Sundried Tomato and Herby Roast Chicken

A few weeks back, stopping to get fuel on the way home, the shop had a decent chicken reduced to about £1.30, I was doubtful as to whether the freezer had space but I picked it up anyway, along with one for my mum which I dropped off at hers and then somehow crammed it in the freezer when I got home. Can always room for a bargain! Roll on a few weeks, I rescued it from its icy lair and then spent ages deliberating over what to flavour it with! Whilst rummagaing through the fridge, I stumbled across several jars of sundried tomatoes..I swear they were breeding in there.. anyway I also saw the lemon juice and the mind started scheming... and a few hours later we tucked into a Sunday night feast!

A roast dinner is quite a rare treat at home, and quite a feat too. When it came to serving up I quickly remembered why a roast dinner is indeed a rare treat, as working with a dodgy oven with a questionable internal thermometer (that the housing peeps assure me is correctly working) and a small space certainly makes cooking fun! However this chicken dinner turned out great, the marinade complemented the chicken perfectly, without overpowering the meat and it also made for very tasty leftovers! For me the best thing about a roast is enjoying all the leftovers for a few days but with less washing up!!

One new gadget that certainly helps when you have a temperamental oven is having a kitchen thermometer, I had a rather ancient manual one that's a bit questionable too but I recently was sent a great little thermometer from Salter, which is battery powered and reads the temperature super fast. Another bonus vs my older one is that the probe is thinner, so less stabby marks in the food too!

In my kit there was also a great set of scales - I love the fact that it covers both metric and imperial - as whilst I'd not long replaced an old set, admittedly with a cheapy version, upon making an old favourite recipe I found it didn't have the older imperial measurements and ended up frantically googling to convert the figures mid baking! The surface is fully smooth and flat and wipes clean beautifully even after a sundried tomato oil bath, no easy feat! The scales are thin too which helps on storage and slides between the chopping boards in my kitchen easily! There is also a handy little magnetic backed timer in the set - I already have a couple of timers but for when doing big meals its always good to have a spare, for example important things such as timing the pudding! Its a great little set and an ideal gift for any budding chef this Christmas.

Whilst space is restricted in my kitchen, my mind never is when it comes to cooking up new experiments and its something I always retreat to and take pleasure in - a few weeks back I received such a lovely complement that really touched my heart - after someone had seen where I cook and it was how on earth do I make such beautiful food here. Okay, I'll be honest not everything gets shown on here or instagram etc, and my photography is very amateur but for me its all about the taste, and until summer comes back around my photos will be reliant on the kitchen lighting!

Whilst trying to decide whether to keep the roasts accompaniments traditional or mixing it up, I went a little over the top as on the cooking day I also picked up a reduced bag of diced swede (so much easier than wrestling the beasts!) and that got turned into lava of buttery mashed swede, then also a tray of roast potatoes, buttered greens and roasted butternut squash. For two people. I do forget how many I am feeding some days...!

Easy

A Few hours including marinading, actual hands on time about 10 minutes

Ingredients:

1 large chicken

25g sundried tomatoes in oil, finely chopped + 1  tbsp oil from the jar

2 heaped tsp Herbs de provence

10 tsp lemon juice

1/4 tsp white ground pepper
Salt, to taste

1 tbsp olive oil

Sauce/ gravy:

1 tbsp cornflour

1 tsp vegetable bouillon powder

200 ml leftover vegetable cooking water

You will ideally need a roasting bag for the chicken, if not use foil to lightly wrap the chicken

Start by mixing up the oils, tomatoes, herbs, lemon juice and pepper, add a little salt too if desired to make a thick paste.

Place the chicken in a bowl, stab lightly and rub thoroughly with the prepared mixture, place in a roasting bag and leave for a few hours to bathe, or preferably overnight. Transfer the bag into a roasting pan.

Pre-heat oven and then cook as per timing for the weight - some chickens will have a handy cooking time on the packaging. mine was 1.6kg, If it doesn't, then I go by 20 minutes per 450g (Lb) and an extra 20 minutes. Once cooked through, allow to stand for 15 minutes before carving.

Meanwhile, heat the veggie cooking water, blend the bouillon powder with the cornflour, and slacken with a little water to make a paste, as the water comes to the boil, whisk the paste in and cook until thickened.  Open up the roasting bag and stir in a few spoonfuls of the juices to the gravy.

Carve and then feast!

