Lemon & Raspberry Yoghurt Loaf Cake

This is a lovely cake to make at the moment, when raspberries are in abundance; and the yoghurt and lemon juice help to keep this a really moist cake.

The quantities here make x2 loaf cakes, and they keep for up a week. You could also freeze once baked, but it's best to do so without the icing. We tend to deliver one as a gift when I bake this.

Lemon & Raspberry Yoghurt Loaf Cake

Here's how:

• 225g caster sugar
• 225g salted butter
• 225g self raising flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 4 eggs
• 75g natural yoghurt
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Zest of 2 lemons
• 300g raspberries

For the icing:

• 400g icing sugar
• Juice & zest of x1 lemon
• 2 tbsp milk (may need more)
• 2 drops of pink food colouring (optional)
• 100g raspberries

Firstly pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees, and grease and line x2 loaf tins. 

In a large bowl, cream together the salted butter and caster sugar until combined. 

Now crack in each of the eggs one at a time, and combine. 

Now sift in the self raising flour and baking powder and mix until all combined. Add the zest and juice of the lemons and the yoghurt until you have a fairly liquid batter. Now add the raspberries, and stir through carefully so you don't break them all up. 

Divide the batter between the two loaf tins or one large tin and place both into the middle shelf of the oven and cook for exactly 30 minutes, or until the cake is golden brown and cooked through. Check with a skewer in the centre of the cake, and if it comes out clean with no wet crumbs, it's cooked through. If it is a little wet and crumby return to the oven for five more minutes. 

Remove from the oven and allow to stand in the tins, somewhere cool for 10-15 minutes, then gently remove from the tin and place on a wire rack or board to cool further. 

Now make up the icing by combining the icing sugar in a large bowl, with the lemon juice and the 2 tbsp milk. You want the icing the be fairly thick and glossy liquid that can be spooned on top of the cake. If you need to, add a drop more milk at a time to get the right consistency. When satisfied, add the drops of food colouring, if using, to get a nice pretty pink colour and stir thoroughly so the colour is distributed throughout the icing. 

Spoon over the top of the cake, mostly on the middle allowing it to gently drip over the sides of the cake. 

Scatter over the raspberries on the top of the cake, any way you like, and then finally add the zest from the lemon over the top for a final pretty flourish. Enjoy!

Lemon & Raspberry Yoghurt Loaf Cake

If you love baking here are ten other cake recipes you might enjoy:

Mary Berry's Marbled Chocolate Ring Cake
Rhubarb and Custard Cake
Guilt Free Apple Cake
St Clement's Drizzle Cake
Nigella Lawson's Chocolate Olive Oil Cake
Carrot Cake
Peach Upside Down Cake
Lemon Drizzle Cake
Coffee & Walnut Cake with Vanilla Latte Icing
Simple Double Chocolate Traybake

Slow Cooker Chinese Pork with Noodles

This is a really easy slow cooker dish which I did in my Crockpot last week and devised as a Slimming World friendly meal as we have recently joined in a bid to shed some weight. It works out at half a syn for the whole dish, so win, win.

I used pork loins but shoulder steaks or even pork cheeks would be great for this dish; you do need to cook the pork loins for longer as they are a tougher cut, and you ideally want the meat to fall apart at the slightest touch.

Slow Cooker Chinese Pork with Noodles

The below serves four.

Here's how:

• 400g pork loins (fat removed) or pork shoulder steaks
• 1 white onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• 3cm piece of ginger
• 1 red chilli
• 2 tsp Chinese Five Spice
• 1 tbsp sriracha
• 4 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 200ml chicken stock
• 1 tsp cornflour
• Vermicelli rice noodles
• Handful coriander leaves to serve

Firstly place the pork loins or shoulder steaks into the slow cooker. Pour over the soy sauce, sriracha, fish sauce and chicken stock and add the Chinese Five Spice.

Now peel and slice the onion and add to the slow cooker. Peel and mince or finely slice the garlic and add to the slow cooker. 

