Summery fruit salad (with strawberries, blueberries, mango, and pomegranate seeds)

This tasty fruit salad is one of my go-to dinner party desserts - a light and summery end to a filling meal, it goes well with anything from Middle Eastern feasts to elegant Japanese cuisine.

I usually make it with nectarines in the place of mangoes, but "adverse weather conditions" (according to a sign in the supermarket) resulted in a lack of stone fruit this Spring. While I do prefer my original version, the mango was a nice change - a little more tangy and exotic than nectarine, while still providing the colour and texture contrast I was looking for.

Ingredients

500g strawberries, hulled and quartered
250g blueberries
2 nectarines or 1 large mango, cut into chunks
Seeds of 1 pomegranate (see de-seeding tips below!)
1 teaspoon of caster sugar

Method

The method is pretty straightforward (that's the best thing about fruit salads!). Prepare the fruit as described above, mix together in a large bowl, sprinkle with the caster sugar, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes (this gives the sugar time to draw the juices out from the fruit*).

However I thought this would be a good place to share the fantastic tip a commenter gave me for de-seeding pomegranates. I used to really struggle with this - everything would end up splattered in red juice, and I'd usually have to do it in my underwear to avoid stains - fine, but not that convenient if your guests have already arrived!

What I didn't realise was that I could eliminate this problem by de-seeding the pomegranates under water: Fill a large bowl with cold water, slice the pomegranate in two, and - when submerged in the water - simply remove the seeds in the usual fashion. The white pith floats to the top, making it easier to separate from the seeds - and best of all, there's no mess! Sorted.

*By osmosis - Year 9 biology say whaaat!

Super salad: Chicken, halloumi, spinach and roasted peppers

This might just be the best salad I've ever made (and I've made my fair share).

Inspired by a starter at my Granddad's local Italian joint, this jumbo salad is packed with delicious ingredients: juicy chunks of pan-fried chicken, roasted strips of red and yellow pepper, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, and - to top everything off - delicious slices of seared halloumi cheese...

The original version is accompanied by a yoghurt and herb dressing - a delicious and healthy alternative to creamier mayonnaise-based sauces - but I served my salad with two dressings, providing a home-made honey-mustard vinaigrette in addition to the yoghurt one.

Ingredients
To serve 4 (as a main course)

For the salad:
400g packet of uncooked chicken breast fillets
250g halloumi cheese
2 sweet peppers (red, orange or yellow)
Large bag fresh spinach leaves
Half a large cucumber, cut into small chunks
Handful of cherry tomatoes, halved
Oil and butter (for cooking)

For the yoghurt dressing:
4 tbsp Greek yoghurt
Juice of half a lemon
1 clove of garlic, crushed
Salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper

For the honey-mustard dressing:
1 tbsp good quality grain mustard
1 tsbp runny honey
3 tbsp white wine vinegar
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste


Method

Pre-heat your oven to 200C. Deseed your peppers and slice into two halves. Place on a baking tray and drizzle with olive oil, before cooking on a high shelf of the oven for around 25 minutes. When the peppers are done, take them out of the oven and remove the skins (if the peppers are ready, they should come off easily). Set aside to cool slightly, before slicing into small pieces.

Prepare the dressings: both are incredibly easy to make. For the yoghurt dressing, combine the Greek yoghurt with the lemon juice and the crushed garlic, stirring well, before seasoning with salt and freshly ground pepper. For the honey-mustard vinaigrette, whisk together mustard, honey, white wine vinegar and olive oil, and season to taste. Serve "on the side" to give your guests the choice of which they would prefer to use on their meal.

Heat a glug of oil and a pat of butter in a large pan over a high heat*. Slice the chicken fillets into strips (roughly 1-inch wide and 3 long) and cook until golden, frying in two batches if necessary. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Cut the halloumi into slices, around 1/2 an inch thick. Heat a dash of oil in a griddle pan over a high heat, and fry for a couple of minutes on each side (the aim is for an attractive griddled pattern), before slicing into strips.

The final step is to build your salad: start with a layer of fresh spinach leaves, before adding the halved cherry tomatoes, diced cucumber, and cooked pepper pieces. Complete the colourful salad with the chicken and halloumi cheese and serve alongside the two dressings.
*The butter adds flavour, while the oil heats to a higher temperature and prevents the butter from burning

Haddock with a Philadelhia and king prawn topping

I adapted this dish from a recipe I found on the Philadelphia website, and it's my boyfriend's new favourite. Juicy haddock fillets are topped with a creamy mixture of diced king prawns, Philadelphia cheese, English mustard, white wine and lemon juice and baked in the oven for 15 minutes, before being finished off with a sprinkling of Parmesan and breadcrumbs and a final few minutes under the grill (for that lovely crisp crust).

This dish is healthy but satisfyingly rich, and goes perfectly with steamed vegetables and a big dollop of creamy mashed potato.

Ingredients

4 haddock fillets (or any other white fish) - around 500g
150g king prawns
2 tbsp Philadephia cream cheese
1 teaspoon English mustard
Dash of white wine
Squeeze of lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Parmesan cheese
Dried breadcrumbs
Grated mozzarella (optional - I had some in my fridge I wanted to use up, but it's just as good without)

Pre-heat the oven to 200C. Drizzle a non-stick baking tray with cooking oil, and place your four haddock fillets onto the tray. In a small bowl, combine the Philadelphia, English mustard, white wine, and lemon juice, and season to taste. Chop your king prawns into rough pices (around six per prawn) and stir into the cream cheese mixture.

