pea and cashew curry

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

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)

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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king prawn chow mein

I made this chow mein low carb and I reckon you really can’t tell at all. I use zero noodles that are available in most supermarkets, Asian stores or online (You can also use standard noodles too if you prefer) it’s really delicious and healthy and packed with flavour. So If you fancy a store cupboard takeout chow mein, I make this recipe with easily available defrosted frozen giant prawns from the supermarket.

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pasta allo scarpariello

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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Spanish anchovy, egg and crouton salad

This flavour packed recipe is adapted from Rick Steins book called Spain. It’s a kind of Spanish version of Caesar salad and I’ve changed it slightly suit my tastes. I’ve replaced the little gem lettuces with radicchio and added my favourite salad veg, but it’s up to you which lettuce you prefer and the anchovies have gone in the dressing instead of laying them on top of the salad as I love them in the dressing. It’s my favourite with grilled fish like a big Dover sole.

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pasta con le fava fresche (pasta with broad beans)

Don’t be fooled by the simplicity of the ingredients in this Italian recipe, its blinking tasty and tastes deliciously fresh and summery, although, I would eat it all year round as it’s all store cupboard. The texture of the broad beans works so well with the spaghetti and all it’s plant based if you don’t add parmesan or pecorino.

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pasta alla checca with fennel

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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artichokes with an anchovy sauce

The combination of artichokes and anchovy is a marriage made in heaven. They are a bit labour intensive to eat, but I like that. It slows you down. They are worth the effort and there’s something luxurious about eating the soft creamy heart as the prize after eating the soft ends off of the leaves. If you don’t know how to prepare or eat them, follow my recipe and I promise they are divine plus artichokes are a super food packed with antioxidants and liver cleansing properties..just google them for their list of health giving benefits.

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orange scented radicchio salad (radicchio rosso alla’arancia)

This absolutely delicious and beautiful salad is from one of my ancient Italian cookbooks. All the recipes are typical Italian in their simplicity and have no measurements, so I have added the measurements I think work well with each recipe I do from the book. Every recipe has few ingredients and magically become the most delicious dish. This salad would be good with any of my other Italian main dishes.

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