Peel and either grate or finely slice the ginger and add to the slow cooker. 

Now finely slice the red chilli and add to the slow cooker. Give the combination a gentle mix so the pork is all immersed and then pop the lid on and put on the medium temperature for at least 4 hours. 

You don't have to, but every hour or so, I like to carefully open the lid and give everything a stir. 

When you are close to being ready to dish up and the pork is tender and falling apart at the touch of a fork, cook the rice noodles separately. 

To thicken the sauce or gravy a little, take a small bowl and ladle some of the sauce from the pot into it. Add the cornflour and give a quick stir to combine, you'll get a milky or chalky looking consistency. Now add this back into the slow cooker and give a good mix. 

Once the noodles are cooked, add them to the slow cooker, and mix to combine and ensure every noodle is immersed in the delicious sauce. 

Dish them up into a serving plate or bowl or into individual bowls and scatter over a few coriander leaves. I served with some quick stir-fried vegetables in oyster sauce. Enjoy!

If you like Chinese-style dishes you may love some of these:

• Honey Chilli and Coconut Prawns with Ho Fun
• Chinese Style Roast Chicken
• Slimming Friendly Char Sui Pork
• Vegetarian Peanut Noodles
• Chicken Satay Noodle Salad
• Pork Potsticker Dumplings

Simple Fish Stew

This is a really great Mediterranean inspired family meal, that's delicious, healthy and easily adaptable according to the fish you have available; perfect for lock-down. You can also make the base ahead of time, and freeze or chill until you're ready to cook making it super convenient. 

For anyone following Slimming World, this is a completely syn-free meal. (Glen and I have just joined, so expect to see a few more Slimming World friendly recipes soon.)

Here I served this over pasta, but you could also add cooked rice, orzo or serve with a hunk of crusty bread. I use cherry tomatoes as they have a gorgeous sweetness to them; but you could also use any other tomatoes, even tinned if that's all you have available.

Simple Fish Stew

The below serves four-five.

Here's how:

For the base:

• 6 sprays of Fry Light Olive Oil Spray
• 600g cherry tomatoes
• 1 large white onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 3 celery sticks
• 1 roasted red pepper
• 1 tbsp capers
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• Pinch of saffron
• 1 tsp paprika
• 300ml fish stock

The fish:

• 2 fillets of cod (or any white, flaky fish)
• 2 fillets of smoked haddock (any smoked fish would work)
• 200g raw prawns

To garnish:

• Fresh parsley

To make the base of the stew, spray the Fry Light into a heavy bottomed saucepan and place on a low heat.

Now peel the onion and finely dice, peel and mince the garlic, and finely slice the celery and place all into the saucepan to gently sweat down.

Once the onions etc. are softened, add the cherry tomatoes, capers and tomato puree. Chop the roasted red pepper and add to the saucepan; season generously, add the paprika and allow to cook down for fifteen minutes or so, gently mixing with a wooden spoon every few minutes. You want most of the tomatoes to be smushed down a bit, but now completely mashed. 

Now add the fish stock and the pinch of saffron and cook for a further five minutes. 

Remove from the heat, and allow to cool a little, before taking out half of the stew, and blending until smooth. I use a Nutribullet for this, but a hand blender or food processor would be great too. Don't be tempted to blend all of the sauce, unless you have fussy eaters, it's nice to have a mixed texture throughout the stew.

When you're ready to cook the fish, bring the stew back up to heat on the hob, it should come almost up to boiling, before being put on a gentle simmer. 

Now cut the cod and haddock into large, bite sized pieces and place directly into the stew, and gently move around with the wooden spoon so each piece is completely immersed in the liquid. 

Cook for a few minutes, until the fish is almost cooked through, then add the raw prawns, and again push them right into the stew and allow to cook for about 3 minutes until they're cooked through (this is easy to tell, they will have turned pink). 

Ladle the fish stew into a serving bowl, and scatter over chopped parsley. Serve with some lemon wedges over your choice of pasta, orzo or rice. 

