# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How to turn unwanted anchovy tin oil into salsa verde – recipe

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This powerhouse ingredient injects umami and depth of flavour into a simple green sauce. Come on, chop-chop!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Rachel Roddy’s recipe for pasta with red peppers and anchovies or goat’s cheese

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The skins may be pesky to peel away, but the result is this velvety and vibrant, flavourful pasta dish

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.theguardian.com/food/2024/jan/08/quick-and-easy-cassoulet-recipe-pesto-topped-white-bean-kale-and-tomato-rukmini-iyer?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
This is a proper winter warmer; even better, it's a 30-minute dinner. The tomatoes break down into a wonderful sauce for the rosemary-spiked beans and kale, and the thing that elevates it from nice to something special is the quick homemade pesto, which you can whip up while the cassoulet is cooking. Purists, look away - I use cheddar instead of parmesan, and the results are spectacular, with a real hit of umami. Use whatever nuts you have to hand, but the basil and mint are a must.

Pesto-topped white bean, kale and tomato cassoulet

2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped
2 big garlic cloves, peeled and finely grated
2 sprigs rosemary, leaves picked and finely chopped
300g cherry tomatoes, halved
1 x 700g jar haricot beans (or 2 x 400g tins haricot beans), drained and rinsed
150g kale (or cavolo nero), tough stalks discarded, leaves shredded
Juice of ½ lemon, plus 1½ tbsp extra for the pesto
Sea salt flakes

For the pesto
15g basil leaves
10g mint leaves
40g pine nuts, cashew nuts or hazelnuts
80ml olive oil
40g mature cheddar, grated

Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a large, shallow casserole dish or wide, deep-sided frying pan, add the onion, garlic and rosemary, and cook on a medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes, until the onions have softened. Add the tomatoes, beans and kale, stir-fry on a medium heat for five minutes to start softening the kale, then cover, turn down the heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the pesto. Tip the herbs, nuts, olive oil and cheddar into a high-speed blender or food processor, blitz fairly smooth, then add a tablespoon and a half of lemon juice and sea salt to taste.

Once the cassoulet is ready, taste, season with the juice of half a lemon and a sprinkle of salt, and serve hot in deep bowls topped with the pesto.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Rukmini Iyer's quick and easy recipe for pesto-topped white bean, kale and tomato cassoulet | Quick and easy

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A casserole of tomatoes melted into rosemary-scented beans and kale, and topped with minty cheddar pesto

# data[].attributes.body
Click « edit post » for details

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
" Antica e desueta [archaicand forgotten] is a beguiling introduction to a recipe," I said to my friend, the cook and writer Stefano Arturi, when we talked on the phone the other week. He laughed, noting that those words in relation to recipes made him both curious and, because of their foggy closeness to mythologising, suspicious.

It was his recipe for hazelnut ragu that started it all, sending us down more or less the same paths in books and online, where we met more of the same thing: fabulously contradictory stories in which ragu made from hazelnuts was an ancient Piedmontese dish of great beauty born out of economy and hardship, and also "forgotten", which justifies the lack of any evidence as to where it actually came from. Yet also, a breezy, contemporary dish that, like so many modern dishes, was scorned by those faithful to more traditional (ancient, authentic) versions. There were other claims, too, such as "This is the authentic recipe" and "This is an improvisational dish: do as you wish". In short, a big tangle, which makes for entertaining reading. Although maybe not for those of the opinion that recipe writers should stop the self-indulgent introductions and get straight to the recipe - which is what we did.

Armed with half a dozen sets of advice and opinions, we mixed together hazelnuts, mushrooms, diced vegetables, herbs, wine, tomato, heat and time with the aim of creating - in Stefano's words - a deeply flavoured sauce and sumptuous condiment that is as satisfying as a conventional meat ragu. Not that this is in any way attempting to be a substitute for anything: it is a dish in its own right, and one that reminds us what delicious, useful, oily, satisfying things hazelnuts (and cobnuts) are, especially when they are paired with mushrooms. The secrets of success are softening the finely diced vegetables and herbs slowly, so as to bring out their depth of flavour; chopping the nuts roughly for a mixed texture (the rubbly bits give body, while the more floury bits help to thicken the sauce); and simmering the ragu slowly for about an hour, so everything comes together and steams up the kitchen windows.

One option is to serve this with mashed potato, or polenta, or gnocchi made from potatoes or pumpkin, or long pasta - in which case boil 400-500g fresh egg tagliatelle or linguine in well-salted water. While the pasta is boiling, pour the ragu into a warm bowl, then, once the pasta is ready, either drain or use a spider to lift it directly into the sauce. Add a handful of grated cheese, too, if you like, then toss gently and serve this timeless dish immediately with lots of red wine.

Hazelnut and mushroom ragu with pasta

Serves 4

150g shelled hazelnuts or cobnuts, lightly toasted in a pan
4 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, peeled and very finely diced
1 carrot, trimmed and very finely diced
1 celery stalk, trimmed and very finely diced
Salt
1 bushy sprig fresh rosemary
2 bay leaves, crushed but whole 1 small dried or fresh red chilli
½ tin (200g) whole or chopped tomatoes
A knob of butter
400g mixed mushrooms, sliced
1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
400-500g egg tagliatelle, or linguine
Grated parmesan, to serve (optional)

Using a knife or food processor, cut or pulse the nuts until they have a rough, sandy texture. Working in a heavy-based pan or casserole, warm the olive oil and soften the diced vegetables with a pinch of salt, plus the rosemary and bay leaves for about five minutes. Add the nuts and cook, stirring, for five minutes more.

Raise the heat slightly, add the wine and leave everything to bubble for a while, then add the chilli, tip in the tomatoes, season with salt if necessary, and simmer over a low heat for 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a frying pan and, once it's foaming, add the sliced mushrooms and cook until they collapse and are just starting to take on some colour. Pull the pan off the heat, add the minced garlic, then tip the lot, along with any pan juices, into the simmering ragu. Cook for another 15 minutes, until the ragu is dense and tasty, then adjust for salt, if need be.

Boil the pasta in well-salted water according to the packet instructions, then drain and lift directly into the ragu pan. Add grated parmesan, if you like, then toss well and serve immediately.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Rachel Roddy's recipe for hazelnut and mushroom ragu with pasta | A kitchen in Rome

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Its origins may be a mystery, but what is certain is that this luxuriant alternative to meat ragu is totally delicious

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Lucy Tweed’s Mediterranean soup recipes: minestrone, avgolemono and Greek white bean soup

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The cookbook author and food stylist shares a trio of simmer winners – just in time for soup season

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Rachel Roddy’s recipe for spaghetti with crab, chilli, herbs and lemon | A kitchen in Rome

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Crab pasta done (mostly) the River Cafe way, with an ‘electric sauce’ of olive oil, red chilli, parsley, garlic and lemon

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How to make the perfect tomato rasam – recipe | Felicity Cloake’s How to make the perfect …

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This tangy broth is an appetiser made throughout south India, but there are so many variations it would take a brave soul to distil them into the definitive dish …

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Prepared and served in a casserole or Dutch oven, this one-pot chicken dinner comes together quickly on the stovetop.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Rukmini Iyer’s quick and easy recipe for spiced black bean and tomato soup with avocado and lime | Quick and easy

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A gently spiced, speedy vegetarian soup that makes a sumptuous light dinner, and is even better for lunch the next day

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Next, whizz your onion mixture in the food processor and add it to the spiced tomato sauce. Season generously, stir, then simmer for 20 minutes. You can make large batches of this sauce and freeze it for later use.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Instead of calling the Indian takeaway, make your own easy chicken jalfrezi. Our healthy curry recipe also has two of your 5-a-day and a good dose of vitamin C

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A recipe box was rifled through, but, alas, much like shopping for a present last minute, nothing leapt to the fore. Out of the corner of an eye I spied an old folder of pudding menus, all stained and tattered. A wonder at how this might have escaped notice was soon dispelled - unsurprising, really, given the usual state of my desk and shelves - and the page on which it fell open revealed the scribbles for a midwinter pudding menu. And, just like that, as if the scent rose from the page itself, came a memory of an almond, chocolate, walnut and prune tart being lifted from the oven, all mahogany hued and with a few bubbles bursting from the pieces of chocolate among the prunes peeking out.

My appetite for almond tart has never waned; be it in a restaurant kitchen or at home, an almond tart is nigh-on inevitable. When I was younger, almond tarts were often made with ready-ground almonds and usually invigorated by a drop or two of almond essence, because they were often shy of flavour. But then bags of whole marcona almonds from Spain began to arrive, and quickly usurped any notion of baking with any other almond. Shaped like teardrops and almost milky in colour, delicate, buttery and freshly ground, these almonds imbue a tart with a superb quality and flavour. The benefit of not having to blind bake a tart case balanced the need to bake the tart on a rack sat in a tray to catch any butter and almond oil-infused tears released while baking.

My fondness for baking means I have been on the pastry section of pretty much every restaurant I've ever cooked in. And, somehow, an almond tart always seemed to have been on the menu. Some remained plain, some were prettied up with sliced fruit such as apple, apricot and pear; another great favourite was to stud the tart with prunes. To partner those marcona almonds, the prunes had to be from Agen in south-western France, famed for their yielding texture and depth of taste attained by a partial drying ( mi-cuit). So much so, in fact, that they've been granted protected status.

That same region of France is also home to some very fine walnuts, which also found their way into those tarts, as did shards of bitter chocolate. When I baked these at Alastair Little 's eponymous restaurant in Soho, we steeped Agen prunes in armagnac, but to spare the cook's purse in these straitened times, amontillado sherry also pleases greatly. The resulting tart was well received and duly bestowed upon the restaurant menu and at home. As is the way of recipes, other variations claimed centre stage until a friend gave me a nudge and suddenly a sleeping beauty was awakened to be presented here.

Almond, chocolate and prune tart

Makes 1 x 23cm tart

150g cold unsalted butter
250g '00' flour, sifted
75g icing sugar
Sea salt
1 egg, beaten
100g chopped walnuts
12 Agen prunes, halved and stoned
100g 70% dark chocolate, chopped

For the frangipane
250g softened unsalted butter
200g caster sugar
2 eggs, beaten
250g whole marcona almonds

Best made early on, the pastry is a classic rubbing together to a fine crumb of the cold butter with the '00' flour, icing sugar and a pinch of sea salt. Add to this the beaten egg and a tablespoon of cold water, knead deftly into a smooth dough and shape into a disc, then cover and refrigerate for at least an hour.

The frangipane is made by mixing the softened butter with the caster sugar, then gradually adding the two beaten eggs. Grind the whole marcona almonds to a fine crumb, then mix those in. Again, this is best refrigerated.

Heat the oven to 180C (160C fan)/350F/gas 4. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface to fit a 22-23cm tin with a removable base. Gather up the rolled pastry on to the pin and lay in the tin. Lift the edges gently and let the disc fall into the case, then push the edges downwards, pressing with your fingertips to ensure the pastry squarely lines the case. Pinch together any cracks.

Put spoonfuls of the frangipane in the tin, but do not smooth. Push the chopped walnuts evenly over the tart, then lightly press in the halved prunes. Finally, strew the tart with the chopped chocolate, pressing it down lightly.

Put the tart case on a rack, put the rack in an oven tray and transfer to the oven. Lower the temperature to 150C (130C fan)/300F/gas 2 and bake for an hour, checking occasionally to see if the tart needs turning so it colours evenly. Lower the oven temperature to 120C (100C fan)/260F/gas ½ and bake for a further 15 minutes. The tart is best eaten warm with a jug of the best Jersey cream.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Jeremy Lee's recipe for almond, chocolate and prune tart

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Marcona almonds from Spain, walnuts, dark chocolate, Agen prunes from France and a few decades of love go into this sumptuous frangipane tart

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Meera Sodha’s Spinach, Tomato and Chickpea Curry

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A classic and simple dish from Meera Sodha’s Fresh India, this Spinach, Tomato and Chickpea Curry recipe is packed with flavour and, served with basmati rice or chapattis, makes a satisfying vegetarian main course.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This Roasted Red Pepper Soup is loaded with flavor and taste! In less than 45 minutes time, you’ll be enjoying this hearty and creamy soup!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Cypriot (and also Bulgarian) salad

Ingredients

½ a small red onion

4 tablespoons red wine vinegar , or juice of 1 lemon

2 very ripe tomatoes

1 regular cucumber , or 2 small cucumbers

1 green pepper

1 carrot

handful of (ideally) Kalamata olives , the best you can get

1 teaspoon dried oregano

olive oil

200 g feta

sea salt

The cost per serving below is generated by Whisk.com and is based on costs in individual supermarkets. For more information about how we calculate costs per serving read our FAQS

Home Food: Recipes to Comfort and Connect

By Olia Herclues

Method

1. Slice the red onion as finely as you can into half moons. Put it in a salad bowl (a shallow bowl works best) and pour over half the vinegar, or squeeze over half the lemon, to temper its harshness.

2. Slice the tomatoes into slim wedges. If any of the juices seep out, swipe them with your hand into the lemony onions. Put the tomatoes into the salad bowl.

3. Slice the cucumber into quite chunky rounds and put them with the other veg.

4. Cut the pepper in half, deseed, and, if it is a big one, cut it in half lengthways again and then slice it across. Add it to the bowl.

5. Grate the carrot on the coarse side of a grater and add it, too, to the bowl.

6. Throw in the whole olives. If you have kids eating, you can pit the olives beforehand; I just smash them with the flat side of the knife and remove the stones.

