Cooking, Easy Recipes: Spring Veg Soup with Whipped Ricotta Toasts & Lemon Tahini Chicken

Bright, nourishing and genuinely simple, these two dishes prove that cooking, easy recipes can be both comforting and exciting. The focus is on vegetables used in different forms, quick techniques that build flavor, and a few clever hacks — like whipped ricotta for a creamy toast topping and a lemon tahini drizzle to bring everything together.

Spring Veg Soup with Whipped Ricotta Toasts

This soup celebrates spring vegetables in whatever form is easiest: jarred artichokes, fresh leeks and freezer peas and broad beans. It’s the perfect example of cooking, easy recipes that are fast to make but feel special on the plate.

Ingredients

• Jarred artichokes (quartered) – 1 jar
• Leeks – 2 large, trimmed and washed
• Frozen broad beans and peas – 1 cup each
• Fresh mint – a handful, roughly chopped
• Water or light stock – 1 liter of boiled water
• Sourdough or good crusty bread – 4 slices
• Ricotta – 200 g
• Lemon zest, parmesan, salt, pepper and chilli flakes

Method

1. In a large pan, place the artichoke quarters in a single layer with a couple of tablespoons of the oil from the jar. Let them lightly fry to pick up color.
2. Prepare the leeks by trimming, slicing and washing them well. Add to the pan, season with salt and pepper and cook on medium heat for about 15 minutes until sweet and buttery.
3. Stir in the frozen broad beans and peas, add the chopped mint and pour in the boiled water or stock. Bring to a gentle boil and simmer briefly to keep vibrant color and texture.
4. Remove a ladle or two of the soup, blitz until smooth and stir back into the pot for a creamy yet chunky finish.
5. Grill thick bread slices until golden. For the ricotta topping, mix ricotta with 20 g grated parmesan, lemon zest, salt and pepper and whip with a spatula until smooth.
6. Spoon a generous dollop of whipped ricotta onto each toast, finish with extra lemon zest, parmesan, mint and a sprinkle of chilli flakes. Serve alongside bowls of the soup.

Tips

• Embrace the freezer. Frozen peas and broad beans are nutritious, affordable and perfect for cooking, easy recipes on busy nights.
• Don’t overcook. Keep the vegetables lively for color and nutrition.
• Make extra ricotta mix. It keeps in the fridge for two to three days as a dip or sandwich spread.

"The freezer is amazing. It's like your best friend."

Storage

Leftover soup will keep refrigerated for 3 to 4 days. Toasts are best served immediately, but the whipped ricotta can be stored for a couple of days.

Lemon Tahini Chicken with Roasted Pepper Grains

This midweek plate combines a golden seared chicken breast with a silky roasted pepper sauce, mixed beans, super grains and a zesty tahini drizzle. It’s an upbeat example of cooking, easy recipes that use pantry staples for big flavor.

Ingredients

• Chicken breasts – 2 (score the thicker end to even cooking)
• Broccoli or other green veg – trimmed for dry searing
• Jarred roasted red peppers – 1 jar
• Basil and garlic for the pepper sauce
• Mixed beans – 1 can, drained
• Super grains mix – 1 pack or cooked grains
• Tahini – 2 tablespoons
• Lemon juice, salt, water to loosen tahini
• Olives, extra basil and lemon to finish

Method

1. Preheat a stainless steel pan until it passes the water bead test. For the greens, dry-sear broccoli or asparagus until charred on the outside and steamed inside. Set aside and dress with lemon and olive oil.
2. Score the chicken to even thickness, season and sear in oil until golden and cooked through. Rest, then slice.
3. Blend roasted red peppers with basil and garlic to make a punchy sauce. Return the pan to the heat and add the pepper sauce to lift the browned bits off the bottom.
4. Add drained beans and the super grains, letting the sauce absorb and coat everything. This builds a hearty base full of texture and nutrition.
5. For the tahini lemon sauce, whisk 2 tablespoons tahini with lemon juice, a pinch of salt and a little water until silky. The lemon will thicken tahini initially, so loosen with water to the desired drizzle consistency.
6. Plate the grains and beans, top with sliced chicken, drizzle tahini, scatter torn olives and basil leaves and finish with a squeeze of lemon.

Pro Tips

• Score the chicken. This evens cooking and gives more surface area for seasoning to cling to.
• Keep the pan bits. Deglazing with the pepper sauce recovers flavor and colors the grains.
• Make the tahini loose. A little water and lemon turn tahini into an indulgent sauce fast — a hallmark of cooking, easy recipes.

Leftovers and Serving

Leftover grains and beans store well for 3 to 4 days. Reheat gently and refresh with an extra squeeze of lemon and a drizzle of tahini. This dish is generous and designed to feel like proper comfort food while staying nutritious and achievable for busy cooks practicing cooking, easy recipes.

Final Notes on Flavor and Approach

Both dishes are practical, joyful and built around the idea that great food can come from a mix of fresh, jarred and frozen ingredients. They show that cooking, easy recipes do not need to be complicated to be delicious. Simple techniques like dry-searing greens, scoring chicken and whipping cheese turn humble ingredients into plates worth smiling about.

This article was created from the video Eat Yourself Healthy Recipes From The Book | Jamie Oliver with the help of AI.

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