simple mushroom spaghetti

This is a super easy, but very tasty dish, that you can knock up in about 15 minutes. The secret is getting all the ingredients mise en place, so they’re ready to go and you can just chuck them together at the last minute.

I’ve written the recipe for two people as the kids aren’t that keen on mushrooms, so it would usually be something I’d make for me and Ralph. As it’s quick to cook I don’t mind making a different meal for the kids or it might be a night where I just stick a pizza in the oven for them!

Having said that, this time I fried some sliced broccoli in butter instead of mushrooms for Ella-Rose, so she had virtually the same as us. So you can adapt it to everyone’s vegetable tastes without too much extra work.

It’s another one of those back pocket recipes that you can cook anywhere anytime and adapt to your taste. You might fancy adding more parmesan, a little chilli, switching the veggies to greens, changing the pasta, or roasted tomatoes and basil. It’s one I keep returning to as it’s so delicious and I love the simplicity of the ingredients.

Ingredients

Serves 2

• 230-250g spaghetti

• 20g unsalted butter

• ½ tbsp olive oil

• 250g mushrooms, sliced

• 1 large clove of garlic, grated

• 40g parmesan, grated

• A handful of chopped parsley

• ½ tsp sea salt

• A good grind of black pepper

• Juice of ½ lemon

Method

• Heat a large pan of salted water and start cooking the pasta.

• Heat the butter and olive oil in a large pan and then add the mushrooms, frying on a medium heat for 8 minutes.

• Next add the garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes.

• Drain the pasta reserving a little water to add to the mushrooms.

• Stir 10g of butter into the mushrooms, allow to melt before adding 4-5 tbsp of pasta water, spaghetti, parsley, salt and 30g parmesan into the mushrooms.

• Squeeze over ¼ lemon and mix well.

• Serve with rest of the parmesan, ¼ lemon, a green salad and a glass of crisp white wine.

The ultimate veggie cheese burger

This is a cheats guide to a proper tasty burger. It’s not a total cheat as you do have to do a little prep, but I’ve used a shop-bought burger to save quite a bit of time. I think we’re all looking for easy solutions right now and if you can make tasty food, without too much effort then that’s a big win.

I promised the kids that I’d make burgers for lunch this week, which meant beef for my son Zak and veggie for the rest of us. The best ‘meat-style’ burger I’ve found is the Sainsbury’s Plant Pioneers Ultimate, which is a thicker soya-based pattie that’s really nice and succulent. Of course you could always make you own from vegetables/beans/rice - that’s a recipe I need to work on!

In our family, the secret to a good burger is the following ingredients (stacked in this order):

• Brioche bun, cut in half and warmed in a 50ºc oven for 5 minutes while the cheese melts.

• Tomato chutney, my recipe here

• Plant Pioneers Ultimate Burger or other veggie or beef burger

• Melted cheese, place a slice/s (gouda or cheddar) over over the almost cooked burger in the frying pan, add 1 tbsp of water and put the lid on. The cheese will melt over perfectly in 2-3 minutes.

• Fried red onions, browned/slightly crispy

• Pickled gerkin or cucumber slices

• Gem lettuce leaves, one or two leaves on top of the pattie

• Dijon mustard and or mayo, a scrape of both on the top bun

I like to serve with homemade chips - Maris Piper or sweet potato and spicy mayo - mix Sriracha hot sauce with ordinary mayo using a ratio of about 1:4 - depends how hot you like it!

Spicy Garam masala beans

I’m not sure if I’m in a minority, but I love beans: they’re really versatile as they’re a ‘blank canvas’ for different spices, hearty and a super cheap plant based protein, especially if you buy dried.

I’m certainly in a minority at home as the kids won’t have anything to do with them and even Ralph the human dustbin isn’t that keen. He’s scarred from a traumatic childhood incident of being forced to eat baked beans by TV presenter Judith Chalmers. A little known fact.

Anyway, even Ralph said these were tasty, so they must be alright! This recipe makes a big pan so you can freeze a few portions - great for a quick dinner or if I’ve made a curry I’ll defrost a portion to have another dish on the table without much effort.
Another great way to eat these would be in an Indian style wrap with my roasted cauliflower, brown basmati, coriander and coconut yoghurt.

Ingredients

Serves 6-8

• I large onion, chopped

• 2 garlic cloves, minced

• 2 tsp garam masala

• 1 tsp dried chilli flakes

• 1 tbsp tomato purée

• 4 x 400g tins of mixed beans (any kind), drained

• 150g red lentils, rinsed well

• 1 x 400ml tin of coconut milk

• 1 x tin of tomatoes

• 1 ½ tsp sea salt

• A handful of coriander leaves, optional

Method

• Heat ½ tbsp olive or rapeseed oil in a large pan. Add the onions and fry gently for 15-20 minutes until softened and starting to brown.

• Add the garlic and stir in well, cook for 1 minute.

• Next add the garam masala and chilli flakes, allowing them to warm and release their flavours for about 30 seconds, then stir in the tomato purée.

• Pour in the tinned beans, red lentils, coconut milk and tomatoes. Fill one of the empty tins with water and add to the pan as well.

• Bring to the boil and then reduce to a simmer for 60 minutes.

• Add the salt and coriander if you’re using it.

  Serve with:

• brown basmati, naan bread, plain or vegan coconut yoghurt.

• roasted butternut squash or sweet potato and yoghurt.

Mushroom risotto

Apologies to the person who asked for non-mushroom recipes recently, I promise there will be more fungi-less dishes coming up over the next few days! I wanted to share this as I love mushroom risotto and it’s a pretty straightforward recipe that you can knock together on any day of the week.

Also it’s surprisingly a dish that I can get my kids to eat without too much complaint. Admittedly they carefully pick out every mushroom, but even if they don’t eat them they’re used to the look and taste which I think is still quite important. They haven’t got used to the texture yet, but hopefully that will come.

I added some carrots and broccoli to their plates so at least they ate some veggies and we had a green salad. A good tip for getting your kids to eat things they don’t like much is to serve with (garlic or buttered fresh) bread. I find that mine will then revoltingly pile the thing they don’t love onto the bread and eat it that way!

