Simple recipes to build your kitchen confidence

Now is the perfect time to build your confidence in the kitchen by mastering a few simple, go-to meals.

To help you get started, we've created five recipes using just fifteen ingredients. They're all plant-based and packed with vegetables to help you reach your five a day.

 

Shopping list

Here are the ingredients you'll need to make all five recipes:

• 500g rice
• 250g pasta
• 1 pack of tortilla wraps
• 2 x 400g tinned chickpeas
• 2 x 400g tinned black beans
• 3 x 400g tinned chopped tomatoes
• 1 x 400ml tinned coconut milk
• 1 small jar of curry paste
• 3 brown onions
• 1 garlic bulb or Garlic Lazy Cook/puree
• 3 carrots
• 2 bell peppers - any colour works, but red/orange/yellow is recommended
• 200g spinach
• 500g frozen peas
• 200g of cheddar or vegan cheese

 

These recipes requires a few cupboard essentials, so make sure to add the following to your shopping list if you don't have them already: cooking oil, paprika, chilli flakes, soy sauce, salt and pepper, kitchen foil.

 

Coconut chickpea curry with rice

Makes 4 portions.

Ingredients

• 100g rice 
• 1 tbsp cooking oil
• 1/2 onion
• 1 carrot
• 1 tsp garlic puree or 1 garlic clove
• 1 x 400g tinned chickpeas
• 1 x 400ml tinned coconut milk
• 2 tbsp curry paste
• 100g spinach
• Salt and pepper

 

You will need to prep some of your ingredients - you might find it easier to do this just before you start cooking.

• Using a chopping board and sharp knife, dice the carrot and onion into small cubes. Store these together as you will be adding at the same time. You can wrap the other half of the onion in clingfilm and store in the fridge to use later.
• If using fresh garlic, dice this on the same board.
• Open the cans using a can opener or the tabs on the lid. Carefully drain the liquid out of the tinned chickpeas using the can lid. 
• Wash the rice. You can do this in the pan or rice cooker pot, or by using a fine mesh sieve.
• Wash the spinach in a colander. 

  

Method

1. Add oil to a frying pan on a medium heat. When hot, add your diced onions and carrots. Fry for about 5 minutes, stirring regularly. If the onions start to brown, turn the heat down. 
2. Add garlic and continue to fry for 1 minute. Then add curry paste and mix well. Let this fry off for 30 seconds. 
3. Add the drained chickpeas and coconut milk, and raise the heat if you turned it down earlier. Use a small amount of water to pick-up anything stuck on the sides of the tin and add to the pot. Stir well and season with a small amount of salt and pepper.
4. Once this is starting to simmer/bubble, turn the heat back down and set a 15 minute timer. While you are waiting, stir occasionally and cook your rice following the instructions on the packet. 
5. After 15 minutes of simmering, add your washed spinach and stir well. Cook until the spinach wilts.
6. Taste the curry, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with rice.

 

Smoky bean chilli with rice

Makes 4 portions.

Ingredients

• 150g rice
• 1 tbsp cooking oil
• 1 onion
• 1 bell pepper
• 1 tsp garlic puree or 1 garlic clove
• 2 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp chilli flakes (increase according to preference)
• 2 x 400g tinned black beans
• 2 x 400g tinned chopped tomatoes
• Salt and pepper

 

As above, you can prep the following ingredients in advance:

• Using a chopping board and sharp knife, dice the onion and bell pepper into small cubes. Store these together as you will be adding at the same time. 
• If using fresh garlic, dice this on the same chopping board.
• Open the cans using a can opener or the tabs on the lid. Carefully drain the liquid out of the tinned black beans using the can lid. 
• Wash the rice. You can do this in the pan or rice cooker pot, or by using a fine mesh sieve.

 

Method

1. Add oil to a frying pan on a medium heat. When hot, add your diced onion and pepper. Fry for about 5 minutes, stirring regularly. If the onions or peppers start to brown, turn the heat down. 
2. Add garlic, paprika and chilli flakes, being careful not to burn. Make sure the heat is not set too high.
3. After 1 minute, add the canned beans and tomatoes and raise the heat if you turned it down earlier. Use a small amount of water to pick-up anything stuck on the sides of the tin and add to the pot. Stir well and season with a small amount of salt and pepper. 
4. Once this is starting to simmer/bubble, turn the heat back down and set a 20 minute timer. While you are waiting, stir occasionally and cook your rice following the instructions on the packet. 
5. Check on the chilli when you timer goes off. If it is hasn't thickened enough, raise the heat a little, and cook for another 5 minutes. 
6. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then serve alongside rice. 

