In between some fantastic dining experiences that I was invited to this February, and many celebrations for my 30th birthday, I still found the time to cook some lovely food. Here are my favourite recipes from this February.

Vegan Sweet Potato & Kale Chilli

 

Serves: 4

Cooking time: 40 minutes (including prep)

Ingredients:

• 2 medium sweet potatoes peeled and chopped into small cubes
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 onion diced
• 2 garlic cloves crushed or chopped finely
• 1 red chilli finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 400g tin of kidney beans drained
• 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
• 2 large handfuls of kale
• Salt and pepper

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan and add the sweet potatoes, onion and garlic. Cook on a medium heat for 5 minutes until the veg has softened slightly.
2. Stir in the chilli, cayenne pepper, cinnamon and cumin and cook for a further couple of minutes.
3. Add the kidney beans and chopped tomatoes, stir to cover the vegetables thoroughly then simmer gently for 30-35 minutes. Add a little water if it becomes too thick.
4. At the last minutes add the kale. Don’t overlook it, just wilt it slightly so it retains colour and texture.
5. Season well and enjoy!!

This recipe is so simple, uses just a handful of ingredients, but is super tasty and healthy too!!

Haddock Linguine with Tomatoes & Chilli (Recipe from Goust

Serves: 2

Cooking time: 20 minutes (including prep)

Ingredients:

• 200g haddock bites
• 200g linguine
• 1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes
• 40g clotted cream
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 garlic clove
• 120g cherry tomatoes
• 5g chives
• 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
• Coconut oil and salt and pepper

 

Method:

1. Boil a kettle. Heat a large wide-based pan with 1 tbsp coconut oil over a high heat. Pat the haddock bites dry with kitchen paper and season with salt and pepper. Once hot, add them to the pan and cook for 1-2 minutes, turning halfway, then transfer them to a plate and keep the pan for later.
2. Meanwhile, add the linguine to a pot of boiled water with a pinch of salt, bring to the boil over a high heat and cook for 8-10 mins or until cooked with a slight bite. Once cooked, drain and set aside.
3. Reboil a kettle. Peel and finely chop the garlic. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half.
4. Return the pan to a medium heat, add more oil if its looking a little dry. Once hot add the chopped garlic and chilli flakes and cook for 1 min. Add the halved cherry tomatoes with a very generous pinch of salt and cook for a further 2 mins.
5. Meanwhile, combine the tomato paste in 200ml boiled water. This is your tomato stock. Chop the chives finely.
6. Add the Shaoxing wine to the pan and cook for 30 seconds then pour in the tomato stock. Cook for 5-7 minutes or until reduced to a pasta sauce-like consistency. Season with a pinch of pepper and a generous pinch of salt and remove from the heat. Stir through the clotted cream and half of the chopped chives.
7. Add the drained linguine and haddock bites to the sauce and give everything a good mix, this is your spicy haddock linguine!
8. Serve in a bowl and sprinkle over there maiming chopped chives, enjoy!

Comfort good at its best, I love a Spicy pasta dish! Great for slurping up on an evening.

Greek Chicken (from Joe Wick’s Lean in 15 Shape Plan)

Serves: 1

Cooking time: 15-20 minutes (including prep)

Ingredients:

• 1/4 chicken stock cube
• Small pinch of saffron
• Coconut oil
• 1/2 red pepper de-seeded and sliced into strips
• 3 spring onions sliced into long pieces
• 1 x 240g skinless chicken great, sliced into 6 pieces
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 preserved lemon roughly chopped
• Small handful of pitted green olives
• 2 handfuls of baby spinach
• 1tbsp Greek yogurt
• 20g pine nuts
• 1 tbsp pomegranate seeds
• Chopped parsley to serve

Method:

1. Put the kettle on to boil. Crumble the stock cube into a jug and drop in the saffron strands. Pour over 100ml boiling water and stir the ingredients together. Leave to infuse while you crack on with the rest of the recipe.
2. Melt the coconut oil in a large frying pan over a medium to high heat. Add the red pepper, Spring onions and chicken pieces along with a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Fry the ingredients, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes.
3. Increase the heat to maximum, drop in the preserved lemon, and green olives and then pour in the infused chicken stock. Bring the whole lot to the boil and simmer for 2-3 minutes, or until you are sure the chicken is cooked through. Check by slicing into one of the thickest pieces to make sure the meat is white all the way through, with no raw pink bits left.
4. When you are happy the chicken is fully cooked, remove the pan from the heat and stir through the spinach, the residual heat will wilt the leaves.
5. Serve up the chicken topped with the yogurt, pine nuts, pomegranate seeds and some chopped parsley.

I also had some tortilla wraps ready to turn my dish into wraps, which was lush!

Hope to see some of you trying out some of these fab recipes, would love to see your photos and hear your feedback. Don’t forget to tag Jen’s Food Blog in any recipes/restaurant reviews you have posted that have been inspired by my blog.

Contact me if you have any more questions on the above recipes. Share your pictures and comments with me here or across my Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

If you would like to contact me regarding my blog / ideas on where to eat/what to cook, or would like to work with me (advertising/reviews/publishing recipes/other), then please feel free to email me on jen@jensfoodblog.com

Happy munching!

Jen

@jensfoodblog

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