Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

1 large butternut squash

1 red onion

2 garlic cloves

3 red chillies

handful of black pitted olives

handful of fennel seeds

1 lime

1 vegetable stock cube

salt and pepper

olive oil

Method:

In a large deep pan on a medium heat drizzle some olive oil and add finely chopped onion, garlic and chillies. Stir and sweat for about 5 minutes until soft and golden. Then add fennel seeds and zest of 1 limes. Keep on a low heat allowing flavours to merge.

Peel butternut squash, halve and discard seeds. Chop into small 2cm square pieces and add to the pan. Crumble in 1 vegetable stock cube and 1 litre of boiling water. Stir well and cover, boil for 20 minutes.

When squash is soft use a food processor or hand blender to pulse into a smooth soup texture. Squeeze in juice of lime and stir.

Serve with warm bread and cooling dollop of yoghurt on top.

Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

1 large aubergine

2 medium sized potatoes

1 red onion

2 cloves of garlic

2 red chillies

1 thumb size piece of ginger

400g tin of plum tomatoes

2 tsp garam masala

Half a teaspoon of coriander seeds

1 tsp turmeric powder

Handful of coriander

Salt and pepper

1 lemon

Rapeseed oil

Method:

In a large pan, drizzle a few glugs of rapeseed oil and add the finely sliced red onion as well as finely chopped garlic, chillies and ginger. Let this sweat for about 5 minutes until they have softened and browned. Now add in a tin on plum tomatoes, a generous pinch of salt and pepper, the garam masala, turmeric powder and coriander seeds. Fill the empty tomato tin can with water and add to the pan, give this a good stir and break up the plum tomatoes with your wooden spoon, bring back up to heat.

Meanwhile wash the potatoes and chop into pieces slightly smaller than the aubergines so nice bite size pieces. Add these to the pan, bring the heat to a simmer and cover with a lid letting the potatoes boil in the sauce, for about 10 minutes stirring occasionally.

Now get a griddle pan on a high heat. Discard the stalk of the aubergine, then chop into large chunks, roughly about 5 cm square. Place skin side up on the griddle pan and turn over after a minute when the sides have nice chargrilled lines on. Do this in batches, you don’t want to overcrowd the griddle pan.

Add the grilled aubergines to the curry with the juice of one lemon. Stir this all together, at this point the potatoes should be al dente. Cook the curry on a low heat for another 5-10 minutes until the potatoes are soft and the aubergines have soaked up the juices from the sauce.

Finally throw in a handful of fresh chopped coriander and serve with warm naan bread and yoghurt.

Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

1 swede peeled

2 sweet potatoes

1 white potato

1 small red onion

Good quality olive oil

Salt and pepper

Method:

Preheat oven to 190º C

Wash swede and potatoes, peel only the swede. Cut potatoes and swede into 2cm square cubes. Put into a large pan of salted boiling water. Boil for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile get a small pan on a medium heat with a drizzle of olive oil in. Add the sliced red onion and sweat for 5 minutes until soft. 

Once the potatoes and swede is soft, drain the water then place back into the large pan. Mash roughly so you have a rustic type of mash with a few large bits and skins. Add the red onions and a good pinch of salt and pepper. 

Transfer to an earthenware type oven dish and spread evenly. Drizzle with olive oil and place in the oven to bake for 10 minutes until golden brown on top.

Serve as a side dish or with a rocket and watercress salad as a main dish.

Time: 35 mins

Ingredients:

3 cloves of garlic

4 shallots

2 green chillies

4 stalks of lemongrass

large lump of ginger

large handful of coriander

1 teaspoon of ground cumin

dash of soy sauce

1 lime zest and juice

1 small butternut squash

1 small aubergine

1 green pepper

salt and pepper

1 teaspoon of coriander seeds

olive oil

400g tin of coconut milk

Method:

Firstly prepare the paste. Remove the outer thicker skin of the lemongrass, skin off the ginger and garlic, stalks off the chillies. Put all these in a food processor along with the zest of one lime, cumin, half the washed coriander and a dash of soy sauce. Blend together until you have a paste like texture.

Now prepare the veg. Peel the butternut squash, halve and remove the seeds. Chop into small 2cm square cubes. Remove the stalk off the aubergine and cut into pieces the same size as the squash, also cut the pepper the same size after removing the stalk and seeds.