7. Finally, make the dressing by whisking together the remaining vinegar or lemon juice and the oregano with oil and salt to taste. Stir it through the salad. Finely grate half the feta on top. I leave the remaining feta and the grater on the table, so everyone can top themselves up when needed.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Cypriot (and also Bulgarian) salad | Jamie Oliver recipes

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Cypriot (and also Bulgarian) salad ½ a small red onion 4 tablespoons red wine vinegar , or juice of 1 lemon 2 very ripe tomatoes 1 regular cucumber , or 2 small cucumbers 1 green pepper 1 carrot handful of (ideally) Kalamata olives , the best you can get 1 teaspoon dried oregano olive oil 200 g feta sea salt The cost per serving below is generated by Whisk.com and is based on costs in individual supermarkets.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How to make mashed potatoes | Features | Jamie Oliver

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
There are few things more delicious, comforting or simple to make than a great dollop of buttery, smooth mashed potatoes!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A big plate of bacon and eggs for dinner - little wonder that this Roman classic is so popular in the UK. Yet the fear of ending up with a pasta omelette puts many carbonara fans off making it at home, though once you know how, it is in fact far quicker and easier than even our own dear fry-up.

Spaghetti carbonara

1 tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, peeled and sliced
75g unsmoked pancetta (or guanciale), cut into small cubes
250g dried spaghetti
2 whole eggs plus 1 egg yolk
25g pecorino romano, finely grated
25g parmesan, finely grated
Black pepper
Nutmeg (optional)

1 Heat the plates

You'll be taking the pan off the heat to finish the dish, so put two plates or shallow bowls in a low oven to heat up: this will help keep your carbonara warm.

2 Fry the garlic

Heat the oil in a wide, shallow pan on a medium flame, cook the garlic until it turns pale gold, then scoop out and discard. Be careful not to burn it or it will taste bitter.

3 Fry the meat

Add the pancetta to the pan, and fry until it turns translucent and is just starting to brown, then turn the heat right down. Many recipes call for guanciale, or cured pork jowl, but unsmoked pancetta is more widely available and makes a great substitute. If you can find only bacon, go for unsmoked dry-cured streaky, cut as thickly as possible.

4 Cook the spaghetti

While the meat is frying, cook the spaghetti in a large pan of well-salted boiling water, according to packet instructions or to taste (usually nine-11 minutes): the pasta won't cook much more in the frying pan in this instance, so don't whip it out while it's still chalky, unless that's how you like it.

5 Prepare the eggs

In a large, heatproof bowl, beat the eggs and the extra yolk with plenty of black pepper: the yolk will add richness without the need for cream or any of the other dairy products that are often chucked into carbonara, while the pepper is said to give the dish its name ( carbonai means charcoal burner).

6 Add cheese

Finely grate both cheeses, then beat all the pecorino and most of the parmesan into the egg mix. You can use just 50g of one or the other, but each cheese brings something different to the dish: the parmesan is richer and more deeply savoury, while the pecorino is lighter but sharper in flavour: the ideal combination.

7 Mix the pasta into the sauce

Scoop out a small mugful of the pasta cooking water, then drain the spaghetti and immediately dump it into the pancetta pan and toss well to coat every strand in porky oil. Tongs are the ideal tool for this and the next step, but the energetic use of a pair of forks will do the job, too.

8 Emulsify the sauce

Take the pan off the heat, then, working very quickly, add the egg mixture to the pasta pan, then toss the spaghetti furiously, so the sauce clings to the pasta and doesn't settle on the base of the pan, where it will cook quickly and turn into scrambled egg. That will still be delicious, but it's not quite the same thing.

9 Coat the pasta

Once the egg sauce begins to thicken around the pasta, which will happen in a matter of seconds, add a dash of the reserved cooking water and carry on tossing the pasta, until it's well coated with sauce and the pancetta is evenly distributed. If it threatens to become claggy, add a little more cooking water.

10 The finishing touches

Once you're happy with the consistency, and bearing in mind that both pasta and sauce will be cooling all the time, quickly divide the spaghetti between the warmed bowls, then top each with the remaining parmesan and a good grind of black pepper and nutmeg (the latter's optional, but it works very well with egg and cheese). Serve at once.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How to make spaghetti carbonara - recipe

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Felicity Cloake's masterclass When you know how, this classic pasta dish is quicker and easier than bacon and eggs

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Rukmini Iyer’s quick and easy recipe for crispy butter bean, chorizo and cos salad | Quick and easy

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In the happiest and tastiest of accidents, what began as an experiment in reinventing the caesar salad turned into a quick favourite supper

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Rachel Roddy’s rice salad with red peppers, celery, herbs and egg – recipe

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The secret to a really good rice salad is temperature, herbs, good protein and to make sure it’s studded with flavourful vegetables … transparent bowl optional

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Little beats a loaf of fresh bread still warm from the oven. Today's one is flecked with courgettes (zucchini), toasted seeds, a pleasing hint of green chilli and plenty of cheddar - the more mature, the better. It is delicious in the extreme, and even more so when spread with pickled chilli butter. But first a year-round roast chicken, inspired by the red rices of Mexico, that fills the day with a happy glow. If ever there was a dish to sing for its supper ...

Roast chicken stuffed with tomato rice and smoky oregano butter (pictured top)

I am endlessly in awe of the amount of umami unleashed by a simple braise of tomatoes, garlic and onion. Here, their sticky, sweet juices caramelise around the grains of rice and edges of the pan, producing a swashbuckling flavour-bomb that looks resplendent when it comes to the table.

250g long-grain rice
1 large chicken (about 2kg)
40g tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and roughly chopped
Sea salt and black pepper
1 thumb-sized piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
50g sun-dried tomato paste
1 tbsp chipotle en adobo
1 tsp ground allspice
260g cherry tomatoes, quartered, or a 400g tin
500ml chicken stock, or water white wine

For the butter
1 fat garlic clove, peeled tsp ground allspice
1 tsp sea salt
1 handful fresh oregano leaves, or thyme, roughly chopped
1 tbsp chipotle en adobo
75g room-temperature butter

Soak the rice in a bowl of cold water for 10 minutes and take the chicken out of the fridge so it comes up to room temperature.

Put a casserole dish or large saucepan on a medium heat and, once it's hot, add the butter and olive oil. Stir in the onion, season generously and sweat, stirring, for about 10 minutes.

Add the ginger and garlic, cook, stirring, for three to four minutes more, then stir in the sun-dried tomato paste, chipotle and allspice. Stir in the tomatoes, then drain the rice and add that, too. Stir for a few minutes to coat the rice, then pour in the stock or water and bring to a boil. Turn down to a simmer, cook for 15 minutes, then take off the heat. By this time, the tomatoes will have started to break down and will be smelling fragrant and delicious, but the rice will not yet be fully cooked; you'll finish it off in the oven later.

Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6. Meanwhile, make the butter: in a mortar or small blender, grind the garlic, allspice, salt and herbs to a paste, then work in the chipotle and butter until well combined.

Put the chicken in a roasting tray and loosen the skin around the breast and thighs. Push two-thirds of the chipotle butter under the skin, then smear the rest all over the outside of the chicken. Stuff the bird with the part-cooked red rice, and scoop any that doesn't fit inside bird into the roasting tray under the chicken. Pour in the wine, then roast for an hour and 15 minutes (allow 15 minutes per 500g of bird, plus 15 minutes, and you should be spot on), until the chicken is golden and the juices run clear when the thickest part of the thighs are pierced with a skewer. I usually cut between the thighs and body after 35 minutes, to allow the insides of the thighs to cook without risk of overcooking the breast. The chicken will emerge resplendent with that smoky tomato rice. Carve and serve.

Courgette soda bread with pickled chilli butter

Thomasina Miers' courgette soda bread with pickled chilli butter.

Alongside the roast chicken, this loaf, with additional cheese and a sprightly green salad, makes a stunning weekend lunch. It is also great slathered with cold salted butter and nothing else.

Blitz all the ingredients for the butter in a small food processor until fully combined, then roll into a sausage, wrap in baking paper and chill until needed. It will keep happily for several weeks in the refrigerator.

Heat the oven to 220C (200C fan)/425F/gas 7 and put a baking sheet inside to heat up. Have ready a sheet of baking paper.

Roughly grate the courgettes into a bowl, then squeeze them tightly with your hands to get rid of any excess liquid. Squeeze again in paper kitchen towels to extract every last bit of moisture, then set aside.

Sift the flours, salt and bicarbonate of soda into a large bowl, then tip anything left in the sieve into the bowl.

Put a frying pan on a medium heat and, once hot, gently toast the mixed seeds for five to six minutes, until they start to crackle and pop. Reserve a few tablespoons' worth, then tip the rest into the flour bowl. Toast the fennel seeds in the same pan for a minute, then add to the flour. Tip in the squeezed courgettes, cheddar and chillies, and fold until they are all nicely coated in the flour.

Make a well in the centre of the courgette mix, then pour in the buttermilk and, as quickly and deftly as you can, fold it in; the quicker you can do this, the lighter the soda bread will be. This is quite a sticky dough, so do not lose faith. Turn out on to a floured surface and, with flour-dusted hands, shape the dough into a round with authority and speed. Make a cross on the top with a sharp knife and sprinkle with the reserved toasted mixed seeds.

Take the baking sheet out of the oven and line it with the reserved sheet of baking paper. Put the soda bread on top and bake for 40-45 minutes, until golden and hollow-sounding when you tap the base. Serve with the chilli butter. Wrapped and stored in a bread bin, the loaf will keep for several days.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Thomasina Miers' recipes for rice-stuffed roast chicken and courgette soda bread

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A multi-textured loaf, flecked with seeds, courgette and cheese, plus a fantastic, Mexican-style, rice-stuffed chicken

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Rukmini Iyer’s quick and easy recipe for crispy butter bean, chorizo and cos salad | Quick and easy

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In the happiest and tastiest of accidents, what began as an experiment in reinventing the caesar salad turned into a quick favourite supper

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Spicy sausage pasta recipe | Jamie Oliver pasta recipes

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A brilliant spicy sausage pasta recipe. If you’re run out of sausage pasta ideas, give this one a go. With fennel seeds and punchy dried chilli, it’s epic!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Ingredients

2 (1-lb.) pork tenderloins

½ cup pitted prunes, torn in half

½ cup pitted Spanish green olives

⅓ cup (packed) light brown sugar

¼ cup capers, plus 1 Tbsp. caper brine

4 garlic cloves, peeled, smashed

¼ cup plus 1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

¼ cup chopped parsley (optional)

Preparation

Step 1

Season pork with salt. Let sit 15 minutes.

Step 2

Meanwhile, mix wine, prunes, olives, brown sugar, capers and brine, vinegar, garlic, oregano, and ¼ cup oil in a medium bowl to combine; set sauce aside (or use it to marinate pork up to 12 hours).

Step 3

Place a rack in center of oven; preheat to 325°F. Heat remaining 1 Tbsp. oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high. Cook pork, turning occasionally, until golden brown all over, 6-8 minutes.

Step 4

Remove skillet from heat and let sit 1 minute so pan can cool down a bit. Pour reserved sauce over pork and give pan a few shakes. Transfer to oven and roast pork, basting with sauce halfway through, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of tenderloin registers 145°F, 22-26 minutes, depending on the thickness of the meat. Transfer pork to a cutting board and let rest 10 minutes.

Step 5

Return pan to medium-high heat. Add butter to sauce and cook, swirling pan occasionally, until butter is melted and sauce is slightly reduced, 3-5 minutes. Stir in parsley if using.

Step 6

Slice tenderloin crosswise against the grain. Transfer to a platter and spoon pan sauce over.

See Related Recipes and Cooking Tips

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
We took the classic, beloved Chicken Marbella recipe from The Silver Palate Cookbook and made it weeknight-friendly by using quick-cooking pork tenderloin instead.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
From spicy noodles to a light pie: Ravinder Bhogal’s recipes for purple sprouting broccoli

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Three ways to enjoy this prince of the brassicas: in a pie with ricotta and preserved lemon, with sausage and noodles in a spicy sesame sauce, and charred with cheesy polenta and anchovies

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Pork Marbella, Sweet, Savory and Easy! — Lauren Lane Easy Recipes

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Look at his beauty- It’s my version of Pork Marbella! I took the classic, beloved Chicken Marbella recipe and updated it using tender lean pork tenderloin. This sweet, savory, and easy dish combine dried prunes (substitute figs or raisins if you’d like), big beautiful Italian olives, white wine, ca

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Stanley Tucci Recalls Dinner with Harry Styles When He Made This Easy Cod Recipe and They Talked ‘About Books and Love’

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
“It’s delicate, covers a lot of bases flavor-wise, very healthy and easy to make,” Stanley Tucci says of his cod recipe with tomatoes, capers and olives.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Ravneet Gill’s recipe for traybake treacle sponge and custard | The sweet spot

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Light, airy sponge meets sticky syrup topping – and it’s entry-level to make, too

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Use capers, orzo, chilli and cherry tomatoes to make tuna pasta more exciting – and you may already have tuna and capers in the storecupboard

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Friends, it's no secret we love soup, and this creamy Tuscan-inspired version with white beans and kale is our new favorite for fall and winter! It's hearty, warming, comforting, SO flavorful, and packed with nourishing veggies and fiber-rich beans. Basically, a hug in a bowl.

It's ideal for meal prep or freezing and comes together easily in just 1 pot! While satisfying on its own, we also love it with Vegan Garlic Bread, Spicy Tempeh Sausage, or Pesto "Parmesan" Turkey Meatballs. Let us show you how it's done!

Recipe Inspiration

This soup is inspired by our 1-Pot Tuscan Style Beef & Lentil Soup, but this version is plant-based and draws inspiration from Tuscan soups like zuppa di fagioli and ribollita.

How to Make Tuscan Kale and White Bean Soup

As with most good soups, this one starts with a savory base of sautéed onion, carrots, and celery.

Next, we add tomato paste for richness, red pepper flakes for heat, and dried rosemary or thyme for herby goodness. Garlic is a must for an Italian-inspired soup, and basil, too!

Next comes the vegetable broth, white beans, tomatoes, and salt and pepper, bringing us into soup territory.

After simmering to develop the flavors, we lightly purée the mixture to break up some of the beans and create more cohesiveness. But if you want to keep it a little chunky, or don't have an immersion blender, feel free to skip this step!

Then it's time for the kale, or whatever greens you have around (spinach, collards, or chard work, too!).

The final touches are balsamic vinegar for sweetness and depth of flavor and coconut milk (or cashew cream) for dairy-free creaminess.

