🧊 Freezer Burndown Week

Method

1. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a wide ovenproof pan over medium. Add 1 sliced red onion, soften 6 mins. Add 3 garlic cloves crushed, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp smoked paprika. Cook 1 min.
2. Stir in 1 heaped tbsp harissa paste (from your fridge). Pour in 1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes (pantry) + 1 x 400g tin chickpeas drained (pantry) + halve ~200g of the Isle of Wight tomatoes. Simmer 10–12 mins until thick, sweet, jammy.
3. Season. Make 6 wells in the sauce. Crack 6 eggs into the wells (pull Hamish's out earlier if you want his yolk softer). Crumble over 200g feta.
4. Cover, cook 5–8 mins until whites are set (Flo prefers fully set yolks). Scatter 10g parsley chopped + 🌱 garden chives on top.
5. Serve straight from the pan with thick slices of toasted sourdough for dipping.

Serve with

Method

1. Slice 250g chestnut mushrooms and 3 spring onions (whites separated from greens). Defrost 2 big handfuls of frozen leaf spinach in a sieve under hot water, squeeze dry.
2. Heat 1 tbsp sesame oil in a deep pan. Fry the mushrooms 5 mins until golden. Add 2 garlic cloves crushed + 2cm grated ginger + spring onion whites. Cook 1 min.
3. Pour in 1.4 litres water + 4 tbsp white miso paste (pantry) + 3 tbsp soy sauce + 1 tbsp mirin or rice wine vinegar (pantry). Whisk to dissolve the miso. Simmer 5 mins.
4. Soft-boil 3 eggs in another pan — boiling water, 6.5 mins, then ice bath, peel.
5. Cook 4 portions of rice noodles or egg noodles (pantry) per packet. Drain.
6. Divide noodles between bowls. Top with spinach + mushrooms. Ladle hot broth over. Halve eggs on top. Scatter spring onion greens + sesame seeds + chilli oil drizzle.

Serve with

Method

1. Halve 500g Maris Piper potatoes into small chunks (or use new potatoes if you have any). Boil in salted water 15 mins until tender. Drain. Crush roughly with 30g butter + 🌱 garden chives chopped + salt + pepper.
2. Trim 200g tenderstem broccoli. Blanch 2 mins in boiling water then refresh in cold. Drain.
3. Caper-preserved-lemon-dill butter: melt 50g butter in a small pan over low heat. Add 2 tbsp capers (from your fridge), 2 preserved lemons (from your fridge) finely chopped (skin only, discard flesh), juice of ½ lemon. Take off heat, stir in 15g 🌱 garden dill chopped.
4. Pat 4 salmon fillets dry. Brush with 1 tbsp olive oil, season.
5. BBQ over medium heat, skin-side down first. 4 mins skin side, 2–3 mins flesh side. Salmon should be fully cooked through (Flo postpartum but no more pregnancy rules to worry about — back to medium-rare possible if she wants).
6. Toss the blanched tenderstem in olive oil + a pinch of chilli flakes, char on the BBQ 2 mins per side.
7. Plate the crushed potatoes, salmon on top, spoon caper-preserved-lemon-dill butter generously over. Tenderstem alongside.

Serve with

Method

1. Defrost 2 cod fillets in the fridge from morning (~6 hours).
2. Peel and chip 800g Maris Piper potatoes into 1cm-thick fries. Soak in cold water 30 mins, drain, pat very dry.
3. Heat the deep fat fryer to 150°C. First fry the chips 6–8 mins until softened but not coloured. Lift out, drain on kitchen paper. Crank fryer to 180°C for the final fry later.
4. Batter: whisk 150g plain flour (pantry) + 1 tsp baking powder + pinch salt with 200ml ice-cold sparkling water until just combined (lumpy is fine).
5. Pat cod dry, season, dredge in extra flour, then dip in batter letting excess drip off. Lower carefully into the fryer at 180°C — 5–6 mins until golden and floating. Drain on kitchen paper. Season immediately.
6. Refry the chips at 180°C for 3–4 mins until deep gold and crisp. Drain, salt heavily.
7. Mushy peas: boil 300g frozen peas 3 mins, drain. Blitz with 20g butter, 10g mint (or chives from garden 🌱), salt, splash of cream or yoghurt.
8. Tartare: mix 4 tbsp M&S Campfire Mayo with 2 tbsp chopped cornichons (from your fridge), 1 tbsp capers chopped (from your fridge), 10g parsley chopped, squeeze of lemon.
9. Serve everything at the same time — chips, fish, mushy peas, tartare, malt vinegar, lemon wedges. Treat night.

Serve with

The night before (Sat eve)

1. Move the frozen chicken pie filling from freezer to fridge so it defrosts overnight.
2. Move 1 sheet of frozen puff pastry from freezer to fridge to defrost (the other sheet stays frozen for another week).

Sunday — ~35 mins

1. Preheat oven to 200°C fan.
2. Tip the defrosted chicken pie filling into a medium baking dish (~25cm). Taste — adjust salt or add a splash of cream / mustard / lemon to wake it up if needed.
3. Roll out the puff pastry sheet, lay over the dish, crimp the edges, cut 2 steam slits in the centre. Brush with 1 beaten egg (your chickens).
4. Bake 25–30 mins until pastry is deep golden and the filling is bubbling at the edges.
5. While the pie bakes: 200g frozen peas + 200g sliced carrots in a saucepan with butter + salt + a splash of water. Lid on, sweat 8–10 mins until tender. Season.

Serve with

The night before (Sun eve)

1. Move 1 mushroom ragu portion from freezer to fridge to defrost overnight. (You'll have 3 more in the freezer for future weeks.)

Monday — 15 mins flat

1. Tip the defrosted ragu into a wide pan, gentle simmer with a splash of pasta water + a small knob of butter to bring it together. Taste and season.
2. Bring a big pan of salted water to the boil. Cook 250g Garofalo pappardelle 1 min less than packet says (it'll finish in the sauce).
3. Drain pasta (save a cup of the cooking water). Tip pasta into the ragu, toss for 1 min adding a splash of pasta water to loosen.
4. Plate. Top with 20g M&S grated parmigiano, 10g parsley chopped, twist of black pepper.

Serve with