Spread the cream cheese and prawn mixture onto your haddock fillets, and cook near the top of the pre-heated oven for 15 minutes. After this time, remove the fish from the oven and sprinkle with Parmesan and dried breadcrumbs (and grated mozzarella, if you fancy!), before cooking under the grill on high heat for a further 3 minutes or so, or until the cheese and breadcrumbs are golden and crispy.

Served with steamed vegetable and mashed potatoes.

Ottolenghi's turkey and courgette burgers - fusion-style

One of my friends bought me Jerusalem (the new cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi) for my birthday, and I've been very excited to try out some of the incredible recipes. Post-Christmas, I finally have a bit more time for experimental cookery, and this weekend I decided to make a start with the turkey and courgette burgers.

The recipe calls for fresh coriander, mint, spring onions, cumin and cayenne pepper, but as I already had a big bunch of wilting parsley in my vegetable drawer (left-over from my chicken soup), I didn't really want to buy any more fresh herbs. Instead I decided to expand on the spring onion flavour and attempt an Asian twist on the original recipe, skipping the mint, coriander, cumin and cayenne, and substituting grated ginger, lime juice, a dash of soy sauce and a hint of chilli in their place.

Fried in sesame oil and served with pak choi and noodles this was a light, subtly oriental supper, and - if there had been any leftovers - I think the turkey burgers would have also been lovely cold (perhaps in a sandwich for lunch...). Here is my take on the recipe:

Ingredients

500g minced turkey, extra lean
2 small courgettes, coarsely grated (around 200g)
3 spring onions, finely sliced
Grated root ginger (one or two inches, depending on how much you like ginger!)
1 medium free-range egg
2 garlic cloves, crushed
Dash of soy sauce (in the place of salt)
Juice of half a lime
Pinch of dried chilli flakes
Coarsely ground black pepper, to taste
Sesame oil, for frying


Preheat the oven to 220C (or 200C for a fan oven). In a large bowl, mix together all the ingredients bar the sesame oil, then shape into small burgers (the recipe should yield around 18 patties).

Heat the sesame oil in a large frying pan, and sear your burgers in batches until golden brown on all sides (about 2 minutes on each side, on a medium heat). Transfer the seared meatballs to a foil-lined oven-dish and place in the oven for 5-7 minutes, or until just cooked through.

While your meatballs are cooking, prepare your egg noodles according to the instructions on the packet. Separate the individual leaves of your pak choi and steam (or stir fry, if you prefer) for around two minutes.

Serve with sweet Thai chilli sauce for dipping.

Healthy January - slow-cooker chicken soup

If you're looking for something comforting to help fight off the January blues, this easy-peasy slow-cooker chicken soup may be just the thing. While it won't bring Christmas back (sorry, you still have to go to work tomorrow!), this healthy but satisfying meal is light on the pocket, light in calories, and may even help fight off that nasty cold...

Ingredients

One whole chicken, around 1.5kg
500g of carrots, chopped into big chunks
One large onion, halved
Boiling water, to cover
Chicken stock, stock-pot, or stock-cubes (depending on what you have in the house!)
Salt and pepper
Flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
Dried macaroni pasta, or any other small pasta (broken spaghetti strands also work)

This really couldn't be easier to make. All you need is a whole chicken, a bag of carrots (chopped into hearty chunks), and one large onion, halved. Place everything into the slow-cooker, season with salt and pepper, and add boiling water to cover your chicken (note: the top of my chicken was jutting out slightly, but this didn't seem to do any harm!). I added a Knorr's stockpot for extra flavour - if you prefer, you could use stock-cubes, or replace some of the water with chicken stock.

You may have to adjust the following instructions according to the model of slow-cooker you are using: I have a Tefal 8-in-1 multi-cooker*. This has only one slow-cooker setting (rather than giving you a choice between high or low) and a maximum duration of 9 hours, after which it switches automatically to 'keep warm' mode. I started the slow-cooking process when I left the house in the morning, and got back about two hours after it had ended: the soup was still steaming hot, due to the 'keep warm' function, and we didn't get food poisoning, so I guess there's no harm in leaving it in this mode for a while!

When I opened the slow-cooker I was met with a waft of mouth-watering steam (and - as it was the first time I've used a slow-cooker - was relieved to find that everything was cooked!). The chicken was ridiculously tender, literally falling from the bone when I took it out of the pot. I removed the chicken, onion halves and carrot pieces from the broth and set them aside, then poured the broth into a saucepan with some dried macaroni pasta, which I cooked according to the instructions on the packet (10 minutes in this case).

Meanwhile I shared the (de-boned and de-skinned) chicken and vegetables between two large bowls, and sprinkled everything with plenty of freshly chopped flat-leaf parsley. When the macaroni was done, I scooped ladlefuls of broth and pasta straight from the saucepan over the other ingredients, and served the steaming bowls of soup straight away.

This recipe would easily serve 3 or 4 - although we managed to finish it between the two of us! It was delicious, healthy, easy to prepare, and - for those whose wallets are a bit lighter post-Christmas - incredibly good value (my free-range-but-not-organic/corn fed chicken was less than £6. Add another couple of quid for carrots, onion, stockpot, and a 1/4 pack of macaroni...and it still comes in at under £10!).

*I got this for Christmas, and this was my first attempt at using it, so apologies if I have any of the setting details wrong - I'm still figuring it out!