Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

1 butternut squash

1 clove of garlic

1 small red onion

2 courgettes

dash of white wine vinegar.

handful of pitted green olives

400g tin of Merchant Gourmet Put Lentils

50g feta

handful of rosemary (leaved picked)

Method:

The quickest way to cook squash is to steam it. Firstly peel the skin off the squash, chop in half and scoop out the middle flesh and seeds. Then dice into 1cm cubes and put into a colander. Get a large pan on a high heat with about 2 cups of boiling water in. Put the colander in this pan so it sits above the boiling water but not touching it, then put a lid on the top of the colander to hold the steam in. Keep this on for 10 minutes until the squash is al dente. 

Meanwhile get a large pan on a medium heat with a glug of olive oil in. chop your red onion in quarters, then slice and add to the pan with the garlic. Whilst the onions are sweating, discard the ends of the courgettes and slice in half down the middle, then slice up into semi circles about 1 cm thick and add to the pan with the rosemary. Also drain the water out of the puy lentils, wash and add to the pan.

Keep this on heat for 10 minutes tossing occasionally.

When the squash is al dente and soft enough to put a knife through, add to the large pan of courgettes and onions and mix together well. Either serve hot and crumble feta on top or refrigerate for and serve cold with crumbled feta on top.

Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

half a cup of quinoa

salt and pepper

good quality extra virgin olive oil

juice of half a lemon

large handful of rocket

handful of cherry tomatoes halved

5-10 shavings of parmesan 

Method:

Put the quinoa and 1 cup of water in a small pan and bring to the boil, then turn the heat down to a simmer for about 15 minutes. Watch the quinoa and when it looks slightly translucent and has sprouted turn the heat off and cover the pan with a lid for another 10 minutes.

Meanwhile half the tomatoes and wash the rocket (if its not already washed). Once the quinoa has soaked all the water add a decent drizzle of good quality olive oil, pinch of salt and pepper, juice and zest of half a lemon. 

Either put this in the fridge to cool and mix in the tomatoes and rocket for a completely cold salad, or mix and serve straight away. Finish with some shavings of parmesan using a speed peeler. A nice dollop of cottage cheese is also nice with this salad

Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

1.5 kg Maris Piper potatoes

1 bulb of garlic

bunch of fresh rosemary

good quality olive oil

red wine vinegar

salt and black pepper

Method:

Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/gas 5

Peel the potatoes and cut in large chunks so halving the smaller ones and the bigger ones into thirds r quarters, roughly about the size of two squash balls put together. Wash off the starch in cold water, then put in a pan of cold water seasoned with a generous amount of salt. Bring to the boil and par boil the potatoes for 10 minutes.

Once they are par boiled drain and then shake and toss them about in the colander to create some extra texture on the surface of the potato that will crisp up well. Take an earthenware oven dish, drizzle the bottom with a good quality olive oil, then add the potatoes in, season with a good pinch of salt and pepper, another drizzle of oil on top. Put this in the oven for about 30 minutes until they have started to get golden brown.

Meanwhile break up the bulb of garlic into cloves keeping the shell on and pick the leaves off your rosemary. Put these both in a bowl with a decent drizzle of olive oil, pinch of salt and pepper and a splash of red wine vinegar. After the potatoes have been in for 30 minutes, take them out and using a potato mashed just very gently squash the potatoes but without splitting them, you just want to make them a little wider by gently pressing down on them with the potato masher. Then spread your rosemary and garlic over the potatoes and return to the oven for another 25-30 minutes or until you feel they are ready.

Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

2 sweet potatoes

1 lemon

drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

handful of crumbled feta

salt and black pepper

1 clove of garlic

1 small red onion

sprig of thyme

400g of plum tomatoes

400g Cannellini beans (drained)

salt and black pepper

teaspoon of marmite

Method:

Wash the sweet potatoes, chop the ends off and discard, then chop into large chunks. Put in a large microwave safe bowl with half a lemon, cover with a double layer of cling film and put in the microwave ready to go.

