Hearty Winter Warmer Recipes

Winter is here and it’s time to get some hearty grub down you.  Check out our tasty winter warmers.

Bang Tidy Bangers and Mash

Ingredients (serves 2-4 depending on how hungry you are!)

• 1 Pack Sausages – gluten free and preferably >90% meat (venison, buffalo and goat are excellent choices otherwise pork or lamb)
• 6 organic sweet potatoes
• 2 leeks
• Organic mixed herbs
• Creamed coconut as desired
• 2 cloves garlic
• Seasoning
• 1 red onion

Optional: Gravy; you can either make your own from meat/vegetable stock or purchase a gluten free ready made gravy.

1. Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees.
2. Chop and steam the sweet potato and leeks .
3. Place sausages under a pre-heated grill.
4. Once the potatoes and leeks are soft mash in large bowl (keep skins on for extra fibre) add chopped garlic, mixed herbs and seasoning.  Add in grated creamed coconut or coconut milk until mash is desired consistency (**omit this if you’re not a fan of coconut products and simply drizzle with olive oil once cooked).  Place in an oven proof dish and bake in the oven until ready to serve.
5. Saute onions in either vegetable stock or a little coconut oil.
6. Once sauages are cooked, serve with mash, gravy and a side of greens.

Thai Extra Greeny Curry

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 4 free range organic chicken breasts or 8 thighs
• Pak choi or organic spinach (as much as you can cram in!)
• Broccoli florets chopped into small pieces
• 1/2 pack of chestnut mushrooms
• 3/4 tin of coconut milk (do not buy reduced fat)
• 1 clove garlic
• Juice of 1 lime
• Spice it up with any of the following: Ginger, chilli, onions or thai Curry paste, we love Biona Organic

 Method

1. Heat coconut milk on low heat and add desired spices
2. Poach chicken in the coconut milk and spices, add mushrooms.
3. Once chicken is almost cooked add vegetables for last 5 minutes of cooking.

Cucina Ceri’s  Morrocan Spiced Chicken

( Fitter London’s top cave girl chef)

Ingredients (serves 4)

• Spices:  – 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp ground coriander, 1 tsp ras el hanut (moroccan spice blend), ½ tsp turmeric, 1 tsp paprika
• Olive oil
• Squeeze lemon juice
• 6 free range skinless chicken thighs (mine on the bone)
• 1 400ml can chopped tomatoes
• 1 vegetable stock cube (low salt and gluten free)
• 1 Tablespoon tomato purée
• 2 garlic cloves
•  2 courgettes, chopped into small chunks
• 1 buttnernut squash, chopped into small chunks
• sundried tomatoes
• flaked almonds to top
• fresh coriander to top (I just didn’t have any)

 Method

1. Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees C.  (Note to self, remember to actually turn the oven on, not just the fan.. d’oh!)
2. Make a paste from all of the spices, seasoning, 1 Tablespoon of olive oil and a good squeeze of lemon juice.
3. Spread all over the chicken thighs and leave to marinate for as long as you can wait.
4. Meanwhile saute the diced garlic in a little olive oil, then add the tomato purée, tin of chopped tomatoes, 2-300mls of boiling water, and a crumbled stock cube.  Bring to the boil.
5. Place the chicken thighs in a huge oven dish, and place the chunks of buttnernut squash and courgettes around the thighs.
6. Pour the tomato sauce over the chicken and veg, scatter in some sundried tomatoes, and place in the oven for 50-60 minutes or until the butternut squash is of suitable softness.
7. When ready scatter with flaked almonds, fresh coriander and another light drizzle of olive oil.  Serve with green salad, and a blob of Tahini (naturally…. it’s me, there HAS to be tahini somewhere, and anyway it is used in Moroccan cooking isn’t it?  Therefore totally allowed…).  Leftovers can be boxed up in tupperware and stashed in the freezer for future consumption.