Category: Recipes

You will find quick and easy, made-from-scratch recipes made from seasonal ingredients. There are some healthy recipes and quite a few treat recipes too. I cook the food that I love so this is not a comprehensive guide to cookery.

My focus is on Baking (particularly Cakes, Muffins and Biscuits and Cookies), Desserts (particularly Ice Cream, Meringue, Roulades and Sweet Tarts), Soups, Salads, Simple Suppers (particularly Pasta and Savoury Tarts) plus a few Snacks, Sauces and Preserves. I also have a few Drink recipes with a particular focus on home-made Gin. These are the kind of goodies that you might get a great local independent cafe or coffee shop – perhaps minus the gin!

All of these dishes are aimed at those who either have basic cooking skills or, like me, just don’t have the time to spend hours in the kitchen but want to produce something tasty and delicious.

Red Cabbage Coleslaw

Red Cabbage Coleslaw is a really simple and easy recipe which can be put together in a few minutes. Coleslaw is a salad made with raw vegetables, usually including cabbage, mixed with mayonnaise.

I make all kinds of coleslaw but I particularly like this recipe which uses red cabbage, carrot, radish and apple as you get a bowl full of bright bold colours. The combination of colours means that the coleslaw looks very attractive. It is great as part of a cold buffet or at a lunch party. It also seems to appeal to children as it looks pretty – and the mayonnaise turns pink – and the apple adds a bit of natural sweetness. I have found it a good way to get them to eat a wider range of vegetables. Although the mayonnaise may not be that healthy there is not too much of it in this recipe and it really does bring together the taste of the different vegetables. I tend to use shop-bought, reduced fat mayonnaise for this recipe.

It is really beneficial from a healthy-eating point of view to eat food that is raw. It is high in fibre and vitamins and minerals are retained. Different colours typically denote the presence of different vitamins and minerals in food. Therefore, a really easy way to eat more healthily is to eat foods with a range of natural colours (“eating the rainbow”).

Other easy salads

I love salads and eat them all the year around – not just in summer. If you like this Red Cabbage Coleslaw recipe, you might also like some of my other salad recipes.

Aubergine Salad with Soy and Honey – A great, easy oriental-style salad with a fantastic hit of umami flavour which can be made in 15 minutes.
Thai Cucumber Salad – Fresh, crunchy and tasty with brilliant Thai flavours which takes 5 minutes.
Raw Beetroot and Carrot Salad – This is another quick and easy raw salad which has a zesty citrus dressing.
Roasted Pepper Salad – This simple vegan salad can be served either warm or at room temperature.
Spiced Carrot Salad with Honey and Lemon – This salad takes a bit longer to make as the carrots are roasted. It is worth it as the lemon, honey and North African spices work magic on this versatile vegetable.
Roasted Beetroot Salad with Yogurt and Tahini – Again, this salad takes a bit longer to make but it is worth it for the intense flavour of the roasted beetroot.

Red Cabbage Coleslaw

Author: Tastebotanical
Prep Time: 30
Total Time: 30 minutes
Yield: for 6 people 1x
Category: Salad
Cuisine: English

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Description

This colourful Red Cabbage Coleslaw, made with red onion, red cabbage, carrot, radish and apple, looks pretty and is a great way to eat lots of healthy vegetables.

Ingredients

Scale

1 red onion
Juice of half a lemon
Half a red cabbage
5 large carrots
5 radishes
1 apple
3 tablespoons of mayonnaise

Instructions

Slice your red onion thinly. Place the slices in a ceramic dish together with the juice of half a lemon. Leave for at least half an hour. The lemon juice will make the raw onion taste milder but still retain its fresh crunchiness!
Prepare the other vegetables. Thinly slice the red cabbage. Grate the carrots. Cut the radishes into thin disks.
Put the prepared vegetables, together with the marinated onion, into a large bowl.
Cut the apple into small pieces, omitting the core, and add it to the bowl of vegetables.
Add the mayonnaise to the bowl and stir to lightly cover the other ingredients.

Keywords: slaw, coleslaw, red cabbage, onion, carrot, red slaw

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Butternut Squash Tart with Chilli and Sage

My Butternut Squash Tart with Chilli and Sage is a great summer tart which can be served either hot or cold. I came up with the idea for this recipe as an alternative to the Caramelised Onion Tart that is a regular family supper. I wanted to do something that had a similar sweetness but which was also a bit different.