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 300g chestnut mushrooms, sliced roughly

• Approx 1-2 tbsp olive oil

• 10g porcini mushrooms

• 40g unsalted butter

• 1 onion, chopped finely

• 1 stick celery, chopped finely

• 1 clove garlic, grated

• 150ml white wine or 100ml sherry or vermouth

• 300g risotto rice

• 700ml vegetable stock

• 50g parmesan, finely grated

• 3/4 tsp sea salt

• Squeeze of 1/4 lemon

• Handful of chopped parsley, optional

Method

• Warm ½ tbsp olive oil in a frying pan and cook the mushrooms on a medium heat in batches. Set aside each batch in a bowl once browned.

• While the mushrooms are cooking, boil a cup of water in the kettle, pour 50ml on to the porcini in a small bowl leaving them to soak while you get the risotto started.

• Warm the stock on the hob or microwave.

• Heat 30g of butter and a decent glug of olive oil in a wide low-sided pan, add the onions and celery, cooking gently for 15 minutes until soft, but not browned.

• Next add the rice, stirring well, after about a minute it should look slightly translucent at the edges.

• Then turn up the heat and pour in the wine or Sherry. Allow the harsh alcohol taste to bubble off and once the rice has absorbed the rest of the wine start adding the warm stock. I usually pour in about a ladle or 100ml at a time.

• After the first ladle, roughly chop the porcini mushrooms with a pair of scissors in the bowl and pour into the rice.

• Deglaze the mushroom frying pan with a little stock and add it to the rice, so you don’t waste that extra flavour. Then keep adding the stock slowly, each time it absorbed pour another ladle into the pan, stirring regularly.

• After 10 minutes add the cooked mushrooms and continue pouring in the stock for another 8 minutes.

• Check the rice is cooked (it should still have a little bite to it) and then stir in 10g of butter, 30g parmesan, salt, a squeeze of lemon and parsley if you’re using it.

• Serve with the rest of the parmesan, warm ciabatta and a green salad.

  Tip

• A note about stock - if I’m using a cube then I will double the amount of water recommended on the pack, so for this recipe I just used one cube for one litre of water. Otherwise you’ll end up tasting the stock cube rather than it being a savoury back note.

• I don’t always want to open a bottle of wine just for cooking, so I keep a bottle of sherry or Vermouth in the cupboard to use for risotto. It doesn’t go off like wine, so you can just use a glass as and when you need it.

• To make the risotto vegan, you could use non-dairy ‘butter’ and add a tablespoon of nutritional yeast and or a little oat cream instead of cheese. Top with pine nuts or pumpkin seeds.

• I use a Microplane or fine grater for the cheese and garlic.

Easy sausage & tomato pasta

This is a very simple pasta dish that won’t take you long to prepare. It’s one of those dinners that is just an easy crowd pleaser on any night of the week and is super flexible as it can be vegetarian, vegan or meaty!

I’ve kept the ingredient list short and the method straightforward, so it can become one of your back pocket recipes that you can just throw together without referring back here.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 6 vegetarian or pork sausages

• 1 large onion, chopped finely

• 1 garlic clove, grated or chopped finely

• 2 x 400g tins of tomatoes

• 1 tsp balsamic or red wine vinegar

• ½ tsp sea salt

• A good grind of black pepper

• A small handful of basil leaves, torn

• A handful grated parmesan

• Your choice of pasta

Method

• First cut the sausages into 2cm thick slices. Defrost thoroughly first if you’re using frozen, if you’re using pork I would squeeze the meat out of the casing and roughly roll into small balls.

• Whatever kind of sausage you’re using, preheat ½ tbsp of olive oil in a large pan and fry the pieces until browned on all sides. This will take about 5-6 minutes for vegetarian sausages and a little longer for meat (check the inside middle temperature is at least 63ºc with a meat thermometer).

• Remove the sausage pieces from the pan and put in a covered bowl. Set aside.

• Add ½ tbsp olive oil to the pan, heat and then put in the onions. Fry on low for about 15 minutes until softened and beginning to brown.

• Then add the garlic and cook for 1 minute, stirring well.

• Next pour in the tomatoes and simmer with the lid on for 20 minutes.

• Break up the tomatoes if they not already chopped, add 1 tsp balsamic vinegar and the sausage pieces. Allow the sauce to bubble for a further 5 minutes (making sure the sausage has heated through properly) and then add the basil leaves, salt and pepper.

• Serve with any kind of pasta you like!

Tip

• I actually didn’t have any basil in when I made this, so don’t worry if it’s missing, the sauce still tastes great!

• Add a blob of mascarpone cheese or crème fraîche to make it creamy, chilli flakes for heat, slices of jarred (so no extra cook time) red pepper for sweetness, spinach leaves for greenery! All these additions would go in for the final 5 minutes with the sausage.

• Make the sauce vegan by leaving out the parmesan and use plant based sausages.

• Meat-eaters could switch sausage for small pieces of crispy bacon.

Veggie gravy

This is a rich hearty vegan gravy that goes really well with just about any traditional British comfort food. It’s perfect for my chestnut, mushroom and pecan roast; veggies sausages and mash; Yorkshire puddings; roasted vegetables; anything you would normally have gravy with basically!

It’s simple to make and can be frozen for up to 3 months; I like to make a big pan and keep a stock in the freezer so I don’t have to make a meaty version for the boys and a veggie one for my daughter when we have a Sunday roast. I do the same thing with nut roasts as they divide into about 6-8 slices and as only 3 of us eat it at a time, I can freeze the rest and use it next time.

Ingredients

Makes 1.3 L

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 2 onions, chopped

• 2 sticks of celery, chopped finely

• 2 carrots, chopped

• 8 g dried porcini mushrooms

• 2 fresh bay leaves

• 2 sprigs of fresh thyme

• 2 tbsp Marsala wine

• 2 tsp dijon mustard

• 1 tbsp tomato purée

• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar

• 1.5 L vegetable stock

• 4 tbsp cornflour

• ½ tbsp red wine vinegar

• 1 tsp sea salt

Method

• Heat the olive oil in a large deep pan. Fry the onion, celery, carrot, porcini, bay and thyme gently for 20 minutes.

• Then add the Marsala and cook for 2 minutes, before adding the tomato purée, stock, Dijon mustard, 1 tbsp red wine vinegar and simmer for a further 45 minutes or until the carrots are really soft.

• At this point I used a hand blender to blitz the veggies before passing through a sieve, but you could just mash them through with a fork. Obviously you’ll have quite a bit of left over veggie matter, but you’ve squeezed out most of the good stuff!

