Chicken enchiladas and a herby slaw

During 2021 I ran a few online cookalongs with teens.
The idea was to introduce them to more whole foods and help them to stop relying on processed foods.
Herein lie some of the issues.
The flavour profiles of vegetables and other whole foods can be a steep slope unless those foods have been introduced during early childhood. Quite literally, we are biologically programmed to think that vegetables are poisonous, unless, of course, we learn that they are ok.
When children first start to crawl and walk, they’ll notoriously go through a fussy phase. Think about this way, they are learning about food, they are also picking things up and tasting them. Most poisonous things have a bitter undertone so evolution got clever with this and decided that anything bitter would be an instant nope.
Sadly vegetables also fall in the bitter undertone category but if they are introduced by a trusted guardian a child soon learns they are ok.
IF they are introduced.

So anyway, here I am, trying to encourage teens to get more veggies in. I had to pick a good medium as a vehicle for the introduction.
I had to start with something that they’d universally agree on as being delicious.
And that is how this chicken enchilada recipe was born.
I sold it to them as a pizza pie but the deal was it had to have a side of slaw.
They loved it and I think you’ll like it too.
So here is the recipe:

Ingredients for 4
2 chicken breasts, sliced
1 large bottle of passata, 600 - 690g
8 corn & wheat tortillas
spices: paprika, ground coriander, ground cumin
2 cloves of garlic, peeled & crushed
1 large red onion, peeled & sliced
1 red pepper, sliced
1 red chilli (optional), sliced
100g of spinach
1 block of cheddar cheese, grated

For the slaw:
1/4 of a red cabbage, finely sliced
1 tin of sweetcorn, drained
1/2 bunch each of fresh parsley, coriander & chives, roughly chopped
1 lime
1 teaspoon of agave or maple syrup
sea salt and black pepper to season
rapeseed oil for cooking
olive oil for drizzling

Method:
To make the sauce, pour the passata in a saucepan.
Add 2 crushed garlic cloves, 2 big pinches of sea salt, lots of black pepper and a heaped teaspoon each of ground coriander, cumin and paprika.
Leave this to bubble on a low-medium heat until you make the rest of the dish.

Set the oven to 180 degrees C.
Put a frying pan on a medium-high heat.
Add a splash of oil and cook the chicken until it turns fully white.
Add the peppers, onion and chilli (if using) and cook for a further minute.
Season well with sea salt and black pepper.
Pour in half of the sauce and the spinach. Let it cook until the spinach wilts.
Divide the mix between the tortillas, roll them up to form wraps and put them on a baking tray.
Pour the remaining sauce over the top and sprinkle on the grated cheese.
Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes until the cheese has melted and the tortillas are golden brown.

To make the slaw, put the cabbage, roughly chopped herbs and sweetcorn in a bowl.
Unless the stems of the herbs are particularly woody then there is no need to take the leaves off the coriander and parsley, just roughly chop the whole lot.
Season with a generous pinch of sea salt and some freshly ground black pepper.
In a smaller bowl, combine the juice of 1 lime with a teaspoon of agave and 3 tablespoons of good-quality olive oil. Pour this over the slaw and mix it well to combine.

To serve, divide the enchilada between 4 plates, serve with a generous helping of slaw and some extra fresh coriander if its your thing.

Coconut noodle bowl with miso sesame tempeh

I’ve recently made it my aim to try and come up with quick flavour combinations that require little equipment.
Here is one that is a total winner:

Rice noodles are dressed with a coconut, lime, ginger and chive dressing.
Tempeh is coated in a combination of miso and sweet sesame.
The bowl is then topped with some “match-sticked” veggies and a handful of herbs.
It’s a 10-15-minute dish. Swift and full of flavour.

Tempeh, for those of you that are unfamiliar, is the better cousin of tofu. Soya beans are fermented then pressed together.
The resulting product is similar to firm tofu but with more flavour and slightly more texture.
Just make sure to buy organic soya products, otherwise you are almost always guaranteed to be buying genetically modified soya beans/ soya products. Organic ensures a non-GM version.

The recipe also works with a piece of fish such as a salmon fillet in case you aren’t keen on tempeh.

