This week, we're taking indulgence and putting a luxe spin on it. The french onion soup & gruyere croutons will have you drooling from the first day of this meal plan, with spanish meatballs and cauliflower rice a comfortable mid-week bowl of goodness. Plus, Sloppy Joe pizza's at home? Yes please.
Shopping list
Meatballs (I used Tesco 20 mini meatballs at 336g)
About 4 chicken thigh fillets
2-4 tuna steaks
800ml beef stock
80g Gruyere
1 large ball mozzarella
1 red onion
5-6 medium brown onions
2 carrots
1 small cauliflower
1 pepper
1 red chilli
1 lemon
Tiny piece of ginger
Thyme
Garlic
2 pizza bases (or you could use garlic flatbreads or a big focaccia) 1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 small ciabatta roll or mini baguette
1 tin chopped tomatoes
Sherry (optional)
White wine
Small passata
Tahini
Sesame seeds
Dried oregano
Soy sauce
Hoi sin sauce
Olive oil
Butter
Sesame oil
Monday – French Onion Soup & Gruyere Crouton, 40 mins
An absolute hug in a bowl and exactly what you want to come home to on a cold night
Roughly chop all the brown onions and fry in a mixture of olive oil and butter with a pinch of salt until soft and browned – if you do this low and slow with the lid on they shouldn’t burn. It will take around 20 minutes but the longer the better. Add two sliced garlic cloves and fry gently for a further two minutes. Turn up the heat and pour in a good splash of white wine to deglaze the pan, then spoon in two tablespoons of flour and stir for another few minutes. Now add 800ml of good beef stock, the leaves of half a bunch of thyme and leave to simmer for ten minutes. Pour the soup into two bowls. Slice the mini ciabatta, toast and place on top of the soup, grating the cheese all over it. Grill until melted and bubbling.
NOTE: Much of the flavour comes from using beef stock, but vegetarians could swap for vegetable stock and use a spoonful of marmite for depth. This freezes well before the crouton stage.
Tuesday – Sesame Glazed Tuna Stir Fry, 15 mins
A light and bright midweek meal to break up the indulgence of the season - or for when you need a vitamin hit
Brush the tuna generously with a few spoonfuls of hoi sin sauce and then coat in sesame seeds. Set aside. Roughly slice a carrot, half a pepper, half a red onion, a few garlic cloves, and finely chop an inch or so of ginger into matchsticks. Stir fry in a wok on a very high heat using a teaspoon of sunflower oil and a teaspoon of sesame oil. When the veg is cooked, plate up but keep the wok extremely hot and sear the tuna for one minute on each side before slicing and arranging over the veg. Season with soy sauce.
NOTE: Add noodles or rice if you’re hungrier. You could also use flattened chicken breast instead of tuna, but of course cook for much longer at a lower heat.
Wednesday – Spanish Meatballs and Cauliflower Rice, 25 mins
An iron and protein-rich Mediterranean style meatball dish that will leave you satisfied, not stuffed
Pan fry all of the meat balls on a medium heat for about 10 minutes, then set 1/3 aside for the pizzas on Friday and put in the fridge when cool. Meanwhile make the sauce. Fry one fat garlic clove, sliced, in a tablespoon of olive oil then add the tin of tomatoes, a tablespoon of dried oregano and a splash of sherry if using. Turn the heat right up to burn off the alcohol, then down to a simmer for ten minutes until the tomatoes have reduced and thickened slightly. Add the leaves of a few sprigs of thyme, season and add the meatballs to the sauce to cook down for a further ten minutes. For the cauliflower rice, use 1/3 of the cauliflower and either blitz it in a food processor, grate or chop it really finely (time consuming and messy, the processor is the best way if you have one). Dry fry with a pinch of seasoning and serve with the meatballs and sauce on top.
Thursday – Tahini Chicken Traybake, 45 mins
There’s better things to be doing in December than washing up, so pop this all on one tray for a simple chicken dinner
Halve the chicken pieces and place on a large oven tray or dish. Roughly chop the last carrot and the rest of the cauliflower and add to the tray. Drizzle over a tablespoon of olive oil, two tablespoons of tahini and use your hands to coat the chicken and veg on the tray. Now sprinkle over a tablespoon of sesame seeds and about two cloves of sliced garlic. Bake in the oven at 200C for 30-40 minutes. Serve with the juice of a lemon squeezed over it all and green salad if you like.
Friday – Sloppy Joe Pizzas, 15 mins
Friday nights call for pizza, and these are topped with our leftover meatballs and chilli for an easy take on the American favourite
Take two pizza bases and spread the passata equally over the top with a sprinkling of oregano. Tear up the mozzarella and distribute evenly. Now squish up the meatballs and arrange over the top along with the remaining half sliced pepper, a sliced red chilli and the other half of the red onion, sliced. Cook for 10 minutes on the top shelf of the oven on the highest setting. Drizzle with olive oil to serve.