redjanet's Reviews
205 recipes reviewed. Showing 1 to 50Sort by: Book Title | Date | Rating | Recipe Title 
Forever Summer
By Nigella Lawson
Chatto & Windus - 2005
I made the chicken and the salad on the same page together and it was really lovely. The coolness of the salad, which consists of cucumber, tomatoes, parsley, mint, and pitta bread with dressing and seasoning complemented the earthiness of the za'atar blend on the chicken, which was extremely easy, really well. This would be a nice dish to serve to guests al fresco in the summer accompanied by a light rose wine.
useful (2)
Baking Made Easy
By Lorraine Pascale
HarperCollins - 2011
As soon as i saw the title of this recipe I knew I had to try it. This is a no-bake cheesecake that sets in the refrigerator once assembled. The mascarpone, white chocolate, cream and amaretto flavours work well together, though I did find it to be a bit too sweet. It is also very rich so it's best eaten in small portions.
useful (1)
BBC Good Food
(Autumn, 2011)
Surprisingly good midweek comfort meal. I used tikka masala paste I had leftover from the weekend, and combined with the yogurt and tomatoes in the sauce, this had a nice, delicate flavour. The spinach added at the end added bulk and the coriander added more flavour. I would definitely make this again.
useful (0)
Deliciously Ella Every Day: Simple recipes and fantastic food for a healthy way of life
By Ella Mills (Woodward)
Yellow Kite - 2016
This was delicious and full of flavour. Neither my husband or I missed the presence of chicken or chorizo or any other meat products. The author suggested adding boiled potatoes to the dish for extra heartiness, but we both found it quite hearty enough. I had enough leftovers for three days' worth of lunch, which I am looking forward to.
useful (0)
Jamie's America
By Jamie Oliver
Michael Joseph - 2009
I made this in honour not only of the Italian Grand Prix, but being that it's 11/09/2011, I also made it in honour of New York and the type of food I used to love growing up in that wonderful city. This tasted very authentic and very similar to the veal or chicken parmigiana dishes I used to always have in Italian restaurants in New York. I used pork escalope as suggested by Jamie as it was MUCH cheaper than veal, but I didn't really notice the difference. I served this with spaghetti as did most of the Italian restaurants of my childhood and it brought back happy memories. Thanks, Jamie.
useful (0)
Jamie's Ministry of Food: Anyone Can Learn to Cook in 24 Hours
By Jamie Oliver
Michael Joseph - 2008
An easy no-cook cheesecake which everyone I served to seemed to love. I didn't actually make the raspberry topping but just served it with fresh raspberries on the side, which worked quite well.
useful (1)
BOSH!: Simple Recipes. Amazing Food. All Plants. The Fastest-Selling Vegan Cookbook Ever
By Henry Firth, Ian Theasby
HQ - 2018
This took a little bit longer than I anticipated to prep, but it was completely worth it for such amazing flavour. I loved using minced mushroom instead of processed fake beef mince (or beef!) in combination with kidney beans and black beans and many other flavour-enhancing ingredients such as soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, maple syrup and chocolate. This also reheated very well for lunch in the microwave, tasting even better over the next couple of days.
useful (0)
Kitchen: Recipes from the Heart of the Home
By Nigella Lawson
Chatto & Windus - 2010
A slightly healthier recipe for meatballs, using turkey instead of pork or beef. This is easy to make, though it takes a bit of time to roll all of the 50 tiny meatballs Nigella says you can eke out of the ingredients. I find this to be slightly on the bland side, but it's comfort food which I usually eat with rice, which soaks up the tomato sauce well.
useful (1)
BBC Good Food
(May, 2012)
Found on page 16 of the "40 low-fat recipes" supplement. This is a slightly bland but healthier take on spaghetti and meatballs. The meatballs took me a bit longer than expected to cook through and were slightly lacking in flavour, but overall not too bad.
useful (1)
The Hairy Dieters: Good Eating (Hairy Bikers)
By Hairy Bikers, Dave Myers, Si King
W&N - 2014
Although this made a substantial lunch, along with a salad and some rice, I was a bit disappointed and surprised that these meatballs did not have as much flavour as I was expecting, especially given I've had very good results with other Hairy Dieters recipes in the past. The meatballs were slightly dry and a bit too crunchy with the use of panko crumbs. The garlic sauce definitely saved this dish for me as it gave a contrast of flavour and texture to what was otherwise a fairly lacklustre dish.