Disclaimer: The Salter Kitchen set was a gift. I received no payment or was obliged to provide a review of the product. All photographs are the property of Anne's Kitchen

Smoked Mackerel and veggie packed Buckwheat-otto

Soooo.. its been a while! I had completely lost my blogging mojo and over the past year I've really been questioning in general how much I share and how much time I spend online. Tweeting this, Instagramming that, posting various things on Facebook and updating on other groups meant there was not enough time leftover just for me and so I decided enough is enough, no more blogging and a real cut back of being online. So I did nothing. Absolutely nothing. And its lovely to do nothing. The last year or so has frankly been far too stressful (though there were some good things too) and it was taking a toll on my health and so I took a month off. My inbox is full but it doesn't bother me anymore. My blog has only ever meant to be a hobby and I had been thinking about giving up entirely but I will hang in a bit longer and see how I feel.. 9 years is a long time!!

These winter nights are not helping either with the blogging!! Everything I photograph looks odd and I've spent ages trying to adjust the colour balance!! Fingers crossed in the new year we may also be in pastures new...hopefully with much better lighting too!! Though the whole process is the part of my current stress levels, it will be worth it in the end! I've already decided summer cannot come around quick enough - our current kitchen is freezing and I am currently huddled under my snuggie blanket typing, thawing out from cooking our dinner tonight!!

Comfort food is definitely winning at the moment and this is one of those dishes! I am following my FODMAP about 80% of the time and whilst I think I've worked out both wheat and dairy are not my BFF's, we are alright mates if we don't hang out too frequently! I missed bread to much to carry on long term, also with it being the 'C' season I've been eating out a lot and doing FODMAP + restaurants is always a bad idea!! I have been avoiding garlic but a little in this would be probably rather lovely!!

A few months back when I started re-assessing my diet, I discovered Buckwheat, which isn't actually a type of wheat and is more grain like in texture. Its slightly nutty and its really versatile - it soaks up flavours brilliantly too and I've been making lots of risotto style dishes with it. This dish is also a one pan winner - less washing up is always good!! Its also fairly cheap to make, in a month full of annual type bills its very welcome! 

Serves 3

Ingredients

100g buckwheat

200g smoked peppered mackerel, skinned and shredded

1 tin chopped tomatoes

1/2 courgette, cut into strips

1/2 red pepper, diced

1 small stick of celery, finely chopped

1 medium carrot, finely chopped

5 tbsp parmesan, grated

1/2 tbsp herbs de provence

2 tbsp basil leaves, chopped

S&P to taste

Soak the buckwheat for about 10 minutes in cold water and rinse well. (This helps to remove any wheaty dust etc but isn't the end of the world if you forget!)

Heat a glug of olive oil in a saute pan till hot and fry the carrot and celery for 5 minutes, until starting to soften and then stir in the remaining veggies and fry until the courgette is starting to become lightly golden - about 5 minutes. 

Stir in the prepared buckwheat, herbs de provence and add the tomatoes. Fill the empty tin with water and pour over, cover and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat down and simmer for 30 minutes or until the liquid has absorbed, stirring every 5-10 minutes.

Fold in the prepared mackerel and half the parmesan and heat through. Scatter over the basil and remaining parmesan and serve

Serve in big bowls and enjoy!

Curried Corned Beef Hash - Low #FODMAP

As part of my dabbling with the #FODMAP diet, adapting my current repertoire of recipes is proving to be a thorough mixture of highs and lows, or as the famous Foreigner song goes 'In my life there's been heartache and pain, I don't know if I can face it again, Can't stop now, I've travelled so far, to change this lonely life'. Okay, so maybe lonely life is a little extreme - but faced with hunger, 3pm on a Saturday afternoon and near to tears trying to find something to eat you really do start to think that maybe the IBS wasn't really that bad.....shall I just get a nice warm and tasty pasty?!

Fortunately its not been all bad there has been highs in the form of actual whole days without stomach pain, which after 18 odd years is a revelation - and actually its super useful in identifying triggers. That comes with sadness though too. A cheeky fruit cider on Saturday afternoon left me questioning how much I really did enjoy its beautiful chilled fruitfulness!! I am almost at the end of the elimination phase despite the cider slippages- and I look forward to reintroduction with a mixture of joy at the thought of hot buttered avocado toast and also with some trepidation..!