 

Chickpea fajitas

Makes 3 to 4 portions.

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp cooking oil
• 1 onion
• 1 pepper
• 1 x 400g tinned chickpeas
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp chilli flakes (increase according to preference)
• 4 tortilla wraps
• 75g cheese

 

Here is how you can prep your ingredients in advance:

• Using a chopping board and sharp knife, finely slice the onion and bell pepper into small strips and slices. Store these together as you will be adding at the same time. 
• Open the can using a can opener or the tabs on the lid. Carefully drain the liquid out using the can lid.
• Grate the cheese using a coarse grater. Especially if you are prepping in a hot kitchen, store the grated cheese in the fridge until you're ready to use to avoid the cheese sweating.
• Preheat the oven to 160°C and wrap the tortillas in foil. If you want to spread out the portions across the week, only prep the number of tortillas you plan to eat today, and prep the rest when you reheat the leftover fajita mix.

 

Method

1. Add oil to a frying pan on a medium heat. When hot, add your sliced onion and pepper. Fry for about 5 minutes, stirring regularly. If the onions or peppers start to brown, turn the heat down. 
2. Add the drained chickpeas and spices to the pan and fry until chickpeas are soft - this should take about five minutes but cook for longer if needed.
3. While waiting for the chickpeas, add the wrapped tortillas directly to the oven. Leave these in for about five minutes or until ready to serve.
4. Once the chickpeas are ready, remove the wraps from the over and add to plates. Add the fajita mix and sprinkle generously with cheese. Fold the wrap (usually the tortilla packet will show you how) and enjoy! 

 

Vegetable fried rice

Makes 3 portions.

Ingredients

• 250g rice
• 1 tbsp cooking oil
• 1 carrot
• 250g frozen peas
• 1 tsp garlic puree or 1 garlic clove
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• Salt and pepper

 

Here is how you can prep your ingredients in advance:

• Using a chopping board and sharp knife, finely dice the carrot into small cubes. Repeat for the garlic (if using fresh), but do not combine as you will be adding separately.
• Wash the rice. You can do this in the pan or rice cooker pot, or by using a fine mesh sieve.

 

Method

1. Cook your rice according to the packet instructions, add this straight to the fridge until needed. You can also use leftover rice for this, providing it has been stored safely.
2. Add oil to a frying pan on a medium heat. When hot, add the diced carrots. Fry for about 4 minutes, stirring regularly until they start to soften.
3. Add frozen peas and garlic and fry off until the peas are no longer frozen. Season with a small amount of salt and pepper.
4. Stir in the rice with the soy sauce and cook on a medium-high heat. Make sure the rice gets piping hot. 
5. Add more soy sauce, salt and pepper to taste and serve.

 

Creamy tomato and spinach pasta

Makes 3 to 4 portions. 

Ingredients

• 250g pasta
• 1 tbsp cooking oil
• 1 carrot
• 1 tsp garlic puree or 1 garlic clove
• 1 x 400g tinned chopped tomatoes
• 100g spinach
• 125g grated cheese
• Salt and pepper

 

Here is how you can prep your ingredients in advance:

• Using a chopping board and sharp knife, finely dice the carrot into small cubes. Repeat for the garlic (if using fresh), but do not combine as you will be adding separately.
• Open the can using a can opener or the tabs on the lid.
• Grate the cheese using a coarse grater. 
• Wash the spinach using a colander or sieve.

 

Method

1. Fill a medium sized saucepan with water and some salt. Set to a medium-high heat. 
2. Add oil to a frying pan on a medium heat. When hot, add the diced carrots. Fry for about 4 minutes, stirring regularly until they start to soften.
3. Add garlic then, after 30 seconds, add tomatoes, and season with a small amount of salt and pepper. Stir and turn up the heat until it starts to simmer. Then set to a low heat and start a ten minute timer. 
4. Hopefully, the pot of water should be near boiling. Add the pasta and cook according to the instructions on the packet. Keep an eye on it, and lower the heat if it starts to boil over. Drain the pasta once done, optionally reserving a small amount of water. 
5. After your timer goes off for the sauce mix, stir in the washed spinach, along with the small amount of pasta water. Cook until the spinach wilts. 
6. Add the grated cheese to the sauce and mix well. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the pasta and serve.

 

Hungry for more? Once you've had a go at these delicious meals, find out more about our recipe collection.