Country Salad

This hearty salad makes a healthy and delicious lunch with a few slices of ham

• Cooking Time Prep 10 mins
  Cook 8 mins
• Skill Level Easy
• Servings Serves 4

Nutrition per serving

• Kcalories

  175

• Protein

  8g

• Carbs

  1g

• Fat

  15g

• Saturates

  3g

• Fibre

  1g

• Sugar

  1g

• Salt

  0.56g

Ingredients

• 4 eggs
• juice ½ lemon
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 heaped tbsp capers
• 2 spring onions, finely sliced
• 1 head Lollo Rosso lettuce
• 1 Baby Gem lettuce

Directions

1. Cook the eggs in a pan of boiling water for exactly 8 mins. Lift from the pan, cool under the cold tap, then peel and halve.
2. Whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, capers and spring onions. Toss together most of the dressing with the leaves. Place on a serving dish, top with the halved eggs and drizzle over the remaining dressing. Serve on its own or with slices of ham.

Read More

Chickpea & Roasted Pepper Salad

This healthy salad is good with all sorts of dishes, particularly cold or barbecued meats and fish

• Cooking Time No cook
• Skill Level Easy
• Servings Serves 4

Nutrition per serving

• Kcalories

  168

• Protein

  6g

• Carbs

  14g

• Fat

  10g

• Saturates

  13g

• Fibre

  4g

• Sugar

  3g

• Salt

  0.65g

Ingredients

• 400g can chickpeas
• 4-5 roasted red pepper, from a jar (or see Know-how, below)
• 4 tbsp chopped mint
• 4 tbsp chopped parsley
• 4 spring onions, chopped
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 3 tbsp olive oil

Directions

1. Rinse and drain the chickpeas, then pat dry with kitchen paper. Tip onto a plate and crush roughly with a fork. Drain the peppers, then roughly chop. Mix the mashed chickpeas and peppers with the remaining ingredients, plus some seasoning.
2. Serve in one big bowl, or four small ones so everyone has their own portion.

Read More

Turkey Meatball Caesar Salad

Try a fresh and healthy spin on the classic salad by using lean turkey mince rolled into patties and served with a buttermilk dressing

• Cooking Time Prep 15 mins
  Cook 20 mins
• Skill Level Easy
• Servings Serves 4

Nutrition per serving

• Kcalories

  330

• Protein

  43g

• Carbs

  20g

• Fat

  8g

• Saturates

  4g

• Fibre

  5g

• Sugar

  9g

• Salt

  1.1g

Ingredients

• 500g pack lean minced turkey see tip, below
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• small pack chives snipped
• 125ml buttermilk
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 4 tbsp grated pecorino or Parmesan, plus extra to serve (optional)
• 2 shakes Tabasco sauce
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 small ciabatta roll, chopped or torn into chunks
• squeeze lemon juice
• 2 Cos lettuces

Directions

1. Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 6. In a bowl, mix the mince, onion, half the chives, 1 tbsp of the buttermilk, the garlic, 2 tbsp of the Parmesan, half the Tabasco and half the Worcestershire sauce with some seasoning. Shape into about 20 small meatballs (lightly oiled hands will make this easier).
2. Arrange the turkey balls in a single layer in a roasting tin and cook for 10 mins. Remove, turn the turkey balls and arrange the bread chunks in between. Cook for a further 10 mins.
3. Meanwhile, tip the rest of the buttermilk into a bowl with the remaining Parmesan, Tabasco, Worcestershire sauce and the lemon juice. Season and mix. Put the lettuce on top, toss together just before serving and divide between plates. Top with some meatballs and baked croutons, then sprinkle with chives. Serve with extra Parmesan, if you like.

