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Marinated tuna steak recipe - All recipes UK

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Cooked at the Lombardia 8 1/2

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Meanwhile, bring a large pan of water to the boil, add the pasta and cook according to packet instructions. Drain well and add to the frying pan with the cabbage and potatoes. Cook for three minutes, stirring gently.

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This tasty vegetarian and vegan chilli is packed with lentils, vegetables and beans. Serve with rice and guacamole, and top with soured cream or cheese if you don't need it to be vegan and fancy a treat.

Each serving provides 265kcal, 15g protein, 33g carbohydrate (of which 12g sugars), 5g fat (of which 1g saturates), 12g fibre and 0.4g salt.

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This tasty vegetarian and vegan chilli is packed with lentils, vegetables and beans. Serve with rice and guacamole, and top with soured cream or cheese if you don't need it to be vegan and fancy a treat. Each serving provides 265kcal, 15g protein, 33g carbohydrate (of which 12g sugars), 5g fat (of which 1g saturates), 12g fibre and 0.4g salt.

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Using up greens pasta sauce

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Recently I've been trying to fill our plates with as much greenery as I can. We are shopping for food less regularly and buying veg in bulk, meaning greens are often not at their freshest by the time I use them. This week, I created two recipes that made use of tired greens; both are inspired by food photographer Joe Woodhouse, who is one of the most inventive vegetable cooks I can think of.

All greens pasta (pictured top)

This recipe is mainly about the sauce, which can be kept in the fridge or freezer and used for a hit of green with pasta or any grain when fresh reserves are running low. Here I've put it with some orzo and some buttery fried leeks, but almost any other veg would work.

5 tbsp olive oil
2 onions, peeled and finely sliced
4 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
3 tbsp white-wine vinegar
500g greens (such as kale, spring greens or cavolo nero), shredded (or another green veg of your choice) (I used orzo)
Hard cheese (such as cheddar, parmesan, pecorino, comte), to finish (optional)

Put a frying pan on medium heat, add a tablespoon of olive oil, then the onions, and cook for 10-15 minutes, until soft and sweet. Add the garlic and cook for another three minutes, then add the vinegar and let it evaporate.

Next, stir in the greens and leave them to cook for a couple of minutes, so they are wilted but still have their colour (how long this takes will depend on what type of greens you are using - spring greens will take longer than kale, for instance). Put the lot into a blender with the rest of the olive oil, and blitz until you have a thin, green sauce, adding a little water if you need to loosen it.

Prepare your other veg: I used leeks, which I cut into 2cm rounds and fried in butter until soft.

Cook the pasta in boiling salted water to packet instructions, then drain, reserving a little of the cooking water.

Put the pasta back into the pan and toss it with about four tablespoons of the green sauce (you might need more or less - trust your judgement), add a little of the cooking water to loosen, and then add the leeks. Serve topped with a good grating of cheese.

Peanut butter roasted kale

Roasting kale (or any green) until crisp in this peanut-buttery dressing elevates it from a likeable green to a snack that is fought over. Eat straight from the bowl or use to top soups, dal, rice and noodles.

1 head kale or other green (roughly 500g)
1 tbsp sunflower oil
2 tbsp crunchy peanut butter (or other nut butter or tahini)
1 small thumb ginger, grated
1 splash vinegar or a squeeze of lemon or lime juice
1 tsp soy sauce (or a pinch of salt)

Tear the kale or greens from the stalks. Rip the leaves into bite-sized pieces and slice the stalks finely. Mix the rest of the ingredients in a bowl with a tablespoon of cold water until you have a spoonable dressing. Toss the kale in the dressing.

Lay the kale on baking trays in one layer (you may need two trays). Roast for 15-20 minutes, until crisp.

Leave to cool before eating. I eat these as a snack or next to some buttered rice with lots of toasted sesame seeds and a fried egg.
Topics

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Green fingered: Anna Jones' resourceful kale recipes | The modern cook

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Recently I've been trying to fill our plates with as much greenery as I can. We are shopping for food less regularly and buying veg in bulk, meaning greens are often not at their freshest by the time I use them.

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Chicken Thighs with Creamy Mushroom Tarragon Sauce

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This Chicken Thighs with Creamy Mushroom Tarragon Sauce is one of my favourite dishes. Crispy chicken thighs are combined with a lovely, creamy mushroom sauce, flavoured with a bit of tarragon and grainy mustard. Simple enough for weeknights, but also a great dish for entertaining!
I first published this recipe in February 2014. It's one of my favourites and a regular go-to recipe for casual entertaining. I thought it was due for a little refresh and some new photos. Enjoy!
This delicious chicken recipe is one of my all-time favourites. The flavours in this sauce are fabulous - licking the plate fabulous! The healthy addition of white wine, the fresh tarragon, the grainy mustard and the cream make this the perfect dish for a special meal or entertaining!

I love these flavours so much, that I've found ways to adapt this recipe so it's a bit lightened up and streamlined for a quick and delicious weeknight meal, too.

Chicken Thighs with Creamy Mushroom Tarragon Sauce Tweaks for a Simpler, Weeknight Meal:

Make use of any or all of these ideas to turn this recipe in to a super quick and easy weeknight meal ...

Use boneless chicken breast or thighs and cut in to bite-sized pieces (or try it with butterflied boneless breasts). Cook completely in the skillet and remove to a plate rather than in to the oven.

Use dried tarragon leaves in place of fresh tarragon, so no trip to the grocery store is needed :)

Replace the healthy dose of wine, with just a splash to de-glaze the pan after you sauté the mushrooms.

Replace the heavy cream with a lower fat cream (half and half). You may need to increase the amount of thickening at the end.

Serve this over simple steamed white rice, along with a green vegetable (broccoli is always good).

Cook's Notes for Chicken Thighs with Creamy Mushroom Tarragon Sauce

This dish uses grainy mustard. Look for it in with the Dijon mustards at your grocery store. It's the one that's full of mustard seeds. I'm a fan of Maille's Moutarde a L'ancienne. It's much more kid-friendly, at least it was in my household, as it's not nearly as assertive as regular Dijon mustard. The mustard seeds also add great texture to the dish. If you can't find grainy mustard or don't have on hand, go with regular Dijon mustard, but reduce the amount to taste.

If you don't have or want to cook with wine, simply omit and increase the chicken stock to 2 cups.

If you don't have heavy cream, or you don't want to use it, substitute a lightly cream and increase the thickening at the end. You could also use some full fat, Greek Yogurt.

Looking for a dairy free option? Try a bit of coconut cream (the thick part at the top of the can).

For a special meal or entertaining: Allow 2 thighs per person, or go for a bone-in/skin on breast instead. Keep the sauce on the thinner side and spoon in to a shallow bowl, over a bit of lovely al dente pasta. Or thicken the sauce a bit more, plate the chicken, spoon sauce over-top and serve alongside a wild-rice blend. Fresh, French green beans, broccolini, rapini or asparagus would also be pretty on the plate.

Print

This Chicken Thighs with Creamy Mushroom Tarragon Sauce is one of my favourite dishes. Crispy chicken thighs are combined with a lovely, creamy mushroom sauce, flavoured with a bit of tarragon and grainy mustard. Simple enough for weeknights, but also a great dish for entertaining!
I first published this recipe in February 2014. It's one of my favourites and a regular go-to recipe for casual entertaining. I thought it was due for a little refresh and some new photos. Enjoy!
This delicious chicken recipe is one of my all-time favourites. The flavours in this sauce are fabulous - licking the plate fabulous! The healthy addition of white wine, the fresh tarragon, the grainy mustard and the cream make this the perfect dish for a special meal or entertaining!

I love these flavours so much, that I've found ways to adapt this recipe so it's a bit lightened up and streamlined for a quick and delicious weeknight meal, too.

Chicken Thighs with Creamy Mushroom Tarragon Sauce Tweaks for a Simpler, Weeknight Meal:

Make use of any or all of these ideas to turn this recipe in to a super quick and easy weeknight meal ...

Use boneless chicken breast or thighs and cut in to bite-sized pieces (or try it with butterflied boneless breasts). Cook completely in the skillet and remove to a plate rather than in to the oven.

Use dried tarragon leaves in place of fresh tarragon, so no trip to the grocery store is needed :)

Replace the healthy dose of wine, with just a splash to de-glaze the pan after you sauté the mushrooms.

Replace the heavy cream with a lower fat cream (half and half). You may need to increase the amount of thickening at the end.

Serve this over simple steamed white rice, along with a green vegetable (broccoli is always good).

Cook's Notes for Chicken Thighs with Creamy Mushroom Tarragon Sauce

This dish uses grainy mustard. Look for it in with the Dijon mustards at your grocery store. It's the one that's full of mustard seeds. I'm a fan of Maille's Moutarde a L'ancienne. It's much more kid-friendly, at least it was in my household, as it's not nearly as assertive as regular Dijon mustard. The mustard seeds also add great texture to the dish. If you can't find grainy mustard or don't have on hand, go with regular Dijon mustard, but reduce the amount to taste.

If you don't have or want to cook with wine, simply omit and increase the chicken stock to 2 cups.

If you don't have heavy cream, or you don't want to use it, substitute a lightly cream and increase the thickening at the end. You could also use some full fat, Greek Yogurt.

Looking for a dairy free option? Try a bit of coconut cream (the thick part at the top of the can).

For a special meal or entertaining: Allow 2 thighs per person, or go for a bone-in/skin on breast instead. Keep the sauce on the thinner side and spoon in to a shallow bowl, over a bit of lovely al dente pasta. Or thicken the sauce a bit more, plate the chicken, spoon sauce over-top and serve alongside a wild-rice blend. Fresh, French green beans, broccolini, rapini or asparagus would also be pretty on the plate.

Chicken with Creamy Mushroom, Mustard and Tarragon Sauce

Print

Be sure to read the "Cook's Notes" in the original post, for more tips, options, substitutions and variations for this recipe!

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Chicken Thighs with Creamy Mushroom Tarragon Sauce

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This Chicken Thighs with Creamy Mushroom Tarragon Sauce is one of my favourite dishes. Crispy chicken thighs are combined with a lovely, creamy mushroom sauce, flavoured with a bit of tarragon and grainy mustard. Simple enough for weeknights, but also a great dish for entertaining! I first published this recipe in February 2014.

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Aubergine and red lentil curry | delicious. magazine

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This aubergine and red lentil curry recipe makes a warming and spicy vegetarian dish.

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Nigel Slater's brown rice, carrot and cashew pilau recipe

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A vegetarian dish that's healthy, beautiful to behold, and just delicious. By Nigel Slater

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https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2011/jun/12/nigel-slater-middle-eastern-recipes

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Ingredients
Email Grocery List

Preparation

1. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large, heavy soup pot and add the onion, carrot, and celery and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring often, until the vegetables are tender, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the tomatoes and juice from the can, add another pinch of salt and cook, stirring often, for 5 to 10 minutes, until the tomatoes have cooked down slightly.

2. Add the water, tomato paste, oregano, potato, and salt to taste. Bring to a boil, add the bouquet garni, cover and simmer 10 to 15 minutes, until the potatoes are just about tender.

3. Add the kale and simmer another 10 minutes, until the kale and potatoes are tender and the soup is fragrant. Taste, adjust salt, and add pepper. Stir in the beans and heat through for 5 minutes. Serve, sprinkling some Parmesan over each bowl.

Advance preparation: The soup tastes even better on the second day, and will keep for 4 to 5 days in the refrigerator. It freezes well. I've used small amounts of leftovers as a pasta sauce, adding a little tomato paste to thicken.

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Quick Tomato, White Bean and Kale Soup Recipe

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Email Grocery List Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large, heavy soup pot and add the onion, carrot, and celery and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring often, until the vegetables are tender, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

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https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2009/jan/18/nigel-slater-bean-spicy-recipe

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One pot gammon 8 Crouch Hill Islington Gammon dish. One pot 29 Nov 2012 Not ready yet.

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Ingredients
Email Grocery List

Preparation

1. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large, heavy soup pot and add the onion, carrot, and celery and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring often, until the vegetables are tender, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the tomatoes and juice from the can, add another pinch of salt and cook, stirring often, for 5 to 10 minutes, until the tomatoes have cooked down slightly.

2. Add the water, tomato paste, oregano, potato, and salt to taste. Bring to a boil, add the bouquet garni, cover and simmer 10 to 15 minutes, until the potatoes are just about tender.

3. Add the kale and simmer another 10 minutes, until the kale and potatoes are tender and the soup is fragrant. Taste, adjust salt, and add pepper. Stir in the beans and heat through for 5 minutes. Serve, sprinkling some Parmesan over each bowl.

Advance preparation: The soup tastes even better on the second day, and will keep for 4 to 5 days in the refrigerator. It freezes well. I've used small amounts of leftovers as a pasta sauce, adding a little tomato paste to thicken.

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Quick Tomato, White Bean and Kale Soup Recipe

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Email Grocery List Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large, heavy soup pot and add the onion, carrot, and celery and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring often, until the vegetables are tender, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

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Kale and orzo soup
https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/nov/19/kale-recipes-dale-berning-sawa-readers-recipe-swap

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Home made baked beans
(skip the bacon to make it vegan and use tinned beans to make it quicker)
https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/jan/24/mexican-lamb-shoulder-homemade-baked-beans-recipes-thomasina-miers

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Chichory and pear salad

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Ottolenghi grilled fillets with celeriac mash and fennel

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Life's dreary realities mean I don't travel as much as I want to, so I let my imagination take me away instead. I recently went on a trip to Tulum in Mexico, sailing there on the pages of Hartwood, a beautiful cookbook from an equally beautiful restaurant that's set in a jungle and just across from a beach.

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Catalan Fish Stew

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Romesco de peix - Fish Stew with Peppers, Clams, Almonds & Saffron

18 September 2017 by jonoandjules

We're still trying to get in the last of the summery dishes before we succumb to roasts and pies! Season this well and add plenty of parsley at the end; a lift that can't be understated.

Wine suggestion: cross the border for this and go to Portugal for an oaked and aged Alvarinho (there may be some similar oaked/aged Albariño from Rias Baixias in Spain but I haven't found the right ones yet). Quinta de Soalheiro make a Reserva Alvarinho that with 12 months extra ageing from release makes a perfect match.
Fish Stew with Peppers, Almonds & Saffron - serves 4

6 tbsp olive oil

1 large Spanish onion, roughly chopped

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

2 dessertspoons of finely chopped rosemary

3 fresh bay leaves

2 red peppers, thinly sliced

½ tsp sweet smoked Spanish paprika

1 tin of plum tomatoes, drain of the juice and roughly chop

150ml white wine

100ml hot fish stock

50 saffron strands infused in 4 tbsp boiling water

150g whole blanched almonds, lightly toasted and roughly ground

650g monkfish fillets, cut into chunks

500g clams, rinsed well

Heat the oil in a large saucepan, over a medium heat. Add the onion and a pinch of salt, then cook for 15-20 minutes or until golden. Add the garlic, rosemary, bay leaves and red pepper. Soften for 10 minutes, then add the white wine and allow to bubble for a couple of minutes before adding the fish stock and saffron water. Add the crushed almonds and season to taste.

When almost ready to eat, add the monkfish and clams, put a lid over the pan and simmer until the fish is cooked through and the clams are open - about 5 minutes.

Serve with new potatoes.

(Original recipe from Moro the Cookbook by Sam & Sam Clark, Ebury Press, 2001.)

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Romesco de peix - Fish Stew with Peppers, Clams, Almonds & Saffron

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We're still trying to get in the last of the summery dishes before we succumb to roasts and pies! Season this well and add plenty of parsley at the end; a lift that can't be understated. Wine suggestion: cross the border for this and go to Portugal for an oaked and aged Alvarinho (there may...

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Tarragon mustard chicken

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Make this easy chicken dish with breasts or thighs. Half-fat crème fraîche keeps it light, from BBC Good Food.

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Sanjeev Bhaskar’s Chicken & Mushroom Pie

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This comforting, creamy chicken pie uses ready-made pastry for a quick and easy mid-week meal.

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.

2. Heat the oil in a frying pan, add the chicken and fry until the chicken begins to turn white.

3. Add the mushrooms and continue to fry until the chicken is golden-brown.

4. Remove the chicken and mushrooms from the pan and set aside. Add the onion and garlic to the same pan and fry for 2-3 minutes or until softened. Remove from the heat and set aside with the chicken and mushrooms.

5. Melt the butter in a saucepan, stir in the flour and cook for about three minutes, stirring constantly until it has formed a thick smooth paste (this is called a roux).

6. Mix the milk and stock together in a jug, then add the nutmeg, white pepper and salt, to taste. Pour the liquid slowly into the flour mixture, whisking all the time until smooth. Simmer over a gentle heat, stirring constantly, for about five minutes or until the sauce has thickened.

7. Stir in the chopped parsley and pour the sauce over the chicken and mushroom mixture. Mix well, then spoon into a pie dish and leave until completely cool.

8. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface until it is the thickness of a pound coin. Brush the edges of the pie dish with beaten egg, lay the pastry on top, press down the edges and trim. Brush the top of the pie with beaten egg and cut some leaf shapes out of the left-over pastry to decorate the top of the pie.

9. Make two or three slits in the top of the pie to allow steam to escape and then bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden-brown on top.

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Chicken and mushroom pie with shortcrust pastry

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This comforting, creamy chicken pie uses ready-made pastry for a quick and easy mid-week meal. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6. Heat the oil in a frying pan, add the chicken and fry until the chicken begins to turn white. Add the mushrooms and continue to fry until the chicken is golden-brown.

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You can order real-deal Spanish fabes and sausages painlessly through Despaña, an online retailer that also operates a storefront in SoHo, New York City. Cannellini or lima beans can stand in for the fabes in a pinch, but the latter are well worth seeking out for their thin skin and buttery texture. Be sure to use Spanish-style chorizo here as fabada gets its signature smokiness from this semi-cured variety flavored with La Vera pimentón (smoked paprika). Hot tip: Fabada tastes best reheated the day after it's made, when the flavors have had time to marry.

Fabada Asturiana (White Beans With Ham, Saffron, and Sausages)

Time: 2 hours, 45 minutes

Ingredients

14 oz. dried Asturian fabes de la Granja or other large white beans, soaked at least 4 hours or overnight

1 lb. slab pancetta, cut into four chunks

1 large yellow onion (7 oz.), peeled

1 tbsp. kosher salt

Small pinch saffron

12 oz. Spanish-style sweet chorizo sausages

8 oz. morcilla blood sausage, pricked in a few places with a fork

Instructions

1. Drain the beans, discarding the soaking liquid, then transfer them to a large pot. Add the pancetta, onion, and salt, and add enough water to cover by 2 inches (about 4 quarts). Bring to a boil over high heat, skimming the foam and fat that rise to the surface. Add the saffron, then lower the heat to low. Cover partially and cook at a low simmer, adding cold water as needed to maintain the level of the liquid, until the beans are slightly al dente in the center, 1½-2 hours. (Do not stir as this will break the delicate beans.)

2. Use a slotted spoon to remove and discard the onion. Add the chorizo and morcilla and continue cooking at a simmer until the beans are velvety and cooked through, about 45 minutes more. (It's okay if a few beans break apart at this stage; their starch helps thicken the broth.)

3. Use tongs to carefully transfer the chorizo and morcilla to a cutting board. When just cool enough to handle, slice the sausages into thick coins. Ladle the stew into four shallow bowls or cazuelas, top each portion with morcilla, chorizo, and pancetta, and serve.

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Fabada Asturiana (White Beans With Ham, Saffron, and Sausages)

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This traditional stew of smoked Spanish sausages and velvety white beans is a soul-warming cold-weather meal native to the misty northern region of Asturias. Once you've tracked down a couple of specialty ingredients online-Despaña is a painless one-stop shop-the dish comes together with minimal effort.

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Nduja and walnut pesto

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quirrelling away little parcels of 'nduja, the intensely spicy and garlicky spreadable sausage from Calabria, in the fridge or freezer is the type of modern-day household management that I feel Mrs Beeton would appreciate; it's the culinary equivalent of having some frankincense and myrrh in your back pocket. Its rich, rounded flavour comes from a chilli particular to Calabria, and its flavour melts and seeps into other ingredients, lending them some of its gutsy, sassy attitude. It is beautifully feisty in this seasonal tagliatelle.

Summer tomato tagliatelle with toasted walnut and 'nduja pesto

The fresh tomatoes and sherry vinegar add a sparkle of acidity that dances lightly through the garlicky, spicy, nutty sauce.

100g walnuts
1 large garlic clove,peeled
1 small handful thyme leaves
3 large ripe tomatoes
5 tbsp olive oil,plus extra for serving
40g 'nduja
½ tbsp sherry vinegar
400g fresh tagliatelle
4 handfuls rocket,to serve
Parmesan, to serve

Heat the oven to 180C (160C fan)/350F/gas 4. Spread out the nuts on a baking tray and roast for 10-12 minutes, until pale golden, then remove and leave to cool.

Meanwhile, put the garlic in a mortar, add a large pinch of salt and crush to a paste. Add the thyme and walnuts, and crush the lot into breadcrumb-sized pieces. (If your mortar is small, pulse/blitz the ingredients in a small processor instead.)

Put the tomatoes in a bowl, add boiling water to cover and leave for 30 seconds. Drain, peel and cut the flesh into small dice. In a medium bowl, beat the oil into the 'nduja to make a loose paste, then stir in the vinegar and walnuts, fold through the chopped tomatoes and season to taste.

Bring a pan of salted water to a boil and cook the tagliatelle according to the packet instructions. Drain, reserving a cup of the cooking water, then return the pasta to the pan and tip in the 'nduja pesto. Place over a medium heat and stir to coat the pasta, adding just a few tablespoons of the reserved cooking water at a time and waiting for the water to be absorbed before adding any more; you want just enough water to produce a glossy, syrupy sauce.

Transfer to plates, top with the rocket and scatter liberally with finely grated parmesan. Add a slug of good olive oil for good measure, and serve immediately.

And for the rest of the week ...

This sauce is so good, you should make quadruple the amount, freeze it in small containers and smear it on bruschetta with burrata and basil, or use it as a sauce to envelop meatballs.

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Thomasina Miers' recipe for summer tomato tagliatelle with toasted walnut and 'nduja pesto | The simple fix

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quirrelling away little parcels of 'nduja, the intensely spicy and garlicky spreadable sausage from Calabria, in the fridge or freezer is the type of modern-day household management that I feel Mrs Beeton would appreciate; it's the culinary equivalent of having some frankincense and myrrh in your back pocket.

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Aggie’s fave

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Mary Berry trained at The Cordon Bleu in Paris and Bath School of Home Economics. In the swinging '60s she became the cookery editor of Housewife magazine, followed by Ideal Home magazine.

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Quince poached in orange and vanilla

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Nigel Slater's sausages, shallots and grapes recipe

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Warming, sticky recipes make Bonfire Night a cracker, says Nigel Slater

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Asian fish parcels

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Vegan lemon drizzle cake
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/user/4614791/recipe/vegan-lemon-cake

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Ottolenghi wild rice with sour cherries and nuts

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This salad from Yotam Ottolenghi's newest cookbook, Plenty More, has a lot going on and everything going for it. The mix of grains-white basmati rice, wild rice, and quinoa-is beautiful and texturally interesting; per his cooking times and methods, they are left with just a bit of firmness and keep their integrity once dressed. Almonds and pine nuts add toasty crunch, while dried sour cherries add chew and bursts of tart sweetness. Ottolenghi fries onions "...so that parts of the onion get crisp and others just soft" (it's this attention to detail that sets his recipes apart), and they weave themselves silkily through the salad. There's just enough verdant, spicy arugula to brighten things up, and the fresh licorice flavors of basil and tarragon perfume the mix. Tossed with lemony, garlicky dressing, every bite is fairly dazzling.

Why I picked this recipe: Grain salads are a fave, and I figured Ottolenghi would hit it out of the park.

What worked: This is a heady, multidimensional bowlful-a winner.

What didn't: All good!

Suggested tweaks: Per Ottolenghi, dried cranberries soaked in a little lemon juice may be substituted for the dried cherries if need be, and he notes that the salad can be kept overnight in the fridge, though it needs to be room temp and re-seasoned before serving. (Because I'm impatient, I was trying to knock the chill off a bowl of leftovers in the microwave, and went just a few seconds too far, to where the salad was barely warm. It was delicious this way, as well!!)

With a million thanks to our friends at Ten Speed Press, we have 5 copies of Plenty More to give away this week.
Reprinted with permission from Plenty More: Vibrant Vegetable Cooking from London's Ottolenghi by Yotam Ottolenghi, copyright © 2014. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Random House LLC.

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Rice Salad With Nuts and Sour Cherries From 'Plenty More' Recipe

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This salad from Yotam Ottolenghi's newest cookbook, Plenty More, has a lot going on and everything going for it. A beautiful mix of grains, crunchy almonds and pine nuts, chewy dried cherries, silky onions, and enlivening arugula, basil and tarragon-every bite is fairly dazzling.

