3 Ingredient Banana Ice-cream

3 Ingredient Banana Ice-cream

If you want to make the handiest, healthiest and most kid-friendly ice-cream ever, this is for you!

This is also a great way to use up bananas that are going off. Just peel them, pop them into a freezer bag and bung into the freezer until needed.

Calories: 444

222 calories per portion or see below fro breakdown

Serves 2

3 frozen bananas -330 calories (165 pp)

1 tablespoon of honey - 20 calories (10 pp)

2 tablespoons chopped walnuts or 1 tablespoon of peanut butter - 94 calories (47 pp)

Method

Roughly chop the frozen bananas and place in a blender or food processor; they will blend up smooth after about a minute so stick with it. Once it looks like it’s starting to get smooth, add in the honey( and peanut butter if using.

Serve with a sprinkle of chopped walnuts and divide out into 2 glasses/bowls/cones etc.

Red Wine Poached Pears

I'll be cooking this dish today on Late Lunch Live on TV3!!!

Red Wine Poached Pears

These are a little time consuming but very much worth the effort. Not only do they look elegant but they taste superb served with ice-cream.

Serves 4

400ml red wine

5 Tablespoons honey

2 tablespoon lemon juice

2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cinnamon stick

1 star anise

4 pears

Method

Combine all the ingredients except for the pears into a suitable sized saucepan that 4 pears will fit into and place on a hot hob. Stir over the heat until the honey dissolves then bring to the boil and reduce to a steady simmer.

In the meantime core the pears from the bottom and scoop out the core and seeds without disturbing the top and stem, now carefully peel the pears with a speedy peeler.

Add the pears to the simmering wine syrup and allow them to simmer untouched for 12-14 mins, then turn them over and simmer for a further 8-10 mins until tender when pierced with a fork. Carefully remove them from the saucepan and allow to cool.

Turn up the heat and reduce the wine syrup by half and use this to pour over the pears when serving.

Baked Chicken Thighs with Sweet Potatoes and Chickpeas

Baked Chicken Thighs with Sweet Potatoes and Chickpeas

Sweet potatoes are the dawg!! Healthier than the humble spud and in my opinion tastier, they take a shorter time to cook. I just love this one dish wonder, the flavour that comes from the dark chicken meat seeps into the rest of the dish giving you a warm welcoming pat on the back… ‘Well done my son’.

Calories 2366

591 per portion

Serves 4:

2 red onions

600g sweet potatoes

12 cherry tomatoes 2 cloves of garlic sliced

2 tablespoons of rapeseed oil

8 chicken thigh fillets or 4 chicken thighs-skinned

1 tin of chickpeas (rinsed)

A bunch of parsley

Method

Preheat your oven to 200°c.

Peel the red onions and cut into thick wedges, peel and chop the sweet potatoes into large bite sized pieces. Add all these to a large roasting dish along with the cherry tomatoes and sliced garlic. Drizzle over a tablespoon of the oil and toss around. Roast for 20 mins.

In the meantime season the chicken thigh fillets. Heat a large frying pan on a high heat with a tablespoon of the oil and when hot brown off the chicken thigh fillets in a few batches (so they brown rather than braise). Add these to the oven dish and bake for another 15 mins.

Remove the oven dish, add the rinsed chickpeas along with the parsley and toss around for a minute until heated.

Serve with a simple side salad.

Pollock and Tomato Chowder

Pollock and Tomato Chowder

Without boring you with the details, Pollock is a more sustainable fish compared to Cod or Haddock. It basically means it hasn’t been as widely fished as the previously mentioned, it is very similar to Cod and to be perfectly honest you would be fine pushed to taste the difference, so much so that it has emerged in recent years that Pollock has been sold in various places throughout Ireland and the UK as ‘Cod’.

Calories 1459

365 per portion

Serves 4

Rapeseed oil

2 medium onions

2-3 sticks of celery

2 medium carrots

2 large potatoes

1 green pepper

A sprig of thyme and a bay leaf tied

400g tin of chopped tomatoes

900ml fish or veg stock

Sea salt and black pepper

A few dashes of tabasco sauce

600g of Pollock fillets

A bunch of parsley

Method

Peel and chop the onions, carrots and potato, chop the celery and deseed and slice the green pepper.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan, when hot add the onion and celery and cook until softened, add the carrots, potatoes, pepper and tied herbs. Cook for a further 6-7 mins then add in the chopped tomatoes and stock. Bring to the boil then reduce to a steady simmer for 8 mins. Add some black pepper and a few dashes of tabasco sauce.

Season the Pollock fillets with sea salt and black pepper and lay them on top of the veg in the saucepan, cover with a lid and continue to simmer for 3-4 mins until the fish is cooked through. Using a wooden spoon, gently break up the fish into chunks into the broth.

Divide the chowder into separate bowls and garnish with some freshly chopped parsley.

Pork, Beetroot and Orange Salad

Pork, Beetroot and Orange Salad

What a combination we have here, the earthiness of the beets combining with the freshness of the orange just compliment the pork so well. Beets are so easy to grow, even in patio tubs and are full of antioxidants and a rich source of magnesium and potassium which benefit a healthy heart. Pork fillet is lean and rich in protein and of course orange is a great source of vitamin C.

Calories 835

417 per portion

Serves 2:

350g pork fillet trimmed

Sea salt and black pepper

A teaspoon of crushed fennel seeds

Olive oil

1 clove of garlic

3 tablespoons of cider vinegar

4 baby beetroot-precooked

1 large orange

Seasonal leaves

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°c.

Season the pork fillet all over with the salt, pepper and fennel seeds. Heat the oil in a medium frying pan until hot and add the pork fillet searing it, giving it a nice brown colour all the way around. Place it in an oven dish and place in the oven for about 20 mins.

While the pork is roasting, segment the orange and place them in a bowl, squeeze one or 2 segments into the bowl for juice. Finely chop or crush the garlic clove, quarter the beets, set aside.

When the pork is cooked through, remove from the oven and allow to rest and cool. Reheat the pan; add another splash of oil if needed and gently fry of the garlic for a minute. Add the cider vinegar, beetroot and season to taste. Add the orange segments and juice and cook for a minute or 2 until heated through and the liquid reduced slightly. Carve the pork into medallions.

Serve over some washed seasonal leaves and drizzle the pan juice over the top.

The Perfect Roast Chicken

The perfect roast chicken

I’m not going to preach about chickens and how you should only buy free range ones etc. I keep a few hens myself and they are free range but when it comes to buying them in a supermarket I buy whichever one I can afford at the time. Sometimes the ideal world has to wait!

TIPS: Removing the wishbone before cooking makes it much easier to carve. There is no real technique to it just carefully run a knife in around the 2 sides of the bone and in behind it and it should pull free.

If during carving you notice the legs haven’t cooked fully through, don’t panic but don’t serve them. Carve them off and put them back into the oven for 10 mins. Better late than never!

Serves 4:

1x 1.6kg (affordable) chicken

1 medium onion

1 carrot

2 sticks of celery

1 bulb of garlic

1 lemon

Bunch of thyme

Olive oil

Sea salt & black pepper

Method

Remove the bird from the fridge a half an hour before you start. Preheat oven up at max. Wash and chop the veg roughly, no need to peel them. Break the garlic bulb into cloves and give them all a bit of a smack with the flat of the knife.

Throw all the veg into a suitable sized roasting tray minus 3 cloves of garlic. Cut the string that ties the chicken so it ‘relaxes’; push a sharp knife down the inside of the leg beside the breast, as this is the last place to cook fully. Prick the lemon all over with a knife and stuff it into the cavity along with the thyme and 3 cloves of garlic. Drizzle with olive oil and rub with salt and pepper.

Pop the bird on top of the vegetables and place in the hot oven. Keep it up max for 15 mins then turn it down to 190°c for 1 hour 10 mins, baste it a few times during that time. Add a little water to the veg if it’s looking dry but there should be enough juices coming from the bird.

After the cooking time is up skewer the meatiest part of the leg insuring the juices run clear. If not, put back in oven for 10 mins.

Set the cooked chicken on a clean chopping board and cover with foil and a clean tea towel. Allow to rest for at least 15 mins.

Carving: Pull off the wings (these can be used as flavouring in your gravy) cut down between the leg and the breast, cut through the joint and pull the leg off. This can be cut again between the thigh and the drumstick to give you 4 leg pieces. Angle your knife along the breastbone (this is easier done with wishbone removed) and carve the whole side off, you can them proceed to slice this. Repeat on other side them get stuck in pulling the remainder of meat off with your fingers, especially on underside. Serve all on a platter in the centre of the table.

Homemade Curry Sauce: Chinese Style

Homemade Curry Sauce: Chinese Style

I have noticed now for a while that most of the curry recipes in cook books are normally Indian style curries, but I honestly prefer Chinese curry so that why I taught myself to cook this one. This is a vegetable curry because let’s face it we don't need meat in all our dishes and when while may not be pushed on particular veg this is a great way of getting them because the curry flavours stick out more than the veg. Choose whatever veg you like, I normally go for cauliflower, butternut squash, mushrooms, courgettes etc. and trust me, you won’t even miss the meat!

Serves 4:

6 tablespoons of vegetable oil

3 onions, finely chopped

Thumb sized piece of ginger, peeled and thinly sliced

4 cloves garlic, sliced

4 mild fleshy red chillies, seeds removed and chopped

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 tablespoon chilli powder

2 1/2 teaspoon curry powder

125 ml water

2 1/2 tablespoon plain flour

400 - 500 ml vegetable stock

1 teaspoon onion seeds

Method

For the sauce: Heat the oil in a heavy-based pan or wok over a high heat. Add the onion and stir-fry for 3 mins, or until starting to soften but not brown. Add the ginger, garlic and chillies and continue stir-frying for 30 seconds, then reduced the heat to very low and leave to cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened but nothing colours. 

Stir in the spices, so the turmeric, cumin, coriander, chilli powder and curry powder and continue cooking very gently for a further 5 minutes. Don’t burn the spices, sprinkle on a few drops of water if you’re worried. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the mixture to cool a little. 

Put the water in a food processor or blender and add the contents of the pan. Blend until everything is smooth, then add the flour and blend again. Put the puréed mix back into the pan and simmer for 20–30 minutes (the longer the better in fact) over a very low heat, stirring occasionally. Add a little hot water if it starts to catch, but the idea is to gently ‘fry’ the sauce so that it darkens in colour to an orangey brown.

Once you have a thick paste, gradually stir in the stock and simmer, add in which ever vegetables you wish and allow them to cook while the sauce reduces and thickens, for 30 mins or so. Add in the onion seeds… for the image.

Serve immediately with some brown rice.