Sweet potato wedges, tomato pasta and chicken and almond strir-fry
SWEET POTATO WEDGES WITH GARLIC, CUMIN AND CINNAMON
For each person allow:
1 medium-sized sweet potato
half tsp of ground cumin
half tsp of ground cinnamon
pinch of salt
half clove of garlic
3 tbsp of olive oil
The secret to making these as fast as oven chips is a quick blast in the microwave at the start. Yes, potatoes from the microwave are not good, but finishing them in a hot oven turns them crunchy on the outside. If you are not a sweet potato fan use regular potatoes and leave out the cumin and cinnamon.
Give the sweet potatoes a quick scrub and slice them into wedges. Put them on a large plate and microwave them on full power, allowing around 90 seconds per potato. While they are cooking, heat your oven to its hottest setting. In a large mortar and pestle crush the garlic with the salt and spices. Add the olive oil and stir it thoroughly. Then coat the cooked wedges thoroughly. Spread them out on a grill tray and drizzle any leftover spiced-oil over them. Put them in the hot oven and cook to crispness, this takes about 15 minutes. These work well with a pork or lamb chop or salmon cutlet, which can be cooked while the wedges are toasting in the oven.
TOMATO PASTA (serves two)
When inspiration and time are in short supply this is a staple meal in our house. By cooking whole cherry tomatoes or halved full-sized tomatoes in the oven until they are intensely juicy you get an instant chunky sauce with none of the additives of a jar. Then just stir in some cooked pasta and add whatever is in the fridge. Choose wholemeal spaghetti for a healthier carbohydrate kick.
12 cherry tomatoes or six medium ones
1 large or two small cloves of garlic
A large dollop of olive oil
A two-euro coin sized portion of spaghetti per
person
Heat the oven to 220 degrees. Halve the tomatoes and put them on a grill tray. Chop the garlic as finely as you can and sprinkle the pieces over the tomatoes. Drizzle generously with olive oil. Cook in the oven until the tomatoes have collapsed and started to brown, but do not let them dry out. This should take around 20 minutes.
Cook your choice of pasta - spaghetti or tagliatelli - in boiling salted water. Put the whole lot together into a large warmed bowl, stirring vigorously to let the tomatoes release their olive oily juices, and add any or all of the following - Parma ham, fresh basil, fresh rocket, pine nuts, feta cheese or Parmesan. Serve immediately.
ASK THE EXPERT
What do the experts cook when time is tight? "Chicken and almond stir-fry," Vanessa Greenwood of Cooks' Academy says when asked about the biggest crowd pleaser on her Quick Midweek Suppers course. Students at the Thursday night course in the Academy in Dún Laoghaire went home with two portions of whatever they had cooked that evening. The next four-week duration midweek suppers course will start in September.
COOKS' ACADEMY CHICKEN AND ALMOND STIR-FRY
1 cup of blanched whole almonds
1 tbsp sunflower oil
4 chicken breasts, sliced into strips
1 medium onion
2 leeks
2 cloves of garlic
200g French beans
2 celery sticks
2 tbs hoi sin sauce
1 tbs light soy sauce
1 tbs plum sauce
In a hot wok dry fry the almonds until they are toasted and set them aside. Stir fry the chicken and set it aside. Heat the oil and fry the chopped onion, leeks and garlic and then add the French beans and chopped celery. Finally stir in the sauces and add the chicken back into the wok, heating it all together. Served with basmati rice and sprinkled with toasted almonds to serve. www.cooksacademy.com