Here are 15 other fish recipes you may enjoy:

• Plaice with Mediterranean Vegetables and Lemon Parsley Butter
• Quick and Chunky Cod Tagine
• Jerk Salmon
• Seafood Spaghetti with Saffron and Chilli
• Prawn and Chorizo Jambalaya
• Seafood Burger
• One Pot Coconut Fish Curry
• Pesto Topped Salmon with Half and Half Pasta
• Sea Bass with a Warm Jersey Royal Salad
• Thai Salmon Fishcakes with Quick Chilli Oil
• Quick Thai Salmon Noodle Soup
• Pesto Topped Haddock with Herby Couscous
• Paella Mixta
• Sticky Asian Salmon
• Tuna Fishcakes

Adana Kebabs

These can be made with beef or lamb mince, and are utterly delicious on the barbecue or under the grill; there is no need to add a load of olive oil either, as with many other kebab recipes, so they are pretty healthy too. 

They are really tasty and what's more, they are one of the easiest kebabs to make, don't take hours of marinating either so can be made just ahead of cooking which might appeal if you're a spontaneous cook. These should have a chilli kick, I use dried chilli flakes, but you could use fresh red chilli instead. 

I made these with my Chicken Shish Kebabs, Roasted Red Pepper Hummus, Cacik, some Turkish couscous and a big salad; a fantastic feast in the sunshine. 

The below makes x4 'main meal' kebabs, or you could make smaller ones to feed a crowd as part of a feast.

Adana Kebab

Adana Kebabs and Healthy Shish Kebabs

Here's how:

• 500g minced beef or lamb (try not to use the really reduced fat versions or the kebab will dry out a little during cooking)
• 1 white onion
• 3 garlic cloves
• Big handful parsley (leaves and stalks)
• Handful dill fronds
• 2 tsp sumac
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1.5 tbsp dried chilli flakes 
• 1 tbsp tomato puree or Harissa paste
• 1 tbsp ice cold water
• 1 lemon

Firstly if you are using wooden skewers, immerse into water as soon as possible before cooking, to prevent them from catching alight on the barbecue or under the grill. You can pick up the metal kind for just a couple of quid during the summer months, and ours get plenty of use so they are a good investment if you like a lot of barbecues. 

Into a big mixing bowl throw the minced beef or lamb. Now finely dice the onion as small as you can, and peel and mince the garlic and add all of this to the mixing bowl. 

Now roughly chop the parsley and dill and add to the mixing bowl. Add the 1 tbsp of icy cold water at this point too.

Add the cumin, sumac, salt, pepper, chilli flakes and tomato puree and roughly begin to mix with a spoon or a fork. 

Now you need to work the meat a little with your hands, to also combine it, but also to tenderise it. So get your hands stuck in and work it a little, as if you would with a dough, pushing together, and ensuring all of the meat has a good array of the seasoning. Now wash your hands, cover the bowl with cling film and pop into the fridge for 30 minutes to an hour before cooking. 

When you are ready to cook the kebabs, separate into mounds of however many kebabs you are making. Then take each mound individually and work it again, and roll it into a kind of sausage shape. Really squeeze it into a tight sausage and then thread it onto one of your skewers. Once on the skewer again squeeze it tight to the skewer and set on a plate or board until ready to cook. Repeat the process until each Adana Kebab is ready. 

Now place onto a hot barbecue or under a hot grill and cook for 6-8 minutes on one side, before turning and repeating on the other side. Check the meat is cooked through, by cutting into one of them in the centre. Try not to overcook as this will dry out the meat. Once cooked and dished up onto a serving platter, finish off the kebabs with a quick squeeze of lemon juice. Enjoy!

Speedy Chorizo Nachos

Nachos are always glorious, whichever toppings you throw on top so long as there is melted cheese; but if you're looking for a quick thrown together, fun lunch that is super simple, these nachos with a chorizo and tomato base will really hit the spot. 

