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pea and cashew curry

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I made this delicious coconutty Sri Lankan curry for two of my friends that had been blown away by it on their holiday there and it sounded so good I had to make it. It’s mostly stored cupboard which I love and packed with lots of delicious flavours like ground fennel, garam masala and cumin. I serve it with my Dal recipe, chapatis which I buy frozen from the Indian frozen food section in the supermarket or my local Indian shop. I also sprinkled it with curry leaves fried till they were crispy, my ginger fries and chopped fresh coriander leaves on top to serve.

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chilli prawns with Vietnamese(ish) noodle salad

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I thought I’d put this on the blog last year and I forgot. It’s my really colourful refreshing Vietnamese inspired salad that is really tasty and healthy and full of fresh veg, herbs and noodles with added hot fried chilli prawns which can be cooked on a bbq and If I want to make a lower carb version I use zero noodles (there are lots of makes…) which have no carbs and are available in most supermarkets, Asian shops and online.

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cioppino (Italian seafood stew with fennel)

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This recipe for Cioppino actually originates from Italian emigrants in San Francisco in the late 1800s. They would put in whatever the catch of the day was, so feel free to put in what ever seafood you can get or prefer. It’s packed with the flavours of chilli, fennel, bay, orange zest and wine. There are lots of versions of it and I took the best bits of all the recipes I found. It’s traditionally served with toasted sourdough or a crusty baguette, but I think it’s delicious with a side order of fries and a salad too.

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pasta allo scarpariello

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This delicious pasta recipe is like a creamy, spicy, cheesy version of a classic sugo recipe.It’s a great meat free dinner or dinner party dish, with a salad. You can make it with any pasta you fancy but it works particularly well with a big ass chunky pasta. I made it with papadelle, but also look forward to making it with manicotti, calamarata or any large pasta.

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pasta alla checca with fennel

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The flavours of this really sum up Italy for me, it’s a really fresh delicious pasta recipe which dates back to the sixties in Rome, the area where my Italian family come from. There’s lots of versions but my favourite has ground fennel in it which I love, I grind the seeds in my coffee grinder or with a mortar and pestle so it’s super fresh. Its the perfect dinner for al fresco dining and you can add a burrata on top, or fried capers. I just serve it with a salad.

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pasta con baccalà in rosso

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This delicious traditional Italian pasta recipe is made with salt cod in a tomato sauce: the salt cod needs a couple of days prep in advance but it’s really easy and really worth it. It’s the most delicious combination of textures and the salt cod has a divine flavour. Salt cod is an excellent store cupboard ingredient too. 

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baccalà alla Napoletana

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This Italian recipe is made on Christmas Eve and holidays but I like to eat it anytime and it’s made with the unbelievably delicious dried salted cod which is rehydrated in the fridge for 3 days before you cook it (salted dried cod is a brilliant store cupboard ingredient and it’s available in most supermarkets in the world food section or a Spanish or Italian deli). It’s a complete meal with the potatoes, just add a crisp green salad and that’s lunch or dinner sorted… if you are extra hungry you could add some roasted sourdough with olive oil and a scraping of fresh garlic. It’s even delicious served at room temperature. if you haven’t got time to soak the salt cod, you can use fresh cod cut into chunks and put it in the stew to poach for the last ten minutes of cooking or till cooked through.

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marinated tomato salad with pickled shallots

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I was inspired to make this simple salad after I had a similar tomato salad at the excellent Turnips restaurant in Borough Market. It’s really delicious on its own or with burrata, as a side to a main meal or with or on toasted sourdough bread. You can add chopped herbs like basil and parsley to it too if you fancy. 

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Vietnamese(ish) noodle salad

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A colourful refreshing salad that is really tasty and healthy and full of fresh veg, herbs and noodles. You can add hot fried prawns to it if you fancy and If I want to make a lower carb version I use zero noodles (there are lots of makes…) which have no carbs and are available in most supermarkets, Asian shops and online.

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