Tomato and pomegranate salad
A refreshing colourful salad packed with flavour
50g red cherry tomatoes, cut into ½cm dice
50g yellow cherry tomatoes, cut into ½cm dice
50g tiger (or plum) tomatoes, cut into ½cm dice
1 medium vine tomato, cut into ½cm dice
¼ red pepper, cut into ½ cm dice
½ small red onion, finely diced
1 cloves garlic, crushed
pinch ground allspice
1 tsp white wine vinegar
1 tbsp pomegranate molasses
20ml olive oil
¼ pomegranate, seeds removed
1 tbsp chopped oregano leaves, to garnish
In a large bowl, mix together the tomatoes, red pepper and onion and set aside.
In a small bowl whisk the garlic, allspice, vinegar, pomegranate molasses, olive oil, until well combined. Pour this over the tomatoes and gently mix.
Arrange the tomatoes and the juices on a large flat plate. Sprinkle over the pomegranate seeds and oregano
Sugar Free Spiced Oat Cookies
These cookies make an ideal snack or breakfast dish
50g porridge oats
75g wholemeal flour
Pinch fine sea salt
½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1/2teaspoon ground mixed spice
75g margarine or unsalted butter
50g pear or apple puree
Preheat the oven to 190C/fan 170C/Gas 5 and grease and flour two baking sheets. Mix together the oats, flour, salt, bicarbonate of soda and mixed spice.
Cream the margarine in a bowl and beat in the pear or apple puree a little at time. Beat in the oat mixture.
Make about 12 walnut sized portions of the mixture and place on the baking sheets, leaving 5cm round between each one. Flatten them slightly with a fork.
Bake the biscuits for 15 minutes or until they are beginning to turn golden. Leave the biscuits on the baking trays until they are cool, golden and firm.
Spiced Pork with Stir-Fried Greens
A quick and easy variation on a traditional stir fry
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
250g pork escalopes, sliced into thin strips
Bunch spring onions, trimmed and sliced
2 carrots, trimmed and cut into fine strips
175g broccoli, broken into small florets
3 celery sticks, sliced
2 heads of pak choi, broken into separate leaves
2 tablespoons fresh coriander
Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lime
A few thin slices of red chilli or a dash of sweet chilli sauce
Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan. Add the pork and stir fry briskly for 3-4 minutes. Tip in the spring onions, carrots, broccoli and celery and stir fry over a high heat for 4 more minutes.
Add the pak choi and cook for a minute or so until the leaves have wilted. Toss in the coriander and lime zest, squeeze in a little lime juice and add the chilli slices or sauce. Season with salt and pepper and serve straight away.
Serves 2 people but can be easily doubled.
Turkish Lamb Pilau
A delicious lamb dish with flavours from the East
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, halved and sliced
2 cinnamon sticks, broken in half
500g lean fillet or leg of lamb, cubed
250g basmati rice
1 lamb or vegetables stock cube
12 ready-to-eat dried apricots
Handful of fresh mint leaves, roughly chopped
Heat the oil into a wok or large pan. Add the onion and cinnamon together and fry until the onion is starting to turn golden. Stir in the lamb and fry until the meat changes colour. Tip in the rice and cook for 1 minute, stirring all of the time.
Pour in 500ml of boiling water, crumble in a stock cube and add the apricots. Season to taste. Turn the heat down, cover and simmer for 12 minutes until the rice is tender and the stock has been absorbed.
Serves 4
Please note that dry fried pine nuts can be added to this recipe, but we do not use nuts in schools.
Egyptian Fish Tagine (Sayadeya Fish Tagen)
This is a traditional recipe from Egypt for a classic tagine of sea or river fish cooked in a tomato and onion sauce flavoured with herbs and spices.
For the marinade:
60ml olive oil
Juice of 2 lemons
Salt and black pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin and ground coriander seeds
1 garlic clove, chopped
4 x 200g trout, bream or sea bass fillets
1 tablespoon sunflower oil
200g onions, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
450g fresh tomatoes, peeled and de-seeded
2 tablespoon tomato purée
black pepper, ground cumin and ground coriander seeds to taste
35g fresh coriander, chopped
35g fresh dill, chopped
1 green bell pepper, de-seeded and very finely chopped
Combine olive oil, lemon juice, salt, black pepper, cumin and ground coriander seeds in a bowl. Add 1 clove of garlic. Lay the fish fillets in a baking dish and pour the marinade on top. Set aside to marinate for about 20 minutes.
In the meantime, heat the sunflower oil in a tagine or flameproof casserole and use to fry the onion, remaining garlic and cook for about 5 minutes until the onion is soft. Add the tomatoes, tomato purée and season with black pepper, ground cumin and ground coriander seeds. Simmer and stir in the coriander, dill and chopped bell pepper for about 5 minutes.
Remove half of the tomato mixture from the tagine or casserole. Drain the fish and lay it on top of the remaining tomato mixture. Top with the tomato mixture that you have just removed. Cover with the lid and allow to cook gently for about 10 minutes until the fish is cooked through.
Serve on a bed of white rice.
Spanish Tortilla or Omelette
This omelette is a simple dish composed of just four ingredients. We have added chorizo or garlic sausage too. In summer, Spaniards eat this cold, but in winter, serve it piping hot with some vegetables.
225g chorizo, roughly chopped
2 large white onions, thinly sliced
250g floury potatoes such as Maris Piper, thinly sliced and steamed
4 large eggs
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Method
Heat a 24cm non-stick frying pan gently over a low heat and add the sausage pieces and fry over a low heat until the fat begins to run. Remove from the pan and set aside but leave the fat in the pan. Add the onions and gently sweat for 5 minutes until softened.
Add the potato slices to the pan along with the remaining olive oil; it should just cover the contents of the pan. Season very generously, cover and cook gently until lightly browned, stirring occasionally.
Lightly whisk the eggs with a pinch of salt. Add the eggs and stir to combine. Add the chorizo.
Cook on a medium–low heat for 5 minutes. Once the top surface of the omelette appears firm enough, free the sides using a palette knife, place a plate over the top of the omelette and invert the pan to release the omelette onto the plate. Carefully slide the inverted omelette back into the pan and cook on the other side for another 5 minutes until cooked through. Alternatively pop it under a grill until the top is gently browned.
Slide or invert the omelette onto a serving plate and cut into slices and serve with a green salad.
Serves 4