Read More

Harissa Roasted Tomatoes With Couscous

Flavour versatile couscous with mint, parsley and almonds, then serve with chilli-spiced roasted tomatoes and a garlic yogurt sauce

• Cooking Time Prep 25 mins
  Cook 45 mins
• Skill Level Easy
• Servings Serves 4

Nutrition per serving

• Kcalories

  472

• Protein

  16g

• Carbs

  53g

• Fat

  21g

• Saturates

  3g

• Fibre

  8g

• Sugar

  9g

• Salt

  0.5g

Ingredients

• 12 big plum tomatoes, halved
• 1 tbsp harissa
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 3 onions, very thinly sliced
• 4 tbsp Greek-style yogurt
• 1 tbsp tahini paste
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 200g couscous
• ½ small pack mint, roughly chopped
• ½ small pack parsley, roughly chopped
• 50g toasted flaked almonds
• 400g can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

Directions

1. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Toss the tomatoes in harissa and 2 tbsp of the oil. Season and spread in a roasting tin, cut-side up, and bake for 40-45 mins.
2. Heat the remaining oil in a large frying pan. Tip in the onions and sizzle for a couple of mins. Turn down the heat, season and cook for 15 mins or until golden and caramelised. In a bowl, mix the yogurt, tahini and garlic with some seasoning. Set aside.
3. Tip the couscous into a large bowl. Pour over 400ml boiling water. Cover with cling film and leave to stand for 10 mins or until all the water has been absorbed. Fork though the herbs, almonds, chickpeas and half the onions. Top with the tomatoes and the remaining onions, and serve with a dollop of the yogurt sauce.

Read More

Chorizo & Tomato Salad

The combination of sweet, acidic tomatoes with salty, spicy chorizo and tangy Sherry vinegar is a match made in heaven

• Cooking Time Prep 5 mins
  Cook 5 mins
• Skill Level Easy
• Servings Serves 4

Nutrition per serving

• Kcalories

  184

• Protein

  6g

• Carbs

  5g

• Fat

  16g

• Saturates

  5g

• Fibre

  1g

• Sugar

  5g

• Salt

  1.17g

Ingredients

• 3 ripe beef tomatoes, cut into wedges
• ½ red onion, thinly sliced
• few thyme sprigs, leaves picked
• 1 tbsp sherry vinegar
• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 100g chorizo, sliced on the diagonal

Directions

1. Put the tomatoes in a bowl with the onion and thyme. Season, then drizzle with the vinegar and oil. Let the flavours mingle while you cook the chorizo.
2. In a hot, dry pan, fry the chorizo slices until browned on both sides. Serve the tomatoes with the fried chorizo, drizzled with a little oil from the pan.

Read More

Butter Bean & Chilli Tomato Salad

Superhealthy, counts as 2 of 5-a-day

• Cooking Time Prep 20 mins - 25 mins
  
• Skill Level Easy
• Servings Serves 4

Nutrition per serving

• Kcalories

  116

• Protein

  6g

• Carbs

  16g

• Fat

  4g

• Saturates

  0g

• Fibre

  5g

• Sugar

  5g

• Salt

  0.83g

Ingredients

• 540g jar large butter beans
• 500g tomatoes, peeled and cored
• 1 red chilli
• bunch basil
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar

Directions

1. Drain and rinse the butter beans and place in a mixing bowl. Chop the tomatoes and add to the beans. Place the chilli, basil (reserving a few small leaves) garlic, olive oil and vinegar in the small bowl of a food processor then whizz until smooth. Add to the tomatoes and beans, season and mix. Serve scattered with a few small leaves.

Read More

Summer Crunch Salad

The crunchiness of green beans works particularly well in this salad

• Cooking Time Prep 15 mins
  Cook 5 mins
• Skill Level Easy
• Servings Serves 4

Nutrition per serving

• Kcalories

  178

• Protein

  9g

• Carbs

  3g

• Fat

  15g

• Saturates

  5g

• Fibre

  2g

• Sugar

  2g

• Salt

  0.38g

Ingredients

• 200g pack small button mushrooms, finely sliced
• juice 1 lemon
• 200g green beans, trimmed
• handful soft green herbs, such as basil, chervil, parsley and tarragon
• 100g cherry tomatoes, quartered
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 75g parmesan (or vegetarian alternative), shaved into large curls

Directions

1. In a bowl, toss mushrooms with half the lemon juice and set aside-the lemon juice will soften the mushrooms. Blanch the beans in boiling salted water for 5-6 mins until they still have a crunch, but they are not squeaky, then drain and cool in iced water.
2. Toss the beans and mushrooms together in a bowl with the herbs and season with salt and pepper. Toss through the tomatoes, remaining lemon juice and the olive oil and scatter with Parmesan just before serving.

