Roasted Garlic and Roasted Onions

The great thing about roasting a quantity of alliums, is that as well as softening the harshness of raw garic in recipes, and intensifying the sweetness and flavour of onions, you can then freeze them for future recipes.

They are sooo versatile too! Roasted garlic is delicious in dips, mayonnaise, soups, butter (roasted garlic butter rubbed under the skin of a chicken before roasting - yum!), mashed potato, and many other things.

 

Roasted onion (halves) are equally as versatile - all of the above (chopped up for some of them, obviously), and also on the side of roast dinners, sausage and mash, and too many things to mention! 

Cook in bulk to make the most of using the oven, and in order to freeze, squeeze out the garlic cloves first.

Quick and Easy Oven Roast Cherry Tomatoes

A delicious taste of sunshine all year round!

I'd say this is almost more of a method than a recipe, but either way they're so quick and easy to prepare it's hard to go wrong and you can adapt the 'recipe' to your own tastes.

I prefer to bake mine on Pyrex as the bottoms don't burn, and they don't stick. I've recently fallen in love with Pyrex baking trays, which I only discovered quite recently - especially as they fit really easily standing up in the plate rack of the dishwashers, and don't take up so much room as the good old Pyrex dishes which are always a bit awkward to fit in!

Marinated Mushrooms with Garlic, Lemon and Herbs, and other Summer Grilled / Marinated Vegetables

Delicious appetiser / antipasti, side dishes, or even starters. Makes for great vegetarian mezze / tapas dishes to share.

I really love mushrooms, and remember making Mushrooms a la Grecque many, many years ago. I thought I'd add my own spin to it, by charring the mushrooms a little first, as a nod to the char-grilled marinated artichokes we enjoy, and a few of my favourite flavours.

             

Scroll down for a couple of other recipes / suggestions for side dishes to go alongside the mushrooms (as pictured). 

These dishes will collectively serve 4-6 people as sides for lunch, and keep well in the fridge for a few days (see notes).

Calories per serving for those counting: Mushrooms - 70, Asparagus - 50, Peppers and Tomatoes - 61. Total calories for all three dishes as sides - 181.

If you're not counting calories, feel free to slug in extra oil and serve with Parmesan shavings, torn mozzarella, goats' cheese, feta cheese, pine nuts, and / or whatever else you fancy scattered on top or along side!

Roasted Aubergine and Spinach Curry

A delicious vegetarian curry that's easy to make and tasty!

'Roasting' the aubergines until soft, and then scooping out the flesh means that you don't need to cook them in lots of oil, and that they take on a rich, toasty flavour from the slight char on the skin which permeates through to the flesh.

If made with two de-seeded large red chillies, this is a very mild curry, which makes a lovely vegetarian main on its own (you may want to add a tin of chickpeas to add more texture and protein to the curry, if you want to serve it as a main on its own), or a beautiful side dish to other curries, or part of a selection (e.g. a thali).

Makes seven portions (main sized) of approximately 250g, at 134 calories each; or eight servings if including chick peas (see 'variations'), at 157 calories a portion. Serves more as a side dish, and freezes well.

Courgette and Aubergine Curry (Zucchini and Eggplant)

Delicious on its own, or as an accompaniment to other curries.

This is a simple but tasty curry, delicately spiced and lovely as a main, or an accompaniment to other curries. You can play around and substitute whatever vegetables you have available ( it’s very versatile – peppers, cauliflower, squash, okra, sliced carrots, green beans are all good – or you could make it with just aubergine, or a mixture of vegetables.

I usually like to serve this as part of a selection of Indian dishes to cater for all palates, but it is excellent as a low calorie vegetarian main dish.

Serves 4-8 depending on whether served as a main dish, or a side dish.

Calories per serving: 120 calories if served between four people as a main, 60 calories if served between eight as a side.

Saag Paneer (Paneer Cheese and Spinach Curry)

A delicious Indian curry, not just for vegetarians!

This is a really comforting and tasty curry - fantastic on its own, or as part of a selections of Indian dishes.

Traditionally the paneer cheese is fried before adding to the curry, giving it a tasty golden crust on the outside and a soft, fluffy texture on the inside. A similar effect (with less calories, if you're counting) can be achieved by placing the cheese on some greaseproof paper on a tray, and placing under a hot grill to brown it a little on the outside, or if preferred you could just stir the cheese in at the end and heat it through to keep the calories down.