• Mix the cornflour with a little water so it is all dissolved into a thick paste.

• Pour the gravy back into the pan and heat to a gentle simmer.

• Add half the cornflour mix, but make sure you whisk it in quickly with a fork or you’ll get lumps. Allow the gravy to thicken and add the rest of the cornflour gradually until you get the right consistency. It will take about 3-5 minutes for the cornflour to work. You may not need to use all of it, or you might want to add more depending on how thick you like your gravy!

• Add red wine vinegar, salt and simmer gently for 5 minutes.

Tip

• If you don’t have Marsala, you could switch for sherry, vermouth, madeira or port.

Chestnut, mushroom & pecan roast

I know nut roasts are a bit retro, the original vegetarian alternative, but believe it or not they’ve come on a bit since those dense, claggy 80s originals. They’ve become a bit more imaginative since those days with less nuts and more veggies, sourdough crumbs instead of plain and added spices and herbs to make them a bit more interesting. I think the other thing that puts people off is the perception that nuts roasts are quite labour intensive, well, in this recipe I’ve tried to keep the chopping and ingredients to a minimum so it’s not too much work. You can also freeze a few slices so next time all you have to do is defrost!

The fact is this much maligned veggie alternative works really well in place of meat with a roast dinner. After mostly giving up meat last January, I’ve struggled to find a better stand in where roasts are concerned, yes you can buy a Quorn ‘joint’, but it’s never going to be as interesting as a slice full of veggies, spices and nuts; or be as nutritionally diverse.

I’ve tried a few recipes (Felicity Cloake, Jamie Oliver and BBC Good Food) over the last few months and taken inspiration from all of them to create this one. The mushrooms, chestnuts and pecans make a good rich base with a few veggies for freshness crunch and flavour, plus paprika and oregano for depth. I have used plain, rather than smoked paprika (which is used in a lot of nut roast recipes) as I think it works better with traditional British roast flavours.

If you’re making this for Christmas I definitely recommend you make my gravy too as they work perfectly together even if I do say so myself!!). Both can be made ahead and frozen, which is exactly what I’m doing as I’ll be cooking turkey and making a meaty gravy so I don’t want too much work to do on the day!

Ingredients

Serves 8

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 1 large onion, finely chopped

• 2 sticks celery, finely chopped

• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

• 300g chestnut mushrooms, blitzed

• 180g cooked chestnuts, blitzed

• 1 tsp oregano

• 1 ½ tsp paprika

• 2 tbsp tomato purée

• 2 carrots, grated

• 100g fresh breadcrumbs

• 150g pecans, roughly chopped

• 150g mature cheddar, grated

• 1 tsp sea salt

• 3 large eggs, lightly beaten

Method

• Preheat the oven to 180ºc. Line a 2lb loaf tin with parchment, or I like to use a liner as they just slot in.

• Heat the olive oil in a large pan and add the onions and celery, frying gently for 20 minutes.

• While they’re cooking blitz the chestnuts in a food processor and then put in a bowl, do the same with the mushrooms - both should be a rough bread crumb like texture, so not pulverised! If you don’t have a processor, just chop finely.

• Turn up the heat a little and add the mushrooms to the pan for 10 minutes until all their water has evaporated and the mix is fairly dry.

• Then put in the garlic and cook for another minute, before adding the chestnuts, oregano and paprika. Allow the paprika to warm for a minute to release it’s flavour, then add the tomato purée mixing well before adding the carrots, breadcrumbs, pecans, cheese, salt and finally the beaten eggs.

• Spoon the mix into the tin, press it down reasonably firmly so it sticks together and cover with tin foil. Place in the oven for 30 minutes then remove the tin foil and put back in for another 15 minutes.

• Serve with my vegan gravy, roasties and lots of greens.

Vegan bolognese

I’ve been working on a good vegan bolognese sauce for a while now as it’s harder to really get a rich flavour into a soya mince sauce. I tried again last night, thinking carefully about which ingredients would bring the right depth of flavour and it turned out really well. My veggie daughter loved it and my carnivore son begrudgingly admitted it was ‘decent’, although this was partly due to the fact that it didn’t have any lentils in it! He is a very reluctant ‘flexitarian’ ie. forced to eat more veggie food than he’d like because that’s what I cook all the time! So if he likes something then it’s a big win for the veggies ;-)

Ingredients

Serves 6-8

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 2 onions, chopped

• 1 red pepper, chopped

• 2 large garlic cloves, grated or minced

• 1 kg soya mince (I used a mix of Plant Pioneers / Vivera)

• 350ml red wine

• 100g sun dried tomatoes, chopped

• 2 tbsp tomato purée

• 2 x 400g tinned tomatoes

• 1 vegetable stock cube

• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

• 1 tsp celery salt

• ½ tbsp red wine vinegar

• 1 ½ tsp sea salt

• A good grind of black pepper

Method

• Heat the olive oil in a large pan, add the onions and cook for 10 minutes on low. Then add the red pepper for a further 10 minutes.

• Next add the garlic and cook for 1 minute before putting the soya mince into the pan. Mix well and then turn up the heat and pour in the wine. Allow to bubble and cook off any harsh alcohol flavours and then add the sun-dried, puréed and tinned tomatoes, crumbled stock cube, Worcestershire sauce and celery salt.

• Fill both empty tomato tins with water and pour into the pan. Mix well and cook with the lid off for 35 minutes, stirring occasionally.

• Add the red wine vinegar and seasoning and cook for 5 minutes.

'Chicken' supreme with rice

You can’t get a much more family-friendly veggie recipe than this - it’s classic comfort food which works really well in the colder months and should satisfy even the most committed meat eaters. My carnivore sons who are not especially enamoured with Quorn will eat this without complaint!

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 50g butter

• 50g tbsp flour

• 900ml semi skimmed milk

• 1 ½ tsp vegetable bouillon

• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast

• ¼ tsp sea salt

• 6 Quorn chicken fillets, sliced or cubed

• 200g frozen peas or sweetcorn

• 220g brown rice or 280g white rice

Method

• First make the bechamel sauce. Add the butter to the pan, melt and then tip in the flour, mix thoroughly and allow to warm through for a minute.

• Start pouring the milk in slowly, 50ml at a time at first, so you don’t get lots of splashing as you whisk it in. Quickly add the next 50ml and repeat until you’ve got to about 300ml and then you can start adding 100ml at a time.

