Turkey with cannellini beans

Here is another freezer dish in preparation for my baby, however you can always make this and pop it in the freezer for any family or friend meal emergency! Or how about this handy tip; the quantities below makes a huge batch – enough for two people to have four meals, so if you use half of it straight away for your family meal you can always pop the rest in the freezer for a quick supper another time, doubling up like this will save you time and effort in the future.

I have used turkey here as it is very lean and extremely economical, however if you are not a fan of turkey you can always use the same quantity of chicken breast instead.

Ingredients
2tbsp olive oil, 4 spring onions, 2 cloves garlic, 7 closed cup chestnut mushrooms, 860g turkey breast steaks (or chicken if using instead), 2 x 235g tins of cannellini beans in water, 1 gelatinous chicken stock-pot, 20g fresh tarragon, 1tsp black pepper, 1tsp salt, 1tbsp butter, 1tbsp plain flour.

First a bit of prep; wash and chop the spring onions, peel and finely chop the garlic cloves, wash and dice the mushrooms in to 1cm size cubes, and cut the turkey breast in to bite size chunks. Next heat the oil in a large pan and gently fry the spring onions for a couple of minutes. Add the garlic, mushrooms and turkey and cook over a medium heat until the turkey is browned and everything begins to soften.

Add both tins of cannellini beans along with their water and the chicken stock-pot then turn the heat to a low simmer. Take half the tarragon, remove any tough stalks and finely chop, add this to the pan. Cover and continue to cook on a low simmer for around 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

After the hour take the butter and flour and using a fork mix together until a smooth paste is formed, then stir this in to the turkey to help thicken it. Raise the heat gently and continue stirring until it comes to the boil. Season with salt and lots of black pepper. Finely chop the remaining tarragon and stir this in and the dish is ready to serve.

If you are freezing this ensure that it is completely cold before transferring to a suitable freezer containers – don’t forget to label and date so you know what’s inside in a months’ time! This dish is fantastic served with mashed potato or a slice of crusty bread and butter to mop up the juices.

Filling the freezer - Beef Curry with potatoes, chickpeas and spinach

All the advice I have been given is to use the period between finishing work and baby’s arrival to relax, sleep and fill the freezer with food so you don’t have to cook once baby arrives! I’m finding it hard to relax or sleep in my first few ‘official’ days of maternity leave, there’s something oddly unsettling about having a career that you love to suddenly not having to go in to the office and the temptation to check emails is almost overwhelming. However, I am going to be proactive and used the time to do the things I love, see friends and cook.

I want to ensure the freezer is filled with hearty but healthy options that will keep us going over the next few months when we are struggling with a new-born and so I started with a huge batch of chilli con carne and a beef curry with potatoes and spinach. This way all we have to do is defrost and heat up and make some quick rice or cous cous and hey presto, a meal! I’ll give you the recipe for the beef curry as I hope most of you can whack together a chilli con carne without much trouble!

I bought the little take-away containers from my local supermarket and just labelled the lids with the contents and date and popped in the freezer once everything was completely cold.

Ingredients for beef curry (to the left of the pic above)
1 pound of stewing steak cut in to chunks, 2 cups baby potatoes, 2 tins of chickpeas in water, 1 cup of chopped tinned tomatoes, 3 big handfuls of baby spinach leaves (or 1 big bag), ½ red bell pepper, ½ yellow bell pepper, ½ orange bell pepper, ½ red onion, 1/2tsp ground cloves, 1tsp ground coriander, 1tsp garam masala, 1tsp ground ginger, 2tsp medium strength curry power, 1tsp salt, 1tsp pepper, 2 pints of water.

Cut the peppers and onion in to dice. In a large, heavy, pan put the beef, potatoes, peppers, onion and water and bring to the boil and then turn down to a gentle simmer. Next add all of the remaining ingredients expect the spinach (which is added later). Stir well to combine and then leave gently bubbling away on the stove for a good 2 hours uncovered, stirring occasionally. If it begins to look a little dry add a splash more water, you want the sauce to become a rich gravy, however be careful not to ‘top up’ the water too aggressively as you do not want to sauce to be to watered down either.

After a couple of hours the beef should be tender and falling apart and everything should be soft and thoroughly cooked through. Check for seasoning and add more salt if required, then add the spinach and give the curry one final stir until the spinach has wilted down.

If you are freezing this, ensure it is defrosted overnight in the fridge and heat in a pre-heated oven for 30 minutes until piping hot and bubbling, or you could heat on the stove or microwave in a suitable container. Whatever your preferred method, just ensure it is thoroughly heated through. I love this served with rice, cous cous, or a naam bread.