So as promised a few weeks back - I promised to share some tasty recipes - admittedly there has not been as many show stoppers as I would have liked, however this is the first dish I had seconds of, which is a good sign! Adapting this from my main corned beef hash took a bit of thinking. Baked beans, Worcestershire sauce, onions and the garlic in its raw form were all off the menu; so how would I make it still taste good and be low in FODMAP's?! Admittedly its not lactose free - I added quite a bit of cheese but as my booklet assures me - most cheese, especially the hard ones are low, and therefore suitable... and discovering garlic oil was allowed has been a game changer!

Ingredients

Serves 3-4

1x 340g Corned Beef

1/2 stick celery, finely chopped

1 tsp garlic oil

1 tsp black mustard seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

4 large white potatoes, diced (skin on or off as you prefer)

1/2 tsp turmeric

3tbsp finely chopped fresh coriander

2 salad tomatoes

1 heaped tsp tomato puree

50g red Leicester cheese, grated

1 tsp butter

s&p to taste

Start by boiling the potatoes with the turmeric, drain well, mash well and add the butter, 1/3 of the cheese and 1 tbsp of the coriander. Season to taste and add put to one side. Pre-heat oven to 190o.

Heat the a non-stick frying pan until medium-hot, add the mustard seeds and cumin seeds and toast until they start to pop or smoke very lightly, add the oil and celery and fry for 2 minutes.

Stir in the tomatoes and fry for a further 5 minutes or until starting to go mushy, turning down the heat a notch. Add the corned beef and break down with a spatula and fry until browned lightly. Make a well in the middle and stir in the tomato puree and a splash of water to loosen and fry for a further 2-3 minutes or until well mixed, stir in the remaining coriander and season with black pepper.

Transfer into an oven proof dish, top with the prepared mash and sprinkle over the remaining cheese. Bake for 30 minutes or until browned nicely.

Serve with veg of your choice - we had roasted carrots with dwarf beans.

Cheesy Gammon and Potato Bake

I've got history. With graters that is...

This picture happened recently. Its like a crime scene, you can still see traces of the cheese I was attempting to grate. Oh the horror! Me and my Jamie grater had 6 magical years together. I already owned two rather shiny microplanes (and still do but their handles annoy me) but my beloved coarse grater survived 4 house moves and grated a hell of a lot of cheese. And carrots.Probably more. Then one fateful night OH THE HORROR IT SNAPPED!! I almost cried. What shall I do? Do I replace? I was scared in case the horror happened again....

So I went shopping... I tried to look for the JO one *just in case I changed my mind* but couldn't find on the high street...it was late..I was tired...weary...still saddened ...and in a moment of madness I purchased the below lime flecked one for a whole pound. I like a bargain but its not the one for me. The bottom cover thingy seems entirely useless other than to fall off and its unsurprisingly not sharp enough. It doesn't have a good prognosis.

But then a rainbow appeared on the horizon of my tears... and it was a welcome hello to my OXO Good Grips 'Complete Grate and Slice set' and we have fully bonded. Those who follow me on Instagram will testify to that! The set consists of four removable grating and slicing slides - and I used it almost daily ever since receiving it! It has pride of place at the front of the cupboard rather than being abandoned towards the back in the mandolin graveyard.....

As I've had 'issues' with my PC and the odd health one to throw a spanner in the works, I have not been very good writing down any recipes but this one is fairly close. My oven temperature is still wrong and I still share a kitchen so blogging is tricky! I have posted pictures of a similar dish a few years back here  with inspiration from Hampshire Cook but this is the updated one with an actual recipe! 

Sorry if the pictures fuzzy - my PC is still trying to break all my images!

The fine slicing blade in the Good Grips set is awesome - as well as graters, this is my 3rd mandolin set too and its perfectly thin and sharp, oh and easy to use! Which is the main thing! I have slightly wonky joints and ease of use is high up on my agenda!! I used both the fine mandolin and coarse grater for this recipe and it took moments to prepare for a big bowl of comfort food! The gripper tool is strong and hold the veggies well when slicing, to protect your fingers!

Serves 4 (ish) Easy

Ingredients:

480g thinly sliced white potato

150g cooked gammon, shredded

80g lancashire cheese, grated

500g milk

25g butter

25g plain floir

1 tsp English mustard powder

1 tsp vegetable stock powder

S&P to taste

Pre-heat oven to approx 190o

Cover the potatoes in cold water, add the stock powder and bring to the boil for 5 minutes, then drain well

In the saucepan melt the butter, add the flour and mustard powder, stir in the milk gently until thickened and simmer for 5 minutes

Add half the cheese to the sauce and season with salt and pepper to taste

Layer up the potatoes with the gammon and a sprinkle of cheese in between. Cover with the sauce and sprinkle over the last of the cheese

Bake for about 45 minutes, or until golden and all lovingly brown on top.

