Ren Behan - Author Wild Honey and Rye

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Crowd-Pleasing Pasta Recipes

Things may have admittedly been a bit quiet over here on the blog owing to a certain little person’s arrival, but that doesn’t mean to say that I haven’t been squirreling away in the background on some other projects over the summer. I managed (just about) to keep up with my regular feature and recipe writing for JamieOliver.com – always a great source of inspiration with the themes on the site changing regularly. Following lots of unusual and intriguing World Cup recipes, we moved on to outdoor eating. My summery Polish cucumber salad was a big hit, as was this orzo, courgette and prawn pasta dish – perfect to feed a crowd with whilst the sun was shining and a great recipe to bookmark  for pescatarian friends.

Prawn and Courgette Pasta

We’re now into a season of sharing recipes for anyone who follows a specialist diet – be it dairy free, gluten free or wheat free.  I contributed one of my quickest weeknight suppers; a gluten free pasta carbonara made with organic brown rice pasta. This is such a great recipe to have up your sleeve if you have to avoid gluten, or like me, you simply want to make a few healthier swaps for your families lifestyle.

Carbonara

I always look forward to the autumn as lots of new cookery books are released, which means that I get to cram my shelves with even more books. September saw the release of Jamie’s sixteenth book – Comfort Food. I’m pleased to see calorie counting temporarily suspended to welcome some delicious heart-warming treats, including a recipe for my kind of comfort food – Polish Pierogi. I’ll be giving those a go next week and reporting back!

In the meantime, I also shared a recipe for a ham, courgette and mushroom lasagne made with fresh pasta sheets and an easy white sauce, which certainly counts as comfort food. As the days start to get shorter and the nights grow darker, this is the perfect cheese-topped, oven-baked crowd-pleaser.

Ham lasagne

Ham Lasagne

Having a few clever and adaptable pasta recipes up your sleeve can help you out whether you are looking to feed a large family, or have friends coming over for supper. Here are some more of my favourites gathered from the web.

More Crowd-Pleasers

From Amuse Your Bouche – Becca’s Spaghetti alla Puttanesca – (Vegan)

From Kavey Eats – Kavey’s Chicken, Bacon, Mushroom and Creme Fraiche Pasta  (Weeknight winner)

From Maison Cupcake – Sarah’s Giant Pasta Shells with Asparagus and Bacon (and a Vitamix Pesto) (Great for a dinner party)

From Feeding Boys and a Firefighter – Katie’s Lemon and Mint Pesto with Tagliatelle (Vegetarian)

From Cook Sister – Jeanne’s Easy Crab, Chilli and Rocket Pasta (Pescatarian)

I hope you get to try some of these recipes – let me know if you do.

Time to put my feet up again I think!

Ren Behan is a freelance contributor to JamieOliver.Com

Healthy Packed Lunch Ideas

I recently reviewed a Robbie the Robot lunch box, made by the British company Pink Lining, who also offer other beautifully designed children’s lunch boxes, satchels, bags and holdall bags, as well as baby changing bags and accessories. With the summer holidays approaching, there will be plenty of trips to the park and opportunities for outdoor eating. The start of the new school term will also, no doubt, be here in no time at all. With this in mind, I’ve been challenged to create a healthy packed lunch or lunch box recipe, incorporating plenty of fruit and veg.

Pink Lining Lunch Box

Children can quickly get bored of ham or egg mayo sandwiches, so to ‘liven up our lunch’ boxes, I very often make a new potato-based salad or a pasta salad, which can be portioned up into smaller containers ready to go. Our favourite is a miniature new potato salad, with cooked salmon flakes, topped with brightly coloured pomegranate seeds and cubes of fresh cucumber. Other healthy packed lunch ideas include small pieces of cold quiche or tartlets with seasonal vegetables, wraps, homemade fruity banana bread, cheese and marmite swirls and dips, such as hummus, with pita slices, carrot and cucumber sticks. I always add in plenty of fresh fruit, such as strawberries, raspberries and blueberries, or a large piece of fruit such as a ripe peach or pear. My children also like chocolate coated rice cakes as a sweet treat and a drink of either whole milk or oat milk.

Healthy Packed Lunch

You can buy lots of different types of lunch box containers these days, I like the ones with separate compartments, but little pots or plastic cups with lids will also do the trick. Most of my containers are baby weaning pots, perfect for little people’s lunch boxes, too.

Pink Lining Packed Lunch

Pink Lining Lunch Box

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You can read a full review of the Robbie the Robot Lunch Box by British-brand Pink Lining, here.