Now start the beans, note here that we aren’t actually baking them but everyone knows the tinned beans as ‘baked’ beans. Prepare a saucepan with a glug of olive oil in on a medium heat. Finely chop the garlic and onion and lightly fry in the saucepan for about 5 minutes until soft and golden. Add the sprig of thyme and juice of the other half lemon, stir and leave for another minute. Then add the tin of chopped tomatoes, tin of beans, teaspoon of marmite and a pinch of salt and pepper. Stir this in and use your stirring spoon to break up the plum tomatoes. Now turn the heat low and allow to simmer.

Whilst the beans are simmering put the potatoes in the microwave on full heat for 15 minutes. Keep occasionally stirring the beans and pressing down on the plum tomatoes to break them up and also taste for flavour and add more salt, pepper, lemon juice to your preference, maybe a pinch of sugar if it tastes too sharp.

When your potatoes are done, spread them out over a cool plate or chopping board. Add a drizzle of olive oil, your crumbled feta and pinch of salt and pepper. Then using a large knife or even a fork, just roughly chop and mash everything together. Serve on a nice plate with a few spoons of your homemade beans. 

This recipe is for four small jars

Time: 2 hours

Ingredients:

glug of olive oil

8-10 red chillis

400g tin of chopped tomatoes

large lump of root ginger

6 cloves of garlic

4 red peppers

4 red onions

teaspoon of ground cinnamon

teaspoon of salt

teaspoon of black pepper

150ml red wine vinegar

100ml balsamic vinegar

700g brown caster sugar

Method:

In a large deep pan on a medium heat, roast finely chopped garlic in a glug of olive oil until golden brown (not burnt), add finely chopped red onions and the balsamic vinegar, sweat for about 10 minutes until soft and glazed. 

Meanwhile cut stalks off the peppers and chills, wash and deseed the peppers only, also skin the ginger. Put chills, ginger and peppers in a food processor and blend until finely blended in very small pieces, then add to the large pan with the onions and garlic. Now add the rest all of the other ingredients to the pan and put on a low heat so it slowly bubbles.

Keep this boiling for one and a half hours until its thick and sticky, stirring occasionally and remove any froth that forms on top. 

Whilst this is boiling, sterilise 4 empty jam jars, Preheat your oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6. Wash jars and lids thoroughly in hot water then put in the oven for about 15 minutes until dry, then take out and allow to cool.

Once the jam has cooked, allow to cool for about an hour, then spoon into the sterilised jam jars and allow to cool further until room temperature. Decorate your jam jars, add stickers, ribbons, some cool paper and store in a cool dark cupboard.

Serving suggestion:

Put some large baked potatoes in the microwave for 10 minutes. Mean while preheat your oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6. When the potatoes are done in the microwave, place on a baking tray, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper, make sure you move them around until they are coated in the oil.

Place in the oven for 10 minutes until golden brown and the skin is crispy, test they are ready by stabbing them with a sharp knife making sure they are soft inside. 

When serving, slice a cross in the top of the potato and push from four sides to open up the potato, drizzle with good quality olive oil, grate over mature cheddar or a nice smoked cheddar and a large table spoon of your chilli jam.

Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients: 

500g potato gnocchi

Large handful of dried porcini mushrooms 

Olive oil

2 cloves of garlic 

1 red chilli

400g tin of plum tomatoes

Handful of basil

Salt and pepper

Handful of grated Parmesan

Handful of breadcrumbs

Method:

Preheat your oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6.

Firstly you need to rehydrate the porcini mushrooms so add boiling water to a bowl with the dried mushrooms in and leave to soak for about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile add finely chopped garlic to a large pan with olive oil, on a medium heat and sweat the garlic untill they start to brown. Then add a finely chopped red chilli, a tin of plum tomatoes and a handful of torn basil, then keep on a medium - low heat for about 10 minutes. 

