Healthy January – Comforting Butterbean Stew
Serves: 2 people
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes
Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, finely sliced
3 garlic cloves, finely sliced
3 sprigs rosemary, leaves picked and finely chopped
200g cooking chorizo, cut into chunky half moons
1x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
570g jar of butterbeans (we used Bold Beans)
120g spinach
1 lemon, zested
70g feta, crumbled
2 tbsp chopped parsley
Maldon Sea Salt
Cracked black pepper
Served with toasted sourdough
Method:
Start by taking a large shallow pan and placing on a medium heat. Melt the olive oil before adding the sliced onions and a pinch of Maldon Sea Salt. Cook these gently for 5 minutes until softened, then add the sliced garlic, rosemary and chorizo and fry for another 5 minutes until the garlic is smelling fragrant and the chorizo is starting to crisp.
Next add the tinned tomatoes, followed by the butterbeans. Stir these in and allow the mix to bubble and thicken for 5 minutes. Finally add the spinach, allowing it to wilt through the sauce and then zest in the lemon and season well with more Maldon and cracked black pepper. Serve the stew sprinkled with the parsley, the crumbled feta and some toasted sourdough for dunking.
Healthy January – Winter Chickpea Salad
Serves: 4 people
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes
Ingredients:
1x 400g tin of chickpeas (in paprika + cumin)
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
400g butternut squash, peeled and cut into 3cm chunks
150g baby carrots
1 tsp fennel seeds
3 tbsp olive oil
200g kale
Maldon Sea Salt
Maldon Garlic Sea Salt
50g pomegranate seeds
50g mixed toasted seeds
Tahini Dressing
2 tbsp tahini
½ lemon, juiced
2 tbsp olive oil
50ml water
Method:
Preheat the oven to 180c.
Place the butternut squash and baby carrots onto a roasting tray. Drizzle with 1 tbsp olive oil, the fennel seeds, Maldon Garlic Sea Salt and some black pepper. Then place into the preheated oven and roast for 25 minutes. Until tender, golden and charred.
Drain the chickpeas and then pat them dry with kitchen paper. Place these onto a second baking tray and drizzle with 1 tbsp olive oil, paprika and ground cumin. Season and then place into the oven for 15 minutes until the chickpeas are very crispy and golden.
While they are roasting, place the kale into a large mixing bowl. Add 1 tbsp of olive oil and a big pinch of Maldon Sea Salt and then use your hands to massage the kale – this will soften it and make it more delicious to eat raw. Set it aside.
Make the tahini dressing by whisking together the tahini, lemon juice, olive oil, water and plenty of seasoning until you have a smooth creamy dressing.
When the vegetables and chickpeas are out of the oven it is time to assemble the salad. Pour most of the tahini dressing over the kale and toss through. Pile this onto a platter and then top with the roasted butternut squash, baby carrots and crispy chickpeas. Drizzle over the remaining tahini dressing and then garnish with some pomegranate seeds and toasted mixed seeds before serving.
Aubergine Harissa Traybake with Tahini Dressing
Serves: 2 people
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 45 minutes
Ingredients:
2x medium aubergine
1x red onion, peeled and cut into wedges
250g cherry tomatoes on the vine
1x large red pepper, cut into chunks
1x 400g tin of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 tbsp rose harissa
1 tbsp olive oil (we used ‘Citizens of Soil’)
Large handful of parsley leaves, roughly chopped
Charred pitta bread, to serve
Maldon Sea Salt flakes
Cracked black pepper
Tahini dressing:
3 tbsp of tahini
1 lemon, juiced
2 tbsp olive oil (we used ‘Citizens of Soil’)
Method:
Preheat the oven to 180c.
Prepare the aubergine but slicing them in half lengthways, keeping the stalk on, so you have 4 halves. Then score the flesh of each half with a sharp knife in a crisscross pattern – making sure to only cut the flesh and leave the skin intact.
Then take a large baking tray and add the chickpeas, red onion wedges and red pepper chunks to the tray. In a small bowl, mix together the harissa and olive oil. Drizzle most of this in the tray and toss so all the ingredients are well coated.
Next add the aubergine halves on top of the other veg in the tray so the cut side is facing up and then brush with the remaining harissa paste mix. Season well with Maldon Sea Salt flakes and cracked black pepper.
Place the tray into the preheated oven for 25 minutes until everything is starting to look charred and softened. At this stage add the cherry tomatoes on the vine and nestle them in the tray around the aubergine, drizzling with a little extra oil. Then place the tray back in the oven for an additional 20 mins.
While the veg is cooking, prepare the tahini dressing. Simply whisk together the tahini, lemon juice and olive oil. Then add as much water as needed until you reach a drizzle consistency – start with a tablespoon at a time. Season well with Maldon Sea Salt flakes and cracked black pepper.
When the traybake is ready, remove from the oven and drizzle over the tahini dressing and the chopped parsley. Serve alongside some charred pitta bread, if you like.
Air Fryer Pumpkin Gnocchi with Crispy Sage
Serves: 4 people
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 40 mins
Ingredients:
1x small pumpkin (approx. 500g)
1x whole garlic bulb
1x white onion, cut into wedges
Maldon Garlic Sea Salt
Cracked black pepper
Olive oil for frying
75g walnuts
20x sage leaves
500g gnocchi
30g parmesan, finely grated plus extra to serve
Method:
Start by preparing the pumpkin by peeling and deseeding it, then cutting it into small 2cm pieces. Then preheat your air fryer to the desired setting – we did ours at 180c. Place the diced pumpkin into the basket along with the onion wedges and drizzle with olive oil then season with Maldon Garlic Sea Salt and cracked black pepper.
Then cut the garlic bulb into half so the cloves are exposed and then wrap each half in kitchen foil. Place these wrapped bulbs into the basket with the pumpkin and onions. Place the basket into the air fryer and roast for 15 – 20 minutes until the butternut squash is tender and the onions have softened and charred, remove from the basket and set aside. Once cool enough to handle, unwrap the foiled garlic bulbs and the garlic should be golden and soft inside – if they need a little simply wrap them again and place back in the air fryer for 5 minutes more.
In a small frying pan add some oil and heat to a medium heat, then add the sage leaves and allow then to fry for a minute or so until crisp then remove and set aside.
Place the walnuts into the air fryer and toast for 5 minutes. Then remove and roughly chop.
Place a large pan of salted water on to boil and season well with Maldon Sea Salt. Then cook the gnocchi according to the packet instructions, then drain them but make sure to reserve a large mug of the cooking water. Place the drained gnocchi into a large frying pan.
Put the roasted pumpkin and onion into a blender. Squeeze the garlic out of the paper skins and add to the blender too. Then add the grated parmesan, some Maldon Garlic Sea Salt and cracked black pepper to the blender along with 50ml of pasta water. Blend until smooth, adding a little more pasta water if required.
Then tip the smooth sauce into the pan with the cooked gnocchi and gently heat through, tossing well. Again, you can add a splash more of the pasta water here if it’s looking a little thick – you want a nice glossy sauce.
Serve the gnocchi in bowls and then top with the toasted walnuts, crispy sage leaves and some extra grated parmesan.