Pink Lining -8

This is a paid recipe commission on behalf of Pink Lining. Lunch box – Robbie the Robot RRP £15

More healthy packed lunch ideas

3 Quick Cheese Snacks for the Good Food Channel

Today is officially the last day of National Vegetarian Week 2014. In case you’ve taken the challenge and are in search of some simple and tasty recipes to round off the weekend, I thought I’d highlight three recent quick cheese snacks, created for the Good Food Channel. Really though, who needs an excuse to indulge in a little melted cheese?! Of course, you can also use any of your favourite vegetarian alternative cheeses in these recipes…

Three Cheese Snacks
3 Quick Cheese Snacks created for the Good Food Channel

Firstly, a super-quick Mexican inspired snack – my Cheese Quesadillas with tinned black beans, tomatoes, spring onions and grated cheese. Use a chilli cheese if you fancy, and any beans – black, pinto or fava beans – drained and washed.

Cheese Quesadillas

Cheese Quesadillas {Recipe Here} for the Good Food Channel

Next, one of our favourites for a quick cheese snack, are my Three Cheese Toasties, with leek, garlic and thyme on sourdough. They take around ten minutes to make, and I simply used a griddle pan to make mine, weighed down a little with a heavy lid. If you have a panini machine or a toastie maker, you can use that instead. I usually like to use a combination of cheddar, mozzarella and Gruyère or Comte – but really, use any cheese that you like or have in the fridge to use up – or a vegetarian alternative.

Three Cheese Toasties

 Three Cheese Toasties {Recipe Here} for the Good Food Channel

Finally, if you have hungry kids, you can’t go wrong with these Cheese and Marmite Swirls. Simply keep a packet of ready rolled/ready to use puff pastry in the fridge or freezer, then unroll, spread with Marmite, sprinkle over the granted cheese and roll up. Once sliced, place them on a baking tray lined with paper, brush with a little beaten egg and bake for fifteen minutes. Serve when warm, but not too hot for little fingers!

Cheese and Marmite Swirls

Cheese and Marmite Swirls {Recipe Here} for the Good Food Channel

I hope that’s given you a little inspiration for the Bank Holiday weekend, or perhaps, for an after school snack or quick lunch.

How did you get on with the challenge to “go green” for National Vegetarian Week?

Recipes commissioned by the Good Food Channel – recipes, styling and photography by Ren Behan. 

National Vegetarian Week – 5 Tasty Recipes

This week the National Vegetarian Society is urging us to ‘go green’ and have a go at being vegetarian for a week beginning Monday 19th May to Sunday 25th May 2014. We’ve decided to join in as a family with National Vegetarian Week this year and we’re very much looking forward to experimenting with some of the tasty seasonal recipes highlighted in the slider below. I’ve also got plenty of vegetarian cookbooks to keep us going, favourites include Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall’s River Cottage Veg Every Day, Eat Your Veg by Authur Potts Dawson and Green Kitchen Stories inspired by this amazing blog. I’ll also be keeping an eye on Jacqueline’s blog, Tinned Tomatoes, as she will be posting a new vegetarian recipe each day (starting today with a bright and colourful rocket hummus)  as well as trying some of your recent entries into Simple and in Season Spring.

For more information on the health benefits of ‘going green’ you can download or order plenty of free information booklets via the Vegetarian Society here. 

I hope you’re inspired to try it – if not for the whole week, then perhaps for one day or even just a few meals?

National Vegetarian Week Banner

Click on the right-hand arrows to scroll and on the recipe title at the bottom for the recipe links

Asparagus and Cheddar Tart

Asparagus and Cheddar Tart

A savoury, vegetarian tart made with shortcrust pastry, eggs, British asparagus and Westcombe Cheddar cheese as featured on JamieOliver.com

Asparagus and Cheddar Tart
Mexican Burritos

Mexican Burritos

Soft scrambled eggs, with spring onions/scallions and a good kick of chilli wrapped in a soft tortilla - great for a veggie-friendly breakfast or brunch

Mexican Burritos
British Asparagus, Spinach, Beetroot and Halloumi Salad

British Asparagus, Spinach, Beetroot and Halloumi Salad

A fresh, spring salad with British asparagus, baby spinach, beetroot, grilled halloumi cheese and a scattering of pomegranate seeds - perfect for an 'al frecso' lunch

British Asparagus, Spinach, Beetroot and Halloumi Salad
Polish Potato Salad

Polish Potato Salad

A simple salad using potatoes, eggs, sweet pickled cucumbers, dill and a tasty mayonnaise dressing - inspired by My Polish Kitchen

Polish Potato Salad
Rainbow Salad Wrap

Rainbow Salad Wrap

A lovely, easy vegetarian for children to try, created for Food Revolution Day by Jamie Oliver. We tried it at home and loved it! With beetroot, carrot, cabbage, pears and a tasty yogurt dressing

Rainbow Salad Wrap

 

Let me know if you come across any especially tasty vegetarian recipes in the comments below!