useful (1)
Kitchen: Recipes from the Heart of the Home
By Nigella Lawson
Chatto & Windus - 2010
This was very easy to make and worked really well. My first attempt at what is basically a big Yorkshire pudding with embedded sausage patties and it came out perfectly. Next time I'll make the gravy to go with it and maybe also use more sausages than suggested.
useful (1)
Website: Smitten Kitchen
I made this last night and as I was only serving two I halved the ingredients and it still worked really well. I probably didn't marinate the chicken for as long as I should/could have due to lack of time, but it was still very flavourful and I would definitely make this again as a tasty weekday dinner. It went very well with basmati rice on the side.
useful (2)
Very nice. This is a quick version of a classic which, just using a few ingredients, is easy to whip up for a delicious midweek meal. I'm not usually a fan of creamy sauces but the vermouth, garlic oil and spring onions add a lot of flavour. This went very well with green beans and new potatoes, though as my OH suggested, I could imagine it working well with mashed potatoes or basmati rice as Nigella also recommended.
useful (0)
Simply Nigella: Feel Good Food
By Nigella Lawson
Chatto & Windus - 2015
I'll admit straight away that although I like it, I am not generally the biggest fan of macaroni and cheese as I generally find it to be too heavy. That said, I was intrigued enough to give this recipe a try for the interesting combination of sweet potatoes and feta cheese in the mix. Although this, like other mac and cheeses, was rather heavy and a big laggy, the contrast of the sharp feta to the sweet potatoes was very good and there was an overall more creaminess to the texture which I liked. I think it could have used a bit more English mustard or paprika (or a bit more of both) as it still felt a little lacking in taste, but still was quite enjoyable. It also made for a hefty amount of leftovers for lunch the next couple of days and was quite good eaten cold.
useful (1)
Jamie's Ministry of Food: Anyone Can Learn to Cook in 24 Hours
By Jamie Oliver
Michael Joseph - 2008
As soon as I saw this recipe listed I knew that I had to try it out. Chorizo is one of my favourite ingredients as it always brings great flavour to whatever recipe it is in and this soup is no exception. The combination of the salty chorizo with the sweet potato is delicious. This is a hearty, warming soup that tastes even better re-heated the next day and also well from frozen.
useful (0)
Website: BBC Good Food
This was hearty and delicious and is good for an autumn/winter night. I like that this is healthy and also reheated well for lunch the next day. I used korma curry paste but you could probably use whatever type you prefer.
ETA 06/01/2015: I've upgraded this to 5 stars as I've made this many times since and always enjoy it as a dish to look forward to both for dinner and then for lunch the next day at work.
useful (0)
Jamie at Home: Cook Your Way to the Good Life
By Jamie Oliver
Hyperion - 2008
I thought I'd try this different take on sausages (which I served with mashed potato) as the use of balsamic vinegar made it sound like it would be quite flavourful. As I was only cooking for my OH and me I halved the amount of cherry tomatoes I used, which still ended up seeming like way too many. The flavour overall was nice, but not outstanding. This was fairly easy to put together, but I'm not convinced that this is something I'd want to keep making.
useful (1)
Website: Clean Food Dirty Girl
This is a very simple lentil stew, but it's good and comforting as a healthy, hearty mid-week meal.
useful (0)
Website: Smitten Kitchen
So this cake seems very popular right now, but as British strawberries are having a good season and I needed something to take to a family dinner, I thought it would be ideal. It was very easy to put together and came out beautifully. I used a 9 inch springform tin as suggested as a possibility in the recipe, which worked perfectly. I also quartered the strawberries instead of just halving them as they were quite huge. The juice from the strawberries seeped nicely into the cake making it very moist, but not too mushy and everyone seemed to really enjoy it and were coming back for seconds. It went very well with cream poured on top, but was also moist enough on its own. I will definitely make this again and may try it with other fruit, such as blueberries or raspberries.
