At the moment I’m really focusing on quick and easy meals for dinner, by the time I get home from work it’s usually too late to cook anything too fancy. Recently I’ve gotten into the habit of having a jar of this marinade in the fridge, which I usually make on the weekend. I can use this marinade in a few different recipes to create a really tasty and quick meal.

You can use this in my Smokey Chicken Strips  or my Smokey Beef Meatballs . Then all I add is some vegetables, like a salad or roasted vegetables and I’ve got dinner ready.

A few spoonfuls of this paste would also work well added to Spaghetti Bolognaise instead of adding just plain tomato paste.

Feel free to add a pinch of chilli powder or a fresh chilli. I’ve kept this mild so it’s suitable for kids too.

What you’ll need

4 Medjool dates, pitted

3 tbs olive oil

¼ cup tomato paste

¼ cup water

3 cloves garlic

1 tsp sea salt

2 tbs smoked paprika

1 tbs ground cumin

How to put this together

1. This recipe really is very simple, all you need to do is pop the above ingredients into a high-powered blender, I use a Nutribullet.
2. Blend until you have a smooth paste.
3. Remove from the blender and pop into a clean jar, top with some extra olive oil, pop on the lid
4. Store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks, if it will last that long.