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Lunch

Lunch/ Vegetarian

Purple Pasta

purple-pasta

All my children love this: it’s their favourite and they ask for it all the time. What’s good about this sauce is that you can make it on the spot and stir it straight through some hot pasta. Add some shredded chicken or garlic prawns for a bigger meal.

Purple Pasta

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Serves: 4-6 Cooking Time: 10 mins

Ingredients

  • 400-600g pasta shapes (approx. 200g for 2 people)
  • 1 red pepper (raw or roasted)
  • 3 small ready-cooked beetroots
  • 1 carrot (raw or roasted)
  • few slices of Cheddar cheese and extra grated on top (optional)
  • 400g-tin plum tomatoes
  • 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • sprinkle of salt and pepper (for children over 12 months)

Instructions

1

To roast the pepper and carrot-Preheat the oven to 220°C/200°C Fan/Gas 6. Cut the pepper in half and discard the stalk and seeds, chop the ends of the carrot, peel and halve. Place on a baking tray and roast for 30 minutes. Personally I don’t brush them peppers with oil, but you could.

2

Cook the pasta according to the package instructions.

3

Meanwhile, put all the other ingredients in a food processor and blitz until smooth.

4

Drain the cooked pasta and stir the sauce through before serving and top.

5

Adults may prefer to have their sauce heated first and for extra flavour to be added. Mixed herbs bump up the flavour, as do a few drops of tamari or chilli sauce.

Notes

* Left over sauce keeps for up to 5 days in the fridge * Freezable for up to 6 months- but you must either blanch the carrot for 5 minutes or heat the sauce for 5 minutes if using it raw then leave to cool completely before freezing. *You can also store and freeze the pasta but for best results freeze the sauce separately and make the pasta fresh for when you need it.

November 1, 2017
Lunch

Green Tuna and Jacket Potato

tuna pesto jacket

Make the green tuna in quick time and put the potato in the oven while you play some games or take the children to see the neighbours, if they haven’t already turned their lights out, to pretend they aren’t home!

Green Tuna and Jacket Potato

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Serves: 2 Cooking Time: 75 mins

Ingredients

  • 2 large baking potatoes
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons pine nuts or cashew nuts
  • 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
  • 3 tablespoons dried basil, or 10–15 fresh leaves
  • ¼ teaspoon natural green colouring (optional)
  • 160g tin tuna in spring water, drained

Instructions

1

Preheat oven 190°C/fan 170°C/gas 5.

2

Pierce the potatoes deeply several times with a fork, then place them directly on the oven shelf. Cook for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until soft and cooked through (stick a knife in one to see if it’s tender).

3

For the green tuna, put all the other ingredients except for the tuna into a small food processor (or in a small bowl and use a hand held blender). Blitz until combined, give it a few stirs in between. Add a few drops of water if necessary.

4

Flake the tuna into a bowl and then pour the green pesto sauce over the tuna. Leave to stand while the potato bakes

5

Once the potatoes are cooked, slice them open, fill with the green tuna and serve.

Notes

* For a crispy skin, coat the potatoes in olive oil and rub with a little sea salt.

October 24, 2017
Lunch

Orange Chicken with Black Rice

pumpkin and black rice

Something a little different for the Halloween season, with lots of vitamin C-packed veg to help fight off the autumn cold. The black rice is a favourite in our house, but it does take longer to cook so I usually save it for the special occasion or just when time permits – meaning when I remember to get it on in time!

Orange Chicken with Black Rice

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Serves: 4 Cooking Time: 45 mins

Ingredients

  • 240g black rice
  • 2 red onions, peeled and chopped
  • 1 small pumpkin or butternut squash (about 900g), peeled, deseeded and chopped
  • 3 carrots, peeled and chopped
  • 1 orange or yellow pepper, deseeded and chopped
  • 1.2 litres low-salt chicken or vegetable stock
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 400g diced chicken
  • 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice (optional)

Instructions

1

Rinse the rice with cold water, then put it in a big saucepan of water. Bring to the boil, then turn the heat down to low–medium and simmer for 40–45 minutes, or until the rice is tender.

2

Meanwhile, put the vegetables and stock in a large saucepan with a lid. Bring the pan to the boil, then simmer, covered, for 30 minutes.

3

Pour the oil into a frying pan and lightly fry the chicken until turning golden and cooked through.

4

Blend the vegetables and stock with a hand blender, leaving some chunks of veg. Add the chicken and orange juice, if using, and cook for a further 5 minutes.

5

Once cooked, drain the rice and place in the bowl. Pour the orange sauce over the rice and serve.

Notes

* To peel a pumpkin or butternut squash you need a really good peeler; if you don’t have one you will need a sharp knife to chop away at the edges. For a vegetarian meal, swop the chicken for tofu.

October 24, 2017