Ingredients for 2:
A large handful of mangetout, sliced into matchsticks
1 large carrot, sliced into matchsticks
1 bunch of coriander
100g rice noodles
200g of tempeh, thickly sliced and each slice halved (the shape doesn’t matter, you are creating bite size chunks of tempeh)
Sea salt and black pepper

For the coconut dressing
100ml of coconut cream
The juice of 1.5 limes
1 tablespoon of finely chopped chives
Thumb sized piece of ginger, peeled & grated

For the miso and sweet sesame dressing
1 level tablespoon of white miso (miso shiro)
1 tablespoon of toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon of sesame seeds
The juice of 1/2 a lime
1 teaspoon of agave or 1.5 teaspoons of maple syrup or honey

Method:
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
Boil a kettle of water.
Whisk together the ingredients for the miso and sweet sesame dressing.
Put the tempeh pieces into the dressing, coat evenly and transfer to a roasting tray. Roast for 10-15 minutes until the edges start to crisp up.
Whilst the tempeh is roasting, chop the veggies and make the rest of the dish.
Put the rice noodles in a cereal bowl. Cover with boiling water and allow them to steep for 5 minutes. There is no need to cook these.
After the 5 minutes, drain and set the noodles aside.
To make the coconut dressing, put the coconut cream, lime juice and chives in a bowl. Season with sea salt and black pepper and whisk together using a fork.
Grab the grated ginger and squeeze as much of the juice into the coconut mix as possible. Stir again.
Divide the noodles between two pasta bowls and pour half of the coconut mixture over each bowl of noodles. Give it a mix to combine the noodles and coconut dressing.
Top each bowl with half of the mangetout, carrots and a large handful of coriander.
Finish with the tempeh.
Enjoy!

The fix me up broth

As health boosts go, this nourishing yet easy to make bowl of goodness really delivers.
Layers of nutrient-dense veggies are topped with a Clarence Court egg and a flavoursome walnut gremolata, creating a dish that ticks a lot of nutrition boxes.
Gremolata is a delicious mix of parsley, garlic and lemon zest originating from Italy.
Here it is enhanced with California walnuts for added crunch and an extra serving of that feel-good factor.

If you’ve overdone it on the alcohol front or just haven’t been eating that well, this is your go-to recipe to replenish levels of nutrients.

Ingredients for 2


2 shallots, peeled and finely sliced

1 medium potato, peeled and cubed 

1 large carrot, peeled and sliced 

1/4 of a small celeriac, peeled and cut into matchsticks

2-3 sprigs of thyme

40g of spinach

40g of frozen peas 

500ml of good quality vegetable stock

Juice of an orange

Juice of a lemon

Sea salt and black pepper to season

Oil for cooking


2 Clarence Court eggs, cooked to your liking
, I just boiled them for 6 & a 1/2 minutes for a slightly runny yolk

For the walnut gremolata

1 bunch of parsley, leaves only, roughly chopped

Zest of 1 lemon

80g of California walnuts, roughly chopped

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

Method:



To make the walnut gremolata, combine all of the ingredients in a bowl.

To make the broth, add a splash of oil to a saucepan and put it on a medium heat.

Sauté the shallots, potato and carrots for around 5 minutes until they start to colour.

Add the celeriac and thyme and sauté for 2 more minutes.

Pour in enough stock to just cover the vegetables and bring to a boil.

Turn the heat down to low and allow the liquid to bubble gently for around 5-10 minutes.
This should cook all of the vegetables.
Remove the thyme.

Drop in the frozen peas and spinach.

Take the pan off the heat.

Season well with sea salt and black pepper and pour in the lemon and orange juice.

Divide the mixture between two bowls.

Top each bowl with a halved egg and liberal quantities of walnut gremolata.

Whipped goats cheese, onion squash, rye crumb, crispy kale

Onion squashes are such a treasure.
They are sweet, have a beautiful texture and there is zero need to peel them (a definite bonus seeing as most squashes and pumpkins are a nightmare to peel).
Onion squashes have a really thin skin that when roasted either crisps up or just pleasantly adds to the overall texture.
As the name would suggest, the squash itself displays a similar shape to that of an onion. Here is a pic of a box of them from the last yoga & nutrition retreat:

They are widely available in the UK circa October - November so grab one if you happen to see one. They are tasty, fuss-free to prepare and super nutritious.

The recipe featured here is more of a celebration meal rather than an every day one.
Technically if you didn’t bother with the crispy kale and brown butter then it’d be much more of a simple supper.