Drizzle a glug of olive oil in a large pan or wok on a medium heat. Finely slice the shallots after removing the skin and add to the pan with the coriander seeds. Sweat these for about 5 minutes until soft and then add the vegetables. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and stir fry the veg for about 10 minutes. Now pour in the tin of coconut milk making sure you give the tin a really good shake first and also add the green paste with the juice of the one lime, then give it all a good stir and bring to the boil. You should get a really pastel gentle green coloured curry now. Bring the heat down and simmer for 10 minutes stirring occasionally. Finally stir in the rest of the finely chopped coriander and serve with fluffy basmati rice.

Time: 45 mins

Ingredients:

2 cloves of garlic

2 small or one large white onion

2 Peppers any colour

300g closed cup mushrooms

1 Aubergine

5 Baby Potatoes

Handful of green olives (pitted)

400g Tin of cannellini beans

400g Tin of chopped tomatoes

2 teaspoons of Vegetable stock

2 teaspoons of Bart Baharat Middle Eastern Spice mix

OR

4 Half tea spoons: 1 half a tea spoon of Paprika, Cumin, Cayenne Pepper, Cinnamon

Salt and Pepper

Method:

This would be traditionally done in a Tagine but as I do not currently own one I attempted a make shift oven baked version inspired by a conversation I had with the chef at Food for Thought in Covant Garden, after I tried their Vegetable Tagine done in this way.

Preheat your oven to 190°C/375°F/gas 5

Take a large oven tray / casserole dish and put over as many hobs as you can on a medium heat. Drizzle a glug of olive oil around the tray and add in crushed or finely chopped garlic. Whilst these gently brown add in sliced white onion and sweat for about 5 minutes until soft.

Wash all the vegetables ready to chop and go in.Firstly quarter the baby potatoes and add to the tray as they will cook the longest. After a few minutes follow with peppers, mushrooms and the aubergine all roughly chopped the same size. Olives also halves and to be added then give this all a good stir and keep these cooking for about 10 minutes.

After this time add the tin of cannellini beans with the water in, the tin of chopped tomatoes followed by a tin full of water. Add two table spoons of vegetable stock and two table spoons of the spices. Season with a good pinch of salt and pepper and stir well.

Bring the sauce up to heat until you see the sauce bubbling up at the sides of the oven dish. Get a large sheet of tin foil and place on top of the tray shiny side down. You want the foil to be tight around the edges leaving quite a big dome on the top which is why you need a large sheet. You are almost trying to replicate the tagine lid but with foil, however don’t go too big otherwise you will not be able to fit it in your oven.

Place in the oven for about 25-30 minutes. When its ready remove the foil and allow to cool for a few minutes, then serve in nice earthy bowls with toasted wholemeal pitta, cous cous or a type of cous cous like bulghar wheat or quinoa.

Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

5 figs

70g goats cheese or goats curd

1 semi ripe pear

70g bag of rocket

good quality extra virgin olive oil

half a lemon

pinch of salt and black pepper

Method:

In a large salad bowl add the bag of rocket and crumbled/cut up goats cheese. Wash the figs and pear and cut the ends off. Quarter the figs and add to the bowl, then quarter the pear, cut the centre part out, then finely slice and also add to the bowl then toss everything together.

In a small jar or cup squeeze the juice of half a lemon then three times the amount of extra virgin olive oil. Add a pinch of salt and pepper then mix or shake well. Either pour over the salad and mix now to serve straight away or serve with the dressing on the side to serve later. 

Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

olive oil

handful of fennel seeds

1 bulb of fennel

1 red chill

1 lemon

2.5 litres of vegetable stock

100g unsalted butter

1 large onion finely chopped

500g Arborio risotto rice

salt and pepper

60g Parmesan, freshly grated

Method:

Heat a glug of olive oil in a medium size pan on a medium heat. Lightly crush some fennel seeds in a pestle and motor and add to the pan for about a minute. Finely slice the fennel and finely chop the chilli then add to the pan. Give a good stir, turn the heat down a little and allow to sweat for about 10 minutes, then squeeze in the juice of half a lemon, then sweat for another 10 minutes stirring occasionally so it doesn’t burn.

Meanwhile make the plain risotto.  Firstly prepare your stock in a pan or large jug according to instructions, usually about 4 teaspoons of stock in 2.5 litres of boiling water.

