by Madhur Jaffrey

Ingredients

• 2 medium potaoes
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 0.5 tsp salt
• 1.5 tsp coarse ground black pepper
• 2 tbsp fresh coriander

Method

Boil the potatoes and allow to cool completely. Day-old boiled potatoes that have been refrigerated are ideal. Cut them into 2cm dice. Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium flame. When hot, put in the potatoes and stir them around for a minute. Sprinkle in the salt and mix gently. Cover the potatoes and let them heat through on a medium-low flame for about 5 minutes. Stir them a few times during this period. Now add the black pepper and mix gently. Cook, uncovered, for another few minutes on a medium flame, stirring the potatoes every now and then and allowing them to brown slightly. Sprinkle in the fresh coriander. Mix and serve hot.

Nutritional Information

• Servings Per Recipe: 2
• Amount Per Serving
• Calories: 288.3
• Total Fat: 13.8 g
• Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
• Sodium: 594.8 mg
• Total Carbs: 38.2 g
• Dietary Fiber: 5.1 g
• Protein: 4.5 g

Ingredients

• 140g onion, peeled and chopped
• 5cm fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
• 8 tbsp groundnut oil
• 2 good-sized boiling potatoes, par boiled for 5 minutes, cooled and cut into1 inch pieces
• 450g cauliflower florets, cut slightly bigger than the potato pieces, steamed for 5 minutes
• a generous pinch of asafetida
• 1/2 tsp whole cumin seeds
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 240g tinned chopped tomato
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 or 4 fresh, hot green chillies (such as bird’s eye), whole but with small slits cut in each)

Method

Blend the onions, ginger, garlic and 4 tbsp water to make a smooth paste. Heat the oil in a large lidded pan. And the par-cooked potato and cauliflower. Fry, stirring, until they are lightly browned. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Remove all but 3 tbsp of the oil. Put in the asafetida, then a second later the cumin seeds. A few seconds later put in the onion mixture. Stir and fry for 3 or 4 minutes. Put in the ground spices. Stir for a minute, then add the tomato and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the cauliflower and potato, 600ml water, salt and the chillies. Stir to mix, bring to a simmer, cover, and cook on a low heat until the cauliflower softens (10 to 20 minutes).

Nutritional Information

• Servings Per Recipe: 6
• Amount Per Serving
• Calories: 179.1
• Total Fat: 9.7 g
• Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
• Sodium: 456.6 mg
• Total Carbs: 21.5 g
• Dietary Fiber: 5.0 g
• Protein: 3.8 g

Ingredients

• 60g pasta
• 50g white crab meat
• 50g brown crab meat
• For the salad:
• salad leaves
• 1 medium tomato
• 25g cucumber
• 25g courgette
• 25g black olives
• For the salad dressing:
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp cider or sherry vinegar

Method

cook the pasta. drain the pasta and return to the pan retaining a tablespoon or so of liquid. stir in the crab meat. serve with salad on the side.

Nutritional Information

• Servings Per Recipe: 1
• Amount Per Serving
• Calories: 515.9
• Total Fat: 22.4 g
• Cholesterol: 18.8 mg
• Sodium: 247.2 mg
• Total Carbs: 55.3 g
• Dietary Fiber: 4.2 g
• Protein: 28.0 g

Ingredients

• A jar of tomato pasta sauce, or make your own*
• 2-3 courgettes
• Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
• A lemon
• A good-sized hunk of parmesan
• A few handfuls of fresh basil
• Two balls of fresh mozzarella
• A handful of pinenuts (optional)

*Fry finely diced onion in olive oil till tender. Add two or three chopped garlic cloves. Season. Sizzle for a mo. Add a tin of tomatoes, bubble it for a few mins. Add a glug of balsamic vinegar. Bubble again. Fold in fresh herbs.

Method

Dollop a few spoonfuls of sauce in the bottom of a lasagne dish. Top with overlapping ribbons of courgette (use your veg peeler). Sprinkle with salt, pepper, lemon juice and zest. Scatter with grated parmesan and basil and torn mozzarella. Repeat. Repeat again, but skip the courgettes. Top with pinenuts. Season. Bake in a 180°C/Gas 4 oven until golden, 20-30 mins.