• Once you’ve poured in all the milk leave on a low heat for 15 minutes to cook through and get rid of the floury taste, but whisk or stir regularly so the bottom doesn’t stick and cause lumps.

• Cook the rice as per the instructions on the packet.

• Heat ½ tbsp olive oil in a large frying pan and add the Quorn pieces, cooking for for 6-8 minutes until browned on at least a couple of sides.

• Add the Quorn and peas to the white sauce for 5 minutes, or until the peas have warmed through.

Cauliflower, chickpea & feta fritters

Introducing my new favourite fritter; I first made this recipe ages ago and never returned to it. Not sure why as it’s a good un! Anyway, here it is making up for lost time as it’s back with a bang of flavour! Serve with roasted new potatoes, homemade slaw or a green salad. This recipe includes two dips as they’re both very quick to make, but you can choose one or the other. You could also just serve with Sriracha sauce, instead of making it into a mayo.

Ingredients

Makes 10-12 fritters

• 1 x 400g tin chickpeas, drained

• 1 small cauliflower, weighing about 850g leaves removed

• 1 tsp cumin

• 1 tsp coriander

• 1 tsp turmeric

• 1 tin 400g chickpeas

• Handful of parsley, chopped

• 140g feta, crumbled

• 4 tbsp plain flour

• 1 tsp sea salt

• 1 egg

• 2 tbsp rapeseed oil approx

  Lemon yoghurt

• 8 tbsp yoghurt

• Juice & zest of 1 lemon

• Pinch of salt

Sriracha mayo

• 1 ½ tbsp sriracha sauce

• 6 tbsp mayonnaise

Method

• Preheat the oven to 200ºc. Place the cauliflower florets on a large baking tray and spread so they have a little room between each one, use two trays if any are touching. If you don’t leave enough space around vegetables when you’re roasting them then they will steam and go soggy rather than browned and caramelised.

• Drizzle 1 tbsp of oil over the cauliflower and then sprinkle over the spices and a sprinkle of sea salt, mix well. Roast for 15 minutes and then turn and put back in the oven for another 10 minutes.

• Set aside to cool and turn the oven down to about 80ºc - you’ll need it to keep the batches of fritters warm later.

• Next drain the chickpeas and dry well with kitchen roll. Blitz in a food processor for a few seconds, so they resemble breadcrumbs.

• Chop the cooled cauliflower into small pieces; you don’t want big chunks as the fritters won’t stick together.

• Put the chickpeas, parsley, crumbled feta, flour and salt into a large bowl and mix well. Whisk the egg in a small bowl and then add to the mix.

• I use a large ice cream scoop to measure and shape each fritter, but you could do it with a big spoon or with scales - aim for about 70-80g each.

• Line a baking tray with parchment and put the raw fritters on it as you make them.

• Make the dressings before you cook the fritters.

• Heat 1 tbsp of rapeseed oil in a large frying pan and spread around before adding the first fritters. You’ll need to cook them in batches so the pan doesn’t get over crowded; I do 4-5 each time and I usually need to add about ½ tbsp of oil for each new batch so they don’t stick. Cook for 5 minutes each side on a medium heat until golden brown.

• Put each batch on to another large tray and place in the oven to keep warm while you cook the rest.

TIP

• Once you’ve shaped the raw mix, you can freeze the fritters at this stage. Find a tray or plate that will fit in your freezer and line it with baking parchment, space out the fritters on it and put in the freezer. Allow to harden for about 1 hour and then bing them off with a knife and transfer to a bag. This way they won’t stick together in a big lump. Defrost thoroughly before cooking.

Lentil bolognese

If you’re looking for a vegan alternative to a bolognese sauce this recipe is a good place to start. It’s protein rich and and after testing several times I think I’ve got a good depth of flavour. To do this I’ve used a few extra ingredients, but don’t be put off as they’re all easy to buy and the sauce cooks itself after you’ve fried the onions - I promise!

I always find that you need make a little bit more effort to get the right texture and flavour in vegetarian dishes, so it’s worth having ingredients that bring umami or a deep savoury taste in your cupboard if you want to cook like this more regularly.

Things I keep in stock are: nutritional yeast, veg stock cubes, vegetable bouillon, Marmite, Worcestershire sauce (veggie or normal if you aren’t strict like me!), dried porcini mushrooms, soy, miso, olives, toasted seeds or nuts, capers, plus vinegars or citrus to give dishes a lift before serving. To add zing I use balsamic (which also adds umami), red/white wine or cider vinegar, lemon or lime juice and zest.

This recipe is for a big batch of sauce that you can use in a few different ways. It’s always a win for me if I can get a couple of meals out of one recipe as it saves time in the kitchen and it’s always nice to get ahead of yourself. If you split the sauce in half you can serve it with pasta, courgetti, roasted squash wedges, baked sweet potato, or as a pie topped with cheesy mash, sweet potato or puff pastry. This time I went for tagliatelle and a ‘cottage’ pie with Maris Piper mash, but it would also work really well with sweet potato or squash mash.

And now on to the all important question: how the hell do I get my kids to eat it? Well, my trick is to use a hand blender to blitz either part or all of their portion so they’re not too freaked out by the lentils! Not rocket science and probably not in any parenting manual, but it’s one way to get/trick my (very picky) 15 year old son into eating something that isn’t a/ breaded b/ beige. The other obvious thing to do is serve with a mound of cheese as I find most things become more child-friendly covered in melted cheddar.

Ingredients

Serves 8

• 2 aubergines, 2 cm cubes

• 1.5 tbsp olive oil

• 2 red onions, small dice

• 2 celery sticks, small dice

• 2 large cloves of garlic, grated

• 600g mushrooms

• 175ml red wine

• 250g green lentils

• 2 x 400g tins of tomatoes

• 2 tbsp tomato puree

• 1 tsp oregano

• 1 vegetable stock cube or 2 tsp veg bouillon

• 1/2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce (vegetarian)

• 500ml water

• 1 tsp red wine vinegar

• 1 1/4 tsp sea salt

• Handful of fresh basil leaves, stalks reserved and chopped

• Parmesan to serve

Method

• Preheat the oven to 200ºc.

