Baked Eggs with Chickpeas

To continue my slow return to ‘Healthy not Hard’ recipes (that is, recipes I’ve previously refrained from sharing as I feared they’re so simple no one would be interested in them), I’m sharing this very simple baked eggs dish.

This is something I make regularly for any meal of the day. This is the basic recipe, but you can add extra veg (grated zucchini or left over roast sweet potato is a favourite of mine, but so many veggies work here) to the sauce to make it even more nutritious and delicious. Although it only takes about 15 minutes from start to finish to make, I do sometimes make a veggie-packed version of the sauce for the freezer to whip out on busy nights, popping it in the pan to cook and adding the eggs just before serving whenever something (usually around 3 years old) needs me more than I need to make a more complex meal.

The garlic yoghurt is delicious, but can be replaced by feta (or cashew cheese to keep it dairy free). If you don’t like eggs it’s also delicious with some seafood popped on the top - salmon, prawns or white fish would be my pick, and add some lemon if you go down that route.

Scroll to the bottom to find the recipe card which you’ll also find in my newsletter (sign up here), or you can screenshot below. They’re also great for pinning to Pinterest (which I’ve returned to as well).

BAKED EGGS WITH CHICKPEAS
Serves - 2-3 / Prep time - 5 minutes / Cooking time - 10 minutes

Ingredients
- 3 eggs
- 1 can of chopped or crushed tomatoes
- 1 can of chickpeas, drained
- 1 onion, diced
- 1/2 a tsp of cumin powder
- 1/2 a tsp of smokey paprika
- 1/2 a cup of Greek yoghurt
- 1 small clove of garlic, minced
- Parsley and fresh crusty bread, to serve.

Method
1. In a medium-sized fry pan, fry the onion in a little olive oil over medium heat until translucent.

2. Add the spices and chickpeas, stirring until fragrant (about a minute)

3. Add the canned tomatoes with a splash of water and cook for 5-10 minutes on a low heat, or until it starts to reduce and deepens in colour.

4. Make 3 small wells in the chickpea mixture, pour in a little olive oil and crack one egg into each.

5. Cook on a medium heat, covered, for 3-4 minutes or until the eggs are cooked to your liking.

6. Meanwhile mix the garlic with the yoghurt and season to taste.

7. Once the eggs are cooked, dollop the garlic yoghurt on top, sprinkle over some fresh parsley and serve with crusty bread.

Enjoy!

'

And here’s the recipe card I was talking about which I hope you like (i’d love to hear your thoughts on this and whether you find it useful / if you use Pinterest!).

I can’t tell you how much fun it was to create and capture this. I’m not posting often, but I so love it when I create and share something with you. I love cooking super simply, I always have, and I know that prior to having Alexander when I was working to win as many jobs as I could, that I veered off the path of what I truly love onto the path of what I-thought-everyone-else-would-love.

It’s good to be home and share Healthy, not Hard with you again.

Thank you for reading and for your beautiful support,
Nat x

Sultana, Mint and Tomato Spaghetti

I can’t remember exactly where I got this flavour combination from that I’ve come to love so much, but I do know it was many, many years ago as I loved making it from the moment M and I moved into our home together (which is coming up on 12 years ago, which is crazy to think about).

With the tomatoes going crazy in my garden and the mint slowly calming down after a really bushy summer, it felt like the perfect time to share.

Sultana, Mint and Tomato Spaghetti - nataliezee.com

It took a while for this dinner to grow on M who has long believed anything with mint in it just ‘all tastes like mint’, (which I wholeheartedly disagree with, but I love mint!). This recipe is one made after many tweaks. I only settled on these quantities after he told me one night, with an empty bowl in front of him, ‘That wasn’t bad, it was actually nice’.

Hooray!

Alexander also loves it because he absolutely lives for tomatoes, sultanas and pasta. I’ve included a note on the bottom of how I serve it to my 2yo…

Sultana, Mint and Tomato Spaghetti - nataliezee.com

SULTANA, MINT AND TOMATO SPAGHETTI

Serves 3 (or 2 with left overs for lunch the next day)

Ingredients;
- Six large tomatoes cut into wedges
- One medium bulb of garlic
- A handful of fresh mint (or more, if you love mint like I do)
- 1/3 of a cup of sultanas
- 250g of spaghetti (or pasta of your choice)
- 1/3-1/2 a cup of ricotta
- Salt, pepper and olive oil.