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Poached pears three ways

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Felicity Cloake's recipe for poached pears three ways

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This quintessential autumnal pudding can be cooked in wine, spiced honey or earl grey syrup

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Chickpea kale and orzo soup
Third recipe in this article

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Readers' recipe swap: Kale | Dale Berning Sawa

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Readers' recipe swap: Snigger at the smoothies and the chips all you like: today's nduja salad, lasagne, soup and flapjacks prove the leaf is more than an overhyped 'superfood'

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Ottolenghi Lasagne

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he word "lasagne" is a bit like "sandwich" or "pie": as a descriptor, it gets you only so far, because there are so many variables as to what you can put inside. There's a common misconception that lasagne is a pasta dish layered with meat ragù and béchamel. But that's lasagne alla bolognese, which, while a hugely popular version of the dish, is still just one version.

In fact, the term "lasagne" really applies only to the flat sheets of pasta that separate the layers of whatever else is baked with it. What those layers may be changes from region to region, person to person and season to season. Mediterranean vegetables, mushrooms, wilted greens, meatballs, hard-boiled eggs, fish: all work well as the filling. As for the type of cheese you use, and whether or not to include a rich béchamel, tomato or pesto sauce, well, again, that depends on who is making a lasagne, and where.

The only rule is to make lasagne when you want something reliable, reassuring and comforting to eat. Much like a sandwich or pie.

Lasagne with chard, spinach and hazelnuts

This can be put together well in advance - even the day before - then baked when you are ready to eat, but hold back on the hazelnuts: sprinkle those on top just before you put the lasagne into the oven. Serves six as a main course.
3 tbsp olive oil
3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1 400g tin chopped tomatoes
75ml olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 lemons - finely shave the skin of one and zest the other 30g dried wild mushrooms
20g dried porcini mushrooms
2 dried red chillies (not the extra-hot small ones), deseeded if you don't like too much heat
500ml warm chicken stock
80ml olive oil, plus a little extra to grease
1 onion, peeled and finely diced
3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1 carrot, scrubbed clean and finely diced
2 tomatoes, finely diced
200g shimeji (or any other fresh) mushrooms, finely chopped
Salt and black pepper
600g minced pork
3½ tbsp tomato paste
120ml double cream
10g basil leaves, roughly chopped
350g fresh lasagne sheets
40g pecorino romano, finely grated
40g parmesan, finely grated
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
300g cherry tomatoes
3 tbsp tomato paste
4 anchovies, finely chopped
500ml fish stock
40g panko or fresh breadcrumbs
5g coriander, finely chopped
5g parsley, finely chopped
6 fresh lasagne sheets (20cm x 15cm)
500g frozen seafood mix, defrosted
100g feta, roughly crumbled into 1-2cm pieces 1 tbsp tomato paste
½ tsp caster sugar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
600g rainbow (or regular) chard, leaves and stems separated, leaves roughly chopped, stems finely sliced
600g baby spinach
2 tsp caraway seeds, lightly toasted
60g parsley, leaves and stalks roughly chopped
50g dill, leaves and stalks roughly chopped
8 dried lasagne sheets
150g parmesan, finely grated
150g gruyère, finely grated
60g hazelnuts, roughly chopped
Heat a tablespoon of oil in a small saucepan on a medium flame, then fry the garlic for a minute, stirring frequently. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar and a quarter-teaspoon of salt, turn down the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Turn off the heat, stir in 90ml water and blitz for 30 seconds (use a stick blender or food processor), until smooth.

Put a large saute pan for which you have a lid on a high heat. Add a tablespoon of olive oil, the chard stems and a quarter-teaspoon of salt, and saute for five minutes, until soft. Add half the chard leaves, cook for one to two minutes, stirring, until they wilt, then add the rest of the leaves and stir until wilted. Add the spinach and cook, stirring, for five to 10 minutes, until well wilted, then stir in the caraway and a good grind of pepper. Turn the heat to low, cover the pan and leave to cook for 15 minutes, then stir in the chopped herbs and half a teaspoon of salt and take off the heat: the mix should be quite wet at this stage.

Heat the oven to 190C/375F/gas mark 5. Grease a large ovenproof dish (about 35cm x 25cm) with the remaining oil, then cover the base with four sheets of lasagne. Cover these with half the tomato sauce, then spread half the greens on top. Scatter over half the grated cheese, then repeat with the remaining lasagne, sauce and greens, finishing with a layer of cheese. Sprinkle over the hazelnuts and bake for 30-35 minutes, until bubbling and golden. Leave to rest for five minutes before serving, perhaps with a green salad.

Seafood lasagne with tomato and feta

I've used frozen seafood, but you can of course use the same amount of fresh. Serves four as a main course.

Heat the oven to its highest setting. Heat three tablespoons of oil in a large, non-stick frying pan on a medium-high flame, then fry the garlic, onion, lemon skin and half a teaspoon of salt for two to three minutes, until soft and golden. Turn down the heat to medium, add the tomatoes and cook for three minutes, stirring, until they start to soften. Add the tomato paste, anchovies, stock and 100ml water, then simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes break apart and the sauce thickens. Turn off the heat and leave to cool down a little.

Meanwhile, in a bowl, mix the breadcrumbs lemon zest, coriander, parsley, a quarter-teaspoon of salt and plenty of pepper.

Bring a large saucepan of water to a simmer, then cook the lasagne sheets for three to four minutes, until soft but still with a slight bite. Separate the sheets with tongs, then transfer to a board until you're ready to assemble the lasagne. Stir the seafood into the tomato sauce.

To assemble the lasagne, drizzle a teaspoon or so of oil over the base of a 24cm x 24cm baking dish, then line with two of the pasta sheets. Top with a generous spoonful of the tomato and seafood mix, and follow that first with a sprinkling of the herby breadcrumbs and then with a third of the feta. Repeat in the same order, to make two more layers, then drizzle over the remaining oil and bake for 15 minutes, until crisp around the edges. Leave to rest for five minutes before serving.

Spicy pork and porcini lasagne

The mixed mushrooms bring a serious savoury depth to this wonderfully rich lasagne. Serves four as a main course.

Put the dried mushrooms and chillies in a bowl, pour on the stock and leave to soak for 30 minutes (and up to two hours). Strain the liquid into a second bowl, then finely chop the mushrooms and chillies.

Heat the oven to 200C/390F/gas mark 6 and grease a round 27cm-wide x 5cm-high ovenproof dish. On a medium-high flame, heat 60ml oil in a large, heavy-based pan for which you have a lid. When hot, fry the onion, garlic and carrot for five minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden. Add the tomatoes, shimeji, and two and a half teaspoons each of salt and pepper, and fry for five minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are cooked. Stir in the pork, then, resisting the urge to stir more, leave it to fry for six minutes. Stir together, then leave to fry again, undisturbed, for five minutes: you want the meat to be slightly crisp and browned on the bottom. Stir in the chopped soaked mushrooms and chillies, tomato paste, stock and 850ml water, simmer for four to five minutes, then turn down the heat to low. Cover the pan and leave to simmer gently for 25 minutes, stirring a few times to make sure the sauce doesn't catch. Remove the lid and simmer for 20 minutes more, stirring occasionally, until the sauce reduces and thickens, then turn off the heat and stir in the cream and basil.

Related: Yotam Ottolenghi's recipes for stuffed vegetables

To assemble the lasagne, spread a quarter of the sauce over the base of the greased dish, then top with a layer of lasagne. Spread another layer of sauce on top, then scatter over a third of the cheese. Repeat these layers twice more, finishing with a scattering of cheese, and drizzle over the remaining 20ml oil. Cover the dish tightly with foil, bake for 30 minutes, then remove the foil and bake for 20 minutes more, until brown and crisp on top. Set aside for five minutes before serving.

* Yotam Ottolenghi is chef/patron of Ottolenghi and Nopi in London.

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he word "lasagne" is a bit like "sandwich" or "pie": as a descriptor, it gets you only so far, because there are so many variables as to what you can put inside. There's a common misconception that lasagne is a pasta dish layered with meat ragù and béchamel.

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Seville orange and fennel chicken traybake

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Seville orange and fennel chicken traybake

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https://www.nigella.com/recipes/chicken-traybake-with-bitter-orange-and-fennel

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By cooking all the vegetables at the same time and packing them tightly in a precise order, the flavours melt together, making a perfect side or main dish

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Saag Aloo

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Meera Sodha's recipe for vegan saag aloo | The New Vegan

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A tried-and-tested recipe for potato and spinach curry with added spiced aubergine

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Vegan Thai courgette salad

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In April, I was lucky enough to learn how to make the classic Thai som tam salad at the century-old Mandarin Oriental cookery school in Bangkok.

From the first bite, it hit me from all angles. It was cold and crunchy, but also hot, sour, salty and sweet, which was exactly perfect for the 38-degree heat. It's not particularly easy to find raw papaya here, so this recipe uses courgettes and tomatoes instead - a taste of Bangkok, but via an English allotment. Serve cold, with an even colder Chang beer.

Thai-style tomato and courgette salad with peanut crumbs

The longer this salad sits, the more juice the courgettes will release, so serve with tongs, then spoon over the juices and sprinkle with the breadcrumbs when serving.

For the salad
500g cherry tomatoes, halved
2 courgettes (400g), julienned
1 large handful Thai basil leaves, shredded
40g roasted peanuts, crushed
40g dry breadcrumbs
¼ tsp salt

First make the dressing. Roughly chop three of the chillies and put them in a blender with the garlic, soy, lime juice, two tablespoons of oil and the sugar, and whizz until well blended.

Put the tomato halves in a large bowl, then lightly squash them with a hand. Pour over the dressing and set aside. Put the julienned courgettes on top of the tomatoes, but don't mix them in just yet, and sprinkle over the shredded basil.

Now for the peanut breadcrumbs. Heat two tablespoons of oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. While it's warming up, very finely chop the remaining chilli. When the oil is hot, add the chilli, peanuts, breadcrumbs and salt, stir for around four minutes, until golden brown, then take off the heat.

To assemble the salad, mix the courgettes and basil into the tomatoes, then tip out on to a lipped platter. Scatter the breadcrumbs on top at the last minute, or wait until people have helped themselves and encourage them to sprinkle a small mountain over their own serving.
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Meera Sodha's vegan recipe for Thai tomato salad with peanut crumbs | The New Vegan

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In April, I was lucky enough to learn how to make the classic Thai som tam salad at the century-old Mandarin Oriental cookery school in Bangkok. From the first bite, it hit me from all angles. It was cold and crunchy, but also hot, sour, salty and sweet, which was exactly perfect for the 38-degree heat.

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Tomato salads

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Tomatoes are nearing full glory and I'm eating them with almost every meal. Soft ones get squashed or grated (no skins) on to garlic-rubbed toasts with a dousing of good olive oil and lots of salt (pan con tomate).

While I still make my warm confit tomatoes with Indian spices and cold yoghurt recipe from last year, today's recipes are getting the most frequent airing this summer.

Both are simple: one is a salad inspired by food writer Ed Smith 's tomato tonnato (but no tonnato for me) with capers, herbs and a thick tahini dressing; the other is a new way with tomatoes on toast that works as a salad, too, or on top of flatbreads. Summer tomatoes in all their glory, eaten simply.

Tomatoes on toast with chilli and fennel seeds (pictured above)

It virtually goes without saying that the better the tomatoes, the better the toasts. I love Ligurian bull's heart tomatoes and, of course, our rainbow ones from the Isle of Wight. If your tomatoes are less tasty, roasting them intensifies the sweetness so I have included an option for roasting the tomatoes, too.

400g large, ripe heritage tomatoes
Flaked sea salt
85ml extra-virgin olive oil
1 tbsp fennel seeds
½ tsp chilli flakes
3 tbsp red-wine vinegar
1 garlic clove, peeled and halved
4 slices good-quality bread

Slice the tomatoes, season generously with salt, then put them in a colander on top of a plate and leave for as long as it takes for the tomatoes to drain some of their liquid and for their flavour to intensify.

Warm the oil in a pan, then add the fennel seeds and chilli flakes. Warm gently for two minutes, until the seeds infuse the oil, then whisk in the vinegar.

Arrange the tomatoes on a plate, drizzle over the warm dressing, then sprinkle with plenty of sea salt.

Serve on top of garlic-rubbed, toasted bread, or scatter with feta or some toasted breadcrumbs for extra crunch, if you like.

For a roasted version that's equally good, heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6. Toss the sliced tomatoes in the oil with the fennel, chilli and a good sprinkle of salt, then roast for 15 minutes, until softened and gooey. Serve on its own or stirred through pasta.

Simple tomato salad with tahini and herbs

Tahini and tomatoes is an unexpectedly good combination. A smooth, light tahini is what you want here (I like Belazu) and, again, the better the tomatoes, the better this will taste.

350g mixed ripe tomatoes
1 tsp flaked sea salt
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 grind black pepper
1 generous drizzle extra-virgin olive oil
1 handful chopped parsley leaves
1 small bunch basil leaves, torn, plus extra to serve
80g smooth tahini (I use Belazu)
4 tbsp capers, drained

Chop the tomatoes, and toss in a colander with the salt and vinegar. Put the colander on top of a plate or bowl and leave to marinate for as long as you have, and at least 10 minutes.

Drain, then season with freshly ground black pepper, the oil and herbs.

Leave to marinate again for 30 minutes, then plate up and spoon over generous dollops of the tahini and capers.
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Toast and tahini: Anna Jones' summer tomato recipes | The Modern Cook

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Tomatoes are nearing full glory and I'm eating them with almost every meal. Soft ones get squashed or grated (no skins) on to garlic-rubbed toasts with a dousing of good olive oil and lots of salt (pan con tomate).

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Summer salads

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Prep 10 minCook 20 minServes 4-6 as a side

4 eggs (leave out if you're vegan)
1 cos lettuce, or any large, leafy lettuce (250g net weight)
2 medium-sized green chillies, very finely minced
2 heaped tbsp fresh coriander leaves, chopped, plus a little extra to garnish
3-4 garlic cloves, peeled and very finely minced
4 slices thin white bread, crusts removed, bread cut into small dice
200g mayonnaise (use an egg-free one if you're vegan)
Salt, to taste
Juice of ½-1 lime, to taste

Boil the eggs for seven or eight minutes, plunge into iced water to stop them cooking any longer and to keep the yolks buttery, then peel once cool enough to handle.

Break the lettuce leaves into inch-sized pieces or smaller, wash and drain. Put the chilli, coriander and garlic in a serving bowl. Coarsely chop the eggs into 5mm dice. Fry the bread in oil until crisp and golden (I use a deep-fat fryer, but shallow frying also works).

Put the mayonnaise in the serving bowl and toss to combine with the garlic, chilli and coriander, then season with salt and lime juice to taste.

Just before you're ready to serve, add the diced eggs, lettuce and half the croutons to the bowl, and toss - do not overmix, or the lettuce with go limp very rapidly.

Serve straight from the bowl, or transfer to a platter, and sprinkle the reserved croutons over the top, with a little more fresh chopped coriander, if you like. This salad is particularly good with fried, breaded chicken or fish.

Quinoa and chickpea salad with Indian chimichurri

For the chimichurri
1 tbsp flat-leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped
4 tbsp coriander leaves, chopped
3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
2 tbsp mint leaves, finely shredded
½ tsp fresh (or dried) oregano, chopped
½ tsp red chilli flakes
2 tbsp vinegar - cane, malt, red-wine or cider, according to taste
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
½ tsp crushed black pepper
½ tsp salt, plus extra to taste
150ml extra-virgin rapeseed or olive oil, or more if needed

For the quinoa
1 knob butter
300-400g pre-cooked quinoa (or 150-200g dried quinoa, soaked, boiled in salted water for 15-20 minutes, and drained)
1 x 400g tin chickpeas, drained (or 200g dried chickpeas, soaked, drained and cooked in boiling water and a pinch of bicarb until soft)
200g mixed green leaves - mizuna, baby curly kale, baby spinach, cress

First make the chimichurri - you can do this a couple of days ahead. Put everything bar the oil in the small bowl of a food processor, blend smooth, then whisk in the oil until combined. Pour into a clean jar, seal and keep in the fridge until needed.

Melt a knob of butter in a frying pan, add the cooked quinoa and fry, stirring to coat, until toasty (or skip this stage, if you prefer). On a platter, mix the quinoa and chickpeas, then add the leaves and toss gently. Just before serving, drizzle on a few tablespoons of the chimichurri, mix again and taste - adjust the seasoning as need be, adding dressing if you think it needs it.

This salad goes especially well with fried fish, sprinkled with toasted ground cumin and lime juice. Use up any excess chimichurri by blending into mayonnaise and serving with whatever takes your fancy - it's great in sandwiches.

Cafe Spice Namasté slaw

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Cyrus Todiwala's Cafe Spice Namasté slaw. Photograph: Matt Russell/The Guardian. Food: Rosie Ramsden, props: Anna Wilkins

1 medium carrot, peeled
4-5 cabbage leaves, central core removed
½ small celeriac, peeled (150-200g)
2 small red onions, peeled, halved and cut into very thin half-moons
1 small white radish, or mooli (75-100g)
4-5 red radishes
1 medium beetroot
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 green finger chilli, finely chopped
1 tbsp English mustard
½ tsp horseradish sauce (I like my slaw hot, so add more to taste; do not use horseradish cream, though)
3-4 tbsp mayonnaise (homemade or ready-made)
1 heaped tbsp coriander leaves, finely chopped

Shred the carrot, cabbage and celeriac, and put in a bowl of chilled water with the onions to keep crisp. Shred the radishes and put in a second bowl of chilled water, so they don't taint the flavour of everything else. Shred the beetroot and put it in a third bowl of iced water, so it doesn't dye everything else.

Put the chopped garlic and chillies in a bowl, add the mustard and horseradish, and stir to combine. Add three tablespoons of mayonnaise, stir again, then add the coriander, toss and season to taste - you may want to add a little more mayo, too (if using homemade mayo, you might want to add a good squeeze of fresh lime juice; ready-made mayo is already highly acidulated, so you won't need any if using that).

Drain all the vegetables one by one, and add to the bowl, giving them a good yet gentle mix, to make sure they are completely coated in sauce and evenly distributed.

Serve the coleslaw with spicy meat or poultry, especially off the barbecue, or with crisp fried fish or poultry, or in a burger; boiled lobster and prawns go very well with it, too, as do boiled eggs and potatoes.

Potato, chickpea and cashew chaat

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Cyrus Todiwala's potato, chickpea and cashew chaat. Photograph: Matt Russell/The Guardian. Food: Rosie Ramsden, props: Anna Wilkins

2 large jacket potatoes
100g cashew nuts
¼ tsp vegetable oil
1 x 400g can chickpeas, drained (or 100g dried chickpeas, soaked and boiled until cooked)
1 beef tomato, peeled, deseeded and cut into small dice - you need roughly 3 heaped tbsp
1 small-medium red onion, peeled and finely chopped (optional)
1 heaped tbsp coriander leaves, chopped
1-2 green chillies, finely chopped
1 tsp chaat masala powder (these vary from brand to brand, so adjust the amount to suit your tastes)
Juice of ¼ lime
Rock salt, to taste

Heat the oven to 150C (130C fan)/300F/gas 2. Boil the potatoes in their skins until cooked, then peel, cut the flesh into 5mm dice and put in a large bowl.

Put the cashew nuts on an oven tray, add the vegetable oil, then toss to coat - don't be tempted to up the amount of oil; this is more than enough. Roast until lightly coloured - eight to 10 minutes - then break or cut into pieces, and add to the bowl.

Add the chickpeas, tomato, onion, coriander, chillies, chaat masala and a squeeze of lime to the bowl, and toss. Taste and adjust the seasoning, then serve alongside a main course, or as a starter with hot puris.

* Cyrus Todiwala is chef/patron of Café Spice Namasté in London E1 and Mr Todiwala's Kitchen at Heathrow Terminal 5 and Lincoln Plaza London, where on 27 July, he'll be serving all these salads as part of a summer barbecue; go to lincolnplazalondon.co.uk for full details.
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Cyrus Todiwala's spicy summer salad recipes

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Prep 10 minCook 20 minServes 4-6 as a side 4 eggs (leave out if you're vegan) 1 cos lettuce, or any large, leafy lettuce (250g net weight) 2 medium-sized green chillies, very finely minced 2 heaped tbsp fresh coriander leaves, chopped, plus a little extra to garnish 3-4 garlic cloves,

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Barbecued mackrel

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Barbecued mackerel with ginger, chilli & lime drizzle

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Make mackerel part of your weekly menu with this Asian inspired dish that's perfect for BBQ's. From BBC Good Food.

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Romesco de Peix (Moro)

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In gaming, you can 'double win', where you play once, but win twice. A similar sort of thrill can exist in the kitchen (hear me out, please) when you cook one ingredient and it forms two edible delights - such as in today's recipe.

The tomatoes are roasted with chipotle and plenty of oil, and the sweet, concentrated, tomatoey oil goes straight into the butter beans, which are then whizzed up into a silky and flavourful mash.

All that's left for you to do is to make the quinoa. It's easy cooking for these summer months - cooking one thing to make two. In short, it's a double-win meal!

Chipotle tomatoes with butter beans and quinoa

The chipotle flakes (I use Bart's) give a much better flavour than the variable chipotle pastes, but if you can only find paste, add vinegar to taste at the end.

Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6. In a large bowl, combine the tomatoes, olive oil, chipotle, vinegar, sugar and half a teaspoon of salt, and toss to coat evenly. Arrange the tomato quarters on a medium-sized baking tray, giving them plenty of room between each other, and put the bowl to one side. Roast for 35-40 minutes, until the tomatoes are glossy and slightly charred.

Meanwhile, boil the kettle and put the quinoa in a saucepan with a quarter-teaspoon of salt and the bouillon. Add 750ml boiling water to the pan, turn the heat on to medium, pop the lid on and leave to simmer for 20 minutes. After this time, turn off the heat, but do not remove the lid for 10 minutes, so the quinoa can absorb all the liquid.

Once the tomatoes are cooked, put a sieve over the large bowl you used before, and drain, so all the flavoured oil ends up in the bowl. Tip the liquid into a blender - not the tomatoes! - add the butter beans and half a teaspoon of salt, and whizz until super-creamy; it should be the texture of hummus.

Using a fork, fluff up the quinoa and distribute between four plates. Now spoon on the bean mash, then layer the rocket, tomatoes and more rocket over each plate. Drizzle a little lemon juice and more olive oil on to the leaves, and serve.
Meera Sodha's new book, East: 120 Vegetarian and Vegan Recipes from Bangalore to Beijing, is published next week by Penguin at £20. To pre-order a copy for the special price of £15, go to guardianbookshop.com or call 0330 333 6846. Topics

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Meera Sodha's chipotle tomatoes with butter beans and quinoa | The New Vegan

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In gaming, you can 'double win', where you play once, but win twice. A similar sort of thrill can exist in the kitchen (hear me out, please) when you cook one ingredient and it forms two edible delights - such as in today's recipe.

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Ottolenghi cherry tomato sauce

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Red lentil dahl and carrot salad

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At any time of the year, but especially when the skies are grey, dahl is a reliable weeknight dish that will brighten the spirits. Essentially a red lentil stew (or some would say thick soup) laced with turmeric, ginger, chilli and cumin, dahl comes together quickly with minimal preparation and needs little more than rice to make it a complete dish.

While the brilliance of dahl rests heavily on its simplicity, I've recently become an advocate for making dahl more. With a bit of love, this unassuming lentil stew stealthily transforms into a blank canvas for a gamut of intriguing flavours and textures.

Let your imagination run free - top with roasted root vegetables, crispy potatoes, avocado, a jammy 7-minute egg, or perhaps some lively microgreens. My two favourite toppings are full of colour and character - vibrant beetroot raita, spiced with curry leaves and mustard seeds, delivers a tart edge, while zesty carrot and peanut salad brings freshness and crunch. Add some sautéed greens - try spinach, chard or kale - for added heartiness. I also like to mop up my dahl with roti or naan bread.

Red lentil dahl with beetroot raita and carrot salad

1 cup (200g) red lentils, washed
1 litre water
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
20g (3 tsp) fresh ginger, grated
½ tsp turmeric
3 tbsp vegetable oil or ghee
3-4 dried chillies or 1 tsp red chilli flakes
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 onion, finely chopped
2 small tomatoes
½ tsp garam masala
Sea salt

Place the lentils in a pot of water and bring to the boil (skim off any scum). Add the garlic, ginger and turmeric and a big pinch of salt. Simmer, covered, for about 40 minutes. Stir occasionally.

Heat the oil or ghee. Add the chillies and cumin, and cook for 30 seconds. Next, add the onion, tomatoes, garam masala and a pinch of salt, and cook for about 7-8 minutes, until the mixture is releasing some oil.