• Put the aubergine on a large tray and drizzle with 1 tbsp of olive oil. Place in the oven for 30 minutes, turning half way and adding a little more oil if needed. Set aside when cooked.

• Heat 1 tbsp rapeseed oil in a large pan and cook the onions and celery on low heat for 20 minutes then add the garlic for a further 1 minute.

• While the onions are cooking, put the mushrooms in a food processor and pulse until they resemble a rough crumble. I usually do 3-4 quick pulses.

• Turn the heat up a little and add the mushrooms and red wine to the onion mix. Allow to bubble for 5 minutes, to burn off the alcohol and some of the water from the mushrooms.

• Then pour in the lentils, tinned tomatoes, tomato purée, oregano, stock cube, Worcestershire sauce, water and basil stalks; cook with the lid on for 30 minutes

• Add the roasted aubergine and then cook for 20 minutes with the lid on adding the red wine vinegar for the last 5 minutes.

• Add the salt and basil leaves.

• Serve with parmesan or feta.

Aubergine & chickpea tagine with spiced cous cous

Aubergines are one of my favourite vegetables. I know this is a bit controversial as people seem to love or hate them, but my theory is that a lot of the haters have tried aubergine that is under-cooked when it’s hard, spongy and tasteless. Aubergines need to be cooked for quite a long time to soften and release their sweet slightly smoky flavour. They’re best when you roast or fry them to caramelise the outside, or roasted whole so the inside becomes soft enough to turn into a smokey dip. This tagine has an equal amount of red pepper and red onion in it, so although aubergine is in the title, the flavour is comprised of a mix of all 3 vegetables. So this recipe is ideal for someone who isn’t completely convinced about the wonders of the mighty aubergine (to reference Mr Ottolenghi), although I can’t begin to imagine why! Did I mention that I bloody love them?!

 Ingredients

Serves 6-8

• 3 aubergine, chopped into 2cm cubes

• 3 tbsp olive oil

• 3 red onions, sliced

• 3 sweet peppers, sliced

• 3 large cloves garlic, grated (I use a Microplane)

• 1 dried ancho chilli, chopped (makes about 1 tbsp)

• 2 tsp ras el hanout spice mix

• 2 x 400g tinned cherry tomatoes

• 1.5 tsp vegetable bouillon

• 60g sultanas or raisins

• Handful of coriander, stalks chopped, leaves reserved

• 1 x 400g tin chickpeas, drained. If you use dried, soak and cook 130g

• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar

• 1 tbsp honey or maple

• 1.5 tsp sea salt (if you’re using fine grain table salt reduce by half and go from there)

Cous cous

• 1/2 onion, chopped finely

• 1 clove garlic, minced

• 100g cherry tomatoes, small dice

• 1/2 tsp ground cumin

• 180g cous cous

• 1 tsp sea salt

• 1 tsp vegetable bouillon

• 800ml boiling water

• 200g crumbled feta, optional topping

Method

• Preheat the oven to 180°c

• Spread the chopped aubergine on a couple of large baking trays and drizzle with the olive oil, plus 1/2 tsp sea salt, mixing well.

• Roast for 25 minutes, turn then put back in the oven for 8 minutes until at least one side is browned and the pieces are soft all the way through.

• Meanwhile add 1 tbsp of olive oil to a large pan or casserole, heat and cook the onion and pepper together for 15 minutes until soft. Add the garlic and cook for a further 2 minutes.

• Mix in the ancho chilli and ras el hanout spice blend and stir, allow to warm through for a minute.

• Put the aubergine pieces into the pan with the tinned tomatoes, vegetable bouillon, sultanas, coriander stalks and a full tin of water. Leave to simmer with the lid half on for 20 minutes, stirring regularly. Then add the chickpeas, red wine vinegar and honey simmer for 15 minutes without the lid..

• While the tagine is cooking start to make the cous cous. First heat 1/2 tbsp olive oil in a large saucepan and fry the chopped onion on a low heat for 15 minutes before adding the tomatoes and garlic, cook for 10 minutes.

• Add 1/2 tsp ground cumin and warm for about a minute.

• Turn off the heat and add the cous cous, vegetable bouillon and boiling water to the onions and tomatoes when the tagine has about 10 minutes left to cook. Put the lid on and leave the cous cous to absorb the water for 6-8 minutes. Fluff with a fork when ready.

• Serve the tagine and cous cous with crumbled feta and coriander leaves.

Tip

• I like to roast the aubergine pieces as I find it easier than frying them all in batches, plus it means I use a lot less oil. But you can pan fry if you prefer.

• Dried ancho chilli - I bought mine from Waitrose.

• Ras el hanout - I get my blend from local supplier Spice and Green, but they do mail order so it is probably worth asking if they can send to you. If not you’ll find a version stocked in most supermarkets. Ottolenghi do their own that you can order too - here or make your own using this Epicurious recipe.

• I have used tinned cherry tomatoes for their sweetness and extra flavour, but tinned plum would work fine as a sub.

• If you’re using dried chickpeas cook as per the instructions and then add to the sauce with the tinned tomatoes as they will be firmer and need a little more time to soften.

Mushroom bourguignon

Nothing says autumn like a warming one pot dish and this is a great one to make while mushrooms are in season at this time of year. In normal non-Covid times (remember those?) I host regular vegetarian and vegan supper clubs in Leeds, but as I’ve had to press pause on those, I thought it would be nice to share a few of the recipes from the nights, so you can make them at home while we’re all locked down. If you fancy checking out some of the other menus and photos they’re all in the ‘Events’ section.

This was my main course at last October’s pop up and I served it with served with pomme purée and roasted squash. It would also be lovely with roasted or mashed sweet potato and any green veggie you can think of - we had roasted broccoli with ours last night, but steamed green beans would work well too.

Ingredients

Serves 4-6

• 1 red onion, chopped finely

• 1 stick celery, chopped finely

• 2 carrots, chopped

• 1/2 leek, chopped finely

• 750g chestnut mushrooms, sliced

• 1 large garlic clove, grated

• 2 tbsp tomato puree

• 150ml red wine

• 1 vegetable stock cube (Kallo low salt)

• 150g dried puy or green lentils

• 1 bay leaf

• 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves, chopped

• 2 tsp nutritional yeast

• 400ml water

• 1 1/4 tsp sea salt

Method

• Preheat 1 tbsp rapeseed oil in a large pan. Cook the onions, celery and carrots for 20 minutes on low, stirring regularly, before adding the mushrooms. Turn the heat up a little and cook for a further 10 minutes.