Method;
1. Preheat your oven to 160c. Place your tomatoes and whole bulb of garlic in a deep roasting pan with a generous glug of olive oil. Toss, and roast for approximately 45 minutes, or until the tomatoes are jammy and sweet, and the garlic bulb is soft.

2. Bring a large pot of well-salted water to the boil and cook your spaghetti as per pack instructions.

3. Before draining the spaghetti reserve a few tablespoons of the cooking water, then add the sultanas to the pot and leave for 30 seconds before draining (this helps them heat up).

4. Add the pasta and sultanas back to the cooking pot. Cut the top off the garlic bulb and squeeze in the roasted garlic, add the tomatoes and their juices and stir through. Add a little of the reserved pasta water if it seems a little dry (I usually don’t need it with the tomato juices).

5. Plate the pasta and dollop with ricotta, tear some fresh mint on top and add salt, pepper and an extra drizzle of olive oil to serve.

How I serve this to my 2yo;

Dice fresh tomato on the plate
Stir ricotta through the pasta with some of the tomato juices and garlic
Serve sultanas separately
I always include everything we’re eating, so I put some of the large fresh mint leaves on his plate to explore and bite (which he always does!).

Sultana, Mint and Tomato Spaghetti - nataliezee.com

This is a recipe I’d REALLY love to hear if you try because it’s so close to my heart (I know that sounds ridiculous, but I feel like it’s a little bit of a risk every time I serve it!). Let me know on Instagram, Facebook or send me an email - natalie@nataliezee.com

I hope you love it!

Nat x

(PS. I wrote this today listening to Alexander running around the backyard with a remote control monster truck and yelling, ‘Run faster Daddy! Run faster!’. I could not imagine a better background noise!).

BAKED BEANS

A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to escape to the country for a mostly wine/lots of fire/sometimes hiking weekend.  Perfect Winter formula.

Then, on the way home, we stopped at a cute little cafe for some lunch and a final chat and laugh. I ordered baked beans, and went home that night to make them (in a giant batch to enjoy all week).

I thought I'd share what I include in my baked beans;

BAKED BEANS
Makes - loads!  OK, just use less beans to reduce the amount.

Ingredients;
- 2 onions, peeled and diced
- 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
- 3 sticks of celery, washed and roughly chopped (reserve leaves, too)
- 1 can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 1 can of cannelini beans, rinsed and drained.
- 1/2 a tsp of chilli flakes
- A pinch of cayenne pepper (obviously remove this and the chilli if you don't like hot)
- 1 tsp of smoked paprika
- 3 tbsp of tomato paste/puree
- 1 can of good quality crushed tomatoes
- 2-3 tbsp of olive oil

(Simple) Method;
1.  Fry the onions and celery in the olive oil until it starts to go golden, stirring frequently.
2.  Add the garlic, chilli flakes, cayenne pepper and paprika and stir for another minute.
3.  Add the chickpeas and tomato paste.  Stir for a further minute.
4.  Add the crushed tomatoes and enough water to cover the mix.  Allow to come to the boil.
5.  Simmer for 20-25 minutes, or until the sauce begins to thicken.
6.  Add the cannelini beans and cook for 5-10 minutes more.
7.  Stir through the reserved celery leaves and season to taste.

So easy!  Though not technically baked.

Delicious with crumbled feta, or even a little lemon zest on top.

And definitely with buttery bread!

If you missed the building of this scene, take a look at the 'BTS' story highlights on my Insta.  I forgot to take other behind the scenes photos because last week was insane.

Let me know if you give them a go!

Nat x

 

'MINESTRA'

I love Minestrone.  When I was a child, I am told I would eat two big bowls of it (while my little brother had to be distracted by playing with boats in a water tub because he hated all things except peanut butter sandwiches without crusts and mashed potato).  As an adult?  I do the same.

Everyone has their own minestrone recipe, and truthfully, I never do the same thing twice and believe Minestrone can be made out of the vegetables that haven't been used yet at the end of the week (I endorse this fully, less waste!), but this recipe is my ideal situation and my perfect mix.

The only 100% necessary constant for me?  Pumpkin.  And the soup MUST be cooked until the pumpkin has disintegrated to make it thick and decadent.

Yes, vegetables in soup is decadent to me.  

So here it is - my Minestrone, or, as Nonna calls it, 'Minestra'

(stay tuned for the behind the scenes snaps & styling tips at the bottom).

The best part about Minestrone?  

It's all chop-chop-chop and throw in a pot.