Melt half your butter in a large pan on a medium-high heat, add the finely chopped onions and lightly fry for about 10 minutes until golden and soft. Add the Arborio rice and coat the rice in the butter and keep in the pan for a few minutes until the rice starts to look slightly translucent and you can heat a crackling noise. Then add your white wine and cook for about 2-3 minutes until the alcohol has burnt off.

Now add the stock ladle by ladle, avoid drowning the rice just make sure each ladleful has been absorbed before adding the next. Keep adding the stock and cooking the risotto for another 15 minutes until all the stock has been used and the rice is al dente.

By now the fennel will have cooked nicely. Add the fennel to the risotto rice with the juice of the other half lemon, the rest of the butter and three quarters of the Parmesan and stir slowly until they have mixed well and the cheese has melted into the rice. Serve with a sprinkle of the remaining Parmesan on top.

Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

200g Tagliatelle (5-6 ribbons)

8 baby potatoes 

200g (Large bunch) of Rainbow chard stalks and leaves

good quality olive oil

5 shallots

2 cloves of garlic

1 red chilli

salt and pepper

large handful of grated parmesan

Method:

Preheat oven to Preheat the oven to 190c / 200F/ gas mark 5 and put a large deep pan on high heat with boiling salted water. 

Firstly dice the baby potatoes into small pieces, the smaller ones into quarters and larger further so they are roughly the same size. Cut the stalks off the chard keeping them to one side and roughly chop up the chard but gathering them and slicing through them 1 cm apart.

Put the chard leaves, potato and the Tagliatelle into the boiling water together and boil for about 10 - 15 minutes until the pasta and potatoes are soft. 

Meanwhile prepare the sauce. Heat a glug of olive oil in a medium pan, finely slice the shallots, garlic, chilli and add to the pan. Sweat for about 5 minutes until soft and slightly browned. Discard the very ends of the rainbow stalks and finely slice the rest and add to the pan with a pinch of salt and pepper and cook for another 5 minutes then switch off. 

Once the potato, pasta and chard is cooked drain leaving a small cup of starchy water. Add the sauce to the pasta and stir well adding a few dashes of the pasta water to loosen the pasta. Now put this into a large earthenware oven dish, shake it out so its spread evenly and cover the top with grated Parmesan.

Place in the oven for about 10 minutes until the Parmesan has melted and golden on top. Serve straight away.

Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

2 medium sized aubergines

olive oil

2 shallots

1 clove of garlic

1 small piece of ginger

1 red chilli

salt and black pepper

handful coriander

handful of crumbled feta

Method:

Prepare a steamer or make a steamer using a pan of boiling water with a colander on top and the pan lid on top of that. Halve your aubergines down the middle length ways and place them face up in the steamer. Steam for about 10-15 minutes until soft and spongy.  

Meanwhile make your sauce. In a large pan or wok on a medium heat add a glug of olive oil. Add finely chopped garlic and shallots and cook for about 5 minutes until soft and browned. Then add finely chopped ginger, chilli and a pinch of salt and pepper, cook for another 5 minutes.

When the aubergines are cooked, remove them from the steamer, remove the stalks and then chop into roughly 2cm square pieces, be careful as they will be hot. Then add these to the large pan with your sauce and toss for a few minutes until they are nicely covered. Add some finely chopped coriander and serve with crumbled feta on top.

Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

200g ciabatta (about half a load)

handful of rosemary (leaves picked)

small handful of fennel seeds

salt and pepper

good quality olive oil

600g of ripe tomatoes (as many different shapes, sized and colours as you can)

handful of fresh basil

1 clove of garlic

1 red chilli finely chopped

good quality extra virgin olive oil

dash of red wine vinegar

handful of grated parmesan

Method:

Cut your tomatoes in random large chunks, small ones in half, larger ones in quaters and leave some really small ones whole and put in a large serving bowl. Add a decent glug of extra virgin olive oil, crushed garlic, chopped chilli, pinch of salt and pepper and a dash of red wine vinegar. give this all a good mix and leave for all the flavours to mingle. 

Meanwhile break up the bread into large chunks and place in an oven dish. Drizzle with olive oil and dress with a pinch of  salt and pepper , fennel and rosemary then give it all a good mix. Place in a grill on a high heat and put the bread in the grill for about 5-6 minutes until the bread has toasted and is golden brown, toss every couple of minutes so they don’t burn.

When they are toasted add the bread to the tomatoes along with some teared basil, and with your hands mix and toss together to all the lovely juices get into the bread. Dress with some small whole basil leaved and grated Parmesan. Serve straight away.