Many thanks to both OXO Good Grips and to Holly at the Lenny Agency for her patience!

Disclaimer: I received the Complete Grate and Slice set for review only and all opinions and pictures remain the property of Anne's Kitchen

Cheesy Baked Veggie Polenta

This week has a been a real eye opener over how people cope with restricted diets. I've had IBS for what seems like forever, along with long term functional dyspepsia, and I can be a bit picky yet at same time eating everything within reason but this week I had to follow 2 days of low residue ahead of a special MRI scan to see what was happening as its been driving me slightly crazier than usual. The leaflets only tell you so much, it was very unpleasant experience, and that was just the diet! My shoulder alone is still aching from holding it above my head for half an hour and my stomach has been so crampy, god knows what they inject you with but it did not go down well! Anyway, hopefully its one step closer to getting it sorted. And I have a whole new appreciation for anyone subjected to restricted diets! I missed veg so much! How do you cope?!!

Anyway, on a separate note I have learned to love polenta of late, prior to this week and had been debating whether to blog it but it is really lovely, just ignore the photos I took on my phone - golden yellow becomes big bird yellow!!

Previously I had always boiled polenta, and it was alright but I didn't really get it. was a bit too grainy for me. And then one day on some magical whim I baked it instead-and whoopee! Its a winner! The texture changes, and becomes fluffy instead and makes a great side on its own, or jazzed up with some roasted vegetables. Feel free to cook this without the veggies underneath, it makes a tasty alternative to mash or rice.

Serves 4

Ingredients

Veg:

1 red pepper

1/2 yellow pepper

1 tsp dried Italian herb seasoning

1 tbsp rapeseed oil

Polenta:

170g instant polenta (also known as instant cornmeal)

750ml veg stock (I used 1/2 tbsp veg bouilon powder)

50g grated extra mature cheddar cheese

1 tbsp good rapeseed oil or extra virgin olive oil

Pre-heat oven to 190o

1) Place the veg in a non-stick foil lined baking tray, toss with the oil and herb seasoning, roast for 25 minutes, or until softening and starting to brown

2) Meanwhile, heat the stock to boiling and whisk in the polenta, then using a strong silicon spatula stir until thickened -about 2 minutes - be careful its evil and will spit. Apron advisable. Remove from heat and stir in 30gof the cheese and 1/2 the oil

3) Remove the veggies from the oven, quickly splodge over the polenta, sprinkle over remaining cheese and drizzle remaining oil. Return to the oven and bake for 30 minutes, or until golden and fluffy

4) Remove from the oven, slice into wedges and serve. Wehad ours with some lush pork and cider sausages and home made onion gravy

Enjoy!

If my dish has whetted your appetite for Polenta do check out these other fab blogger recipes - 

I really want to try these fab chunky alternative to potato chips - Polenta Chips from Recipes from a Pantry

This heavenly gooey looking Saucy mushroom and polenta bake from Family Friends Food is definitely on the make list!

I think I need to try again with sprout tops - this Maple glazed sprout tops with polenta from Elizabeth's Kitchen Diary looks delicious and hearty, great winter food!

Last but by no means least are these fab looking Courgette & Basil Polenta Wedges from The Veg Space -they look like they would make a delicious snack too or for my lunch box!

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I have entered my dish in this months Extra Veg, from Fuss Free Flavours and Utterly Scrummy

Corned Beef Hash with Extra Veg, and a Happy New Year!

I had originally nearly finished writing this post, then I stupidly tried to change photo format and lost the whole blog post!! Now I didn't make any resolutions but instead to make more of an affirmation that 2016 I will be more thankful, though I may have just broken that slightly with a slightly sweary outburst! *Close my eyes, count to 10 and be thankful I have a computer to type on!* Though I will be computer less again soon, I've had nothing but trouble with it since buying it last January so its back to pc hell again once I get around to attempting to do a back up!