We hope you LOVE this soup! It's:

Hearty
Nourishing
Creamy
Warming
Subtly spicy
& SO comforting!

Enjoy it on its own or top with fresh basil, Vegan Parmesan Cheese, and Garlicky Homemade Croutons for extra freshness, saltiness, and crunch. It also pairs nicely with protein-packed dishes like Spicy Tempeh Sausage or Pesto "Parmesan" Turkey Meatballs.

More Comforting Soup Recipes

If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don't forget to tag a photo @minimalistbaker on Instagram. Cheers, friends!

Course Entree, Side, Soup

Cuisine Gluten-Free (optional), Italian-Inspired, Vegan

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and a few cracks of fresh black pepper, and cook (stirring occasionally) until softened - about 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste, garlic, red pepper flakes, rosemary (or thyme), and basil and cook for 1 minute, until fragrant.

Add the broth, beans, tomatoes, and 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes, until the veggies are fork-tender and the flavors are well developed.

Optional (skip this step if you prefer a chunkier soup): Use an immersion blender to purée the soup in short bursts, only puréeing part of the soup (mostly the beans) and leaving plenty of whole pieces of vegetables.

Return the soup to a light simmer. Then add the kale, turn off the heat, and cover the pot for 5 minutes. Once the kale is softened, uncover the pot and stir in the vinegar and coconut milk (or cashew cream). Taste and adjust as needed, adding more red pepper flakes for heat, vinegar or tomato paste for richness, coconut milk for creaminess, or salt for overall flavor.

Serve warm garnished with vegan parmesan cheese, thinly sliced basil, and croutons (all optional).

Store cooled leftovers covered in the refrigerator up to 3-4 days, or in the freezer up to 1 month. Thaw from frozen before reheating. Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop in a saucepan or pot over medium heat (covered) until warmed through. Add more broth or water as needed to thin.

*If using our cashew cream recipe instead of the coconut milk, 1 batch will make double the amount you'll need for this soup. Any leftover cashew cream can be frozen in an ice cube tray for other uses.
*Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated without optional ingredients.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Creamy Tuscan White Bean & Kale Soup (1 Pot!)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Friends, it's no secret we love soup, and this creamy Tuscan-inspired version with white beans and kale is our new favorite for fall and winter! It's hearty, warming, comforting, SO flavorful, and packed with nourishing veggies and fiber-rich beans. Basically, a hug in a bowl.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Nigel Slater’s recipes for pork with ginger, and baked butternut with bacon

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Smoky, sweet and fragrant pork dishes to warm up winter

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The year will start with soup. Soup has been the first meal of the year for as long as I can remember, eaten for lunch or maybe later in the day. Something hot in a deep bowl, to revive and restore.

This year, a soup of beans or lentils for good luck, with chillies for warmth, and turmeric or coconut milk to soothe. Nothing too taxing to make, save a few cardamom pods to crack and their seeds to grind; onions to slice and soften with coriander seeds and cumin and perhaps cabbage - or chard - leaves to shred.

The warm sweetness of the coconut milk will be welcome if you plan to toast the new year and stay up late. And a generous squirt of lime juice will bring the whole thing to life. There may be bread to dunk - I often make a loaf on the first day of the year. If not, I will bring a crust back to life in the toaster.

There are still quinces about if you are lucky enough to live near a Turkish grocery or a farmer's market. If not, a comely Comice pear can be cooked in a similar fashion and will take a quarter of the time. For the new year I will poach the fruit in a syrup with stars of anise and a vanilla pod and offer them warm rather than chilled, when the fruit will be at its most fragrant. No cream this time, but perhaps some yoghurt to flow over the flushed pink cheeks of the quinces or pears in their glass dishes.

New Year's Day is always plump with hope. It never feels like a new start (it isn't); more like another chance to do everything I planned this time last year and have failed to get done. Although it has been a busy year, a full 12 months I have spent chasing my tail, somehow there is still a to-do list as long as my arm.

The start of the year always brings, if not resolutions, a promise to get things done. Among those, is the simple wish to continue doing what I love.

Bean, cabbage and coconut-milk soup

Deep, sweet heat. A soup that soothes and invigorates simultaneously. The greens - cabbage, kale or cavolo nero - aren't essential, but introduce a welcome verdant element. Substantial enough to be served as standalone dish, you could use whatever pulses you have in the cupboard - haricot, black-eyed peas or butter beans. Serves 6. Ready in 1 hour

onions 2, medium
groundnut oil 2 tbsp
garlic 3 cloves
green cardamom pods 6
coriander seeds 2 tsp
yellow mustard seeds 2 tsp
cumin seeds 1 tsp
ground turmeric 2 tsp
chillies 2 small, hot
chopped plum tomatoes 2 x 400g tins
sugar a pinch
haricot or cannellini beans 2 x 400g tins
coconut milk 250ml
coriander fresh, a large handful
lime 1
kale, cabbage or cavolo nero leaves 4 small handfuls

Peel the onions, cut them in half and slice thinly. Warm the groundnut oil in a deep, capacious pot over a moderate heat, then stir in the onions and let them soften, with the occasional stir, for 10-15 minutes. Peel and thinly slice the garlic and add to the onions.

Crack open the cardamom pods and extract the seeds. Crush them coarsely using a pestle and mortar or heavy rolling pin, then stir into the softening onions and garlic. Crush the coriander seeds, then the mustard, and add them to the onions with the whole cumin seeds, ground turmeric, a generous seasoning of salt and black pepper. Cook, stirring regularly, for at least 5 minutes, so that the spices toast in the heat.

Meanwhile, seed and finely chop the chillies and add to the pan, along with the chopped tomatoes, the pinch of sugar, and 400ml of water. Open and drain the beans, then add them to the pot, leaving them to simmer over a moderate heat for 35-40 minutes. Bring a shallow pan of water to the boil for the greens.

Mix the coconut milk into the sauce, simmer for a further 5 minutes, then chop and stir in the coriander. Finely shred the greens, dip them briefly into the boiling water, then drain and stir them into the soup. Ladle into deep bowls and squeeze over a little lime juice to finish.

Poached quinces

Star quality: poached quinces. Photograph: Jonathan Lovekin/The Observer

You can't hurry a quince. Rock hard when raw, this perfumed fruit will take its time to soften. (Of course, if you use pears instead, they will need much less time.) Cook them over a low heat, the syrup barely bubbling, until their flesh has turned rose-gold and soft enough to cut with a spoon. You don't need cream here, though if you are partial to the idea it would be a fine accompaniment, or - even better - thick yoghurt. Serves 3. Ready in 1-2 hours

Put the sugar into a stainless-steel or enamelled pan with 1.25 litres of water and bring to the boil.

Cook them over a low heat, the syrup barely bubbling, until their flesh has turned rose-gold

Peel the quinces, cut them in half and use a teaspoon to remove their core. Cut the lemon in half and, as you peel each piece of fruit, rub the cut side of the lemon over the peeled flesh to stop the fruit discolouring.

Drop the vanilla pod and star anise into the syrup and turn the heat down to a simmer. Lower the fruit into the syrup and let it cook, barely bubbling, for about 40 minutes, testing it every now and again for tenderness. In some cases your quinces may take longer to cook - I have known some take an hour or more.

Gently lift the fruit from its syrup and place on a serving dish. Turn the heat up under the syrup.

Halve the orange and squeeze the juice into the syrup. Let it boil, watching it very carefully, until the syrup has started to thicken to a pouring consistency, similar to that of runny honey.

Spoon the hot, golden syrup over the quinces, and serve while still warm.
Follow Nigel on Instagram @nigelslater

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Nigel Slater's recipes for bean, cabbage and coconut-milk soup, and poached quinces

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A vivid spicy bean soup and slow-cooked quinces supply midwinter sweetness and sustenance

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
An easy recipe for White Bean and Kale Soup ready in just 30 minutes! Mash half the beans for thickness in the soup and leave the other half whole for added texture. Make it on the stove top, in a slow cooker, or in an InstaPot. Great for jump-starting your healthful eating habits. Also naturally vegan and gluten free! Feeding an army of bean lovers? Click and slide the number next to "servings" on the recipe card below to adjust the ingredients to match how many you're feeding-the recipe does the math for you, it's that easy.
Can I use dried beans instead of canned?

Yes! One 15 ounce can of beans equals ¾ cup dried beans, which means you will need 1 ½ cups of dried beans for this recipe.

There are 2 cups dried beans in a 1 pound bag, so why not make the whole bag and store the leftover beans in an airtight container in the fridge for another use.

The beans will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Why do you soak dried beans before cooking?

First: Soaking beans is always optional. People argue a lot about whether you should or not, but it's really up to you.

Soaking beans before cooking can help remove some of the indigestible sugars. It also reduces the total cooking time of the beans.

There are two methods - the overnight soak and the quick soak.

How do you soak dried beans overnight?

1. Sort through the beans for any debris, rinse under cool running water, and place the beans in a large bowl.

2. Cover with 2-3 inches of water and set aside at room temperature for 8 hours or overnight, then drain well.

How do you quick soak dried beans?

1. Sort through the beans for any debris, rinse under cool running water, and place the beans in a large pot.

2. Cover with 2-3 inches of water, bring to a boil, and boil rapidly for 2-3 minutes.

3. Turn off the heat, cover, and set aside for 1 hour, then drain well.

How do you cook dried beans?

If you soaked the beans:

1. After the overnight or quick soak, place the beans in a large pot and cover with 2-3 inches of water. Don't add salt as this slows the softening of the beans.

2. Bring to a boil, skimming off any foam that comes to the surface, reduce heat, partially cover, and simmer for about 1 hour, or until tender when pierced with a fork.

If you didn't soak the beans:

1. Place the beans in a large pot and cover with 2-3 inches of water. Don't add salt as this slows the softening of the beans.

2. Bring to a boil, skimming off any foam that comes to the surface, reduce heat, partially cover, and simmer for about 2 hours, or until tender when pierced with a fork.

How do you cook dried beans in an Instant Pot?

1. Combine 1 pound dried beans and cool water in your InstaPot until just under half full (do not go past the halfway mark).

2. Place the lid on and close valve to seal.

3. Cook on HIGH Pressure for 30 minutes. When the InstaPot is done, wait at least 20 minutes before doing a quick release so that the beans retain their shape.

4. Vent, unlock, and drain off any remaining liquid.

Since there is no pre-soaking required, you can add 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to the pot to help aid in the digestion of beans.

How do you make white bean and kale soup on the stove top?

1. In a medium saucepan over medium high heat, add the olive oil and onions and cook until translucent.

2. While the onions are cooking, mash one can of the beans in a small bowl.

3. Add the mashed beans, broth, and water, and bring to a boil.

4. Season with salt and pepper, add the whole white beans and kale, reduce the heat, partially cover, and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the kale is tender.

How do you make white bean and kale soup in a slow cooker?

1. Combine the olive oil, onions, mashed white beans, whole white beans, broth, water, salt, and pepper in your slow cooker and stir.

2. Cook on LOW for 7-8 hours or HIGH for 3-4 hours.

3. During the last 20 minutes of cook time, stir in the kale and cook until tender. Serve warm right from the crockpot!

How do you make white bean and kale soup in an Instant Pot?

1. Add the olive oil to your Instant Pot and press SAUTE. When the oil is shimmering, add the onions and saute 2-3 minutes until slightly tender, then press CANCEL.

2. Add the mashed white beans, whole white beans, broth, water, salt, and pepper, close and lock lid, and turn steam knob to sealing position.

3. Press Manual, High Pressure, and set timer for +2. When the cycle ends, do not touch the Instant Pot for 10 minutes.

4. hen, with an absorbent towel, cover steam knob and turn to venting position to release all steam. When steam is fully released, unlock and remove lid.

5. Stir in kale, close and lock lid, and continue in KEEP WARM position for 20 minutes. Serve soup warm right from the InstaPot!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
White Bean and Kale Soup Recipe | Culinary Hill

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
An easy recipe for White Bean and Kale Soup ready in just 30 minutes! Mash half the beans for thickness in the soup and leave the other half whole for added texture. Make it on the stove top, in a slow cooker, or in an InstaPot. Great for jump-starting your healthful eating habits.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Nigel Slater’s recipes for creamy lentils and haricot bean soup

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Dig out the dried goods – there’s a bean or lentil for every occasion

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Nigel Slater’s recipes for roast vegetables with burrata, and marmalade pears

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A fragrant winter feast of caramelised pears and slow roasted veg with creamy cheese

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Nigel Slater’s lentils, sausages and harissa

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A richly savoury dinner, given depth by well-browned onions and enlivened with spicy chilli paste

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Continue stirring until the rice is cooked. If the rice is still undercooked, add a splash of water. Take the pan off the heat, add 25g butter and scatter over 25g grated parmesan or Grana Padano cheese and half a handful of chopped parsley leaves.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Continue stirring until the rice is cooked. If the rice is still undercooked, add a splash of water. Take the pan off the heat, add 25g butter and scatter over 25g grated parmesan or Grana Padano cheese and half a handful of chopped parsley leaves.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Mushroom risotto recipe | Jamie Oliver risotto recipes

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Who doesn’t love mushroom risotto? Jamie Oliver’s vegetarian risotto recipe grills the mushrooms for a gorgeous, nutty flavour, plus. fresh herbs & Parmesan

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
Inspired Taste - Easy Recipes for Home Cooks

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Our perfect roasted pork tenderloin recipe guarantees juicy, fork-tender pork. If that's not enough, the pork is roasted on top of a bed of apples, onions, and herbs. Delicious! Jump to the Pork Tenderloin Recipe

How to Make Perfectly Roasted Pork Tenderloin

There's no need for dry overcooked pork tenderloin! With our simple method for cooking pork tenderloin, you will be rewarded with tender, flavorful pork. Based on all the reviews (see them below), you guys love this recipe! So let's learn how to make it, shall we?

