Oh Nadiya!

This is a dish that we gobbled up so fast when I first made it, that I forgot to take a photo! So I had to make it again, in order to do so (hence the beautiful pic below). It is one of those recipes which pretty much involves shoving everything on a baking tray, and leaving it to make itself. The whole meal is on the tray, and you end up looking fabulously talented for having prepared it all.

The creator of this easy feast is Nadiya Hussain. Now let me, for at least a paragraph, wax lyrical about this culinary gem. If you have never come across Nadiya Hussain, then where have you been? It probably means you have never watched The Great British Bake-Off (or the Great British Baking Show, as it is called in the US, I am disappointed to say). In which case, what have you been doing? You're missing the best show on earth! And you don't need to be a baker to watch it - it is just the best flipping telly there is - the relationships, the humor, the humility (which let's face it, you NEVER see in a US competitive show). It's all fab. And the new season starts on Friday! Woo hoo!

Anyway, it was GBBO which gave us Nadiya Hussain, who started the show as a shy, quiet mum of three, and blossomed before our eyes into a funny, confident (but still humble and unassuming) STAR. Never was there a more appropriate use of all caps. She now has a few TV shows of her own under her belt, and she is wonderful to watch. It feels like you are having a chat with a good friend in the kitchen. 

This particular recipe comes from her latest show: Time To Eat (on Netflix), which focuses on really easy and quick recipes for people with busy lives. (Hmmmm, who can she be talking about?). The recipe below is no exception. It is so quick to prepare and then just cooks all together in the oven, while you do something way more interesting. It isn't vegetarian, but it would be easy to make it thus, subbing the chicken for another vegetable or two. Moreover, it is just delicious, and tastes rich and flavorful, without being too spicy hot. If you want it hotter, you could always add more curry paste, or some minced chiles. If your family are spice-averse, then bear in mind it does have a bit of a kick, so you could always sub one of the TBSP of curry paste with an extra TBSP of honey.

Peanut Chicken Tray Bake
Adapted from Nadiya Hussain's Time to Eat

Serves 4 (or 3, if you include one teenager who is growing like a weed)

2 lbs chicken thighs, fat trimmed and cut into 1/2" thick slices
3 medium heads broccoli, cut into small florets
2 red onions, halved and sliced 1/2" thick
1 16oz pack potato gnocchi
1/4 cup (4 TBSP) honey
1/4 cup (4 TBSP) canola oil
5 TBSP Thai green curry paste
5 TBSP smooth peanut butter
1 tsp salt
3 TBSP salted peanuts, roughly chopped
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro (coriander leaves)
1 lime, cut into wedges

1. Preheat the oven to 400F (200C).

2. Cook the gnocchi according to directions, then drain.

3. Put the cooked gnocchi, onions, broccoli and chicken in a large bowl together.

4. In a small bowl, whisk together the honey, oil, curry paste, peanut butter and salt.

5. Add this mixture to the gnocchi/chicken/veg and toss to coat everything in the sticky goodness.

6. Coat a large baking tray with canola oil spray and then spread the mixture out on to to the tray in more or less a single layer.

7. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, briefly removing it to stir it around half way through the cooking time. 

8. Serve topped with peanuts and cilantro, and with lime juice squeezed over the top.

Confession time

 I never thought it would come to this, but I have apparently become a gardener. I know. Next, I will get into knitting or (heaven forfend) crochet. Gulp. If I start subscribing to Martha Stewart You Tube channels on decoupage or macrame, please call the authorities. This is what shelter in place has done to me. 

And that isn't even the confession - the real shame comes from admitting that I actually enjoy gardening. I get a kick out of going out there and watering my veggies each night. And at this point in the process, I'm getting a huge boost out of picking more and more tomatoes each day, as they redden so fast you can almost watch it happen. Don't even start me on the way my chocolate bell peppers are turning shiny brown; I'll bore you rigid in less than a minute. 

The wealth of tomatoes does however give me a dilemma. Child 3, the only one still in residence, finds tomatoes completely unpalatable, unless they are cooked into oblivion in a sauce (or unrecognizable in ketchup or pizza sauce), so he isn't keen to help with the bowls of fresh fragrant red orbs now gracing the shelves of our fridge. Or is he?.... I have discovered that there is yet another way of disguising tomato-ey goodness, even to those with the most suspicious of palates - namely blitzing them in the food processor to create a pesto-style pasta sauce, whose tomato origins are largely hidden. (And, for the record, same kid also thinks eggplant is the work of the devil, but unknowingly ate a whole bunch of the stuff in one of the dishes below - buahahaha!)

Below are two recipes which thrive from a good dose of tomato subterfuge. One doesn't even require you to cook the tomatoes in any way, before whizzing them into a chunky pulp. And there is something immensely satisfying in quenching one's Covid-related frustrations by pressing that button and watching destruction in progress in the food processor bowl. All the more so, if it creates a tasty dinner in the process. So wait til the point in the day when all those frustrations are building up to what seems like a crescendo, load up the machine, press the button with one hand (preferably holding a glass of wine in the other) and blitz away at least some of the Covid/smoke/homeschooling blues.

Sicilian Pasta with Tomatoes, Garlic and Almonds
adapted from Nigella.com

Serves 4

1 lb penne
salt

1/2 lb cherry/grape tomatoes

1 oz golden raisins/sultanas

2 cloves garlic, peeled

1 TBSP capers, drained

2 oz unsalted almonds

1/4 cup olive oil

fresh parmesan to serve

1 cup fresh basil, chopped

1. Cook the pasta in salted water until ready. 

2. While the pasta is cooking, put the remaining ingredients, except for the basil, in the bowl of a food processor, and blitz until it makes a nubbly-textured sauce.

3. Drain the cooked pasta (reserving a little of the cooking liquid) and return to the saucepan. Stir through the sauce from the food processor. If you want a runnier sauce, add a little of the cooking liquid to loosen it.

4. Serve topped with grated parmesan and fresh basil. 

Eggplant Puree Pasta

adapted from Smittenkitchen.com

Serves 4

1 medium-large eggplant, chopped into cubes

2 cups cherry/grape tomatoes

3 cloves garlic, peeled

olive oil

salt and ground black pepper

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1 lb penne

1/4 cup torn fresh mint and basil (or one or the other, if you prefer), plus extra to serve

3 TBSP olive oil

1/2 cup grated parmesan

1/4 cup toasted pine nuts

1. Preheat oven to 400F (200C).

2. Put eggplant, tomatoes and garlic on a large rimmed roasting tray, and toss with olive oil to coat. Sprinkle with salt. Put in preheated oven to roast for about 35 minutes, by which point the vegetables should be tender, and the eggplant tinged with brown on the edges.

3. Meanwhile cook the pasta according to instructions. Drain, reserving some of the cooking liquid, and return to the saucepan.

4. Put the roasted vegetables in the bowl of a food processor. Add the torn mint/basil/both and 3 TBSP olive oil and then blitz until almost smooth.

5. Add this eggplant mixture to the saucepan with the pasta, adding a little of the cooking liquid to make a sauce that coats the pasta.

6. Serve with more herbs, parmesan and pine nuts sprinkled on top.