I love cooking. Genuinely. I love planning what I'm going to eat, and since lockdown my weekly trip to the supermarket has become a solid highlight. I love blasting feel good music, chopping vegetables and the rising anticipation of tucking into a (hopefully!) really great meal. In fact when things get a bit overwhelming (ahem the last few months, I'm looking at you) it's become a haven, a calming respite from the craziness of the world.
I've been sharing snaps of a lot of what I've been making via my Stories on Instagram, and despite being the furthest thing from a food blogger I regularly get DMs asking for the recipes. Whilst I love experimenting and trying to master new cuisines, I have a few failsafe recipes that are my default when I want something easy, reliable and delicious. I thought I'd pop them all together here as a resource, my 5 favourite go-to recipes. These are not my original recipes and I have linked to my sources in each case, but have noted any changes I make when cooking. Photos are all my own. Enjoy!
Mushroom and Spinach Gnocchi by Salt & Lavender
Starting things off strong with the recipe I easily make the most often, a Mushroom and Spinach Gnocchi by Salt and Lavender. This one is a great weeknight meal when you want something quick and comforting, plus it's so easy. I've don't think I've ever bothered to measure out the exact ingredients (it's measured in cups and as a Brit I have no such thing), and it's never turned about badly. In fact, it's never less than DELICIOUS. Loaded up with plenty of mushrooms (I usually use 1-1.5 standard packs of mini bellas) and spinach in a super creamy, indulgent white wine sauce, it's a real crowd pleaser. This dish is vegetarian, but I imagine it could be made vegan with a cream substitute and skipping or substituting the parmesan.
Greek Chicken Salad by Foodie Crush
I make a lot of salads but this Greek Chicken Salad by Foodie Crush is easily my favourite. It's incredibly fresh and light for Summer, but with enough going on that every bite is different. It takes a bit of time as there's a few different components - a marinade, a dressing, a tomato salad and the main salad base - but it's easy enough to follow and completely worth the time spent endlessly chopping veg. The tangy lemon chicken is so tasty I could easily eat it standalone, but it's really complimented by the mixed Mediterranean flavours of the salad. Plus, look how satisfyingly colourful it is! If you're vegetarian you could easily make the salad sans chicken, and skip the feta for a vegan version.
Spiced Lamb Flatbread by Hungry Healthy Happy
This Spiced Lamb Flatbread by Hungry Healthy Happy is the latest addition to my cooking portfolio so I've only made it a couple of times, but it's become a fast favourite. First off, it's super easy. Like, ready in 15 minutes easy, even with my slow chopping. Admittedly, I do skip a few corners, buying ready made flatbread and pre-minced lamb, but I don't feel like it's negatively affected the flavour particularly. I wasn't able to find ras-el-hanout (a Middle Eastern spice mix) so I subbed for a pomegranate and ras-el-hanout dressing from Sainsbury's and it was oh so flavoursome I improvised and drizzled some on top too.
Loaded Sweet Potato Nacho Bowls by Fit Mitten Kitchen
This recipe for Loaded Sweet Potato Nacho Bowls is originally from Nourishing Superfood Bowls by Lindsay Cotter however I found it via Fit Mitten Kitchen. It's something I make for a light lunch when I feel like being healthy...ish. It's loaded with greens and beans and sweet potato so in theory pretty healthy. Sounds dull, right? However there's one sneaky ingredient that takes this from yawn to yum - CHEESE. Yup, the sweet potato "chips" get loaded with cheddar and the whole bowl is treated to a liberal sprinkling of parmesan and it's all kinds of great. The recipe states to put the sweet potato in the oven pre-covered with the cheddar, however I tend to add it when they're nearly done as I worry it'll burn. I've also never tried the avocado la crema, but I'm definitely going to next time as I can imagine it really benefiting from a creamy topping. You could make this vegan with faux cheese!
Black Bean Sweet Potato Enchiladas by Cookie + Kate
I've probably made these Black Bean Sweet Potato Enchiladas by Cookie + Kate the least out of everything on this list, purely because it takes a little more effort than the others. However making em to shoot for this post reminded me just how great this recipe is. It's completely worth it! It might not sound the most thrilling on first glance, however packed with a plethora of fillings and coated with a firey salsa verde it definitely packs a punch. I tend to eyeball this one too as it's in ounces and I cba with the conversion, and it has yet to fail me. There's a couple of things I struggled to find - Monterrey Jack cheese (I think it's an American thing?) which I subbed for a mix of cheddar and parmesan, and tomatillos for the salsa, which I subbed for a tomatillo cooking sauce I found in Sainsbury's. Making the salsa and preparing all the ingredients for the filling takes a while, not to mention separately cooking the sweet potatoes and then the enchiladas. However the result is so darn flavoursome! You can find vegan options within the notes of the recipe.
Oh yum, these all look delicious