Prepare a pan of generously salted water on a high heat until it starts to boil then keep on a medium heat. When the porcini mushrooms have rehydrated, spoon only the mushrooms out directly into the sauce but do not spill the water it was soaking in. Using a fork or the back of your wooden spoon, crush the plum tomatoes and break them up whilst stirring in the mushrooms and turn off your sauce as it is ready.

To cook the gnocchi, add to the boiling salted water and allow about 3 minutes for the gnocchi to rise, and as soon as it does, using a spatula with holes in, take the gnocchi out and put straight into your sauce. Once all the gnocchi has cooked and is in the sauce, then add about two table spoons of starchy pasta water and two table spoons of mushroom water into the pasta to thin out the sauce. 

This dish can either be eaten like this with grated Parmesan on to but we poured the pasta into a large earthenware type oven dish, topped with Parmesan and bradcrumbs and then put in the preheated oven for about 5 minutes to brown on top so you have a soft gnocchi and mushroom dish with a crunchy layer on top.

Take out of the oven when golden brown and crispy on top, allow to cool for a few minutes and serve. 

Time: 40 minutes

Antipasti is a mixture of small starters to have before a main meal. Here we have made traditional baked lemon dish from the Amalfi coast of Italy, with Sicilian style arancini balls and a lovely roasted pepper dish. We prepared the lemons and arancini balls first and put these in the oven together, then whilst these were cooking in the over we made the peppers so everything was ready together

Amalfi Baked Lemons

Ingredients:

2 large unwaxed lemons

good quality ball of mozzarella

6 fresh basil leaves

3 cherry tomatoes

dried chilli flakes

Method:

Preheat your oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6

Cut the ends off the lemons and cut the rest into thirds so your left with six large 1 inch thick lemon slices. Then using a small knife cut out the lemon flesh leaving you with hollow circles of just lemon skin.

Take some greaseproof paper and use this as the base of your skins to keep everything in (traditionally done with the lemon leaves so use these if you have them). Now slice the mozzarella into roughly 12 slices and halve the cherry tomatoes. What you’re going to do is fill the inside of the lemon wheels starting with mozzarella at the bottom, then a basil leaf, then half a cherry tomato, a small pinch of dried chilli then mozzarella on top. Do this for all six, place them on a baking tray and put them in the oven for 10-15 minutes until the mozzarella is golden and bubbling. Serve on their own or with some warm bread and simply scoop out the lemon infused mozzarella filling.

Oven Baked Arancini Balls

Ingredients:

400g of left over risotto of any kind (see saffron risotto)

good quality olive oil

handful of breadcrumbs

handful of Parmesan

Method:

Preheat your oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6

Mix together a handful of grated parmesan and a handful of bread crumbs in a bowl. Take a good handful of left over risotto and using your hands pat and roll into a ball shape.

Then coat the outside of the balls in olive oil and straight away put them in the bowl of breadcrumbs and parmesan, then roll, toss and turn the ball in there until its completely coated.

Do these for all your balls, place on a baking tray and place in the oven for about 10-15 minutes, turning over occasionally until they are golden brown all over. Serve straight away.

Roasted Peppers

Ingredients:

Good quality olive oil

2 peppers (1 red and 1 yellow)

2 garlic cloves

salt and pepper

splash of white wine vinegar

fresh basil

Method:

Halve your peppers, discard the seeds and flesh, then wash. Drizzle a glug of olive oil in a large frying pan on a medium heat, cut the peppers in large chunks and add to the pan.

Skin two cloves of garlic then with your flat palm just press them against your chopping board to crush them and then add them to your pan of peppers. Add a pinch of salt and pepper, mix in and slightly lower your heat.

Keep this slowly cooking for about 10 minutes tossing around the pan every couple of minutes until there is a nice smooth glaze in the pan from the juices of the peppers, and the pepper skins have toasted slightly.

Then add a splash of white wine vinegar and cook for another few minutes. Tear in some fresh basil and serve straight away.

Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

2.5 litres of vegetable stock

Large pinch of saffron strands

100g unsalted butter

1 large onion finely chopped

100ml dry white wine

500g Arborio risotto rice

salt and pepper

60g Parmesan, freshly grated

Method:

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.

