Marcus Wareing - Marcus Everyday - Easy Family Food for Every Kind of Day

5 To serve, mix the 2 tablespoons of coriander for the salad into the mayonnaise along with 2 tablespoons of cold water to thin it down to drizzling consistency. Roughly chop the almonds. Combine the warm roasted potatoes with the chopped, roasted almonds, place on a large serving dish and drizzle with the mayonnaise. Finish with a generous twist of black pepper.

6 Serve the salad immediately, alongside the fish.

Baked Haddock with Lentils, Basil and Mascarpone

This dish is a comforting one-pot wonder, as well as being extremely easy to make. Just serve it with some green vegetables on the side, such as broccoli or kale, and you have a complete meal ready to go. You can use cod or hake instead of haddock, too – whichever is available to you (it’s useful to keep fish fillets in the freezer for dishes like this). You can also use pre-cooked lentils.

SERVES: 4 | PREP TIME: 10 MINUTES | COOKING TIME: 50 MINUTES

4 skinless, boneless haddock fillets (about 150g each)

4 tbsp rock salt

2 tbsp vegetable oil

2 onions, thinly sliced

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 tsp sweet smoked paprika

2 tbsp tomato purée

250ml tomato juice

600ml good-quality chicken or vegetable stock

250g puy lentils, well rinsed

1 tbsp olive oil

100g mascarpone

2 tbsp milk

grated zest of ½ lemon

½ bunch of basil, leaves picked

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 Cover the haddock fillets with the rock salt and refrigerate for 10 minutes, then rinse the salt off under cold running water and pat the fish dry with kitchen paper. Set aside.

2 Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6.

3 Heat the vegetable oil in a large casserole dish over medium heat. Add the sliced onions, season well with salt and pepper and cook for about 10 minutes, until soft, then add the garlic and cook for a further 3 minutes. Stir in the smoked paprika, followed by the tomato purée. Cook for 1 minute, then mix in the tomato juice and stock. Season again with salt and pepper and bring to the boil. Add the lentils, mix well, cover the casserole dish with a lid, or foil, and place in the oven for 20 minutes, stirring after 10 minutes.

4 Remove the casserole from the oven. Remove the lid or foil and place the salted haddock fillets into the lentils, pressing them down with a spoon so they are almost submerged. Drizzle the olive oil on top of the fillets. Pop the lid, or foil, back on top and return the casserole to the oven for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to rest for a further 5 minutes, covered, until the fish has cooked through.

5 Place the mascarpone in a bowl with the milk, lemon zest and a pinch each of salt and pepper and whisk until smooth. Dollop on top of the fish and lentils. Pop the casserole back in the oven for 2 minutes then serve, sprinkled with the basil leaves.

MARCUS’ TIP:

Salting white fish with rock salt seasons the fish right the way through, while also removing some of the water content. Leave the salt on the fish for maximum 10 minutes, before rinsing it off (5 minutes for thinner fish).

Thai Chicken Salad

I am sure everyone has their own version of their favourite Thai chicken salad. This is mine. I really enjoy the freshness of the lime and coriander, and the savoury richness that the toasted peanuts add. My kids love the noodles, but not too much heat, so I tend to scatter extra chilli on top of mine after serving. To maximise the flavour, I suggest marinating the chicken breasts the night before, though you can skip this step (or marinate for a shorter time) if you’re in a hurry.

SERVES: 4 | PREP TIME: 20 MINUTES, PLUS MARINATING | COOKING TIME: 15 MINUTES, PLUS RESTING

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

100g unsalted peanuts, roughly chopped

200g rice noodles

2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into thin strips

1 cucumber, cut into thin strips

200g beansprouts

½ bunch of coriander, leaves picked

¼ bunch of mint, leaves picked

red chillies, sliced, to serve (optional)

FOR THE MARINADE

4 tbsp coconut cream

1 tsp red curry paste

1 tsp white miso paste

FOR THE DRESSING

100ml rice wine vinegar

25g palm sugar, grated, or soft brown sugar

50ml fish sauce

100ml toasted sesame oil

2 tbsp tamarind paste

2 lemongrass stalks, tough outer layers removed, inner layers grated with a fine or Microplane grater

4cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated with a fine or Microplane grater

2 tbsp peanut butter

grated zest and juice of 1 lime

1 Whisk together the marinade ingredients in a small bowl. Put the chicken breasts in a dish, coat them in the marinade and refrigerate for at least an hour (ideally overnight).

2 Preheat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan/gas 7.

3 Lay a sheet of foil on your work surface. Place the marinated chicken on top then gather the foil around it. Place the foil package on a baking tray and bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Put the peanuts on a separate baking tray and roast in the oven for 5–7 minutes. Remove the nuts and chicken and allow the chicken to cool in the foil for 20 minutes, then unwrap and slice.

4 Place the rice noodles in a large heatproof bowl and bring a kettleful of water to the boil. Cover the noodles in the boiling water and leave to sit for 10 minutes.

5 Blitz all the dressing ingredients together in a blender, or in a jug using a stick blender.

6 Drain the noodles and place them in a large bowl. Add the carrots, cucumber and beansprouts and mix well. Arrange on a large serving platter then top with the chicken and the dressing. Finish with the coriander, mint and peanuts (and sliced chillies, to taste, if using).

MARCUS’ TIP:

Make a double batch of the dressing and keep it in a jar in the fridge for up to 2 days. It is great to have on hand for coleslaw or a quick vegetable stir-fry.

Chicken, Leek and Wholegrain Mustard Potato Pie

This is a great dish when you need something substantial and warming for supper during the week. Use leftover cooked chicken from a Sunday roast instead of the chicken legs, if you’ve got it. The mashed potato and mustard sauce can be made ahead, and it can be assembled in advance, too. See my mashed potato masterclassfor the ultimate pie topping.

SERVES: 4–6 | PREP TIME: 25 MINUTES, PLUS COOLING | COOKING TIME: 50 MINUTES

4 chicken legs, or 4 ready-roasted chicken legs

2 tbsp butter (plus an extra 2 tbsp if using uncooked chicken)

4 leeks, thinly sliced into 5mm-thick rounds and rinsed

100ml good-quality chicken stock

100g Cheddar cheese, grated (optional)

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

FOR THE MASHED POTATO

400g King Edward potatoes (or other floury variety), peeled and cut into large equal-sized chunks

50g butter, melted

75–100ml warm milk

pinch of table salt

2 egg yolks

FOR THE WHOLEGRAIN MUSTARD SAUCE

60g butter

60g plain flour

300ml milk

200ml good-quality chicken stock

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

2 tbsp wholegrain mustard

1 Preheat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan/gas 7.

2 If using uncooked chicken legs, lay a sheet of foil on your work surface. Place the chicken legs, 2 tablespoons of the butter and a generous pinch of salt and pepper on top then gather the foil around it. Place the package on a baking tray and bake for 25–30 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the foil for 20 minutes, then unwrap and roughly shred the chicken, discarding the bones and skin. If you are using ready-roasted chicken legs, do the same with those.