Add some of the lentils into this spice mixture and swirl to extract the flavours from the base of the pan, then pour everything into the pot with the lentils.

Cook for another 10 minutes, stirring to break up some of the lentils. If it's too thick, add some water. Taste and season. Adding toppings, to your liking.

Beetroot raita
1 tbsp shredded coconut
1 tbsp neutral oil such as canola
1 tsp mustard seeds
4 fresh curry leaves
½ to 1 green chilli, finely chopped
1 medium beet, peeled and grated (about 2 cups)
¼ tsp turmeric
2 cups plain good-quality Greek yoghurt
Handful of mint leaves, chopped
Sea salt

Rehydrate the coconut by soaking in hot water.
Hetty McKinnon's black bean, corn and spinach layered enchilada bake recipe
In a small pan, heat the oil and once hot, add the mustard seeds, and cover with lid to allow the seeds to pop. When the popping stops, add the curry leaves and chilli and stir. Add the grated beetroot, turmeric and a pinch of salt.

Cook for 5 minutes, remove from heat and allow the beets to cool.

Add the beets to the yoghurt, stir just a little to get a marbling effect. Top with mint.

Carrot and peanut salad
2 large carrots, grated
Juice of ½ lime
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp neutral oil such as canola
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tbsp roasted peanuts, crushed
Handful coriander, chopped
Sea salt

Toss the carrot with lime juice and sugar, and season with a pinch or two of sea salt. Set aside.

Heat the oil in very small pan; once hot, add the mustard seeds and cover immediately to allow them to pop. Once the popping stops, pour them over the carrot. Add the peanuts and coriander to the carrot, and toss to combine. Adjust any seasonings.
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Hetty McKinnon's red lentil dahl with beetroot raita and carrot salad recipe

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At any time of the year, but especially when the skies are grey, dahl is a reliable weeknight dish that will brighten the spirits. Essentially a red lentil stew (or some would say thick soup) laced with turmeric, ginger, chilli and cumin, dahl comes together quickly with minimal preparation and needs little more than rice to make it a complete dish.

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Trout with almonds

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Try trout instead of salmon - it's quick and easy to cook, and this recipe is full of sunshine flavours, from BBC Good Food.

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A lovely, refreshing dessert with flavours of the Middle East. Find a recipe for baked figs with honey and more at www.asda.com/recipes.

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Sausages red onion and grapes

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Alastair Little puts it well in the preface to his book Keep it Simple: "Simple food does not necessarily mean quick food, or even easy food, though it can be both. Keeping it simple means being pure in effect - finding natural rhythms and balances, allowing the food to taste of itself." For years I had a Post-It with this quote written on it stuck to the top of my desk, until it was pulled off or lost in a move. It is an idea that makes so much sense - one at the root of so much Italian cooking (and of many other great cuisines, too). It is an idea that drags us back to the raw ingredients and asks us, the cooks, to consider them, taste them, judge them, think about how they transform and work with other ingredients, and how we can bring out the best in them.

Idealising Italian food is tedious, and it is also not useful. What is to be admired, though, and therefore useful, is recognising the confident Italian ability to keep things simple and bring out the best in ingredients. Italian cooking is also chock-full of five-ingredient recipes: innumerable examples of well-honed, everyday brilliance that are as at home in the UK as in the Mediterranean - what one friend would call "light bulb recipes".
Rachel Roddy's recipe for Sicilian doughnuts | A Kitchen in Rome
I sat for days with a list of my top 10 "take five" recipes on my desk, deciding on the final one in the most objective way I know: closing my eyes and pointing. The result could not have been more appropriate for this time of year, and also happens to be simple, relatively quick and a pleasure to cook.

Rarely, I think, is there ambivalence about cooked fruit in savoury dishes: you either like it or loathe it. If you loathe it, I don't imagine you'll read beyond the title. If you are a fan, I urge you to try this recipe. It's somewhere between the Umbrian sicce all'uva and Sicilian salsicce al vino; sausages with a soft, sweet-and-sour sauce of braised red onion and red and white grapes. Like duck, good sausages with plenty of fat demand sweetness and slight acidity - something grapes have in bucketloads. The dish also includes just a little chilli, which is an important dimension to the sweetness, as does the white wine, which balances the flavour of the sauce.

Now is the time for grapes: look for different varieties, more and more of which are being grown in the UK, especially in private gardens, grapes that are sharp as well as sweet, floral, musty, and also a mixture of colours.

Ideally, you want pure meat sausages, rather than those that include fillers such as rusk or breadcrumbs. Examine packets and ingredient lists and look out for Italian-style sausages, coarser-cut Lincolnshire or a coil of Cumberland - ideally without any pronounced flavourings and seasonings - estimating one to two sausages (150g) per person. Traditionally, this dish would be served alone, with bread on the table for soaking up juices. It is also good with boiled potatoes and, in a few weeks' time, the ultimate in balance and pure effect: mashed potato.

Sausages with grapes and red onion

Olive oil
4-8 sausages
150ml white wine
2 red onions, peeled and sliced into moons
1 small red chilli (fresh or dried)
400g red or green grapes, cut in half and deseeded
Salt

In a large frying pan, warm a little olive oil and brown the sausages on all sides. Pour over the wine, cover and cook for 15 minutes, or until the sausages are cooked through. If the pan looks too dry at any point, add a little more wine. By the end of cooking, there should be just a little thick, glossy sauce.

Lift the sausages from the pan and pour/scrape the sauce into a cup: set aside and keep warm. You might well wonder why I don't cook the onion in the glossy sauce. You can, but I prefer to keep the flavours separate for now.

Add four tablespoons of olive oil to the pan and fry the onion and chilli with a pinch of salt until the onion is soft and lightly golden. Add the grapes and a pinch of salt, increase the heat, and cook at a lively pace for five minutes, stirring often, until the grapes start to soften and wrinkle.

Add the sausages back to the pan along with a spoonful or two of sauce, cook for a minute more, then serve, making sure everyone gets enough of the grapes and soft, sticky sauce.
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Rachel Roddy's recipe for sausages with red onion and grapes | A Kitchen in Rome

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Alastair Little puts it well in the preface to his book Keep it Simple: "Simple food does not necessarily mean quick food, or even easy food, though it can be both. Keeping it simple means being pure in effect - finding natural rhythms and balances, allowing the food to taste of itself."

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One pot chicken with chilli and cinnamon

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The advantages and joys of one-vessel cooking are many, especially when the pan also contains a grain.

The addition of rice, cracked wheat or pasta, for example, takes care of the side dish question (you can add another one if you like, but you really don't have to), so you end up with a meal to fill a family of hungry mouths.

The grains are particularly delicious after slowly absorbing the aromatic liquids and juices in which they're cooked, while releasing their starches as they plump up, and thicken the broth. I guess you could say it's an osmosis of sorts (or a very welcome exchange): flavour in, texture and sustenance out.

Lamb pilaf with sweet almonds and sour plums (above)

Iranian dried sour plums, known as aloo bukhara, are like nature's candy; they are beautifully orange, sweet, sour and hard to resist.

They are used in a variety of Persian dishes but are also great to snack on. You can find them in most Middle Eastern supermarkets, but if you can't get your hands on any, then use dried apricots or sour cherries instead. This is a celebration dish, perfect for sharing and well worth the effort.

3 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, peeled and thinly sliced (150g)
6 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
500g lamb mince (20% fat)
½ tsp saffron threads, roughly crushed
1 tsp ground cardamom
1½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp dried rose petals
Salt and black pepper
300g basmati rice, washed and soaked for 1-2 hours in plenty of cold water, then drained
20g dill, roughly chopped
10g parsley, roughly chopped

For the sweet almonds
1½ tsp olive oil
4 tsp caster sugar
¾ tsp ground cinnamon
100g blanched almonds

For the sour plum dressing
10g dill, finely chopped
10g parsley, finely chopped
1 green chilli, finely chopped(10g)
150g dried sour plums, pitted and roughly chopped (or 100g dried apricots, quartered)
3 tbsp cider vinegar
60ml olive oil

Heat the oven to 180C (160C fan)/gas 4 and line a small oven tray with baking paper. On a medium-high heat, warm three tablespoons of oil in a large saucepan for which you have a lid. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, until softened and browned - about seven minutes. Add the garlic, lamb, saffron, cardamom, cinnamon and half the rose petals, and cook, stirring to break up the mince, until no longer pink, about four minutes. Add 250ml water, a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper, and cook for seven minutes, stirring occasionally, until all the liquid is absorbed.

Add the rice, herbs, 520ml hot water, a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper, and bring to a boil. Cover the pan tightly with foil, then a lid, and turn the heat to its lowest setting. Cook for 15 minutes, then set aside, still covered, for another 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the almonds. Put the oil, sugar, cinnamon and a tablespoon of water in a small saucepan on a medium heat. Bring to a boil, stirring often, then add the almonds. Cook, stirring, for three minutes, then transfer to the lined oven tray and bake for 12 minutes, stirring once halfway, until golden. Leave to cool, then roughly chop. Meanwhile, mix all the dressing ingredients and a quarter-teaspoon of salt in a small bowl.

To serve, spread out the rice on a large platter. Top with the almonds and remaining rose petals, and spoon over the dressing.

One-pot chicken with orzo, porcini and cinnamon

You can't get much more than this tender chicken by way of comfort and pure deliciousness. My favourite bit, though, is the orzo pasta, which drinks in all the chicken juices. Serve this with your favourite savoury chilli sauce, if you like.

3-4 dried cascabel
chillies (25g)
4 cinnamon sticks
30g dried porcini
1 whole chicken (1.5kg)
Salt and pepper
2 lemons, 1 halved and the other cut into 4 wedges
60ml olive oil
500g celery (about 6-8 sticks), cut at a slight angle into 4cm lengths
2 onions, peeled, and each cut into 8 wedges
6 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
8 thyme sprigs
320g orzo
1 tbsp flat-leaf parsley leaves, roughly chopped

Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/gas 6. Put the chillies and cinnamon in a small frying pan on a medium-high heat, and cook for about eight minutes, or until fragrant and toasted. Transfer to a large bowl with the porcini mushrooms and 1.1 litres boiling water. Cover with a plate and leave to soak for at least 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, pat the chicken dry and sprinkle all over with half a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of black pepper, then stuff the cavity with one lemon half.

Put a large ovenproof, cast-iron saucepan, for which you have a lid, on a medium-high heat and add two tablespoons of oil. Add the chicken and cook on all sides until browned - about seven minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate, add the remaining two tablespoons of oil to the saucepan, along with the celery and onion, and cook for six minutes, until lightly golden. Add the garlic and thyme and cook for another minute, until fragrant. Return the chicken to the pan breast side up, then pour over the porcini liquid, along with all the aromatics, two teaspoons of salt and a good grind of black pepper. Bring to a simmer, cover with a lid and transfer to the oven for 50 minutes. Remove from the oven and stir through the orzo, pushing some into the bird's cavity. Cover again and bake for 20 minutes more, until the orzo is cooked and has absorbed most of the liquid.

Turn up the oven to 220C (200C fan)/gas 7, uncover and bake for 10 minutes, or until browned on top. Leave to cool slightly - 10-15 minutes.

To serve, squeeze over the other lemon half, sprinkle with the parsley and serve directly from the pan, with the lemon wedges alongside.

Charred shallots cooked in freekeh

The unique smoky and nutty qualities of freekeh are amplified here with the addition of charred shallots and cascabel chillies. The dish is robust enough to be served as a main course, with some lightly cooked greens or a chopped salad alongside.

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Yotam Ottolenghi's charred shallots cooked in freekeh.

3½ tbsp white miso paste (70g)
60ml olive oil
1½ tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp tomato paste
5 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
¾ tsp ground cinnamon
500ml vegetable stock
Salt and pepper
350g medium banana shallots (about 8-10), peeled
3 dried cascabel chillies,roughlybroken
350g cracked freekeh, soaked in cold water for half an hour, then drained

For the tahini sauce
80g tahini
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
2 tbsp lemon juice

To serve
1 tbsp flat-leaf parsley leaves finely chopped
2 tbsp chives, finely chopped
3 tbsp olive oil

Whisk the first seven ingredients together in a large jug with 400ml water, a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of black pepper.

Put a large saute pan for which you have a lid on a high heat. Once hot, add the shallots and char for 16 minutes, turning a few times, until slightly blackened all over. Add the cascabels and char for 90 seconds more, until fragrant. Pour over the stock mixture, bring to a simmer, then turn the heat down low. Cover and cook for 10 minutes, until the shallots begin to soften.

Carefully transfer the shallots to a plate for a moment while you stir the freekeh into the sauce, then return the shallots to the pan, spaced apart. Cover with the lid again, and cook for 15 minutes, or until the freekeh is cooked through and most of the liquid has been absorbed. Remove from the heat, leaving the lid on, and set aside for 10 minutes.

Put the tahini sauce ingredients in a small bowl with four tablespoons of water and a quarter-teaspoon of salt, and whisk smooth. In a separate small bowl, combine the parsley, chives and oil.

Drizzle half the tahini sauce over the freekeh, followed by all the herb oil. Serve directly from the pan, with the remaining sauce alongside.
Topics

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The advantages and joys of one-vessel cooking are many, especially when the pan also contains a grain. The addition of rice, cracked wheat or pasta, for example, takes care of the side dish question (you can add another one if you like, but you really don't have to), so you end up with a meal to fill a family of hungry mouths.

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Slater figs poached in red wine

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Nigel Slater's recipe is so simple, yet full of flavour - it's the perfect quick pudding.

Nutrition: per serving

Calories

134kcals

Fat

0.4g (0.1g saturated)

Protein

1.7g

Carbohydrates

20.9g (21g sugars)

Fibre

2.4g

Salt

2.4g

Nutrition: per serving

Calories

134kcals

Fat

0.4g (0.1g saturated)

Protein

1.7g

Carbohydrates

20.9g (21g sugars)

Fibre

2.4g

Salt

2.4g

Ingredients

12 small and plump figs

250ml red wine or port

1 vanilla pod

2 tbsp runny honey

2 heaped tbsp redcurrant jelly

Method

1. Put the fruit into a stainless steel pan. Pour the red wine/port over the fruit along with 125ml water, then tuck the vanilla pod underneath and trickle over the honey and fruit jelly.

2. Simmer gently for 15-20 minutes or so until the fruit is tender.

3. Lift the figs into a serving dish, then bring the juices to the boil and keep an eye on them until about half has evaporated. You will have a dark red, glossy syrup that will thicken even further, almost to the consistency of liquid honey, as it cools.

4. Strain the syrup over the figs and put aside to cool. I serve these at room temperature.

delicious. tips

The size of the figs and their ripeness will determine exactly how long you need to cook them for. You want the skins to be starting to wrinkle and the insides to be fleshy and soft when you take them off the heat. The cooked figs will continue to soften as they cool in the liquid. If you have any leftovers, they will taste just as good eaten the next day.

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Figs, red wine and fruit jelly | delicious. magazine

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Nigel Slater's recipe is so simple, yet full of flavour - it's the perfect quick pudding. Calories 134kcals Fat 0.4g (0.1g saturated) Protein 1.7g Carbohydrates 20.9g (21g sugars) Fibre 2.4g Salt 2.4g Nutrition: per serving Calories 134kcals Fat 0.4g (0.1g saturated) Protein 1.7g Carbohydrates 20.9g (21g sugars) Fibre 2.4g Salt 2.4g 12 small and plump figs 250ml red wine or port 1 vanilla pod 2 tbsp runny honey 2 heaped tbsp redcurrant jelly Put the fruit into a stainless steel pan.

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Plum crumble part 1

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Plum Crumble part 2

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Try a fruity version of the classic sticky toffee pudding for a rich after-dinner treat. Serve with cream, custard or vanilla ice cream

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David’s halloumi stuffed peppers

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Full of wonderful flavours and textures, these vegetarian stuffed peppers make a great supper or dinner party starter. From BBC Good Food.

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Ripe Pear Pud

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Pears have a rapid ripening process that turns them quickly from a hard, impenetrable fruit into a floury mush that browns and bruises easily. The delectable flesh of a ripe fruit is only momentarily perfect, so to avoid a glut of over-ripe pears, control when they ripen by storing them in the bottom of the fridge, where it's coldest, and take them out one by one to ripen as you need them.

Pears have different uses throughout their life. A hard pear is crisp and refreshing, with a subtle fragrance, perfect for slicing into salads or for cooking when you want it to hold its shape. Softer, ripe pears are good eaten just as they are. And over-ripe and even heavily bruised fruit are best cooked into a nutritious puree or cake such as this one.

Upside-down sticky toffee pear cake

This works well with any pear no matter how hard or ripe and bruised it is: all will melt into the sticky cake dough, and will become a delicious companion to the rich and sticky, date-flavoured cake.

Serves 6
200g dates, roughly chopped
350ml oat drink or milk
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
100ml olive oil
150g unrefined sugar
220g wholemeal flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 pinch nutmeg
½ tsp ginger
½ tsp cinnamon
1-3 pears, cut in half and cored

Heat the oven to 200C (190C fan)/410F/gas 6½. Put the dates in a saucepan with the oat drink or milk, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for five minutes.
Tamal Ray's recipe for Russian pear and blackberry cake | The Sweet Spot
Off the heat, add the bicarbonate of soda and stir for 30 seconds, or until the dates begin to dissolve. Leave to cool, then mix in the olive oil, 50g of the sugar, the flour, baking powder, nutmeg, ginger and cinnamon.

Grease and line a medium-sized cake tin. Sprinkle the rest of the sugar over the base of the tin. If you have only one pear, slice it and lay it out over the base of the tin; if you have two pears, cut them into large chunks; and if you have three or more pears, put the halves cut-side down in the tin.

Cover with the cake mixture and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until just cooked and springy to the touch. Turn out and serve warm.
Topics

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Pears have a rapid ripening process that turns them quickly from a hard, impenetrable fruit into a floury mush that browns and bruises easily. The delectable flesh of a ripe fruit is only momentarily perfect, so to avoid a glut of over-ripe pears, control when they ripen by storing them in the bottom of the fridge, where it's coldest, and take them out one by one to ripen as you need them.

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Clementine Curd

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When it comes to sweet things, I love the balance of sweet and sharp: lemon drizzle cake, margaritas, rhubarb crumble.

Normally, I reach for a lemon, but this week, with the first of the clementines, mandarins and tangerines around, I've gone for those instead.

Today's cake is my version of the classic Claudia Roden boiled orange cake - which, don't get me wrong, can't be bettered - but I was craving more acidity and some crunch, too, so I added a lemon to the pan with the oranges and finished the cake with a deeply untraditional streusel topping.

I made a curd, too, which felt right in this weather and brought a blast of sunny citrus to my toast.

I welcome the crunch, but you can skip the streusel topping if you want to keep this more traditional.

3 unwaxed clementines, unpeeled
1 unwaxed lemon
1 knob butter, for greasing
4 tbsp demerara sugar
6 organic eggs
250g soft brown sugar
250g ground almonds
1 tsp baking powder
1 pinch salt

For the streusel topping
25g plain or white spelt flour
15g rolled oats
65g demerara sugar, plus 1 tbsp extra to top
50g cold unsalted butter, cubed
25g pecans or hazelnuts, plus a few extra, roughly chopped, to top

Wash the clementines and lemon, then put them in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil, simmer for about an hour and a half, until very soft, then remove from the pan and leave to cool.

While the fruit is simmering, blitz all the streusel ingredients in a food processor, then tip into a bowl and put in the fridge.

Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/gas 6, and grease a 24cm, loose-bottomed cake tin with butter. Sprinkle with the demerara sugar, tilting the tin so it coats all of the sides - there's no need for baking paper, because the sugar will stop the cake from sticking.

Once the clementines and lemon are cool enough to handle, cut them open and remove and discard the pips. Add the clementines and lemon to the same food processor you blitzed the streusel topping in (no need to wash it), and blitz on high until you have a smooth puree.

In a stand mixer, beat the eggs and brown sugar for a minute or two, until pale and fluffy, then add the ground almonds, citrus puree, baking powder and a pinch of salt, and mix again until light and smooth. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin, then sprinkle over the streusel topping. Scatter over the remaining tablespoon of demerara sugar and the roughly chopped pecans.

Bake in the middle of the oven for an hour, or until a skewer comes out clean, then leave to cool in the tin. Turn out and serve with a dollop of creme fraiche.

This is sunshine in a jar: on a grey morning, you will thank yourself for making it.

Put a citrus spring in your step: Anna Jones' clementine curd.

250ml freshly squeezed clementine juice and the zest of 5 unwaxed clementines
Juice of ½ lemon
30ml runny honey
1 good pinch flaky sea salt
2 organic whole eggs plus 2 egg yolks
75g unsalted butter, room temperature, cubed

Put the clementine and lemon juice in a small saucepan, bring to a simmer and leave to reduce to about 130ml. Turn off the heat and add the honey, clementine zest and salt.

Lightly beat the eggs and yolks with a fork, then add to the saucepan. Stir constantly over a very low heat for around eight to 10 minutes, until the curd has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon. Take the curd off the heat, add the butter a few cubes at a time and stir continuously to emulsify. Pour into sterilised jars: it will thicken more as it cools. This will keep refrigerated for up to two weeks, or up to a month in the freezer.

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Anna Jones' clementine recipes | The Modern Cook

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When it comes to sweet things, I love the balance of sweet and sharp: lemon drizzle cake, margaritas, rhubarb crumble. Normally, I reach for a lemon, but this week, with the first of the clementines, mandarins and tangerines around, I've gone for those instead.

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Christmas cake

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hristmas is coming, ready or not, so you may as well embrace the most wonderful time of the year and get baking. This deliciously squidgy, zesty recipe will convince all but the most diehard fruitcake denier. Like many of us, it only improves with age and the judicious application of small amounts of strong liquor.

250g currants
250g sultanas
100g dried figs, roughly chopped
100g glace cherries, cut in half
100g mixed peel
125ml whisky, plus extra to feed (or cold black tea or fruit juice)
125g butter, softened
125g muscovado sugar
4 eggs, beaten
130g plain flour
½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp mixed spice
50g ground almonds
Salt
Grated zest of 1 lemon
50g whole almonds, roughly chopped
25g crystallised ginger, chopped (optional)

To ice (optional)
5 tbsp smooth jam (apricot is the classic choice)
450g marzipan
Icing sugar, to dust
450g ready-to-roll icing

1 Mix and match

A note about ingredients: those listed are my preferred mix of dried fruit and nuts, but fruitcake is a very personal thing, so feel free to substitute your own blend -sour cherries or cranberries instead of glace fruit; chopped dates or apricots instead of figs; a simple bag of supermarket mixed fruit - so long as you keep the total weight the same.

2 The trick to a moist cake

Many people claim they don't like fruitcake because it's dry. Avoid this by soaking the dried fruit and peel in either whisky (or cold tea or fruit juice, if you'd prefer to keep your cake teetotal). Cover and leave to steep for six to 12 hours - I usually do this the night before I'm planning to bake.

3 Be protective

Grease and line a 20cm springform cake tin with two layers of baking paper: this may seem unnecessarily fiddly, but it will prevent the outer layers from burning - very handy when you're baking with dried fruit, which has a tendency to catch and become very bitter where it sticks out from the sides of the cake.

4 Get creaming

Heat the oven to 160C/325F/gas 2½. Put the butter and sugar in a large bowl and cream together until very light and fluffy; I'd recommend using electric beaters for at least five minutes until it has significantly increased in volume. Gradually add the eggs, beating well between each addition so the mix doesn't curdle.

5 Add the spices

Sift the flour into another large bowl, then whisk in the baking powder, spice, ground almonds and a pinch of salt. If you're not a fan of mixed spice, or don't have it to hand, you can substitute vanilla extract or other sweet spices, though bear in mind that the likes of nutmeg and cardamom are very strong, so go easy with them.

Fold these dry ingredients into the butter and sugar mixture, along with the soaked fruits and any remaining soaking liquid, lemon zest, chopped almonds (again, use other nuts or leave them out if you prefer) and ginger, if using. You can leave it out if you like, but it does give the cake a lovely burst of heat.

7 The bake

Gently tip into the prepared tin and smooth the surface, then excavate a small dip in the middle to prevent a doming effect as the cake rises in the oven. Bake for about an hour, then cover with foil and bake for half an hour more, checking with a skewer every 10 minutes: it's done when the skewer comes out a little sticky, but not claggy with mixture.

8 Add more booze

Leave the cake to cool in the tin, then use a skewer to poke holes all over the top and pour over a little more whisky, tea or juice. Leave this to soak in, then tightly wrap the cake, still in its greaseproof paper, in foil and leave to mature. Feed it with more booze (or tea or juice) every week or so (or when you remember), until you're ready to ice nearer the big day.

