If you’re finding yourself in the house a lot more than usual at the moment, you’re not alone. But just because you’re not going out to eat as much at the moment, doesn’t mean you have to punish your taste buds with an endless stream of beans on toast and soggy cornflakes (or your waistline with a fridge-load of chocolate). Here are some quick, easy and tasty recipes from Spinneys that you can use with store cupboard staples and that you can batch cook ahead of time, so you don’t need to worry about spending hours in the kitchen.
Spaghetti Bolognese bake
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 40 minutes
Serves: 8
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 leek, cleaned and finely chopped
2 medium carrots, peeled and grated
400g spinneysFOOD Beef Lean Mince spinneysFOOD Sea Salt, freshly ground spinneysFOOD Black Pepper, freshly ground
2 tbsp tomato paste
340g spinneysFOOD Tomato for Bolognese sauce
4 tbsp vegetable stock
500g spinneysFOOD Whole Wheat Spaghetti
20g grated hard cheese (optional)
2 sprigs spinneysFOOD Fresh Thyme, finely chopped
1 cup breadcrumbs
1 Preheat the oven to 180°C, gas mark 4.
2 To make the Bolognese, sauté the leeks and carrots in a large saucepan over a medium-low heat until soft – about five minutes. Add the mince and sauté until browned. Season the meat and add the tomato paste and tinned tomatoes, cook for a further ten minutes and add the stock. Gently simmer for 20 to 30 minutes or until cooked through.
3 Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil then cook the spaghetti according to the packet instructions until al dente. Drain and toss through the Bolognese sauce.
4 Place the spaghetti into a large 30x20cm roasting dish. Combine the cheese, thyme and breadcrumbs and season to taste. Sprinkle over the spaghetti.
5 Place in the preheated oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes until the top is golden and crispy.
6 Serve immediately or cover and freeze. To serve, simply defrost and reheat in a preheated oven.
Lamb and rosemary sausage rolls
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Serves: 8
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
¼ cup spinneysFOOD Fresh Rosemary, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
500g spinneysFOOD Lamb Mince
2 cups breadcrumbs
1 tsp spinneysFOOD Sea Salt
½ tsp spinneysFOOD Black Pepper, freshly ground
2 large spinneysFOOD Organic Free Range Eggs
2 x 400g frozen puff pastry, thawed Black sesame seeds, to sprinkle
1 Preheat the oven to 180°C, gas mark 4.
2 Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat and fry the onion, rosemary and garlic for two to three minutes. Allow to cool and transfer to a large bowl.
3 Add the mince, breadcrumbs, seasoning and one egg and mix to combine. Divide the mixture into four.
4 Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface. Cut each sheet in half so you have four long pieces.
5 Place a portion of mince down the centre of each piece of pastry. Whisk the remaining egg and brush the edges. Roll the sausage roll up to enclose the filling. Place the roll seam-side down on a lined baking tray.
6 Use a sharp knife to cut slits in the top of the sausage rolls, brush with egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
7 Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden.
Indian spiced chicken skewers with pickles and poppadoms
Prep time: 25 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Serves: 8
500g spinneysFOOD Chicken Mince
1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
3 tbsp korma curry paste
Small handful of spinneysFOOD Fresh Coriander, chopped, plus extra to garnish spinneysFOOD Sea Salt, freshly ground spinneysFOOD Black Pepper, freshly ground
8 small spring onions or baby leeks, halved lengthways
2 tbsp vegetable oil (for frying)
8 poppadoms, to serve
Cucumber pickles, yoghurt and fresh mint, to serve
1 In a bowl, combine the mince, onion, curry paste and chopped coriander. Season well.
2 Working with a small handful of mince at a time, form the mince into a sausage around the base of each spring onion or leek so the spring onion becomes the skewer. Continue with the remaining mince. Brush the skewers with oil.
3 Heat a griddle pan to smoking hot and cook the skewers for four to five minutes until golden and charred, then turn and cook on the other side for another three minutes. Remove from the heat, cover with foil.
