Herbed Lamb with Almond Olive Couscous

This is another recipe that has been inspired by Donna Hay and her book Fast, Fresh, Simple. To be honest, it's not a book that I flick through and find much inspiration from. There are A LOT of recipes in there, they're all really short and it seems a bit impersonal. However when I used Eat Your Books, a website that catalogues your cookbooks and allows you to search for recipes by book/ingredient etc) there were a lot of recipes from the book that appealed to me, and as such I have cooked quite a bit from it! This is another recipe, but I tweaked it a bit as it was a bit TOO simple for me!

Sorry about the phone pic, I had just been for a run and was STARVING!

This is a great post workout meal, as you've got a big hunk of protein sitting on top of a bed of carbs! It's also a great lunch, it'll keep you going for hours! This is so fast, delicious and will leave you feeling satisfied afterwards! You can sub in quinoa or any other similar grain/carb that can soak up flavours.


The quantities will be a bit free n easy - it's really up to you to add as much or as little as you like! You should end up with some couscous leftover for lunch the next day!


Ingredients
2 portions of lamb (whichever you prefer to eat)
3 tbsp oregano or marjoram (dried or fresh - I used dried)
1 cup couscous
Hot stock (enough to cover your couscous about 1-1.5 cups - I used chicken that I made earlier)
Handful of almonds
Handful of green olives (chopped)
Handful of fresh spinach
Lemon wedge
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper


Method
1) Lightly oil your lamb and sprinkle 2 tbsp of your herb over the lamb, and grill them over a high heat to your preferred "doneness".
2) Pour your couscous into a large bowl with the rest of the herbs, and pour over the hot stock. Cover and leave until you are ready to serve.
3) Chop your almonds and olives roughly. When the lamb is done, take it off the heat to rest until everything else is done.
4) Fluff up the couscous with a fork (if you use a spoon it clumps) and add your almonds, olives, and spinach and mix to combine. Add a generous squeeze of lemon, a glug of olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
5) Slice up your lamb, pile the couscous onto your plate and place the lamb on top. EAT!

Baked Beans - Bill Granger

In an effort to have bigger and more filling breakfasts, we've been buying more baked beans. But really, making your own beans is really easy, you know exactly what goes into it and you can put some extras in that you really like! I've made baked beans before, for my Breakfast with Benefits , and they went down really well - so I thought I'd give it another go! I saw the recipe in Bill Grangers book "Everyday" and the ingredients looked delicious, so that's the recipe I followed. I realised when making it I only had one can of cannellini beans - so I used a can of chick peas instead. It's still really delicious.

I'd love you to try these, they're delicious and what an amazing start to the day, if you have a chunky piece of good sourdough, a poached egg, and these beans poured over top! A hearty breakfast like that will set you up for the day, and will make you a morning person!

Serves 6
Ingredients


1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
100g pancetta, chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 anchovies, chopped
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
1/2 tsp dried oregano
400g tin chopped tomatoes
2 x tins cannellini beans, rinsed
sea salt and fresh ground black pepper


Method


1) Preheat the oven to 160C
2) Heat the olive oil in a large flame proof casserole dish over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring for 5-6 minutes until the onion is soft.
3) Add the pancetta and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until slightly crisp.
4) Add the garlic, anchovies, thyme, and oregano and cook, stirring for another minute.
5) Add the tomatoes, 1/2 cup of water and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
6) Stir in the beans, put a lid on the casserole dish and bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.