9 To finish

Heat the jam with a splash of water until bubbling. Spread on top of the cake. Roll out the marzipan on a surface dusted with icing sugar, until large enough to cover the cake. Lift it over the cake, gently smooth down and trim the edges. Leave to dry for a couple of days, then brush with whisky (or cooled boiled water). Repeat the process with the ready-to-roll icing. Store in an airtight container and, if making the version with fruit juice, eat within a week or so.

This article was amended on 4 February 2021 to clarify that the version made with fruit juice should be eaten a week or so after the cake has been iced.

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How to make Christmas cake | Masterclass

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hristmas is coming, ready or not, so you may as well embrace the most wonderful time of the year and get baking. This deliciously squidgy, zesty recipe will convince all but the most diehard fruitcake denier. Like many of us, it only improves with age and the judicious application of small amounts of strong liquor.

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Ottolenghi party dinners

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eeding a crowd is fun, but it requires a fair bit of organisation. Three practical tips, then. First, plan and prepare as much as you can in advance: marinate meat, make sauces and dressings, toast and chop nuts, grill vegetables. Next, picture the plate you're planning to serve: more is not always more, and you don't need to offer 12 different things to choose from. I often draw a quick sketch of the dish as I imagine it: does everything fit on the one plate, and would I want to eat it? Finally, give a thought to portion size: if a recipe says a dish serves four and you have 12 to feed, chances are you'll be able to double (rather than triple) the quantities without your guests going hungry - especially if you're making a range of dishes. Also, bear in mind that the more guests you have, the less, proportionately, they'll eat. So, plan, picture, portion. Then party.

A great dish for feeding a gang, because you can get so much of the work done in advance. Sear the meat, grill the pepper, prepare the sauce (hold back on the mint until serving, because it will discolour if left to sit around). Then, when you're ready to serve, all you have to do is finish off the meat in the oven and add the mint to the sauce. As always with garlic, don't double the amount when doubling the other ingredients: seven or eight cloves will be fine to feed 12. Serves six.

Put the garlic in a large bowl with two teaspoons of lemon zest, 90ml lemon juice, all the thyme, half the oil, a teaspoon and a half of salt and a really good grind of pepper. Toss the lamb fillets in the mix until well coated, then refrigerate for at least two hours (or overnight) to marinate.

Heat two tablespoons of oil in a small pan, add the almonds and cook, stirring continuously, for three to four minutes, until golden brown and evenly cooked. Take off the heat, leave to cool a little, then roughly chop and put in a bowl (discard the cooking oil). Add a teaspoon of lemon zest, 60ml lemon juice, the honey, orange blossom water, half a teaspoon of salt, a good grind of black pepper and three tablespoons of oil, stir to combine and set aside.

Heat the oven to 220C/425F/gas mark 7. Put a large ridged griddle pan on a high heat and ventilate the kitchen. Rub the peppers all over with a tablespoon of oil and a quarter-teaspoon of salt, then grill for about 10 minutes, turning once halfway, until charred on both sides. Leave to cool, then cut into 2cm-wide strips.

Put the lamb fillets on the piping-hot griddle (reserve the marinade) and grill for about four minutes in total, turning once halfway, until charred and starting to caramelise on both sides. Transfer the browned fillets to a roasting tray, add the peppers and reserved marinade, and roast for three to four minutes for medium-rare (or for a few minutes longer if you prefer it more done). You could also hold the meat in the fridge after its initial griddling, in which case bring it up to room temperature before roasting and give it 15 minutes in the oven. (Either way, timings will depend on the thickness of the meat: to tell how well it's done, press a finger on to the meat: the less give it has, the more it is cooked.) Once the lamb is done, take it from the oven, cover with foil and leave to rest for five to 10 minutes.

Carve the lamb into 1cm-thick slices and arrange on a platter with the peppers. Finely chop the mint, add to the sauce and spoon on top. Serve any excess sauce on the side.

This is a glorious thing to have in the fridge, ready for piling on toast or serving with grilled chicken or fish. However many people I'm cooking for, I find it hard not to double or even triple the quantities given here, so I can snack on the leftovers in the days that follow. If you're inclined to do the same, hold back on the yoghurt until serving: you don't want to add it to the mix. Serves four, generously.

200g Greek-style yoghurt
Heat the oven to its highest setting (250C/480F/gas mark 10). Put the aubergines on two baking trays and roast for an hour, turning them halfway, until the flesh is completely soft and slightly smoky. Remove and, once cool enough handle, scoop out the flesh into a colander (discard the skins) and leave in the sink or over a bowl for 30 minutes, so any excess liquid drains away.

Scatter the tomatoes on one of the now-empty aubergine trays and roast for 12 minutes, until slightly blackened, split and soft.

Meanwhile, bring a large saucepan of water to a boil, add the lentils, turn down the heat to medium and cook for 20 minutes, until they're cooked but still have some bite. Drain and set aside to steam dry a little.

Tip the lentils into a large bowl and add the aubergine, tomatoes, oil, lemon juice, garlic, four tablespoons of oregano, one and a half teaspoons of salt and lots of pepper. Mix to combine, then spoon into a shallow serving bowl. Top with yoghurt - if you want, swirl it through to create attractive white streaks. Sprinkle over the remaining oregano, drizzle with a little oil and serve.

This North African-inspired pasta is short on effort and big on complex flavour. The sauce can be made well in advance - it will keep in the fridge for at least three days - and can be happily doubled or tripled. If you do so, you'll be able to produce last-minute or unplanned feasts in as much time as it takes to cook the pasta. If you can't get pappardelle, another wide, flat pasta (such as tagliatelle) also works well - as does any pasta, really, or even couscous or quinoa. Serves four.

On a medium-high flame, heat the oil in a large saute pan for which you have a lid, then fry the onions for eight minutes, stirring every once in a while, until soft and caramelised. Add the harissa, tomatoes, olives, capers and a half-teaspoon of salt, and fry, stirring often, for three to four minutes, until the tomatoes start to break down. Add 200ml water, bring to a boil, then turn down the heat to medium-low, cover the pan and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the lid, cook for four to five minutes more, until the sauce is thick and rich, then stir in two-thirds of the parsley and set aside.

Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil, cook the pasta as per the packet instructions, until al dente, then drain. Return the pasta to the pot, add the sauce and an eighth of a teaspoon of salt, and toss to coat. Divide between four shallow bowls and serve hot, with a spoonful of yoghurt and sprinkle of parsley.

Serve this sweet and aromatic dish with flatbread, to soak up all those flavourful juices. If you want to get ahead, make the dal a day or two in advance; keep it covered in the fridge and warm through gently before serving. If you go down this route, leave the cod in the oil and curry powder mix for only 30 minutes or so, because fish breaks down if it's left to marinate for too long. Leftover dal is delicious, so there's no harm in scaling up and having too much. Serves four.

Drain and rinse the split peas. Put the shallot, lemongrass and ginger in the small bowl of a food processor and blitz until very finely chopped.

On a medium flame, heat two tablespoons of oil in a large saucepan for which you have a lid. Fry the shallots, lemongrass and ginger for 12 minutes, stirring often, until soft but without much colour, then stir in the stock, coconut milk, mango, a teaspoon of curry powder and the drained split peas. Bring to a boil, turn the heat to low, cover and simmer for 35-40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the peas soften.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, mix the remaining teaspoon of curry powder with two tablespoons of oil, add the cod fillets, rub all over, cover with clingfilm and set aside at room temperature while the dal is cooking.

Heat the oven to 190C/375F/gas mark 5. Once the dal has cooked, transfer the cod to a 30cm x 40cm oven tray lined with baking paper, sprinkle with a small pinch of salt and roast for 10 minutes, until the flesh is opaque and flaky.

Transfer the split peas to a blender, add the lime leaves, turmeric and a teaspoon of salt, and blend smooth. Spoon the lentils into four shallow bowls, top with the yoghurt, fish (whole or broken into large flakes) and coriander, and finish with a drizzle of oil and a grind of black pepper. Serve with a lime wedge.

If you marinate the meat in advance and are a dab hand at slicing fennel (a mandoline is your best friend here), this can be on the table within 10 minutes. All quantities can be doubled to serve 12 (apart, again, from the garlic, which you should take up to only five or six cloves if doubling the rest). Serves six.

In a large bowl, toss the pork with four teaspoons of fennel seeds, the chilli, garlic, 60ml oil, three-quarters of a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper, then cover with clingfilm and put in the fridge to marinate for 30 minutes (or even overnight).

Heat a large frying pan on a high flame, then fry the pork slices in two or three batches for two minutes each, turning them halfway, until both sides are a dark golden brown and the meat is just cooked.

Put the remaining oil in a large bowl with the fennel, lemon juice, rocket, tarragon, remaining half-teaspoon of fennel seeds, a quarter-teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper. Toss to coat, then divide between six plates. Arrange the pork alongside, pour any cooking juices on top and serve warm.

Food styling: Emily Kydd. Prop styling: Jennifer Kay.

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A cunning plan: Yotam Ottolenghi's main course recipes for a Christmas party

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eeding a crowd is fun, but it requires a fair bit of organisation. Three practical tips, then. First, plan and prepare as much as you can in advance: marinate meat, make sauces and dressings, toast and chop nuts, grill vegetables.

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Ottolenghi Mushroom Lasagne

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Mushrooms are little flavour sponges that will soak up just about anything you throw at them. Given the opportunity, they will also eagerly release their own extraordinary, savoury assets and meaty textures.

It takes a bit of know-how to unleash that potential, and those friendly fungi do need a bit of tough love every now and then. Tear, shred or mince them before subjecting them to searing heat and lots of oil both to stop them from going sloppy-squidgy and to ensure you get that full-on, delicious, mushroomy umami delight.

Confit oyster mushrooms with lemon aïoli (pictured above)

The flavoured oil you get from the initial cooking of the mushrooms is used later both in the aïoli and to give the mushrooms a final sear. You'll still have some left over, though, so don't let it go to waste: drizzle it over salads or roast veg. If you can't get baby king oyster mushrooms, use another wild mushroom instead, or 800g oyster mushrooms in total. I like these with toasted sourdough.

600g oyster mushrooms, roughly torn in half if large
200g baby king oyster mushrooms
10 sprigs fresh thyme
3 large sprigs fresh rosemary
2 bay leaves
1 tsp dried pink peppercorns, lightly crushed, plus ¾ tsp extra, to serve
2 lemons - zest of 1 finely shaved, to get 8 strips, and juiced, to get 1½ tsp, the other cut into 4 wedges, to serve
6 garlic cloves, peeled and bashed with the flat of a knife
Flaked sea salt
600ml olive oil
2 egg yolks
1 tsp dijon mustard
1½ tbsp sunflower oil
1½ tbsp finely chopped parsley

Put the mushrooms in a large saucepan with the thyme, rosemary, bay, crushed peppercorns, lemon peel, five garlic cloves and two teaspoons of flaked salt. Pour over the oil - the mushrooms won't be completely submerged initially - and put on a medium-high heat. Once the oil starts to bubble very gently, turn the temperature to its lowest setting and cook, uncovered, for an hour, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are tender. Strain off 100ml of the oil and set aside to cool, so it can be used in the aïoli.

Strain the mushrooms through a sieve, reserving the remaining cooking oil but discarding the bay leaves, lemon peel and any large herb sprigs. (If you're not eating the mushrooms straight away, transfer them to a clean glass jar, along with all the remaining oil and aromatics, and refrigerate for up to four days.)

To make the aïoli, put the remaining garlic clove in the small bowl of a food processor with the egg yolks, mustard, lemon juice and half a teaspoon of flaked salt. Blend to a smooth paste and, with the motor running, add the sunflower oil in a slow, steady stream, followed by the cooled mushroom cooking oil, until the mix emulsifies into a thick mayonnaise.

To finish, put a large saute pan on a high flame and, once it's very hot, add half the drained mushrooms and a tablespoon and a half of their cooking oil, and fry for about five minutes, until golden in places. Stir through half the parsley, then transfer to a bowl and repeat with the remaining mushrooms, another tablespoon and a half of their oil and the remaining parsley.

Spoon the mushrooms on to four plates, top with a generous spoonful of aïoli, sprinkle over a pinch of crushed pink peppercorns and serve with the lemon wedges alongside.

The ultimate tray-bake ragu

There's no denying this ingredients list is a bit on the long side, but it all helps to give this vegan (provided you use vegetable stock) ragu its fantastic umami-ness. The method, however, couldn't be simpler: if you have a food processor, pulse the first six ingredients until finely chopped, which will save lots of time. You can get ahead by making the ragu up to three days in advance and keeping it in the fridge; when you reheat it, let it down with a little water or stock, to loosen. Serve over pasta, polenta, rice or any vegetable mash.

3 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
2 onions, peeled and finely chopped
300g oyster mushrooms, finely chopped
60g dried porcini, roughly blitzed
4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
350g plum tomatoes (ie, about 3-4), finely chopped
120ml olive oil
70g white miso paste
40g rose harissa paste
4 tbsp tomato paste
90ml soy sauce
2 tsp cumin seeds, crushed
180g dried brown or green lentils
100g pearl barley
1 litre vegetable (or chicken) stock
160g coconut cream
100ml red wine
Salt and black pepper
15g basil leaves, finely chopped

Heat the oven to 210C (190C fan)/ 410F/gas 6½. Mix the first 12 ingredients in a large, 36cm x 28cm nonstick baking tin and roast for 40 minutes, stirring once halfway, until golden brown and bubbling.

Reduce the heat to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6, and stir all the remaining ingredients except the basil into the tin with 150ml water, half a teaspoon of salt and a very generous grind of black pepper, scraping up the crisp sides and base with a spatula as you go.

Cover tightly with foil, bake for 40 minutes more, then remove the foil and bake for a final five minutes. Set aside to rest for 15 minutes, sprinkle the basil on top and serve.

Spicy mushroom lasagne

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Yotam Ottolenghi's spicy mushroom lasagne.

Four types of mushroom and two types of cheese give this lasagne the most satisfying, savoury intensity that, to my mind, makes it the most glorious meat-free lasagne you'll ever have. There's a fair amount of heat here, so to make it child-friendly, reduce the amount of pepper and omit the chilli altogether. If you don't have a round, 28cm baking dish, use a 30cm x 20cm rectangular one. To get ahead, build the lasagne one day, chill, then bake the next.

750g chestnut mushrooms, halved
500g oyster mushrooms
135ml olive oil, plus a little extra for greasing
Salt and black pepper
60g dried porcini
30g dried wild mushrooms
2 dried red chillies, roughly chopped
500ml hot vegetable stock
1 onion, peeled and quartered
5 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
1 carrot, peeled and quartered
2 plum tomatoes, quartered
75g tomato puree

130ml double cream
60g pecorino romano, finely grated
60g parmesan, finely grated
5g basil leaves, finely chopped
3 tbsp finely chopped parsley leaves, plus 1 tsp extra, to serve
240g dried lasagne (ie, about 14 sheets)

Heat the oven to its highest setting (or 230C fan). In four or five batches, finely chop the fresh mushrooms in a food processor on the pulse setting, then tip into a large bowl and toss with three tablespoons of oil and a teaspoon of salt. Spread out on a large, 40cm x 35cm oven tray lined with baking paper, and roast for 20 minutes in the top third of the oven, stirring once halfway, until the mushrooms are golden brown. Remove and turn down the oven to 220C (200C fan)/425F/gas 7.

Meanwhile, put the dried mushrooms, chillies and hot stock in a large bowl and leave to soak for half an hour. Strain into a second bowl, squeezing as much liquid out of the mushrooms as possible; you should get about 340ml liquid in total, so top up with water, if need be. Very roughly chop the rehydrated chillies and mushrooms. Put the onion, garlic and carrot in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped.

Heat 60ml oil in a large saute pan on a medium-high heat, then fry the onion mix for eight minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden. Pulse the tomatoes in the food processor until finely chopped, then add to the pan with the tomato puree and a teaspoon and a half each of salt and finely cracked black pepper. Cook for seven minutes, stirring occasionally, then add the rehydrated mushroom mix and the roast mushrooms, and cook for seven minutes more, resisting the urge to stir too much: you want them to go slightly crisp and brown on the bottom. Stir in the reserved mushroom liquid and 800ml water and, once it comes up to a simmer, reduce the heat to medium and cook for 18 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mix reduces to a ragu consistency. Stir in 100ml of the cream, simmer for two minutes, then turn off the heat.

Mix both cheeses and both herbs in a small bowl. To assemble the lasagne, spread a fifth of the sauce in the base of a round, 28cm baking dish, top with a fifth of the cheese, followed by a layer of lasagne sheets, broken to fit as necessary. Repeat these layers three more times, then finish with a final layer of sauce and top with the last of the cheese.

Drizzle a tablespoon of cream and a tablespoon of oil over the top, cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the foil, turn up the oven to 240C (220C fan)/465F/gas 9, and bake for 10 minutes more, turning the dish halfway, until the edges are brown and crisp. Leave to rest for five or so minutes, then drizzle over the remaining tablespoon each of cream and oil, sprinkle with the extra parsley and serve hot.
Topics

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Mushrooms are little flavour sponges that will soak up just about anything you throw at them. Given the opportunity, they will also eagerly release their own extraordinary, savoury assets and meaty textures. It takes a bit of know-how to unleash that potential, and those friendly fungi do need a bit of tough love every now and then.

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Kedgeree

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Each Christmas, I used to create a gargantuan banquet out of food that would otherwise be wasted to raise funds for the food waste-redistribution charity Fareshare. The event featured an Italian-American inspired banquet called the Feast of Seven Fishes for which I'd select seven lesser known, sustainably sourced fish species such as hake, gurnard and megrim sole, and use them to cook up a zero-waste feast. However, the best dish was always served on the second night, when we'd make a kedgeree out of all the scraps.

Now that more than 90% of our fish stocks are depleted, it's vital that we stop wasting our oceans and diversifying the fish we do eat. To help you buy fish more sustainably, the Marine Conservation Society has a brilliant app called the Good Fish Guide, while the Marine Stewardship Council has a certification stamp used by many major supermarkets that's worth looking out for.

Kedgeree

Kedgeree recipes usually call for smoked haddock or cod, but any fish or seafood works well - even scraps saved from another meal, making it a great zero-waste recipe. If you roast a fish, save the bones, then salvage any meat from the skeleton and head, before making a flavourful stock with the rest. This dish is also delicious cold and will keep in the fridge for up to five days after you first cooked the fish.

1 tbsp ghee or butter
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp mustard seeds
2 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
150g brown basmati rice
450-500ml fish stock (or water)
200g leftover flaked fish (or freshly poached and flaked smoked haddock)
100g peas
3 sprigs parsley, leaves roughly chopped, stalks finely chopped
Salt and black pepper
1 hard-boiled egg, peeled and cut in half
½ lemon, cut into two wedges, to serve
Yoghurt, to serve

Put a large saucepan on a medium heat, add the ghee or butter and fry the onion for five minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened but not coloured. Add the curry powder, smoked paprika, turmeric, mustard seeds and garlic, and fry for two minutes more.

Stir in the rice, to coat the grains in spices and fat, then add the stock, cover and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat to a simmer and leave to cook for 15-20 minutes, or until the rice is just cooked (add some boiling water, if necessary).

Once the rice is cooked, gently stir in the fish, peas and parsley, season to taste and serve with half a boiled egg and a wedge of lemon on each plate, and yoghurt on the side.
* The Guardian aims to publish recipes for sustainable fish. For ratings in your region, check: UK; Australia; US.
Fiona Beckett's drink match

I'd pick a lighter (ie, non-vintage) fizz with Tom's kedgeree. Try the impressive new Ellercombe English Sparkling (£24, Sainsbury's, 12%), which is £18 on the current 25%-off-six-bottles deal.
Topics

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Christmas breakfast: Tom Hunt's recipe for kedgeree

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Each Christmas, I used to create a gargantuan banquet out of food that would otherwise be wasted to raise funds for the food waste-redistribution charity Fareshare. The event featured an Italian-American inspired banquet called the Feast of Seven Fishes for which I'd select seven lesser known, sustainably sourced fish species such as hake, gurnard and megrim sole, and use them to cook up a zero-waste feast.

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Courgette loaf

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Vegan Xmas Cake

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Vegan Christmas cake - a rich, moist and boozy vegan fruit cake that is perfect for the festive season. Eat right away or make in advance and feed regularly with rum or brandy.
Fruit cake is a bit of a divisive one; I know that a lot of people aren't keen on it, but I absolutely love it and Christmas for me wouldn't be the same without a boozy, fruity cake to nibble on throughout the holidays.

I have blogged a couple of fruitcake recipes before, but neither of them are vegan so I was keen to come up with a vegan version that is just as good.

I tested seven (yes, seven!) different vegan fruit cakes until I came up with a recipe that I was happy with. The final version is fruitcake perfection (at least I think so anyway!). It is moist and dense, packed with boozy fruit, and full of flavour.

The dried fruit is soaked in rum (or your spirit of choice) to make it plump and flavourful. It needs to be soaked at least overnight so do make sure that you start this cake the day before you want to bake it. The fruit can be left to soak for up to a week - I gave mine three days.

The boozy fruit is stirred into a thick batter made flavourful with dark brown sugar, treacle, spices, almonds and orange and lemon zest.

I tested various different fats while developing this vegan Christmas cake, and found that the versions made with dairy free margarine were superior in both taste and texture to those made with coconut oil or sunflower oil, so that is what I have used for this recipe.

Softened coconut oil will work if you would rather use that, but I found that it yielded a cake with a more crumbly texture, and a slightly blander flavour, so if you do use it, make sure that you also add in a good pinch of salt.

Instead of eggs, this recipe uses red wine vinegar and bicarbonate of soda to provide lift. Vinegar and bicarb is my favourite egg replacer to use in cakes; I did do a couple of tests that used flax eggs instead, but I found the texture a little too crumbly.

This vegan Christmas cake is delicious freshly baked, but it can also be made up to six weeks in advance and stored, well wrapped, in an airtight container. Drizzle over a couple of tablespoons of rum or brandy every week or two, alternating top and bottom of the cake, until you are ready to ice it (if you choose to decorate it). But don't feed it for a week before icing it in order to give the surface a chance to dry out.

How To Decorate:

I was going to decorate the cake before photographing it, but I couldn't decide how I wanted to ice it so in the end I just left it plain.

Traditionally, Christmas cakes are covered in a layer of marzipan (brush the cake with warm apricot jam before covering so that the marzipan sticks.) then a layer of either royal icing or fondant. Most shop-bought marzipan and fondant is vegan, though do check the packet of course, and you can make vegan royal icing by swapping the egg white for aquafaba.

Once the vegan Christmas cake is iced, you can add decorations as you wish - I like to keep things simple and just pile some gingerbread star biscuits in various sizes on top. Check out my gingerbread topped Christmas cake recipe for inspiration.

To make a vegan version, simply swap the butter in the gingerbread for dairy free margarine or coconut oil, and follow the recipe for vegan royal icing from my Tombstone cupcakes to ice the biscuits with.

How To Make Vegan Christmas Cake:

(For ingredients and full instructions see the recipe card below)

*For the best results make sure that you follow the recipe closely. As always, I highly recommend using the gram measurements (with a digital scale), rather than the cup conversions. Cup measurements are simply not accurate enough for baking and I cannot guarantee the best results if you use them.*

You need to start preparing the fruit at least the day before you want to bake the cake.

Mix all of the dried fruits together in a large bowl that has a lid, add the rum, stir well, then cover and leave overnight (or for up to a week - give it an occasional stir).

Grease a deep 20cm/8inch round cake tin and line it with a double layer of baking parchment. Because the cake takes a while to bake the extra layer of parchment helps to stop it from burning.

In a large bowl, whisk together dairy free margarine (or softened coconut oil), dark and light brown sugars, treacle and orange and lemon zest until fluffy.

In a separate bowl, sift together plain flour, ground almonds, bicarbonate of soda, mixed spice (pumpkin spice), cinnamon and nutmeg.

Tip the dry ingredients into the margarine mix, along with some plant milk and red wine vinegar and stir until just combined; the batter should be very thick.

Stir in the soaked dried fruits, along with any leftover liquid, and some chopped almonds.

Scrape the batter into the prepared tin and use a spatula to spread it level. Because it is so thick it doesn't spread much in the oven so it is important that you get it as even as you can.

Bake for 2-3 hours until a skewer comes out clean, mine took 2 1/2 hours. Leave the cake to cool in the tin on a wire rack then turn it out and brush all over with rum or brandy.

Wrap it up in baking parchment then tin foil and store in an airtight container, feeding every week or two with rum or brandy, for up to six weeks.

Variations:

You can vary the types of dried fruit that you add to suit your own tastes (I know quite a few mixed peel haters!), as long as you keep the same overall weight - a total of 660g. Chopped dried dates, figs and apricots all work well, and you could even add dried cherries, blueberries or pineapple.