• Stir in the garlic and warm through for a minute or so before adding the red wine, simmer for 5 minutes to cook off the alcohol.

• Then add the tomato puree, stock cube, lentils, bay leaf, thyme and water.

• Cook with lid on for 30 minutes then stir in the nutritional yeast and sea salt.

• Serve with a good grind of black pepper.

Tip

• If you’re using green lentils rather then Puy, make sure that they are small ones that stay relatively firm as the larger tend to break up and are better for dal.

• If you don’t have nutritional yeast, it’s not the end of the world, I think it adds a nice subtle savoury note, but you could substitute with a little marmite instead. Go easy though as it has a stronger flavour.

Butternut squash & leek fritters with lemon yoghurt

This recipe came about after having a tub of roasted butternut squash that had been sitting in the fridge for a couple of days. I was originally going to make leek fritters using a recipe by Smitten Kitchen, but having seen the squash I decided to adapt it a bit and it worked really well. The firm texture of the squash made the fritters bind together well whilst adding a sweet nutty taste; I also added some harissa for heat and flavour.

Ingredients

• 1 butternut squash, approx 800g unpeeled - you need 500g once roasted

• 2 large leeks, approx 600g whole, not chopped

• 1.5 tsp ground harissa spice blend

• 4 tbsp flour

• 1/2 tsp sea salt

• 1 large egg

Lemon yoghurt

• 200ml Greek yoghurt

• Juice and zest of 1 lemon

• 1/4 tsp sea salt

Method

• Preheat the oven to 180ºc and follow the instructions for cooking the butternut squash here (using harissa instead of cumin). Set aside to cool and then chop into 1cm cubes.

• Reduce the oven temperature to 80ºc so you can keep your batches of fritters warm later.

• While the squash is roasting, quarter the leeks length ways leaving about an inch or so that is still attached at the whiter root end. Rinse the sliced darker green end to remove any dirt.

• Next cut the leek in 1/2cm slices and steam for 6-8 minutes they should still have a little bite.

• Put the leeks into a muslin cloth or clean tea towel and squeeze out as much water as you can. You may need to let them cool a little before you do this, or wear rubber gloves!

• Put all the ingredients, except the egg, into a large bowl and stir well. Add the salt and double check the seasoning by tasting a pinch of the mix and if it’s ok then add the egg and mix well to combine.

• I use a large ice cream scoop to measure and shape each fritter, but you could do it with a big spoon and scales - aim for about 80g each.

• Put a sheet of parchment on a baking tray and line up the raw fritters as you make them. Now you can either freeze or put some in the fridge in an air tight container if you don’t want to cook them all. See note on freezing below.

• Once they are all ready. Heat 1 tbsp of rapeseed oil in large frying pan. You’ll need to cook the fritters in batches so the pan doesn’t get over crowded; I do 4/5 each time (or they’re hard to turn) and I usually need to add about 1/2 tbsp of oil for each new batch so they don’t stick.

• Cook for approx 5 minutes each side on a medium heat until golden brown.

• Place each batch on a large tray and put them in the oven to keep warm while you cook the rest.

• Mix the ingredients for the lemon yoghurt while the fritters are cooking.

TIP

• Serve with a green salad, homemade slaw, griddled halloumi or a poached egg.

• To freeze: find a tray or plate that will fit in your freezer and line it with baking parchment. Space out the fritters and put in the freezer for about an hour, allowing them to harden and then transfer to a bag. This way they won’t stick together in a big lump and you can defrost however many you need.

veggie sausage, mushroom & spinach rigatoni

This is a family favourite in our house and as it only takes about 20 minutes to make it’s a recipe I keep returning to when I want a tasty mid-week meal. We’ve also been trying to gradually reduce our meat intake as a household and this is a dish that my carnivore middle son and my vegetarian daughter both devour. I’d say it’s a vegetarian meal that even the keenest meat eater would (perhaps begrudgingly!) enjoy.

It’s a good one for students too; my son is at uni and he makes this quite regularly as it’s a nice alternative to the classic student tomato pasta - I think that’s all he ate in his first year!

The recipe is flexible in that you can switch (or remove) the vegetables if you don’t like them or want a change. Leeks, carrots, broccoli, kale, peas, sweetcorn or even roasted butternut squash would all work really well, but you would need to adjust the cooking times accordingly. I would sub leeks, carrots, broccoli or other veggies that need a longer cooking time for the mushrooms and then add frozen peas, sweetcorn or roasted squash at the last minute instead of spinach. Kale would need a little longer to cook properly.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 1 tbsp rapeseed or olive oil

• 6 Quorn sausages, chopped into diagonal slices

• 1.5 tbsp butter

• 1 clove garlic, grated

• 400g chestnut mushrooms, sliced

• 1.5 tbsp plain flour

• 1/2 vegetable stock cube ( I like Kallo low salt)

• 400ml water

• 200ml crème fraîche (I use half fat if I can find it)

• 1 tsp Dijon mustard

• Juice of 1/4 lemon

• 1/2 tsp sea salt

• 60g grated parmesan

• 100g spinach

• 320g rigatoni

Method

• Warm 1/2 tbsp olive or rapeseed oil in a wide bottomed pan and add the sausage slices, cook on a medium heat for 3-4 minutes so that they start to brown.

• Then melt the butter and 1/2 tbsp oil in the same pan, before adding the garlic, stir well and then add the mushrooms. Cook on a medium heat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

• Fill a large lidded pan of salted water and bring to the boil ready for the pasta.

• Next sprinkle the flour on to the mushrooms and sausage, stir well to coat and then add the stock cube (crumbled), mustard and 400ml of water. Stir and allow to thicken, simmering on low for 5 minutes.

• Start to cook the pasta while the sauce is thickening.

• Add the crème fraîche, and 30g parmesan to the sausage mix, stir and warm through gently on low for 5 minutes while the pasta cooks. For the last minute mix in the spinach allowing it to wilt then finish with the lemon and salt.

• Drain the pasta (reserving a little cooking water) and add to the sauce.

• Loosen with 1-2 tbsp of the cooking water if needed. Serve with a good grind of black pepper and the remaining parmesan.

Tip

• Have all the ingredients prepped and ready to go as the overall cooking time is about 10 minutes so you need to go quickly once you start cooking the sausages.

