One list five meals: Black Pepper Beef and Red Onion Stir Fry

MONDAY

Black Pepper Beef and Red Onion Stir Fry

Serves 4

Rice for 4

2 tsp of turmeric

6 cloves

½ tbsp of tomato puree

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1 tbsp of white wine

1 tbsp of cracked black pepper

1 tbsp of cornflour

1 tbsp of light soya sauce

500g of beef, cut into thin strips

A dash of rapeseed oil

1 green pepper, de seeded and sliced

2 red onions, thinly sliced

Put the rice, turmeric and cloves into a pot and cover with boiling water. Allow to bubble away with the lid on until the rice is cooked, adding more water if necessary. Drain the rice and stir the tomato puree through it until it is completely combined. You can remove the cloves if you wish.

Mix the garlic, white wine, pepper, soya sauce and cornflour and add the beef. Place into the fridge for 20 minutes.

Heat the oil, to very hot, and stir fry the pepper and onion for about 45 seconds. Until they are beginning to soften. Remove from the pan and add the beef and discard the rest of the marinade. Stir fry quickly until brown all over — it will just take a minute. Add the onions and peppers back in to the pan and add a tablespoon of light soya sauce. Remove everything from the pan after about 30 seconds.

Serve with the rice and pour any juices from the pan over the dish. You can rinse the pan out with a tablespoon or two of water and pour this over if you wish.

TUESDAY

Spicy Baked Eggs with Spinach and Potato

Serves 4

600g of waxy potatoes, cut into bite-size chunks

A bunch of thyme, removed from the stalk

1 red chilli, finely sliced

A dash of rapeseed oil

175mls of stock

12 cherry tomatoes, halved

300g of spinach

8 small eggs

100g of feta

Toss the potatoes, thyme and chilli in the oil and seasoning and place into a large ovenproof dish. Cover with the stock and put into an oven heated to 180 degrees. Bake for ten minutes until they begin to soften.

Add the tomatoes and continue baking for another ten minutes until they, too, are softening.

Lay the spinach on top and cover with a lid or foil. Place back into the oven for five minutes until it is beginning to wilt.

Stir the contents of the dish and crack the eggs on top and sprinkle with the feta. Bake until the eggs are cooked to your liking.

Spoon the dish onto four plates.

WEDNESDAY

Chicken and Bacon Bake with Bean Mash

Serves 4

8 chicken legs on the bone

8 smokey streaked rashers

5 cloves of garlic, 4 lightly crushed, one finely chopped

A dash of olive oil

2 tins of cannellini beans, drained

A bunch of basil, finely chopped

200mls of stock

Mixed leaves for four

½ tbsp of vinaigrette dressing

1 tbsp of brandy

Wrap the chicken legs in the rashers. You can secure them with a cocktail stick. Place them into an oven proof dish along with four lightly crushed cloves garlic and a drizzle of olive oil. Place into an oven at 180 degrees for 35 minutes or until cooked through.

Mash the beans with the finely chopped garlic, basil and stock. Taste and season.

Toss the salad in the dressing. Serve the chicken with any juices from the pan poured over, along with the salad and mash. If you want to remove more of the juice from the ovenproof dish a small dash of brandy or some more of the stock can work well too.

THURSDAY

Asian Fish Burgers with Miso-dressed Leaves

Serves 4

½ tbsp of miso paste

1 tbsp of rice wine vinegar

1 clove of garlic

1 tbsp of sesame oil

1 tbsp of natural yoghurt

2 fillets of salmon, off the bone and skin removed, cut into chunks

2 fillets of pollock, off the bone and skin removed, cut into chunks

½ mild red chilli

2 sticks of lemongrass, bashed with the back of a knife them the white part finely chopped

2 tsp of fish sauce

A bunch of coriander, chopped

Mixed green leaves for 4

4 burger-sized baps, sliced in half

Put the miso paste, rice wine vinegar, garlic, sesame oil and yoghurt into a blender and blitz until it is a smooth dressing. Pour into a bowl and set aside.

Place the salmon, pollock, chilli, lemongrass, fish sauce and most of the coriander into the same blender and mix until a rough paste. I do not wash out the blender in between as the flavours all work together.

Form the fish paste into four burger shape patties and put into the fridge to cool.

After ten minutes heat another dash of the sesame oil and fry the burgers for five minutes a side, until they are cooked through and turning golden on the outside.

Fill the buns with the burger. Toss the salad leaves and the remaining coriander in the dressing and serve in the bun too.

FRIDAY

Courgette and Ricotta Pizza

Serves 4

A generous dash of rapeseed oil

6 small onions, finely sliced

1 tsp of honey

2 tsp of cider vinegar

2 pizza bases, at least 10 inches

2 large courgettes, thinly sliced

200g of ricotta cheese

75 g of feta cheese

A small bunch of dill, chopped

Cover the base of a medium sized, heavy based saucepan with oil and allow to heat. Place all of the onions in the saucepan and place on the lid. Allow to sauté over a low heat until they have reduced down. I shake the pot regularly and stir every now and again, to keep the moisture inside. It will take a good ten minutes to reduce them. Stir in the honey, vinegar and seasoning and stir over a low heat for another minute.

Heat your oven to as hot as it will go and leave the metal tray inside so it heats too.

Cover the pizza bases completely in a layer of the onion. Lay the courgette slices on top and sprinkle with cheese and a some cracked black pepper.

Remove the metal oven tray and carefully turn it upside down, then slide the pizza on to it. Bake in the oven until the cheese is melting and the edge is golden. Remove and sprinkle with the dill. Do the same for the other pizza.