The resulting tart uses butternut squash, which is slow-cooked to enhance its natural sweetness, and then gives it a bit of extra zing with the addition of chilli and sage. Both are good companions to squash – the chilli cuts through the sweetness and the sage gives it a savoury depth of flavour. Don’t be alarmed by the chilli. The amount involved is relatively small but really does pep up the tart. My children have varying views on chilli (ranging from “Carolina Reaper for breakfast, please” to “Yeeeuch”) but they all like this tart.

I like to serve this tart with my Red Slaw – to keep the bright colour thing going! They taste good together – the fresh crunchiness of the slaw goes well with the sweet-savoury tart – and they also look pretty!

What you need to know about this recipe

I generally make my own pastry. I was a late learner when it came to pastry and for years used ready-made versions. However, a few years ago I decided I had to get to grips with pastry-making and discovered how easy it is. So, if you have the time to make your own pastry, it is really worth doing as the taste will be much better than anything you can buy in the shops. However, if you don’t have the time or inclination, you can make this recipe using ready-made pastry and it will still taste pretty good.
Whether you are making your own pastry or using ready-made, it is really important to bake the empty pastry case in the oven for 15 minutes before you add the filling (step 7). This sets the pastry and means that it is properly cooked so it will be crisp and delicious rather than soft and soggy.
Cooking the onions and cubed squash on a low heat for 30 minutes until they become caramelised (step 5) is a crucial part of this recipe. You need them to be soft in texture and with the rich sweetness that comes from slow cooking.
If you don’t like chilli, you can leave it out. However, it is fairly mild and does give a good balance to the sweetness of the caramelised squash and onions.
I add sage as I think it goes particularly well with butternut squash. I think fresh sage is preferable. However, if you do not have it to hand, you can use dried sage. If you do not have any sage, or do not like it, you can substitute other herbs. I think thyme, oregano and rosemary would all be good in this recipe.

Other butternut squash and pumpkin recipes

If you like the earthy sweetness of butternut squash and pumpkin, you might like some of my other recipes.

Butternut Squash Hummus is a twist on traditional hummus which has the added sweetness of roasted squash
Butternut Squash Soup with Peanut Butter is a vegan savoury soup which combines the sweet squash with deliciously nutty peanut butter
Pumpkin and Sweetcorn Soup combines two traditional flavour partners in a hearty vegetarian soup
Filo Triangles with Roasted Butternut Squash, Chilli and Pinenut filling are a brilliant lunch, picnic or snack recipe

Other quiche and tart recipes

Savoury tarts and quiches are a fantastic, cook-ahead simple supper or lunch. They are easy to make and are great either hot or at room temperature. They can also be easily divided into portions if you are feeding a large number of people. Easily transportable, they also make a good addition to lunch-boxes or basis for a picnic. Here are some of my favourites.

Asparagus Quiche is a simple quiche-style savoury tart that highlights the taste of fresh asparagus. I also have a very simple Asparagus and Herb Cheese Tart which uses ready-made puff pastry.
Two kinds of onion tart – Caramelised Onion Tart which is based on sweet, slow-cooked onions and another version, Onion Tart with Wild Garlic, which has the addition of fresh herbs. I also have an easy Shallot Tart with Thyme and Anchovy which uses ready-made puff pastry.
My Garlic Tart is a garlic-lovers delight and uses three bulbs – yes, bulbs not cloves – of garlic
I also have two very different carrot-based tarts. Carrot and Coriander Tart combines these two classic flavours in a simple quiche-style savoury tart. Carrot Tart uses ready-made puff pastry and combines large pieces of carrot with orange and soft cheese.
Beetroot Tart is deliciously sweet and earthy. My Tomato Tart is also sweet but has is lighter and fresher.
Spinach Tart combines leaf green spinach with feta and crunchy pine-nuts.
Feta Quiche with Roasted Peppers is a fantastic comination of rich, smoky roasted peppers with salty feta cheese.
I also have a couple of fish-based recipes. My Crab and Prawn Tart has Asian-inspired flavours of coriander, lime and chilli. My Smoked Salmon Tart with Prawns is easy to make and is perfect for a celebratory meal or party.
In addition to larger quiches and tarts, I also have a recipe for individual Herb Tartlets which are great as canapes or snacks.

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Recipe for Butternut Squash Tart with Chilli and Sage