Dairy free grown ups: Chicken and Tomato Bake

This recipe was introduced to me by a friend, and like with all good recipes, it adapts and changes over time. This recipe originally started as this Jamie Oliver recipe, but I've worked my own version of it.

It's not the quickest of recipes, but it is one of the easiest I've come across. You just need to put all the ingredients into a dish, place it in the oven, and it can be forgotten about for the next hour or so, when you get out a mouth-watering rush of steaming aromas. This is probably a bit too salty for babies under 1 year due to the addition of the stock cubes - you could use salt free ones instead if you are planing on feeding this to your little one too.

Jamie Oliver's version

Ingredients

Chicken thighs or legs, or a mixture of both. Allow 2 portions per person, (more if hungry!)

Cherry or santorini tomatoes, chopped in half - 2 handfuls

2 chicken stock cubes

2 tins cannellini beans, drained

1 pinch chilli flakes

Couple of lugs of olive oil. 

Splash of water 

Basil leaves to serve

Salt and pepper (optional)

                                                                                                       

Method

Heat the oven to 200C. 

Place the tins of beans in the bottom of a large, oven proof dish. Crumble a the chicken stock cubes of the top of these. 

Add the sliced tomatoes and the chicken portions on the top.

Season (if desired) and then add the water (about half a mugful should be enough to get a lovely sauce going in the bottom of the dish), and the olive oil over the top. 

Place in the oven for approximately 1-2hrs, until the chicken has become crispy and the tomatoes have released their juices into the pan too. 

Arrange a few basil leaves on top once cooked. 

To serve: you can have this on its own, or with crusty bread. We also had this the other night with a side of wild rice and kale. 

My version - hopefully not too dissimilar! 

Dairy free grown ups: Asian Sticky salmon

If you are still breastfeeding, you know what a chore it can be to stay dairy free. Gone are all the lovely milky coffees, delicious cheeses and chocolatey desserts, but I think that this recipe more than makes up for it. It can be made as a midweek dinner if you plan ahead, or if you have a good local fishmonger, get a larger piece of salmon as a show stopping alternative Sunday roast. 

No reason baby couldn't have this too, as long as they weren't allergic to soy. 

Ingredients

1 salmon fillet per person or one whole side salmon to feed a crowd!
To marinade:
4 tbsp Hoisin Sauce
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 star anise
2 tsp Thai fish sauce (or pinch of fish paste)
3 garlic cloves


To serve: Sesame seeds (optional), mange tout, green beans and baby corn, soy sauce (optional) Rice. Red chillies (optional), lime wedges (optional) 

Method

Mix the marinade ingredients together, pour over the salmon and leave for as long as possible to marinate, preferably overnight. 
When ready to cook, heat the oven to 22oC and place the salmon in a roasting tin. Save the marinading sauce. 
Get a saucepan of boiling water for the rice and cook for 10-12 minutes. 
Cook in the oven for 15-20mins. 
Meanwhile, transfer the marinade to a pan and simmer until it thickens. 
Pour the marinade over the salmon for the last 5 minutes of cooking to allow it to glaze. 
Wash the vegetables and place in a frying pan or wok for 3-6minutes until stir fried. Add a splash of soy sauce to the vegetables. 
When all is cooked, sprinkle some sesame seeds over the dish and serve with roughly chopped red chilli and lime wedges on the side. 

See more of my dairy free recipes. 

Dairy Free Grown ups: Dairy Free Iced Mocha

With the hot weather that we're having at the moment, I found myself really wanting to have an iced coffee. I also wanted to make this myself so that I would know exactly what was in it. 

Why not give it a go yourself?

Delicious and cold on a hot day