Pork tenderloin is quite lean with almost no fat. So keeping it moist and juicy inside can be tricky. That is unless you know a few secrets:

Before roasting, we always sear our pork tenderloins on all sides first. To do this, we pat the pork dry, rub with a little oil, and then season with salt. Throw it into a hot pan and sear all sides until golden brown, which adds color and lots of flavor. We do this with other proteins, too. Take a look at our Easy Lemon Chicken Thighs, before baking them in the oven, we sear them first.

Be careful not to overcook the tenderloins. We know that sounds obvious, but we've all been served overcooked (and dry) pork tenderloin, right? Here's the deal. Keep your oven temperature high (we go for a 425-degree oven). Then roast the pork for 15 to 20 minutes.

When Is Pork Tenderloin Cooked?

We cook our pork - wether we are making tenderloin or pork chops - until an internal thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers between 145 and 150 degrees F (63 and 65 degrees C).

That guarantees that the pork will be juicy inside. It also means the meat will be slightly pink in the middle, which we don't mind at all. If you're not a fan of the pink, cook a little longer, but be careful not to overdo it.

What to Serve With Pork Tenderloin

This pork tenderloin is so flavorful, you don't need much extra effort to turn it into a full meal. Here are a few of our favorite side dishes to serve with it:

More Easy Pork Recipes

Best, Juicy Skillet Pork Chops - Say goodbye to dry and flavorless pork chops.

Easy Oven Baked Pork Chops - With a few simple tricks, you can make juicy and tender pork chops in the oven with very little fuss.

Quick and Easy Ground Pork Tacos - Thanks to ground pork, these easy pork tacos come together fast. You can even make the filling in advance.

Ultimate Slow Cooker Pulled Pork - How to make the best pulled pork in the slow cooker that's perfect for sandwiches, salads, and tacos.

Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Peppers and Onions - The pork tastes amazing and we add even more flavor by roasting it in the oven on top of a bed of sautéed onions and peppers.
Recipe updated, originally posted February 2013. Since posting this in 2013, we have tweaked the recipe to be more clear and added a quick recipe video. - Adam and Joanne
Perfect Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Apples

The trick to flavorful and moist pork tenderloin is to sear the pork before roasting. In our recipe, the pork is seared and then is baked on top a bed of apples and onions. Most often, you will find that pork tenderloins are sold in packages with two tenderloins. One tenderloin should generously serve 2 people and most likely serve 3.

One note, "pork tenderloins" and "pork loin" are two different cuts of meat. Pork tenderloins are much thinner and take less time to cook.

You Will Need

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 onions, sliced

1 tablespoon butter

Directions

Prepare Pork

Heat oven to 425 degrees F. Trim each tenderloin of any silver skin (this can be tough when cooked). To do this, use a small sharp knife and slide the blade under and outward to remove it.

Pat pork dry with paper towels and then rub with one tablespoon of the oil and 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt. Heat a tablespoon of oil in a heavy-bottomed oven-safe skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot and shimmers, add the pork tenderloins and cook, occasionally turning, until evenly browned all over; about 12 minutes. Transfer to a large plate or cutting board. (The pork will not be cooked through).

Prepare Apples and Onions

Keep the pan used to sear the pork on the stove over medium heat. Check the pan, if it looks dry, add two to three teaspoons of additional oil. (If there is fat left in the pan from cooking the pork, there is no need to add extra oil).

Add the apples and onions then cook, occasionally stirring, until lightly browned around edges, about 5 minutes. Stir in 1 teaspoon of thyme.

To Finish

Use a pastry brush (or use your fingers) to rub the seared pork all over with the mustard, 2 teaspoons of thyme, and the black pepper. Place the seared pork tenderloins on top of the apples and onions, and then slide into the oven.

Roast 10 to 15 minutes or until an internal thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers between 145 and 150 degrees F. Transfer the pork to a large plate and cover with aluminum foil. Let rest about 10 minutes.

While the pork rests, place the pan with apples and onions back onto the stove and turn heat to medium. Add chicken stock and use a wooden spoon to scrape the pan, lifting any brown bits from the bottom. Bring to a simmer and cook until reduced by half. Add butter and stir until melted.

To serve, slice pork into 1-inch slices then serve on a bed of the apples and onions with pan sauce drizzled on top.

Adam and Joanne's Tips

Side Dish Suggestions: You cannot go wrong with the classics like Our Favorite Homemade Mashed Potatoes or Cinnamon Roasted Butternut Squash.

Update: Some reviewers felt the apples became a little too soft in this recipe. We don't mind it since they turn into a lovely sauce, but if you are concerned, try cooking the apples and onions separately to the pork - just use two pans. This way you can roast the pork until done, while at the same time cooking the apples and onions until you're happy with their texture - possibly a few minutes less than stated above.

Nutrition facts: The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. We have used the USDA Supertracker recipe calculator to calculate approximate values.

If you make this recipe, snap a photo and hashtag it #inspiredtaste - We love to see your creations on Instagram and Facebook! Find us: @inspiredtaste

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Perfect Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Apples

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Our perfect roasted pork tenderloin recipe guarantees juicy, fork-tender pork. If that's not enough, the pork is roasted on top of a bed of apples, onions, and herbs. Delicious! Jump to the Pork Tenderloin Recipe There's no need for dry overcooked pork tenderloin!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Fry the onion and garlic in the remaining olive oil over a low heat until soft and translucent. Add the tomatoes, butter beans, and some seasoning. Simmer for a few minutes, then pour into a baking tin or dish.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Lemon & herb chicken traybake with butter beans & potato wedges

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Fry the onion and garlic in the remaining olive oil over a low heat until soft and translucent. Add the tomatoes, butter beans, and some seasoning. Simmer for a few minutes, then pour into a baking tin or dish.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Rukmini Iyer’s quick and easy recipe for miso salmon noodles – recipe | Quick and easy

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
From stove to table in 15 minutes: baked miso and sesame salmon on broccoli, sesame and ginger noodles

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A classic roast chicken recipe should be in everyone's repertoire. Make this oven baked chicken with gravy for a satisfying Sunday lunch.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Herby sausages, nutritious kale, creamy ricotta and a pinch of chilli make this pasta bake an epic family meal

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
10

garlic cloves, peeled and smashed with the back of a knife

3 tbsp

Ottolenghi citrus and spice blend

8

skin-on, bone-in, chicken thighs (1.4kg)

1

large fennel bulb, halved and each half cut into 4 wedges (375g)

500g

red lady potatoes, skin-on, thinly sliced into 0.3cm rounds

20g

piece of parmesan cheese

salt and freshly ground black pepper

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Citrusy chicken, fennel and potato tray bake | Ottolenghi Recipes

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Everything combined in one tray for a hands-off easy mid week dinner. All that's needed is a bright green salad and some crusty bread to mop up all the juices! Browse online for more.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Spaghetti with prawns and rocket (Spaghetti con gamberetti e rucola)

With sun-dried tomatoes & a splash of white wine

Would you rather see the UK version? Would you rather see the US version? Would you rather see the Australian version? Would you rather see the German version? Would you rather see the Dutch version? Você prefere ver a versão em português? Close

Nutrition per serving

Of an adult's reference intake

Ingredients

455 g dried spaghetti

2 cloves garlic

extra virgin olive oil

1-2 dried red chillies

400 g peeled raw prawns , from sustainable sources, ask your fishmonger

1 small wineglass white wine

2 heaped tablespoons sun-dried tomato purée , or 6 sun-dried tomatoes blitzed in a blender

1 lemon

2 handfuls of rocket

Method

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Prawn spaghetti recipe | Jamie Oliver pasta recipes

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
With sun-dried tomatoes & a splash of white wine Would you rather see the UK version? Would you rather see the US version? Would you rather see the Australian version? Would you rather see the German version? Would you rather see the Dutch version? Você prefere ver a versão em português?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
A Pantry Recipe That´s Actually Good | Garlic Kidney Beans with Tomatoes

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
These Garlic Kidney Beans with Tomatoes are packed with flavors and easy to make. A Tasty Dish using Pantry Staples. Vegan + Gluten Free.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Adam Lind on Instagram: "Coconut Dal 🥥   I lived in India for a year and pretty much ate Dal every single day, it’s now a staple in my kitchen and I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do.  Ingredients  - 1 red onion - 2 garlic gloves - thumb of ginger - 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp corriander seeds 
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp garam masala
- Pinch of chilli powder - 1 cup of red lentils - handful of cherry tomatoes
- 1 x tin coconut milk 
- Fresh Coriander
 Method: - dice the onion, garlic and ginger and fry on a low light for 5 minutes - separately fry your seeds for 2 minutes  - mix together with your dry spices - wash and add your lentils  - mix together and infuse on a medium heat for 3 minutes
- Chop and add your fresh tomatoes and add enough boiling water to cover it
- Add 1 tin of coconut milk
- Leave to simmer for about 25 minutes adding a little more water if it starts to dry out
- Top with fresh coriander  Enjoy! 
Kettle: @lecreusetuk 

#dal #dinnerideas #indiancooking #india #healthyrecipes #cookingathome #narrowboat #cozykitchen"

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
80K likes, 764 comments - adam.floatinghome on April 8, 2024: "Coconut Dal 🥥   I lived in India for a year and pretty much ate Dal every single day, it’s now a staple in my kitchen and I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do.  Ingredients  - 1 red onion - 2 garlic gloves - thumb of ginger - 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp corriander seeds 
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp garam masala
- Pinch of chilli powder - 1 cup of red lentils - handful of cherry tomatoes
- 1 x tin coconut milk 
- Fresh Coriander
 Method: - dice the onion, garlic and ginger and fry on a low light for 5 minutes - separately fry your seeds for 2 minutes  - mix together with your dry spices - wash and add your lentils  - mix together and infuse on a medium heat for 3 minutes
- Chop and add your fresh tomatoes and add enough boiling water to cover it
- Add 1 tin of coconut milk
- Leave to simmer for about 25 minutes adding a little more water if it starts to dry out
- Top with fresh coriander  Enjoy! 
Kettle: @lecreusetuk 

#dal #dinnerideas #indiancooking #india #healthyrecipes #cookingathome #narrowboat #cozykitchen". 

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.embed_code
View this post on Instagram

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Place the couscous in a shallow bowl, then pour over 200ml boiling water. Cover the bowl with cling film, then leave for 5 mins until the couscous has swelled up and absorbed all of the water. Ruffle with a fork to separate the grains, then stir through the pomegranate seeds and herbs.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Herby couscous with citrus & pomegranate dressing

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This colourful side dish goes beautifully with lamb chops, or Middle Eastern-style dishes, from BBC Good Food.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The Moroccan tagine is a stew named after the conical earthenware vessel in which it's traditionally prepared, but it's more of a concept than a dish, really, embracing everything from courgettes to camel hump. As devoted Archers fans will recall, the tagine itself, as much a portable oven as a pot, is not the easiest thing to store, so Jennifer Aldridge may be relieved to hear that, according to Nargisse Benkabbou, most modern Moroccans use a casserole instead.

As Benkabbou explains in her book Casablanca, there are four main categories of tagine, regardless of the main ingredient: mqualli, with olive oil, turmeric, ginger and saffron; mhammer, with butter, paprika and cumin; mchermel, with herby, garlicky chermoula; and one with tomato, cumin and paprika. "Each can be customised with seasonal vegetables, dried fruits, preserved lemons, olives and nuts".

The tagine, it seems, is a very adaptable dish, deserving of a whole series of columns. Here, having already tackled the vibrant yellow chicken mqualli with preserved lemons and olives, I'll be looking at a sweeter, fruitier version with lamb, still aromatic with spice, but altogether richer and darker and stickier.

The meat

Focusing on lamb does not narrow the field much: Zette Guinaudeau-Franc, whose 1958 book Fes Vu par sa Cuisine, was recommended to me by both Anissa Helou and Diana Henry, calls simply for mutton and Benkabbou for neck fillets, "or any type of stewing meat", Paula Wolfert goes for bone-in leg in The Food of Morocco, Nigella Lawson for boneless leg in Nigella Christmas, Claudia Roden for boned shoulder, and Robert Carrier (who kept what the Guardian obituary describes as an "ornately restored mansion" in Marrakech) shoulder or cutlets.

They all work, of course, but my testers agree that lean leg seems like a waste when cheaper shoulder or neck gives a juicier result. I end up making my perfect tagine with goat for extra flavour (indeed, Jeff Koehler includes a kid recipe in Morocco: A Culinary Journey). But hogget, mutton and lamb will do just fine - and if you get it from a butcher, ask them to chuck in the bones, too, because they add an extra savoury note to Wolfert's dish. If not, given the difficulties of obtaining decent lamb stock, I'd recommend browning the meat, as Henry and Lawson do. Henry tells me she's aware this isn't the usual practice in Morocco, but says "I just think it tastes delicious" - and I agree. Be careful not to cut the meat too small, though, to avoid it drying out: you don't need to get a ruler out, but 4cm chunks are perfect.

(Lamb-phobics note that John Gregory-Smith recommends beef shin in his gloriously rich-looking version in Honey & Spice for "an opulent tagine ... perfect for a special occasion".)

The spices

Guinaudeau-Franc keeps things pretty simple, using just ginger, black pepper, cinnamon and saffron - which may not sound simple until you hear that Benkabbou's dish contains coriander, cumin, turmeric, ginger, smoked paprika, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. We can taste the difference: Guinaudeau-Franc's is straightforwardly warming, Benkabbou's more delicate and complex.

Both prove popular, but I'm sure I'm not alone in being put off by long ingredients lists, so I've decided to err towards the simpler end of spicing. If you're attracted by the idea of a more nuanced result, with smoky, earthy notes to balance the sweetness of the fruit, then I'd point you towards Benkabbou's recipe.

Fruit and veg

Onions are a must - if you'd really like to keep things traditional, as well as make life easy for yourself at the same time, copy Guinaudeau-Franc and chuck them in whole and raw, and remove and discard before serving. You will, however, miss out on the sweetness that cooked onion brings to the party, so I suggest sauteeing them and then, like Wolfert, adding them to the pot in two stages, so some retain their texture in the finished dish. It's not much more work, and I think it's worth it.