So did you make any resolutions? Broken them already like me? ! The last 5 years have been an emotional roller coaster, often feeling like its straight out of hell ...... but .... I have worked very hard mentally trying to have a more positive outlook, change what I can and accept what I can't change. Sometimes its a little easier said than done and there has been tears, often out of frustration but I am starting 2016 with a clean slate. I did a fair amount of mental de-cluttering last year, including removing people in my life who didn't belong in it - its been hard, and emotionally painful but it was definitely for the best. I am very lucky, and grateful that I do have amazing friends and family to help me through both the good and the bad times too. My top tip for 2016 is to reach out to loved ones if you need help, don't struggle on your own just because someone else made you feel so worthless. There are some proper goodun's out there!!

During 2015 I have not cooked as much, sharing a kitchen is not ideal for when you want to experiment or cook up a feast but can't get in the kitchen .... but its what we have until we either win the lottery or live on porridge for a year but I am positive it will happen soon! Also the IBS/ reflux has been a general nightmare, so much meal planning has gone to waste as I couldn't manage it but I am now seeing a fab new doctor so hopefully once we get to the bottom of it, some of my love for cooking - and eating will reappear! Maybe I might even start to blog again more regularly as I feel I have very much neglected the blog of late!!

Anyway, enough of my post hangover gushiness and in with what you came here for - the food! Corned beef hash is one of those comfort food dishes that's a relatively new staple in our diets! Weirdly I never ate this at home growing up and only ever once eaten it out as a child, so the idea to make it came out of nowhere a few months back and I've been slowly tweaking it to my liking. I've kept loyal to the potato and corned beef bit but shaken up the rest and this current edition is rather delicious if I do say so myself!

Its never going to win a beauty pageant but it tastes pretty darn good and that's all that matters! Its economical to make, packed with sneaky veggies and re-heat's really well too. This one used regular baked beans but we have also experimented with the mixed beans in tomato sauce which worked equally well.

Serves 4

Easy

Ingredients

320g peeled, diced swede

770g white potatoes, diced (peeling optional)

1 tin corned beef, roughly chopped

1 small red onion, finely chopped

1 tin baked beans, low salt if possible

1 tbsp smoked paprika

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 small red pepper, finely chopped

1 tbsp butter

50g grated cheddar

1 tbsp oil

1 tbsp tomato puree

S&P

Boil the swede and potato together for 20 minutes or until soft and fluffy, drain well. Add the butter and mash well.season to taste with salt and pepper

Preheat oven to roughly 180o (our temperature gauge is still broken, basically a medium hot oven)

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large saute pan, fry the onion until golden, add the red pepper for 3 minutes, then add the garlic and corned beef and saute for about 6 minutes or until the corned beef has become a little mushy and the veggies are soft and cooked through. Add the worcs sauce and tomato puree, along with 6 tbsp water to loosen, cook for a further 3 minutes and remove from the heat.

Fill a oven proof dish (mine is roughly a4 sized) with the meaty mixture. Mix together the smoked paprika and baked beans and pour over to make a thin layer. Top with a further layer of the prepared mash and sprinkle over the cheese. Make a pretty pattern with forks if desired.

Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes or until its golden on top and bubbling. Serve with greenery of choice, buttered spring greens work very well here.

Ham Hock, Mustard & Macaroni Cheese Stuffed Peppers

Making Macaroni cheese is a regular meal in our house, its easy, delicious and is that all round comfort food I remember fondly growing up - don't tell mum but it was her best dish by far too! What's honestly better than an oozing bowl of golden flecked cheese loaded pasta?! With this particular version I kept it very simple - its cooked all in one pan - always a winner when there is less washing up - and made a few little extra additions in the form of stuffing some gorgeous giant red peppers I had picked up with it, along with adding a packet of ready to use shredded Ham Hock I bought from Aldi! Its the first time I'd picked it up and it was such a handy cheat ingredient!

You might notice the peppers in the photo above are in a loaf tin - its the best way I find of baking stuffed peppers, it keeps them upright and the filling on the inside!

Now I did make a bit of a boo-boo with my grocery shopping - after getting everything ready I went to get some greenery from the fridge and I had completely forgotten to buy any green or similar veggies! My friend C who lives next door also had nothing of use, we tend to go shopping together so had both failed by weird coincidence! After rummaging again through the fridge we quickly discounted the vac-pack beetroot as being a bit odd as a side, same with the sweet potatoes as not really going either and in the end I cooked some part-bake rolls and in fact, they were great as I ended up using them to make a stuffed sandwich with the cut open stuffed pepper. Yes its a bit carb on carb but it was oh so good too!!

This batch of mac n cheese makes quite a lot - I only had two peppers to be stuffed, the rest of the pasta got baked as normal in an oven tray - I reckon it would easily fill at least 6-7 peppers if wished!