Serves three to four light portions (or more if served as a side dish), easily halved or doubled. Paneer is a very mild Indian cheese, which is easy to make yourself at home if you wish (although this needs to be done the day before), and no special equipment is needed.

Calories per serving if not frying paneer cheese: 204 for a quarter (if split into four portions), 272 per serving, if split between three portions.

Autumn-Spiced Braised Red Cabbage (includes Thermomix method)

A really delicious way of cooking red cabbage, with warm spices and fruity notes.

This is perfect as a side dish to compliment game, pork, duck, turkey and even sausages - and it's brilliant served with Christmas dinner too! This will make a good quantity (it should feed eight to twelve easily, more if part of a large meal with other vegetable side dishes), and if frozen in food bags with the air squeezed out, it will keep for months and months in the freezer.

If you have leftovers in the fridge, they're also nice cold with sliced roast meats, cheese, pork pie etc. It re-heats perfectly, and is therefore great to make the day before, or even well in advance and freeze, if you're cooking for a hungry crowd and want to minimise preparation and cooking on the actual day!

You'll need a large dish with a lid to cook this - preferably pyrex or earthenware, and it will be a lot quicker to prepare the ingredients if you have a food processor with a slicing blade (or see Thermomix method).

Calories, for those counting -129 for a twelfth.

Moroccan-Spiced Superfood Stew

A delicious and hearty dish, full of flavour - perfect as a vegetarian main or a tasty vegetable accompaniment to meat or fish.

Packed full of 'superfoods' (or in other words, a great bunch of healthy vegetables and legumes, full of nutrients - I'm a sucker for alliteration, and a title including all the ingredients turned out a bit too long!), this Moroccan spiced squash, chickpea and kale stew is thickened with lentils (now can you see why I shortened it to spiced superfood stew?); and the combination of pulses and vegetables gives a wonderfully balanced dish which is a meal in itself, or can be topped with crumbled feta for a contrasting flavour or texture, maybe with a handful of toasted pine nuts or slivered almonds, and a scattering of pomegranate seeds?

          

For the non-vegetarians, you could go with my super easy Harissa Chicken, for a quick or healthy twist (recipe here) - or for a weekend roast dinner, rub some of that harissa paste into a shoulder of lamb, and roast at gas mark 3 for 3 or 4 hours, then pull apart and serve on top, scattered with some fresh coriander...

         

Serves 6 to 8 (as a hearty all-in-one side topped with protein, or served with extra vegetables on the side), from 179 calories per serving, if you're counting (if using one tin of tomatoes and serving eight. If serving six, for a bigger appetite, it's  239 calories per serving. If using a second tin of tomatoes, you need to add an extra 13-17 calories per serving). [Calorie counts in square brackets]

Easy Homemade Kimchi (includes Thermomix method)

With just a few simple steps, you can have your first batch of kimchi ready in just a day or two, with a couple of large jars in the fridge for later...

If you're familiar with kimchi, you most probably know it as a spicy-sour, extremely tasty cabbage or radish dish, often eaten as a side dish, and also used as an ingredient in various Korean dishes.

          

If you're not that familiar, kimchi, also known as kimchee or gimchi is known as Korea's national dish and your average Korean consumes 40 pounds a year! It is mainly made with napa cabbage (also known as Chinese leaf  lettuce) and/or a large white Japanese radish known as daikon or mooli (or a few other things), brined or salted and then flavoured with other ingredients such as red pepper flakes, fish sauce and/or anchovy sauce, garlic, ginger and spring onions (scallions). It is frequently a hot and spicy dish where the ingredients are left to ferment (although not all varieties include red pepper / chilli).

         

There are many different recipes for kimchi, including other ingredients such as salted shrimp (available in jars), oysters and squid (brined seafood is more commonly found in Southern varieties) - this is a recipe for 'mak kimchi' inspired by Maangchi (do have a look at her website, there are some fantastic traditional Korean recipes, as well as lots of tips about kimchi too!), which is an easy cut cabbage version (rather than stuffing the sauce into cuts made in whole cabbages as in the autumnal baechu kimchi, although the sauce has the same flavours) which does not include any brined seafood, only fish sauce. If you've never made it before - don't worry, this is easy!