Wolfert, Benkabbou and Henry all put garlic in their tagines, adding a more savoury note that is a nice optional extra, though I don't think my recipe needs it to be delicious. Instead, I'm going to pack it full of fruit. Recipes abound for fruit tagines, some using fresh (Gregory-Smith has one with quince, Koehler pear), many with the dried variety: Koehler suggests figs, Guinaudeau-Franc prunes, Roden and Lawson dates and Benkabbou apricots and dates - a combination that seems to me to be the nicest, because the intense, sugary sweetness of the dates is balanced by the sharper apricots, but really, use whatever you like. Labour-saving cooks could add the fruit whole, but we all prefer it roughly chopped, so that it breaks down into the gravy, rather than plonked on top and crisped in the oven, as in Wolfert's recipe.

A spoonful of honey is an optional extra: I'm with Roden in that I think it makes the dish too sweet, but you'll know your own taste. The same goes for Guinaudeau-Franc's orange-blossom water; not everyone is keen on the floral flavour, but if you're a fan, stick in a splash at the end of cooking. And if you're into sweet-and-sour, then Lawson's pomegranate juice in place of water is a nice twist.

To finish

Most of the tagines I try are finished with a scattering of flaked almonds or sesame seeds fried in a little butter, which we all enjoy for the crunch they bring; the freshness of Benkabbou's coriander is also welcome. If you'd really like to impress, Lawson's red onion and pomegranate salsa is a more involved but lovely pairing, and brings a flash of colour to the plate, too.

Tagines are apparently generally served with flatbreads, rather than couscous, but in the privacy of your own home, you may, of course, do whatever you like.

Perfect lamb tagine

2 tbsp olive oil or butter, plus 1 knob extra for frying the almonds
1 large onion, peeled and finely sliced
600g boneless shoulder of mutton, goat or lamb (plus bones, if available), cut into roughly 4cm cubes
½ tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp saffron threads, soaked in 2 tbsp warm water
1 cinnamon stick
1 small bunch fresh coriander
200g dates
100g dried apricots
2 tbsp flaked almonds

Melt the oil or butter in a shallow, heavy-based pan (or, indeed, a tagine) over a medium-low heat, then add the onion and cook until soft and golden. Scoop the onion out on to a plate, turn up the heat, then add the meat, in batches, if necessary, and brown well on all sides.

Stir the ground spices into the saffron water, then tip into the pot along with the cinnamon stick. Cook briefly until aromatic, then add most of the coriander, half the onion and 300ml cold water, scraping the bottom of the pan to dislodge any crusty bits of meat or spice. Add the bones, if you've got them, bring to a simmer, then cover tightly. Turn down the heat to very low and cook for about two hours, or until the meat is very tender.

Meanwhile, stone the dates, if necessary, and roughly chop with the apricots. Once the meat is soft, fish out the bones, coriander and cinnamon stick, if you can, then add the fruit to the pan and simmer, uncovered, for about 30 minutes more, until you have a thick sauce.

In a small frying pan, fry the almonds in hot the butter until toasted, then tip out to cool.

Stir the remaining onions into the tagine, and taste for seasoning. Garnish with the almonds and remaining coriander, roughly chopped, and serve with flatbreads or, if you prefer, hot, buttered couscous.

Tagine: chicken or fish, camel or courgette - what's your favourite variety, and whose recipe would you recommend? What do you serve it with, and do you think a proper tagine dish makes a difference?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How to cook the perfect lamb tagine | Felicity Cloake

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This much-loved Moroccan stew is an adaptable dish, here made rich and sticky with fruit and spice to complement tender, slow-cooked lamb

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Put 2 tablespoons of oil into a large, high-sided sauté pan and place on a medium high heat. Add the garlic, onion, thyme and ¼ teaspoon of salt and fry for 8 minutes, stirring often, until soft and golden. Tip into a bowl, leaving the oil behind. Set aside.

Place the aubergines and tomatoes in a bowl and season with ¼ teaspoon of salt and plenty of pepper. Add the remaining oil to the same pan (don't worry about wiping it clean) and, once very hot, add the aubergines and tomatoes. Fry for 10 minutes, on medium high, turning them often until the aubergine is soft and golden-brown and the tomatoes are beginning to blacken. Return the garlic and onion to the pan, then add the lentils, stock, wine, 450ml of water and ¾ teaspoon of salt. Bring to the boil. Lower the heat to medium and simmer gently for about 40 minutes, until the lentils are soft but still retain a bite.

Serve warm, or at room temperature, with a dollop of crème fraîche, a drizzle of oil and chilli flakes and oregano on top.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This soft, delicate stew of puy lentils and aubergine is taken from Yotam Ottolenghi's SIMPLE cookbook. It works perfectly as a starter, or as a main served with any grain.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Last Updated on January 9, 2024

Creamy one-pan lemon orzo and salmon is a delicious and nourishing weeknight dinner. It comes together in just a few simple steps, and is packed with zesty flavor.

One-pan Lemon Orzo and Salmon

Cozy one-pan meals are my favorite weeknight dinners to make. This lemony orzo and salmon skillet packs in carbs, fiber and protein all in one, and is full of delicious zesty flavor.

The salmon fillets are seared in a blend of spices and then finished off in a creamy lemon orzo made with coconut milk, peas, shredded kale and a few simple seasonings.

It's simple enough for a weeknight meal and can easily be adjusted to your spice preference.

My one-pan coconut orzo salmon was one of my most popular recipes of 2023, so I had to create a newer version before the end of the year.

The lemon adds the perfect flavor to this skillet meal, and I love that it packs in so many nutrients in one dish. You can make this recipe with salmon or chicken depending on your preference. There's really no going wrong with this one!

What you'll need to make lemon orzo and salmon

Here's what you'll need for this one-pan dish:

salmon fillets, about 4-6 oz each. I removed the skin but you can keep them on if preferred

spices: paprika, garlic powder, smoked paprika, chili flakes, salt & pepper

orzo

canned coconut milk- I always opt for full-fat coconut milk for extra creaminess

low-sodium vegetable broth

lemon juice and zest

shallots and garlic

shredded kale and peas- for extra veggies and added greens

olive oil

butter, vegan or dairy

1. Start by seasoning the salmon fillets in paprika, garlic powder, smoked paprika and salt & pepper then searing them in olive oil for 3-4 minutes per side.

2. Remove the salmon from the pan and soak up any excess oil using a paper towel. Add in the butter with the shallots and garlic, then add in the orzo with the lemon zest and spices

3. After a couple of minutes, add in the broth, coconut milk, kale and peas and let the orzo cook for 10-12 minutes

4. Mix in the lemon juice and add the salmon fillets back into the pan. Finish cooking everything on a low flame for another 5-6 minutes

5. Garnish with fresh parsley and extra lemon juice when ready to serve

Tips and modifications

1- Like many recipes, this dish is best when served right away. If you are preparing this ahead of time and reheating at dinner, I suggest following steps 1-5, but removing the pan from the flame once you add all of the liquids. 20 minutes before dinner time, you can simmer the pan to cook the orzo for 10-12 minutes, then add the salmon back into the pan to continue cooking.

2- If you prefer to have your salmon fully cooked through before adding it back into the orzo, you can cook each side for about 5-6 minutes on medium heat during step 1

3- I prefer this dish with a little heat from the chili flakes and black pepper. You can scale down on the amount depending on your spice preference

4- To change up the protein, this recipe can easily be made with chicken thighs or breast using the same methods.

This recipe is simple, yet flavorful, and truly elevates you weeknight dinner. I can't wait for you guys to try it!

Other one-pan dinner ideas to try:

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
One-pan Lemon Orzo and Salmon - Something Nutritious

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Creamy one-pan lemon orzo and salmon is a delicious and nourishing weeknight dinner. It comes together in just a few simple steps, and is packed with zesty flavor.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Rukmini Iyer’s quick and easy recipe for roasted aubergines, chickpeas and pomegranate | Quick and easy

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Lightly spiced veg topped with an addictive lemon tahini sauce and finished off with pomegranate seeds

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
In January I inevitably turn to whole foods: dark, leafy brassicas, whole grains, beans simmered slowly on the stove top. Here are two nourishing dishes that put them all to work - both are vegan and both are very freezer-friendly, if cooking ahead is your thing. One takes inspiration from the herby Persian classic ghormeh sabzi, albeit a pared-down version of what is traditionally a luxurious dish. The other, a pumpkin, ale and barley stew, is a chance to raid your store-cupboard.

Pumpkin, sage and barley stew (pictured top)

There are many varieties of squash and pumpkin that you could use for this, but my favourite is the pale green crown prince.

30ml olive oil, plus extra to serve
500g pumpkin, halved, seeds discarded and chopped into 2cm-thick wedges (peel it, too, if you prefer, but I don't bother)
1½ medium onions (about 130g), peeled and sliced
5 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
300ml ale - I use Newcastle Brown Ale
300g pearl barley
1 tsp salt
1 bunch sage, leaves picked and finely chopped Sourdough bread, to serve

Warm the olive oil in a large saucepan over a medium-high heat, then fry the pumpkin wedges for five to six minutes on each side, until well browned. Transfer to a bowl, leave to cool, then cut into 3cm chunks.

Put a little more oil in the pan, then fry the onions and garlic for six minutes, until soft and starting to brown. Add the ale, pearl barley and salt, top up with 400ml water and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat to a simmer, cover and cook gently for about 30 minutes.

Add the chopped sage, return the pumpkin to the pan, then turn down the heat and simmer very gently for another 15-20 minutes, until the barley and pumpkin are both tender. (As it cooks, check the pan intermittently - you may need to top up with water if it is looking a little dry and the pumpkin and barley are not yet tender.) Taste for seasoning, drizzle with a little more olive oil just before serving, and serve with a thick slice of sourdough toast.

Herby mushroom and kidney bean stew

Tamal Ray's herby mushroom and kidney bean stew.

You might be able to find dried fenugreek leaves in the world food aisle of a large supermarket, and certainly in a South Asian food shop.

Prep 25 min
Cook 2 hr 15 min
Serves 4

400g mushrooms, sliced
Olive oil
Fine salt
2 medium onions (about 200g), peeled, halved and thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
¾ tsp ground turmeric
1½ tsp ground cumin
300g dried kidney beans, soaked overnight in cold water
2 dried limes
115g fresh coriander (soft stems and leaves), chopped, plus extra leaves to serve
115g fresh flat-leaf parsley (soft stems and leaves), chopped
4 tbsp dried fenugreek leaves
1 lemon
Vegan yoghurt, to serve

Heat the oven to 220C (200C fan)/425F/gas 7. Scatter the mushrooms over a large baking tray, drizzle with olive oil and a couple of pinches of salt, then roast for 10 minutes, until dark and shrunken. Set aside to cool.

Warm two tablespoons of olive oil in a large saucepan for which you have a lid, then add the onions, garlic, turmeric and cumin, and fry on a high heat for six minutes, until the onions are starting to brown at the edges. Stir in the kidney beans, top up with enough water to cover them, and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat to a gentle simmer, add the dried limes and leave to cook.

While the beans are cooking, warm three tablespoons of olive oil in a large frying pan on a low heat, add the coriander, parsley and fenugreek, and fry, stirring, for about 20 minutes, until the herbs have wilted to a dark, aromatic green. Add the herbs to the beans with a quarter-teaspoon of salt, then carry on cooking for about 60-90 minutes, or until the beans are tender (keep tasting).

Once the beans are ready, add lemon juice to taste, stir in the roast mushrooms, and check the seasoning, adding more salt if need be. Stir through a tablespoon of vegan yoghurt, sprinkle over some fresh coriander leaves and serve.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Hot stews for cold days: Tamal Ray's recipes for hearty vegan braises

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A filling pumpkin, sage and barley stew, plus a mushroom and kidney bean winter warmer

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Although the law of diminishing returns should dictate otherwise, no matter how much pesto I eat, I can never get enough. Potentially, this is due to its ability to shapeshift and move between herbs and nuts. You can make a great pesto with basil, rocket, coriander or wild garlic, and with walnuts, almonds and even peanuts. Here, I've made one using cashews and sun-dried tomatoes alongside basil leaves and nutritional yeast (in place of the traditional parmesan). The butter beans, chard and leeks are merely vehicles, to aid my general pesto intake.

Beans and greens with tomato and cashew pesto

130g sun-dried tomatoes (drained weight)
50g cashew nuts
40g fresh basil, leaves and tender stems
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
Extra-virgin olive oil
Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
Salt
2 leeks (200g), trimmed and cut into ½cm-thick coins
2 x 400g tins butter beans, not drained
200g rainbow chard, shredded into 1cm-wide strips
1 fresh long red chilli, stalk discarded, flesh finely diced
Warm crusty bread, to serve

Put the first five ingredients in a small blender with five tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil, the lemon zest, three tablespoons of lemon juice and a teaspoon and a half of salt, then blitz until very finely chopped.

Put two tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil in a large frying pan for which you have a lid, and set it on a medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the leeks, and cook, stirring occasionally, for eight minutes, until softened. Add the beans and their can liquid to the pan, then simmer for 10 minutes, until the liquid reduces and the beans soften.

Stir in the chard and the sun-dried tomato pesto, cover and leave to cook for 10 minutes, until the chard stalks are tender. Stir in the chopped chilli.

Spoon the beans into shallow bowls, drizzle over more extra-virgin olive oil and serve with warm crusty bread for mopping up.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Meera Sodha's vegan recipe for beans and greens with tomato and cashew pesto | The new vegan

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Tomatoes and cashews take the stage in this unconventional pesto that includes nutritional yeast for those essential umami notes and that goes with just about anything

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Herby sausages, nutritious kale, creamy ricotta and a pinch of chilli make this pasta bake an epic family meal

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Little marvels: lentil recipes | Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Forget pasta or potatoes – when it comes to cheap, nutritious and versatile standbys, little can beat the humble lentil

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Rachel Roddy’s recipe for tomato crumble | A kitchen in Rome

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A combination of Tuscan recipes for baking tomatoes from a book published in 1899, resulting in delightfully soft tomatoes with an irresistible nutty crumble crust

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Rachel Roddy’s recipe for baked chicken with tomatoes, and a green bean salad | A kitchen in Rome

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Use the best chicken you can afford for these baked thighs with cherry tomatoes and a green bean, lettuce and parmesan salad

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Nothing says summer dining like Marcus Wareing's puff pastry tart, with layers of roasted tomato sauce, garlic and tapenade.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Do you want 10% OFF your first order?

