Pasta And Turkey Meatballs In A Tomato And Herb Sauce

Growing up in a working class household, spaghetti and meatballs was a regular family meal for us. A tasty, satisfying meal that would easily feed a family of 6, on a very low budget, I have fond memories of sitting around the table with a big bowl full of this and enjoying every mouthful. This recipe is my slightly healthier, batch cooked, and somewhat nostalgic, take on the old school spaghetti and meatballs I grew up with.

You will need:
350g brown fusilli

For the herb mix:
2 tsp dried basil
1 & 1/4 tsp dried oregano
1 & 1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

For the meatballs:
1 tbsp vegetable (rapeseed) oil
500g turkey mince
1 egg
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 small onion, grated or very finely chopped
3 tbsp dried breadcrumbs (I used panko, but only because I had most of a bag sat in the cupboard)
1 tsp worcestershire sauce

For the sauce:
1 tbsp vegetable (rapeseed) oil
2 small onions, 1 finely and the other fairly chunkily chopped
2 medium/large carrots, 1 finely and the other fairly chunkily chopped
2 celery stalks, 1 finely and the other fairly chunkily chopped
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tbsp tomato puree
1 tin chopped tomatoes
200ml chicken stock

Method:
1. In a small bowl, mix together the basil, oregano, thyme salt and pepper until thoroughly incorporated.
2. Pour the oil into a high sided pan and place over a medium heat to warm.
3. Add the turkey, egg, garlic, onion, breadcrumbs, worcestershire sauce and 2 tsp of the herb mix to a large bowl and mix until fairly well incorporated.
4. Form the mix into 8 evenly sized balls, place the balls into the pan and fry for about 10 minutes, turning regularly to ensure they're browned on all sides Once browned remove from the pan and set aside.
5. If needed, add more oil to the pan and allow to warm over a medium heat.
6. Add the onions and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they start to soften and colour lightly.
7. Add the garlic, carrots and celery and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the veg starts to soften.
8. Add the tomato puree, stir through the veg and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
9. Add the remaining herb mix, stir through, and pour in the tomatoes and stock.
10. Add the browned meatballs into the sauce, bring to the boil, turn the heat to low, put the lid on the pan and allow to gently simmer for approximately 30 minutes, until the meatballs are entirely cooked through.
11. After about 20 minutes, cook the pasta in salted water for 2 minutes less than the stated cooking time, drain, add the pasta to the sauce and stir through.
12. If you're going to be eating this straight away, allow to cook, uncovered, for the remaining 2 minutes or until the pasta is al dente. If this is going to be re-heated later, remove from the heat straight away and stand the pan in a bowl of cold water to cool the sauce as quickly as possible.

Notes:
Cooling the sauce quickly, before the pasta has time to cook through, should mean that when it's re-heated the pasta isn't rubbery and over done.
Dish this up into foil containers, sprinkle over a bit of grated cheese and freeze for individually portioned pasta bake ready meals. 45 minutes, from frozen, in a cold oven set to 150 degrees and you're done, that's just about enough time for a quick soak in the bath.

Comforting Beef And Tomato Stew

I’ve posted recipes in the past for both a hearty beef stew and a simple beef goulash, this rich, tomatoey and comforting beef stew is somewhere in between the two. Flavoured with rich paprika and a variety of winter root vegetables, this recipe is warming, filling and healthy.

You will need:
3 tbsp plain flour
3 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
1000g braising steak, cut into good sized chunks
2 tbsp vegetable oil (rapeseed oil)
2 medium onions, roughly chopped
1 medium carrot, finely chopped
3 celery stalks, finely chopped
2 tbsp tomato puree
2 medium/large carrots, roughly chopped
1 small swede, roughly chopped
1 large parsnip, roughly chopped
1 can of chopped tomatoes
750ml beef stock
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 rounded tbsp english mustard
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
2 tsp dried oregano
2 large potatoes, roughly chopped
2 large sweet potatoes, roughly chopped
1 small butternut squash, roughly chopped
1 tin butter beans, drained

Method:
1. Mix the flour, paprika, salt and pepper together in a large bowl, add the braising steak and toss until thoroughly coated.
2. Add half the oil to a very large saucepan and warm over a high heat.
3. Add the beef to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes, until the beef is nicely browned.
4. Remove the beef from the pan and set aside in the large bowl.
5. Turn the heat down to medium/low, pour the remaining oil into the pan and add the onions. Cook the onions for 3 - 4 minutes, until they start to soften.
6. Add the finely chopped carrot, celery and tomato puree and cook for a further 3 - 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
7. Return the beef to the pan, add the remaining carrots, swede, parsnip, tomatoes, stock, vinegar, mustard, worcestershire sauce and oregano and stir thoroughly. Allow the stock to come up to the boil, turn the heat down low, cover with the lid and allow the stock to simmer for 20 - 30 minutes.
8. Add the potatoes, sweet potatoes and squash to the pan, re-cover and allow to cook, over a low heat, for a further 30 - 40 minutes.
9. Add the butter beans, turn up the heat to medium and cook uncovered for 5 - 10 minutes, to warm through the beans.
10. Check the seasoning of the stew and add more salt and pepper if required.

Notes:
Serve with warm, buttered toast for just about the most comforting meal there is. I had half a punnet of mushrooms sat in the fridge and threw these in to add a little extra bulk and flavour.

Simple Turkey Chilli

A few weeks ago I posted a Tomato Free Sweet Potato And Turkey Chilli recipe, I’d never really made this style of chilli before, or even one using turkey instead of beef, and it turned out delicious. Inspired by the success of my sweet potato based recipe, and wondering how well turkey would work as a replacement for beef, here is a more traditional tomato based chilli made with turkey mince and a few vegetables add to a bit more depth.