To make this vegan Christmas cake alcohol free, soak the fruit in the same quantity of orange juice. Bear in mind that if you aren't feeding it with alcohol then the cake won't keep for as long, so bake it the same week that you want to serve it.

More Vegan Christmas Recipes:
If you tried this recipe why not tag @domestic_gothess on Instagram and hashtag it #domesticgothess
*All images and content on Domestic Gothess are copyright protected. If you want to share this recipe then please do so by using the share buttons provided. Do not screenshot or post the recipe or content in full.*

Vegan Christmas Cake

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Vegan Christmas cake - a rich, moist and boozy vegan fruit cake that is perfect for the festive season. Eat right away or make in advance and feed regularly with rum or brandy.

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Ingredients

2 medium red peppers

3 small cinnamon sticks, freshly ground (or, failing that, 1½ tbsp ground cinnamon)

4 chipotle chillies, soaked in boiling water for 30 minutes, drained, seeds and stalks removed

3 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped

2½ tbsp white wine vinegar

2½ tsp soft brown sugar

75ml olive oil

Salt and black pepper

1.75kg whole chicken legs (ie with both drumsticks and thighs), skin-on

20g dark chocolate, finely grated

650g baby maris peer potatoes (or other roasting potato), peeled and halved

2 medium sweet potatoes, cut into 2cm x 6cm wedges

2 medium red onions, peeled and quartered

10g coriander leaves, roughly chopped

Chicken meets chocolate in this rich and distinctive dish.

1. Heat the oven to 200C/390F/gas mark 6. Put the peppers on a baking tray and roast for 30 minutes, until the skin has blackened. Transfer to a small bowl, cover with cling-film and set aside. Once cool enough to handle, peel the peppers, and discard the skins, seeds and stalks. Put the pepper flesh in the small bowl of a food processor, and add the cinnamon, chilli, garlic, vinegar, sugar, three tablespoons of the oil, a teaspoon and half of salt and three tablespoons of water. Blitz for a minute, until smooth, then transfer to a large bowl. Add the chicken legs and chocolate, and mix to coat.

2. Put both types of potato in a separate large bowl with the onions, the remaining oil, half a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper. Mix well, combine with the chicken, then tip everything on to a large 30cm x 40cm baking tray. Arrange the chicken skin-side up and roast for about 50 minutes, until the chicken and vegetables are cooked and nicely coloured. Serve at once, with coriander sprinkled on top.

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Ingredients 2 medium red peppers 3 small cinnamon sticks, freshly ground (or, failing that, 1½ tbsp ground cinnamon) 4 chipotle chillies, soaked in boiling water for 30 minutes, drained, seeds and stalks removed 3 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped 2½ tbsp white wine vinegar 2½ tsp soft brown sugar

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Stollen pudding

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Heat oven to 180C/160 fan/gas 4. Put the stollen cubes into an ovenproof serving dish. Mix the cream, milk and eggs together and pour over the stollen. Sprinkle over the amaretti biscuits. Bake for 45 mins until golden and slightly risen. Serve dusted with icing sugar, if you like.

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Heat oven to 180C/160 fan/gas 4. Put the stollen cubes into an ovenproof serving dish. Mix the cream, milk and eggs together and pour over the stollen. Sprinkle over the amaretti biscuits. Bake for 45 mins until golden and slightly risen. Serve dusted with icing sugar, if you like.

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Cauliflower cheese with confit garlic

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t's the sides and sauces that make Christmas dinner. My advice: invest in doing a few really well. Most of us have one oven, which means getting everything golden, perfect and hot at once can be a juggle. So do yourself a favour and make sides that can be cooked in advance, put to one side then heated up at the last minute (in fact, if you don't even get to the heating bit, they will still be delicious). This year, I will be making this cauliflower cheese, some roast potatoes and garlic- and lemon-sauteed greens. And, yes, I hear you ask, roast potatoes can be reheated - it's how they do it in restaurants and they are all the better for it.

I think sides on Christmas Day - and with any roast - should fit into three categories: fresh and green, crunchy and crispy, and indulgent and saucy. You should have at least one of each, and this is a saucy one. Confit garlic makes everything better, so I make a load and keep under oil in a jar in my fridge (I urge you to do the same). Confit garlic, cheesy sauce and burnished cauliflower: I would swap all of my presents for a plate of this.

I think sides on Christmas Day - and with any roast - should fit into three categories: fresh and green, crunchy and crispy, and indulgent and saucy. You should have at least one of each, and this is a saucy one. Confit garlic makes everything better, so I make a load and keep under oil in a jar in my fridge (I urge you to do the same). Confit garlic, cheesy sauce and burnished cauliflower: I would swap all of my presents for a plate of this.

2 heads garlic, tops cut off
1 small bunch thyme,saving 3 sprigs, leaves picked, for the topping
300ml extra-virgin olive oil to cover the garlic (about 300ml)
75g butter or vegan butter
75g plain flour
900ml milk or oat milk
75g cheddar or vegan cheese, grated
50g gruyere or vegan cheese, grated
Salt and black pepper
1 medium cauliflower, broken in to chunky florets, smaller leaves reserved

Put the garlic and thyme in a small saucepan, then cover with the oil until the garlic is completely submerged. Gently cook over a very low heat for 30 minutes, until the garlic is pale, soft and buttery inside but hasn't browned. Be careful not to turn the heat up too much and boil, or the garlic and oil will burn: be patient, it will be well worth it.

Leave the garlic to cool in the oil, then remove with a slotted spoon on to some kitchen paper, reserving the oil for later. This confit garlic is delicious simply spread on toast and will keep for a few weeks in its oil, if you want to make a few extra bulbs for another occasion.

Heat the oven to 180C (160C fan)/gas 4. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over a medium-low heat, then stir in the flour until it forms a paste. Cook for a minute or so, then add the milk a little at a time, whisking continuously into a smooth, white sauce. Squeeze out the soft garlic from one of the bulbs into the bechamel sauce, add half the cheddar, gruyere and seasoning, and mix. It should be quite a loose: sauce it will thicken up as it bakes, so add a little more milk if needed.

Arrange the cauliflower florets and some of the smaller leaves in a baking dish that will fit everything in nicely, then squeeze out the garlic from the other bulb into the spaces between the cauliflower. Pour the garlicky cheese sauce evenly over the cauliflower, then top with the remaining cheese.

Mix the breadcrumbs with the lemon zest, remaining thyme leaves and chopped sage, then sprinkle over the cheesy cauliflower. Finally, spoon over some of the oil from the confit garlic and bake for an hour, until the cauliflower is soft and golden.

Anna Jones' ultimate roast potatoes.

For me, the linchpin of a good Christmas dinner is the roast potato: golden and crunchy on the outside, soft and cloudy inside. I am not normally a 'rule' kind of person - unless we are talking roast potatoes.

Start with good, floury potatoes: maris piper or king edward are both good.

I cook about three large potatoes per person, peeled and cut into roughly golf-ball-sized pieces at random angles, giving more edges to crisp up.

Blanch the potatoes in very well-salted, boiling water for 10-12 minutes, until almost fully cooked and soft on the outside

Drain the potatoes, then shake vigorously in a colander until the potatoes have a ragged, fluffy edge, which will mean golden crisp bits; leave to steam-dry for five minutes in the colander.

Put five tablespoons of olive oil or butter in a large roasting tray, then put in the oven to get really hot before you add the potatoes. Be careful when you do, as hot fat can splash. Toss them in the oil and season well with salt and pepper.

Now is the time to add any flavourings. My favourite combinations are:
a whole, halved bulb of garlic with rosemary sprigs and strips of lemon zest;
lots of flaky salt and two tablespoons of white-wine vinegar, A few bay leaves, sprigs of thyme and strips of orange zest;
or two lemons, zested, halved and added to the tray with a tablespoon of coriander seeds.

Halfway through cooking, lightly squash the potatoes with a potato masher, to give more surface area in contact with the tray, which means more brown bits.

Once the potatoes are crisp, golden and perfect, you can keep them in the roasting tray at room temperature, warming for 10 minutes in a hot oven just before you serve.

If you want to be really ahead of the game, the night before, you can blanch, season and tray up your spuds, tossed in a little oil to stop them discolouring. Keep in the fridge until 30 minutes before you want to cook.

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Christmas sides: Anna Jones' recipes for garlic cauliflower cheese and the ultimate roast potatoes | The modern cook

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t's the sides and sauces that make Christmas dinner. My advice: invest in doing a few really well. Most of us have one oven, which means getting everything golden, perfect and hot at once can be a juggle.

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Brussels Sprouts Cranberries Pecan Salad

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This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
This Brussels Sprouts, Cranberry and Quinoa Salad is super-easy to make with shredded fresh Brussels sprouts and a zippy orange vinaigrette. It's also naturally gluten-free and vegan, so that everyone at the table can enjoy it.
Brussels sprouts are back in season! Which means it's time we all make my favorite Brussels Sprouts, Cranberry and Quinoa Salad! ♡

This salad has been my go-to salad for holiday entertaining for years and years now. It's quick and easy to make with fresh, healthy, seasonal, simple ingredients. It holds up really well in the fridge, if you would like to prep it up to 3 days ahead of time. It looks beautiful on any holiday table, especially with all of those vibrant reds and greens. And best of all - it's quite simply so delicious!

Since many of you probably missed this recipe the first time I shared it five years ago, I thought I would bump it back to the top of the blog today for some holiday salad inspiration. I've updated the post with a fresh batch of new photos, and have also included a video tutorial on how to shred Brussels sprouts either by hand or with the help of a food processor. (Or nowadays, you can also buy Brussels pre-shredded at most grocery stores, if you would like to save a step!)

Tons of our readers have made and loved this recipe over the years, so I hope you enjoy it too!

How To Shred Brussels Sprouts:

Ok, first things first, let's talk about how to shred Brussels sprouts!

Nowadays, you can purchase pre-shredded Brussels sprouts at most grocery stores. But if you would like to shred them yourself, you can either do so by hand (example #2 in the video above). Or if you happen to have a food processor with a blade attachment, you can do so extra-easily with the help of a food processor (example #3 in the video above). No need to cook the Brussels afterwards - we will just be eating them raw as our salad greens.

Shredded Brussels Sprouts Salad Ingredients:

In addition to shredded Brussels sprouts, you will also need the following ingredients for this salad:

Shredded Brussels: As detailed above.

Quinoa: I always like to cook my quinoa in vegetable stock (or chicken stock) to give it extra flavor.

Dried cranberries: Or dried cherries - whichever you prefer.

Chopped pecans: Which I highly recommend taking a few minutes to toast - either in the oven or in a skillet - before adding to the salad, for extra flavor.

Shallot: I've added this into the updated version of this recipe, to round out the rest of those salad flavors. (If you don't have a shallot on hand, you can sub in some finely-chopped red onion instead.)

Orange vinaigrette: Which is super-quick and easy to make with orange juice, olive oil, apple cider vinegar, Dijon, salt and pepper.

Full ingredient amounts/instructions listed in the recipe box below.
How To Make Brussels Salad:

To make this Brussels Sprouts, Cranberry and Quinoa Salad recipe, simply...

1. Make the vinaigrette. In a small bowl, whisk all of the vinaigrette ingredients together until combined. (Or my preference - combine them in a mason jar, cover, and shake until combined.)

2. Make the salad. Combine the shredded Brussels, cooked quinoa, dried cranberries, chopped pecans and shallot in a large bowl. Drizzle evenly with the vinaigrette, then tossed until completely combined.

3. Season. Taste and season the salad with extra salt and pepper, as needed.

4. Serve. Serve immediately, or refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 3 days.

Possible Variations:

Want to customize this recipe a bit? Feel free to...

Add avocado: My best suggestion? Add some diced avocado to this salad for an extra creamy twist - delicious!

Use pomegranates: In place of (or in addition to) dried cranberries, some fresh pomegranate arils would be beautiful in this salad!

Use different nuts/seeds: In place of pecans, feel free to use sliced or slivered almonds, walnuts, pepitas or sunflower seeds.

Add bacon: For an extra delicious twist, feel free to add in some chopped cooked bacon. YUM.

Add arugula: I've also made this salad using half Brussels and half arugula, and the peppery flavor of arugula was a delicious addition to the other flavors.

Add cheese: Some freshly-grated Parmesan or Manchego cheese would also be delicious addition to this salad.

More Favorite Salad Recipes:

Looking for more salad recipe inspiration? Here are a few of my faves!
Print

Brussels Sprouts, Cranberry and Quinoa Salad

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 0 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Yield: 4-6 servings 1x

Tri-Color Quinoa Pecan Halves

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Brussels Sprouts, Cranberry and Quinoa Salad

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This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy. This Brussels Sprouts, Cranberry and Quinoa Salad is super-easy to make with shredded fresh Brussels sprouts and a zippy orange vinaigrette. It's also naturally gluten-free and vegan, so that everyone at the table can enjoy it. Brussels sprouts are back in season!

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Alcohol Free Old Fashioned

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es, the ingredients list is a bit on the long side, but the recipe itself is really very simple indeed. The aim here is to recreate the depth of flavour you get in a traditional old fashioned without resorting to using alcohol. If you can't get hold of hops, a small pinch of gentian root makes a decent substitute - you can get hold of that in healthfood shops. And if you don't use either, simply double the amount of orange peel to compensate. As for the bitters, yes, both do contain some alcohol (Angostura, for example, is all of 44.7% abv), but they're used in such negligible amounts, they add no significant alcohol content, much as many everyday foods do, from bananas to soy sauce.

Serves 1

For the premix (makes 10 servings)
470ml hot water
20g hops - optional (see introduction)
2½ tsp cayenne pepper
9 cloves
4 cinnamon sticks, cracked
2 twists orange peel (or 4 twists if not using hops)
20g loose lapsang souchong tea leaves
140g light musc ovado sugar
5ml orange bitters
9ml Angostura bitters

For the drink (per serve)
35ml old fashioned premix (see above)
35ml water
1 orange twist, to garnish

To make the premix, put the first seven ingredients in a pan and leave to steep for 30 minutes. Strain into a clean jug, then add the sugar and bitters, and stir to dissolve. Fine-strain through muslin, J-cloth or a coffee filter into a sterilised jar and store in the fridge, where it'll keep for up to two weeks.

To serve, pour the premix and water into a rocks glass over ice and garnish with an orange twist.

Sam Dagger, group bar manager, Blacklock, London

This article was edited on 21 January 2020, to clarify the alcohol content in the bitters.

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Cocktail of the week: Blacklock's non-alcoholic old fashioned

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es, the ingredients list is a bit on the long side, but the recipe itself is really very simple indeed. The aim here is to recreate the depth of flavour you get in a traditional old fashioned without resorting to using alcohol.

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Switched looks worth a try

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Feel free to play around with the quantities, depending on how intense and bitter you like your hot chocolate (I err on the dark side). The wine element may sound weird, but it adds a gorgeous, berry fruitiness to the drink.

1 tbsp cocoa powder
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
200ml whole milk
75ml alcohol-free red wine,or elderberry juice
1-2 squares dark chocolate, plus a little extra, grated, to garnish
Squirty cream and/or marshmallows, to garnish

Put the cocoa powder and cinnamon in a small bowl. Heat the milk in a small saucepan over a medium heat until just below boiling, then pour enough hot milk over the cocoa mix just to make a smooth, runny paste.

Pour the paste into the saucepan of milk, add the 'wine', and heat again to just below simmering point. Take off the heat, add the chocolate and stir until melted.

Pour into two small mugs or heatproof glasses, and top each with a generous squirt of cream and/or a couple of marshmallows. Finish with a grating of dark chocolate.

You can, of course, buy cranberry juice everywhere, but this cordial has a much more intense flavour and a vivid, scarlet colour. Save the strained fruit and use it as a topping for muesli, stir it into porridge or add it to a fruit loaf or teabread.

250g granulated sugar
400ml water
200g fresh cranberries, rinsed
2 finely pared strips of unwaxed orange or clementine rind
1 cinnamon stick
30ml freshly squeezed orange or clementine juice, strained
Soda or sparkling water, to serve

Put the sugar in a saucepan and add the water. Heat over a low heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil, then add the cranberries, orange or clementine rind, and the cinnamon, and simmer for five minutes, until the skins of the cranberries have split but the berries are still holding their shape. Take off the heat, add the orange or clementine juice, and leave to cool.

Strain through a fine sieve into a wide-necked jug or bowl, then pour through a funnel into a sterilised bottle or other clean airtight container. Seal and refrigerate for 24-48 hours before using; it will keep in the fridge for up to two weeks.

To serve, dilute 4:1 or 5:1 with soda or sparkling water.

Also known as golden mylk, turmeric latte has been one of the iconic vegan drinks of the past few years, but it's actually quite simple to make at home. The whisking may sound like a bit of a performance, but it's actually key to the drink, because it integrates the spices fully and gives it that luxuriant, foamy texture. You may find you need slightly more turmeric, depending on the strength and freshness of the one you have, while the pepper helps to activate its health-giving properties.

Prep 10 min
Makes 1 mug or 2 smaller cups

225ml coconut, almond or oat milk - I like Rebel Kitchen Mylk, which contains coconut cream, brown rice and cashew
½ tsp ground turmeric
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
⅛ tsp ground ginger
⅛ tsp finely ground black pepper
1 tsp agave or maple syrup, or honey if you're not vegan

Pour the milk into a saucepan and add all the remaining ingredients. Heat over a moderate heat, whisking all the time with a small balloon whisk or milk frother, until it's nice and frothy, then pour into a mug or two smaller cups; if you want a smoother texture, pour the mixture through a fine strainer.

I hadn't heard of Switchel until recently. It's a type of shrub of Caribbean origin (also known as haymaker's punch), that found its way to rural America, where it was drunk by the workers in the fields. It's much more enjoyable than drinking cider vinegar on its own. Adjust the quantities to your own taste.

1-2 tsp (5-10g) grated fresh ginger, to taste
3 tbsp raw cider vinegar
2-3 tbsp maple syrup or raw honey
1 tsp freshly squeezed lemon or lime juice
400ml still or sparkling water, plus extra to dilute

Put everything in a sterilised, wide-necked bottle or jar and seal. Give it a shake, taste, adjust the sweetness, then refrigerate for 24 hours. Strain through a fine sieve, pour into glasses, and top with extra still or sparkling water, to taste.

One of the great things about the number of alcohol-free drinks on the market now is how easy it is to find a good base for a cocktail. The London-based company Tipplesworth is an example - I especially love its espresso martini mix, which can be shaken up just as well with an alcohol-free spirit as with vodka, though you may need to adjust the sweetness by adding an extra shot (or two) of espresso.

1 double shot espresso
2 tsp cocoa powder
100ml alcohol-free spirit, such as Stryyk Not Vodka or Seedlip Spice 94
100ml espresso martini cocktail mixer, such as Tipplesworth
2-4 roasted coffee beans, to garnish

Brew the espresso. Spoon the cocoa powder into a cocktail shaker, then pour over the espresso and leave to cool. Once cool, add some ice to the shaker, along with the alcohol-free spirit and espresso martini mixer, and shake well.

Strain into two martini glasses and garnish each with a roasted coffee bean or two.

I wasn't sure whether to make this a smoothie or a lassi, because it in fact works as both. The lassi is slightly more savoury, while the smoothie is sweeter. Adjust the quantities, depending on how banana-y, coconutty and cardamom-y you want it.

1 medium-large ripe banana, organic for preference - the skin needs to have developed a few black spots
2 heaped tbsp dairy or dairy-free coconut yoghurt
¼ tsp ground cardamom, or a little more to taste

Peel and slice the banana into a blender or food processor. Add the yoghurt and ground cardamom, and blend smooth. Add 100ml water and whizz again.

Divide between two glasses and serve.

Tip: to ice the lassi, put three or four ice cubes in the blender and crush before you add the other ingredients; if you do so, omit the water.

Recipes from Fiona Beckett's new book, How to Drink Without Drinking: Celebratory Alcohol-Free Drinks for any Time of the Day, published by Kyle Books at £15.99. To order a copy for the special price of £14.07 go to guardianbookshop.com.

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Alcohol-free drinks for dry January - recipes | Fiona Beckett

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Feel free to play around with the quantities, depending on how intense and bitter you like your hot chocolate (I err on the dark side). The wine element may sound weird, but it adds a gorgeous, berry fruitiness to the drink.

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Eggs and potatoes

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After his citrus cookery demonstration, the Sicilian chef Corrado Assenza asked us, a room of about 20 people, if there were any questions. I put my hand up into the lemony air. A young man near me did not: he simply shot out his question like a bullet, and it was the same question as mine. Corrado noticed, but I turned my keen arm into a "it's fine" wave, so he answered the man, ending with thanks for a good question, before turning back to me. Acknowledging that my question had been answered would have been the sensible thing to do, but petty rage isn't sensible. Being sensible also felt like giving the upper hand to the usurper, so I grabbed a thought: "What is your comfort food?" translating it as it came out of my mouth (cos'e il tuo comfort cibo?).

Not only did the question feel wrong and twee, it was also a bad translation that didn't make any sense. Even if I had got it right ( qual è il tuo cibo di conforto?), it doesn't have quite the same meaning. The situation was further confused when someone else asked if I meant comfort in terms of comodità, as in "convenient" or "easy". Fortunately, Corrado understood what I was getting at; it depended on when I asked him, he said: "Different moments called for completely different sorts of comfort." He also suggested that maybe the reason there is no need for the term comfort food in Italian is because the words are one and the same: food is comfort.

Maybe it's because there was a time when it wasn't. I think of Corrado and the idea that "food is comfort" often. Mostly with the predictable things: mashed or baked potatoes; pasta with sauce and cheese; baked fruit; tomatoes on bread; a moon of watermelon eaten in the sea; the cricket ball-sized arancine filled with ragu; bechamel and peas we buy from the bar near the port of Palermo, all of them a little homecoming.

But more than the predictable are the other things: the apple I always eat on the way to pick up my son from school; the Polo mint I suck before any sort of interview; the hard-boiled egg I buy from M&S when I arrive at Gatwick, which often gives me heartburn, discomfort-comfort. Writing about the mysterious appetites of grief in her essay S is for Sad (in An Alphabet for Gourmets), the American food writer MFK Fisher notes: "It is as if our bodies, wiser than we who wear them, call out for encouragement and strength ... to eat." I am not comparing an interview to grief, but in that moment, the little Polo clinking beneath my teeth like a mint ceramic is encouragement and strength. It is also familiar.

Food is comfort for me when it is dependable; when I know what is coming: the apple, the egg, doughnuts for breakfast on a Saturday, and fried potatoes and eggs on a Monday. Today's dish isn't really a recipe; rather, it is a way with a kilo of potatoes and four eggs, and one of my favourite things to eat with anyone, but especially just the three of us at this time of year.

I must end by noting that I have debated quite seriously with my partner Vincenzo for 11 years about cooking the potatoes, before admitting his way - uncovered, covered and then uncovered - is best, giving our comfort crisp edges.

Fried potatoes and eggs

Olive oil
1.2kg potatoes, peeled and cut into roughly 1cm cubes (you don't need to be too precise)
Salt
Leaves from 1 rosemary stalk
4 large eggs

Pour some olive oil into a frying pan - seven tablespoons as a guide - then tip in the potatoes along with a good pinch of salt, and put over a medium flame.

Cook for about three minutes, tossing the cubes around until they are coated with oil, then reduce the flame to low and cover with a lid. Leave the potatoes to cook gently, shaking the pan a couple of times, for 15 minutes, in which time they will steam, braise and almost cook through.

Uncover, add the rosemary and raise the heat. As the potatoes are almost cooked, this stage is all about crisping, so fry for 10 minutes, stirring often to brown all sides.

Push the potatoes aside to create four small hollows, break the eggs into the hollows and fry until done. Serve immediately.
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Rachel Roddy's comfort food recipe: fried potatoes and eggs | A Kitchen in Rome

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After his citrus cookery demonstration, the Sicilian chef Corrado Assenza asked us, a room of about 20 people, if there were any questions. I put my hand up into the lemony air. A young man near me did not: he simply shot out his question like a bullet, and it was the same question as mine.

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Chlorination Chicken

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How the mighty have fallen. From royal favourite to sadly soggy sandwich-filling in a single reign, coronation chicken has experienced a decline in fortunes that would give even Fergie's accountant cause for concern. But then this 50s favourite has never been quite as posh as it seems. Created by the founder of Le Cordon Bleu cookery school, Rosemary Hume - rather than her better-known business partner, celebrity florist Constance Spry, as is often claimed - poulet reine Elizabeth, as it was originally known, was a deliberate and tactful compromise between the luxurious and the thrifty for a country still under the dreary yoke of postwar rationing.