Sign up to receive your discount code to use straight away today!

*This offer is only available to new customers who have not made a purchase from Basco before. The discount code can only be used once per customer. This offer is not available in conjunction with any other offer, promotion or discount. Please note that we cannot refund the 10% discount if you forget to use it on your first order, you can always use it on your second!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Sea Bream Recipe | Classic Baked Sea Bream Basque Recipe | Basco

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Basque Baked Sea Bream Recipe by Basco. Learn how to cook our baked sea bream recipe and other Spanish fish recipes using our Spanish seafood ingredients.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
If a pancake and a crepe had a love child, it would be a Dutch baby, though this pan-sized, puffed-up, baked eggy delight has about it something of the souffle, too. The name stems, apparently, from early 1900s Seattle, where German (or "Deutsch") pancakes were made by the proprietor of a family-owned restaurant. The child eating it couldn't pronounce the word "Deutsch", so "Dutch" they became. This is great for brunch or an easy supper. Kids love it, too.

Heat the oven to 220C (200C fan)/425F/gas 7. Put all the ingredients for the tomatoes, apart from the basil, in a 20cm x 30cm roasting tin, add three-quarters of a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper, and toss to combine. Roast for 30 minutes, stirring a couple of times, until the sauce has turned a little syrupy and the tomatoes have softened but not collapsed. Take out of the oven (leave it turned on), set aside to cool, then stir in the basil.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk the flour, parmesan, thyme leaves, mustard powder, a half teaspoon of salt and some pepper. In a second bowl, whisk the eggs and milk, then pour them over the dry ingredients and whisk again to combine.

Put the bacon in a large ovenproof frying pan about 28cm wide x 5cm deep, then cook slowly on a medium heat for about a minute on each side: you don't want it to cook completely. Transfer the bacon to a plate, leaving any fat behind in the pan.

Add the olive oil to the hot pan, heat for a minute, swirling the pan so the base is covered. Quickly but carefully pour all the batter into the pan. Turn off the heat, drape the bacon on top and sprinkle with the cheddar. Transfer to the hot oven and bake for 25 minutes, until the sides of the Dutch baby are golden and puffed up, and the middle is soft and custardy. Resist the urge to open the oven to see what's going on for at least the first 15 minutes, because that will cause the baby to deflate!

Remove the Dutch baby from the oven and slide it out of the pan and on to a large plate (if need be, slide a spatula underneath to help release it). Cut into quarters and serve with the roast tomatoes on the side.

Versions of these meatballs appear all over Vietnam and Thailand, where they are usually skewered and grilled over an open flame. Delicious though they are, our pan-fried version removes the need for either skewers or an open flame. It also allows us to wrap them in lettuce cups and eat them with our hands, which we love. These are lovely as a group snack, with everyone making up their own wraps; they also work with blanched rice vermicelli noodles, tossed with the salad, herbs and dipping sauce.

To serve
1 small iceberg lettuce, leaves separated
½ cucumber, thinly sliced (150g)

Put the first six ingredients for the meatballs in a medium bowl, add a quarter-teaspoon of salt and three-quarters of a teaspoon of ground white pepper, then stir until the sugar dissolves. Add the rice and mince, mix well, then form into about 24 roughly 30g balls. Flatten each ball slightly, then place on a baking tray and put in the fridge until you're ready to cook.

Meanwhile, make the nuoc cham. Put the garlic, chillies and flaky salt in a mortar and pound to a wet paste: the chillies won't break down completely. Add the remaining dressing ingredients, then transfer to a screw-top jar. Seal, shake vigorously, then put in the fridge until ready to serve. If you don't have a pestle and mortar, put everything in a food processor and pulse until the chillies and garlic are broken up.

When ready to serve, prepare the salad platter by stacking the lettuce cups on the side and strewing the cucumber and reserved herb leaves around and about. Pour the nuoc cham into small serving bowls, so each person has their own little dipping sauce.

Put half the oil in a large frying pan on a medium-high heat, then fry half the patties for four to five minutes, turning them halfway, until cooked through. Transfer to a plate lined with kitchen paper to drain, add the rest of the oil to the pan and repeat with the remaining meatballs. Transfer to the salad platter and serve warm or at room temperature.

Spiced chicken sando with harissa mayonnaise

It feels as if everyone knows someone who knows someone who makes the best fried chicken sandwiches in town. This is what we'd set up our stall with: a north African version of katsu sando - the incredibly popular Japanese sandwich in which two slices of soft white milk bread hold together the winning combination of fried pork (or chicken), tonkatsu sauce and Kewpie mayonnaise.

The chicken needs to marinate for at least four (and up to 24) hours and the bread has to be super-soft, white sandwich bread - no sourdough or artisan alternative allowed!

400g natural yoghurt, or buttermilk
2 tbsp baharat
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp caster sugar
Salt
4 small chicken breast fillets (about 125g each)
175g white cabbage, finely sliced
4-5 spring onions, trimmedandfinely sliced (50g)
125g panko breadcrumbs
Vegetable oil, for frying
8 thick slices soft white sandwich bread (brioche buns work well, too)

For the harissa mayonnaise
2 tbsp rose harissa paste
125g mayonnaise
2 tsp lime juice

Put the yoghurt, baharat, cinnamon, sugar and a teaspoon of salt in a large bowl, stir to combine and set aside.

One at a time, lay the chicken breasts on a board and pound very lightly with a rolling pin to even them out. Put in the bowl of spiced yoghurt, mix gently to coat, then cover and refrigerate for at least four hours, or up to 24.

Mix all the ingredients for the harissa mayonnaise in a small bowl, cover and put in the fridge. In a large bowl, toss the cabbage and spring onions.

When you're ready to cook, spread out the breadcrumbs on a small baking tray, and line a second tray with baking paper. One at a time, lift each chicken breast out of the marinade (discarding the leftover yoghurt), lay it on the breadcrumbs, then turn over so it's coated on both sides. Transfer to the lined baking tray and repeat with the rest of the chicken.

Pour enough oil into a large frying pan so it comes 2cm up the sides. Place on a medium heat and, when hot, carefully lower in two of the chicken breasts and fry for about four minutes on each side, until golden brown. Transfer to a plate lined with kitchen paper, sprinkle with salt and repeat with the remaining chicken breasts.

To assemble, liberally spread harissa mayonnaise over one side of each slice of bread. Lay a chicken breast on top of half the slices, followed by a large handful of the cabbage and spring onions. Top with the remaining slices, mayo side down, cut the sandwiches in half, cut off the crusts and serve.

Easy, cheesy rice cakes

Easy, cheesy (and also peas-y), these are great to snack on before supper, as well as an absolute winner for supper itself. If anyone doesn't want the chilli sauce, that's fine: just add a squeeze of lemon. Don't be shy about giving these rice cakes plenty of time in the pan: the crisp edges are reminiscent of the wonderful tahdig-style rice, in which the base of the rice crisps up and colours as it cooks.

The rice cakes can be assembled in full a few hours before frying; just cover them with a damp, clean tea towel to stop them drying out. Once fried, the cakes are best eaten on the day. The chilli sauce will keep in the fridge for three days - double the quantities, if you like, because it's great mixed with a little mayo in a sandwich.

For the quick sweet chilli sauce
2 red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped (20g)
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
1½ tsp fish sauce
40g runny honey
1½ tsp lime juice

Drain the rice and put it in a small saucepan for which you have a lid. Add 240ml water, the turmeric and a half-teaspoon of salt, bring up to a simmer, then cover, turn down the heat to low and cook for 15 minutes. Take off the heat and leave to rest, still covered, for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, put all the chilli sauce ingredients except the lime juice in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer on a medium heat, then cook for three minutes, until the mixture thickens slightly and turns glossy. Squeeze in the lime juice, take off the heat and leave to cool.

Put the cooked rice in a medium bowl, add the spring onions, yoghurt, nigella seeds, peas, both cheeses and a quarter-teaspoon of salt, and mix to combine. Have ready a bowl of cold water and, using wet hands, measure out about 60g of the rice mixture. Roll this into a ball, squeezing firmly to make sure it stays together, then flatten into a round disc and set aside. Repeat with the remaining rice.

Put a third of the ghee in a large frying pan on a medium-high heat. Once hot, add the rice cakes four or five at a time and fry for about six minutes, turning once halfway so both sides go nice and crisp. Transfer to a plate lined with kitchen paper and repeat with the remaining ghee and rice cakes. If you want to keep the cooked cakes warm, pop them in a 170C (150C fan)/310F/gas 3½ oven until serving. Serve warm with the chilli sauce on the side.

All-purpose mushroom ragù

A batch of this ragù is a bit of a secret kitchen weapon. Knowing that it's there, in the fridge or freezer, means you are only ever minutes away from the most satisfying of meals. Stir it through pasta, top it with mash for an impromptu veggie shepherd's pie, serve it alongside polenta or rice, or eat a bowlful just as it is, perhaps with a crisp green salad. The ragù will keep in the fridge for up to three days.

Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6. Put the dried mushrooms in a small jug, pour in 125ml boiling water and leave to soak for 30 minutes. Drain into a bowl - keep the liquid for later - then roughly chop the porcini.

Meanwhile, put the fresh mushrooms on a large baking tray lined with greaseproof paper and roast for 25 minutes, giving them a stir halfway through, until the mushrooms have shrivelled significantly and lost a lot of moisture. Remove and set aside.

Put the butter and oil into a large saute pan for which you have a lid, then set it on a medium-high heat. Add the onions, celeriac and a half-teaspoon of salt, and cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring frequently, until nicely caramelised. Add the garlic, roast mushrooms and chopped porcini, cook, stirring, for another three minutes, then add the chilli, miso, preserved lemon and vinegar, and cook for another 30 seconds or so. Stir in the flour, cook for 30 seconds, then add the stock, the reserved mushroom liquid and three-quarters of a teaspoon of salt. Bring to a simmer, then cover, turn down the heat to low and cook for 25 minutes, until the celeriac is tender, but still holds its shape. Take off the lid, stir in the double cream and let it bubble away for another five minutes.

Take the pan off the heat, stir in the tarragon and serve with the extra tarragon leaves sprinkled over the top.

Tomato and aubergine one-pot baked pasta

This is our take on our former colleague Noor Murad's take on Marcella Hazan's iconic tomato butter sauce. The clue is in the name of Hazan's sauce: it turns out slow-cooking tomatoes in nearly half a pack of butter really is the way to make the most comforting and delicious of all sauces. It doesn't actually taste that buttery, strangely, just silky, smooth and rich. If you have kids who are, like Tara's, as yet unconvinced by the wonder that is the roast aubergine, this dish also works well without it.

Heat the oven to 220C (200C fan)/425F/gas 7. Put the oil in a large ovenproof saute pan for which you have a lid, then lay in the aubergines, a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper. Toss to combine, then arrange the aubergines skin side down in the pan. Roast for 30 minutes, until nicely golden and starting to catch in places.

Add the remaining ingredients apart from the parsley and parmesan to the pan, then add 400ml just-boiled water and stir in a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper. Don't worry if all the pasta is not completely covered with liquid at this stage. Cover and bake for another 30 minutes, until the tomatoes have cooked down and the pasta is tender.

After the pasta has been in the oven for 30 minutes, give everything a good stir and cook uncovered for a final 10-15 minutes, until the sauce clings to the pasta and is starting to catch in places. Remove, leave to sit for 10 minutes, then serve with the parsley, parmesan and extra basil leaves sprinkled over the top.

Cauliflower and butternut pakoras

Ask me what my equation for comfort food is, and it would look something like: vegetables + batter + fried + street food + eaten by hand = pakoras. They're the ultimate snack food, lunch or pre-supper snack. See this as a fridge-raid recipe: if you have any carrots, sweet potatoes, parsnips, beetroots or courgettes that need using up, they'd work well instead of (or as well as) the squash. And broccoli can be used instead of the cauliflower. Use up what you have around, but keep the total net weight the same. Once cooked, any leftover pakoras can be kept in the fridge in an airtight container and reheated the next day.

For the tamarind sauce
1½ tbsp tamarind pur ee
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
50ml lime juice
1½ tbsp light soft brown sugar
1½ tsp fish sauce
2 tsp chilli flakes

Get all the vegetables chopped and ready before you make the batter, so you're ready to fry almost immediately. This batter doesn't improve from sitting around.

Put all the ingredients for the sauce in a screw-top jar, seal, shake to combine, then set aside.

Mix both flours in a large bowl with the baking powder, spices and a teaspoon and a quarter of salt, then pour in 250ml cold water and stir gently to make a thick batter. Add the garlic, ginger, coriander, onion, squash, cauliflower florets and leaves, and stir to combine.

Put enough oil in a deep-sided pan to come 5cm up the sides, then put it on a medium-high heat. When hot (test it's ready by dipping a chopstick or the end of a wooden spoon in the oil: it should form tiny bubbles around the tip), use two spoons to scoop up about 70g of the pakora mix: you don't want to compact the mixture, so use soup spoons or a ladle to keep it rounded. Carefully drop this into the hot oil and repeat with three more pakoras, so you cook four at a time. Fry for about four minutes, turning once halfway through. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the cooked pakoras to a tray lined with kitchen paper to drain and sprinkle very lightly with salt. Repeat with the remaining batter, until all the pakoras are cooked, then serve hot with the tamarind sauce alongside for dipping.

Chocolate ripple fridge cake

As anyone who's ever been to a proper Australian barbecue will know, chocolate ripple cake is a ubiquitous, no-bake dessert, made with shop-bought chocolate biscuits sandwiched together with cream. Helen's children were so taken by it on a recent family trip to Melbourne that they begged her to make it back home. Not being able to get hold of the right biscuits - Arnott's Choc Ripple (now available online) - she made them from scratch. They're so quick and simple to bake that she now not only bakes them to make this cake, but also makes extras just to have around. Now no birthday party (or barbecue) is complete without them.