Ingredients for feed 2:

For the roasted onion squash
1 small onion squash
Rapeseed oil
Sea salt and black pepper

For the whipped goats cheese
1 pack (125g approximately) of soft goats cheese
Olive oil
Sea salt and black pepper

For the crispy kale
A bag of whole leaf kale, approximately 200g
Rapeseed oil
Sea salt and black pepper

For the rye crumb
1/2 loaf of rye bread (check the brand Mestemacher in supermarkets)
Leaves from 2 sprigs of thyme
Leaves from 1 sprig of rosemary, finely chopped
Rapeseed oil
Sea salt and black pepper

For the brown butter
100g of good quality butter

Method:

To make the crispy kale:
Heat the oven to 160 degrees C and grab a couple of large roasting trays.
Strip the kale from the stalk and break it up into 1” pieces.
Wash the kale and dry it well. I would usually use a salad spinner to get the water off the kale.
Pop the kale on the roasting trays, drizzle with oil and mix with your hands to coat the kale evenly.
Roast until crispy, stirring every 10 minutes or so, removing any pieces that have already crisped up. Unless you managed to get them all the same size, some will crips up sooner than others.
Season with sea salt and black pepper and try and resist the temptation to make all of the kale crisps disappear into your mouth. Yes, they are very moreish.
If you want to skip this part, sautéing some kale with garlic is also a good option.

To make the brown butter:
Pop the butter in a small saucepan on a medium heat.
Wait for it to bubble up then whisk gently until you smell “caramel” and the butter has turned a golden brown colour. Remove from the heat and set aside for a few minutes.
You will notice that white/ golden crumb-like textures have dropped to the bottom. Pour the melted butter off the top and discard the crumb bits.
The melted part is your brown butter. Keep this warm (It’ll retain the heat well for around 20 minutes).

To roast the squash:
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
Halve the squash and scoop out the seeds.
Cut the squash into thick slices.
Pop the squash slices on a baking tray, drizzle with oil and roast in the oven until they are fully cooked through and the edges take on some colour. Approximately 40 minutes.
Season with sea salt and black pepper.

To make the rye crumb:
You can do this part at the same time as roasting the squash.
Chop the rye bread into small cubes.
Put them on a baking tray, sprinkle over the herbs, drizzle with oil and season with salt and pepper.
Roast in the oven for approximately 15 minutes until the edges of the rye bread have crisped up.

To make the whipped goats cheese:
Put the goats' cheese in a bowl with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and season well with sea salt and black pepper.
Mash together with a fork then “whip it” by stirring and mashing until it becomes fluffy.
It should increase in volume somewhat and take on the consistency of greek yoghurt.

To serve, divide the whipped goats’ cheese between two plates.
Pour around 1-2 tablespoons of brown butter on top.
Top with roasted squash slices and the rye crumb.
Finish with the crispy kale (if using).

Sweet potato, chickpea & spinach curry

Curries, especially curry pastes are a great opportunity to top up on nutrients.
Rather than go for a shop-bought version, try blending a few ingredients together to form that flavour paste.
It is the easiest thing to do and you’ll get way more nutrients out of it.
Plus blending everything together is a good opportunity to hide vegetables if you aren’t keen on them.

This mild and fragrant curry combines turmeric, ginger, garlic and green pepper in the paste with sweet coconut milk, sweet potato and chickpeas.
It works well with chicken instead of chickpeas too. In fact, beyond the curry paste and coconut milk, you can virtually include any ingredient.

Ingredients to feed 2

1 large sweet potato, peeled & cubed
1 tin of chickpeas
1 tin of full fat coconut milk
100g of spinach
1 green pepper, roughly chopped
Thumb size piece of ginger, peeled & roughly chopped
2x turmeric root, roughly chopped
1 onion, roughly chopped
2 cloves of garlic, sliced
1 chilli (optional)
Fresh coriander & black rice to serve
Sea salt & black pepper to season
Oil for cooking

Method:
Pop a frying pan on a medium heat. Add a splash of oil & the cubed sweet potato.
Whilst the sweet potato is cooking, make the curry paste by blending the pepper, onion, ginger, turmeric, garlic & chilli with a splash of water until smooth.
Pour the curry paste over the sweet potato and cook for a couple of minutes until thickened.
Season well then add the coconut milk.
Let it bubble on a medium heat until the sweet potato is cooked.
Stir in the chickpeas and spinach.
Season again and cook just enough for the spinach to wilt.
Serve with black rice & fresh coriander.