NATALIE'S MINESTRA

You will need;
- 1/2 a medium sized pumpkin, chopped into small-ish cubes
- 1 large white potato, diced larger than the pumpkin
- 2 sticks of celery, sliced
- 1/4 of a cabbage, shredded roughly (with a knife will do)
- 1 head of broccoli, chopped roughly (including stem)
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
- 1 can of the best quality crushed tomatoes you can get
- About 150gms of pasta of your choice (my choice?  Always thin spaghetti).
- 1 can of cooked chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- Fresh herbs (oregano or basil) or dried oregano.
- Parmesan cheese, and the rind if possible (or this is a great time to use that left over rind).

To make it;
1. Pop all of the ingredients except for the chickpeas and pasta in a pot and top with water.  Include your parmesan rind too, if you have one.

2.  Bring to the boil and then simmer - most likely for about 90 minutes, or until the pumpkin is mushy (important!).

3.  Add the chickpeas and pasta (and a little extra water, if needed, as the pasta will absorb a lot), and cook until the pasta is al dente (or, 'all dental', if my spell check is to be trusted).

4.  To serve, season to taste and top with even more parmesan cheese, grated on top.

(My Nonna likes to make it with a fresh chilli inside so the heat works through the soup, which is delicious, but the chillies I have at the moment are too hot for it!)
 

I thought it would also be fun to start sharing a few behind the scenes snaps (just from my phone, nothing fancy), with each post.  So, see below (and you're always welcome to ask me questions via Insta DM or email - natalie@nataliezee.com, and I'll do my best to answer them in future posts).

And finally, as I'm not into eating cold food, and therefore super passionate about photographing food the day after (as this was), my top tip for photographing soup the day after without having to heat it?

Mix extra water through it to get it's warmed consistency before you put it in the bowls, and once it's in the bowl, spray the top with water if anything looks a bit dry.

(I'll be sharing more tips on my newsletter over coming months - if you'd like to be included, head here).

Don't forget to tag me (@natalie.zee) or email me if you give this recipe a try, I'd love to see it & share it on my stories!

And what were the three ingredients not pictured?  Canned tomatoes, cheese rind & chickpeas!

Thanks for reading,

Nat x
 

15 MINUTE RAVIOLI / M'S WORK LUNCH

This recipe?  SO simple, that I'm not even sure it's worth posting (well, I wasn't, but here I am).  

But then you, online and offline, told me that you would never have thought of it and it WAS worth sharing, kind of like my 3-ingredient satay hack (which I will also share soon).

So here I am, back and blogging, in more of a personal style rather than a 'May put in recipe book one day' style, and I like it because I love writing and sharing and I genuinely LOVE what I do.  So in a world of 'wtf is going on with insta?', I am focusing my energy elsewhere.

Including my mailing list which will start up again this month (and you can subscribe to here).

For now?  M's lunch from this week - super, duper, simple ravioli.

 

The beautiful bowl?  Clay Bee Hive

TO MAKE THIS RAVIOLI...

You need;
- a 500g packet of your favourite ravioli (these are beef, because M rarely gets meat at home!)
- 1 cup of good-quality flavoured passata (I used Mutti 'Simply Sugo' Basil & Onion)
- 2 zucchini, roughly chopped (or peas, or any other vegetable!)
- A handful of torn fresh oregano or basil
- A handful of fresh spinach
- Parmesan or pecorino cheese (optional, but so highly recommended)

Then you simply;
- Boil the ravioli as per packet instructions, adding your zucchini/other vegetable half way through.
- Drain the pasta and put the passata/sugo in the pot with a splash of water.  Cook it for a minute or two.
- Add the pasta back into the pot with the spinach and fresh herbs and stir, on super low heat, for 1 minute or until the spinach has wilted.
- Pop into 4 containers and top with cheese.

That's it!

I love adding onion and garlic at home (just fry off on the pan quickly after the pasta is removed in a little olive oil then add everything back in), but the last thing M, or anyone else needs to do in an office, is eat garlic or onion.

And as for it not being a high-protein low-carb power lunch with quinoa and chia seeds and sweet potato only?  Well, we like pasta (and a big part of the reason I changed my name from 'Healthy Natty' is because some people thought, as a 'healthy' person, I shouldn't?).

Thanks for reading!  & be sure to share it on Insta (tag/message/send off a flare so I don't miss it and can share it!) if you give it a go.

I'll be sharing my Minestrone recipe next week, so I'd be super-honoured if you stay tuned.

Chat then,
Nat x