Braised Okra (Bamies) - Greek-style in Tomato Sauce (with Thermomix method)

If you like okra (aka ladies' fingers, bhindi, bamia etc.), you'll love this easy and delicious Greek dish, with its comforting rich tomato sauce...

Good hot as an accompaniment, or even as a main dish (if you're a real okra-freak - you could crumble a little feta over the top for some protein if you're having it as a meal), and also at room temperature - it would be a nice part of some mezze dishes to pick at - it's certainly very more-ish. I never used to like okra, but this is now one of my favourite ways to have it.

Serves six people as a generous side dish. 130 calories per serving. [Calories in square brackets if you're counting - for a more filling meal, you'd probably want double this]

We sometimes enjoy this as a side dish to my Lamb Kleftiko (slow roasted lamb, marinated in lemon, garlic, herbs and olive oil - click here for recipe - around 300 calories a serving) with lemony roast potatoes.

Miso-Sesame Grilled Aubergines (Eggplants)

Aubergines, Japanese style!

Great vegetarian main or side dish – even my children loved it  and scoffed the lot, which surprised me as one of them is not too keen on aubergine! Goes well with some form of pickles, or acidic salad (e.g. my Japanese Pickles, Cucumber-Radish Pickles, Cucumber and Wakame Seaweed Salad (Sunomono)) on the side, as it’s quite rich-tasting.

.

Serves 2 as a main dish or four as a side dish; 88 calories per serving (aubergine half) as a side dish, 174 calories per serving for a main course.

Japanese Pickled Vegetables - leave overnight, then delicious as sides to Japanese grilled meats the next day

These are so simple and quick, and a perfect accompaniment to Japanese grilled / barbequed meats

Pickles are served with almost every meal in Japan, and this recipe will keep for several days in the fridge. You can substitute all kinds of veg, such as red radishes, daikon/mooli, courgettes, celery – whatever you’ve got to hand – and don’t be afraid to add some ginger or chilli to the mix if you want a kick!

If you have a food processor with a slicing attachment these will take just a few minutes to make - and they are delicious served with grilled or barbequed Japanese meat, poultry, vegetables or fish, such as Teriyaki chicken or salmon, Yakatori chicken, Miso-Sesame Grilled Aubergines or Kushiyaki beef skewers.

Serves four to eight (depending on serving size - a quarter of this is a fair amount), 126 calories for all of it (including topping), 16-32 calories per portion (although you may only want a spoonful on the side of your dinner).

Speedy Shredded Carrot, Cabbage and Caraway / Cumin Salad

A five minute side dish for something slightly different - almost a cross between a salad and a slaw...

Great with my quick Turkish griddled chicken breasts.

You can throw this together in minutes, and it will happily keep chilled for a few hours (or while your Turkish chicken marinates for a minute and you prepare the other side/s), as there's no lettuce in it to wilt

Serves two, generously - easily doubled and a great one to stick through the food processor if you're making in larger quantities and want to save time. 71 calories per serving.

Vegetable Kebabs with Za'atar

Less of a standalone recipe, more of a suggested traditional accompaniment to my Turkish chicken shish kebabs and spicy minced lamb kebabs.

Whenever we eat at Turkish restaurants and order chicken shish kebabs (Pilic shish, as they're called in the local-ish, Şiş tavuk or Shish taouk to the rest of the world), or spicy minced lamb kebabs (Adana kebabs) they always serve them with skewers of onions, tomatoes and Turkish green peppers roasted over the grill, which make a delicious side.

So of course, when I make the meat kebabs myself, I like to serve them with little vegetable kebabs also. Me, being me, I have to meddle with them slightly, by adding a sprinkle of za'ater - a condiment made from dried herbs, sesame seeds and frequently salt, sometimes with sumac in it (coeliacs beware - sometimes this contains wheat / gluten, so check the ingredients) - and a cheeky pickled pepper for a kick sometimes, too! If you wanted to make these into something more substantial as part of a vegetarian meal, you could add cubes of halloumi cheese to them, and other vegetables such as thick courgette slices and mushrooms.

Serves four, 45 calories per serving. [Calories in square brackets, if you're counting]

If you fancy putting together a nice Turkish feast, with a shopping list and preparation plan, then have a look here!

Easy Mexican 'Green Rice' - Arroz Verde (with cauliflower rice substitution method)

Give your rice a bit of colour and flavour for a change! Also good the next day as a cold dish.