Edit: Forgot to add earlier that I only used plain flour as I had loads of it in my cupboard (and no barley flour) and it tasted really good.
useful (1)
Website: BBC Good Food
This is a very nice low fat dessert which is good for dinner parties. It was easy to prepare a few hours in advance and let it chill in the fridge until ready to serve. My only misgiving is that the completely fat free Greek yoghurt left a slight aftertaste, but that was easily remedied by a coffee soon afterwards.
useful (1)
Home Cooking Made Easy
By Lorraine Pascale
HarperCollins - 2011
A very simple and quick way of cooking haddock, which yielded a lot of flavour in the sauce. The minimal amount of chopping and prep made this an ideal weeknight dinner. I served this with buttered new potatoes and vegetables on the side instead of rice, as the author suggested.
useful (0)
The 20-minute Cookbook: 200 Fuss Free Recipes - Quick and Easy Cooking for Every Kind of Occasion, with Over 800 Photographs and Step by Step Instructions to Guarantee Success
By Jenni Fleetwood
Lorenz Books - 2006
This was edible but kind of boring. I did have Thai basil in the house, but unfortunately it had gone off by the time I was ready to make this recipe. To be honest, I'm kind of glad it did, otherwise I wouldn't have added the dried mixed herbs that I did when I started stir-frying the chicken, which at least gave it some more flavour. Ultimately, though, it was just stir-fried chicken strips with pepper strips and a tinge of garlic. Meh.
useful (0)
Every Day
By Bill Granger
Murdoch Books - 2009
I'd never used cucumbers in a stir-fry before and wasn't sure if I'd like the taste, but they added a nice crunch and delicate flavour to this healthy, summery dish. The sauce, which was Chinese rice wine, soy sauce, sesame oil, cornflour, caster sugar and probably something else I'm forgetting added a nice amount of flavour. The cucumbers and peppers made this pretty to look at and the chopped peanuts added at the end gave it an extra dimension of flavour and texture.
useful (0)
Forks Over Knives - The Cookbook: Over 300 Recipes for Plant-Based Eating All Through the Year
By Del Sroufe, Julieanna Hever MS RD CPT, Isa Chandra Moskowitz, Darshana Thacker, Judy Micklewright
The Experiment - 2012
A very nice, quick rice dish for week nights. I used my instant pot to cook the brown rice, which helped to save time. I think I may add sliced mushrooms next time to make the dish a bit "meatier" but overall it was really good.
useful (0)
Nigella Bites
By Nigella Lawson
Chatto & Windus - 2001
I made this to go with a pork stew recipe that suggested cabbage would be a good side dish. This turned out to have more flavour than the stew! This was easy and quick to make and a had a nice hint of Asian flavours with soy sauce and toasted sesame oil added at the last minute. The recipe was easily halved as I was just cooking for two.
useful (0)
Website: Bosh!
A nice way of making mushrooms the star in a that comes together quickly. A bit on the sweet side, and I also added some tenderstem broccoli as a side dish to make this a fuller meal, but great for a weeknight.
useful (0)
Nigella Christmas: Food Family Friends Festivities
By Nigella Lawson
Hyperion - 2009
This was a simple, easy to prepare dessert to bring to a friends' house over the holidays and it went down a treat. The flavours combined beautifully and the end result was a wonderful combination of textures - soft and fluffy cake with a slightly crispy top.
useful (0)
Feast: Food That Celebrates Life
By Nigella Lawson
Chatto & Windus - 2006
This was very easy to prepare and much less fiddly than the usual roast potatoes. The garlic roasted nicely with the potatoes and were easily devoured by all.
useful (1)
BBC Good Food
(October, 2011)
A nice, simple stir-fry recipe that I made as I was craving something a bit lighter and healthier than I've been eating lately. The carrots gave this bulk and crunch and the honey and lime juice gave it good flavour. That said, I didn't bother to toast the sesame seeds and added a drizzle of toasted sesame seed oil and soy sauce at the end.
useful (1)
Deliciously Ella Every Day: Simple recipes and fantastic food for a healthy way of life
By Ella Mills (Woodward)
Yellow Kite - 2016
Very good, healthy vegan pasta recipe. This involves some chopping up to prep but then is one of those recipes you can leave simmering on the hob for an hour while you do other things. This yielded quite a lot and reheated well for lunch over the next couple of days.
useful (0)
BBC Good Food
(, 2012)
Although this soup wasn't as, "full of flavour," as the recipe promised, it still had a pleasant, if slightly bland, taste. I used full fat coconut milk instead of reduced fat, which probably helped the smoothness and I also kept it slightly chunky, but blended. It has a nice texture and I'm hoping the flavours will develop a bit more overnight in the fridge as I have enough left over for a couple of days worth of work lunches.