Nutritional Information

• Servings Per Recipe: 2
• Amount Per Serving
• Calories: 408.5
• Total Fat: 26.5 g
• Cholesterol: 56.0 mg
• Sodium: 1,144.6 mg
• Total Carbs: 12.6 g
• Dietary Fiber: 0.6 g
• Protein: 28.1 g

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 50g shallots
• a few slices of root ginger
• a stick of lemongrass chopped
• fish stock
• 2 tbsp coconut milk
• 200g mussels
• 2 cloves of garlic chopped
• 1 red chilli pepper chopped
• 2 handfuls of fresh coriander leaves chopped

Method

Run the mussels under a cold tap and throw away any that don’t close. Heat the olive oil and fry the shallots until they start to soften. Add the ginger and lemongrass. Stir once and add the fish stock and coconut. Cook for 5 minutes with the lid on. Add the mussels and cook until they open. Stir in the garlic, chilli pepper and coriander. Serve with a thick slice of bread.

Nutritional Information

• Servings Per Recipe: 2
• Amount Per Serving
• Calories: 303.9
• Total Fat: 14.7 g
• Cholesterol: 55.5 mg
• Sodium: 1,061.4 mg
• Total Carbs: 16.2 g
• Dietary Fiber: 0.2 g
• Protein: 26.9 g

Made this traditional Scottish soup for the first time a couple of nights ago. Ma-a-n, is it BORING! It’s not bad, just pointless. I kept adding salt and pepper to it but to no avail. I like leeks. I like celery. Chicken is alright. Put it all together – zzzzz. I heated up the leftovers today for my lunch. I was starvin’ hungry but after two mouthfuls I wasn’t certain I could be bothered to chew anymore. I’ve eaten bland things before but this is just…. ennui in a bowl.

If you like boring ass food, here is the recipe. It makes a generous portion for one so just scale up accordingly.

Ingredients

• 2 chicken thighs, skin removed
• 1/2 onion
• 25 g. of pearl barley, cooked
• 1/3 stock cube
• 100 g. of leek, sliced
• 1 stalk of celery
• 1 pinch of dried thyme
• 1 tbs of fresh parsley, chopped

Method

Place the chicken, sliced onion and barley in a saucepan and cover with 300ml (12fl ozs) water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

When cool enough to handle, discard the chicken bones, chop meat into bite-sized pieces and return to the pan.

Add the crumbled stock cube, sliced leeks and celery and thyme, and simmer for a further 30 minutes.

Stir in the chopped parsley just before serving.

Be careful not to lose consciousness directly over the bowl in case you drown in it.

by Madhur Jaffrey

Ingredients

• 10-12 dried, hot red chillies (of the long, cayenne variety)
• 5 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
• 140g shallots, chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon grass, thinly sliced crossways
• 3 thin slices peeled fresh galangal or ginger
• 1 thin slice of fresh kaffir lime rind (4cm x 0.5cm) or dried rind soaked in water for 30 minutes
• 6-8 fresh coriander roots, coarsely chopped
• freshly ground white pepper
• 1/4 tsp shrimp paste or 2 anchovies chopped
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 2 tbsp bright red paprika

Method

Soak the chillies in 5 tbsp of hot water for 1-2 hours. Put the chillies, together with their soaking liquid, into a blender, along with all the remaining ingredients in the order listed. Blend, pushing down with a rubber spatula as many times as necessary, until you have a smooth paste. Use half immediately and freeze the other half. Makes about 10 tablespoons.

Nutritional Information

• Servings Per Recipe: 2
• Amount Per Serving
• Calories: 117.6
• Total Fat: 1.4 g
• Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
• Sodium: 63.2 mg
• Total Carbs: 20.7 g
• Dietary Fiber: 3.4 g
• Protein: 3.7 g

Ingredients

• 2 mackerel fillets
• bay
• thyme

On the side:

• potatoes
• peas

For the salad:

• an orange peeled and sliced
• a red onion cut in thin slices
• black olives
• vinegar

Method

Stuff the mackerel with bay leaves and thyme and grill. Boil the potatoes and peas. Make a salad out of the orange, onion, black olives and vinegar.

Nutritional Information

• Servings Per Recipe: 2
• Amount Per Serving
• Calories: 591.0
• Total Fat: 26.9 g
• Cholesterol: 66.0 mg
• Sodium: 367.7 mg
• Total Carbs: 60.6 g
• Dietary Fiber: 9.2 g
• Protein: 29.1 g

Ingredients

• 2 cups romaine lettuce
• 1 medium tomato (chopped)
• 50g cucumber
• 70g feta
• 25g black olives
• 1/4 small red onion
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinaigrette
• slice of baguette

Method

Mix everything together in a bowl.

Nutritional Information

• Servings Per Recipe: 1
• Amount Per Serving
• Calories: 498.5
• Total Fat: 26.9 g
• Cholesterol: 62.3 mg
• Sodium: 1,562.6 mg
• Total Carbs: 45.4 g
• Dietary Fiber: 5.8 g
• Protein: 18.7 g