Uncategorised – The Food Wife

Asian-inspired Noodle Salad with Prawns

6th September 20256th September 2025
by thefoodwife

Serves 2

I absolutely love a noodle salad, they are wonderfully versatile and you can use up whatever salad or veg you have. This is more of a guide than a recipe per se but I will include the dressing which was so delicious. If you like it sweeter then add a little sugar too but I found the Thai sweet chilli sauce was sweet enough.

Ingredients:

Loads of raw veg sliced up (I used iceberg lettuce, carrot, yellow pepper, red cabbage and tomatoes)

100g (when dry) cooked and cooled vermicelli noodles

For the dressing:

2 tbsp fish sauce

2 tbsp Thai sweet chilli sauce

1 tbsp lemon/lime juice

1 tbsp tamarind (or an other tbsp of lemon/lime juice)

12 king prawns, cooked

Step 1: Mix the dressing ingredients together in a large bowl.

Step 2: Add the vegetables and cooled noodles and toss thoroughly.

Step 3: Add the cooked prawns and serve immediately.

Turkey Koftas

28th May 202328th May 2023
by thefoodwife

Makes approx 25 (serves 5+)

These little morsels are great as part of a mezze or as the protein with a salad for lunch or dinner.

Frying the onion before adding to the mince helps give a sweeter flavour to the koftas and the turmeric gives them a golden hue.

Iâ€™d suggest using a non stick pan. I also like to use two frying pans as Iâ€™m cooking them. Once I have filled both pans itâ€™s ready to start flipping them over and the whole process is done quickly.

I used turkey mince but you could use beef, lamb or pork if you prefer.

Ingredients:

1 large onion, finely chopped

750g Turkey (thigh) mince

2 eggs, beaten

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground pepper

1 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp ground turmeric

3 tsp ground cumin

Oil

Step 1: Over a medium heat, fry the onion in a little oil, until golden but not browned. (I used a garlic oil for extra flavour).

Step 2: In a large bowl, mix the spices, salt and pepper, eggs, mince and slightly cooled onion together, with your hands. Make sure you really squish it so itâ€™s thoroughly combined.

Step 3: Heat some vegetable oil in a non stick frying pan, over a medium-high heat. Use a dessert spoon to scoop a heaped amount of the mixture and use another spoon to round the top. Transfer into the hot oil and cook for a few minutes on each side, not turning until each side is browned. Repeat until all the mixture is used up.

Step 4: Remove the koftas from the pan, once cooked, and keep warm until all are ready and then serve.

Coronation Turkey

21st December 2019
by thefoodwife

Serves 3+

A little nod to the retro here, but itâ€™s hard to think of a (meat eating) situation where coronation chicken doesnâ€™t go down well, so why not switch it up for turkey. Itâ€™s great as a sandwich filling, piled into a baked potato, or as part of a buffet.

This is the simplest of versions, by all means adorn it with roasted flaked almonds, chopped fresh mango or apricots etc, but this is pretty good as is.

This can be scaled up or down and will keep in the fridge for a couple of days.

Ingredients:

7 heaped tbsp mayonnaise

3 tbsp mango chutney

2 heaped tsp medium curry powder

A handful of sultanas

350g cooked turkey, shredded

Step 1: Mix the mayonnaise, mango chutney, curry powder and sultanas in a bowl.

Step 2: Stir through the shredded turkey and serve.

Turkey Tagine

20th December 201920th December 2019
by thefoodwife

Serves 4+

Hereâ€™s another of my turkey leftover recipes for you to enjoy post festivities. Itâ€™s a super quick dinner to make and the preserved lemons really make it zing.

If you donâ€™t have any pomegranate molasses try a tablespoon of honey instead and then add a second (if needed) to taste.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp oil

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

2 heaped tsp ras al hanout

1 tbsp tomato purÃ©e

1 tin of chickpeas, including their water

400ml water or stock

1 red pepper, deseeded and chopped

2 tomatoes, chopped

12 olives, stoned and chopped

3 preserved lemons, diced

350g cooked turkey, shredded

2 tbsp pomegranate molasses

Salt and pepper, to taste

Step 1: Heat the oil in a large pan and add the onion, softening for a few minutes.

Step 2: Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Stir through the spice.

Step 4: Cook for 15-20 minutes and then serve with rice or couscous.

Chicken with Lemon, Garlic and Capers

10th June 201910th June 2019
by thefoodwife

Serves 2

For such a quick and simple recipe this is full of flavour and incredibly satisfying.

Itâ€™ll take five minutes of prep, a little time to marinate and then 10 minutes of cooking and it’s ready to eat. The Italian flavours here work with a variety of accompaniments. My go-to would be garlic and rosemary roasted or sautÃ©ed potatoes, but linguine dressed in olive oil and parmesan would also be well suited. Or for a plainer carbohydrate try basmati rice.

It is important to butterfly the chicken breast to make it an even thickness for even cooking. If youâ€™re not sure how to do this, find a guide here.

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts, butterfliedÂ

1 unwaxed lemon (zested and then cut in half)

3 tbsp garlic-infused olive/rapeseed oil (or 3 tbsp oil with 2 fat cloves of garlic, minced)

Salt and pepper

3 tbsp capers in brine, drained

Step 1: Begin by marinating the chicken in the zest of the lemon, the garlic oil and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Cover and leave for about an hour (minimum 30 minutes, maximum over night).

Step 2: Heat a frying pan over a medium high heat. Add the chicken breasts ensuring that they are flat in the pan. Remember you are aiming for even cooking.Â Â Cook for three or four minutes on each side; the breasts should be cooked through with no pinkness remaining.Â Â At this point squeeze in the juice of half the lemon and add the capers to the pan.

Step 3: Serve with a wedge of lemon and your chosen accompaniments, such as roasted rosemary and garlic potatoes and green beans.