Baked Gnocchi with Mushroom and Spinach

Ingredients
300g Mushrooms (sliced)
1 Onion (finely chopped)
1 Clove Garlic (thinly chopped)
200g Spinach
2 Tablespoons Creme Fraiche
75g Cheddar Cheese (grated)
A Splash of Oil
1 Portion of Gnocchi (check the 20th June this year for how to make and only use 3/4's of the amounts used)

Equipment
1 Large Pan Boiling Salted Water
1 Frying Pan
1 Spatula
1 SHARP Knife
1 Chopping Board
1 Ovenproof Dish

The Good Bit

1. Preheat your oven too 180c 350f gas 4, Fry Your onion and garlic together in your frying pan in a splash of oil for about 5 minutes then add in the mushrooms and fry for another 2minutes, next toss in the gnocchi, spinach, creme fraiche and half of the grated cheese and stir well.
2. Pour this into your ovenproof dish and top with the remaining cheese, then place in the oven for about 17 minutes, remove and serve.

Serves 4

Spinach Salad

Ingredients

100g Spinach

75g Radicchio Leaves (salad leaves will do)

50g Mushrooms (cleaned and sliced)

50g Parma Ham (torn)

100g Cooked Chicken (torn)

1 Orange (all the juice and half the zest)

1 Tablespoon Natural Yoghurt

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper

Equipment

1 SHARP Knife

1 Chopping Board

1 Screwtop Jam Jar

1 Serving Bowl

The Good Bit

1. Start by chucking all your leaves into the serving bowl and mixing well, then add in the chicken, mushrooms and ham and mix again.
2. Now, in your jar place the oil, yogurt, orange juice and zest, screw the lid on and shake well, then season with salt and pepper.
3. Pour your dressing over the salad and mix well before serving.

Serves 4

Spinach Balls

Ingredients
1 Small Onion (finely chopped)
2 Cloves Garlic (crushed)
1 Large Green Chilli (de seeded and finely chopped)
350g Spinach (chopped)
250g Cottage Cheese
1 Egg
1 Tablespoon Parmesan
60g Sunflower Seeds
100g Bread Crumbs
Salt and Pepper
A Splash of Oil

Equipment
1 SHARP Knife
1 Chopping Board
1 Garlic Press
1 Frying Pan
1 Mixing Bowl
Cocktail Sticks
1 Baking Tray (lined with grease proof paper)
1 Plate

The Good Bit

1. Start by frying the onion, garlic and chilli of in the oil for about 5 minutes until it's soft then add the spinach and cook for another 5 minutes. then remove from the heat and leave to cool.
2. Pre heat your oven too 220c 425f gas 7. Mix together the egg, cottage cheese, parmesan and spinach, season and stir in the sunflower seeds.
3. Tip the breadcrumbs onto the plate, with a tablespoon, take a scoop of your mixture then roll it on the breadcrumbs until it's well coated then stick with a cocktail stick and stand on the baking tray, repeat until you are out of mixture, bake for 20 minutes of until the balls look golden.
   

Makes 20ish

Pork and Spinach

Ingredients
675g Pork (cubed)
400g Fresh Spinach
2 Onions (thinly sliced)
1 Pepper (de seeded and chopped)
3 Green Chillies (thinly chopped, take out the seeds if you want this cooler)
1/2 Teaspoon Dried Ginger
1 Clove Garlic (crushed or thinly chopped)
1 1/2 Teaspoons Dried Chilli powder
1 Teaspoon Salt
1 Teaspoon Garam Masala
750ml Water
1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
3 Tablespoons Chopped Fresh Coriander
6 Tablespoons of Oil (don't use your best olive here)

Equipment
1 SHARP Knife
1 Chopping Board
2 Large Pans
1 Mixing Bowl

The Good Bit

1. Mix the ginger, garlic, salt, chilli powder and garam masala in the bowl and set to one side, then fry the onion off in the large pan in a little oil until it turns golden brown.
2. Add the pork to the onions and stir fry until the colour has changed evenly all over the pork then tip in the spice mix and stir well making sure to coat all the meat.
3. Pour in the water and bring rapidly to a boil, then lower the heat and cover, simmer for 30 minutes, after the 30 minutes, check the meat, if it is tender great, if not cook a little longer, if the pan is really liquid, take the lid off and boil the excess liquid off rapidly
4. Whilst this is doing, half fill the other pan with water and bring it the boil, drop in the spinach and boil for about a minute, tip out the boiling water and pour cold water over it to keep it from cooking, drain well.
5. When there is little water left in your pork pan, drop in the spinach, stir and cook for 7-10 minutes, keep stirring whilst you do this.
6. Finally, drop in the pepper, green chillies and the coriander and heat for 2 minutes, then stir in the lemon juice and serve.
   

Serves 4

Cajun Chicken Salad

Ingredients
4 Chicken Breasts (sliced in half to make 8 thin breasts) or 12 Mini Fillets
1 Lime (juiced)
5 Tablespoons Flour
1 Tablespoon Cajun Seasoning
1 Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
Pinch of Salt
2 Oranges (peeled and sliced)
120g Bag of Spinach or Rocket Leaves
1 Small Red Onion (thinly sliced into rings)

Equipment
1 SHARP Knife
1 Chopping Board
1 Oven Proof Dish
1 Mixing Bowl
1 Plate

The Good Bit

1. Pre heat your oven to 220c 425f or gas 7, toss the chicken into the lime juice whilst you measure out into the mixing bowl the flour, Cajun seasoning, cayenne pepper and the pinch of salt, give it a good mix then sprinkle it out onto the plate.
2. Lift each slice of chicken out of the lime juice and press down onto the seasoned flour, coat both sides then place on the oven proof dish. place in the oven for 20-25 minutes.
3. Mix the salad leaves with the onion and orange slices plus any juice that came out of the oranges then serve onto 4 plates and top with the crispy chicken. Enjoy.
   

