This garlic and lemon dish is a very easy chicken recipe. The key is to get good-quality chicken, and I have been using the Cavan-produced corn-fed chicken in the Dunnes Simply Better range for a good while now.

Lemon is my favourite infused-oil flavour, and Donegal Rapeseed does a great version. You can also use it on fish and with salads.

I have been making this pork goulash on the Healthy Cooking course in the Cookery School. People enjoy making it and are surprised at how tasty the cauliflower rice is. It is lighter than rice, and I see ASDA in Enniskillen has it in the freezers now. Give it a try. You can also use turkey or chicken instead of pork in this recipe.

For my griddled salmon with avocado and sun-dried tomatoes recipe, I highly recommend using well-produced organic salmon. And while salmon is one of our most popular fish, I sometimes I use sea trout instead. Make sure your avocados are ripe – they are usually marked very clearly these days. You want them nice and sweet.

Happy cooking,

Neven

The Nation’s Favourite Healthy Food by Neven Maguire is published by Gill Books and priced at €22.99.

Pork Goulash with Cauliflower Rice

Serves four

2 tsp smoked paprika

2 tbsp plain flour

500g (1¼lb) pork stir-fry strips

2 tbsp olive oil

2 onions, thinly sliced

2 green peppers, cored and cut into slices

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

1 tsp dried oregano

120ml (4floz) red wine

400g can chopped tomatoes

1 tbsp tomato purée

1 tsp honey

200ml (7fl oz) beef stock (from a cube is ok)

2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Cauliflower rice

1 head cauliflower

2 tbsp chopped fresh cauliflower

Sea salt and ground black pepper

Natural yoghurt, to garnish (optional)

1 Place the paprika and flour in a bowl and season with salt and pepper, then use to evenly coat the pork strips, tipping away any of the excess flour mixture.

2 Heat half the olive oil in a flameproof casserole pot over a medium heat and quickly brown the pork on all sides. Make sure not to put too much pork in the casserole at once, or it won’t brown – it’s best to fry it in batches. Transfer the meat to a plate and set aside.

3 Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the casserole, then sauté the onions, green peppers, garlic and dried oregano and fry for about five minutes, until just beginning to catch a bit of colour.

4 Return the pork to the casserole and stir to combine. Pour in the wine and allow to bubble down, scraping the bottom with a wooden spoon to remove any sediment.

5 Add the tomatoes, tomato purée, honey, stock and Worcestershire sauce and a good pinch of sea salt and black pepper, then bring to a steady simmer. Place the lid on the casserole and simmer for another 20 minutes or so, until the pork is completely tender.

6 Meanwhile, to make the cauliflower rice, cut the hard core and stalks from the cauliflower and pulse the rest in a food processor to make grains the size of rice.

7 Line the base of a steamer with parchment paper and tip in the cauliflower, then cook for eight to 10 minutes, until tender.

8 Season with salt and pepper, then fluff up with a fork and fold in the coriander. Divide among warmed plates, then spoon over the pork goulash and add a swirl of yoghurt to each one, if liked, to serve.

Garlic and Lemon Chicken with Rocket

Serves four

3 tbsp lemon Donegal Rapeseed oil

4 shallots, peeled and halved

2 garlic bulbs, halved

4 boneless chicken breasts (skin on)

1 lemon, sliced

4 fresh thyme sprigs

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Lightly dressed rocket salad, to serve

1 Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F), Gas mark 4. Heat one tablespoon of the lemon rapeseed oil in a non-stick frying pan over a low heat. Add the shallots and garlic and sauté for five minutes, until the vegetables begin to catch some colour. Transfer the shallots and garlic to a small roasting tin.

2 Increase the heat of the frying pan to high, add another tablespoon of the oil and seal the chicken breasts for two minutes on each side, until browned. Transfer to the roasting tin, tucking them around the shallots and garlic, then scatter with lemon and thyme. Season with salt and pepper and then drizzle over the remaining tablespoon of the lemon rapeseed oil. Place in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, until the chicken breasts are cooked through.

3 Remove the chicken from the oven and cover loosely with foil for five minutes to allow the chicken to rest, then serve with the rocket salad.

Griddled Salmon with Avocado and Sun-dried Tomatoes

Serves four as a starter

4 x 175g (6oz) skinless salmon fillets, pin bones removed

olive oil, for brushing

½ lemon, pips removed

2 firm, ripe avocados (preferably hass)

25g (1oz) wild rocket

12 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, finely chopped

½ small red onion, very finely chopped

1 tbsp snipped fresh chives

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 Heat a heavy-based griddle pan until smoking hot. Cut each salmon fillet into three pieces, then season and brush each one with a little olive oil.

2 Arrange on the griddle pan, then reduce the heat and cook for one to two minutes on each side until just cooked and golden brown. Remove from the heat and add a squeeze of the lemon.

3 Cut each avocado in half and remove the stone, then carefully peel away the skin. Cut into thick slices and arrange in centre of each plate, then scatter over the sun-dried tomatoes, red onion and rocket and season to taste. Arrange three pieces of the salmon on each one and scatter over the chives to serve. CL

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Neven Maguire's perfect midweek meal