useful (0)
Kitchen: Recipes from the Heart of the Home
By Nigella Lawson
Chatto & Windus - 2010
This is a quick way of frying up turkey or pork escalopes. The flavour is maximised with spices, garlic and lemon and is a really good mid-week meal accompanied by salad and potatoes of your choice.
useful (1)
This is a good, easy recipe for entertaining as it only takes a few minutes to actually assemble and then stays in the oven for an hour. The red onion, chorizo and orange zest add lovely flavours and it's a great all-in-one dish with maybe a salad on the side.
useful (2)
Nigella Express: Good Food, Fast
By Nigella Lawson
Hyperion - 2007
A quick and easy midweek pasta dish. I didn't have spaghettini but used normal old spaghetti which was fine. The sunblush tomatoes, rocket and prawns made for a very colourful, pretty dish and the chilli flakes added a nice kick. I think if i made this again, though, I wouldn't use all of the oil of the sunblush tomatoes as instructed as it made the dish a bit *too* oily for my tastes, especially towards the end, but overall this was nice.
useful (2)
BBC Olive
(May, 2011)
I was attracted to this recipe for it's simplicity and for the pretty colours in the photo, which are basically due to the flecks of green parsley and red chili amongst the pasta and crab. This is very simple to assemble once all the ingredients are prepped, though for a quick dish I did find it annoying to have to peel and slice five shallots, which is one of my least favourite things to do when cooking. In any case, the flavours worked fairly well together, though the lemon could have been stronger and maybe next time I'll just use half a chilli instead of a whole one as the OH and I found it a bit hot for our tastes. Still, it's a good, fairly healthy mid-week dish that I may play around with again.
useful (0)
Easy Italian (Weight Watchers)
By
Simon & Schuster Ltd - 2012
I'll admit that I'm lazy and usually make a quick spag bol using sauce from a jar and it's usually ready in about 20 minutes. I thought I'd try this as I'm trying to be healthier. If I do it again I'd do it on a weekend and not midweek as there was quite a bit of prep to do and as I am just cooking for two it seemed a bit of a faff. I tasted the sauce as I was going along and as it was a bit bland I added balsamic vinegar and tomato purée, which helped and didn't add any points. I'm not sure if it was really worth making this recipe over using a "light" jarred Bolognese sauce, but it was edible and filling and tasted okay with the aforementioned adjustments.
useful (1)
Jamie's Ministry of Food: Anyone Can Learn to Cook in 24 Hours
By Jamie Oliver
Michael Joseph - 2008
Quick and extremely easy to make, this is a simple way to serve trout. It almost seems too simple, but sometimes the simplest recipes are the best. This goes well with new potatoes.
useful (0)
Appetite for Reduction: 125 Fast and Filling Low-Fat Vegan Recipes
By Isa Chandra Moskowitz, Matthew Ruscigno
Da Capo Lifelong Books - 2010
I thought I would miss the tahini in this but I didn't at all. I used sweet smoked paprika and cumin and left out the cayenne pepper as I don't like things very spicy and it was delicious.
useful (0)
Website: Delicious Magazine (UK)
I liked this very much as a simple, fresh-tasting midweek meal. I substituted ready for wok noodles which helped cut down the time. The noodles had a lovely tangy taste with a bit of crunch from the veg and the marinated salmon was delicious. I may leave off the sesame seeds next time as they burned a bit while frying.
useful (1)
How to Be a Better Cook
By Lorraine Pascale
HarperCollins - 2014
This is healthy and tasty and does not take a long time to cook, making it good for a weeknight. I did find getting the timings between the two pans on the go to be a bit of a balancing act as there was always something going on in both, but I suppose as the book is called "how to be a better cook," it is a good lesson in timing! I halved this recipe as I was just cooking for two, though I might not halve the sauce ingredients so much next time as it was a bit light on the sauce front. I didn't add chilli and ginger to my rice as I prefer my rice plain, although I can see how it would be good.
