Homemade Burgers (Better than your Local Burger Joint!)

Okay, I’m never ordering a burger again! (Well unless I’m hungover and lazy).

These homemade burgers are tastier and probably healthier than your local burger place, and they don’t take too much work. Make sure you get some good quality mince, not too fatty but not extra lean either as the burger will end up dry.

The following recipe will make 3 large burgers:

Ingredients:

• 400g beef mince (medium fattyness)
• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs (about 2 slices of bread, whizzed in a blender)
• 1/2 an egg, whisked
• 1/3 of an onion, finely chopped
• A spash of Worcester sauce
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3 bread buns of your choice (I used sesame buns, but brioche would also be great!)
• Fillings of your choice (i.e. tomato, lettuce, red onion, avocado, fried egg, cheese plus condiments)

Method:

1. Combine the first five ingredients in a bowl and form burgers. 
2. Fry in the olive oil for approx five min each side on a medium/low heat. 
3. Meanwhile, toast your buns.
4. Place cooked burgers between a toasted bun and add desired fillings!

 

The Perfect Roast Chicken!

I love a good roast dinner, but for me it always has to be chicken as I don’t really eat beef, lamb or pork. And I’m not too keen on game either. So it has to be chicken every time (I’ll make an exception at Christmas and have turkey), but I’m not complaining as I have this little recipe, which produces the most succulent, juicy and flavoursome chicken you could dream of. It’s a pretty standard recipe really but I just add some extra touches that I think really make the difference between an average roast chicken, and mine 🙂

I always, always, ALWAYS make my own stuffing too. It is so much nicer than shop bought stuff, and SO worth that little extra effort.

I don’t restrict this to a Sunday either; I’m not sure where that rule came from but you can have it any day of the week you like! I made this yesterday (Thursday), yes a week night. It actually isn’t as much work as you think it is; it’s basically seasoning a chicken and putting it in the oven, then adding veg half way through. It’s only the cooking time that makes it lengthy, but you can be relaxing with a book during that while the oven does the work! So no excuses – it’s a roast night every night of the week!!

Ingredients:

• 1kg free range chicken (or whatever size you like, adjust cooking time accordingly)
• 1 large onion
• 1 large parsnip
• 2 large potatoes
• 1 lemon
• Fresh thyme
• Fresh rosemary
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Plenty of olive oil
• 1 bulb garlic, separated into cloves and peeled
• Greens of your choice (I used mange tout and broccolini)
• Chicken gravy granules (it is a weeknight, but of course make your own if you can be bothered!)

For the stuffing:

• 4-5 slices wholemeal bread, torn up and blended into breadcrumbs
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh sage (or dried)
• 1 egg, beaten
• 50g butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Method:

Pre heat the oven to 200 degrees C (180 fan).

Start by making the stuffing. Melt the butter and oil in a saucepan and add the onion, cook until the onion is soft and fragrant, but not coloured. (If you are using dried sage, add this while you are cooking the onions to release the flavours).

Transfer the buttery soft onions to a bowl and add the breadcrumbs, fresh sage and as much of the egg you need for it to hold itself together (I used about half). Mix thoroughly and stick it all together using your hands.

Then, rub the chicken inside and out with the olive oil, salt and pepper. Be generous! Prick the lemon several times with a sharp knife and put in the microwave for 1 minute. Place the garlic cloves, a handful of thyme and then the hot lemon inside the chicken’s cavity.

Cut off a flat piece of the other onion (the middle section with the sides cut off works well) and place it on a well oiled baking tray, sit the chicken on top. Push the stuffing underneath the chicken around the onion it’s sitting on so that the chicken is surrounded by stuffing and a little is also underneath it.

Place the chicken into the middle of the oven with nothing above it.

Now prep your veg. Chop the potatoes into golf ball sized pieces and boil in salted water for 12 mins. While that’s doing, chop the parsnip and the rest of the onion too. When the potatoes are done, drain and mix with rosemary, salt and pepper and a little olive oil, then shake them around a bit to make the edges fluffy.

Once the chicken is 45 mins from being cooked, add the potatoes, onion and parsnip to the tray. Return to the oven for 25 min. Remove again and turn the veg and baste the chicken. Return the tray back again.

Once the full cooking time is over, remove the tray and let the chicken rest for 15 mins. Meanwhile boil your greens and make your gravy.

Finally, serve everything together on plates, and enjoy!

 

 

 

Red Lentil Dal (Western Style)

I love dal, it’s one of my favourite vegetarian dishes (in fact any dishes, full stop). It’s hearty, full of flavour, filling, and easy to make. This particular one is not made in the traditional way, as in India there would not be any coconut milk or tinned tomatoes in the ingredients list. However, I liked the idea of the creaminess of the coconut milk and the subtle sweet flavour it would provide.