Ingredients

1 pint milk

1 pint vegetable stock (I always use Marigold Bouillon)

260g macaroni

110g ready Ham Hock

2+ large red peppers 

1/2 tbsp wholegrain mustard
60g grated extra mature cheddar
35g chopped butter
35g plain flour
20g flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
Spray oil

Pre-heat oven to 180o (Our thermometer is long time not accurate - it should be fairly hot!)

In a large saucepan, bring the milk and vegetable stock to the boil, add the macaroni, cover and simmer for 12 minutes or until packet states.

Turn the heat up slightly, stir in the butter and flour until thickened, then stir in the mustard and ham hock, season to taste, then add 3/4 of the cheese and the parsley.

Meanwhile, carefully remove the lid off the pepper, remove the seeds, return the lid, spray with oil and place inside a loaf tin. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes.

When the macaroni is ready, carefully stuff the peppers and sprinkle a little extra cheese on top and put the 'lid' back on.

Return to the oven for 25 minutes or until the peppers are cooked through and softened.

Serve with er, greenery. Or go carb on carb with a bread roll!

The best way I found to attack the peppers was halving them then eating in chunks!

Disclaimer: 

Many thanks to Aldi who provided vouchers to cover the cost of my ingredients - the Ham hock is great!

A relatively new linky to me is also #CookBlogShare, this week held on Hijacked By Twins (such a cute blog name I think!)

If you fancy also stuffing some peppers, do check out these delicious links!

Red peppers stuffed with veggie haggis & Mushrooms from Planet Veggie

Or if you have no peppers, how about some chillies why not try these intriguing sounding Chocotos - Chocolate stuffed chillies from Tin and Thyme?

Keeping on the chilli theme you could also try these Creamy stuffed Jalepenos from The Veg Space

Bratwurst, Roots and Kale Casserole

This particular recipe was born out of hurriedly putting together last week’s meal plan, it seemed like a good idea at the time, and a good idea it was! There is something so wonderfully warming about a hearty sausage casserole and its great if you are feeding family arriving at uncertain times! My recipe for sausage casserole seem to vary slightly every time as to what is in the fridge but every time fortunately they are always so comforting and delicious! I hadn't really planned to blog this recipe but I had a lovely comment on the meal plan post, and so I remembered to note down the ingredients!
 
For the sausage part of this casserole I used a packet of Nuremberg Bratwurst, that my dad had gifted for us to try – they are sort of chipolata in size and consist of Pork, seasoned with earthy spices, including marjoram and a hint of citrus to lift the flavour. They are delicious simply grilled or fried but work very well too in casserole form. We normally buy the standard sized Bratwurst so it made a nice change to discover a new version of them!

 

 

Stock wise a light chicken or vegetable stock will suit best – I used Bisto stock melts on this occasion, purely as they were on offer when I went hopping and they worked out a good choice. My dad often finds dishes too salty if I use another well known brand of stock pots but if anything he added salt for the first time to this, I was so shocked!
 
To speed up cooking time you can pre-soak the barley in boiling water first, though I forgot to prepare this in the morning so they only had a quick bathe but was enough to get the barley started. Its a handy dish to put on the hob and then ignore whilst you get on with important things like opening up wine bottles for example.

 

Serves 4-6

Easy

 
Ingredients:
300g Nuremberg Bratwurst
3 medium carrots, diced into 1/2cm chunks
3 medium parsnips, diced into 1/2cm chunks
1 white onion, diced
80g kale, hard bits removed and leaves shredded
1 leek, sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
100g pearl barley
3 bay leaves
1 heaped tbsp tomato puree
1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
1 chicken stock pot – I used Bisto stock melts
1200 ml boiling water 

Method:
 
Heat half the oil in a large lidded saute pan and fry the sausages for about 10 minutes or until nicely browned all over, remove from the pan and when cool enough to touch cut into 4 or 5 chunks.

Put the pan back on the heat with the remaining oil and fry the onion until golden, then stir in the parsnips, carrots and leeks and fry gently for a good ten minutes to add a little colour. Add the barley, tomato puree, mustard and bay leaves. Combine the stock pot with the boiling water and pour over the mixture, bring to the boil then add the cut up sausages and then reduce to a gentle bubbling simmer for about an hour and a half or until the barley is tender.

 

 

Stir through the kale, cover and simmer for a further 5 minutes then serve immediately into nice big bowls.