Rustic Pesto Chicken

This is such an incredibly easy main course that takes only minutes to prepare and uses very few ingredients. It has a wonderful taste of summer and makes great leftovers (if there are any!) This recipe can easily be doubled and other vegetables such as courgettes, mushrooms or peas could be added to the tomatoes in the dish.

Rustic Pesto Chicken

1 small package chicken mini fillets (or 2 chicken breasts cut into slices)
3 teaspoons of pesto sauce
1/2 cup breadcrumbs (a few handfuls)
15 cherry tomatoes

Coat the chicken fillets in pesto sauce and roll in breadcrumbs. Place in a shallow baking tray. Add the cherry tomatoes to the baking dish. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes at 200 degrees C

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 15-20 minutes

Beetroot and Barley Risotto

My parents were over visiting last week, which meant that I stocked my fridge and made a few meals. Now that they are gone I found that I have quite a few left overs which have to be taken care of. I spent yesterday making chicken stock with leftover roast chicken and then figured I would make a risotto out of it. Originally the plan was to make a mushroom risotto but then I found 1 cooked beetroot in the fridge and decided I'd see if I could make a risotto with that. I found a couple recipes online and added my own touch and here is the result---3 servings of pink risotto! This risotto has a very earthy flavor because of the beetroot and barley. It is also very hearty and packed full of good nutrients and fiber from the beetroot.

Beetroot and Barley Risotto
1/2 onion diced
2 tsp of butter
1 cup of pearl barley
approximately 4 cups of chicken stock (vegetable or cubed stock could be used also)
1/2 cup of white wine
1 cooked beetroot cut into small cubes
Parmesan cheese to top

In a large pot saute the onion in the butter about 2 minutes. Add the pearl barley and saute a minute longer. Pour in the white wine and half of the chicken stock. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 25 minutes. Add the beetroot and about 1 cup of chicken stock. Stir occasionally over low heat until the liquid is absorbed (another 10 minutes or so). At this point the barley should be cooked or almost cooked. If it needs to cook longer add extra stock until the barley has cooked. Top with Parmesan cheese to taste.

Cook time: 45 minutes
Active time: 15 minutes
Serves: 3-4

Sausage, Pears and Onions

One of the foods that reminds me so much of baseball games and Boston is "sausage, peppers and onions". Well it's been years since I've lived in Boston and it's not quite baseball season yet, so I decided it was time to make this dish a bit more winter and a bit more London.


The great thing about british pork sausages is that you can find really high quality, lean pork sausages of all different flavors. I'd suggest using either plain sausages or pork and apple sausages for this recipe. Pears are one of the few fruits grown in Britain that can still be found in February and red onions bring a bit of color to this dish


Sausage, Pears and Onions
1 tsp olive oil
6 lean pork sausages
1 red onion chopped into 1/4 moons
2 pears cored and sliced

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C (350 F) In a roasting dish or large frying pan heat the olive oil and fry the sausages until they are brown on each side (about 5-10 minutes) Add the onion and pears to the pan and place the whole pan into the oven for 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and stir the contents of the pan and cook for a further 15 minutes.


Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 35 minutes

Indian Spiced Lentil Soup

I recently bought a container of coconut oil at my local health food store. Originally I thought I would use it for baking only; cookies, cakes and the like, but as it turns out the coconut oil seems to have been used for everything but baking! I've used it to make hand cream after reading that it was very good for moisturizing the skin overnight. I've used it to make Thai curries and in hot chocolate. Yesterday I used the coconut oil to fry onions in for a lentil soup with a bit of an Indian twang. I love the very slight hint of coconut that this soup has, but if coconut isn't you thing or you can't find the oil, butter will work well too, and the spices are so strong that you won't miss the coconut.

Indian Spiced Lentil Soup
1 tablespoon coconut oil or butter
1 onion minced
3 cloves of garlic minced
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 tsp cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 cup split red lentils
4 cups of water
1/3-1/2 yellow pepper minced

In a large pot heat the oil and saute the onions and garlic until translucent. Add the turmeric, cumin and chili powder to the mixture and stir until the spices are mixed into the oil. Add the lentils and water and bring to a boil. Boil for 15 minutes. Add the pepper and cook for another 5 minutes. Blend the soup well. If needed add more water to the soup to thin it.

