Ingredients

Stir Fry:
1 portion of noodles
a small handful of cashew nuts
1tbsp vegetable oil
1.5 cm cube of fresh ginger, grated
1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
half a medium onion, peeled and thinly sliced or 3 spring onions thinly sliced diagonally
¼ of a red chilli sliced very finely (3mm thin slices)
half a pepper, julienned
2 stalks of celery, julienned
1 carrot, julienned

Sauce:
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp vinegar
1 level tbsp honey
sesame oil

Equipment

Large non stick frying pan or wok

Method

Chop and slice all the vegetables, keeping the ginger and garlic separate to the others (I reccomend putting them on a different plate when you have finished chooping).

In a cup or bowl stir together soy sauce, vinegar, honey and sesame oil.

Prepare the noodles according to the instructions on the packet, then cover to keep warm while you cook the stir fry.

When the noodles have about 10 minutes cooking time remaining, put a non-stick frying pan or wok on a medium heat with nothing in it until it begins to get warm.

Throw in the cashew nuts and cook them stirring constantly for about 2 minutes until they begin to go brown, but be careful not to burn them. Once the cashews are cooked remove them from the pan.

Add the oil to the frying pan and place this back on a medium heat.

Once the oil is fairly hot, add all the vegetables except ginger, chilli and garlic. Cook on a high heat, stirring all the time for about 4 minutes.

Add the ginger, garlic and chilli, cook stirring for another 30 seconds to 1 minute, but be careful not to burn the garlic.

Turn the heat down a little, add the soy sauce mixture and cashews and cook for about another minute or so until the sauce is warmed through.

Serve immediately with noodles.

Variation 1
Fry 100g chicken breast (cut into 2cm cubes) in the oil in the frying plan for 2 minutes on a high heat before adding the remaining vegetables.

Variation 2
Fry 100g tofu in the oil in the frying plan for 4 minutes on a high heat before adding the remaining vegetables.



You can listen to this recipe’s podcast on the player or alternatively you can save the mp3 by right clicking and “saving as” on the download link below.

Ingredients

500g (18oz) new potatoes
15g (½ oz) butter
3 medium cloves garlic, crushed
150ml semi skimmed or skimmed milk
pinch of salt
240g (8 1/2 oz) salmon steaks or salmon fillets
1 ½ tsp cornflour
150ml single cream
40g (1 ½ oz) dill, chopped as finely as possible
150g (5 1/2 oz) spinach
Small sprinkle grated nutmeg, approx. 1/4 tsp
½ tbsp olive oil
70g (2 ½ oz) mature cheddar cheese

Equipment

A Pyrex dish approximately 16cm x 22cm, 1 lb loaf tin or small roasting tin, approximately 20cm x 25cm.

Method

Preheat the oven to 200˚c.

Cook potatoes in a pan of boiling water for about 6 minutes just to par boil them, they should be slightly soft on the outside but not cooked through. Drain potatoes and set them aside to cool.

Grease the tin or dish you are using.

Using the pan used for the potatoes, melt the butter and fry the garlic in this for about 30 seconds. Add the milk and salt and warm until almost boiling, place the salmon in the mixture to poach and cover. Gently simmer on a low heat for about 5 minuets until the salmon is almost cooked through.

Open the cold cream and sift the cornflour into the pot, ensuring there are no lumps remaining.

Remove the salmon from the saucepan and place on a chopping board. Remove the skin and any large bones and flake it into small pieces.

Add the cold cream and cornflour mixture to the milk in the pan. Warm up the cream mixture gently, stirring all the time until almost simmering. Be careful not to scorch the cream. You will find this mixture should gradually thicken.

Your potatoes should be cool enough to handle now, so you can slice them as thinly as possible.

Arrange half the salmon on the base of the tin, followed by half the dill, half the spinach, nutmeg and a little less than half the potatoes. Pour half the cream over this and repeat with the remaining salmon, dill, spinach and cream. Finish off by covering with a layer of potatoes. These should cover the top completely and overlap, so as to keep in the moisture while the dish is cooking.

