Chickpea Hummus

Gosh I love this!

I quite happily have this for breakfast, lunch or dinner! The boys love a tub of this with crackers for school and I have been known to add a couple of spoonfuls to wraps and sandwiches to give them a little kick.

I do like to use dried chickpeas for this, infact, I always cook more than I need as they are so handy for throwing into salads and curries!

Serves 6-8.

Ingredients

220g dried chickpeas, gives around 515g cooked chickpeas

2 tablespoons tahini

3 cloves garlic, crushed

4 lemons, juiced

175mls olive oil

salt to season

a little extra olive oil and paprika to serve

Method

Soak the chickpeas over night in a large bowl of water.

Drain the chickpeas and pour them into a large pan, top up with triple the quantity of water.

Bring to the boil and simmer for 1 hour, they may take a little longer.

Drain the chickpeas and allow to cool.

Process all of the ingredients, check for seasoning.

Spoon into a serving dish, use the back of a spoon to make a swirl pattern.

Gently drizzle a little olive oil over the hummus and a couple of pinches of paprika.

Quinoa Tabbouleh

In the good old days I loved tabbouleh made with burghul but since Coeliacs I’ve had to adapt and the family with me, most of the time!

Quinoa is a great alternative and really goes well with the fresh flavours. I do use large quantities of herbs, the weights given are for leaf weights, not the stalks! If you aren’t a huge fan of parsley or mint, just play around with the herbs until you get it the way you like it.

Serves 6. We often have tabbouleh with beetroot falafels and Greek yogurt. The boys have flat breads too.

Ingredients

180g white quinoa

500mls water

50g mint leaves, finely shredded

50g fresh parsley leaves, finely shredded

3 spring onions, finely sliced

4 large tomatoes, deseeded and diced finely

juice of 2 lemons

2 tablespoons olive oil

salt and pepper

Method

Measure the quinoa into a medium pan, add the cold water and cover with a lid, bring up to the boil and then simmer for 14mins. Allow to sit for 5 minutes before removing the lid.

Tip the quinoa into a sieve and run cold water over it to cool, allow to drain completely.

Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and allow to sit for 30minutes to allow the flavours to develop.

Serve with beetroot falafel.

Lemon, Garlic and Parsley Chicken Wings

An all time classic marinade that just screams fresh to me.

Our lemon tree is laden at the moment and I suspect that lemons will be featuring a lot more in the coming weeks.

I have cooked these in the oven, it is winter here, but, they taste even better on the BBQ with crispy skin and garlic, yum!

Serves 4-6.

Ingredients

1.4kg chicken wings, tips removed and cut in two

4 cloves garlic, chopped

2 lemons juiced

large handful parsley leaves, chopped

50mls olive oil

salt and pepper

Method

In a large bowl combine the garlic, lemon, parsley, oil, salt and a good grinding of pepper.

Add the chicken wings, mix well and allow to marinade for 2-6 hours.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Centigrade. Line two baking sheets with baking parchment.

Lay the chicken pieces on the prepared tins. Brush over any extra marinade.

Pop into the oven and bake for 35-40 mins, basting every 10mins with the pan juices.

Allow to cool a little before serving.

 

Creamy Green Pasta Sauce or Avocado Pasta Sauce

Avocados are in season here and my boys don’t eat them!

That is, they don’t eat them knowingly!

Enter creamy green pasta sauce, easy to make and full of flavour.

For my gluten free option, I use gluten free pasta.

Serves 4-6.

Ingredients

500g dried spaghetti, gluten free if needed

6 ripe avocados

2 lemons

1-2 teaspoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic, chopped finely

1 green chilli, deseeded and finely diced

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

saly and pepper

lemon wedges to serve

Method

Cook your pasta as per the instructions.

Heat a small frying pan over a medium heat, add the oil.

Add the garlic and chopped chilli to the frying pan, stir and turn off heat.

In a processor of stick blender, add the avocado flesh, lemon juice, cayenne and the contents of the frying pan.

Process to a smooth paste, taste for flavour, season with salt and pepper.

Once the pasta is cooked, drain well.

Pour the avocado paste into the pasta, stir well and serve with lemon wedges.