• If you prefer to use pork sausages then just use the same method, but squeeze the filing out of the casing to create mini meat balls as the skin becomes tough and stringy if you just chop them up.

• I use Quorn sausages or Linda McCartney’s , but they do break up a little bit more than Quorn.

• Vegetable combinations to try: roasted butternut squash & kale, leek & spinach, mushroom & kale, broccoli & sweetcorn (to keep the kids happy!), peas & spinach.

Warm chickpea salad with lemon yoghurt & feta

I was going to make this as a starter for one of my supper clubs, until bloody Covid came along to f@%k things up. So I thought, why keep it to myself, I’ll share it with you guys and you can make it at home instead. I was thinking that it might be a nice idea to look back over my pop up menus from last year and share a few of the recipes. So look out for them on here very soon.

Ingredients

Serves 4 as a starter

• 1/2 red pepper, small dice

• 3/4 cucumber, small dice

• 1/4 small red onion, finely chopped

• 3 tomatoes, small dice with seed section removed

• 15g parsley, chopped

• 15g coriander, chopped

• Zest & juice of 1 lemon

• 1.5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 1 x 400g tin chickpea, drained

• 1/2 tsp ground cumin 

• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika 

• 1/4 tsp sea salt 

• 80g feta

• 120ml yogurt 

• Serve with warmed ciabatta, sourdough or flatbreads.

Method

• Preheat the oven to 160ºc.

• First chop all the vegetables and herbs then mix together with 1 tbsp oil, juice of 1/2 lemon and 1/4 tsp sea salt. Divide on to 4 plates with a little gap in the middle ready to add the warm chickpeas just before serving.

• If you’re serving with bread, put it in the oven now. Or start toasting if you’re doing it that way.

• Crumble the feta and mix the rest of the lemon juice plus all the zest into the yoghurt along with an extra pinch of sea salt.

• Next heat 1/2 tbsp of oil in a frying pan, add the chickpeas and ground spices. Mix well and warm through for 3-4 minutes then sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt.

• Spoon the chickpeas into the middle of the chopped vegetables on each plate, then put 3 tsp yoghurt and approx 20g of feta on top. I also like to put small bowls of feta and yoghurt on the table so people can add a bit more as they go along.

• Serve with warm crusty bread.

Tip

• Get all your ingredients prepped and ready to go so you can put this dish together quick once the chickpeas have warmed through.

Beetroot coconut curry with lime & coriander raita

Beetroot is one of my favourite vegetables as I love it’s sweet earthly flavour and the texture really lends itself to cooking low and slow. I usually make roasted beetroot salads with tahini or risottos with feta, but I thought it was time for a change so I decided to experiment with Indian flavours and spices to make my version of a curry.

Don’t let the cooking time of 1 hour put you off, there is very little prep to do and once you’ve finished you just need to leave the curry to bubble away. This recipe should also work well in a slow cooker as beetroot can be cooked for a long time without losing it’s texture.

Ingredients

Serves 4-6

• 1 tbsp rapeseed oil

• 1/2 tsp black mustard seeds

• 1 tbsp dried curry leaves

•  3 large cloves garlic, grated

• 1 thumb ginger, grated

• 1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes

• 1 tsp cumin

• 1 tsp coriander

• 1 large red onion, chopped finely

• 200g cherry tomatoes, halved

• 600g beetroot, chopped into 2cm cubes

• 1 x 400ml tin coconut milk

• Handful of coriander to serve

Naan

• I often make Jamie Oliver’s Easy naan as it’s a really straightforward recipe and works well every time.

Lime & coriander raita

• 2 spring onions, chopped finely

• 8 thick slices of cucumber, chopped into small cubes

• 300ml plain yoghurt

• 1 tsp sea salt

• Handful of coriander, chopped roughly

• Zest and juice of 1 lime

Method

• If you’re making naan, then do this first so it can prove while you cook the curry. Jamie Oliver’s take about 1.5 hrs so factor that in to your timings.

• Heat 1/2 tbsp rapeseed oil in a wide bottomed pan and then add the mustard seeds until they start to pop. Then add the curry leaves and warm through for about 30 seconds until you get a nutty smell.

• Next add the other 1/2 tbsp of rapeseed oil and the onions and cook on a low heat for 15 minutes until they have started to brown a little.

• Then add the garlic and ginger, stir well and cook for 1 minute before adding the spices. Stir and warm through for another minute until you smell their aroma.

• Then stir in the beetroot and cherry tomatoes making sure it they are coated well with the spices. Cook on a low heat (just enough that you can hear a sizzle) for 10 minutes with the lid half on.

• Pour in the coconut milk, heat through so it bubbles and then reduce to simmer on a low heat for an hour with the lid on. Stir from time to time and checking that the curry isn’t bubbling too fiercely. If it is, then take the lid off for a few minutes to cool off.

• While the curry is cooking make the raita by putting the all the ingredients in a bowl and mixing well.

• Start the rice about 20 minutes before the curry is ready (depending on the packet instructions - usually basmati is 10 minutes boiling, 10 minutes steaming off the heat.

• Serve with a sprinkle of coriander.

Creamy 'chicken' cottage pie

This is an absolute fail safe dinner in our house: everyone will eat it without complaint on any night of the week. If that’s not a winner, I don’t know what is. I’m not a massive fan of the days getting cooler, as I’m more of a summer person, but if there’s one thing I do like is a pie so that’s one reason to be happy about autumn. I made a Quorn fillet version last night, but you could easily switch for chicken if you prefer as the method would be exactly the same. You could also change the vegetables if there are others you like better too: mushrooms, squash, spinach, onion, swede, celeriac.

For a vegan option, use dairy free spread instead of butter and plant milk rather than milk. Oatly would work well as it is quite creamy.

Let me know if you make it!

Ingredients

Serves 4 generously, 5 decent portions, or 6 with extra roasties!

Mash

• 1.5kg potatoes, peeled, chopped & boiled

• 75g unsalted butter

• ¼ tsp table salt

• 5 tbsp milk 

Topping

• 10g parmesan, finely grated

• 50g mature cheddar, grated

Filling

• 30g butter 

• Drizzle of rapeseed oil

• 6 Quorn fillets, 1.5cm slices or/ 4 chicken breasts, diced

• 300g / 3 carrots, sliced

• 250g / 2 leeks, chopped in half and sliced

• 3 tbsp flour

• 650ml semi skimmed milk

• 1/2 vegetable stock cube

• 3/4 tsp sea salt 

• 1 tsp mustard, optional

Method

• First make the mash: drain the potatoes well and then add the butter, mash well and then loosen with the milk. Set aside with the lid on.

