Poppy Cooks – Another Delicious Batch Book – You must know Poppy O’Toole. If you are on instagram, watch Saturday Kitchen, This Morning or any other foodie TV show, I’m sure you’ll recognise her. Poppy has over 5.5 million followers and is the self-titled ‘Potato Queen’. She’s delightfully self effacing and her recipes are great.
Poppy has just published her latest book: Poppy Cooks Actually Delicious Batch and it’s fab. Published by Bloomsbury Publishing at £22 for a beautifully photographed hardback, it gives stacks of ideas for plan ahead catering.
With simple instructions included for prep and storage, these grab-and-cook recipes make dinner time a breeze, however you want to cook them (slow cook, air fry or oven). Recipes include traybakes, fakeaways, pastas, a whole chapter dedicated to Poppy’s signature potato recipes, grab-and-go lunch ideas and much more.
It’s easy to follow, ideal for busy families who want to eat well but might not have a big freezer, and it’s packed with food that’s actually delicious. Whether making one and freezing one, or prepping ahead for quick midweek meals, the recipes are easily multiplied or divided so you can tailor them to how you cook and eat.
Here are a couple of taster recipes for you to try, that will, I’m sure, tempt you to buy the book.
Chicken fajitas – Serves 4
“As a child, there was no better feeling than when my mom said it was fajitas for tea. The sizzling pan, the DIY wraps and the overfilling when no-one was looking. Pure 00s nostalgia. Viennetta ice cream for pudding is mandatory.”
6 skinless, boneless chicken thighs
2 red peppers, deseeded and sliced
2 red onions, sliced
3 garlic cloves, minced or grated
1 red chilli, sliced
1 tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste
2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tbsp taco seasoning
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp garlic granules
2 tsp onion granules
1 tbsp chilli sauce
1 tbsp tomato purée
1 tbsp runny honey
300g jarred salsa
To finish
Juice of 2 limes, plus extra if needed
Salt and pepper
Serving suggestions (optional)
Flour tortillas
Grated cheddar
Guacamole
Soured cream
Tomato salsa
To prep
Tip all the ingredients into a large freezer bag, seal the top and freeze for up to 3 months.
To cook
Defrost fully in the fridge overnight. Pour the contents of the bag into the bowl of your slow cooker and season with salt and pepper, pop on the lid and cook for 3 hours on high or for 6–7 hours on low, until the chicken is cooked through and tender.
Stir in the lime juice and taste for seasoning. Adjust as needed with salt, pepper and lime. Remove the chicken from the slow cooker and slice before serving.
Vegan chocolate chunk and orange shortbreads – Makes 18
“We all love a bit of chocolate orange, don’t we? In a shortbread as well, it makes for a lovely biscuit to dunk into tea. Or to just eat on its own. Oh, and it’s vegan! Lovely for everyone.”
350g plain flour
100g caster sugar
250g vegan butter, cubed and chilled
175g vegan dark chocolate, roughly chopped
Zest of 2 oranges
Pinch of flaky sea salt
- Using your fingertips and thumbs in a large bowl, or pulsing in a food processor, combine the flour, sugar and butter until it looks like breadcrumbs.
- Using your hands, press the dough together until it starts to clump, then add the chocolate, orange zest and salt. Bring it all together into a crumbly dough, then roll the dough into a sausage shape about 4cm in diameter. Cut the sausage in half and wrap both pieces tightly in cling film.
Eat now
Place one of the wrapped doughs in the fridge for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan. Using a sharp knife, slice the chilled dough into 1.5cm-thick rounds and place the rounds on a parchment-lined baking tray. Bake for 15–20 minutes until the edges are lightly golden. Cool on the tray briefly, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Eat later
Freeze the remaining wrapped, unbaked dough for up to 3 months.
To bake from frozen, preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan. Unwrap the frozen log, leave it to stand for 5–10 minutes or so, and then slice it into 1.5cm-thick rounds. Place the rounds on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 25–30 minutes until the edges are lightly golden. Leave to cool on the tray, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Extract taken from Poppy Cooks: The Actually Delicious Batch Cookbook by Poppy O’Toole (Bloomsbury Publishing, Hardback, £22). Photographs © Haarala Hamilton.
The Seasoned Gastronome