Rice cooked the Mexican way in chicken stock, flavoured with garlic, coriander, Jalapeno chilli and a squeeze of lime - the next day, add extra lime juice, fresh coriander and a slug of olive oil, and serve cold as a delicious rice salad.

Delicious served with my Chicken in Chipotle sauce and Frijoles di Olla (Mexican beans), or cold the next day with my Yucatecan-Spiced Chicken Skewers and salad.

Serves four to six as a side dish (I eat about an eighth of this quantity!), 191 calories per serving for six servings (scale up or down as appropriate, it's 144 calories for an eighth etc. ). [Calories in square brackets]

If making with cauliflower rice (see Variations below), 78 calories per serving between six; 117 calories per serving if served between four, .

Yucatecan Pickled Onions

No cooking, just mix the ingredients together the day before - great with all kinds of Mexican food as a condiment.

Common in Yucatecan kitchens these will keep a good while in the fridge, and are great as a garnish to pep up Mexican food, particularly added to Escabeche, or with a splash of sour cream in a wrap, or on top of beans, or with a salad.

Make them a few hours ahead - preferably the day before, to allow the flavours to infuse into the onions.

Approximately 15 calories for a heaped forkful (around 1 tbsp, drained).

Southern-inspired Green Beans with Bacon

The flavours of green beans and bacon really compliment each other, and this is a nice way to cook them in the style of a Southern braise, but keeping the texture of the beans intact.

We served these braised, with trout in a lemon butter and new potatoes first time around, and then we served them with my American-style Pot Roast Brisket of Beef second time around (cooked differently, as in this method), along with my Spinach and Mushroom Gratin, for Sunday Dinner.

This makes six small side servings (with other sides, 30 calories each) with a roast dinner, or three servings as a single side (60 calories each) with a lighter meal.

Spinach and Mushroom Gratin

So, in the spirit of trying to come up with healthier versions of some American dishes, came this...

Other than 'collard greens', my knowledge of traditional dishes involving green vegetables from the USA was pretty limited. And it turns out that, well... there just aren't that many? Which was confirmed by a couple of people I know from the states. So this dish was vaguely 'inspired', if I can call it that, by an Ina Garten spinach gratin dish.

We served it alongside the American-style Pot Roast Brisket of Beef I made, along with some Southern-style Green Beans with Bacon, and I'm guessing it would go with poultry and pork quite well too. You could probably bump it up to something more significant as a larger part of a meal if you're vegetarian, and serve with some balsamic-roasted tomatoes or roasted vegetables.

This serves six as a small side dish, at 60 calories per serving.

Quick Warm Potato, Green Bean, Lemon and Caper Salad (with Salmon) including Thermomix method

This quick, warm potato and green bean salad is the epitome of why simple is often delicious, with just six ingredients.

Absolutely perfect with salmon or trout (which you can cook all-in-one in the Thermomix), or for a vegetarian alternative toss with some quartered boiled eggs and a handful of olives and top with toasted pine nuts, or if you want to cut the carbs, replace the potatoes with thick chunks of sliced courgettes (zucchini).

After craving salmon for a few days, and dreaming up just how might be the very perfect way to cook it I also had to think what would be the perfect accompaniment to it as well. I thought about quite a few things, and then finally settled on making something light and lemony, warm and simple. Which also just so happened to cook in around the same time as my salmon took to cook to perfection.

Serves two, calories per serving: 145 each for the warm potato and bean salad (if you want to cut the calories and carbs substitute thickly sliced courgettes for the potatoes this reduces the salad to to 95 calories per serving), and 140 calories per serving for smoked trout or from 211 calories per serving for hot smoked salmon (see ingredients).

So, for a really light meal, the warm salad made with courgettes and served with smoked trout (see below) would come in at 145 calories per serving.

Feel free to substitute and add your favourite vegetables to the warm salad - asparagus, broccoli, mange tout, snow peas etc. would all be great.

Unusual Ingredients - Chayote / Mirliton / Choko

Ever seen a strange-looking vegetable for sale, and wondered what it tastes like and what you do with it?

For example, one of these funny-looking fellows?

It's known by many different names, probably chayote if you find one in the UK, chayote squash, mirliton or vegetable pear in the USA, and christophene in France... as well as various other names throughout the world, including cho-cho, choku, labu siam. It's probably a bit of a mystery to a lot of people in the UK, which is the best reason for providing a recipe to use it in!