If you want to add a delicious guacamole topping, you can get the recipe here. 

Speedy Chorizo Nachos

Here's how:

• 1 pack tortilla chips
• 100g cooking chorizo
• 1/2 tin chopped tomatoes
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• 1 tsp chipotle paste
• 1 red jalapeno chilli
• 50g Cheddar

To top once baked:

• 2 tbsp sour cream or creme fraiche
• 1/2 jar of jalapenos 
• 2 tbsp jarred salsa

Firstly pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees. 

Roughly chop the cooking chorizo and add to a non-stick pan on a medium heat. 

Finely slice the red chilli and add to the pan. 

Once the chorizo is cooked on both sides, add the chopped tomatoes, tomato puree and chipotle paste, stir and cook for a few minutes.

In the meantime, grate the cheese and spread the tortilla chips out on a baking sheet.

Now spoon over the tomatoey chorizo sauce all over the tortillas and then scatter over the grated cheese. Place into the oven and bake for ten minutes or until the cheese is all melted.

Remove from the oven, and carefully move onto a plate, board or platter. 

Spoon over the salsa all over the nachos, then layer up with the sour cream, and finally scatter over the jalapenos and serve. Enjoy!

For some other Tex-Mex inspired recipes see below:

• Slow Cooked Mexican Beef
• Spicy Beef Quesadilla with Avocado Salad
• Easy Salmon Tacos
• Thomasina Mier's Fruity Chilli
• Meat Free Monday Mexican Veggie Burgers
• Mexican Mushroom Soup

Chicken Tikka Kebabs

I've been making a ton of different kebabs recently while we've had the warmer weather; they are so good on the barbecue, but you can also cook them under the grill. They're really delicious, family-friendly, pretty healthy and a great Indian fake-away option.

I served these Chicken Tikka Kebabs with a simple salad of lettuce, onion, cucumber, tomato and coriander, some mango chutney and a naan bread which used as a wrap.

The below serves 4.

Chicken Tikka Kebabs

Here's how:

• 3-4 chicken thighs (or if you prefer 3 chicken breasts)
• 100g fat free natural yoghurt
• 100g fresh ginger
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp dried coriander
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp white pepper
• 1 lime
• 1 tsp olive oil, rapeseed oil or vegetable oil

In a bowl or plastic tub, place the natural yoghurt, the cumin, coriander, turmeric, cayenne pepper, paprika, garam masala, salt and pepper and oil inside. 

Cut the lime in half and squeeze in as much juice as you can, then throw in the body of  half the lime, put the other half to the side for later.

Peel the garlic cloves and put through a mincer or finely chop and add to the marinade. 

Finally peel the ginger and grate into the marinade and give a quick stir to mix the flavours together.

Now cut all of the chicken into slightly bigger than bite sized chunks and place into the marinade, use a spoon to mix everything up and ensure each piece of chicken is fully coated in the marinade. Now cover with clingfilm or a lid and place into the fridge (or on the kitchen counter if it's cool enough) for at least a couple of hours. 

At this point, if you are using wooden skewers, immerse them into water until cooking time, which will prevent them from setting alight under a grill or on a barbecue.

When you are ready to cook, take four skewers, and thread on each piece of chicken. Pack them quite tight and close together until all of the chicken is on

Cook for 6-8 minutes on each side, or until the chicken is cooked through and slightly charred. Check the chicken is cooked through, by cutting into one of the biggest pieces and ensuring there is no pink. 

Remove from the barbecue or grill, and allow to rest for a few minutes before serving. Squeeze over any remaining lime juice before serving.

If you want more Indian fake-away inspiration here are a few other recipes you might enjoy:

• Chicken Biryani
• Slow Cooker Butter Chicken
• Chicken Dhansak
• Sag Paneer
• Beef and Lentil Curry

Lamb Kleftiko

Lamb Kleftiko is a joyous dish, it takes just a little effort to make something truly spectacular and utterly delicious; you just have to be prepared to have the oven on all day. 