When I used my assembled family as (strangely carnivorous) guinea pigs over the Easter weekend, my father recalled how in his postwar childhood chicken was a Christmas treat and curry nothing but a vaguely bohemian rumour in his part of south London. So he was as surprised as anyone to hear that, according to cultural historian Joe Moran, coronation chicken was "designed as Britain's first 'TV dinner'". Hume knew that anyone who had access to a set would be glued to it all day - hence, to be a success, her dish had to be easy both to prepare in advance and to eat with a fork.

So practical was her creation that it proved an instant hit with the fashionable hostesses of the decade: "Not since Escoffier invented peach melba has a dish so fast become so famous," Prue Leith has observed. It may be more retro than regal these days, but those same qualities make coronation chicken a useful party standby some 60 years on - whether you're celebrating the royal wedding or International Workers' Day.

The original

Rosemary Hume's original recipe contains a few surprises. For a start, instead of just chucking in any old bit of leftover poultry, I'm instructed to poach a chicken specially with parsley, thyme and bay, plus peppercorns and carrot, and allow it to cool in the liquid before pulling the meat off the bone. The dressing, meanwhile, is more complicated than the modern mess of mayo and curry powder would have one believe. After softening some onion in oil, I stir in curry powder, tomato puree and half a glass each of red wine and water, bringing it all to the boil before seasoning with salt, sugar, pepper and lemon juice and letting the mixture simmer for 10 minutes. Once cooled, I fold it through mayonnaise and add 1 tbsp apricot puree, made from soaked and boiled dried apricots. It's finished with 2 tbsp whipped cream, and then just enough of this mixture is added to "coat the chicken lightly". No luridly oozing sandwiches here.

It's paler and pinker than the stuff we're used to, and unexpectedly delicate in flavour. "I think this would have tasted more exotic in 1953," my brother suggests, while my sister-in-law thinks the mayonnaise overpowers the spice. I quite like the combination of sweet fruit and tangy lemon juice, but it still lacks oomph to the modern palate.

The fancy

Telegraph food guru Xanthe Clay has kindly prepared the ground for me on this occasion: in a piece last summer, she came to the conclusion that a "modern and sassy" recipe from reader Simon Scutt was the queen bee's knees of coronation chicken, though "it takes a bit of effort", she admits - and the lady's not kidding. After roasting my chicken with orange, cinnamon and bay leaves, I strip the carcass and use it to make a spicy stock with onion, garlic, white wine, fenugreek, coriander, cumin, curry powder and dried red chilli. While this is reducing, I make a saffron, turmeric, milk, white wine and mango chutney marinade (keeping up?) and stir in fresh coriander, sultanas and chopped dried apricot. After waiting for both to cool, I mix them together and stir them into the chicken, then put it all in the fridge overnight where it sets to a day-glo yellow jelly. Just before serving (phew) I fold through toasted curry powder and ground coriander, creme fraiche and mayonnaise, which dilute the dish to a pleasant sunshine shade - everyone's very eager to try this one. Some reckon the roasted chicken has a better flavour than the poached stuff, though the latter is undeniably juicier; the sauce has a less enthusiastic reaction - "it's a bit bland and liquid", my sister-in-law says, while my brother reckons it's the buffet equivalent of a chicken korma: "Some people go into restaurants and order it, and they like it - but it's not exactly exciting." I'm disappointed that, after all the effort, it's so underwhelming. Sorry Simon and Xanthe, but no crown for this one.

The cheat's version

My previous attempts at coronation chicken have always involved Sunday's leftovers, so I'm back on familiar ground with Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's recipe for cold cooked chicken. The dressing is simplicity itself: 2 tbsp "good spicy fruit chutney" (I use mango, in keeping with the Anglo-Indian theme), mixed with 1 tbsp "good Madras curry powder" and equal parts Greek yoghurt and mayonnaise and tossed through the meat, which is then left to marinate for a couple of hours and finally garnished with toasted almonds and chopped coriander. The sandy colour looks the part to our modern eyes, and the assertively fruity, spicy flavour wins fans too - everyone loves it, although my mum points out quite rightly that the raw curry powder adds a harsh note to the dressing. The yoghurt stops the mayonnaise from taking over the dish, without imparting the slightly buttery flavour of creme fraiche. A solid, crowd-pleasing recipe for anyone in a hurry - and I love the crunch of the nuts.

The healthy take

The National Dining Rooms at London's National Gallery ought to know a thing or two about British cookery, and their recipe intrigues me. Like Hugh's it uses a mixture of yoghurt and mayonnaise, but adds apricot conserve, fresh ginger and Worcestershire sauce to the curry powder. Other rogue elements include peas, sherry-soaked raisins and fresh parsley and coriander, folded into a rice salad with peppers and spring onions. The peas and raisins remind me forcefully of school curries of the 1980s and I think the jam is too sweet, but I like the tang of the Worcestershire sauce and the lightness of the dressing. For a buffet, it's more elegant to serve the rice and salad separately too.

The maverick

Nigella Lawson is not apparently a lady to kowtow to royalty, and her take on the dish - renamed, perhaps wisely, golden jubilee chicken - is characteristically irreverent. ("Believe me," she insists in her introduction, "no political affiliations are thereby intended".) I mix cubes of fresh mango with finely chopped spring onion and red chilli, and spritz the whole lot with lime juice before adding chunks of cooked chicken, shredded little-gem lettuce and a handful of chopped coriander. Instead of mayonnaise there are groundnut and sesame oils. It's fresh and zingy, but this is a dish that curtsies to south-east Asian rather than Anglo-Indian cuisine, and on a practical note I'm not sure how long it would be happy to sit around on the buffet table.

Perfect coronation chicken

Coronation chicken is a dish begging to be rescued from the retirement home of the chiller cabinet and given the respect it deserves: as Simon Hopkinson tartly observes, "those cowboys who continue to think that bottled curry paste mixed with Hellmann's is in any way a reasonable substitute here need a good slap with a cold chapatti". Like the monarchy itself, it's evolved in the last 60 years. The modern palate demands more spice and a lighter, fresher flavour - and these days, with the kingdom of herb and spices available to us, it's easy to update Rosemary Hume's recipe to make a dish fit for a 21st-century queen (and the rest of us too).
Serves 6 1 chicken, about 1.5kg
1 cinnamon stick
5 black peppercorns
Pinch of saffron
1 tsp salt
4cm piece of fresh ginger
Bay leaf
5 tbsp good quality mango chutney (I swear by Geeta's)
50g ready-to-eat dried apricots, finely chopped
2 tbsp good curry powder
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
200ml homemade mayonnaise
200ml Greek yoghurt
50g flaked almonds, toasted
Small bunch fresh coriander, chopped
Green salad and basmati rice, to serve
1. Put the chicken, breast-side up, in a large pan along with the cinnamon, peppercorns, saffron, salt, the bay leaf and half of the ginger and fill with cold water until only the top of the breast is exposed. Cover with a lid and bring to a simmer, then turn down the heat so only the occasional bubble rises to the surface. Cook gently for about one and a half hours until the juices run clear. Take out of the pan and set aside to cool, then remove the meat in bite-sized pieces while lukewarm. Finely chop the rest of the ginger.

2. Put the mango chutney and apricots into a large bowl. Toast the curry powder in a dry frying pan until fragrant, then add the chopped ginger and stir both into the bowl, followed by the Worcestershire sauce, then the mayonnaise and yoghurt. Season to taste.

3. Once the chicken is cold, fold it through the dressing and refrigerate for at least a couple of hours before folding through most of the coriander and serving topped with the almonds, with a green salad and basmati rice.

So - is curried chicken salad a party must-have in your house, or a dish best left in the 1950s? How do you make it or did you last have it in a soggy sandwich?
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How the mighty have fallen. From royal favourite to sadly soggy sandwich-filling in a single reign, coronation chicken has experienced a decline in fortunes that would give even Fergie's accountant cause for concern.

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Coronation Chickpeas

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Delia’s Brown Rice Salad

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Coq au Vin

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Coq au vin is all the explanation I need for the enduring appeal of French cuisine - a recipe designed to extract maximum results from the bare minimum ... if you're a chicken-keeping, wine-making peasant, that is. For those of us without stringy old birds and unlimited rustic wine to use up, it's somewhat less thrifty, but perhaps even more of a treat - a classic that's well worth revisiting.

1 Start the sauce

Pour the wine (pinot noir or something else fairly light is ideal, though I wouldn't splash out) into a large saucepan.

Roughly chop the carrot (no need to peel; just wash well) and celery, quarter the onion (again, no need to peel, unless it's dirty) and squash four of the garlic cloves (again, unpeeled). Add these to the pan with the bay leaf and three-quarters of the thyme.

2 Simmer and reduce by half

Bring the pan to a boil, take note of how much is in there (a pencil mark on a wooden spoon is helpful, or, for a more high-tech solution, take a photo sideways on), then turn down the heat very slightly and leave to simmer until reduced by about half. Pour through a sieve into a heatproof jug, and discard the vegetables and herbs.

3 Fry the lardons

While the wine is reducing, melt the butter in a large, heavy-based casserole dish for which you have a lid over a medium-high heat and, once it has stopped foaming, fry the bacon until golden brown. Lift out with a slotted spoon and set aside. Meanwhile, spread the flour out on a plate and season well.

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Fry the lardons in butter, then remove.

4 Flour and brown the chicken

Roll the chicken pieces in the flour - you can remove the skin, if you want, but you may then wish to add a little more fat to the pan to make up for it; and, if you prefer, use a whole chicken, jointed, rather than the pieces suggested. Working in batches so you don't overcrowd the pan, brown the chicken well on all sides.

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Brown the floured chicken in the same pan and fat as the lardons.

5 Blanch and peel the onions

Boil the kettle, and then, while the chicken is browning, pour boiling water into a bowl and dunk the baby onions (or shallots) in it for 30 seconds. Carefully peel off the onion skins and trim any whiskery bits from the root ends. (This is a fiddly job, but the blanching should at least help to loosen the skins.)

6 Brown the onions

Once the first batch of chicken is browned, set it aside with the bacon, and repeat with the remaining chicken. There should still be a decent amount of fat in the pan from the bacon, but if not, add a little more butter or a dash of oil. Turn down the heat to medium-low, add the peeled baby onions, and cook, turning occasionally, for about 10 minutes, until they start to caramelise.

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Blanch the baby onions, then peel and brown in the same pot - there should be enough butter and bacon fat.

7 Add the garlic and mushrooms

While the onions are browning, quarter the mushrooms if you're using the larger white variety; if using baby ones, leave them whole. Peel and finely slice the last clove of garlic. Add both to the onion pan and fry for about five minutes, stirring so the garlic doesn't catch, then transfer all the contents of the pot to a bowl.

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Fry the garlic and mushrooms, then remove.

8 Deglaze, then add the chicken

Turn up the heat, pour a splash of the reduced wine into the pot and scrape the base clean. Add the chicken and most of the bacon, reserving a few lardons for later, then pour in the brandy and set it alight. When the flames have gone out, add the remaining wine and thyme leaves, and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat, cover and simmer gently for an hour.

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Deglaze the pot, then add the chicken, bacon and sieved wine base. Simmer for an hour.

9 Finishing touches

Add the onions, mushrooms and garlic, and simmer for 20 minutes more, this time only partially covered. Taste and adjust for seasoning, and serve with potatoes or rice and with the reserved lardons sprinkled on top.

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Finally, return the onions, garlic and mushrooms to the pot, cook for 20 minutes and serve.

If you're making this the day before you want to eat, which will improve its flavour, lift the solidified fat off the top before reheating.
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A recipe for coq au vin | Felicity Cloake's masterclass

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Coq au vin is all the explanation I need for the enduring appeal of French cuisine - a recipe designed to extract maximum results from the bare minimum ... if you're a chicken-keeping, wine-making peasant, that is.

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https://www.theguardian.com/food/2020/mar/10/nigel-slater-midweek-meal-comforting-spinach-cherry-tomato-coconut-brown-basmati-rice?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

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This simple traybake is inspired by one of our favourite brews - chai. Spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom, this moist coconut sponge is the perfect accompaniment to a cuppa

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If your looking for a slice with spice, try this moist and sticky cake, from BBC Good Food

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Quick Chick peas spinach coconut curry

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10 Min Chickpea & Spinach Curry

A really simple and tasty Chickpea & Spinach Curry that can be made in one pot in just 10 minutes!

This is the perfect dish for when you don't have much time and fancy something comforting. You will definitely be surprised how much flavour this packs in from cooking for such little time.

The best part about this 10 minute curry apart from the fact it is so quick to make is that this is so inexpensive too, only costing roughly £1 per portion.

The more you make this curry the quicker you will become. I think it can be made in under 10 minutes quite easily once you have made it a couple times.

Just make sure you make extras as this can be kept in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 2 days or it can be frozen so you have a healthy meal another time.

I challenge you to break the 10 minute mark, let me know in the comments below once you have achieved it 🙂

If you try this 10 min curry!

Leave a comment, rate it and don't forget to tag me on Instagram using #healthylivingjames . I absolutely love seeing and sharing your recreations!
On Pinterest? Why not save this photo below to your boards so you can come back and try it at another time!
Looking for another 10 minute dinner? Try my Healthy 10 Min Stir-Fry

James

Hello, I'm James Wythe! I create gluten, wheat, dairy, egg and refined sugar free foods along with writing articles that will help you become a healthier version of yourself. I want to inspire and motivate people to live healthier and realise that living healthy isn't as hard or time consuming as you may think.

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A really simple and tasty Chickpea & Spinach Curry that can be made in just 10 minutes! This is the perfect dish for when you don't have much time and fancy something warming. You will definitely be surprised how much flavour this packs and the best part is that this only costs around £1 per portion.

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Butternut squash is not just a vegetable. When cooked and blended into a puree, it becomes a silky, creamy sauce. For those wanting to carb-load, you can shovel down this macaroni pasta bake in the knowledge that you are not eating loads of cheese. Be warned, though, not all butternut squash are equal. Bigger are not better - they tend to be woolly and don't give the sweet, chestnutty flavour and luxurious texture you can get from smaller squash.
For the thyme pesto For the rest
500g peeled butternut squash
1 large onion
Olive oil
150ml white wine
400ml vegetable stock
6 cloves minced garlic
1 tsp oregano
½ bunch of thyme
1 tsp paprika
¼ tsp chilli
½ tsp salt
250g macaroni
100g spinach
2 slices of stale sourdough
Salt and black pepper
½ bunch of thyme
1 small bunch of parsley
1 bunch of basil
30g hard cheese (optional)
30ml olive oil
1 clove of garlic
10g roasted pistachios
10ml lemon juice
Blitz all the pesto ingredients until smooth.

Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/400F/gas mark 6.

Dice the butternut squash into 1 cm cubes. Put 200g of it on a greased baking tray and bake in the oven for 25 minutes.

Finely chop the onion and fry with a glug of olive oil until translucent, then add the remaining butternut squash. Add the wine and stock and bring to a simmer.

Add half the minced garlic along with the herbs, spices and salt and simmer for 20 minutes (or until the butternut squash is soft).

While this is simmering, cook your macaroni al dente.

Blend the squash mix until smooth.

Mix the rest of the garlic through the sauce then add to the pasta. Mix in the roasted butternut squash and spinach, then transfer to a baking dish.

Blitz the stale bread into breadcrumbs and toss with salt, black pepper and 15ml olive oil.

Blob the pesto over the top, then sprinkle the breadcrumbs on top and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Serve with your favourite green salad with a zingy dressing.
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David Atherton's recipe for butternut pasta bake

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Butternut squash is not just a vegetable. When cooked and blended into a puree, it becomes a silky, creamy sauce. For those wanting to carb-load, you can shovel down this macaroni pasta bake in the knowledge that you are not eating loads of cheese. Be warned, though, not all butternut squash are equal.

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Really tasty one pot chicken - easy

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Prep 15 minCook 40 minServes 4-6

1.8kg whole chicken, or 1.25kg bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs or legs
Salt and black pepper
4 tbsp olive oil
1 lemon, cut into thick slices crossways, seeds removed
2 shallots, peeled and halved lengthways
4-6 medjool dates, pitted
4 thyme or oregano sprigs, plus extra for serving
2 tsp ground urfa chilli or 1 tsp chilli flakes
Flaky salt

Heat the oven to 210C (190C fan)/425F/gas 7, and season the chicken all over.

Put two tablespoons of oil in a large casserole dish over a medium-high heat. Add the chicken to the pot breast side up and press lightly, so the skin comes into even contact with the bottom of the pot. Brown the legs and render the excess fat. (If using thighs or legs, sear them skin side down.)

Cook until the chicken is nice and browned, about five to eight minutes. Add the lemon, making sure the slices come into contact with the bottom of the pot, and the shallots. Cook until lightly caramelised - about two minutes.

Add the dates, herbs and 250ml water. Sprinkle the chicken with the chilli and put the lid on. Transfer to the oven and roast until the dates are plump, the lemon slices are jammy, and the chicken is almost but not totally cooked through, 20-25 minutes.

Remove the lid and drizzle the chicken with the remaining two tablespoons of olive oil. Return to the oven, and roast until the top of the chicken is a glistening golden brown and the liquid is reduced by a half - another 20-30 minutes, depending on whether you're using parts or a whole bird.

Rest for 10 minutes before carving. Serve alongside the shallots, lemon slices and dates, with some more herbs and flaky salt sprinkled over.

Creamy sesame turmeric dip

225g cream cheese or ricotta, preferably at room temperature
185g soured cream or labneh
60g tahini
2 tbsp water
Salt and black pepper
60ml olive oil
2 tbsp white sesame seeds
1 tsp ground turmeric
Flaky salt

Combine the cream cheese, soured cream, tahini and water in a food processor and pulse until well blended and creamy. Alternatively, use a fork or spoon; there might just be a few lumps, which is fine. Season.

Heat the olive oil and sesame seeds in a small frying pan over medium heat. Cook, swirling occasionally, until the sesame seeds are toasted and fragrant, about two to three minutes. Add the turmeric and remove from the heat.

Transfer the cream cheese mixture to a serving bowl and top with the sesame- turmeric oil. Finish with flaky salt and more pepper before serving.

Mustardy green beans with anchovied walnuts

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Alison Roman's mustardy green beans with 'anchovied' walnuts.

125g raw shelled walnuts, coarsely chopped
125ml olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
4 anchovy fillets
1 garlic clove, peeled and finely grated
750g green beans, trimmed
1 lemon, thinly sliced, seeds removed
Salt and black pepper
2 tbsp wholegrain mustard
1 tbsp white-wine vinegar
3 tbsp finely chopped dill

Heat the oven to 220C (200C fan)/450F/gas 8, or heat a barbecue grill to medium-high.

Put the walnuts and 60ml of the olive oil in a medium pot over a medium heat. Cook, swirling occasionally, until the walnuts are toasted - two to three minutes. Remove from the heat and add the anchovies and garlic, swirling to dissolve the anchovy. Set aside.

Put the beans and lemon on a baking tray. Drizzle with enough olive oil to lightly coat, and season with salt and pepper. Roast (or grill), tossing once or twice, until the beans and lemon start to char in spots - 12-15 minutes (or eight-10 minutes if grilling).

Combine the mustard, vinegar and remaining 60ml olive oil in a large bowl and season. Add the bean mixture and toss to coat. Transfer to a serving platter and top with the walnut mixture and dill.

Tiny, salty, chocolatey cookies

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Alison Roman's tiny, salty, chocolatey cookies.

90g unsalted butter
310g icing sugar
90g unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp salt
2 large egg whites
1 large egg
225g chocolate (at least 67% cocoa solids), chopped
60g finely chopped hazelnuts, almonds, pistachio nuts, pecans or walnuts (optional)
Flaky salt

Heat the oven to 180C (160C fan)/350F/gas 4. Line two trays with baking paper. Melt the butter in a small pan over a medium heat, until starting to foam and brown - about three to four minutes. Stir the butter from time to time so that the solids don't stick to the bottom. Leave to cool.

Whisk the icing sugar, cocoa powder and salt in a medium bowl, until combined. If you want to, you can sift them all first.

Using a spatula, mix in the egg whites, whole egg and browned butter, stirring until you have a smoothish mixture - any small lumps are fine - followed by the chocolate and any nuts you want to add.

Using a spoon, drop 2.5cm blobs of the batter on to the baking trays, about 5 cm apart. Take care, as they spread a lot. Sprinkle with flaky salt. Bake until the cookies have flattened considerably and look baked through and a bit wrinkled - about six to eight minutes. Let them cool before eating, so they can firm up.

* Recipes from Nothing Fancy: Unfussy Food for Having People Over, by Alison Roman (Hardie Grant)
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Prep 15 minCook 40 minServes 4-6 1.8kg whole chicken, or 1.25kg bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs or legs Salt and black pepper 4 tbsp olive oil 1 lemon, cut into thick slices crossways, seeds removed 2 shallots, peeled and halved lengthways 4-6 medjool dates, pitted 4 thyme or oregano sprigs, plus extra for serving 2 tsp ground urfa chilli or 1 tsp chilli flakes Flaky salt Heat the oven to 210C (190C fan)/425F/gas 7, and season the chicken all over.

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Four ways with butter beans

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Butter beans must surely be the thrifty cook's best friend: so much goodness and satisfaction for so little outlay. You can buy enough dried beans to make all the recipes here for less than the price of this newspaper, and it's as easy to prepare them from scratch as it is to open 10 cans of beans - the equivalent of 1kg dried beans!

To prepare your batch of butter beans

You'll need about 850g of dried butter beans for all four recipes. The best way to cook butter beans is to simmer them gently in a slow cooker. I find that cooking them from dry (ie without pre-soaking) helps prevent them from going soggy, so just tip them into the pot, add plenty of water to cover, a teaspoon of salt and cook until tender. This should take between six and eight hours. Start checking them after five hours and then every 30 minutes or so after that until they're done. Ideally, you need a 6-litre slow cooker for a batch this size, but it's easy to do two batches.

If you don't have a slow cooker, soak your dried beans in plenty of cold water for at least 8 hours or overnight.

Rinse the soaked beans, tip them into a large, heavy pan, and add enough cold water to cover them by at least 10cm. Bring the pan almost to the boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer and cook until the beans are tender, which should take about 1 hour, depending on the age of your beans.

After cooking, stir a pinch of salt into the cooking liquid, allow the beans to cool, then drain, cover and keep in the fridge. I find it convenient to weigh out 500g portions of the cooked beans, all ready and waiting to be used. They also freeze brilliantly, should you wish to keep them longer.

1 The spicy supper: Fragrant butter bean curry (pictured above)

This is good with fluffy white basmati rice for your perfect protein combo of a grain and a bean, plus an Indian-style raw chutney of chopped tomato, onion and coriander.

I must admit that I also like some sweet, sticky, shop-bought mango chutney and crisp poppadums - I buy a packet of the dry ones and quickly cook them in a frying pan, pressing them down with a fish slice in a little hot oil. It's fun to watch them expand and fluff up immediately and the crisp crunchiness goes so well with the mealy butter beans.

Serves 4
4 tbsp olive oil
2 onions, chopped
400g tomatoes, chopped
2 tsp black mustard seeds
2 tsp cumin seeds
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp raw ginger, grated

1-2 tsp chilli powder, to taste
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp turmeric
½ tsp asafeotida
2 x 500g cooked butter beans
300ml water
Salt
Fresh coriander, chopped

1 Heat 2 tbsp of the oil in a large saucepan, and fry the onion gently for 10 minutes, until softened. Add the tomatoes and cook for a further 10 minutes or until soft.

2 Meanwhile, in another, small saucepan, heat the remaining 2 tbsp of oil. Add the black mustard and cumin seeds, stir for a few seconds over the heat until they sizzle and jump about, then add the crushed garlic, grated ginger, chilli powder, ground coriander, turmeric and asafoetida. Stir over the heat for 2-3 minutes, then add to the onion and tomato mixture in the large pan.

3 Add the cooked butter beans to the pan, along with the water and cook over a gentle heat until piping hot. Add salt to taste, then scatter with chopped fresh coriander and serve.

2 The soothing soup: Leek, butter bean and parsley soup

You could hardly get an easier soup to make: just two main ingredients and a cooking time of less than 30 minutes. I think of it as the "mint tea" of soups because it's both soothing and revitalising at the same time. Try it and see what you think.

I do recommend you use the Marigold bouillon powder - and you probably won't need salt. It's lovely just as it is, though some buttery garlic bread goes really well if you're feeling that way inclined.

Serves 4
1 tbsp olive oil
500g tender leeks, trimmed and sliced
500g cooked butter beans
1.5 litres water
2 tbsp Marigold bouillon powder
A small handful fresh parsley, roughly chopped

1 Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan, add the leeks, stir, then cover and cook gently for 5-10 minutes.

2 Add the beans and water, then bring to the boil.

3 Sprinkle the bouillon powder over the surface, stirring to disperse it, then leave to simmer for about 20 minutes, until the leeks are tender.

4 Add the fresh parsley, and blend the soup lightly with a hand blender to just thicken it slightly, but leave some visible pieces of bean and chunks of leek.

