I’ve always considered cooking to be an art (and baking more of a science!) - which means although I have written out the recipes and ingredients below, feel free to experiment and add more or less of the things you like!
+ the biggest difference on the outcome of a meal is the quality of ingredients, every now and then, treat yourself to the nice bread, buy fresh veg instead of frozen etc. Sometimes practicality gets in the way, but treating yourself to the good stuff every now and then can make all the difference!
Salmon & Avocado Toast
- 2x slides sourdough
- Toast 1, cream cheese, smoked salmon, squeeze lemon juice & black pepper
- Toast 2, smashed avocado, everything but the bagel seasoning, drizzle chilli oil
Sun-dried tomato pasta
Ingredients:
Sauce -
Handful sun dried tomatoes (or sun-dried tomato paste)
1tbsp olive oil (or the oil the sun-dried tomatoes soak in)
20g cashews
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
150ml oat milk (or alternative)
Extras -
Handful fresh tomatoes
1/2 red onion
1 clove garlic
Fresh basil
Method:
Fry tomatoes and onions in a pan for 5-10 mins. Whilst they cook, boil pasta and blend all the sauce ingredients until smooth (give the cashews 10 minutes to soak in the milk for an extra smooth sauce). Once pasta is cooked, add all together with the basil, warm through & serve! (Keep some pasta water to add as you warm it until desired consistency). Top with cheese of choice and enjoy!
Lasagne
I have to be honest - I never follow a strict recipe for this, but these are the steps I tend to follow. To me, lasagne is one of those recipes that is such a staple and it is so fun to put your own small twists on it to make it your own ❤️
(The recipe below uses a meat alternative, but I make this all the time without it as well and just up the veg ingredients a bit and it is just as amazing!)
Preheat oven to 180C
Fry 1 red onion, 2x garlic cloves, 1 punnet mushrooms and 2x beyond mince burgers in a pan for 5 mins until onions have started to soften.
Add 1 can chopped tomatoes and 2 tbsp tomato puree and 2 tbsp red wine (optional). Then add 1tsp oregano, 1 tsp dried thyme, pinch of salt and pepper and mix well and leave to simmer for 20 minutes on a low heat. (Sometimes I also add chopped carrots or aubergine at the same time as the onions and mince).
While your meat sauce is simmering, its time to make the bechamel or 'white sauce'. For the white sauce, melt 50g butter in a pan and then mix in 50g plain flour and stir to make a paste. Continue to stir and heat the paste for 2 minutes. Then slowly add your milk (500ml in total) - the trick here is add the milk bit by bit and stir continuously. Within 5-10 mins you should have a creamy sauce. Add in your cheddar and stir until it has all melted into the sauce (you can add as much or as little as you like - I usually add approx 100g strong cheddar).
Then it is time to assemble! I never know the exact order to do this in - but start with a small spoonful of the ‘meat’ sauce in the bottom of your dish, then add a layer of the pasta sheets, then a layer of your white sauce, then the meat sauce and keep repeating until you reach the top of your dish. Make sure the final layer of your lasagne is the white sauce - sprinkle extra cheese over the top and put in the oven for 45 mins or until the edges have gone brown and crispy.
Pair with garlic bread and a fresh salad & enjoy!!
7 апр 2024
