Easy Jam Tarts

I've been meaning to give this recipe a go for a while now. It just seemed like the perfect last minute treat for when you're feeling a bit down or if you have surprise guests. I mean, most people will have that forgotten jar of jam in their fridge just waiting for a recipe like this. I used strawberry jam because I happened to have it on hand but next time I think I'd like to try mixing it up with a few jam ones and maybe a few lemon curd ones... delicious!

Ready for the oven

I used shop bought pastry because, again, this is more of an emergency recipe than something you'd plan for but of course, feel free to use your favorite pastry recipe if you have one. My local shop tends to put the puff pastry and shortcrust pastry on offer every now and then so I try to stock up and have them on hand for situations like this.

Finished product

Also, I managed to make nine tarts out of the pastry I had but that will probably depend on the size of your circular cutter and your muffin tin. I found the best tarts were the ones where the pastry hadn't been stretched too thin so make sure you've got a good amount there for a solid crust around the outsides and on the bottom. And of course, be careful to really butter your tin properly so that the tarts slide right out.

Jammy goodness!

Prep Time: 5 min

Cook Time: 20-25 min

Serves: 9

Ingredients:

1 package shortcrust pastry
9 tablespoons of strawberry jam
1 egg

Method: 

First, grease a muffin tin so that the bottoms and sides are lightly coated.

Next, roll out your pastry and use a circular cutter to cut nine circles and nine stars. Lightly stretch the circular cut outs in your hand so that as you press them into the pan, they come up the sides about half way. Use a fork to prick the bottoms of your pastry so that they don't puff up while baking.

Add a tablespoon of jam to each pastry shell. Top with one of the pastry stars and place into the fridge for fifteen minutes to set.

While the tarts are in the fridge, preheat the oven to 160C / 320F.

After removing the tarts from the fridge, make an egg wash by whisking the egg with a little bit of water and lightly brush over the pastry stars and the tops of the sides of each tart.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until the tarts are lightly browned and the jam is bubbling. Leave in the tin for a few minutes to cool and then turn out onto a plate. Enjoy! 

Mediterranean Lamb Salad

This dish was inspired by one I saw on Nigella Express where she used lamb tenderloin to make a thai inspired salad. Since I was out of both thai fish sauce and soy sauce, I thought I'd adapt the recipe to what I had on hand. This ended up being mainly Mediterranean additions such as vinegar and olive oil, which is where the title came from. I had planned to use Balsamic vinegar but only realized at the last minute that we were out so I used the cider vinegar instead.

Dressing mix, waiting for the lamb! 

Lamb steaks browning

Lamb cocoon

I highly recommend this dish for a weekday dinner because it was so quick to prepare. The actual cooking only takes five - six minutes depending on your lamb steaks and preferences. Then the lamb sits in it's little foil cocoon until the other elements are ready. I think this method could probably work with any cut of lamb so don't worry if you can't find these particular steaks. Nigella used lamb tenderloin for her dish but my supermarket didn't have any in stock unfortunately! One thing to remember: be careful with the vinegar as the amount used will vary depending on your personal tastes.

Salad!

Prep Time: 5-10 min

Cook Time: 15 min

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

2 lamb leg steaks
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
8-10 cherry tomatoes
Salad leaves
2-3 tbsp cider vinegar
1/4 red onion, finely chopped
2 green onions, finely chopped
1 tbsp fresh chives, finely chopped
1 tsp mixed herbs
8-10 new potatoes

Method:

In a pan large enough for the lamb steaks, saute the onion and green onion in a teaspoon of olive oil until softened. Remove from pan and place into a shallow baking dish. Season the steaks with salt and pepper and then add a little more oil to the pan if needed and saute the steaks until brown on both sides. When they have finished browning, wrap them in a foil parcel and leave to sit for 5 minutes (or more depending on the thickness of your steaks and how well done you prefer them to be). Meanwhile, boil the potatoes until they are soft and then drain and set aside. Slice the cherry tomatoes in half and divide the salad leaves, tomatoes and potatoes between two plates. In the baking dish, whisk the chives, herbs and vinegar along with a few dashes of olive oil into the onion mixture. When the lamb has rested, open the foil packet and pour the accumulated juices into the baking dish with the dressing. Slice the lamb carefully and add the pieces and any further juices to the dressing. Leave to sit for a minute before pouring over the plates. Enjoy! 

