Slime Soup, Scrumptious Noodles and Perfect Pork Chops: Kitchen Wonders For The Weekend

Hit the road Jack! It’s finally the Bank Holiday Weekend and we hope you won’t be spending a minute longer in the office than you have to.

Every week we bring you our favourite recipes and no matter what you may be doing, there’s always time for these weekend wonders!

It’s Time For Nigella Lawson’s Friday Night Slime Soup!

We’re big fans of Nigella and we have to hand it to her… she really does go all out for Halloween. Her recipes are well worth a look but this is one of our favourites and is the perfect supper to warm up your brood tonight.

Ingredients

500 grams frozen peas

One spring onion

One vegetable stock (concentrate to taste or stock cube)

750 ml water (boiling)

One ball(s) mozzarella (100g)

Method

Cook the frozen peas and spring onion in the boiling water with the stock concentrate or stock cube until tender and cooked through.

Remove and discard the spring onion once the peas are soft enough to be blitzed into soup.

Chop up the mozzarella roughly and put it into the blender  or a processor - but soup is always more velvety when processed in a blender - with the peas and their liquid. I do this in about three batches, pouring the vilely green and - it's true - slightly slimy soup back into the pan and heating gently to meld cheese and peas better together. Otherwise just set aside and reheat later.

Makes 1 litre, which is probably enough for four to six children, depending on how much sugar they've eaten. 

Saturday Night’s Tasty Coconut Noodles with Chicken and Broccoli

This recipe is so simple but will add the ‘oomph’ to your weekend. Best of all, it’s a one pan wonder so you can save on washing up. This recipe serves two people

Ingredients

One can of low fat coconut milk

½ red onion, diced finely

Two cloves of garlic

Two fresh chicken breasts, cut into long strips

½ red pepper

200 grams broccoli

One teaspoon of paprika

One teaspoon of cumin

The zest of half a lemon

300 grams of Amoy Fine Rice Noodles 

Method

Lightly fry your onion in a tablespoon of olive oil for about five minutes until transparent.

Add the garlic and chicken to the pan and fry on a medium heat.

After about three minutes, add the red pepper to the frying pan before pouring your coconut milk into onto the heat.

Cook the ingredients together on a medium heat for about 10 minutes.

Next, add your lemon zest, paprika and cumin as well as your broccoli and simmer for a further five minutes.

Throw your noodles into the frying pan and cook until they are heated through.

Salt and pepper to taste and sprinkle with chopped scallions.

Sunday’s Roasted Mustard and Breadcrumb Pork Chops with Sweet Apple Sauce

We love a good roast on a Sunday afternoon and this treat is one of our favourites. As long as you get good quality pork chops, this will be the perfect Bank Holiday supper for your family. Feeds four people.

Ingredients

Four large pork chops

400 grams of good quality bread crumbs

One egg

Two tablespoons of Dijon mustard

Plain flour

Three large apples

Brown Sugar

Method

Preheat your oven to 200 degrees Celsius.

On your clean countertop, prepare three bowls, one with a beaten egg and mustard, one with six tablespoons of flour and one with your breadcrumbs, which you can season to taste.

Arrange your roasting tin so that it is oiled and ready to go into the oven.

Place one pork chop into the flour and dust well before placing into the egg mixture. After this cover the chop in bread crumbs and place onto your roasting tin.

Repeat this process with all four pork chops.

Pour a bit of olive oil onto the surface of each chop and place them in the oven to bake for 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, peel three, good quality Granny Smith apples and chop them up, disposing of the core. Place in a saucepan with a drop of orange juice and cook until tender. Blend if you wish to have a finer texture and add a spoon of brown sugar if the apples are too bitter.

Serve your pork chops with some roasties or mash and top off with your delicious dinner with some apple sauce.