Mouth-watering, homemade fast food at its finest! This recipe is so easy and fast to put together and relatively healthy within a considered diet. If you are doing the classic of keeping your carbs pretty low and protein high the rest of your day then a portion of this (even every day) would be absolutely fine to hit your fat-loss goals! Of course you could sub the chicken for your own preferred protein and it will taste great. I always cook lots as they are a delicious snack/meal for a few days after, which saves you eating junk. Seriously, imagine being sat in front of the TV wanting a “midnight snack” or at work mid-afternoon and instead of grabbing a fast snack like crisps and regretting it - you grab an equally quick portion of oak-smoked chicken wings! Yum. Let’s just make them already!

How do we make them?

For about 2kg of wings:

• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp onion salt
• 1 tsp garlic
• 1/2 tsp coriander
• ​1/2 tsp thyme
• 1/2 tsp oregano

Thoroughly mix all herbs and spices, then rub into wings.

Start coals on your barbecue or smoker (I use a chimney starter) and also place a handful of oak wood chips or chunks in a small bowl of water and leave to soak until coals are ready (around 20mins).

When the coals turn a light grey spread around your smoker/barbecue. Place your wings on the grill (top shelf if possible). Pat dry your wood chips and scatter amongst the coals. Close the lid and slightly open vents. Allow to cook for 15-mins with lid down (temp should be around 200C), then flip wings and repeat (close lid, vents slightly open and cook for 15-mins).

Finally, open lid, place all wings on grill closest to coals, keeping lid open, to finish them on a higher temp and allow to blacken a little for a slightly crispier texture and authentic barbecue flavour.

You may need to alter your cooking time to suit, but internal temp of the wings should be 75-80C. Always check.

Proof that eating seasonally will improve the variety of food you eat! I had never eaten a Jerusalem artichoke before, so I chose this meal for my first taste as there is minimal effort that goes into its preparation meaning you get to taste it in a fairly raw form. We were pleasantly surprised with the results. We've definitely been missing out, I think the main reason being that we had never been exposed to this veggie as children, so it always seemed a bit weird to see one in a shop - being creatures of habit it's easy to just leave it alone, not knowing how it tastes or what to do with it, and stick to the veggies we know. Ultimately, we now have another fantastic tasting ingredient added to our winter pantry!

So, for this very simple and healthy, seasonal recipe, you'll need...

A little oil of choice
8 pork sausages
500ml chicken stock
500g Jerusalem artichokes (no need to peel for this recipe; just scrub clean and cut into halves)
1 Savoy cabbage
seasoning
thyme
paprika
chilli flakes

Fry the sausages for about 10-minutes to brown them.

Add them to a deep baking tray along with the chicken stock and the Jerusalem artichokes, cover and cook in the oven at 180C for 15-minutes.

Lift the cover, add the seasoning, thyme, paprika, chilli flakes and cook again for 15-minutes.

Finally, add the cabbage leaves and cook for a further 10-15 minutes. 

All you need is...

• Duck breast (free-range or higher welfare)
• 1/3rd tin of butterbeans
• 50g spinach (or more)
• 2 bacon medallions (organic, pasture-raised or higher welfare) or better yet, I dice up some of my own home-smoked, Honey & Clementine Gammon which I smoke outdoors every Boxing Day and freeze what is leftover to use for meals like this!
• garlic
• rosemary
• balsamic vinegar
• salt and pepper

(ingredients per person)

1. Lightly score the skin of the duck breast width ways about 1 or 2cm apart, this will allow the juices to come out more to make a thicker and tastier sauce. Season the skin side with a little salt and black pepper. 
2. Place the duck breast skin-side down on a cold pan and turn the hob to medium-high heat. Cook this side for 8-minutes without touching it, meanwhile dice the bacon medallions. Then, turn the duck breast over and fry for a further 4-minutes skin-side up. Remove the duck breast and put onto a separate plate to rest (leave the fat in the pan)
3. Add the bacon (or smoked gammon), rosemary and chopped garlic (or granules if you don't have fresh garlic) to the pan with the duck fat and cook.
4. Once the bacon/gammon is cooked, add a dash of vinegar to help scrape up anything that has stuck to the pan, add the butterbeans with their juices, allow to simmer for a while, and then add the spinach. 
5. I like to use a lot of spinach as it has so much goodness, so once some has partially wilted, add a little more and cook until wilted. It always appears that you've got way too much spinach -- until you cook it and realise you should have made more, so make sure you give yourself plenty. Serve up and enjoy!

This is not just my favourite meal in July, this is one of my absolute favourite meals of the year and another reminder why I love to eat seasonally. There are other months that I can grill sea bass throughout the year but when this fish is combined with these amazing, summery, seasonal vegetables (and fruit - tomato) the flavours are immense and, in my view, unbeatable! 

Here's what you'll need...
2 Sea Bass Fillets
Handful of Spinach
Half a Courgette sliced and cut into quarters
Handful of Green Beans
Handful of Cherry Tomatoes cut into halves
Handful of Garden Peas
4 teaspoons of Pesto
2 teaspoons of Coconut Oil (if cooking at home)

Heat up a pan, adding your oil, on a medium heat. Place Sea Bass Fillet skin-side down for 5-minutes until they crisp up. Add the courgette quarters, cherry tomato halves, peas and green beans, and fry for another 3-5 minutes or desired doneness. 

Add your pesto and heat through before serving. How simple is that? I sometimes add a tablespoon or two of cold extra virgin olive oil over the meal once cooked. 

I call this Wild-Style because I quite often make this outdoors, as it tastes even better grilled BBQ-style.

You may think that eating seasonally through the winter months require a bit more experience or experiments! But there's so many great options out there that are unique to this cold season. Pheasant is aplenty for this time of year, but it does have a tendency to dry out, as it is quite easily overcooked. I seal them in a very hot pan first to stop them drying out in the process. And of course root vegetables too, like parsnips and carrots. Follow the steps below and the result will be a happy, unique and tasty winter warmer...
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• 2 Pheasant Breasts
• Salt
• 2 tsp Rosemary
• One handful of Grapes
• 1 small Shallot
• 150ml Chicken Stock
• 2 tbsp White Balsamic Vinegar*
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• Parsnips
• Beetroot
• Red Onion
• Carrots 

 

• Preheat the oven to 180C. Place all of your veggies in a deep baking tray and put into oven, meanwhile, season the pheasant breasts with salt, pepper, and a 1tsp of rosemary.
• After about 15mins of the vegetables roasting, put the grapes on a sheet pan and drizzle 2tbsp oil over them, then roast for about 15 minutes.
• While the grapes are roasting, brown the pheasant breasts in a hot saute pan. Sealing the breasts like this will avoid them drying out. After they have browned on both sides, remove them from the pan and put aside for a moment - and add the shallots. Brown the shallots for several minutes and deglaze the pan with the white balsamic vinegar and stock, scraping the bits in the bottom. Add another teaspoon of rosemary and return the pheasant breasts. By now the grapes should be roasted and they can be added to the saute pan with the pheasants along with their juices.
• Allow the pheasant and sauce to simmer on low until the pheasant is cooked through and the sauce has reduced, your roasted winter vegetables should also now be ready!

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