The marinade that is rubbed into the meat, helps to give a beautiful flavour, and cooking low and slow in the oven, means the meat will literally fall or pull apart at the slightest touch of a fork.

I make the lamb on a bed of potatoes and tomatoes with a few other seasonings, and then served with a Greek Salad and some Tzatziki.

I've used the cheaper cut of half a shoulder of lamb here, but many recipes call for the more expensive leg; which would be great if you are feeding a bigger crowd.

The below serves 4-5

Lamb Kleftiko

Here's how:

1/2 shoulder of lamb

For the meat rub/marinade:

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried rosemary
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp capers
• 4-5 cloves garlic
• Juice of 1 lemon

The vegetable base:

• 6 potatoes
• 4 tomatoes
• 2 tbsp Kalamata or other black olives
• 4-5 garlic cloves
• 1 lemon
• 1 large red onion
• Handful bay leafs
• Pinch salt
• Pinch black pepper
• 1 glass white wine
• 1 glass water

You will also need:

• Grease proof/baking paper or tin foil
• Large roasting tin or casserole dish
• 1/2 glass water
• Small corner of feta cheese (optional)

Firstly make the meat rub by either placing all of the ingredients into a Nutribullet or blender, or simply pulsing with a pestle and mortar. You should get a dark brown paste.

Take the lamb shoulder and rub it all over with the paste using either your hands or the back of a spoon. Make sure every piece of lamb has a flavourful coating and leave to stand for an hour. 

At this point you can pre-heat the oven to a low 160 degrees.

Now get a large roasting tin or dish, and firstly cover with lots of excess with a sheet of grease proof paper or tin foil length-ways. Now do the same width-ways so you have one piece over another; so once everything is in the dish, you can cover it up well and loosely.

In the meantime you can prepare the vegetables. Firstly peel the potatoes and cut into large wedges; if you cut them too small, they may turn to mush in the long cooking process. Scatter them all over in the roasting tin.

For the red onion, peel it and cut into wedges and scatter about. For the garlic you can either peel or leave in the skins and scatter all over. Throw in the olives (as I have two small girls, I tend to remove the stones first and throw them in). Now cut the lemon into quarters and add to the dish. Season at this point with salt and pepper.

The vegetable base for the Kleftiko

Now you can place the lamb shoulder on top of the vegetables. At this point pour over the dish a full glass of white wine (any open bottle will do it) and then re-fill with water from the tap and pour over this too. 

Lamb Kleftiko before it is wrapped and popped into the oven

Now is the wrapping process; you want it sealed up, but not too tightly. Grease proof paper lends itself really well to this. I've tried to show pictures of how I do this; you can also use kitchen string, but I find you can fold and scrunch it easy enough. So firstly take the length ways piece of paper, fold each end over towards each other, and then take the corners and kind of knot or scrunch around each other so the dish is loosely covered. 

How to wrap the first layer of paper around the Kleftiko

The second bit is easier, you just fold over and then to seal, I pour over about half a glass more water, which stops the liquid inside escaping and helps to keep the lamb moist and tender.

Fully wrapped Kleftiko with a little water over to keep it sealed

Now place into the oven and cook for a minimum of 5 hours; but for perfect, pull-apart at the touch lamb, cook for 7 hours. Remove from the oven, and serve at the table with your choice of accompaniments and unwrap at the table for the big reveal. As an optional extra, you could crumble over a little feta cheese before serving for one final Greek flourish. Enjoy!

Lamb Kleftiko

If you love Greek dishes like us, you may enjoy some of the below recipes:

Moussaka
Chicken Souvlaki
Prawn Saganaki
Pastitsio - The Greek Lasagna
Briam
Gemistes - Greek Stuffed Tomatoes
Feta and Spinach Open Tart
Greek Chicken Traybake
Beef Stamna 
Spanakopita - Greek Cheese and Spinach Pie
Soutzoukakia - Greek Meatball Bake
Greek Chicken One Pot