Ingredients:

• 200g red lentils, rinsed and drained
• Glug of extra virgin olive oil
• 2 onions, diced
• 5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and grated
• 2 red chillies, seeds removed and finely chopped
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp coriander
• 1 tsp English mustard
• 2 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1 x 400ml tin chopped tomatoes
• 1 x 400ml tin coconut milk
• 500ml vegetable stock
• Salt and pepper
• Juice of half a lemon
• 2 handfuls fresh spinach, washed and chopped

Method:

Heat the oil in a large pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and cook gently for 5 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger and red chilli and cook for a few minutes.

Mix the cumin, coriander and mustard in a small bowl and add to the pan, along with the turmeric and garam masala and cook for 1 minute. Add the lentils, tomatoes, coconut milk and stock, then stir to combine.

Season with salt and pepper and cook on a low heat for 25-30 minutes until reduced and thick. Stir in the lemon juice and spinach, then cook for a further 5 minutes.

Serve with rice, naan bread or rotis and poppadoms!

 

Simple Fish Tacos

I haven’t posted in a while as to be honest I’ve just not been doing much home cooking (naughty me), but I’m back with this healthy recipe for fish tacos.

I fancied something quick, simple and relatively light post my VERY unhealthy Christmas and NY period, and these ticked all the boxes. The salsa is so refreshing and the light, white fish is super tasty.

Without further ado, here is how to make them!

 

Ingredients:

Makes about 6-8 tacos.

For the fish:

• 4 fillets lemon sole (or your preferred white fish)
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1-2 red chillies, chopped
• 50ml olive oil

For the salsa:

• 3-4 ripe tomatoes, chopped
• 1 red onion, chopped
• Juice of 1 lime
• 20g coriander, chopped

For the guacamole:

• 1 ripe avocado
• Juice of 1/2 lime
• 1 red chilli, finely chopped
• 1/2 red onion, finely chopped
• 10g coriander, chopped
• Salt and pepper

To serve:

• Rocket leaves
• Soft taco cups

 

Method

Start by slicing the fish into bitesize chunks and marinate in the fish ingredients for at least 30 mins.

Combine the salsa ingredients in a bowl.

Combine the guacamole ingredients in another bowl and mash with a fork.

To cook the fish, heat some of the marinating juice/oil into a frying pan. Add the fish and cook on each side for 2-3 mins. It shouldn’t take longer than that if your fish is in small pieces and thin.

Toast the tacos under a hot grill for 3-4 mins.

Fill up the tacos in the following order: rocket leaves, salsa, fish, guacamole.

Serve and enjoy!

Chicken, Courgette, Mushroom and Red Pepper Tortilla Pizza

These things have been around for a while now but I always thought I wouldn’t enjoy a tortilla as a pizza base. Although my pizza base preference is thin and crispy, I just thought a tortilla would be a bit too thin and crispy. But as I’m the curious type and will try just about anything once, I thought I’d give it a go!

Surprisingly, the base doesn’t seem too thin at all, it’s actually nice to have a non-bready base. It’s a bit like eating nachos. You know how they go a bit soft with the chilli and sour cream? Yum!

Make sure you load up on toppings to make it filling enough though as they become the star of the show (which they always are in my opinion). I used lots of veggies and chicken and dairy-free cheese, so its pretty healthy. I didn’t use a wholemeal tortilla as my supermarket didn’t have them but I would next time, and that will make it even healthier.

Perfect for lunch or dinner (or even breakfast, with eggs and ham or something like that!), these will be my new go-to dish when I need a quick and original meal, as different toppings make it a something new each time 🙂

Ingredients:

• 1 whole tortilla, white or wholemeal
• 1/2 a courgette, thinly sliced
• 1/2 a red pepper, chopped
• 4-5 mushrooms, sliced
• 100g cooked chicken pieces
• Paprika
• Oregano
• Olive oil
• Tomato sauce (I used sauce specially for pizzas, you can use passata or a pasta sauce if you like)
• As much cheese as you like (I used a mix of dairy free mozzarella and cheddar style cheeses, enough to cover the base)

Method:

Pre heat oven to 200 degrees C.

Spread a thin layer of olive oil over the tortilla. Then follow with the tomato sauce.

Next add the cheese, followed by the courgette, then peppers, mushrooms and finally the chicken pieces.

Sprinkle with paprika and oregano.

Bake in the oven for 10 mins.

 

 

Spicy Piri Piri Sardines on Rice Cakes

Here’s a simple, quick recipe for a light meal you can quickly put together any time of the day. Rice cakes are so versatile, and sardines are full of omega-3 healthy fats – what more could you need in a nutritious lunch?!

Ingredients:

• 1 can of sardines in olive oil
• 1/2-1 red chilli (depending on your taste)
• 1/2 red pepper
• 1/2 tomato
• 1 tsp tomato puree
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp fresh parsley
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• Pinch of sugar
• Dash of lemon juice
• Dash of balsamic vinegar
• Dash of soy sauce
• 4 rice cakes
• Encona (or your preferred) hot pepper sauce

Method:

Put all ingredients except sardines, hot sauce and rice cakes into a blender or food processor and process until almost smooth.

Mash the sardines with a fork, then mix them and the processed ingredients together.

Spread the mixture evenly on top of the rice cakes and add a few drops of hot sauce (if desired).