Lime and paprika chicken

This is easy Spring/Summer food, peferct for bbq's or an after work dinner with whatever salad bits you've got in the fridge. Marinade the chicken the night before or before you go to work if you can, otherwise an hour before you're due to eat it is fine.

Place de-boned chicken thighs in a bowl with olive oil, crushed garlic, the juice of one lime and plenty of smoked paprika. Add some dried chilli flakes for extra kick if you like. When you're ready to grill/griddle/bbq the chicken, season it with plenty of salt and pepper first before cooking the chicken fast on a high heat. Sprinkle the chicken with a little extra paprika once cooked if you like.

We had ours with garlic and parsley corn on the cob and a warm herby new potato, green bean, spinach, onion and tomato smush. It tasted a lot nicer than it sounds!

Herby green risotto

This was lovely and fresh and Spring-like, even if there has been snow and hail here in Cheshire in the last week or so :-(

I've not included how to make a risotto again here, just the ingredients used. For the first time ever we made a risotto without wine in it. It didn't taste any worse for it. Although it was rather odd to stand stirring the rice with a cup of tea in hand rather than the usual glass of vino.

Ingredients:
- veg stock
- arborio rice
- 1 white onion, chopped
- 1 fat clove of garlic, minced
- 6 chestnut mushrooms, sliced
- 2 handfuls of spinach, roughly chopped
- handfuls of parsley, watercress and chives, blitzed
- handful of green beans and asparagus cut in half, cooked in boiling water for 2 mins and then set aside to add to the risotto for the last few minutes
- small tub of double cream, added towards the end
- salt and pepper
- plenty of parmesan grated on just before eating

Watercress sauce

We have this as a cold sauce to go with salmon wrapped in pancetta. You can warm it up gently too though which is equally nice.

Blitz a bag or two of watercress with a couple of handfuls of spinach (if you happen to have some), plus a small handfull of parsley and a handful of chives. Then add a small tub of double cream and season with salt and pepper.

Salmon and scallop teriyaki kebabs

Ingredients (serves 2):
2 thick salmon fillets, cut into large chunks
6 large scallops
100ml teriyaki marinade
25ml dark soy sauce
25ml mirin
tea spoon honey
tea spoon sesame oil

- Mix together all wet ingredients in a bowl and add the salmon and scallops. Leave them in the marinade for an hour. Soak wooden skewers in water in the meantime before you skewer the fish.
- Pre heat the oven to 180 degrees. Carefully add the salmon and scallops to the  kebab skewers, alternating as you go. Place in a roasting tray and pour over a little of the marinade.
- Cook in the pre-heated oven for approximately 10 minutes, but check after 6 minutes or so, especially if your scallops are small.
- Whilst the kebabs are cooking, stir fry some veg of your choice with some cooked noodles, adding the rest of the reserved marinade for the last few minutes. You could also add a little garlic, chilli, ginger and Chinese 5 spice to your stir fry for extra flavour.

Bits and pieces soup



I couldn’t decide what to call this one. It’s sort of like a minestrone with a few tweaks.
We love the savouryness of this soup. It’s also great for using up bits and pieces from the fridge, including veg which is just past its best.
Ingredients (suggestion):
Leftover roast meat (we used beef)
Carrots
Celery
Onion
Garlic
Green beans and/or mange tout
A handful of tomatoes
Mushrooms
Kale, cavolo nero or cabbage
1L of stock (veg, chicken or beef)
Splash of white wine
A handful of small pasta shapes
Herbs (parsley, thyme, rosemary, bay)
Salt and pepper
It’s not a recipe as such… Chop the veg (carrots, onion, celery, garlic, mushrooms) and sauté in a little oil until starting to soften. Then add the stock, wine, tomatoes and herbs. Leave to simmer for 10 minutes before adding the beans, cabbage, pasta shapes etc. When the pasta shapes are almost cooked add the leftover roast meat for the last few minutes to warm through. Adjust the seasoning. Top with some grated parmesan to serve. It would also be good with a chunk of buttery garlic bread to dip.

Celeriac and apple soup with cheese croutons

Makes approx 3 servings

Peel and dice one celeriac and 2 medium sized potatoes. Fry in a little oil with one chopped onion and a couple of cloves of minced garlic. After 5 minutes or so add a peeled, cored and diced brampley apple and a couple of sprigs of thyme.

Add 1.2 litres of veg stock and season with salt and pepper.
Leave to simmer for 15-20 minutes until the potato and celeriac are soft.

Blend the soup (adding a little water or milk if it looks too thick). Warm the soup through again once blended.

Whilst the soup is warming, top mini ciabatta rolls with small chunks of cheddar and stilton. Put them under the grill to brown and then seve with the soup.

Beef, chestnut and mushroom pie

This is perfect Sunday food for when it's cold outside. Leave the filling to cook for a few hours while you sit back with a glass of wine and a good film!

- Season about 500g of beef chuck steak with salt, pepper and plain flour. Brown in batches in olive oil in a deep casserole

- Remove the beef once browned and set aside. Fry a diced onion with a diced celery stick and 2 cloves of minced garlic

- Add the beef back into the pan once the onions have softened a little

- Pour in 250ml of beef stock and 250ml of ale followed by a couple of bay leaves and some fresh thyme. Leave to simmer for around 1.5-2 hours, stirring occasionally

- After 1.5-2 hours add a couple of handfuls of button mushrooms and a large handful of cooked chestnuts and continue to cook for another 20 minutes or so. Check the seasoning and re-adjust if necessary

- Pre-heat the oven to 190 degrees.

- Pour the filling into a pie dish and leave to cool slightly for 15 minutes or so. Then top with your pastry of choice and brush with a beaten egg. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes until the pastry is golden

- We served ours with a selection of vegetables