Chicken, Spinach & Butternut Squash Curry

Last week I made this super tasty chicken curry. I don't tend to cook authentic Indian food at home as I can rarely be bothered to make my own curry paste and to me the shop bought ones taste pretty good. This takes about an hour and a half to make, so maybe not ideal for a school night, but it's well worth the time and effort.

I used chicken thighs and drumsticks as they're so much cheaper than breast meat (it was less than £4 for enough free range meat for 5 portions). Adding butternut squash and spinach is a handy way of getting a few of your five a day and in my opinion they're a great addition to any curry. The lentils help to thicken the sauce and absorb the excess liquid so you get a deliciously thick sauce, perfect for mopping up with some naan bread. I also nabbed some onion bhajis from work, which were perfectly crisp and full of flavour.

Serves 4-6

800g free range chicken drumsticks and/or thighs
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 onion, chopped
1 butternut squash, cut into bite size chunks
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp hot chili powder
2 tbsp curry paste (I used Pataks)
1 tin reduced fat coconut milk
1/2 jar passata
1 bag of spinach
6 tbsp red split lentils 

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees. Put the bite size chunks of butternut squash into a large baking tray in one layer, drizzle with oil and cook for 45 minutes or until soft.
2. Meanwhile mix the spices and garlic with a little oil to make a paste, spread the mixture over the chicken and leave to marinade for 20 minutes (or longer if you have time). 
3. Heat a little oil in a heavy based pan and fry the chicken until browned. Remove the chicken from the pan and add the onion. Gently fry for 10 minutes, then add the curry paste & lentils and fry for a few more minutes. 
4. Add the passata, coconut milk and chicken. Bring the mixture to the boil, then turn down the heat, put the lid on and cook for 40 minutes. Add the roasted squash for the final 15 minutes of cooking.
5. When the lentils have plumped up and absorbed the excess liquid, add the spinach a handful at a time and let it wilt. Once all the spinach has been added serve with brown rice.

Chicken marinading:

 Chicken, spinach & butternut squash curry:

Deliverance onion bhajis:

The finished article:

Roast Duck Legs with a Red Wine Sauce

This weeks Sunday night dinner again came from Good Food. I reduced the recipe for just the 2 of us, but kept the same amount of garlic, rosemary and five spice and used 250ml of red wine as I like plenty of sauce. It's a really simple recipe to follow and a good alternative to a roast dinner if there are only a few of you.

I served the duck with sweet potato mash and braised leeks. I put the sweet potatoes in the oven with duck, when the flesh was soft I peeled off the skin and mashed them with a little low fat creme fraiche and seasoning. I softened the leeks in butter, then added some vegetable stock and left them to braise for 10 minutes on a low heat. Yum!

Little duck legs resting before the oven:

Crispy duck & red wine sauce:

Braised leeks & sweet potato mash:

Ready to eat:

Smoked Mackerel Pate

This is a seriously tasty but incredibly easy recipe and therefore it's one of my favourites! Because mackerel tastes so good on its own, it only needs a little sprucing up to turn it into this delicious pate, perfect as a starter or a light lunch.

Serves 4
Around 200g responsibly sourced smoked mackerel fillets
1 tbsp half fat creme fraiche
1 tbsp creamed horseradish
1/2 pack of dill, finely chopped
Juice of 1/2 a lemon, serve the remainder with the pate

1. Simply flake the mackerel into a bowl and mix in the rest of the ingredients
2. Split into 4 ramekins and serve with toasted soda bread, lemon & extra horseradish

Only 5 ingredients:

Doesn't look that appetising but it tastes good:

With toasted soda bread & lemon:

Le Mercury - Islington

A few weeks ago I went for dinner with the fabulous Francesca and the delightful Alex, and what a joyful evening we had! We ate at Le Mercury, a French restaurant on Upper St which has long been one of my favourites.

There are many things I like about Le Mercury, one of them being the price. Starters are £3.95, mains £7.95 and desserts are £2.95, I can't think of anywhere else in London where you can have a decent 3 course meal for less than £15. I realise that food shouldn't be judged by the price alone, but I should imagine this is one of the reasons it is fully booked every night. The fact that Le Mercury is always so busy is another plus, the atmosphere is always great, although trying to get a table on a Saturday night can be difficult.

To start I had prawns with garlic mayonnaise, hardly haute cuisine but tasty none the less. Fran went for foie gras and Alex had the seafood ravioli, both of which were lovely. For my main course I had the duck (which I have every time I go!) and it was as delicious as ever. It's served rare, with a red wine sauce, garlic mash and sauteed cabbage. So good! Fran had lamb with courgettes which looked delicious and Alex opted for guinea fowl, both of which received very good reviews!

For the first time I decided to try the desserts, which were actually a bit of a disappointment. I went for sticky toffee pudding, which was basically a bit of cake with toffee sauce on top, not great. Fran had creme brulee which was nice, but needed more vanilla.

Le Mercury is a great find amid the mass of over priced chain restaurants in Angel. The food (bar dessert) is consistently good, which is why I've been time and time again. The menu never changes and isn't that varied, but I think that's what allows them to charge so little for the food. It's a great venue for dinner with a group of friends or for a romantic meal if you're on a budget.

The pictures look worse than usual because I had to use the flash as food by candlelight is not photo friendly!

Prawns with garlic mayo:

Duck breast with garlic mash:

Sticky toffee pudding:

Canteen - Royal Festival Hall

Last month we went for dinner at Canteen, a small chain of restaurants serving classic dishes, made with the best ingredients. They've received consistently great reviews so I was excited to finally try the food. When we arrived the restaurant was buzzing, there was a food market taking place outside on the Southbank and every table was full.

The menu is unfussy and concise, it concentrates on comfort food; pies, steaks and roasts to name a few. Nothing on the menu instantly jumped out at me, when I'm out for dinner I like to chose something I wouldn't usually make at home, so basics like sausage & mash don't appeal that much.

To start I had potted shrimp, which were nice. The toasted bread they were served with was rock hard and cold, so no good for mopping up the butter from the shrimps. A little disappointing, especially as the fish finger sandwich Chris opted for was delicious. The chunky and crisp pieces of cod were topped with lashings of homemade tartar sauce - simple food at it's best, exactly what I was hoping for.

For the main we shared smoked haddock, spinach & mash and roast chicken with summer slaw. The haddock was great, delicately smoked with plenty of creamy mash, but at £14 it was very expensive. The chicken was a bit of a let down. The 'summer slaw' was simply some cabbage with vinegar on it and the chicken itself tasted like any other roast I've eaten. The dish was lacking in flavour and didn't really feel like a full meal.

I like what Canteen stand for; unpretentious, good quality food, eaten in a relaxed atmosphere. However, I do think the prices are too high and some of the food is so simplistic it is verging on bland. If you're using fantastic ingredients, then yes you should let them shine, but I do think the menu needs a little more flavour.

Whilst it's great to have classic dishes on the menu which haven't been needlessly updated, it's nice to have some more exciting options too. If I want to have macaroni cheese for dinner I think I'd rather make it myself, as paying nearly £10 for it in a restaurant seems a little pointless. If like me, you enjoy cooking, stay at home and use the cookbook to make the food yourself - it'll be much more fun and cost less!

Potted shrimp:

 Ace fish finger sarnie:

Haddock & mash:

Roast chicken: