Chicken, Leek and Thyme Stew

This family-friendly stew is a filling, tasty way to include some extra veg in your day

Serves 1 100g lean chicken breast 1/2 medium carrot 40g potatoes 1/2 clove garlic 1 medium leek 1/4 medium onion 1 tbsp tomato puree 1 bay leaf 2 sprigs thyme 1/2 chicken stock cube (low salt) 150ml boiling water

Pre-heat your oven to 180C/gas mark 4. In a large oven proof pot put in your rough chopped onions and crushed garlic. Cook over a medium heat for 3-4 minutes. Add in your roughly diced chicken and fry until lightly browned then add in your washed and sliced leeks, bay leaf, diced carrots, diced potatoes, tomato puree, chopped thyme and the stock cube disolved in the boiled water.  Bring to the boil and then place in the oven for 45 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and serve in a bowl. Fig, Nutmeg and Walnut Porridge Give your body the start it deserves With enough fuel to keep you going until lunch, plus the nutrition of walnuts and figs, and the wonderful flavours of honey and nutmeg, this recipe ticks all the boxes. Serves 1 100ml cow's milk, skimmed or semi-skimmed 40g porridge oats 10g walnuts 1tsp honey 1/4 tsp nutmeg 1 dried fig Place the porridge oats with the milk and water into a saucepan. Bring to the boil, stir in the chopped dried figs and then reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes. Serve the porridge with walnuts sprinkled on top, a little nutmeg and a drizzle of honey. Sticky Chicken and Mango CousCous Light couscous, sweet mango and savoury chicken all work together to make this delectable dish one you will never forget. Serves 1 Prep time 10mins Cook time 10mins 100 g Chicken Breast Lean 1/4 Mango Medium 1 Spring Onion 1 Tomato Medium 1 handful Salad Leaves 1/4 Cucumber Medium 10 g Almonds Sliced 40 g Couscous 1 g Cumin Powder 1 tsp Honey 1 tsp Mustard - Wholegrain 1 tbsp White Wine Vinegar 50 mL Water Heat the grill to high. Peel and chop the mango, cucumber and tomatoes and toss with the cumin, vinegar and the chopped spring onions and place to one side. Pour the couscous into a large bowl, cover with boiling water cover with cling film and set aside. Fluff with a fork before using it. Combine the mustard and the honey. Place the chicken strips onto a grilling tray and brush over the mustard mixture. Grill the chicken for 5 minutes, turn over the chicken and glaze again, and grill for a further 5 minutes. Stir the mango mixture into the couscous, spoon onto a plate and place the chicken strips across the top and sprinkle the sliced almonds over. Serve with the mixed leaves.       Thai Chicken, Sweet Potato and Coconut Soup A creamy and lightly spicy creation that fills you right up while putting a little ball of warmth in your belly. Just bliss! Serves 1 Prep time 10mins Cook time 30mins 50 g Chicken Breast Lean 1/2 piece Sweet Potato Medium 1/2 cloves Garlic 1/4 piece Onion Medium Raw 2 sprigs Coriander Fresh 80 ml Coconut Milk - Low Fat 1/2 piece Vegetable Stock Cube - Low Salt 1/2 piece Juice of a Lime 1/2 tsp Chilli Flakes 180 mL Water Add the crushed garlic and chopped onion to preheated pan with a splash of oil and cook until soft. Add in the sliced chicken and fry until it turns white. Then add the chilli flakes and diced sweet potatoes, covering with the water and coconut milk, adding the stock cube and bringing to a boil. Once boiling turn down the heat and leave to simmer for 20 minutes or until the sweet potatoes become soft. Add in the lime juice just before serving. Pour into a bowl, top with chopped coriander.           Salmon, endive and blood orange salad Latest video blog from Kathryn at www.tastyribbons.com Salads can be out of this world exciting. There is so much more you can do than simply arrange leaves in a bowl. This has its moments too, but trust me, there is so much more. Cooking is exciting because there is simply no end to what you can do with flavours, and how you can combine them and this is as applicable to salads as it is to any other dishes. There a few key elements which make a salad work, and which make it worthwhile as a substantial meal. Lots of flavour, being really substantial and tasty enough for you to walk away form your meal feeling satisfied and happy! If a salad achieves all of the above, it will do all the things a salad is supposed to do. Provide you with a light, healthy lunch or dinner, while also filling you up. This salad is a medley of unusual flavours, which harmonize with each other in the most unexpected and delightful way. It is also amazingly quick to prepare! When it comes to this time of year, we tend to entertain and socialize more. This recipe will double, triple or quadruple into a great easy to prepare crowd pleaser! Ingredients 100g of smoked salmon 40 g of mixed olives 1 endive, cut into quarters 1/2 a blood orange, segmented Small bunch of coriander Juice of 1/2 a lemon.                                                                 Enjoy it!

 

Roasted Herring with Rhubarb, Fennel and Dill Delicate by nature, I think fish is worthy of being married with subtle flavours. Beautiful as it is, it should be the star of whatever dish is graces, which is why I like to team it with flavours which almost whisper their presence. A bit like the feathers which allow a bird to soar. The faint hint of acidity from the rhubarb will help to cut through the oily fish, the fennel providing the base key, and the butter beans serving to turn this dish into a fully blown meal. This is a simple one pot affair which will have you at the dinner table before you know it! Recipe

Ingredients (serves 1) ·         1 small herring, butterfly filleted (your fishmonger will do this for you) ·         50g of rhubarb ·         50g of fennel, grated ·         1 tsp of honey ·         2 tsp of chopped dill ·         1 small can of butter beans ·         2 tbsp of olive oil ·         1/2 a lemon

Method: Preheat an oven to 190-200 degrees. Mix the fennel and rhubarb with the honey and dill with a drizzle of olive oil and season. Lay the stuffing along one half of the fish and fold over the other half on top. If you have a cocktail stick, pierce it through the edges of the fish to hold it together. Don’t worry if you don’t however, it is not 100% necessary. Line a small baking tray or round cake tin with baking parchment. Allow enough for you to fold it back over the fish. Put the butter beans in the tin, drizzle with a little olive oil, 1 tsp of chopped dill, salt and pepper. Lay the fish on top and, squeeze in 1/2 a lemon and place the lemon half in the tray. Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes, until the fish is firm and flaking apart. When done, transfer to a plate and you are ready to go!