Energizing RedBull and Fruit Smoothie

Ok, I know some of you are thinking, "RedBull? In a smoothie? Have you lost your mind? That sounds disgusting." But you would be wrong, very wrong my friend. This was delicious. Of course, if you know me, then you know that I'm definitely partial to a bit of RedBull here and there. I tend to buy the sugar free version when I know I have a stressful few days ahead or if I need an instant boost in my energy levels.

Fresh from the blender

This recipe occurred when I wanted to have a smoothie for breakfast but didn't have any juice left in my fridge. I've been pretty terrible about food shopping lately due to a complete lack of appetite so things are getting a little desperate in my poor fridge. So, after surveying my options, I wondered if RedBull would be a worthy substitute. A quick search online told me that I wasn't the first to happen across this combo so I thought I'd give it a try.

Pretty!

I used fresh banana and frozen blueberries because, again, that's what I had on hand but you could easily adapt this to whatever is in your pantry. While you can still taste a bit of the RedBull, it's definitely masked by the fruit and the yogurt gives it a creamy consistency. Give it a try if you're in need of a boost and want to throw a few much needed nutrients in.

Prep Time: 1 min

Cook Time: 1 min

Serves: 1

Ingredients: 

1/2 can of sugarfree RedBull
1/2 cup low fat natural yogurt
1/2 a banana, sliced
1/2 cup frozen blueberries

Method: 

Mix all the ingredients in a blender until smooth. Enjoy! 

Spicy Chana Masala

This is one of my favorite dishes in Indian restaurants and something I've been wanting to try at home. After ordering some amchoor powder off Amazon, I thought this was the perfect time to give it a go. This recipe is based on one from Smitten Kitchen, but of course I couldn't resist messing with it.

Ingredients

So many spices!

Ready for the pan

I thought that the amchoor powder added enough of a sour note that I didn't need the lemon juice that she included. However, if you don't have any on hand, you can definitely substitute the juice of half a lemon. I also neglected to notice that she included cumin seeds after they had been toasted and ground. Instead I threw them in whole and it was actually very tasty so I've kept them that way in this recipe.

Nearly ready...

Ready to eat!

I like the fact that this recipe not only makes TONS of food but it also is pretty quick and actually fairly cheap since chickpeas and chopped tomatoes are hardly the world's most expensive ingredients. And when I say this makes tons, I mean it. I've estimated you could get 8 servings from this but I really think it could even be more, especially if you're having it as a side dish. I served this with some store bought paratha, yogurt, chutney, some lemon roasted new potatoes, quick sauteed mushrooms and a sprinkling of fresh coriander. Delicious!

Finished dish

I highly recommend this as a dish that you could make on a Sunday afternoon and enjoy all week!

Prep Time: 5 min

Cook Time: 45 min

Serves: 8

Ingredients: 

1 tbsp oil
2 medium red onions, chopped finely
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp ginger, minced
1 green chili, finely chopped
1 tbsp ground coriander
2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp turmeric
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp amchoor powder
2 tsp paprkida
1 tsp garam masala
1 can chopped tomatoes
2/3 cup water
2 cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/2 tsp salt

Method: 

Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat and add the onions and garlic. Allow to heat through and begin to become translucent before adding the chili. After a few minutes, add the spices and saute to allow the spices to heat through and become fragrant. Next, add the remaining ingredients and leave to simmer for 30 minutes. Enjoy!

