Category: Quick & Easy

Kimchi omelette sandwich

Stay with me here. Yes, eggs, cheese and kimchi are GREAT together. These sandwiches make for a decent brunch or lunch and you’ll find them quite filling too. This one is from a Waitrose magazine promotional insert and I’ve made some small changes in the recipe. At home, I doubled to serve 2!

More with eggs: Rachel Khoo’s Stewed Spinach Eggs (Ägg med stuvad spenat) | Help yourself brunch for a crowd |Spanish baked eggs

Kimchi omelette sandwich

Serves 1 | Prep 10 mins | Cook 15 mins
Easy | Vegetarian

You’ll need:

  • 30g butter;
  • 1 shallot, chopped;
  • 60g spinach;
  • 2 eggs;
  • 80g (3-4 tbsp) kimchi;
  • 20g cheddar, grated;
  • 2 slices sourdough bread

Heat half the butter in a non-stick frying pan over medium-heat. Fry the shallot for 2-3 minutes until just golden. Add the spinach and leave for a minute or so to wilt, then fry, stirring, for another minute. Tip out of the pan and set aside.

Beat the eggs in a bowl. Drain any excess liquid from the kimchi and roughly chop any larger chunks. Mix into the eggs. Heat the remaining butter in the pan over a medium heat. Add the eggs and cook gently, swirling the uncooked mixture to the edges, for 3-4 minutes until almost set. Add the cheese and then fold over the omelette. Cook for another minute or two, so the cheese melts inside.

Toast the sourdough. Top one slice with the omelette followed by the spinach. Finish with the second slide of sourdough, cut in half and serve straight away!

Recipe from a Waitrose promotional insert from 2020, not available online.

Chilli Bean Enchiladas

I love messy Mexican feasts, I really do. These veggie enchiladas were tasty, filling and very satisfying. Served with freshly mashed avocado (you can upgrade this for proper guacamole), some hot sauce and pickled jalapenos for a proper Mexican style dinner.

More with beans: Summer Pork, Fennel and Beans; Chipotle black bean chilli with guacamole; Speedy Pepper & Black Bean Chilli

Chilli Bean Enchiladas

Serves 3-4 | Prep 5 mins | Cook 25 mins
Easy | Vegetarian

You’ll need:

  • 1 onion, finely chopped;
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed;
  • 1 tsp ground cumin;
  • 2 tsp smoked paprika;
  • 2 cans red kidney beans in chilli sauce;
  • 3-4 tortilla wraps;
  • 200g salsa;
  • 100g cheddar, grated;
  • 1 avocado;
  • dash of cayenne pepper;
  • 1/2 lime, juiced;
  • sour cream, to serve;
  • chopped coriander, to serve.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan and cook the onion and garlic for 2 mins. Add the cumin and cook for 1 min more. Tip in the beans, paprika and a splash of water. Using a potato masher, break the beans down as they warm through to make a rough purée. Season generously.

Divide the bean mixture between the tortilla wraps and roll up. Set the rolls in a tight baking dish and scatter over the salsa and top with the cheese. Bake at 200C/180C fan/gas 6 for 15-20 mins until piping hot.

While the enchiladas are cooking, mash the avocado in a small bowl. Add a dash of cayenne pepper and the lime juice. Mix well and season lightly.

Serve the enchiladas with the smashed avocado, sour cream and chopped coriander.

Adapted from a BBC Good Food recipe, available online here.

Apple, fennel and radish salad

This is a wonderfully light salad which makes a perfect side dish for your summer dining table. It’s very versatile and will go well with pretty much anything. I served it alongside grilled fish – Herb-Marinated Grilled Sea Bass, and the fresh flavours made for a lovely accompaniment.

More in salads: Watermelon, Tomato and Halloumi salad | Griddled courgette, pine nut and mozzarella salad | Bulgarian Shopska Salata (Salad)

Apple, fennel and radish salad

Apple, fennel and radish salad

Serves 6 | Prepare 15 mins | Cook 5 mins
Easy | Vegan | Gluten and Dairy Free

You’ll need:

  • 50g blanched hazelnuts;
  • 1 granny smith apple, cored;
  • 1 fennel bulb, trimmed;
  • 100g radishes, trimmed;
  • 2 tbsp olive oil;
  • 1.5 tbsp lemon juice;
  • 1 tbsp roughly chopped dill.

Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas mark 6. Roast the hazelnuts on a baking tray for 5 minutes or until golden and smelling nutty, leave to cool while you are preparing the rest of the ingredients, then roughly chop.

Finely slice the apple, fennel and radishes, the mix together in a bowl. Mix the oil and lemon juice, season and toss through the salad. Scatter with the dill and roasted nuts, and serve.

Nutritional information: 113kcals/1.6g protein/3.3g carbs/3.1g sugars/10.4g fat/1.2g saturated fat/1.6g fibre/trace salt.

Original recipe from Waitrose and Partners Magazine, issue August 2013, not available online.

Apple, Pear and Turmeric Smoothie

We recently replaced our broken blender and with the weather starting to get properly warm and pleasant, we’ve been dying to have some smoothies! I stumbled upon this idea from a Waitorse and partners magazine and gave it a go.

I’ve tinkered a little with it as the original was a little too thick for my liking. I added some apple juice, though you can replace that with water if you want to keep the sugar levels down a bit.

More in breakfast: Anna Jones’ Easy Clementine Compote | Jordan Bourke’s Spelt, help seed and lemon zest granola | Turkish eggs with spinach, yogurt & feta

Apple, Pear and Turmeric Smoothie

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Serves 1 | Prep 5 mins
Easy | Vegetarian | Gluten-Free

You’ll need:

  • 1 small apple, peel on, cored and roughly chopped into large chunks;
  • 1/2 small pear, peel on, cored and roughly chopped into large chunks;
  • 1 banana;
  • 3 tbsp Greek-style yogurt;
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric;
  • 4 ice cubes;
  • 50-100 ml apple juice.

Put the fruit bit by bit in a blender or fruit processor and start pulsing until smooth. Add the everything apart from the juice and whizz until smooth. Finally, add enough juice (try a little first, adding more as you go on) until you get your desired consistency.

This is a modified recipe, originally published by Waitrose & Partners magazine, not available online.

Previously posted on this day:

== 2019 ==
* Melanzane Parmigiana with Green Salad

== 2018 ==
* Golden Layer Cake with Buttercup Icing

Passion Fruit Caipiroska

With the weather looking so great, it’s the perfect time for a cocktail that reminds you of summer.. even if we are stuck in doors right now. Put your feet up in your garden or balcony if you have those, or open your windows wide, sit back and relax with this refreshing cocktail.

More in drinks: Berry & Rhubarb Gin

Passion Fruit Caipiroska

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Serves 2 | Prep 10 mins
Easy | Gluten-Free | Dairy-free | Vegan

You’ll need:

  • 2 limes, cut into wedges;
  • 4-6 tsp light brown soft sugar;
  • 4 fresh lime leaves (optional);
  • 2 small passion fruit, halved;
  • 60ml vodka;
  • crushed ice (see tip below).

Put the lime wedges, sugar, 2 lime leaves (if using) and the pulp from 1 passion fruit in a cocktail shaker (or a sturdy jug or large cup). Use the end of a rolling pin or a wooden spoon handle to muddle the ingredients together, gently bruising the lime wedges and dissolving the sugar. Stir in the vodka followed by a handful of ice. Add a lid and shake vigorously (or stir well). Taste and add a little more sugar, if liked.

Half-fill 2 tumblers with crushed ice and divide the unstrained caipiroska mixture between them. Fill to the top with crushed ice, decorate with the 2 remaining lime leaves (if using) and passion fruit halves to serve.

Tip: To crush the ice, put a few handfuls of ice in a blender and pulse until crushed. Alternatively, fill a zip-lock/freezer bag with some ice and bash with a rolling pin until crushed.

Original recipe from Waitrose Magazine, issue March 2017, available online here.