4 Serve the skewers with poppadoms, cucumber pickles, yoghurt and fresh mint.
Turmeric coconut curry with chicken meatballs
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Serves: 8
For the curry paste
2 spring onions, roughly chopped
2 red chillies, chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled
2 tsp spinneysFOOD Fine Coriander
1 tsp shrimp paste
2 tsp spinneysFOOD Fine Turmeric
4 tbsp dark brown sugar
3 stalks lemongrass, white part only, bruised
6cm piece ginger, grated
2 tsp vegetable oil
1 tsp spinneysFOOD Salt
Juice of 2 limes
1 tin light coconut milk
For the chicken meatballs
500g spinneysFOOD Chicken Mince
Handful of spinneysFOOD Fresh Coriander, chopped
Coconut flakes and steamed rice to serve
1 Place the spring onions, chillies, garlic, coriander, shrimp paste, turmeric, brown sugar, lemongrass and ginger in a blender and blitz until a paste forms.
2 Heat the oil in a large heavy-based saucepan and sauté three quarters of the paste for one minute or until fragrant. Add the salt, lime juice and coconut milk then bring to the boil.
3 Make the chicken meatballs by combining the rest of the curry paste with the chicken mince and coriander. Season well.
4 Form the chicken mince into small, walnut-sized balls.
5 Add the chicken meatballs to the coconut curry and simmer, covered for 15 minutes or until cooked through.
Love your leftover rice
Made too much rice with your dinner?
That’s a tasty, quick brekkie or lunch right there
If you’ve been overambitious with how much rice you need, fret not as there’s no need to throw it away. Here are three totally different ways to use the leftovers and make a tasty meal the next day. These recipes use spinneys FOODThai Fragrant Jasmine Rice, grown in northern Thailand and spinneys FOODLong-Grain Basmati Rice from the foothills of the Himalayas in India.
HOME-MADE RICE MILK
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 5 minutes
Makes: 1.5 litres
1 cup spinneysFOOD Thai Fragrant Jasmine Rice, cooked
4 cups water
1 tsp vanilla extract
5 spinneysFOOD Khodri Dates, seedless
1 Add all the ingredients to a blender and blitz until completely smooth and combined.
2 Store in the fridge and serve cold. Use within two days.
KOREAN BIBIMBAP WITH RICE
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Serves: 4
For the marinated mushrooms
½ cup soy sauce
3 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp gochujang (Korean chilli paste)
5cm piece fresh ginger, grated
2 cloves garlic, grated
2 tbsp sesame oil, plus extra for cooking
3-4 large Portobello mushrooms, sliced
2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
For the bowls
400g baby spinach
2 tbsp sesame oil
3 cups spinneysFOOD Long-Grain Basmati
Rice, cooked
2 carrots, cut into matchsticks
2 spring onions, sliced
100g kimchi
4 eggs
To serve
Toasted sesame seeds
Sprouts
Sriracha
1 In a large bowl, combine all the marinade ingredients together and stir to combine, then toss the mushrooms through it. Refrigerate for one hour or overnight.
2 Heat up a glug of sesame oil in a wok over high heat, sauté the mushrooms in 3 tbsp of the marinade until caramelised. Remove from the heat and stir in a handful of toasted sesame seeds.
3 Over medium-high heat, cook the spinach in 2 tbsp of sesame oil for about eight minutes or until wilted. Remove from the heat and set aside.
4 Divide the rice among bowls. Top with the marinated mushrooms, spinach, carrots, spring onions and kimchi.
5 Fry the eggs to your liking and place one in the centre of each bowl. Serve with toasted sesame seeds, sprouts and Sriracha.
FILIPINO GARLIC FRIED RICE WITH VINEGAR SAUCE
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Serves: 4
For the vinegar sauce
½ cup white grape vinegar
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 dried chilli, chopped
2 spring onions, sliced, for garnishing
For the garlic fried rice
3 tbsp olive oil
4 large cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
4 cups spinneysFOOD Long-Grain Basmati Rice, cooked and cooled
spinneysFOOD Salt, for seasoning
spinneysFOOD Whole Black Pepper, freshly ground, for seasoning
1 Combine all the vinegar sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
2 To make the garlic rice, heat up the olive oil in a large non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Sauté the garlic for one minute or until lightly browned.
3 Add the cooked rice and sauté for eight to ten minutes or until the rice gets crispy in some spots. Season well and transfer to a serving dish.
4 Top with the vinegar sauce and garnish with the spring onions.