Serves 4

Mushroom Risotto

Ingredients
500g Mixed Mushrooms
30g Dried Cep or Porcini Mushrooms
300ml Boiling Water
1 Onion (finely chopped)
4 Cloves Garlic (finely chopped)
1.2l Vegetable Stock (you should be able to make your own now!)
250g Rice (long grain or risotto)
Parmesan (grated with a cheese grate or sliced with a knife)
A Good Knob of Butter
A Splash of Oil
Handful of Parsley (chopped)
A Little Extra Bonus Topping
4 Cloves Garlic
500g Spinach or 200g Lettuce Leaves (mixed leaves gives even more flavour) (shredded)
Another Good Splash of Oil

Equipment
1 SHARP Knife
1 Chopping Board
1 Medium Pan/Bowl
1 Large Frying Pan/Wok
1 Medium Frying Pan

The Good Bit

1. In your bowl pour the boiling water and place in the dried mushrooms, in the frying pan add a splash of oil and cook the onion and garlic until the onion is soft then add the rice and stir in for about a minute.
2. Pour in all the stock next and keep over a fairly high heat, drain the dried mushrooms and add them to the frying pan.
3. In the other frying pan, add another splash of oil and a knob of butter (as much as you would put on a slice of toast), melt the butter then add the mushrooms and cook for 4 minutes.
4. Add the mushrooms to the risotto once all the liquid has almost been absorbed and chuck in the parsley, add 2 knobs of butter and stir in well (at this stage you can for added flavour grate in a little of the parmesan)
5. Serve topped with a couple of slices of grated parmesan, if you want the bonus bit, in the smaller frying pan add another splash of oil, cook the garlic for 1 minute, chuck in the greens and cook until wilted, stirring to cover with the garlicky oil. Serve on top of the risotto then top with the grated slices of parmesan.

Serves 4

Popeye Soup

Ingredients
2 Large Onions (roughly chopped)
2 Cloves Garlic (roughly chopped)
1 Red Chilli (finely chopped)
1 Bunch Fresh Mint (roughly chopped)
1 Bunch Fresh Parsley or Coriander (roughly chopped)
500g Fresh Spinach (roughly chopped)
1.2l Vegetable Stock
2 Lemons (juiced)
Pinch of Dried Nutmeg
A Splash of Oil

Equipment
1 SHARP Knife
1 Chopping Board
1 Large Pan
1 Blender
1 Wooden Spoon

The Good Bit

1. Cook the onion, garlic and chilli in the pan in a splash of oil for 10-minutes, or until soft and golden, add the herbs and stock and bring to the boil (not the spinach), simmer for 15 minutes.
2. Add the spinach and cook for another 2 minutes then add the lemon juice, nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste, blend with a hand blender or if using a food processor, once blended return to heat through for a short while, (not to long as the colour will go)

Serves 4

Chicken and Mushroom Noodles

Ingredients
4 Chicken Breasts (cut into bite size chunks)
1 Handful Spring/Salad Onions (sliced into 1cm strips)
200g Mushrooms (sliced)
1 Bottle Oyster Sauce
200ml Chicken Stock
200g Spinach Leaves (150g Salad Leaves if spinach is not available)
400g Egg Noodles
Olive Oil
1 Teaspoon Black Pepper Corns (crushed)

Equipment
1 Wok
1 Large Pan (2/3rds full with salted boiling water)
1 SHARP Knife
1 Chopping Board
Something to crush your pepper corns with (i use a piece of kitchen paper and the blade of my knife)

The Good Bit

1. Begin to cook the noodles to packet instructions (3-4 minutes) and meanwhile heat a little oil in the wok and cook the chicken until browned on all sides.
2. Add the mushrooms, onion and pepper corns and stir fry for 2 minutes, then add the oyster sauce, the stock and the spinach (or salad leaves) and cook for 2 minutes or until the leaves have wilted. (Don't cook for too long at this stage)
   
3. Whilst this is cooking, your noodles should be done, take them off the heat and drain (i use a colander for this but it's not necessary if you have lids for your pans)
4. Divide the noodles between 4 plates and dollop on some of the chicken mixture!

Serves 4

Spanish Salad

Ingredients
150g Spinach and Rocket Salad (available at most supermarkets)
1 Small Onion (red is sweeter and preferred)
2 Oranges
Dash of Olive Oil
Optional
4 Chicken Breasts (The flavoured packs of cooked chicken pieces that supermarkets do work very well here and will allow you to experiment with flavours like Thai, Mexican and BBQ, if you are using flavoured pieces, ignore the rest of this section)
4 Tablespoons Flour (any will do)
1 Teaspoon Chilli Powder
A Good Pinch of Salt and Pepper
Zest and Juice of A Lime
1 Tablespoon of Cajun Seasoning

Equipment
2 Large Bowls
1 Small bowl for the lime juice
1 Large Frying Pan/Wok
1 Spatula
1 Lime Zester and Juicer

The Good Bit

1. If you are having the chicken, mix all the spice, salt, pepper and flower in a bowl along with the zest of the lime, dip your chicken in the lime juice and then coat both sides with the flour mixture.
2. Fry these off on a medium heat until golden turning only once so as to disturb the coating as little as possible.
3. Mix the salad leaves in with a dash of olive oil, peel and cut your oranges into skinless segments collecting any juice and mixing that in with the salad leaves.
4. Serve the leaves straight onto a plate and add a couple of slices of orange, then place a chicken fillet on top, or if you are using the pieces option, sprinkle them on top or mix in with the leaves, it's down to you!

Serves 4