You will need:
1 tbsp chilli powder
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground black pepper
1 tbsp vegetable oil
3 small onions, chopped
1000g turkey mince
2 tbsp tomato puree
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 bell peppers, roughly chopped
2 sweet potatoes, roughly chopped
8 baby sweet corns, cut into thirds
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
250ml chicken stock
1 tin red kidney beans, drained
200g spring greens, roughly chopped

Method:
1. In a small bowl combine the chilli powder, cumin, paprika, oregano, salt and black pepper.
2. Pour the oil into a saucepan over a medium-high heat, add the onions, turkey and half of the spice mix to the pan then cook for about 5 minutes, until the onions start to soften and the turkey is browned.
3. Add the tomato puree, garlic and remaining spice mix, stir through and allow to cook for a further 2 or 3 minutes.
4. Add in the peppers, sweet potato, baby corn, tomatoes and stock, allow the chilli to come up to the boil, turn the heat to medium-low, put the lid on the pan and allow to simmer for about 10 minutes, until the sweet potato is nearly cooked through.
5. If the chilli is too watery at this point continue to simmer with the lid off until the sauce thickens.
6. Add in the kidney beans and spring greens, stir through and continue to cook until the beans are warm and the greens wilt.

Notes:
As with any other chilli this is great served with boiled rice, over a jacket potato, over chunky oven chips or with a side of tortilla chips smothered in melted cheese.

Shredded Chicken With Chilli Sauce And Mayo In Ciabatta

For dinner on Saturday I made seasoned chicken, served with boiled rice and grilled veg. It was nothing particularly special, but the chicken turned out amazing (I seasoned it with Dunns River Chicken Seasoning and lightly tossed it in flour). After everyone had finished eating I was overjoyed to discover that I had 2 thighs leftover, these were promptly boxed up and popped in the fridge for my Sunday breakfast. Sunday morning and I treated the chicken the a quick warming in a hot pan, cut it off the bone, shredded it up and served it on a toasted ciabatta with lashings of chilli sauce and a little squirt of mayo. It went down an absolute treat with a fresh pot of tea and a packet of sweet n salty popcorn.

Rustic Comfort Food

Sunday dinner all prepped and ready to just pop in the oven later. It’s cold, wet and windy out so I’ve made a bit of old school comfort food in the form of a rustic cottage pie (Also it’s the first day of national pie week and I need to make at least one pie-ish).

Tomato Free Sweet Potato And Turkey Chilli

I can’t lay claim to this recipe, it’s a modified version of a recipe I found in a paleo cookbook (unfortunately I’ve already forgotten the name of the book). Essentially I had a lot of onions and sweet potatoes in my cupboard and was looking for tasty one pot dish to use them up, along with a few of the other ingredients I’d had lying in the fridge for a couple of weeks, without me having to buy too much else. Because this recipe doesn’t include the tomatoes or coriander usually associated with a good homemade chilli, and predominantly requires store cupboard ingredients, the only thing I had to buy was the turkey mince, everything else I already had in the house.

You will need:
1 tbsp chilli powder
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground oregano
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground black pepper
2 tbsp vegetable oil (rapeseed oil)
500g turkey mince
2 small onions, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
3 medium sweet potatoes, cut into roughly 1.5cm chunks
500ml chicken stock
1 tin of red kidney beans, drained

Method:
1. In a small bowl combine the chilli powder, cumin, paprika, oregano, salt and ground black pepper.
2. Warm 1 tbsp of oil in a saucepan over a medium-high heat.
3. Add the turkey, onions, red pepper, garlic and half of the spice mix then cook on medium-high for about 5 minutes.
4. When the turkey is cooked through, remove it from the pan and set aside.
5. Add the rest of the oil to the pan, the sweet potatoes and the remaining spice mix then cook until the sweet potatoes have browned.
6. Add in the stock, bring to the boil and allow to simmer for about 10 minutes, until the sweet potatoes are tender.
7. Puree the sweet potato with an immersion blender until you get your desired consistency.
8. Add the turkey mixture and the beans, stir and allow to cook for 2 - 3 minutes until the turkey and beans have warmed through.

Notes:
I’ll be serving this with a side of couscous, flavoured with the same spices I added to the chilli, but this could just as easily be served alongside boiled rice, tortilla chips, a jacket potato or just in a bowl on it’s own.

Simple Chickpea And Chorizo Stew

This is another one of my simple, cheap, one pot recipes that I've put together with the intention of batch cooking in advance and making enough to last all week. This recipe is hearty, warming and entirely suitable for the current bout of cold weather we're enjoying, whilst still being fairly healthy and providing a decent amount of protein.

You will need:
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 small onions, chopped
200g chorizo, chopped
2 medium sweet potatoes, cut into roughly 1.5cm chunks
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 tsp smoked paprika
2 tsp cumin
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 can of chickpeas, drained
250ml chicken stock
200g washed baby spinach

Method:
1. Add the oil to a large saucepan and warm over a medium heat.
2. Add the onions, chorizo and sweet potato then cook about 5 minutes, until the chorizo browns and the onion starts to soften.
3. Stir in the garlic, paprika and cumin then cook for a further 2 minutes.
4. Pour in the tomatoes, chickpeas and stock, stir and cook for 10 - 15 minutes, until the sweet potato is tender.
5. Remove from the heat, stir through the spinach and allow to stand until the spinach wilts.

Notes:
Simply serve alongside a buttered, crusty bread roll for a hearty and healthy meal.