Feta Avocado Dip

Just a quick post today with a tasty and easy snack before I head out to meet my lovely friend Katie for lunch. This is basically a quasi-guacamole with feta instead of the tomatoes onion that you might usually find. I was mainly trying to find a way to use up the last bit of my feta and this worked really well. I served it with some carrot batons and slices of red pepper. Delicious!

Prep Time: 5 min

Cook Time: N/A

Serves: 1 

Ingredients: 

1/2 an avocado, mashed

1 tbsp Greek or natural yogurt

15g feta, crumbled

1-2 tsp lemon juice 

Salt 

1 carrot, sliced 

1/2 red pepper, sliced

Method: 

Mix the avocado, yogurt, feta and lemon juice and season with salt to your preference. 

Serve with carrot sticks and red pepper slices. Enjoy! 

July Food Challenge: Black Bean Quesadillas with Raspberry and Fig Salsa

It's that time again! Unfortunately, I was swamped with work during the last two food challenge months so I'm really excited to share my recipe for July. The food draw landed us with a slightly strange mix of ingredients with black beans, raspberries and figs so I started thinking about how I could incorporate them while keeping things appetizing. I love black beans because they're so filling and versatile so in the long run, I'm glad they were in the mix. I definitely wanted to do something savory because I thought it would be easier to bring the raspberries and figs over to the savory side than it would be to make black beans sweet.

Beautiful Raspberries! 

Dried Figs

This recipe is based on my favorite quesadilla recipe from Economy Gastronomy - a television show from a few years ago that seriously needs to be revived. It was a brilliant show that demonstrated how to get the most out of you groceries and therefore how to save money on your weekly shop. THis included things like roasting a leg of lamb and using the leftovers for shepherds pie or using a quick saute of minced beef to make tacos, lasagna and chili. Obviously, as a poor grad student, I loved this show!

Onions and Chili

Bean Layer

Ready to crisp!

Anyway, I've added to the basic premise of the show's quesadillas and simply adapted my usual, go-to pico di gallo recipe to include the fruit. I also served these quesadillas with a simple guacamole and some sour cream. Delicious!This was a super quick recipe and actually surprisingly tasty! Give it a go if you're feeling adventurous...

Crispy!

Ready to eat! Quesadillas, guacamole, salsa and sour cream. Yum!

Prep Time: 15 min

Cook Time: 15 min

Serves: 4

Ingredients: 

2 cans of black beans in water, drained and rinsed
1 red onion, chopped finely and divided
1-2 green onions, chopped finely
1 red pepper, chopped
1 green chili, deseeded and chopped finely
3 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped and divided
1 tbsp chives, chopped
200g cheddar, divided
8 flour tortillas
5 tomatoes, chopped
1-2 limes, juiced
1-2 tbsp jalopenos, chopped
4 dried figs, chopped finely
150g raspberries, chopped

Method: 

To make the salsa: Mix the tomatoes, 1/2 of the red onion, lime juice, jalopenos, figs, raspberries and 1-2 tbsp of the coriander in a bowl and set in the fridge to let the flavors mix. Add salt to taste.

For the quesadillas: Saute the other half of the red onion, green chili and the green onions in a splash of oil over medium heat. Add in the red pepper and continue to saute over medium-low heat until the ingredients are fragrant. Add the black beans and saute until they have warmed through and softened slightly before adding the rest of the coriander and the chives. Stir thoroughly and use a masher or the back of your spoon to mash the beans so that half of them are mashed and the other half are still solid. Finally, add in 3/4 of the cheese and mix until melted. Spoon a few tablespoons of the bean mixture on to a flour tortilla and spread out in an even layer (about a cm thick) across the tortilla, leaving a small border around the outside. Sprinkle with a little of the remaining cheese, top with a second tortilla and paint with a little oil before popping into a pan over medium heat. Allow the first side to crisp while painting the second side before flipping. This stage will only take a few minutes so keep an eye on them! Also, while waiting for each side to crisp, press lightly on the tortilla to encourage the two sides to stick to the filling. When both sides are ready, remove from the heat and allow to sit for a few seconds before slicing. Enjoy!