5 Check the seasoning and serve.

3 The creamy dip: Butter bean, herb and caper paté

Butter beans make the most beautiful, creamy dip that easily rivals hummus. You could eat it on its own, with an extra drizzle of olive oil and black olives, but it's worth continuing with the recipe and adding the herbs and capers for something really tangy. Great as a starter, snack, or lunchbox filler.

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Butter bean, herb and caper paté - just as good as hummus. Photograph: Tamin Jones/The Guardian

Serves 4
500g cooked butter beans
1 garlic clove, crushed
Juice of ½ lemon
1 tbsp olive oil
A dash of tabasco
1 tbsp chives
, chopped

1 tbsp dill, chopped
1 tbsp small capers, rinsed and drained
Salt and black pepper
Spring onions, radishes, slices of chicory, fennel and celery, some favourite olives, and toasted strips of pitta bread, to serve

1 Put the beans, garlic, lemon juice and oil into a food processor and whizz to a creamy smoothness, adding a little water to lighten it if necessary and make it the consistency of lightly whipped cream.

2 Add tabasco to taste, stir in the herbs and capers, and then season with salt and pepper.

3 Pile up the bean pâté in the centre of a serving dish and surround with the salad vegetables, olives and warm pitta strips on the side.

4 The warm salad: Roasted vegetables and butter beans with feta

So much satisfaction for so little effort. For a vegan version, use heaped teaspoons of soft, dairy-free cheese instead of the feta, and for either version you can gild the lily with a handful of pine nuts thrown over at the same time.

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Roasted veg with butter beans and feta: lots of goodness, little effort. Photograph: Tamin Jones/The Guardian

Serves 4
2 red peppers, seeded and sliced
2 yellow peppers, seeded and sliced
2 red onions, sliced
2 medium courgettes, cut into chunks
4 tbsp olive oil
500g cooked butter beans
400g cherry tomatoes
Balsamic vinegar
200g feta cheese, roughly cubed
A handful of pine nuts (optional)

Rocket salad, or mixed baby leaf salad including some rocket, to serve
Salt and black pepper

1 Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4.

2 Put all the prepared vegetables into a large roasting tin, add the olive oil and gently toss the vegetables to coat.

3 Roast for 30-40 minutes, or until the vegetables are nearly tender, then give them a gentle stir and add the butter beans, whole cherry tomatoes, a drizzle of balsamic vinegar, feta cheese, pine nuts (if using) and some seasoning.

4 Return the vegetables to the oven for about 10 minutes.

5 Serve with the salad leaves on top.B
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Four recipes from one batch of cooked butter beans | Get Ahead

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Butter beans must surely be the thrifty cook's best friend: so much goodness and satisfaction for so little outlay. You can buy enough dried beans to make all the recipes here for less than the price of this newspaper, and it's as easy to prepare them from scratch as it is to open 10 cans of beans - the equivalent of 1kg dried beans!

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Chicken vermouth grainy mustard

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Roast tomato anchovy salad

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here are 32 ways to say "anchovy" in Italian. Thirty-two regional names, many of them in dialect, for the small, slender fish with silvery sides and receding lower jaw. The most common names, though, for the much-loved chinless wonder are two: alici and acciughe.

While anchovies are abundant in the Mediterranean, Indian and Pacific oceans, they remain rare for many because they are so fragile, deteriorating with every hour they are out of the sea; even more so when they are transported. I see this five days a week at my local market when it receives the previous night's catch from the fishing port of Anzio. The journey from Anzio into Rome is only 51km - not a problem for most of the fish, iced and insulated in shock-proof polystyrene boxes. The anchovies, however, seem to suffer every bump on the road. That isn't to say they are not bright-eyed and beautiful; they are - especially at 8am, and even at 9 or 10am. But by midday, the change is visible: a tangible weariness comes over them, even more so on hot days. And then, when you get them home, you need to work fast, gutting and opening them like butterflies, then baking, braising, or - best of all - dipping them in flour and frying until they curl.

But it is consolation that, as wonderful as fresh anchovies are, they are even better preserved in salt. Packing acciughe sotto sale to cure them has been common practice in Italy since the ancients, with the fish processed as soon as possible after they were caught, decapitated (but not gutted and boned) and layered with coarse salt in barrels. Salting changes the nature of the flesh completely, transforming it from soft and fragile to firm and taut, like soft leather, and the flavour from gentle with a slight bitterness to rich, salty and searing.

Those oblong tins of anchovies with a key and roll-back tops and tiny jars are simply anchovies cured in salt that have been prepared and covered in oil, making them ready to eat. Quantity varies dramatically, as does cost. It is worth buying anchovies in olive oil, but if this isn't possible, pour the vegetable oil away, replace it with your own fresh olive oil and leave them to sit for a while. It is also worth considering anchovies under salt - the big jars and open tubs in a delicatessen I looked at for years and felt intimidated by. Buy a jar, have a go! They are a faff to prepare, brushing away the salt, rinsing and easing away the bone and guts, rinsing again, blotting and covering with olive oil. But it is a faff you get used to, and there are rewards: fat, pink fillets of a quality and flavour usually found in prohibitively priced tins.

I am borrowing from the Nigerian writer Yemisi Ari bisala when I say: "We borrow the word umami from the Japanese, and that it is best defined as a well-rounded savoury taste." Anchovies - especially good ones - have well-rounded savouriness in spades, which is why they provide such extraordinary seasoning, but also reign supreme as an ingredient: with bread and cold butter, melted into butter to be stirred through ribbons of pasta, and with roasted tomatoes and lettuce for Fergus Henderson's uplifting salad below.

You can put everything in a bowl, toss messily and serve. Alternatively, toss the lettuce in the dressing, then artistically arrange the leaves, parsley, tomatoes and anchovies on a plate; you decide - also, which 32 words you would use to describe it.

Anchovy and roast tomato salad

While roasting is home improvement for disadvantaged tomatoes, concentrating flavour and sweetness, the better the starting point, the better the result. Be led by flavour rather than variety.

Serves 4

2 romaine lettuces or 3 little gem
4 medium, 8 plum or 20 cherry tomatoes - the tastiest you can find
Salt and black pepper
Olive oil
8 salt-cured anchovies or 16 anchovy fillets
1 tbsp curly parsley, chopped
1 tbsp red-wine vinegar
1 tsp dijon mustard

Pull the lettuce apart into leaves (discarding the tougher, greener one from the romano), then wash and dry thoroughly. Rip the larger leaves into manageable bits.

Cut the tomatoes in half, arrange them cut side up on a baking tray, season with salt, pepper and olive oil, and bake until soft, wrinkled and starting to shrink (but still juicy) - the time this takes will depend on how large they are.

Make the dressing: put six tablespoons of oil, the vinegar, mustard, salt, pepper and a few drops of hot water in a jar, and shake like mad to emulsify.

Put everything in a bowl, toss and serve. Or toss the lettuce in the dressing, then arrange it with the tomatoes and anchovies on a plate. .

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Rachel Roddy's recipe for anchovy and roast tomato salad | A kitchen in Rome

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here are 32 ways to say "anchovy" in Italian. Thirty-two regional names, many of them in dialect, for the small, slender fish with silvery sides and receding lower jaw. The most common names, though, for the much-loved chinless wonder are two: alici and acciughe.

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Nduja stuffed Mushrooms

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'Nduja, the spicy, spreadable southern Italian meat condiment, has been embraced wholeheartedly in Britain - so much so that native pork producers are now making their own versions. It adds incredible flavour to other ingredients - in this case, mushrooms. The portobello mushrooms at my local market have been huge this year, and I love how retro it feels to stuff them - and how joyfully simple. Do try this at home.

Stuffed mushrooms with 'nduja

Crisp crumbs, meaty interior, rich, garlicky, umami juices: this is one supper you will be pleased to have tried.

7 large portobello mushrooms, wiped clean
2 tbsp olive oil
65g butter
1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 fennel bulb, trimmed and finely chopped
Salt and black pepper
4 garlic cloves, peeled
1 small handful thyme, picked
50g 'nduja
2 large, ripe tomatoes, roughly diced

For the breadcrumbs
125g stale bread, crusts removed, or panko breadcrumbs
Grated parmesan, to finish

Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6. Break the stalks off six of the mushrooms and chop them up with the seventh mushroom. Heat the oil and a third of the butter, and saute the mushrooms, onion and fennel over a medium heat for about 10 minutes, seasoning well.

Add three of the garlic cloves, crushed, and the thyme, cook for a few minutes more, so the raw flavour of the garlic softens, then stir in the 'nduja and tomatoes. Simmer very gently, stirring from time to time, for another five to eight minutes, while you fry the breadcrumbs.

If you are using stale bread, whizz it up in a blender. Melt another third of the butter in a hot frying pan and add the crumbs (homemade or panko). Season well, add the last clove of garlic, again crushed, fry until golden and fragrant, then leave to cool a little.

Lay out the mushrooms on a baking sheet and top with the sauteed onion mix. Top with the crumbs, dot over the remaining butter, scatter over a small handful of grated parmesan, to taste, and roast for about 15 minutes, until sizzling and golden. Eat with fresh bread and a salad, if you want.

And for the rest of the week ...

Stuff any leftover mushrooms inside a crisp baguette to give steak sandwiches a run for their money. Melt leftover 'nduja into sauteed onions for a simple pasta sauce, add to a sauce for mussels or use in a stuffing for pork.

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Thomasina Miers' recipe for stuffed mushrooms with 'nduja | The simple fix

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'Nduja, the spicy, spreadable southern Italian meat condiment, has been embraced wholeheartedly in Britain - so much so that native pork producers are now making their own versions. It adds incredible flavour to other ingredients - in this case, mushrooms. The portobello mushrooms at my local market have been huge this year, and I love how retro it feels to stuff them - and how joyfully simple.

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This seafood paella recipe with chorizo is the perfect way to feed a big family. A flavorful paella base with vegetables, crispy rice thanks to the cast iron skillet, layered with seafood on top. This shrimp, clam, mussel, and chorizo paella recipe is a flavor party in a skillet.

Prepping ingredients

If you haven't seen/made it already, my chicken chorizo paella is one of my most popular recipes on the site. I've always wanted to make a seafood version, so I took a lot of the same base ingredients and elevated it with seafood!

Chorizo

I used Spanish chorizo, which is already par-cooked. Do not use Mexican chorizo in this recipe, that one is raw and it is used when you want crumbled chorizo. Although this chorizo is pretty much cooked, I put it in the skillet with some olive oil to brown and allow the delicious juices to release. Using a slotted spoon, I remove the chorizo and set aside, but leave behind all the delicious juices to help flavor the rest of the dish.

Paella base

After I remove the chorizo, I add diced yellow onion, diced red bell pepper, smoked paprika, salt, and freshly ground black pepper. I sauté this all for about 3-4 minutes until the onion and peppers begin to soften. I would stick with either smoked or hot paprika, sweet paprika will alter the flavor of the dish.

After the onion/bell peppers have softened, I add in 1/4 cup of dry white wine. Allow the alcohol to cook off and the liquid to reduce for a few minutes. Once the liquid has reduced, I add in diced tomatoes. A flavor hack I like to use is fire roasted tomatoes in a lot of dishes. It gives the dish a more smokey depth of flavor that elevates the taste.

Next comes the liquid. I used seafood stock and clam juice for the liquid. If you can't find clam juice, you can just use more seafood stock. Since this is a seafood based paella, I wanted to stick to those flavors. I added a pinch of saffron threads for flavor and to help give our rice that beautiful yellow color.

For this recipe we are going to use a short grain rice. Bomba rice is the traditional paella rice, but if you can't find that you can use arborio rice. I rinsed it and added it to the liquid. NOW THIS IS IMPORTANT! One of the most notable/best parts of paella is that crispy crust that develops on the bottom of the rice. Once you add the rice, stir it to combine and then LEAVE IT! This is going to ensure you get that crunchy layer at the bottom that is oh so delicious.

Seafood

Now for the seafood! I chose to use unpeeled shrimp. You can buy already peeled raw shrimp, but I love the extra flavor and juices you get from the shells of the shrimp. To be honest, I was hoping my grocery store had head on shrimp, but that wasn't in the cards.

I also got mussels and clams, if you do not prefer one or the other you can always just double the other. When buying clams/mussels ensure they are all closed when purchased. If they are slightly open before being cooked, that means they have already died and you need to discard them. You can also give them a smell, they should not smell fishy. A bad clam or mussel can ruin the dish! Gently scrub them with a brush to get rid of any grit on the shells under cold water.

Assembling the paella

So your rice has been covered, being cooked undisturbed for 15 minutes. Now we are going to add back in the chorizo and frozen peas. You're going to mix this up to combine all the ingredients.

You're going to add in the seafood. There should still be liquid that hasn't been absorbed by the rice yet and will help steam open the clams, mussels, and cook the shrimp. I re-cover the dish and allow the seafood to cook another 10-15 minutes. Flip the shrimp over half way through.

I have always been told that if clams don't open when steamed, to discard them. This holds true to mussels, if they do not open then discard because it is bad. Clams are a little different, sometimes the muscles seize when cooking, so if you take a knife and gently try to open, it should release. If it doesn't, then you can discard.

I garnish the seafood paella with freshly chopped parsley and serve it with lemon wedges to squeeze over the top. Remember to give you guests a little bowl to put their shells in! This paella recipe is a family favorite and I hope you enjoy it too!

Made this recipe and loved it? Leave a star rating below!

Ingredients

3 tbsp + 1 tbsp olive oil

1 lb large shell on raw shrimp

1 lb littleneck or steamer clams, scrubbed

1/2 lb mussels, scrubbed

2 Links of Spanish Chorizo (12oz) (see note #1), sliced

Salt/freshly ground black pepper to taste

2 teaspoons smoked paprika

1 small onion, diced

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 large red bell pepper, diced

1 small can fire roasted diced tomatoes (14.5oz)

4 cups seafood broth

1/4 cup clam juice (see note #2)

1/4 cup dry white wine

2 cups Bomba or Arborio rice

Pinch saffron threads

1/2 cup frozen green peas

1/4 cup chopped parsley

Lemon wedges, for garnish

Instructions

1. Heat 3 tbsp oil in a large cast iron skillet or paella pan over med/high heat, add chorizo and sauté until browned about 4 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove and set aside leaving juices in pan.

2. Lower heat to medium and add in diced yellow onion, red bell pepper, smoked paprika, pinch of salt & pepper. Sauté for 3-4 minutes until onions and peppers begin to soften. Add in the minced garlic and cook an additional minute until fragrant. Add 1/4 dry white wine and allow alcohol to cook off and liquid to reduce by half, about 2 minutes.

3. Add in the can of diced tomatoes, seafood broth, and clam juice. Bring to a boil and add the rice and pinch of saffron threads. Stir the rice once so that the liquid is covering, lower the heat to simmer/low, cover, and simmer undisturbed for 15 minutes. (This allows rice to get crispy layer on the bottom).

4. After 15 minutes, there should still be liquid that hasn't absorbed yet. Add in the chorizo and frozen peas, stir to combine. Then add the seafood on top, with the opening of the clams/mussels facing up for them to easily open. Cover and cook an additional 15-20 minutes, flipping the shrimp halfway through, until the clams/mussels have opened, and shrimp are pink/cooked through. Discard any clams/mussels that have not opened.

5. Remove from heat, top with freshly chopped parsley, serve with fresh lemon wedges.

Notes

1. Use Spanish or Portuguese chorizo (par-cooked) not Mexican Chorizo (raw, crumbly chorizo)

2. If you can not find clam juice, add an additional 1/4 cup of seafood broth

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This seafood paella recipe with chorizo is the perfect way to feed a big family. A flavorful paella base with vegetables, crispy rice thanks to the cast iron skillet, layered with seafood on top. This shrimp, clam, mussel, and chorizo paella recipe is a flavor party in a skillet.

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Can't see why you'd need the Mayo

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russels sprouts aren't just for Christmas, they're for life - or at least until the season ends in March. Though I suppose that does rather depend on whether or not you have the TAS2R38 gene, which affects your tongue. That name may not be quite as catchy as "yum" or "yuck", admittedly, but it does provide a genetic explanation for why people either love or loathe brussels sprouts. I'm sure the true reasons for our food preferences are way more mysterious and complex, but TAS2R38 is a good place to start.

This gene makes a protein that reacts with a chemical called PTC to create the sensation of bitterness. While PTC does not feature in the normal human diet, it is very similar to chemicals found in brassicas. You either have the gene variant or you don't, so you can either taste PTC or you can't; and, by the same token, you can either taste the bitterness in sprouts, or you can't. (For a more thorough explanation, have a look at this Notes & Queries article from 2011.)

The science bit aside, the fact remains that some people find certain foodstuffs more unbearably bitter than others do - as will be all too clear to anyone who has ever seen a child's face when "made" to eat a brussels sprout. Infants have around 30,000 tastebuds, only about a third of which survive into adulthood, so a child's sensitivity towards extremes of sweet, sour and bitter flavours is heightened. Ergo, coffee and beer are bad; chocolate ice-cream and tomato ketchup good.

But there are ways to take the edge off the bitterness of sprouts, and so help us appreciate them for the tender and sweet little cabbages that they are. The most important of these is not to overcook them. Why anyone boils sprouts when they could roast or fry them is one of life's great mysteries; or at least it is to me. Boiling brussels for too long makes them lose their vibrant colour, plus their natural sweetness leaches out into the water; it also pervades the kitchen with a smell that will put kids off for life. Toss sprouts in olive oil, however, then roast or fry them, and you'll intensify that natural sweetness. If you want, add more sweet elements: caramelised garlic, pomegranate seeds, maple syrup are all good.

It's not just sugar that offsets bitterness: salty and sour flavours do the job, too, as do creamy, spicy or nutty elements. Salty anchovies or bacon, sour lemon or lime juice, parmesan shavings, fresh or dried chilli, toasted almonds and fried croutons all help balance the taste.

Although some insist on cutting a cross in the base of each and every sprout, so they cook evenly, I avoid this altogether by using small sprouts to begin with or by cutting larger ones in half lengthways first.

Finally, amid all this debate about how best to cook sprouts, it's easy to overlook the option of leaving them raw. Shredded, raw sprouts have a freshness and sweetness that will be a welcome novelty if you haven't tried them before. Assuming you've got the right gene, of course.

Brussels sprout risotto

A sprout risotto? You'd better believe it. Even my recipe tester, Claudine, had misgivings, but she totally loved it. Serves four.
30g unsalted butter
2 tbsp olive oil
2 medium onions, peeled and finely chopped

Yotam Ottolenghi's brussels sprout and ginger slaw: 'Why anyone boils sprouts is one of life's great mysteries.' Photograph: Colin Campbell for the Guardian. Food styling: Claire Ptak

300g brussels sprouts, shredded
300g carrots, peeled and julienned
70g ginger, peeled and julienned
1 shallot, peeled and thinly sliced
2 red chillies, deseeded and julienned
100g Greek yoghurt
10g coriander, chopped
10g tarragon, chopped
2 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp black sesame seeds (or white if you can't get them)
60g roasted and salted peanuts
Salt 2 large garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
2 tbsp picked thyme leaves
2 lemons, 1 shaved into long strips of zest and 1 finely grated
300g risotto rice
500g trimmed brussels sprouts, 200g shredded and 300g quartered
200ml dry white wine
900ml vegetable stock
Salt and black pepper
About 400ml sunflower oil
40g parmesan, roughly grated
60g dolcelatte, broken up into roughly 2cm chunks
10g tarragon, chopped
2 tsp lemon juice
Put the butter and olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. When the oil is hot and the butter melted, add the onion and fry for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft and lightly caramelised. Add the garlic, thyme and lemon strips, and cook for two minutes more. Add the rice and shredded sprouts, and cook for a minute, stirring frequently. Pour over the wine and let it simmer for a minute before you start adding the stock, a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper. Reduce the heat to medium and carry on adding the stock ladle by ladle, stirring often, until the rice is cooked but still retains a bite, and all the stock is used up - about 15-20 minutes.

While the rice is cooking, pour the sunflower oil into a second large saucepan; it should come 2cm up the sides. Place on a high heat and, once very hot, use a slotted spoon to add a handful of the quartered sprouts, making sure they are completely dry first; they will still splutter, so be careful. Fry for less than a minute, until golden and crisp, then transfer to plate lined with kitchen paper. Keep warm while you fry the remaining sprouts.

Add the parmesan, dolcelatte, tarragon and half the fried sprouts to the risotto and stir gently. Serve at once, spooning on the remaining sprouts and topping with the grated lemon zest and a dribble of juice.

Brussels sprout and ginger slaw

This will leave you with lots more mayonnaise than you need for this dish, but it's not really worth making in any smaller quantities. On the bright side, it keeps in the fridge for at least a week, so use what's left for something else. If you have one, use a mandolin to cut the vegetables into even lengths. Serves four to six.

To make the mayonnaise, put the egg, mustard, sugar, garlic and vinegar in the small bowl of a food processor, and add half a teaspoon of salt. With the motor running, very slowly pour in the oil in a light, steady stream, and whisk until combined. Keep in the fridge until needed.

Put the sprouts, carrots, ginger, shallot and chilli in a bowl with the yoghurt and a third (about 180g) of the mayonnaise. Mix together and keep in the fridge for up to two hours, so that the vegetables slightly soften. Remove from the fridge, stir through the herbs, lime juice and three-quarters of a teaspoon of salt, and transfer to a serving bowl. Lightly crush the sesame seeds and peanuts in a pestle and mortar, just to break them a little, sprinkle over the salad and serve.

* Yotam Ottolenghi is chef/patron of Ottolenghi and Nopi in London.

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Sweet sensations: Yotam Ottolenghi's brussels sprout recipes

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russels sprouts aren't just for Christmas, they're for life - or at least until the season ends in March. Though I suppose that does rather depend on whether or not you have the TAS2R38 gene, which affects your tongue.

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othing says autumn quite like a traybake. They work in other seasons, too, of course, but to me they make most sense when filled with the root vegetables of autumn. Piled into a large oven tray and roasted with all manner of sweetness and spice, these robust vegetables - celeriac and beetroot, say, carrots, swede and squash - soften, mellow and take on the flavours of everything they're cooked with. In doing so, they become the definition of comfort food. As we pile around the table in an effort to gain similar comfort, there's also something reassuring about being able to put one dish in the middle of the table from which everyone can help themselves.

Five-a-day toad-in-the-hole (pictured above)

Here I've replaced the traditional sausage "toads" with hearty root vegetables. I love that this dish ticks the "five-a-day" box, but if need be use either celeriac or swede, rather than both. Whatever vegetables you end up using (parsnips and carrots also work well), just keep the total net weight the same as listed here. The mushroom gravy is well worth the effort, but if you want to save time, by all means use shop-bought instead.

For the batter
4 large eggs
350ml milk
2 tbsp English mustard
230g plain flour, sifted
4 tbsp sunflower oil
200g cherry tomatoes, left whole
2 sprigs rosemary

For the filling
½ large celeriac (480g), peeled and cut into 6 wedges (450g net weight)
2 beetroot (350g), peeled and cut into 8 wedges each (300g)
½ large swede (350g), peeled and cut into 12 wedges (320g)
75ml olive oil
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp maple syrup

For the mushroom gravy (optional)
30g dried porcini
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped (220g)
3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1 tbsp tomato paste
Salt and black pepper
1 tbsp rosemary leaves, finely chopped
2½ tbsp flour
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1½ tbsp (5g) chives, cut into 1cm lengths

Put the porcini in a heatproof bowl and pour over 800ml just-boiled water. Cover with a plate and leave to steep for at least 20 minutes, while you get everything else ready.

For the batter, in a large bowl vigorously whisk the eggs, milk and mustard for about a minute, until good and foamy. In a second large bowl, combine the flour with a teaspoon of salt, pour in the egg mixture and whisk again, until smooth. Set aside for at least 30 minutes.

Heat the oven to 220C (200C fan)/425F/gas 7. Put all the root vegetables, the olive oil, tomato paste, three-quarters of a teaspoon of salt and good grind of pepper in a large, roughly 34cm x 26cm roasting tin. Toss to coat and combine, roast for 20 minutes, then gently stir through the maple syrup and roast for 15 minutes more, until everything has softened and is nicely coloured. Transfer the vegetables and their flavourful oil to a bowl and give the roasting tin a rinse and a dry.

Add the sunflower oil to the wiped out tin and put in the oven for six minutes, to heat up. Working quickly and carefully, remove the hot tin from the oven and pour in the batter. Top evenly with the roasted veg mixture, the whole cherry tomatoes and rosemary sprigs, then bake for 20 minutes. Turn down the heat to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6 and cook for 25 minutes more.