The biscuits can be made and baked up to seven days in advance, and kept in an airtight container. The cake needs to be made at least six hours before serving, to allow it to soften and meld together, and can be made up to two days in advance and kept in the fridge. Strawberries work well with this, or you could just crumble over another cookie or a chocolate flake.

For the macerated strawberries
600g strawberries, hulled and quartered
1½ tbsp caster sugar
1 tsp finely shaved orange zest
2 tbsp Grand Marnier, or orange juice
2 strips orange zest, julienned

First make the biscuits. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, bicarb and salt into a medium bowl. Put the butter, sugar, oil and golden syrup in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, then beat on a medium speed for two minutes, until light and creamy. Scrape the sides of the bowl, then add the egg and beat again until combined. Reduce the speed to low, add the dry ingredients and beat until the mix comes together into a dough. Wrap well, then chill in the fridge for at least two hours.

When you're ready to bake, heat the oven to 190C (170C fan)/410F/gas 6½. Pinch off 30g pieces of dough, roll into balls (about 23), then place 5cm apart on two large oven trays lined with baking paper. Flatten each with your hand until it's about 5cm wide, then bake for 15 minutes, until firm with a cracked, or "rippled", top. Remove, leave to cool for five minutes, then transfer to a rack.

When you're ready to assemble the cake, combine the milk, Grand Marnier (if using) and espresso in a bowl. Put the cream, creme fraiche, icing sugar, vanilla extract and cinnamon in the bowl of the stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. On a medium-high speed, whisk to soft peaks - be careful not to over-whip it, because the cream will thicken more when you spread it. Transfer 200g of the whipped cream mixture to a small bowl and refrigerate - it will be used later, to finish the cake.

Pipe or dollop a roughly 30cm-long x 2cm-wide line of the cream mixture down the centre of a long cake plate or board, to help position the biscuits. Take 20 of them and, working with one biscuit at a time, lightly brush both sides with the milk mixture: you want to moisten the biscuit, rather than drench it. Using a small spatula or knife, spread two tablespoons of the cream mix on one side of the biscuit, then stand it in the strip of cream on the plate, pressing it down. Repeat with another biscuit, then place that alongside the first and press to sandwich them together. Repeat with the remaining biscuits to form a long log cake.

Spread the remaining cream mixture over the top and sides of the log: don't worry if it only barely covers the cake, because it will be topped up with the reserved cream the following day. Cover loosely and refrigerate for at least six hours or overnight.

About 15 minutes before you're ready to serve, combine the strawberries with the sugar, zest and Grand Marnier, and leave to macerate for 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile, spread the reserved cream over the top and sides of the log.

When you're ready to serve, tumble half the strawberries along the top of the cake, pressing slightly to help them stick. Drizzle any strawberry syrup over and around the plate, then scatter the orange zest strips on top. Slice the cake on a diagonal (warm the blade of the knife in a jug of hot water, to help with the cleanness of the slice), to reveal the stripes inside, and serve.

This is an edited extract from Ottolenghi Comfort, byYotam Ottolenghi, Helen Goh, Verena Lochmuller and Tara Wigley, published by Ebury Press at £30. To support the Guardian and Observer, order your copy at guardianbookshop.com

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Tuck in, chill out: Yotam Ottolenghi's ultimate comfort food recipes, from one-pot pasta to chocolate fridge cake

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In an exclusive extract from Ottolenghi Comfort, his new book with Helen Goh, Verena Lochmuller and Tara Wigley, eight tasty recipes that are good for the soul

# data[].attributes.body
About £1 a portion: one-pan chickpea curry recipes from Rukmini Iyer

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
hickpeas are a store-cupboard staple for me - they're such a helpful starting point for dinner when there's not much else in the house. Both of today's incredibly moreish curries rely on store-cupboard spices and ingredients, with lovely fresh veg thrown in for added flavour and interest. The richly spiced one-tin malai chickpea curry feels really indulgent, thanks to the addition of fresh cream, while the vegan chickpea, cauliflower and coconut curry is fresh and light, and finished with lime juice to balance the coconut milk.

This curry is even nicer reheated and served the next day.

2 tbsp neutral oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
5cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
2 garlic cloves, peeled and grated
1 heaped tsp ground cumin
1 heaped tsp ground coriander
½ tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp crushed chillies
1 tsp sea salt flakes
1 x 400g tin coconut milk
1 cauliflower, cut into small florets
1 x 400g tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed
100g spinach
Juice of 2 limes

Put the oil in a large saucepan on a medium heat, then add the cumin seeds and fry for 30 seconds. Add the onions and cook, stirring, on a medium-low heat for 10 minutes, until they turn golden brown. Add the ginger, garlic, cumin, coriander, turmeric, chilli and salt, turn down to a low heat and stir-fry for two minutes more.

Stir in the coconut milk, then add the cauliflower and chickpeas, and bring to a boil. Turn down to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes, until the cauliflower is just cooked through. Add the spinach and cook for a further two minutes, until wilted.

Turn off the heat, leave the curry to stand for 10 minutes, then add the lime juice, and taste and adjust the salt in the sauce, if need be. Serve hot with rice and/or flatbreads on the side.

2 tbsp neutral oil
1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped
1 green pepper, stem, pith and seeds removed, flesh roughly chopped
250g chestnut mushrooms, roughly chopped
2 tsp ground cumin
1 heaped tsp ground coriander
½ tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp crushed chillies, or to taste
1 tsp sea salt flakes
1 x 400g tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
150ml single cream

Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6. Tip the oil, onion, pepper, mushrooms, spices and salt into a large roasting tin, toss to coat, then roast for 15 minutes.

Take the tin out of the oven, stir in the chickpeas, tomatoes and cream, and return to the oven for 40-45 minutes.

Remove and set aside to rest for five minutes, then taste and adjust the salt, if need be. Serve hot with flatbreads or rice.

Rukmini Iyer is the author of The Roasting Tin series. Her latest book is India Express: Fresh and Delicious Recipes for Every Day, published by Square Peg at £22. To order a copy for £19.14, go to guardianbookshop.com

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
About £1 a portion: one-pan chickpea curry recipes from Rukmini Iyer

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
hickpeas are a store-cupboard staple for me - they're such a helpful starting point for dinner when there's not much else in the house. Both of today's incredibly moreish curries rely on store-cupboard spices and ingredients, with lovely fresh veg thrown in for added flavour and interest.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Peel a couple of medium-sized onions and slice them thinly.

Warm 3 tbsp of vegetable or groundnut oil in a wok or wide shallow pan over a moderate to high heat, then tip in the onions and let them cook until soft and golden. You will need to stir them, so they colour evenly. You are after a light brown tangle of very soft onions, so give them 5 minutes uncovered, then continue cooking partially covered with a lid for 15-20 minutes or so.

Meanwhile trim 300g of brussels sprouts and cut them in half. Remove the skin from 250g of spicy cooking chorizo and break into pieces about the length of a wine cork.

Add the chorizo to the onions and leave to colour lightly, then add the sprouts and toss everything to mix. Continue cooking until the sprouts are tender but retain a bit of bite, and the onions are glossy and coated in the chorizo juices.

While everything is cooking, finely chop a good handful of parsley. Turn the heat up under the pan, remove the lid and pour in 50ml of dry sherry and toss in the parsley. Let the sherry bubble for a couple of minutes, letting it mingle with the juices already in the pan, then pile into shallow bowls. Enough for 2

As always, taste for seasoning, but in this case you are unlikely to need salt and pepper - the chorizo does the seasoning for you.

Try also with sprout tops, savoy cabbage (rolled and cut like pappardelle) or chard leaves.

I sometimes do a version of this with apples fried with the sprouts, and with crumbled black pudding in place of the chorizo.
Follow Nigel on Instagram @NigelSlater

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Nigel Slater's recipe for brussels sprouts with chorizo

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Peel a couple of medium-sized onions and slice them thinly. Warm 3 tbsp of vegetable or groundnut oil in a wok or wide shallow pan over a moderate to high heat, then tip in the onions and let them cook until soft and golden. You will need to stir them, so they colour evenly.

# data[].attributes.body
‘Flavour, colour and crunch’: Yotam Ottolenghi’s recipes for vegan soup

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
ruth be told, I'm not brilliant at either New Year's resolutions or giving things up. If pushed to choose, however, I'd far sooner not eat meat for January than refuse the odd glass of wine, which at this time of the year is frankly medicinal. And not eating meat or fish is the most brilliant way of having to ramp up flavour, colour and crunch: vibrant green peas, bright orange squash, palate-wakening aromatics, crunchy seeds and nuts, fresh herbs, chilli heat ... The food we eat in January, and beyond, can be as much about dialling things up as it is about giving things up.

This is everything I want in the depths of winter, but it's also one to earmark for summer, when it works just as well chilled. It's delicious with a slice of toasted ciabatta or some cooked rice noodles.

3 tbsp olive oil
2 sticks celery, trimmed and finely chopped (140g)
2 leeks, trimmed and finely chopped (170g)
3 banana shallots, peeled and finely chopped (110g)
3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
Fine sea salt and black pepper
2 makrut lime leaves
2 sticks lemongrass, bashed
1 x 400ml tin full-fat coconut milk
500g frozen peas, defrosted

For the soy seeds
40g sunflower seeds
40g olive oil
20g piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
¼ tsp chilli flakes
1 tbsp soy sauce

Put a large saucepan on a medium-high heat, add the oil, celery, leeks, shallots, garlic and a half-teaspoon of salt, and cook, stirring frequently, for 10-12 minutes, until the vegetables are soft but not coloured.

Stir in the lime leaves, lemongrass and plenty of ground black pepper, and cook, stirring constantly to prevent the mix catching, for two minutes more. Stir in the coconut milk and 1.2 litres of water, bring to a boil, then turn down the heat to medium and leave to simmer gently for 20 minutes.

While the soup is simmering, make the soy seeds. Put the sunflower seeds, oil, ginger and chilli in a small saucepan on a medium high heat. When they start to sizzle, turn down the heat to medium and fry gently for five minutes, until the ginger and seeds turn golden. Tip out into a small ramekin or bowl and stir in the soy.

Put the peas in a large heatproof bowl or jug with half a teaspoon of salt. Remove and discard the lemongrass and lime leaves from the soup pot, then pour the soup over the peas. Working in two or three batches, blitz the soup in a blender for two or so minutes a batch, until smooth and pale green, then pour back into the saucepan and reheat if necessary.

To serve, divide the hot soup between four bowls and swirl in the seeds.

Yotam Ottolenghi's roast pumpkin soup with maple walnuts and herb oil.

Make extra maple walnuts, if you like: they keep well in an airtight container and are lovely sprinkled over salads. Both the soup and the herb oil can be made a day ahead, ready to combine when serving.

1 x 1kg crown prince pumpkin, or any other starchy variety, such as kabocha
400g sweet potatoes, unpeeled
150ml olive oil
5g sage leaves
1 red chilli, thinly sliced on an angle (10g)
1 leek, trimmed and cut into 2mm rounds (200g)
1 large onion, peeled and roughly chopped (240g)
10g piece fresh ginger, peeled and julienned
Fine sea salt
½ tsp smoked paprika
½ tsp ground coriander
2 small king edward (or similar) potatoes (200g)
60g walnuts
1½ tbsp maple syrup
10g coriander leaves, finely chopped
10g parsley leaves, finely chopped
1 tsp finely grated lemon zest

Heat the oven to 220C (200C fan)/425F/gas 7. Put the whole pumpkin and sweet potatoes on a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper and roast, turning once halfway, for an hour, until soft and golden. Remove and turn down the oven to 180C (160C fan)/350F/gas 4. Once they're cool enough to handle, use a metal spoon to peel off the pumpkin and sweet potato skins, and to scoop out the pumpkin seeds.

Meanwhile, put 80ml olive oil in a small saucepan on a medium heat, then add the sage leaves and fry for about two minutes, until deeply green. Use a slotted spoon to lift out the sage, transfer to a sheet of kitchen paper and leave to crisp up. Add the chilli to the hot oil, fry, stirring occasionally, for about two minutes, until deeply red, then transfer to the kitchen paper alongside the sage.

Transfer the hot oil to a large saucepan on a medium heat, add the leek, onion, ginger and three teaspoons of salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, for five minutes, until soft and translucent. Add the smoked paprika and ground coriander, cook for a minute, until fragrant, then add the cooked pumpkin and sweet potato flesh, and 1.6 litres of water.

Peel and grate the potatoes on to a chopping board, then add to the soup before they discolour. Bring the soup to a boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

While the soup is cooking, make the nut brittle. Line a small baking tray with greaseproof paper, top with the walnuts, maple syrup and a quarter-teaspoon of salt, and toss to coat. Roast, stirring once halfway, for about 10 minutes, until toasted and golden brown, then remove, sprinkle the fried sage and chilli on top, toss to combine and leave to cool. Once the nut mix is cool, scrunch up the paper to crush the brittle into smaller pieces.

Make the herb oil by combining the coriander, parsley, lemon zest, remaining 70ml oil and a quarter-teaspoon of salt in a small bowl.

Once the soup has cooked, take off the heat and blitz with a stick or regular blender until smooth and velvety. Add a splash more water to loosen, if need be, then divide between six bowls. Scatter the maple walnut brittle on top and serve drizzled with the herb oil.

Yotam Ottolenghi's chickpea, carrot and swede soup with herby olives.

This takes its inspiration from Moroccan harira, which usually features lamb or chicken. Feel free to add some, or use chicken stock instead of water for a richer (though clearly non-vegan) result.