Read More

Butter Bean & Tomato Salad

This quick and easy vegan French salad combines delicious flavours - perfect summer dish

• Cooking Time Ready in 15-20 minutes
• Skill Level Easy
• Servings Serves 6 - 8

Nutrition per serving

• Kcalories

  109

• Protein

  4g

• Carbs

  9g

• Fat

  6g

• Saturates

  1g

• Fibre

  3g

• Sugar

  0g

• Salt

  0.41g

Ingredients

• 420g can butter beans, drained and rinsed
• 500g cherry tomatoes, quartered
• 2 small green or yellow courgettes (about 300g/10oz in total), chopped into small dice
• 1 small red onion, chopped
• 15-20g pack fresh coriander, chopped
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp ground cumin

Directions

1. Tip all the ingredients into a bowl with some salt and pepper and mix well. Cover and leave at room temperature until ready to serve. This salad can happily be made the day before and chilled.
2. On the day, bring the salad to room temperature and give it a good stir before serving.

Read More

Grilled Vegetable Bloomer

Grilled vegetables in a crusty bloomer loaf makes weekend entertaining a breeze - try it for a picnic too

• Cooking Time Prep 40 mins
  Cook 30 mins
• Skill Level Easy
• Servings Cuts into 12 wedges

Nutrition per serving

• Kcalories

  168

• Protein

  5g

• Carbs

  22g

• Fat

  7g

• Saturates

  1g

• Fibre

  2g

• Sugar

  6g

• Salt

  0.49g

Ingredients

• 3 red peppers, halved and deseeded
• 2 yellow peppers, halved and deseeded
• 6 tbsp olive oil
• 1 aubergine, sliced into long strips
• 2 courgettes, sliced into long strips
• 800g bloomer loaf
• 1 red onion, sliced
• 2 tbsp good-quality fresh vegetarian pesto
• handful basil leaves

Directions

1. Heat oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7. Place the peppers, cut-side down, on a baking tray, drizzle with 2 tbsp olive oil, then roast for 20 mins to colour the skins. Remove from the oven, place in a bowl, cover with cling film and leave to cool. Once cold, remove the skins and leave to one side. Drizzle the aubergine and courgette with the rest of the olive oil, then cook in batches on a griddle pan until marked on both sides. Set aside.
2. Slice the loaf in half and carefully hollow out the middle, leaving two empty shells. Build up the loaf by placing the vegetables in layers and scattering each layer with sliced onion, pesto and basil leaves. Try to keep all the colours separate so you create lots of different coloured layers. Once the veg is layered up, replace the lid, wrap tightly in cling film, then place in the fridge. Cut into neat wedges to serve.

Read More

Ready-To-Go Wraps

Perfect for kids and easy enough for them to make themselves, these handy wraps are great for the car journey

• Cooking Time Prep 5 mins
  Cook 10 mins - 15 mins
• Skill Level Easy
• Servings Serves 4

Nutrition per serving

• Kcalories

  175

• Protein

  10g

• Carbs

  17g

• Fat

  8g

• Saturates

  3g

• Fibre

  2g

• Sugar

  2g

• Salt

  1.64g

Ingredients

• 4 tortillas wraps
• 8 small or 4 large slices ham
• 2 roasted peppers (from a jar is fine), roughly chopped
• handful grated cheddar

Directions

1. Lay out the tortillas on a flat surface. Place 1-2 slices of ham in the middle of each one. Sprinkle over some chopped pepper and cheese, leaving a 2cm edge at one end. Starting at the other end, roll up as tightly as you can. Wrap each tortilla in kitchen foil and twist the ends to seal. Will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.
2. Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 3. Place the wraps in the oven (directly onto the oven rack is fine) and cook for 10-15 mins until the cheese starts to melt. Unwrap for the last 5 mins if you want the outside to be crisp. Peel off the foil before eating.

Read More