Paella
This easy paella recipe takes only 25 minutes to make and is incredibly tasty. The recipe can be adapted in any way you see fit for the kids to eat too e.g. leave out chorizo, add different meat such as cooked pork or veg such as mushrooms or sweetcorn.
1 tbsp Olive Oil
1 Onion, chopped
1 Red Pepper, chopped
2 cloves Garlic, crushed (or 2 tsp lazy garlic)
100g Chorizo, sliced
1 tsp Turmeric
2 tsp Paprika (IF you're not using Chorizo)
300g Long Grain Rice
1lt Hot Chicken Stock
200g frozen Peas
250g cooked Chicken
175g cooked Prawns (ideally King Prawns)
(serves 4)
1. Heat the olive oil in a deep large frying pan (or ceramic pot). Gently fry the onion & red pepper until soft. Add the garlic and lightly fry for a further minute. Add the chorizo and fry until the oils from the chorizo are released into the pan.
2. Add the turmeric (and paprika if not using chorizo) and stir in the rice until it's coated in the oils. Add the chicken stock and bring to the boil. Simmer for 15 minutes stirring occasionally.
3. Add the frozen peas to the pan and cook for a further 5 minutes. Then stir in the chicken & prawns to heat through for 2 minutes.
Chicken Korma
With plenty of taste for the adults but mild enough for children this is a great curry recipe for all the family to enjoy. Another recipe that does not take significant time to prepare and can be left to comfortably cook out in the oven or a slow cooker. We serve our Korma with basmati rice, peshwari naan bread, mango chutney and chopped banana mixed in natural yoghurt.
50g flaked Almonds
15g Butter
675g Chicken Breast, cut into bitesize pieces
1 tbsp Sunflower Oil
1 Onion
4 Green Cardamom Pods
2 Garlic Cloves, crushed (or 2 tsp Lazy Garlic)
2 tsp Ground Cumin
1 tsp Ground Coriander
pinch Ground Turmeric
1 Cinnamon Stick
1/2 tsp Chilli Powder
250ml Coconut Milk
120ml hot Chicken Stock
1 tsp Tomato Purée
75ml Single Cream
1 tsp Garam Masala
Salt & Black Pepper
(serves 4)
1. Preheat the oven to 160degs or set your slow cooker to high.
2. Dry fry the flaked almonds in a frying pan until lightly toasted. Set aside to cool and grind them until fine in a spice grinder or coffee mill.
3. Heat the butter in a frying pan and gently fry the chicken until browned all over. Set aside the chicken, add the sunflower oil to the fat in the frying pan and lightly fry the onion until lightly browned. Add the garlic & cardamom pods and gently fry for a further minute.
4. Add the ground almonds, cumin, coriander, turmeric, cinnamon stick and chilli to the pan and gently fry for about 1 minute.
5. Transfer the mixture to a ceramic cooking pot or slow cooker. Add the coconut milk, stock and tomato purée to the pot/slow cooker and stir in. Add the chicken and season with salt & pepper.
6. Cover and cook for 3 hours until the chicken is tender. Stir in the cream and garam masala and continue to cook gently for a further 30 minutes.
7. Serve taking care to remove the cinnamon stick and cardamom pods.
Homemade Pizza
This pizza recipe takes less time to prep & cook than ordering a takeaway. Healthier too. Also a great one for kids as they can add their own toppings before putting in the oven.
Pizza base:
350g Plain Flour (plus around 40g for dusting)
1 tbsp Caster Sugar
1 tsp Salt
1 7g sachet Dried Active Baking Yeast
2 tbsp Olive Oil (I use Bertolli Mild & Light Olive Oil)
225ml warm Water
(makes 1 large pizza or 1 medium & 1 small)
1. Mix all the dried ingredients in a large bowl. Add the oil & water and combine to form a dough.
2. Flour your hands and roll the dough out onto non-stick baking parchment on an upturned baking tray. Or alternatively pat into a pizza pan.
3. Add your choice of topping and bake in the centre of a preheated oven at 190degs for 20 to 25 minutes.
Suggestions:
Tomato pizza topping - blitz a 400g can of plum tomatoes with 1 tsp basil, 1 tsp oregano plus salt & pepper to taste in a food processor.
Dough variations - add & mix in 1-2 tbsp of dried herbs such as Italian Mixed Herbs, Oregano or Basil to above pizza dough recipe. For a stuffed crust version, line the outsides of the rolled out dough with strips of cheese (or cheese strings) & roll over the edges of the dough before baking.
Toppings - cooked chicken/sausage/ham, flaked tuna, pepperoni/chorizo, red/green pepper, red onion, sweetcorn, mushrooms, tomatoes, pineapple.
