I was recently sent a copy of Jamie Oliver’s 7 Ways – Easy Ideas for Every Day of the Week. There are loads of easy recipes that use basic ingredients you will already have in your pantry. As a busy working mom with a family to feed, I get bored with cooking the same meals each week, and this recipe book has given me some fresh ideas.
Here are two of the recipes I tried recently and really enjoyed… They may sound complex, but trust me, they are super easy!
Easiest Broccoli Quiche
Red Pesto-Layered Filo, Cheddar and Cottage Cheese
Serves 8
- 1 head of broccoli (375g)
- 6 large eggs
- 1 heaped teaspoon of English mustard
- 300g cottage cheese
- 50g cheddar cheese
- 3 tablespoons red pesto
- 270g filo pastry
Preheat the oven to 180°C. For the filling, trim the tough end off the broccoli stalk. Coarsely grate the remaining stalk, then break the florets apart. Lightly beat the eggs in a bowl, add the mustard, cottage cheese and grated broccoli stalk, grate in the cheddar, add a pinch of sea salt and black pepper and mix together.
Loosen the pesto with 3 tablespoons of water. Lay two sheets of pastry in an oiled loose-bottomed tart tin (25cm wide. 4cm deep), overlapping them in the middle. Brush all over with some if the pesto mixture, then repeat the layers until you’ve used up all the pastry, brushing with pesto as you go. Roll and scrunch the filo in at the sides, like in the picture. Pour in the filling, then poke in the broccoli florets. Place on a baking tray and cook at the bottom of the oven for 50 minutes, or until golden and set. Let it rest for 10 minutes before tucking in.
My Russian Potato Salad
Baby Cornichons, Apples, Carrots, Peas and Chives
Serves 8 as a side
- 800g new potatoes
- 400g carrots
- 200g frozen peas
- 8 heaped tablespoons natural yoghurt
- 2 heaped teaspoons wholegrain mustard
- 100g mixed baby cornichons & pickled onions (I just used baby corn)
- 2 apples
- 10g chives
Scrub the potatoes and carrots, then dice into 1½cm chunks. Cook in a large pan of boiling salted water for 10 minutes, or until soft, adding the peas for the last 2 minutes. Meanwhile, to make the dressing, out the yoghurt and mustard into a large bowl with 1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar. Finely chop and mix in the cornichons and pickled onions. Add 2 tablespoons of starchy cooking water from the potatoes, then scoop out a few pieces of cooked potato, mash well, and mix through the dressing to make it extra creamy. Season to perfection.
Drain the veg and leave to steam dry while you core the apples and dice into 1 ½ cm chunks. Finely chop most of the chives and stir half into the dressing with the apples, potatoes and carrots. Sprinkle over the remaining chives and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil to finish.