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes

Lemon Chicken with Chickpeas and Artichokes

When I talk with my dad about the food he ate growing up he always mentions that there wasn't much food to go around, and yet he probably had the healthiest diet of his life in those "lean" years.

Since money was always in short supply in his family, family dinners weren't heavy on meat --it was just too expensive. My father's mother often supplemented other sources of protein such as beans into the meal to "stretch" the meat.

This dish is made in the spirit of my father's family dinners. It is an incredibly simple one pot meal which combines different protein sources, is quick to make and full of flavor.

Lemon Chicken with Chickpeas and Artichokes
1 tsp olive oil
1 small onion finely sliced
2-3 chicken breast cut into cubes
1/4 tsp cumin
1 can of chickpeas drained
1 can of artichokes in brine
1/2 lemon cut into thin slices


In a non stick pot, heat olive oil and saute onion and chicken for 5 minutes until the chicken is lightly browned. Add the chickpeas, brine from the artichokes, cumin and lemon to the pot. Bring the liquid to a boil then turn down the heat to low. Cover the pot and cook for 15 minutes.

Add the artichokes to the pot and cook for another 2-3 minutes until the artichokes are heated through. Serve with rice and vegetables















Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes

Chunky Split Pea Soup

I've always loved soups. Having a bowl of soup always reminds me of playing in the snow as a kid and having soup to warm up afterwards. There isn't much snow here (a bit early anyway) but it is cold and miserable outside so soup is a great warming option.

Another interesting thing about soup is that apparently eating soup is a great way to lose weight. I think the reason is two fold. One reason (and the most commonly heard one) is that the water in the soup fills you up more quickly than if you had eaten all the ingredients on their own. The second reason is that most soups are full of vegetables which contain fiber and therefore are very filling per calorie. http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-wellbeing/health-news/why-eating-soup-could-be-the-key-to-losing-weight-447090.html

This chunky split pea soup is loaded with vegetables and can easily be made vegetarian by omitting the ham. I like to make this chunky by only half blending the soup but you could easily blend it futher to make a more smooth soup.

Chunky Split Pea Soup
250/9 oz Grams dried split peas (either green or yellow)
2 carrots
2 ribs of celery
1 leek
2 bay leaves
1 tsp cumin powder
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup frozen peas
Cooked ham diced (optional)

Rinse the split peas in cold water. Place the split peas in a large pot, cover with enough water for the water to be approximately 2 inches over the top of the peas. Boil for 20 minutes, skim the water as needed. Meanwhile roughly dice the carrots, celery and leek. After the split peas have cooked for 20 minutes pour vegetable into the water and add further water to just cover all the vegetables. Add in the bay leaves, cumin and salt and pepper and cook for another 10-15 minutes. Using a blender blend half of the soup. Add the diced ham and frozen peas and cook another 5 minutes.

Cooking time:40 minutes
Active time: 15 minutes

African Tomato Soup

My friend Florence is from Uganda. When she moved to the states she brought with her some food combinations that my Italian-American family had never thought of. One of these is a peanut (ground nut) sauce made with tomatoes and onions. I've been planning to make her ground nut sauce for a few weeks now but since I don't tend to cook meat very often I decided that instead of making a sauce I would make a soup based on her original recipe. This soup is also a great way to use up my Tom Thumb tomatoes that are ripening now and producing far more tomatoes than I can eat in salads.

African Tomato Soup
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 Onion Roughly Chopped
1 Teaspoon Cumin Seeds
1/2 Teaspoon Ground Cloves
1/2 Teaspoon Chili Powder (or to taste)
About 20 Cherry Tomatoes
Water
2 Heaping Tablespoons (about 1/2 cup) of Natural Peanut Butter (no salt, no sugar)
Salt
Juice of Half a Lime

In a heavy pot, heat the olive oil and saute the onions for 4-5 minutes. Meanwhile mix the spices in a mortar and pestle and grind roughly. Add the ground spices to the frying onions and fry for another 2 minutes. Chop each tomato in half and add to the pot. Add enough water to cover the tomatoes and onions, bring to a boil. When the soup is boiling add the peanut butter to the pot. Allow to cook for 10 minutes. Blend the soup (I use a stick blender and put it directly into the pot but you can also transfer the soup to a blender and blend at high speed.) Add salt and lime juice to taste. For a smoother soup strain the soup through a sieve or fine mesh colander before serving.

Serves 4-6 people
Prep Time: 2-3 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes