Braised Red Cabbage with Apple and Raisins

This is a really easy side dish which helps make those paleo meals a bit more interesting!

Ingredients -
1 red cabbage
1 large cooking apple
1 handful of raisins
Walnut oil
Nutmeg

1) Shred the cabbage, but leave it thick enough so it's a bit crunchy.
2) Heat walnut oil in a wok then add cabbage and apple and raisins and cook until still crunchy.
3) Season with salt and pepper and a bit of nutmeg for some spice!

Butternut squash and spinach mash

I just can't get enough of butternut squashes! This is such an easy recipe and, even if I do say so myself, just so good!

Ingredients
1 butternut squash
1/2 bag spinach
Coconut milk

1) Peel the squash and cut it into chunks then place in water and boil until tender
2) At the very last minute add some spinach to the pan, but only about 1 min, then drain.
3) season with salt and pepper then add some coconut milk - as much or as little as you like - then mash! Don't worry about mashing it too smoothly cause it's nicer with a bit of texture anyway!

Enjoy!

Bolognese with Courgette 'Tagliatelle'

This is a great recipe idea that I got from www.everydaypaleo.com which is a brilliantly inspiring blog! The bolognese is my own version, but I can't take credit for much else!
This is something I had never thought of doing with courgettes but it works so nicely and really gives you that feeling of getting your pasta with your sauce!

Ingredients

Bolognese -
1 onion
Garlic
Lean beef mince
3 rashers smoky bacon
Mushrooms
1 red pepper diced
2 sticks celery diced
2 carrots grated
Beef stock cube
1-2 tins of tomatoes
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper

1) heat some olive oil in a pan - not too much as the beef will provide you with some fat later - just enough to cook the garlic and onion. Add the garlic and cook for about 1 min to release its flavour and then fry the onion until soft.
2) add the beef mince and bacon and beef stock cube and fry until brown.
3) now add the celery, carrots, pepper and mushrooms and season with salt and pepper and cook for about 4-5 mins until soft.
4) Now add the tomatoes and a little bit of water - fill the empty tomato can about 1/4 way with water and add to the sauce. Now simmer with the lid off for about 30 mins until the sauce has reduced and thickened. I often add a bit of honey - just a teaspoon - to get rid of the metallic taste the tomatoes can sometimes leave and also a bit of Worcester sauce just goes so well with this too.


Courgette Tagliatelle

Ingredients
1 courgette per person!

1) Slice the courgettes as thinly as possible using a mandolin slicer or a peeler (which is a bit harder!)
2) Place the courgettes in boiling water for about 3 mins.
3) Drain and serve!

Parmesan Crackers

This is a recipe I got from Mark Sissons 'The Primal Blue Print Cookbook' - it does have dairy in it so it is not strictly paleo but it is still grain free. They taste just like cheese straws - delicious!

Ingredients

2 cups ground almonds

1 teaspoon baking soda

1-2 tablespoons of dried oregano

1 cup finely grated parmesan

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons water  
Rock salt


1) Mix all the ingredients together until it forms a slightly sticky dough - adding a bit more water or oil if necessary.
2) Roll out on a piece of parchment paper until quite thin, sprinkle with rock salt and bake at 200 degrees celsius for about 15 mins until golden brown.
3) Leave to cool before cutting - this is important because if they are too hot it will just crumble into bits.

Carrot, apple and cashew soup

This is a delicious soup that was made for me by a vegan friend - it sounds a little strange but it just works so well!

Ingredients
1 medium sized cooking apple
5 carrots
1 onion
2 pints vegetable stock
1/4 cup cashew nuts
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

1) Peel and cut the carrots, onion and apple up into chunks - you will be blending everything up so it doesn't really matter how you do this.
2) Cook the carrots, onion and apple in olive oil on a low heat until soft - about 5 minutes should do - and season with salt and pepper.
3) Add the stock and cashew nuts and simmer with the lid on for about 30 mins.
4) Blend the whole mixture in a food processor or with a hand blender.

The cashews give this soup a delicious creamy taste - in a totally paleo friendly way!

Cinnamon Bananas

This is delicious as a pudding, for breakfast or even just as a snack - and so delicious! I used this amount for breakfast for myself but it is very simple so just play around with it. It works best with very ripe bananas so it is also a good way of using up the last of your bananas.

Ingredients
2 bananas (best when very ripe)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon raisins
Olive oil (I used this because it was all I had but i think coconut or walnut oil might be nicer)

1) Cut the bananas up into thick slices.
2) Heat the olive oil in a pan then add the bananas and cinnamon and fry for about 4-5 mins until warm, soft and a little browned.
3) Sprinkle with raisins and serve!

Sorry there is no photo - but it is very simple so I'm sure you can imagine what it looks like!

Salt and Pepper Roasties

This side dish could be made with any root vegetables - I chose parsnips and carrots (as they were on offer!) but it would also be nice with beetroot and butter nut squash too.

Ingredients
Parsnips
Carrots
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper

1) Cut the parsnips and carrots into nice bite size pieces - not too small but small enough that they will get nice and crispy!
2) Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and a generous helping of pepper.
3) Roast for 30 to 40 minutes until nice and brown.

You could even add some spices - maybe cumin or even something like cinnamon might give it a nice kick.

Ginger leeks

Sorry I don't have any photos for this recipe but it doesn't really look like much other than leeks...but trust me, these are like no other leeks you have ever tasted!

Ingredients
1-2 leeks per person
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
Soy sauce
Sesame oil

1) heat some sesame oil in a large frying pan or wok.
2) Ass sliced leeks and soy sauce and ginger and fry until as tender as you like!

Really simple, but a really nice accompaniment, especially for fish!