Twinings - Gingery Butternut Squash Soup

This recipe is great for keeping away colds and bugs, or warming you up on these chilly winter days. The kale crisps add a delicious crunchy texture to the soup, and the Root Ginger tea accentuates the fiery ginger flavours. Check out my full recipe here: http://www.twinings.co.uk/blog/2016/january/gingery-butternut-squash-soup

Simple Wintery Soup - Parsnip, Turnip and Carrot - Vegan and Dairy-free

Hello 2014!! It's time for some more recipes.

Ingredients (serves 4)

- 2 parsnips, peeled and chopped

- 3 carrots, peeled and chopped

- 2 turnips, peeled and chopped

- 2 onions, peeled and chopped into quarters

- 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

- 1/8 tsp ground ginger

- 1 1/2 litres vegetable or chicken stock

- 2 tsp olive oil

- salt and pepper

1. Firstly, preheat the oven to 190°c and make sure all the vegetables are chopped into similar sized pieces. Place all the vegetables into a large baking tray and coat with the oil, spices and seasoning. 

2. Cook the vegetables for 30-45 minutes once the oven is hot, and remove them when they are soft.

- Usually I just use stock cubes because it's easy, but this particular evening I was making carrot, potato and parsnip mash at the same time as the soup, so I already had some delicious homemade stock available. I would definitely recommend using homemade stock if you can.

3. Start whizzing up the vegetables in a food processor once they have cooled down slightly, and slowly add in the stock. Keep adding the stock until the soup is at your preferred consistency. Finally have a taste and season with salt and pepper.

Banana and Stem Ginger Muffins with a Whole Lot of Seeds

After finding this recipe on the Waitrose website, I decided that I had to make them, even if it was 8pm. While beginning to make these delicious muffins, I noticed that I was missing a few ingredients. I substituted chocolate drops, orange zest and poppy seeds for linseeds, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds. I love the rustic, homemade quality of using parchment paper for muffin cases...I think it adds character and flair. 

Ingredients (makes 12 muffins)

- 250g plain flour

- 120g caster sugar

- 1 1/4 baking power

- 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

- 1 tsp ground ginger

- 1 egg

- 3 tbsp vegetable oil

- 200g natural yoghurt

- 2 balls stem ginger, roughly chopped

- 2 bananas, peeled and sliced

                                                                                                         - 1 tbsp sunflower and pumpkin seeds

                                                                                                        - 1 tsp linseeds

1. Preheat the oven to 190°c.

2. Start by sifting the flour, sugar, ground ginger and raising agents into a bowl with a few pinches of salt, and stir well. 

3. In another bowl lightly beat the egg, oil and stem ginger. Stir in the mixed dry ingredients until combined and fold in 1 1/2 chopped banana.

4. Cut some baking parchment into suitable squares and fit them into a cupcake holding try by folding them slightly. Divide the mixture evenly between the 12 muffin cases (N.B it might get messy). Then use the remaining 1/2 chopped banana, pushing a piece into the centre of each muffin. 

5. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean from the centre. Leave the muffins to rest and cool on on a wire rack or tray. 

They are delicious either hot or cold, in the morning for breakfast or with a nice afternoon cuppa.

http://instagram.com/p/eIYSdZukg1/

Tuna, Chilli and Ginger Filler

Ingredients (serves 2)

160g tinned tuna, drained

a few slices of chilli, chopped

1cm piece of ginger, grated

1 tbsp mayonnaise

1 tsp lemon juice

1-1/2 tsp worcester sauce

pepper

sesame seeds

1. Mix all the ingredients together and serve with salad, pitta, or in a sandwich. Add some sun-dried tomatoes for extra yumminess. 

A Delicious Homemade Chicken Curry with Courgette, Fennel and Coriander...or with Courgette, Spinach and Cashew Nuts

I made this paste from of all sorts of larder loving ingredients, and the good thing about curry is that you can chop and change what goes into the paste as it will always taste delicious. This is easy peasy and scrumptious.

Ingredients (serves 4)

for the curry sauce -

1 tsp groundnut oil

1/2 tsp sesame oil

2 tsp vegetable oil

2 heaped tsp mango chutney

1 tsp curry paste (I use Patak's Korma paste)

3 cloves of garlic

1 thumb sized piece of ginger, grated

2 tbsp peanut butter

2 tsp lemon juice

1 tbsp tomato puree

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp curry powder

1 tsp ground ginger

a few slices of chilli

a few kaffir lime leaves or curry leaves

10 whole coriander seeds

seeds from 2 cardamon pods

1 tsp coriander powder

1 tsp turmeric

1 handful of fresh coriander, stalks included

salt and pepper

200g yoghurt

300ml chicken/vegetable stock (make 600g as you will need it for the rice)

for the rest of the curry -

4 chicken thighs, bones and skin removed, chopped - or - 4 chicken breasts, chopped

1 red onion, sliced

1 courgette, chopped

half a fennel bulb, sliced (optional)

for the rice - 

1 cup basmati rice

1 red onion, sliced

half a chilli, to taste

3 tsp turmeric

3 tsp curry powder

6 whole cardamon pods

10 whole coriander seeds

2 cm piece of ginger, grated

enough chicken or vegetable stock to just about cover the rice (roughly 200-300g)

1. Place all the ingredients for the curry paste/sauce, except the yoghurt and stock, in a mixing bowl and grind up using a hand blender or food processor. Once it resembles a smooth paste, mix in the yoghurt to form a yellow sauce and add the cut up chicken. You can either marinade the chicken in the sauce for a while in the fridge, or cook it straight away.

2. Fry the onions in a little vegetable oil, then add the saucy chicken. Gradually add the stock so that the mixture doesn't stick and stays juicy. Cook the chicken for about 8 minutes before adding the chopped courgette and fennel. 

3. Now start making the rice. Add the onion, chilli and ginger to a frying pan with a little vegetable oil and fry for a minute or so. Then add all the remaining ingredients for the rice. Cover the pan with a lid, bring to the boil and then turn the heat down to very low. The rice should take roughly 10-12 minutes, by which time the chicken curry should be cooked.