Drizzle the gratin with olive oil. Cook this in the preheated oven for about 40 minutes until the potatoes are crispy on top. Sprinkle with cheese and cook for another 10 minutes until piping hot and the cheese is golden.

Serve warm with salad or steamed vegetables.

Variation 1
You can replace or add to the spinach using 200g broccoli (approximately half the size of the average floret you buy). The broccoli should be chopped into small florets and simmered in boiling water to soften for 3 minutes before draining and adding to the gratin.

Variation 2
Replace the salmon with trout.



You can listen to this recipe’s podcast on the player or alternatively you can save the mp3 by right clicking and “saving as” on the download link below.

Ingredients

½ tbsp olive oil
1 tsp margarine
1 small onion or ½ a medium onion, chopped
½ green pepper, roughly chopped (optional)
230g tin of tomatoes or ½ a 450g tin tomatoes (chopped or whole)
¼ fresh chilli, chopped or 1 tsp chilli sauce
2 x slices bread
30g (1oz) cheddar cheese, grated or finely chopped
1 large egg

Option 2: Bacon
1-2 rashers bacon, smoked or unsmoked

Equipment

Non-stick pan with a lid

Method

Fry onion and pepper in olive oil and ½ tsp margarine in the pan, on a fairly low heat, covered until soft, about 5 minutes. If using bacon, add it to the onion at this point and cook for a further 3 minutes.

Add tinned tomatoes, chilli and capers (if you’re using them), if using whole tinned tomatoes then mush them in the pan with a wooden spoon to break them down. Bring mixture to the boil and simmer for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, preheat the grill and toast two slices of bread (either under the grill or in the toaster).

Break the egg on top of simmering tomato sauce mixture, cover the pan and leave this to slowly poach until the white of the egg has turned completely white (is no longer transparent) and yolk looks slightly cooked but still runny, this should take between 5 and 8 minutes if the tomato mixture is on a good simmer.

Meanwhile, spread remaining margarine on the toast. Then put the cheese on the toast and put under the grill to melt.

Once the cheese is melting and starting to turn golden, put the toast on a plate, put the poached egg on top and pour over the tomato sauce.

Eat straight away.



You can listen to this recipe’s podcast on the player or alternativly you can save the mp3 by right clicking and “saving as” on the download link below.

Ingredients

1 tbsp oil
300g (10 ½ oz) pork mince
3 large cloves garlic, crushed
½ red chilli, very finely chopped (can replace with 1 tsp hot chilli powder)
50g (2 oz) ginger, grated
Juice of 1 lime
6 spring onions, Julienned (cut into diagonal strips)
2 tbsp sesame seeds or sesame oil
4 tbsp dark soy sauce (if using light soy, use more and add less water to the soup)
125g (4 ½ oz) chard, pac choi or savoy cabbage, very finely sliced
125g (4 ½ oz) vermicelli rice noodles
Handful of coriander, chopped

Equipment

Non-stick saucepan.

Method

Mix pork mince, garlic, chilli, ginger and juice of half the lime together and shape into balls about the size of a small walnut. You can refrigerate these until you’re ready to start cooking.

In a large non-stick saucepan heat vegetable oil until fairly hot.

Add mince balls and fry, turning every so often so they brown all over, for about 10 mins.

Turn up the heat, add spring onions and sesame seeds and fry, stirring for another minute.

Add 900ml boiling water, soy sauce and sesame oil (if using).

Bring the soup to a rapid boil and add the chard (or equivalent), bring back to the boil, cover and simmer for another 3 minutes until the chard is cooked.

Add noodles and cook, boiling rapidly for another few minutes, check the noodle packet to see how long they recommend cooking them for and follow this.

Add the remaining lime juice and serve in bowls sprinkled with coriander (if using).



You can listen to this recipe’s podcast on the player or alternatively you can save the mp3 by right clicking and “saving as” on the download link below.