 

Five spring recipes in BBC Good Food Magazine

I’m back with more exciting news, this time of a feature in BBC Good Food Magazine, within the April edition – on the shelves (in the UK) currently. I was asked to create these recipe back in November, shortly after contributing a recipe and some words on Polish cuisine in a feature on the Global Kitchen published in January. Magazine and print schedules are organised so far in advance, which is quite strange when you are used to the medium of instant publishing and blogging! So, it was a lovely surprise to finally get to see my ‘storecupboard spring clean’ recipes featured in the April edition.

BBC Good Food Magazine Ren Behan

My recipes fit into the ‘Everyday’ section of the magazine, under the banner of ‘Make it Tonight’ – so they are designed with ease and speediness in mind, with minimum ingredients. Spring is obviously a great time of the year to purge those storecupboards of all the ingredients leftover from Christmas. So on that note, my recipes include plenty of nuts, seeds and dried fruits, pulses, grains and pasta, brightened up with window box herbs and extra veggies.

Supper from your storecupboard

Recipes (starting on page 54) include –

All of the recipes were tested by both myself, the kitchen team and by some of the taste team, with beautiful photographs by Sam Stowell.

I loved the fresh flavours, and the pesto was a really tasty addition. A great soup to freeze or take to work the next day, too.” Sky – Taste Team on the Tomato and Rice Soup.

I hope you find the time to pop to the shops to pick up a copy of BBC Good Food Magazine April – let me know if you spot it, or if you try any of the recipes within.

BBC Good Food Ren Behan

With thanks to Sarah Cook at BBC Good Food for commissioning these recipes. PDFs/Photographs all copyright BBC Good Food Magazine. Photographs by Sam Stowell. 

Five soups, stews and roasts to warm you up

Next weekend in the UK, the clocks go back, which officially means the end of British Summer Time. It also means that it will be darker and duller and we’ll have to eat bucketfuls of comfort foods to keep warm. I have a couple of favourite books to turn to when the weather gets colder, Scottish chef Tom Kitchin’s Kitchin Suppers is full of one-pan wonders, served up on rustic plates or wooden boards and nestled against British tweed and Scottish tartan cloths. It’s the perfect book to curl up to next to a log fire. It’s also time to flick through Diana Henry’s Salt Sugar Smoke, as the sloes are in season and our apple tree is laden with fruit, so it’s time to get bottling and preserving. The slow-cooker has also been restored to its permanent winter position, ready to cook up plenty of soups and stews such as the ones below…

1. Slow-cooked beef brisket with celeriac mash and wild mushrooms

You can’t beat this recipe, it ticks all the comfort food boxes; rich, savoury, soft, flavourful and easy to make.

Beef Brisket

2. Slow-cooker chicken soup

This has already been on the go this week – a whole chicken, onions, celery, carrots, parsley left to cook for 5-6 hours on low. Add the noodles or dumplings once cooked.

Chicken Soup

3. Steak a la Moutarde

Not a slow cooker recipe, but literally a one-pan, twenty minute job, with a tasty creamy mustard sauce – serve with mash or french fries.

Steak a la Moutarde

4. Chorizo, chicken and chickpea soup

This is a recipe that’s perfect for cold, dark nights. Wholegrain couscous and organic spinach give this soup a healthy and hearty twist.

Chicken & Chrorizo Soup

5. Marjoram steam roasted chicken

Sometimes you can’t be a simple roast chicken, whether for a weeknight supper or a weekend roast. Here I take you through my mum’s way of cooking a roast chicken, which is succulent and falls off the bone once cooked.

Roast Chicken

We often enjoy adding some Yorkshire puddings to our Sunday roast dinners – my little boy often insists. If you are short for time, but enjoy the addition of some ‘added roastiness,’ this video of Aunt Bessie’s Home Bake Yorkshires might make you giggle, too. As the cold nights draw in, a little comedy is always good.

Keep warm!

I hope one of these recipes takes your fancy this week. As always, do leave a comment if you give any of them a try.