Meanwhile, make the gravy. Put the oil in a medium saucepan on a medium-high heat. When hot, add the onion and saute, stirring occasionally, for seven minutes, until softened and browned. Add the garlic, tomato paste and rosemary, cook for a minute more, then stir in the flour so it coats everything. Slowly pour in the porcini and their soaking liquid, stirring constantly to avoid lumps, then add a teaspoon of salt and a generous grind of pepper, and bring to a simmer. Lower the heat to medium, leave to cook for 12 minutes, then add the vinegar and cook for five more minutes, or until thickened to a gravy. Keep warm on a very low heat until you're ready to serve.

Stir two-thirds of the chives into the gravy and sprinkle the rest over the toad-in-the-hole. Serve warm from the tin, with the gravy in a bowl or gravy boat alongside.

Curried butternut and coconut gratin

This tastes a bit like a katsu curry in gratin form, and needs only a crunchy salad alongside.

Yotam Ottolenghi's curried butternut and coconut gratin.

1 x 400ml can full-fat coconut milk (reserve 2 tbsp to serve)
1 banana shallot, peeled and roughly chopped
15g piece fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
2 plum tomatoes
1 tbsp medium curry powder
¾ tbsp tomato paste
Salt
1 large butternut squash, halved, seeds scooped out and discarded or saved for toasting, then cut widthways into 2-3mm slices - use a mandoline, if you have one (850g net weight)
30g coconut flakes
1 tbsp maple syrup
1½ tbsp olive oil
1 lime, cut into wedges, to serve

For the topping
3 tbsp olive oil
1 large chilli, cut into thin rounds
15 fresh curry leaves (ie, from 1-2 sprigs)

Heat the oven to 220C (200C fan)/425F/gas 7. Put the first six ingredients in a blender with a teaspoon and a half of salt and blitz smooth. Arrange the squash slices in a round, 28cm cast-iron pan or baking dish, then pour over the curry coconut milk mixture.

In a small bowl, mix the coconut flakes with the maple syrup and a good pinch of salt, and set aside.

Cover the cast-iron pan or dish with foil, bake for 60 minutes, then remove the foil, drizzle over the oil, cover with the coconut flake mix and bake for 10 minutes more. Turn the oven to a high grill setting, then grill for four or five minutes, until nicely browned on top.

While the gratin is baking, make the topping. Put the oil in a small saucepan on a medium-high heat. Once hot, add the chilli and fry for 90 seconds, swirling the pan so it doesn't catch, then add the curry leaves and fry for another 30 seconds, until the leaves are crisp (careful, they might spit). Strain the chilli and curry leaves through a sieve set over a heatproof bowl to collect the oil.

Drizzle the aromatic oil and the reserved two tablespoons of coconut milk over the gratin, then sprinkle on the chilli and curry leaves and serve with the lime wedges for squeezing over.

Berbere-spiced chicken, carrots and chickpeas

Berbere is an Ethiopian spice blend with a fair kick, so use less here if you're not that into heat. This is a complete meal in a tray, but you could also serve it with some cooling yoghurt and fluffy white rice.

Yotam Ottolenghi's berbere spiced chicken, carrots and chickpeas.

1 large onion, peeled and roughly chopped (220g net weight)
6 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
45g coriander, stalks (25g) and leaves (20g) separated, and both roughly chopped
2½ tbsp berbere spice (I use the Bart's brand)
2 tbsp tomato paste
2½ tbsp runny honey, plus a little extra to finish
3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
90ml olive oil
Salt and black pepper
800g carrots, peeled and cut into 4-5cm lengths (680g)
2 x 400g tins chickpeas, drained (480g)
8 medium skin-on and bone-in chicken thighs - 1 left whole, the others juiced, to get 100ml

Heat the oven to 220C (200C fan)/425F/gas 7. Put the onion, garlic, coriander stalks, berbere spice, tomato paste, honey, a tablespoon of vinegar, four tablespoons of oil, a teaspoon and three-quarters of salt and a good grind of pepper in a food processor and blitz to a smooth paste.

Scrape this into a large, roughly 34cm x 26cm roasting tray and add the carrots, chickpeas, chicken, orange juice and 150ml water. Toss everything together to coat and combine, then arrange the thighs skin side up on top, so they're just nestled in the mix.

Tightly cover the tray with foil, bake for 30 minutes, then remove the foil and bake for 40 minutes more, rotating the tin once halfway, until everything is cooked through and nicely coloured. Remove from the oven and leave to settle slightly for about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, segment the whole orange and roughly chop the flesh. Put this in a medium bowl with the coriander leaves, the last two tablespoons each of vinegar and oil, an eighth of a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper, and mix to combine.

To serve, spoon the coriander salsa all over the top of the chicken and serve directly from the tray.

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Yotam Ottolenghi's recipes for autumn traybakes

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othing says autumn quite like a traybake. They work in other seasons, too, of course, but to me they make most sense when filled with the root vegetables of autumn. Piled into a large oven tray and roasted with all manner of sweetness and spice, these robust vegetables - celeriac and beetroot, say, carrots, swede and squash - soften, mellow and take on the flavours of everything they're cooked with.

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Pan fried mackerel fennel beetroot salad

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Pan fried mackerel fennel beetroot salad

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Hold the dill

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Ingredients

Method

STEP 1

Put one of the mackerel fillets on a board and cut a 'V' down the centre, either side of the pin bones, to create two smaller fillets, then remove the bones. Repeat with the other fillet. Rub with the oil and season with plenty of ground black pepper. Set aside.

STEP 2

Put the fennel in a bowl with the beetroot, cucumber and apple. Drizzle over the lemon juice, add the yogurt and mix well. Roughly chop the dill, putting aside a few fronds to garnish, and scatter over the salad, then season with ground black pepper and toss together lightly. Set aside.

STEP 3

Put a large non-stick frying pan over a medium-high heat. When hot, add the fish, skin-side down, and cook for 2 1/2 mins. Flip the fish over and cook for 30 secs on the other side.

STEP 4

Put the fillets on top of the salad and serve with the dill fronds and lemon wedges for squeezing over.

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Pan-fried mackerel fillets with beetroot & fennel

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Ingredients STEP 1 Put one of the mackerel fillets on a board and cut a 'V' down the centre, either side of the pin bones, to create two smaller fillets, then remove the bones. Repeat with the other fillet. Rub with the oil and season with plenty of ground black pepper.

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Fennel and beetroot salad was nice

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collection of vegetarian and vegan recipes for you this month. Ten recipes - some old, some new and more than half of them vegan - that celebrate the wealth of seasonal vegetables, the greens and roots that make cooking at this time of year such a joy.

Vegan dishes include little cakes of kimchi and sweet potatoes; a loaf of amaranth and chickpeas; a crunchy slaw and a dish of roast onions with miso. There's also a gorgeous noodle curry with coconut and greens, and couscous with harissa-spiced roast tomatoes. (Vegans will know to ruthlessly check the labels of ingredients such as kimchi, miso and vegetable stock to check they are suitable for them.)

Vegetarian recipes include two tarts - one with cheese pastry and mushrooms and another with rosemary-flecked ricotta and pumpkin, and we have a quick pasta supper too.

Pumpkin, ricotta and rosemary tart (vegetarian)

You could measure my life in pumpkin recipes, particularly savoury ones where the sugar hit is balanced with chilli or ginger. This time, I have used parmesan, the most umami rich of the cheeses, to quell the sweetness, and it works brilliantly. Especially when mixed with the resinous notes of rosemary. The pastry I prefer is a butter-rich puff pastry that comes in a single sheet, measuring about 35cm x 22cm and weighing 325g.

This is a light main course if eaten with something on the side - a tumble of shredded fennel and cauliflower with a dressing of lemon juice, olive oil and balsamic vinegar would be mine - but it also makes a good lunchbox addition too. Use pumpkin or butternut, it matters not, but makes sure to slice the flesh no thicker than ½cm.

For the filling
ricotta 250g
full fat cream cheese 200g
parmesan (or vegetarian Italian-style hard cheese) 4 tbsp, grated
egg yolk 1
rosemary 2 tbsp, chopped

To finish
parmesan (or vegetarian Italian-style hard cheese) a little, grated
olive oil

Set the oven at 180C fan/gas mark 6. Unroll the sheet of pastry and place it on a baking sheet lined with a piece of baking parchment. Score a rectangle about 2cm in from the edge - don't go right through to the parchment. This will form the "hollow" for the filling. Brush the edges with the beaten egg and bake for 10 minutes until puffed up and lightly coloured.

Remove the skin and seeds from the pumpkin or butternut squash - you should be left with roughly 450g of flesh. Slice thinly, each piece no thicker than ½cm. Warm the olive oil in a shallow pan, place as many of the pumpkin slices as you can into it - even with a large frying pan I can never cook them all at once - then let them cook over a moderate heat for about 3 minutes till lightly coloured. Turn and lightly brown the other side, then transfer them carefully to a plate and do the next batch.

For the filling, put the ricotta in a bowl, add the cream cheese, grated parmesan and egg yolk. Add the rosemary and a few grinds of the peppermill, then mix well.

Remove the pastry from the oven. Score the rectangle again and push the inner pastry down with the back of a spoon to form a shallow hollow. Spoon in the filling and smooth it out to the rim. Place the pumpkin slices on the surface, sprinkle a little parmesan and trickle very lightly with olive oil. Bake for 25 minutes till golden, the filling slightly puffed and fragrant. Leave to settle for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Roast onions, miso and sesame (vegan)

A dish of roast onions, bronze, sweet and hot, is one of those side dishes I have taken to serving as a main course. The inherent sweetness of their caramelised outer layers is a contrast to the deep, savoury quality of miso, and with a bed of brown rice this becomes a most satisfying dinner. It is essential to simmer them long enough in their bay-scented stock to render them on the point of collapse, each layer soft and giving, before putting them in the oven.

The accompanying rice bolsters them up to a main course, but you could equally serve them with couscous or lentils.

Bring a deep pan of water to the boil with the bay leaves and peppercorns. Set the oven at 180C fan/gas mark 6.

Peel the onions, lower them into the boiling water then turn down the heat to a simmer. Leave for 25-30 minutes, until the onions are almost translucent and soft enough to pierce effortlessly with a skewer. Lift the onions out with a draining spoon and place them, just touching one another, in a roasting tin or baking dish.

Peel the ginger and grate to a paste on a very sharp, fine-toothed grater. Scrape the ginger into a small bowl and stir in the sake or dry sherry, chilli flakes, syrup and miso.

Blend in the lemon juice and 4 tbsp of warm water. Pour the resulting dressing over the onions, turning them over so they are glossily coated. Scatter the sesame seeds over the onions. Bake in the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes, occasionally basting with the juices from the baking dish.

Wash the rice in three changes of warm water, swishing the rice around in the water with your fingertips - a strangely pleasing task. Drain the rice, tip into a small saucepan and cover with enough water to come 3cm above the rice. Add the bay and cardamom pods, cracking the pods open as you go, then drop in the piece of lemon peel.

Bring the rice to the boil, lower the heat and cover with a tight lid. Leave to simmer for 10 minutes, then remove from the heat and leave, lid untouched, for a further 10.

Peel and halve the cucumber, remove the central core and seeds, then cut the flesh into matchsticks. Roughly chop the parsley leaves and toss with the cucumber. Shake over a few drops of rice or wine vinegar.

Remove the lid to the rice and run the tines of a fork through the grains to separate them, stir the parsley through the grains, then spoon on to deep plates. Place the onions on top, spooning any sauce over them, then scatter with the cucumber and parsley.

Citrus and cashew nut salad (vegan)

There is much to be said for a crisp refreshing salad even on an ice-cold day, if only to contrast all the warming, carbs-n-cheese suppers. The crunch here comes from the beetroot, red cabbage and celeriac, but you could use carrots or kohlrabi. (Broccoli stalks, thinly sliced, get my vote too.) It's a main course in my house, but would make a fine side dish too. The dressing sounds like a lot of trouble. It isn't. Everything just needs a quick blast in the blender or food processor - although I find the texture of the cashew nuts most pleasing when I grind them using a pestle and mortar, leaving them as a rough, gravelly powder. Once made, it is probably best to eat it the same day.

Make the dressing: put the vinegar, lime juice, olive oil and soy in a mixing bowl. Peel the ginger and grate it finely, then add to the liquids with the sugar. Finely chop the chilli (you can remove the seeds if you like a cooler dressing) and stir in. Crush the cashews to a coarse, nubbly powder with a pestle and mortar (or the end of a rolling pin), then add to the dressing with the mint leaves and the coriander leaves, torn up a little if they are particularly large. Stir the dressing and set aside.

Remove the peel and white pith from the grapefruit and orange, saving as much juice as you can. Separate the segments with a sharp knife and add them to the dressing with any juice.

Finely shred the red cabbage and fennel and add to the dressing. Peel the celeriac and beetroot, slice thinly, then cut into long, thin matchsticks. Toss with the dressing, check the seasoning and set aside for 30 minutes or more before serving. Add the reserved whole cashews just before bringing the salad to the table.

Sweet potato and kimchi cakes (vegan)

Sweet potato and kimchi cakes. Photograph: Jonathan Lovekin/The Observer

I sometimes make these little cakes with sweet potato alone, in which case a careful hand is needed, the mixture being particularly soft and sticky. To make them easier to deal with I now substitute a third of the sweet potato with maincrop white potatoes, instantly making them less fragile. The little cakes need 30 minutes in the fridge before cooking, in order to firm up.

I suggest you let the underside brown crisply before turning - it contrasts with the soft centre and helps them hold together. A good crust makes them easier to turn too. You will need something to eat alongside, a crisp salad such as the garnet-hued roots and fruits above, or perhaps a bowl of chickpeas with a dressing of lemon, olive oil and parsley.

Each time I make these I wonder if they would be a good candidate for filling a burger bun, with bushy emerald watercress and a squeeze of lemon.

Put a deep pan of water on to boil, place a steamer basket or colander on top. Peel the potatoes and cut them into large chunks, as you might for roast potatoes, then put them in the steamer basket, cover tightly with a lid, and steam for 15-20 minutes. Peel the sweet potatoes, cut them into a similar size and add to the potatoes.

Test the potatoes for tenderness - the sweet ones should be bright orange and easily pierced with a skewer or knife point. Remove them from the heat and leave for a few minutes until they have stopped steaming. Mash until quite smooth using a food mixer or a potato masher (but not a food processor, which will turn them to glue).

Finely chop the kimchi and stir in. Chop the coriander leaves and stems and add to the mash with the flour. (You are unlikely to need pepper or salt.) Flour your hands very thoroughly, then take a small scoop of the mixture in your hand and pat gently into a small cake. Lay on a floured baking sheet or plate, re-flour your hands and repeat until the mixture is finished. You will have about 12 cakes.

Chill the cakes in the fridge for 30 minutes. And please, don't miss this step because the cakes are fragile and they will collapse when you cook them. Warm a ½cm depth of the groundnut oil in a frying pan, then carefully lift the cakes, four at a time and fry for a minute or two over a moderately high heat until crisp on the bottom. Don't move them (or poke or prod them) until the underside is crisp. Now carefully flip the cakes over and cook the other side.

As soon as the cakes are golden, lift out with a palette knife and rest on a plate and keep warm while you cook the rest - I like to use fresh oil for each batch. Serve the cakes as soon as they are all done, perhaps with a little more of the kimchi on top.

Noodles with coconut and greens (vegan)

Comfort and spice. As the temperature drops, I relish those recipes that offer both the warmth of spice and the pacifying note of coconut milk. This one, a meal-in-a-bowl affair with ginger and chilli, noodles and greens, ticks every box for me. The inspiration are the soups I have eaten in Thailand, but the spicing is milder here, so up the chilli content if you wish. If the lime leaves prove elusive - as they so often do - make it anyway, perhaps including the zest of a lime instead. The effect is not quite the same, but good enough.

Make the spice paste: peel and roughly chop the ginger, then put it into the bowl of a food processor. Add the garlic, chillies (minus their stalks), lemongrass (outer leaves discarded, the rest roughly chopped), and the spring onions and turmeric. Process for a few seconds, then add the coriander and the vegetable oil. Process for a few seconds to a coarse paste, scrape the sides down with a rubber spatula, then process briefly again. If the mixture refuses to soften to a paste, add a tablespoon of water.

For the soup, peel the shallots and slice them in half lengthways. Warm the oil in a large casserole over a moderate heat, then add the shallots, cut side down together with a tablespoon of water, and let them cook for about 10 minutes, covered with a lid. Turn them from time to time and cook until almost tender. Add the spice paste and fry with the shallots for a couple of minutes, then add the stock, coconut milk and lime leaves. Leave to simmer for 10 minutes.

Put the kettle on. Put the noodles in a large heatproof jug or a large bowl and pour the boiling water over them. Meanwhile, wash and trim the chard and spinach, then cut the stalks into fine shreds and add to the soup. Place the leaves on top of one another, roll up tightly and shred with a kitchen knife. As soon as the stalks are tender add the leaves, then the mint and coriander leaves.

Drain the noodles, then use kitchen tongs to transfer them to four warm bowls. Ladle the sauce over the noodles and serve.

Tomato couscous with harissa (vegan)

A favourite of mine, even when tomatoes are out of season. (Harissa paste does much for a less than sublime tomato.) It is worth mentioning that harissa pastes can vary slightly in heat so I suggest starting with a tablespoon then going on from there, to suit your taste. Making this with as many varieties of tomato as I can get hold of, the vibrant scarlets and oranges bring much cheer to a grey winter day. The couscous, though softly cosseting when soaked with rust-red juices could be swapped for rice if you prefer.

Cut the larger tomatoes in half and place in a roasting tin, tucking in the smaller ones. Add the garlic and olive oil. Peel and slice the red onion and add it to the tomatoes with a seasoning of salt and black pepper. Scatter the crushed cumin and coriander seeds over the tomatoes and onions. Roast at 180C fan/gas mark 6 for 35-40 minutes until the tomatoes are soft and the skins lightly browned.

Bring the vegetable stock to the boil. Place the couscous in a heat-proof bowl, then pour the boiling stock over, cover and leave for 15 minutes. Remove the leaves from the mint and parsley and roughly chop.

Use a fork to lightly crush the tomatoes so the juices bleed into the pan, then stir in the harissa paste. Run a fork through the couscous to separate the grains, then stir in the chopped herbs. Serve the roast tomatoes and their juices on top of the couscous.

Chickpeas and macaroni (vegetarian)

As much as I love spending time in the kitchen, I am ever grateful for quick recipes I can knock up in minutes. This one, pasta and pulses tied up in a mild, creamy tomato sauce, is one of those I make time and again. This is a pacifying dish, no real heat or pizzazz, just a warm and cosy pasta supper as effortless (almost) as a takeaway.

Peel and roughly chop the onion, then soften it in a pan with the garlic and olive oil. When the onions start to brown, add the tomato purée, tinned tomatoes, cinnamon, bay leaves, chilli flakes and pepper and salt. Simmer for 15 minutes.

Bring a deep pan of water to the boil, salt it, then cook the macaroni for 9 minutes, until tender. Drain the macaroni. Drain the chickpeas and stir both into the tomato sauce. Simmer for 5 minutes, then stir in the cream.

Add the chopped parsley and the basil leaves. Divide the pasta and chickpeas between two deep bowls and serve.

Roast spiced winter roots, haricot mash

Sweet root vegetables - parsnips, carrots and beetroot - work well with spices such as cumin and coriander. Chilli too. I was introduced to this by the late Jane Grigson, with her almost legendary curried parsnip soup. Tossing the roots in the ground spices before roasting lends a mild warmth to the vegetables, but you could add more if you wish.

For the mash
haricot, cannellini or butter beans 2 x 400g tins
olive oil 2 tbsp
parsley leaves a good handful
lemon juice 1 tbsp

Peel and crush the garlic to a paste. Using a spice mill or pestle and mortar, crush the cumin and coriander seeds to a coarse powder, then mix in the salt and several grinds of black pepper. Add the chilli flakes and stir in the crushed garlic and oil. Set the oven at 180C fan/gas mark 6.

Bring a couple of deep pans of water to the boil. Trim the beetroot, without breaking the skin, then put them in the water and let them cook for 25-30 minutes, depending on their size, until they are soft enough to pierce easily with a skewer. Cut the potatoes in half and add them to the second pan and boil them for 15 minutes.

Drain the beetroot and cut them in half. If they are large, cut them into wedges. Drain the potatoes. Slice the carrots in half. Toss the carrots, beetroot and potatoes in the spiced oil then transfer to a roasting tin and bake for 35-45 minutes. (I like to turn each one over halfway through cooking so they get evenly browned.)

To make the mash, drain the beans and put them in a small pan, just covered with water. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and leave to simmer for 10 minutes. Drain and return the beans to the empty pan, add the olive oil, parsley leaves, a little black pepper and the lemon juice, then mash to a smooth purée with a potato masher or food processor.

Pile the mashed beans on a serving dish, then place the roasted spiced roots on top and serve.

Mushroom and dill tart (vegetarian)

A classic tart but made with cheese pastry and a deeply savoury filling. I use small shimeji mushrooms for their flavour but buttons are good too, in which case I would slice them in half. If dill isn't your thing, then use tarragon which has similar aniseed notes, or leave out the herbs altogether.

There are three distinct stages to this recipe - the pastry, the filling and the second baking, which I know feels offputting, but its crisp pastry and silky filling is worth every moment of your time.

You will need a 22cm tart tin with a removable base.

To make the pastry, cut the butter into cubes and rub it into the flour with your fingertips until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Mix in the egg yolk and parmesan, bringing the ingredients together into a firm ball of dough, adding a tablespoon or two of cold water if necessary. You can do this in seconds using a food processor.

Tip the dough on to a lightly floured board and knead for 30 seconds or so (no longer) shaping it into a ball as you go. Wrap in clingfilm or greaseproof paper and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

While the dough chills, make the filling. Pour the cream into a medium-sized saucepan, add the parmesan rind and bring to the boil. Remove the cream from the heat immediately when it starts to boil, then cover with a lid and set aside.

Cut the mushrooms into small pieces. In a small frying pan, warm the oil then fry the mushrooms for 4 or 5 minutes, until slightly sticky. Chop the dill and toss with the mushrooms and set aside.

Remove the dough from the fridge and tenderly roll into a disc large enough to line the tart case. Press the pastry into the edges, patching it where necessary. Make certain there are no tears or holes. Chill for 20 minutes, allowing the pastry to relax. Set the oven at 180C fan/gas mark 6 and place an upturned baking sheet on the middle shelf to heat up.

Place a sheet of baking paper or foil on top of the pastry, fill with baking beans and slide into the preheated oven on top of the warm baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes, then carefully remove the parchment and beans and return to the oven for a further 5 minutes until dry to the touch. Lower the heat to 160C fan/gas mark 4.

Break the eggs into a bowl and beat gently, then add the cream (removing the parmesan rind). Season with salt and pepper, add the fried mushrooms, then spoon into the tart case and bake for 25 minutes.

Chickpea and amaranth loaf (vegan)

This started life as a stuffing, but recipes move on and what was once cooked inside a goose is now a dish in its own right. As much as I like a nut loaf, this softer version is less expensive to make and nicely balanced with a hint of sweetness from the dried fruits. You can make the mixture a day or more in advance. It will freeze, too. Cook it in a 20cm x 12cm parchment-lined loaf tin, then let it rest for a good 20 minutes before spooning or slicing.

You will want something with this. I have served it with spinach, cooked quickly in a hot, covered pan and a few spoons of vegetable stock, or you could make a sauce for it. Mushroom perhaps or something spicier with tomatoes and chillies.

Peel and finely chop the onions. Warm 3 tbsp of the olive oil in a deep pan, add the onions and let them cook over a moderate heat for 15-20 minutes until they are soft and pale gold. Take care not to brown them. Peel and finely chop the garlic, stir it in, then add the cumin, coriander, chilli and a little black pepper.

Bring a medium pan with 400ml of water to the boil, then rain in the amaranth and let it simmer, partially covered, for 15 minutes. Drain using a fine sieve. Put the pan back on the heat, add the chickpeas and their liquor and warm thoroughly. Chop the figs and apricots. Pull the leaves from the parsley. Remove the chickpeas from the heat then purée with the parsley leaves and remaining olive oil using a food processor. Set the oven at 180C fan/gas mark 6.

Combine the chickpea and parsley purée with the drained amaranth, dried fruits, onions and garlic. Transfer to the loaf tin, smoothing the surface and taking care to push the stuffing into the corners. Bake for 25-30 minutes.

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Nigel Slater's 10 winter vegan and vegetarian recipes

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collection of vegetarian and vegan recipes for you this month. Ten recipes - some old, some new and more than half of them vegan - that celebrate the wealth of seasonal vegetables, the greens and roots that make cooking at this time of year such a joy.

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Saag Aloo

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Meera Sodha's recipe for vegan saag aloo | The New Vegan

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A tried-and-tested recipe for potato and spinach curry with added spiced aubergine