Warm Paneer, Courgette & Pepper Salad

This is a spicy tasty salad for summer nights. For a vegan alternative replace the paneer with tofu. Firstly make a marinade by mixing together in a large bowl...

• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 inch grated ginger
• 1 clove garlic crushed
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• half teaspoon of mustard seeds
• half teaspoon of turmeric
• 1 teaspoon of chilli flakes (adjust to personal preference!)
• half a teaspoon of fenugreek leaves
• 5 cardamon pods

Add to the marinade one courgette, two peppers (I used red & yellow for colour) and about 6 spring onions (all cut into chunky pieces). Also chop up a block of paneer and add this to the marinade. Stir in to the mixture, cover and leave for about an hour. Then put into an oven proof dish, and place under a medium grill for 20mins (approx) stirring occasionally.
Serve with a simple green salad. Handy tip - take out the cardamon pods before serving, cause you really don't want to bite in to one!

Lazy Summer Puff Pastry Tarts

Today the weather is hot, hot, hot. A summery, quick, easy meal is required.
Behold, Lazy Summer Puff Pastry Tarts...

Using pre-made puff pastry, roll out and cut into a rectangle and place on a lightly greased baking tray. You could make your own puff pastry - but then it wouldn't be very lazy then! Pierce the pastry with a fork, leaving a 1inch gap round the edge.



Spread some shop brought pesto (again, another lazy move) on the pierced section of the pastry. Add some chopped cherry tomatoes, basil leaves & soft goats cheese on the top. Season with black pepper. Put in the oven at about 200 degrees Celsius for about 15mins until the pastry has risen & is golden.


Serve with salads & scoff. Alternatively change the toppings to thinly sliced red onions, peppers, olives or sun dried tomatoes. Try using passata or tomato puree instead of pesto, and different types of cheese.