Easy tasty meal

I have made this meal several times recently, and it is an extremely easy and tasty family meal. It has chorizo in it which imparts a rich punchy flavour but if you want to make it vegetarian meal, you can omit it. This makes enough for about six servings and it freezes well so it makes a quick meal if you are short of time. There are a few ingredients to get but they are reasonably cheap and will make a large quantity. If you serve it with bread, it will eke it out a bit more.

Ingredients

1 red onion, chopped
2 sticks of celery, finely chopped
2 medium carrots, finely chopped
1 tin of sweet corn
1 tin butterbeans
1 tin of kidney beans
1 small garlic clove
1 tin of plum or chopped tomatoes
500ml vegetable stock
About 100g cooking chorizo, chopped
Small tub of sour cream
1 avocado
Small bunch of coriander, chopped
Small bunch of flat leaf parsley, chopped
1 bay leaf
A couple of sprigs of thyme, leaves picked
Extra virgin olive oil

Heat a large pan to a high heat and add a little olive oil. Fry the chorizo until starting to go golden, then empty onto a plate and set to one side. Lower the heat to medium then add the onion, celery, carrot, bay leaf and thyme leaves to the pan and cook for a few minutes until softened. Add the garlic and fry for a few more minutes. Then add the chorizo back into the pan and add the drained beans, sweet corn, vegetable stock and tomatoes. Simmer for about 30 minutes until you have a reduced, slightly thickened rich stew. Taste to see if you need to add any more seasoning. Stir in the chopped parsley and coriander and heap into bowls. Top with a dollop of sour cream, a few pieces of chopped avocado and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. Sprinkle the top with a little pepper and sea salt flakes if you have them and serve with crusty bread.

Daring Baker Squid Pho

Last minute as usual for the daring Kitchen challenge! I completely forgot to take it into consideration when I sat down to write my weeks menu so I had to shoe horn it in somewhere. I was already having chicken in the week but I remembered I had some frozen squid in the fridge and thought it would be a good addition to an aromatic broth.

I have tried to make similar recipes before but usually go for the make something up without a recipe route and it hasn't always been that successful. This time I was glad to have some guidance as the resulting stock was delicious and will be one I will make again and again.

Equipment:

• Frying pan
• Large stockpot
• Tongs
• Strainer, sieve or colander
• Bowls for serving

Preparation Time: 45 cooking time + 15 minutes to cook noodles based on package directions

Servings: Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

For the Chicken Pho Broth:
2 tbsp. whole coriander seeds
4 whole cloves
2 whole star anise
2 quarts (2 liters/8 cups/64 fluid ounces) store-bought or homemade chicken stock
1 whole chicken breast (bone in or boneless)  (I used about 10 baby squid sliced into rings)
½ onion
1 3-inch (7.5 cm) chunk of ginger, sliced and smashed with side of knife
1 to 2 tbsps. sugar
1 to 2 tbsps. fish sauce

1 lb. (500 grams/16 ounces) dried rice noodles (about ¼ inch/6 mm wide)

Accompaniments:

2 cups (200 grams/7 ounces) bean sprouts, washed and tails pinched off
Fresh cilantro (coriander) tops (leaves and tender stems)
½ cup (50 grams/approx. 2 ounces) shaved red onions
½ lime, cut into 4 wedges
Sriracha chili sauce
Hoisin sauce
Sliced fresh chili peppers of your choice

Directions:

1. To make the Chicken Pho Broth: heat a frying pan over medium heat. Add the coriander seeds, cloves and star anise and toast until fragrant, about 3-4 minutes. Immediately spoon out the spices to avoid burning.


2. In a large pot, add all the ingredients (including the toasted spices) and bring to a boil.


3. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let simmer for 20 minutes, skimming the surface frequently.


4. Use tongs to remove the chicken breasts and shred the meat with your fingers, discarding the bone if you have used bone-in breasts.


5. Taste the broth and add more fish sauce or sugar, if needed. Strain the broth and discard the solids.


6. Prepare the noodles as per directions on the package.


7. Ladle the broth into bowls. Then divide the shredded chicken breast and the soft noodles evenly into each bowl.


8. Have the accompaniments spread out on the table. Each person can customize their own bowl with these ingredients.

Wonderful, warming vegetable couscous

I first had this meal cooked for me when I was in Cumbria and I knew I had to do it again. This is no ordinary couscous recipe, it's spicy, sweet and full of flavour and texture. The list of ingredients is quite comprehensive but each ingredient adds its own dimension to the rich and full flavour and the spices can of course be used again. The recipe is from the Guardian newspaper's column "The New Vegetarian" by Yotam Ottolenghi, give it a go.

Spiced sweetcorn soup

This simple concoction was originally intended to be a plain sweetcorn soup, but the only bread I had in the house was naan bread and I thought adding a hint of spice might compliment the bread very well. The soup is cheap, easy to make and reasonably healthy so it probably ticks most peoples boxes.

Ingredients:

• Two 400g tins of sweetcorn, try and get good quality stuff that hasn't had salt and sugar added. Leave a tblsp aside to decorate


• Two large potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1 inch dice


• 1 onion finely chopped


• 2 cloves garlic finely chopped


• 1 red chilli pepper, deseeded if you like, and chopped


• 1 litre of chicken stock


• 4 heaped tsps of cumin seeds


• salt and freshly ground black pepper


• 2 tblsp yoghurt to serve


• a small sprig of parsley or coriander to garnish


• naan bread

Method

Heat a small pan on a medium to high heat and dry fry the cumin seeds until they release their aroma and slightly colour, (keep an eye on them so they don't burn) then grind them with a pestle and mortar. Heat a small amount of oil in a large saucepan on a medium heat then add the onion and garlic. Fry for a few minutes until slightly softened then add the potatoes, chilli and ground cumin. Stir for a few minutes then add the chicken stock and simmer for about 15 minutes before adding the sweetcorn and cooking for a further 5 minutes. Check the potato and onion are soft ,then take off the heat and blend until smooth. It is quite a thick soup but if you find it too thick add a little water. Season the soup and then ladle into warm bowls, with a spoon of yoghurt, a small heap of sweetcorn and a sprig of parsley on top. Serve with warm naan bread.

Serves 4