The video content within this post is sponsored by Aunt Bessie’s 

Happy Pancake Day – Exciting Pancake Ideas!

Chocolate Banana Pancakes

Happy Pancake Day! Today is Shrove Tuesday, or Pancake Tuesday, the day we get to use up all the bad things in our cupboards and really make the most of it before lent. Dependening on where you are, you might also be celebrating Mardi Gras, and there are a whole host of other carnival activities taking place all over the world. I got a head start yesterday with my Polish pancakes. Today I’m making both savoury and sweet pancakes for tea. Tomorrow, I get to do it all again as my sister is coming to visit and my niece requested pancakes, too. So my Lenten penitence will begin on Thursday!

My posh Polish pancakes for a final Food Styling project at Leiths School of Food and Wine.

The recipe is here. This photo was taken by Stuart Ovenden.

How to Make Pancakes

A really simple pancake mix is 100g plain flour, 2 whole eggs and 300ml semi-skimmed milk. Optional extras – a pinch of salt for savoury pancakes. A pinch of sugar for sweet pancakes. A little lemon zest or cinnamon for an extra flavour hit. The trick is to make up your batter well in advance and leave it in the fridge. When you are ready to start flipping, take some melted butter and/or a plain vegetable oil (you can use a combination of both) and swirl it round your (preferably non-stick) pan. Then, take a piece of kitchen roll and wipe away any excess, so you are just left with a little layer of oil in your pan. Heat the pan until it gets quite hot, take a ladle and pour some of the batter mixture on, about half a cupful. Swirl it round the pan, leave it to set and cook and then when it starts to come away from the edge of the pan and look a little crispy – flip it over! Cook on the other side for another minute or two and then transfer onto a warm plate while you make the rest. Repeat the same process with a little melted butter and oil each time, wiping away any excess with kitchen roll.

If you eat pancakes often, you can also make a big make-ahead batch of this mix, by Vanessa Kimbell. Then store the dry mix in the cupboard for future use.

Chocolate Banana Pancakes

Banana Chocolate Pancakes – Oh, go on, then!

Savoury Pancakes

A little while ago, I devised a recipe for some savoury pancakes for a Dutch pancake company called Abra-Ca-Debora. Happily, they liked my recipe so much that they made it themselves to share on their website. Pop over to see my recipe for Creamy Chicken and Spinach Savoury Dutch Pancakes here.

Pancakes with Chicken and Spinach

Other savoury ideas – I love filling my pancakes with a mixture of wild mushrooms, garlic and cream. Simply chop one shallot or small onion along with one garlic clove. Gently cook in a pan with a teaspoon of butter and olive oil, add some mixed mushrooms, around 125g, and cook for a few minutes before adding a squeeze of lemon juice, some fresh parsley and a swirl of double cream.

Sweet Pancakes

The children love really simple fillings, such a Nutella, lemon curd, strawberry jam or bananas and chocolate sauce with a scoop of ice cream on top. Or, you could try my Warm Banana and Maple Syrup Pancakes with Cinnamon Cream. My three year old has just requested Spaghetti Hoops and Nutella – that could be interesting!

In case you missed them, here are my Polish Pancakes with Sweet Cream Cheese, topped with fresh strawberries.

Polish Pancakes

Further afield, I’ve spotted these stunning pancakes from Emma at Poires Au Chocolat – Pancakes with Lemon & Thyme Sugar – a really lovely twist on a classic.

pancake1_Emma_Poires_Chocolat

Photo Credit – With Permission Emma Gardner Poires Au Chocolat

Or, you could try this amazing German speciality called Quarkkeulchen by Meeta at What’s For Lunch, Honey (who I am hugely excited to be meeting this weekend!) Meeta serves her Quarkkeulchen with Cranberries and a Cinnamon Blueberry Compote – the fruit compote sounds delicious in itself and I would be so intrigued to try these pancakes made with mashed potatoes, Quark cream cheese and cinnamon.

Quarkkeulechen with Cranberries (0140) by Meeta K. Wolff

Photo Credit – With Permission Meeta K Wolff, What’s For Lunch, Honey?

Sarah, at Maison Cupcake has also blogged 13 Fabulous Pancake Ideas for Baby Centre – including my savoury pancakes – thank you Sarah!

And finally, if you are celebrating Mardi Gras, I love these really beautiful King Cake Cookies with with Praline Pecan from Bakes Bree – I am off to find some blue sprinkles as they are gorgeous.    

So, wherever you are, whatever you are eating and/or celebrating – enjoy!!