Oriental Stir Fry with Aromatic Lamb & Pok Choi

Oriental Stir Fry with Aromatic Lamb & Pok Choi – Serves 2

Tonight was definately one of those nights where I was in the mood for a stir fry – a quick and tasty dish was required! I think lamb is an under rated meat for stir fry’s as if cooked correctly it can be amazingly tender.

Remember, the key to any stir fry is to ensure you have all the ingredients you need to hand; so ensure everything is chopped and prepared before you start.

Ingredients

• 2 hand trimmed leg steak of lamb
• 100g fresh egg noodles
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 3cm knob of ginger, peeled and finely grated
• 1 tsp 5 spice powder
• 3 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp cornflour
• Olive oil for frying
• Sesame oil, to drizzle
• 1 red chilli, deseeded & finely chopped
• 2 heads of pak choi, leaves seperated
• 4 spring onions, chopped
• Zest of 1 lime, and a squeeze of lime juice

Firstly, slice up the lamb into thin strips and coat with the garlic, ginger and 5 spice powder then set aside. In a seperate bowl, mix the oyster sauce, soy sauce and cornflour together and set aside. Mix the cooked noodles with a drizzle of sesame oil and set aside. Now, along with your chopped ingredients you should be ready to start cooking.

Heat a small amount of oil in a wok and briefly fry the lamb strips on a high heat, so the meat is still a little rare in the middle and remove from the wok (this should only take a minute or two).

Add a little more oil to the pan and fry the pak choi and chilli with the oyster sauce for a couple of minutes, then add the lamb back to the pan. Add the spring onions and noodles to the wok and stir fry for a couple of minutes until the noodles are warmed through.

To serve, squeeze over the lime juice and sprinkle over the lime zest.

Chicken Stuffed with Goat's Cheese on a Bed of Tomatoes

Chicken Stuffed with Goat’s Cheese on a Bed of Tomatoes – Serves 2

I’m trying to be as healthy as possible at the moment, and although the chicken is stuffed with goat’s cheese, it’s a healthy meal in my book – and what’s more it tastes great. Recently I have been adding a splash of balsamic vinegar to the tomatoes and I feel it really enhances the flavour.

If your making this for a special occasion, why not wrap the chicken in a couple of slices of Parma ham or streaky bacon.

Ingredients

• 2 chicken breasts (with skin on)
• 200g plum tomatoes on the vine, (some halved, some whole)
• 50g firm goats cheese, cut into slices
• 1 handfull of thyme sprigs
• 1 handfull of basil leaves
• 1 glass of white wine, preferably dry
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• Salt & pepper
• Slices of Parma ham (optional)

Preheat the oven to 200C. Peel back the skin of the chicken and stuff inside slices of goats cheese & a couple of sprigs of thyme. Season the chicken and place into a roasting dish.

Place the tomatoes around the chicken then pour in the oil, wine and balsamic vinegar. Check the seasoning again, scatter a couple more thyme sprigs over the chicken and tear a handful of basil leaves over the tomatoes. Place in the oven for around 30 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.

Vegetarian Lasagne

Vegetarian Lasagne – Serves 4

Susie has been banging on about how good her mums vegetable lasagne was, and as my parents brought us back loads of puy lentils from their holiday in France, we thought we would give it a go.

I have to admit that I was a little surprised how much I enjoyed this; the thought of lentils and vegetables as a replacement tom meat wasn’t really doing much for me to be honest, but it was really good! It’s certainly worth a try as it’s healthier and works out a lot cheaper – good for surviving the ‘credit crunch’.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp oil (for frying)
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 6 oz of lentils (I used puy lentils)
• 1/2 pint vegetable stock
• 15 oz tin of chopped tomatoes
• 2 tbsp tomato puree
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 carrots, diced
• 2 courgettes, diced (I omitted these)
• 1/4 tsp basil, oregano & thyme (or use herbs de Provence)
• Lasagne sheets
• 1 pint of cheese sauce
• Cheese (for grating on top!)

Heat the oil in a pan and fry the onions until softened a little, then add the garlic, lentils, puree, stock, bay leaf, carrots, and courgettes. Simmer for around 20-25 minutes until the lentils are tender and most of the liquid has absorbed. At this point, remove the bay leaf, stir in the herbs, add the tomatoes and cook for a further 5 minutes.

Once finished, fill your lasagne dish with alternate layers of mixture and lasagne sheets, until the dish is full. Pour on the cheese sauce and sprinkle some grated cheese on the top to give the lasagne a golden finish. Place in the oven at 200 C for around 45 minutes, or until golden brown and cooked through.

I tend to serve this either with a side salad or some green veg, but it is equally good all on it’s own!

Enjoy.