useful (0)
Forever Summer
By Nigella Lawson
Chatto & Windus - 2005
Another ridiculously quick and easy supper from Nigella which can be made in mere minutes. All it consists of is dredging salmon fillets in a mixture of English mustard powder and caster sugar and then frying them. I was a bit concerned that the heat of the mustard powder would be a bit overpowering, but the sugar did it's job and sweetened it well and it ended up having more of an Asian flavour (in my opinion) than the Scandinavian-esque taste Nigella seemed to be going for. She mentions in the book that it would go well with potatoes and beetroot salad, but it worked well for me with rice and some greens wouldn't go amiss.
useful (0)
Cook Yourself Thin
By Harry Eastwood, Gizzi Erskine, Sal Henley, Sophie Michell
Penguin - 2007
This is a very good, simple and quick way of preparing a healthy main course of sea bass for two. There was lots of flavour in the sauce, mostly made up of store-cupboard essentials like tinned tomatoes, tomato puree, dried herbs, capers and white wine, making it an easy recipe to fall back on with short notice. I served it with new potatoes and roast vegetables and will definitely be doing so again when I want something healthy but tasty for dinner.
useful (1)
Nigella Express: Good Food, Fast
By Nigella Lawson
Hyperion - 2007
Ridiculously simple to make, and needs a decent side to go with it to make a complete meal, but the combination of the chorizo and scallop flavours with a bit of lemon was really good and very fast to throw together. I made the chickpea and rocket salad to go with it, as suggested, but I'd be open to suggestion for different ideas of accompaniment.
useful (1)
Every Day
By Bill Granger
Murdoch Books - 2009
This was okay, but I wish I'd followed the advice of weaponxgirl in her previous review. I did this according to the recipe, expecting the red onions covered in brown sugar, olive oil, red wine vinegar and season to get more caramelised and the sauce to go syrupy. That didn't really happen and the sauce was very thin. The onions tasted nice and went well with the sausages, as did the extra ingredient of parmesan in my mash, but this wasn't particularly memorable.
useful (0)
The Hairy Dieters Eat for Life: How to Love Food, Lose Weight and Keep it Off for Good! (Hairy Bikers)
By Hairy Bikers, Si King, Dave Myers
W&N - 2013
Very pleasantly surprised by how well this turned out. The gravy had good flavour (though I may use slightly less ketchup next time for less of a tang) and the cornflour helped it to thicken perfectly. Will definitely make this again.
useful (0)
The 30-minute Cook
By Nigel Slater
Penguin Books Ltd - 2006
A nice, simple supper of sausages and beans with a bit of a kick in the sauce from harissa paste, Dijon mustard and English mustard. I wasn't sure about it at first but the flavours grew on me with each bite. It did take about 15 minutes longer for the sausages to be cooked to my liking than the 20-25 minutes suggested, but I can see making this again in the winter for a hearty, warming meal.
useful (0)
Jamie's Ministry of Food: Anyone Can Learn to Cook in 24 Hours
By Jamie Oliver
Michael Joseph - 2008
This is a simple and delicious way to cook salmon together with green beans. Covering the salmon in pesto and wrapping it in foil keeps it moist and juicy. I find that I don't need to add as much olive oil as Jamie does (in general!) to keep it moist. The combination cooking of the greens with the fish also helps save on the washing up.
useful (1)
Feast: Food That Celebrates Life
By Nigella Lawson
Chatto & Windus - 2006
This was an excellent, easy recipe for an Easter main course and side. Following the timing guidelines suggested by Nigella, the lamb was tender, juicy and pink and full of flavour. The potatoes were also delicious and easy to prepare alongside the lamb. I had never roasted a whole leg of lamb before and this was the perfect recipe to start with.
useful (0)
Nigella Express: Good Food, Fast
By Nigella Lawson
Hyperion - 2007
This is a fun dessert to make and bring to parties. It is rich and very filling and it's really delicious. I didn't bother adding the icing sugar to the top as I think the bars are sugary enough without them. These are very satisfying and I would only recommend if you have plenty of room in your tummy for them.
useful (0)
Delia's Complete How to Cook: Both a Guide for Beginners and a Tried and Tested Recipe Collection for Life
By Delia Smith
BBC Books - 2009
I was looking for a change from my usual Jamie Oliver recipe of salmon topped with pesto and roasted in the oven in foil, which my spouse is a bit sick of...and then ended up finding this, which is almost the same thing, but with cheese and breadcrumbs on top as well! Spouse admitted that it was good and the crunchy cheesiness made it more interesting. I liked it and would make it again as it's another easy weekday way of eating some oily fish.
useful (0)