Fennel & Pea Tagine

 Originally this was a vegetarian recipe, but fish or chicken could be added 

ingredients

for 2 people:

• 1 medium onion, chopped fine
• ½ large or a whole small bulb  Fennel, sliced
• olive oil
• about 1 cup (8 fluid oz) frozen petits pois
• lemon zest (or a chunk of preserved lemon if you have it)
• about a dozen pitted green olives, halved if you like
• a handful of whole almonds or 1Tbsp ground almonds

Spice mix: make up more than this and store it in the fridge to use in other dishes

• 1 teaspoon (tsp) ground ginger
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp cumin
• pinch of safron or ¼ tsp turmeric
• ½ tsp dried mint - a bit more if using fresh mint

method

• soften up onions in oil*, add fennel and a good tsp of spice mix, stir well
• add olives & lemon to taste & enough water to cover
• simmer until fennel is tender
• add peas and simmer for 10-15 mins longer
• in a blender make a paste with the almonds and some of the sauce from the pot or extra
• water, add to the dish to thicken it
• cook for a few more minutes

serve with coucous or bulgur 

*include chicken joint/s after
the onions or fish at the end of cooking

alternatives: courgette, cauliflower, leek or other
veg you like can also be used

avocado and mushroom pasta

there was a glut of avocados on the market recently so we've had them in salads, as guacomole and now in a warm pasta salad - of course some of them have been very ripe and others a bit brown and spotty (see photo) but they still taste good
i always keep some sun-dried tomatoes in the cupboard, they work much better than fresh ones in this dish, their concentrated flavour and sharpness complements the softer flavours of avocado and mushrooms - and they are handy in winter when tasty fresh tomatoes are expensive and imported
the pasta i had was three coloured swirly things, the extra colour was good as the dish can look a bit bland with plain white pasta - shaped pasta works best for this
i'm not give precise quantities here as it's a question of taste

ingredients

• sliced raw mushrooms
• 2-3 sun dried tomatoes per person
• balsamic & sun-dried tomato dressing
• 1/2 avocado per person
• pasta shapes

method

• a couple of hours beforehand: soak the dried tomatoes in boiling water and marinate the sliced mushrooms in some of the dressing in your serving dish
• cook the pasta, while it's cooking drain and thinly slice the dried tomatoes, peel and slice the avocado, tip the tomatoes and avocados in with the mushrooms and mix gently
• drain the cooked pasta and add to the other ingredients, add more dressing if you want to and a few grinds of pepper - serve warm or cold, but not chilled