• Heat a good lug of rapeseed oil in a large pan and add the Quorn or chicken. Allow to sizzle and brown for about 2-3 minutes on each side. Don’t overcook as both Quorn or chicken will become very dry. Remove and set aside in a bowl.

• Then add a drizzle of rapeseed oil and half the butter to the pan, heat through and add the carrots and leeks. Cook on low for about 15 minutes until soft, but not browned.

• Preheat the oven to 180ºc.

• Next add the remaining butter to the vegetables, melt and then spoon in the flour. Stir well to coat the vegetables and begin to slowly add the milk about 100ml at a time. Once all the milk has been mixed in add the Quorn or chicken, stock cube and mustard if you’re using it. Cook on low for a further 15 minutes and then add the salt and a good grind of black pepper.

• When the filling is ready, assemble by pouring it into a large ceramic dish (I used 21 x 27cm, but you could probably go to 25 x 30 ish). Next top with mash and sprinkle over the two cheeses evenly.

• Place in the oven for 20 minutes until warmed right through and crispy on top.

• Serve with buttered green veggies.

  Tip

• Red potatoes make the creamiest mash if you can get hold of them, I like to use Desiree, but if you cant find them then white are fine.

• Make the mash a few hours ahead if you want to save time later. You’ll need to warm it through before putting the pie together though, as your filling will already be hot and the two elements won’t cook evenly in the oven if they’re not the same temperature. To do this I just gently warm the mash in the pan, stirring regularly, but you can transfer to a bowl and microwave if you prefer.

Tomato & basil sauce

This is my everyday tomato sauce that I make regularly to go with pasta or use on homemade pizzas. Tt’s is good solid classic that is great vfm costing approx £3.40 for 8-10 portions. I usually make a big pan of it so I can freeze half and use the rest in various ways throughout the week. It’s a great way to get ahead in the kitchen and reduce the time you spend cooking after a busy day at work.

Tomato sauce is simple to make and super versatile as you can add lots of different ingredients to switch it up to make a whole new meal. These are a few of my favourite ways to serve it:

• go classic with grated parmesan or crumbled feta

• stir in some spinach at the last minute and top with feta

• roast aubergine slices with olive oil and sea salt (approx 35 minutes on 180ºc, turn half way) add to the sauce and cook for 5 mins, feta works really well here.

• blacken a red pepper under the grill, peel, chop, add to the sauce and cook for 5 mins, serve with parmesan

• add a pinch of chilli for arrabbiata

• Fry some chopped (veggie or meat - but take out of the casing) sausage or meatballs and load with any kind of cheese (cheddar for kids obviously)

• stir in a dollop of mascarpone cheese

• And for the meat eaters - crispy bacon is always a winner (especially with mascarpone) or my kids also absolutely love chicken parmigiana on top.

  Ingredients

  Serves 8-10

• 3 onions, chopped

• 1 red pepper, chopped

• 4 large garlic cloves, grated

• 4 x 400g tinned tomatoes

• 1 handful fresh basil, stalks chopped, leaves torn and set aside

• 1/2 tbsp balsamic

• 1 tsp sea salt

Method

• Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large deep pan and then add the onions. Fry gently for about 10 minutes until softened and then add the red pepper and cook for a further 15 minutes on low.

• Next add the garlic, stir and cook for 2-3 minutes before pouring in the chopped tomatoes and adding the basil stalks. Heat through and then reduce to a gentle simmer for 30 minutes.

• Add the balsamic vinegar simmer for a further 5 minutes and then add the basil leaves.

• Use a hand blender to blitz the sauce.

Tip

Ideally you need a hand blender for this particular recipe, but if you don’t have one or would prefer a chunky sauce then chop the onions and basil stalks finely and the pepper whatever size you prefer. Use a fork or potato masher to break up the tomatoes at the end.

Spicy Spanish style chickpeas

I’m a big fan of chickpeas, they’re one pulse that everyone seems to be able to get on board with - or am I in my little veggie bubble here?!

This is a really versatile dish which is great with lots of different combinations, I like to make a big pan so I can freeze a couple of portions and eat the rest over a few days.

I’ve used pimento and chipotle chilli to give a Spanish flavour as I always imagine eating this kind of thing as part of a tapas style meal. Although they’re still delicious eaten quite simply with sourdough and feta or yoghurt as you can see from our lunch here.

Ingredients

Serves 4-6 for lunch or 8 as part of a mezze

• 1 large or 2 medium red onions, sliced in thin half moons

• 200g sweet potato, chopped in 1cm cubes

• 1 large clove garlic, grated

• 1.5 tsp pimento

• 1 tsp chipotle chilli flakes

• 2 x 400g tinned tomatoes

• 2 x 400g tinned chickpeas, drained

• 2 tsp maple, honey or brown sugar

• 1.5 tsp red wine or cider vinegar

• 1 tsp sea salt

Method

• Heat about 2 tbsp of olive oil in a large pan then add the onions and sweet potato. Cook on a low heat for about 20 minutes until all the veggies are softened.

• Next add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes before adding the pimento and chilli, stir and warm through for a further 2 minutes.

• Pour in the tomatoes and chickpeas, then simmer for 25 minutes with the lid on, stirring regularly.

• Add the maple or honey, vinegar and salt, and simmer for another 10 minutes. Add a tbsp or two of water if the sauce becomes too dry.

Tip

• This is a really versatile dish and is great with sourdough and feta, or you could add a blob or Greek or coconut yoghurt instead (I like Coconut Collaborative best).

• The chickpeas also work really well in a wrap or pitta with grilled halloumi and salad. I took them to my friend’s last weekend and we had them with a lovely fig, spinach, feta and toasted almond salad which worked so well.

• Another idea would be to make some tortilla chips (just lightly brush a wrap with oil, chop into triangles and bake for a few minutes in the oven at 180ºc) and serve with yoghurt, a pinch of paprika and some homemade slaw (as pictured below).

• You can sub the sweet potato for red pepper if you prefer and cook in the same way.