Claire's Cake Bake & Other Foodiness

Yet another quick dish I’ve thrown together. It is filling and rather tasty in a zesty kind of a way.

Ingredients

• 2 Tuna Steaks
• 1 lime
• 1 red chilli
• Olive oil
• Tin of mixed beans (Soya beans, Chick Peas, Pinto Beans, Black Eye Beans, Red Kidney Beans & Aduki Beans)
• Mixed salad leaves – we used rocket, spinach and watercress
• 3 tomatoes

Method

• Rinse Tuna & put in a dish so that they can lie down next to each other
• Squeeze juice of lime & a good glug of olive oil over tuna
• Chop chilli finely & add to tuna – cover dish & pop in fridge for 20 minutes
• Put griddle pan on to heat up
• Drain tin of bean & rinse well
• Put tuna in griddle pan, pour over excess liquid, season with salt and pepper – cook as you like it
• Place a good handful of leaves on a plate, sprinkle over a good handful of beans & place tomatoes around the side
• Place tuna steak on top of salad & serve

Delicous and healthy, even if I do say so myself.

Whilst this was tasty I got round to thinking that tuna could possibly replace the salmon in the salmon burgers I made last week. Hmmm…

Well, it was quite warm here yesterday & we fancied something fresh & clean tasting for dinner, so that called for Nigella’s Chicken with spring onion, chilli and greek yoghurt.

The recipe can be found in the Fast Food section of ‘How To Eat’ as it can be made quite quickly, though yesterday I marinated the chicken whilst we went out. I say marinade, it literally is the juice of a lemon & a tablespoon of olive oil!

The refreshing part of the dish is the yoghurt – take 1/2 bunch spring onion & 1/2 a green chilli finely chop. Take 1/2 cucumber & dice it up quite small. Then take a small handful of coriander & mint (courtesy of the tub on the balcony) and a clove of garlic. Use mezzaluna to chop these very finely. Mix all ingredients into 200g greek yoghurt.

When ready to eat, heat a table spoon of oil in the frying pan & add the chicken – cook for at least 5 minutes each side until cooked through. Just before serving throw over the left over marinade to make it shiny & a bit sticky.

Serve with a simple salad – or just a nice tomato salad, crusty bread & very cold white wine. Mmmm.

Tonight we had a quick tea of chicken with some very easy puy lentils and roast tomato salad.

Puy Lentil Salad

• 4/6 tomatoes halved (drizzle with oil)
• 100g puy lentils
• 1/2 lemon juice
• 1/2 garlic clove
• 1/2 small red onion, sliced
• handful of coriander

1. Heat oven to 180°c & roast tomatoes (I put the chicken in for 15 mins first, then added the tomatoes for another 15/20 mins)
2. Cook puy lentils in a pan of cold water for 20 minutes
3. Mix lentils with lemon juice, garlic, onion & 2 tablespoons of olive oil (*).

Serve & eat.

(*) not necessarily required as I forgot this!

Based upon this Good Food recipe, tonight I made us some tarts.

Upon the puff pastry base I put some feta, little drops of pesto, a small amount of shallot, sliced tomatoes and a little more feta with a drizzle of olive oil.
Baked for 20 minutes on 200° then garnished with some olives & basil and a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
Tasty but the pesto did run so quite a lot of the taste was taken over by it.

We’ve been to Tesco today for our weekly shop – the first we have done for a while as we have been living on the contents of the cupboards & freezer with the odd shop here & there. This means that last week I only made a few proper dinners – a feta salad cous cous & another fiorentina pizza.

This week I intend on cooking every night and I am determined to take part in my first ‘bag weekly challenge – this weeks ingredient is asparagus. Especially since we got 2 bundles of asparagus in Tesco for 10p each.

Here is our vegetable haul for the week:

Most of that veg is now cooking in the oven as batch cooking commences with a large batch of ratatouille (2 peppers, 1 red onion, 2 courgettes, aubergine, tomatoes & one bunch of asparagus).

Tonight I will make a chilli as Hubbys sister is coming over for tea.

Monday we will probably have round one of the ratatouille with some cous cous.

Tuesday will be a lentil bake (must remember to wash the lentils).

Wednesday I aim to make a quiche with the other bunch of asparagus.

Thursday I will use some more ratatouille to make a pasta bake with some mozzarella & olives

Friday we will probably have the left over chilli.

On Saturday we will probably eat out as Hubby won us two tickets to the Radio One Big Weekend next Saturday in Preston – hmmmm I could make us a picnic…. will have to get my thinking cap on there!!

Anyway, I will try & report back mid week with some pics seeing as I have been a bit absent recently.