet of pasta says it feeds 4 but I'm thinking its more like 3 people... If you didn't have asparagus you could use green beans when they are in season or rocket in place of spinach. Just what ever really. Baby peas or broad beans would be nice too! The pureed broccoli makes a delicious kind of creamy sauce.

Broccoli, Hazelnut and Asparagus Fettuccine

1 head of broccoli roughly chopped

1 clove garlic

a handful of skinless roasted hazelnuts (around half a cup)

zest of a lemon, juice of half

1/4 cup virgin olive oil

pinch of chilli flakes

a handful of parsley

5 or so leaves of basil (optional)

2 T grated Parmesan plus extra for garnish

500g of asparagus, ends trimmed, sliced on the angle

100-200g baby spinach

400g pack of fresh pasta

Bring a large pot of water to the boil (about 3 litres) and add about 2 T of salt.

Add the broccoli and the garlic and boil for about 1-2 mins or until tender.

Scoop out the broccoli and garlic with a slotted spoon keeping the water on the boil and place in a blender or food processor. Add in the hazelnuts, zest and juice, olive oil, chilli flakes, herbs, 1 tsp of flaky salt and a few grinds of black pepper into the blender. Process until smooth. Check seasoning, you want it to have a bit if guts as it is going to coat all the pasta.

Place the fresh pasta in the reserved boiling water and cook for 1 minute and then add the asparagus. Cook until the pasta is just tender.

Drain the pasta and asparagus in a colander with a small bowl underneath to catch some of the liquid.

Pour the pasta and asparagus back into the pot and add the broccoli puree. Add in enough pasta water to make a nice saucy consistency - I added just over 1/2 a cup.  

Fold in the baby spinach and check the seasoning, adding more lemon or salt and pepper to your taste.

Serve up into bowls and finish with some shaved Parmesan and a little olive oil.