In a small dry frying pan on a low heat, lightly toast your saffron strands for a few seconds but make sure you do not burn them.

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. The 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. Note the key to risotto is to keep stirring as literally risotto means ‘continuously stir’ so slowly keep slowly stirring the stock into the rice. After about 10 minutes add the saffron and a pinch of salt and pepper. Keep adding the stock and cooking the risotto for another 10 minutes until all the stock has been used and the rice is al dente.

Finally add the rest of the butter and three quarters of the parmesan and stir slowly until they have both melted into the rice. Serve with a sprinkle of the remaining parmesan on top.

Time: 20mins

Ingredients:

1200g full fat soft cheese (4 tubs)

150g tub mascarpone cheese

150g double cream

100g caster sugar

large table spoon of vanilla extract

50g unsalted butter

200g plain digestives

50g dark chocolate

Method:

Use a food processor and firstly do the base. Blend the digestives with 50g of melted butter. Blend until you get a biscuit base of nice small chunky bits, not too bit but not like a powder. Spoon these out into a large cake tin, cover with cling film and in the fridge straight away to set. Give your food processor container a quick rinse as you’ll be using it again.

So now put everything else apart from the chocolate into the food processor and blitz it all up until you have a nice cheesecake texture. Taste a cheeky finger full for sugar, add more if you have more of a sweet tooth.

Get your biscuit base out of the fridge, remove the cling film and spoon all the cheesecake mixture on top of it and push it down gently and evenly around the tin. Decorate with grated dark chocolate and put back in the fridge to chill for an hour before serving. 

Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

Pizza base:

2 cups wholemeal self raising flour

1 cup water

pinch of salt

olive oil

Tomato sauce:

400g tin of chopped tomatoes

1 clove of garlic

handful or fresh basil

extra virgin olive oil

salt and black pepper

Toppings:

6 asparagus stalks

handful of button mushrooms

200g good quality mozzarella

basil pesto (jar or homemade which can be found on previous posts)

handful of fresh basil

handful of grated parmesan

black pepper

extra virgin olive oil

dash of balsamic vinegar

Method:

Preheat your oven to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6

Base:

To make the pizza base you need a food processor. Add the flour and 2/3^rd of the water, drizzle of olive oil and pinch of salt. Blend this until the mixture creates the pizza dough, add water if its too dry, the consistency you’re looking for is quite light but held together so when you hold it up, it starts to slowly stretch.

Dust your surface with some flour, cut the dough in half then roughly make each into a ball with your hands and then using a rolling pin start rolling the dough out into a nice thin circle (doesn’t have to be perfect, just a rough circle). Leave your two pizza bases to the side to settle whilst you do your toppings.

Toppings:

Firstly prepare your asparagus. Wash the asparagus, trim and discard the bottom of the stalks then steam for about 5 minutes until al dente (if you don’t have a steamer just boil some an inch of water in a pan with a colander on top and a lid on top of the colander. Meanwhile brush the dirt off the mushrooms, slice finely then shallow fry in olive oil with black pepper, salt and balsamic vinegar. Keep tossing for about 5 minutes. The mushrooms and asparagus should be done at the same time, once they are leave to the side.

Now to make the tomato sauce. Simply put all the tin of chopped tomatoes, crushed garlic, basil, salt, pepper and olive oil in a food processor and blitz until a smooth sauce texture. Now to prepare your pizzas, start off the same by topping the pizza base firstly with tomato sauce spread evenly, small torn pieces of mozzarella, and dollop a few spoons of pesto in and between the mozzarella. Top one pizza with the asparagus stalks and the other with sliced mushrooms. Then finish with grated parmesan, black pepper and a drizzle of olive oil.

Add the pizzas to the oven, make sure you use something that will cook the bottom of the base so a circular non stick oven tray or a Jamie Oliver oven pizza stone like we used.

Cook the pizzas for about 10 minutes, dress with fresh basil, a sprinkle of parmesan and drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Slice into quarters or 6 and serve straight away.