Green pesto rice

This is one of my easy, throw-together dishes when I fancied something with a really healthy kick. It makes generous portions and is filling in all the right ways. You can use the meat replacer of your choice or even use scrambled egg instead to fry with the rice. If you're feeling fancy you can even make your own pesto!


Green pesto rice

Serves 4

Takes around 40 minutes


1 crown of broccoli

2 courgettes

150g fresh shelled peas (petis pois are nice here)

300g Quorn chicken

500ml stock

2 x 250g packets of ready-cooked brown rice (I used Tilda brown basmati)

A jar of pesto of your choosing

3 chopped garlic clove or 2-3 tsps of minced garlic

1 tsp cornflour

One lemon


* Heat some oil in a large pan over a medium heat. Separate the broccoli into small florets and chop the courgette into small pieces.

* Fry the meat replacer a bit first, with the Quorn chicken just 5-7 minutes at the start to brown should be fine. Then add the garlic, courgettes, broccoli and peas and fry for 10 minutes.

* Once the veg is ready, prepare the stock and pour over. Make a paste with the cornflour and a small amount of cold water and add to the pan and stir. Bring to the boil while stirring then lower the heat to simmer for 10 minutes.

* Just before the veg is ready, heat the rice in the microwave as per instructions on the packet. When done, add to the pan and stir in.

* Make sure the mixture is heated through thoroughly, then add 3 tablespoons of pesto (can vary amount according to taste) and squeeze the lemon over to add a fragrant tang. Stir well and serve.

Pea, potato and rocket soup

This is a very thick soup and best suited to the cold winter nights! It doesn’t look all too pretty - it won’t convince anyone who doesn’t like their greens - but it honestly does taste good, even for someone who is a bit ambiguous about peas. The best way to blend it is in a food processor, but I’m a bit squeamish about handling boiling soup (and I don’t like washing up extra bits) so I used a hand blender. If a food processor is used then it’ll come out a lot smoother. Oh, and use your largest pan for this one! I had to skimp on the rocket because it simply would not all fit.

Pea, potato and rocket soup

Serves 4-6 (A very generous 4)

Took about 40 minutes in all, but I used leftover ready cooked potatoes from the day before.

1 onion, finely chopped

250g potatoes, chopped

500g frozen peas

100 rocket leaves, roughly chopped

1L vegetable stock

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

Juice of 1 lemon

2 tsp thyme

Oil for frying, salt and pepper for seasoning

*Heat the oil, then add the onion, garlic and thyme and cook for 5 minutes or until the onion is softened. Then add the potatoes and cook for a further 5 minutes.

*Stir in the peas, stock, salt and pepper. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

*Add the rocket and lemon juice then blend the soup on whichever way you prefer.

*If gone cold then return to the pan and heat through.

*Serve with some good rustic-style bread.

Notes: You can decorate the surface of the soup with a swirl of sour cream, a squiggle of good olive oil or a sprinkling of multi-coloured ground pepper.

P.S. Happy new year!