You may have read our last recipes blog where we shared our thoughts on the parsnip and coconut soup, watercress and leek soup and smoked fish chowder. This time we’re letting you know how we got on cooking three of the main courses.
We have a book full of recipes especially for people with cancer. Each recipe is designed to be appetising and to encourage you to eat even when you don’t feel like it. We wanted to make sure they were up to scratch so we put a few of them to the test.
In the book, we’ve added the following symbols to the recipes, so you can quickly spot the ones that may suit you. These are a guideline only and you should talk to your doctor about which foods are suitable for you.
We’d love to hear from you too. So if you have any recipes of your own that you’d like to share, please leave a comment below or email us at cancerinformationteam@macmillan.org.uk
You can order a copy or download our book Recipes for people affected by cancer by visiting be.macmillan.org.uk
One-pot fish with black olives and tomatoes (contributed by Good Food magazine)
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Preparation 15 minutes Cooking 20 minutes Serves 4 |
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Olive oil (2 tbsp) 1 large onion, roughly chopped 1 tin of chopped tomatoes (400g/14oz) Salt and black pepper Black olives (175g/6oz), stones removed 4 boneless white fish fillets, such as cod or hoki (175g/6oz each) Fresh parsley (2 tbsp), chopped 1 lemon, cut into wedges |
This recipe was tried by one of our Senior Editors Tess.
‘It was really quick and easy to get the ingredients and to cook this. I normally have most of these ingredients in the cupboard or freezer anyway.
I agree with the key – it’s very soft and flavoursome, so it’s good for people with problems chewing or loss of taste/smell. I've lost my sense of smell so I like making dishes with herbs and strong-tasting flavours, and I really enjoyed this. Olives taste strongly and because you cook this in the oven for 20 minutes, the tomatoes are nice and sweet.
This dish is low-fat, so it would also be a good healthy-eating option. Because it’s so tasty, healthy and quick to make, I’ll definitely add this to my repertoire!’
Broccoli Mornay (contributed by Elizabeth Ward)
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Preparation 15 minutes Cooking 1 hour Serves 4 |
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Unsalted butter (115g/4oz) 4 large tomatoes, chopped 2 medium onions, chopped Salt and black pepper Tomato ketchup (4 tbsp) or tomato puree (2 tbsp) Broccoli (450g/1lb), cut into florets For the white sauce Butter (55g/2oz) Milk (560ml/1 pint) Flour (55g/2oz) Salt and black pepper Cayenne pepper (0.5 tsp) Mustard powder (0.5 tsp) Cheese (170g/6oz), grated |
Our Managing Editor Abi baked this dish and had lots of helpful feedback.
‘The recipe is definitely suitable for people with a dry or sore mouth or with chewing problems. It has tons of butter and cheese so it would be good for people who’ve lost weight or their appetite, but maybe not for people with sickness or nausea.
The ingredients were easy to find and it was handy to know that it didn’t matter which type of milk I used because skimmed, full fat or soya milk would all work.
I found that two medium sized heads of broccoli were about right to make up the weight (450g). I didn’t know I’d need two and had only brought one, but luckily had another in the fridge.
It was very easy to make and didn’t take long to prepare and cook. It took me a little more than 15 minutes to prep (closer to 30 because the chopping took me a while!). I cooked it until the top turned brown and left it in a bit longer (about 30 mins) until the cheese was really crispy - it looked perfect.
I suspect any keen cooks would be happy to make it, but if you weren’t feeling 100% it might be too much. Because it’s a building-up recipe, I probably wouldn’t make it for myself again as it’s a lot of calories!’
Spring onion, garlic, and prawn risotto
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Preparation 10 minutes Cooking 35 minutes Serves 4 |
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Olive oil (1 tbsp) 2 bunches of spring onions, chopped 4 garlic cloves, sliced Arborio rice (310g/11oz) Chicken stock (560ml/1 pint) Fish stock (560ml/1 pint) 20 large prawns Juice of half a lemon Parmesan cheese (1 tbsp) Black pepper Chives (1 tbsp), chopped |
Aurélie, one of our Editors, had a go at cooking the risotto and was really pleased with how it turned out!
‘The risotto is really good and simple and the recipe is clear. I used uncooked, peeled prawns to add more flavour. The advantage of this recipe is that it uses spring onions, because they cook much faster than regular onions and are really tender, which means you can prepare this dish really quickly.
The final comment I’d add is that for extra taste, I would not hesitate to add a bit more parmesan – makes it creamier and more flavoursome.’
There are lots of other main courses in the new edition of our recipe book, including: bacon and chorizo cassoulet, chicken curry and spring vegetable casserole. Download or order a copy and try them out!
To see what else Macmillan's cancer information team has been blogging about, please visit our blog home page! You can subscribe to receive our blogs by email or RSS too.
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