Tofu Red Curry

I turn 40 at the end of this week and about a year ago I drew up a list of 40 things that I wanted to do before I wave goodbye to my 30s. Some were new experiences and others were things I wanted to achieve. I love food, so there were a few eating and cooking tasks on the list, of which one was 'make tofu taste like food'. I've only cooked with tofu once or twice and it's been not great but I gave it another go and was actually very pleased with the results.

I think the key is to have patience when it comes to pressing the tofu before cooking. It makes the tofu former and less likely to disintegrate in the pan.

Ingredients (serves 4)

1 pack cauldron tofu

1 onion, sliced

1 tin coconut milk

4 tbsp Thai red curry paste

2 tbsp oil

Salt/pepper

Any other veg you fancy

* take the tofu out of the packet and drain off the liquid. Wrap the tofu loosely in several layers of kitchen towel, sandwich between 2 chopping boards or similar and weigh down with a couple of heavy cookbooks. Leave of at least 15 minutes

* unwrap the tofu and cut into strips or cubes. Season

* heat the oil in a large pan and fry the tofu in batches making sure it is fairly crispy on all sides

* add the onion and any other veg (I used some sliced green beans) and curry paste and fry for a few more minutes before adding the coconut milk

* simmer for 15-20 minutes and serve with rice

Fish Yassa

I recently spent two weeks in Gambia with the school where I work, and I loved the food so I decided to have a go at a bit of Gambian cooking. I used salmon for this recipe because it's what I had in the freezer, but any firm fish would work and chicken yassa is also good.

Ingredients (serves 2)

2 medium onions, sliced
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
4 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp dijon mustard
1/2 tbsp lazy chilli
1 cup water
1 vegetable stock cube
2 salmon fillets

* mix together the onion, garlic, vinegar, lemon, mustard and chilli then add the fish and marinate for at least an hour but preferably longer
* remove the fish from the marinade and grill or griddle until lightly browned
* remove the onions from the marinade and lightly fry until golden brown and softened
* add the marinade to the onions and cook for a couple of minutes, then add the water, stock cube and salmon
* cover and simmer for 20 minutes
* serve with rice

Nutritional info
Cal: 305, Fat: 16.3g, Carbs: 13.0g, Protein: 19.5g

Chickpea and Cauliflower Korma

Ingredients (serves 3)
1 tin chickpeas, drained
1/2 cauliflower, about 250g, cut into florets
1 onion, diced
1/2 red pepper, diced
4 mushrooms, cut into chunks
1/2 jar Korma paste
1/2 tin reduced fat coconut milk
1 tsp vegetable oil

* heat the oil in a pan and fry the onion and pepper for a few minutes until slightly browned
* Add the korma paste and chickpeas and stir well
* Add the coconut milk, cauliflower and mushroom and mix thoroughly
* cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes until the chickpeas and cauliflower are cooked.

Nutritional info:

Calories: 306, Fat: 18.5g, Carbs: 22.0g, Protein: 7.8g