2 onions, peeled and finely chopped (300g)
4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 tbsp rose harissa
2 tsp tomato paste
1 cinnamon stick
Fine sea salt
60ml olive oil
2 x 400g tins chickpeas
½ swede, peeled and cut into 2cm dice (200g)
2 carrots, peeled, cut in half lengthways and then into 3cm lengths (200g)
10g parsley leaves
10g coriander leaves
40g pitted green olives
4 tsp apple cider vinegar

Put the first six ingredients in a large saucepan with two teaspoons of salt and 45ml oil, then cook on a medium-high heat for five minutes, until the onions are translucent. Add the chickpeas and their liquid and 800ml water, bring to a boil, then add the swede and carrot. Lower the heat, simmer gently for 15 minutes, until the vegetables have softened but still retain their shape, then take off the heat and remove and discard the cinnamon stick.

While the soup is cooking, put the herbs, olives and vinegar in the small bowl of a food processor, add the remaining two tablespoons of olive oil and pulse to a rough paste.

To serve, divide the soup between shallow bowls and spoon the olive mixture on top.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
'Flavour, colour and crunch': Yotam Ottolenghi's recipes for vegan soup

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
ruth be told, I'm not brilliant at either New Year's resolutions or giving things up. If pushed to choose, however, I'd far sooner not eat meat for January than refuse the odd glass of wine, which at this time of the year is frankly medicinal.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
MAKE IT A FRESH FRUIT TRIFLE

Arrange sponge finger

biscuits over the bottom of a serving bowl. Mix

together 2 tbsp white wine with 1 tsp caster

sugar and sprinkle over, then top with mixed

fresh fruit. Make up the syllabub as before

and spoon over to finish.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A quick dessert than can be as indulgent or as healthy as you want, experiment with your favourites, from BBC Good Food.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
As my eldest daughter approaches teendom, I am realising the full gamut of motherhood. Among other things, she, as I did before her, approaches her mum's belongings as if they were her own, and as a result I am increasingly appreciating my own mother's patience and unconditional love. I think little says love more than a pie, and I am hoping that this simple but delicious one will do the trick.

Leek, spinach and sheep's cheese pie with rosemary garlic cream (pictured top)

A good pie manages to feel indulgent, comforting and nourishing all at once.

2 medium leeks
440g spinach leaves
550g potatoes, peeled and cut into 2½cm dice
40g butter
1 tbsp olive oil
¼ nutmeg, grated
1 small bunch fresh thyme
120g hard sheep or goat's cheese
Juice of 1 lemon
500g puff pastry
1 egg, beaten

For the poached garlic cream
250ml milk
1 head garlic, broken into cloves
2 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves picked
200g double cream

Top and tail the leeks, cut them in half lengthways and wash them thoroughly under the cold tap. Wash the spinach, too, then leave it in a colander to drain. Bring a pan of salted water to a boil, add the potatoes, simmer for 10-12 minutes, until tender, then drain.

While the potatoes are cooking, make the garlic cream. Put the milk, garlic and rosemary leaves in a small pan and heat until the milk quivers. Leave the garlic to poach gently for 15-20 minutes, until the cloves are tender, then peel (the skins should slip off easily) and set aside to cool in the milk. Once cooled, add the cream, then blitz smooth.

Cut the leeks into half-rounds. Melt the butter in a casserole or large wok on a medium-high heat. Add the olive oil, leeks and thyme, and season generously with salt, pepper and nutmeg, and fry gently for 10-12 minutes, until the leeks begin to soften. Stir in the spinach, cook for a further five minutes, until wilted, then stir the drained potatoes into the leek mix. Pour the garlic cream into the pan, add the cheese and lemon juice, then season to taste.

Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6, and tip the mixture into a baking dish. Roll out the puff pastry to cover the dish, lay it on top of the filling and crimp around the edges. Brush the beaten egg all over the pastry, then bake for 30-35 minutes, until the pie is golden and puffed up, and smells tantalisingly good. Serve hot with a green salad, or with the wild rice and cauliflower salad below.

Wild rice and cauliflower salad with turmeric and honey-fried almond dressing

Thomasina Miers' wild rice and cauliflower salad.

A vibrant, nutty salad with a beautiful, ochre-coloured dressing.

200g wild rice
70g raisins
250g cauliflower, finely chopped
200g carrot, coarsely grated
450g red cabbage, cored, finely sliced and chopped
3 radishes, finely sliced
120g cooked green lentils
1 handful mint leaves, roughly chopped
1 handful coriander leaves, roughly chopped

For the almond dressing
60ml sunflower oil
100g blanched almonds
1½ tsp runny honey
1 tsp turmeric
Salt and black pepper
1 red onion, peeled and finely chopped Juice and zest of 1 lime
90ml extra-virgin olive oil

Cook the rice in salted boiling water, turn off the heat five minutes before the end of the recommended cooking time, cover with a lid and set aside.

To make the dressing, put the sunflower oil in a small frying pan on a low heat, add the almonds, half the honey and half the turmeric, season generously and cook, stirring, for seven to eight minutes, until the almonds turn a bewitching, pale gold colour. Lift them out with a slotted spoon, put on a saucer and set aside.

Add the raisins to the pan of hot oil, heat gently until they puff up into balls, then transfer with a slotted spoon to a second saucer. Add the onions to the oil, season generously and cook until golden.

Once the rice is tender, drain it of any remaining liquid (most of it will have steamed away in the pan) and put in a bowl with all the other salad ingredients except the almonds and onions. Roughly chop the almonds. Tip the onions and their cooking oil into a jug, then whisk in the rest of the honey and turmeric, the olive oil, lime zest and juice. Season generously, then use to dress the salad - the rice and lentils will absorb the dressing. Taste again, adjust the seasoning, decorate the salad with the chopped almonds and serve at once.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Thomasina Miers' Mother's Day recipes for leek, spinach and sheep's cheese pie with a rice and cauliflower salad

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
An early spring pie of leek, spinach and sheep's cheese in a rosemary garlic cream, served with a wild rice and cauliflower salad in a sweet almond dressing

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Green salad with mustard vinaigrette makes a magnificent entree or side dish.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Top 10 Healthy Dinners That ZOE Members Love

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Here, find the 10 most popular, healthy dinners that ZOE members have favorited in our app, plus ingredients and links to full recipes.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Although the law of diminishing returns should dictate otherwise, no matter how much pesto I eat, I can never get enough. Potentially, this is due to its ability to shapeshift and move between herbs and nuts. You can make a great pesto with basil, rocket, coriander or wild garlic, and with walnuts, almonds and even peanuts. Here, I've made one using cashews and sun-dried tomatoes alongside basil leaves and nutritional yeast (in place of the traditional parmesan). The butter beans, chard and leeks are merely vehicles, to aid my general pesto intake.

Beans and greens with tomato and cashew pesto

130g sun-dried tomatoes (drained weight)
50g cashew nuts
40g fresh basil, leaves and tender stems
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
Extra-virgin olive oil
Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
Salt
2 leeks (200g), trimmed and cut into ½cm-thick coins
2 x 400g tins butter beans, not drained
200g rainbow chard, shredded into 1cm-wide strips
1 fresh long red chilli, stalk discarded, flesh finely diced
Warm crusty bread, to serve

Put the first five ingredients in a small blender with five tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil, the lemon zest, three tablespoons of lemon juice and a teaspoon and a half of salt, then blitz until very finely chopped.

Put two tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil in a large frying pan for which you have a lid, and set it on a medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the leeks, and cook, stirring occasionally, for eight minutes, until softened. Add the beans and their can liquid to the pan, then simmer for 10 minutes, until the liquid reduces and the beans soften.

Stir in the chard and the sun-dried tomato pesto, cover and leave to cook for 10 minutes, until the chard stalks are tender. Stir in the chopped chilli.

Spoon the beans into shallow bowls, drizzle over more extra-virgin olive oil and serve with warm crusty bread for mopping up.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Meera Sodha's vegan recipe for beans and greens with tomato and cashew pesto | The new vegan

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Tomatoes and cashews take the stage in this unconventional pesto that includes nutritional yeast for those essential umami notes and that goes with just about anything

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Twenty-nine-, 28-, 18-minute meals: it's a bold and, in this case, slightly tongue-in-cheek move to set a stopwatch on exactly how long it takes to get dinner on the table. Whatever the precise timing, though, the key to a pretty quick meal, if we can just call it that, is threefold. One: have a few punchy ingredients to hand - sheets of seaweed, hot chilli sauces and quick pickles are all fast ways to get maximum flavour into a meal. Two: choose a main ingredient that cooks really quickly - green veg, pasta and eggs are all your friends here. And three: if you can, always double up on things and roll them into the next meal - quick pickles (again) and spicy peanut oils, for example. Before you know it, some meals are almost going to be making themselves. Meals that actually save you time in the making: now that wouldbe a bold move!

Tofu with purple sprouting broccoli and spicy peanut oil (pictured top)

Doubanjiang is a fermented chilli bean sauce from Sichuan. It's super-salty, savoury and spicy, as well as brilliant at dialling the flavour all the way up to 10. Make more chilli peanut oil than you need for this: it's great to have around to spoon over all sorts of roast veg, meat and fish, or even just on a couple of fried eggs. This works well on its own or with rice on the side.

3 garlic cloves, peeled, 1 finely crushed, and the other 2 bashed with the flat of a large knife
½ tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp doubanjiang
25g skin-on raw peanuts, lightly crushed in a mortar
90ml olive oil
250g purple sprouting broccoli, or Tenderstem, cut into 5cm-long pieces and thick stalks cut in half lengthways
Fine sea salt and black pepper
60g kale, tough stems removed and discarded, the rest roughly chopped
½ onion, peeled and finely chopped (140g)
¼ tsp ground turmeric
280g extra-firm tofu, broken into roughly 3-4 cm pieces
2 tsp soy sauce
½ tsp toasted sesame oil

Put the crushed garlic, cumin and doubanjiang in a small heatproof bowl. Put the peanuts and 60ml of the oil in a small pan on a medium heat for five minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned and fragrant. Pour the oil and nuts into the doubanjiang mixture, stir to combine, then set aside.

Put the remaining two tablespoons of oil in a large frying pan on a high heat and, once it's hot, add the broccoli and an eighth of a teaspoon of salt, and stir-fry for four minutes, until the broccoli is nicely charred and almost tender. Add the two lightly bashed garlic cloves, stir-fry for 30 seconds, just until lightly charred, then add the kale and three tablespoons of water, and cook, stirring constantly, over a high heat until the kale wilts and softens. Tip into a bowl, return the pan to the stove and turn down the heat to medium-high.

Put two tablespoons of the oil from the peanut chilli oil bowl into the pan, add the chopped onion, turmeric and a quarter-teaspoon of salt, and cook, stirring often, for five minutes, until the onion starts to soften. Turn the heat back up to high, add the tofu, soy sauce and sesame oil, and cook, stirring constantly, for three minutes more, until the tofu has heated through and absorbed the seasoning.

Return the kale and broccoli mixture to the pan and fry, stirring, for another minute, just to heat through. Transfer to a large platter, spoon the peanut chilli oil over the top and serve at once.

Spaghetti with sea bass and nori butter

Yotam Ottolenghi's spaghetti with sea bass and nori butter.

This has all the freshness and simplicity of spaghetti alle vongole, with added umami richness from the seaweed. Toast any leftover nori sheets, then crush them and mix with sesame seeds and chilli flakes to make your own ; they're also great added to vegetarian gravy. Get everything prepped, chopped and lined up before you turn on the heat here: that way, the dish will be ready in minutes.

200g spaghetti
Fine sea salt and black pepper
1½ nori sheets (3g)
3 tbsp olive oil
1½ tsp capers, drained
2 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
1 tsp aleppo chilli flakes, or ½ tsp regular chilli flakes
5g (1⅓ tbsp) parsley leaves, roughly chopped
40g unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
4 sustainably sourced sea bass fillets (240g), skinned and sliced into 5cm pieces
1 tsp lemon juice

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, then drop in the spaghetti and a teaspoon of salt, and cook for 10 minutes (or for a minute less than the packet instructions), until cooked but still al dente. Drain the pasta, reserving 150ml of its cooking water.

While the pasta is cooking, make the sauce. Put a large, ideally high-sided frying pan on a medium-high heat, add the nori sheets and toast for 15 seconds on each side, until shiny and crisp. Take off the heat and, using your hands, crush the sheets into small shards. Set aside about a third of the nori, for serving.

Put two tablespoons of oil in the pan, return it to the heat and add half the capers, half the garlic and half the chilli. Once they're all sizzling, fry, stirring, for two minutes, until the garlic is just turning golden, then tip into a heat-resistant bowl and set aside.

Put the remaining two-thirds of the crushed nori, the rest of the oil, capers, garlic and chilli flakes, all the parsley, half the butter and a few good twists of black pepper in the hot pan, and fry, stirring frequently, for about a minute, until fragrant but not coloured.

Add the sliced fish, sprinkle over a quarter-teaspoon of salt and fry for two minutes, swirling the pan occasionally, until the fish is almost opaque. Add the spaghetti, reserved pasta water, lemon juice and remaining butter, turn up the heat to high and vigorously toss and stir the mix for two minutes, until the sauce is silky and clinging to the pasta.

Divide the pasta between two bowls, sprinkle over the reserved nori shards, drizzle over the reserved garlic-chilli-caper oil and serve immediately.

Thai-style deep-fried omelette with cucumber pickle

Yotam Ottolenghi's Thai-style deep-fried omelette with cucumber pickle.

For anyone who's new to the deep-fried omelette, it may seem all kinds of wrong. Anyone who's had one before, however, knows that it's all kinds of right: crisp on the outside, fluffy on the inside. Eat this as it is, with some hot chilli sauce, or turn it into more of a meal with some sticky rice and pickles on the side; picked crab meat also makes a wonderful accompaniment. If you're making more than one omelette, it's OK to keep the first one warm in a low oven for the time it takes to make the second one, but ideally it should be eaten straight away, fresh from the pan.

For the pickle
150g baby cucumbers, or 1 Lebanese cucumber, thinly sliced
2 tsp rice vinegar
1 tsp fish sauce
¼ tsp caster sugar
⅛ tsp sesame oil
2 spring onions, trimmed and sliced into thin rounds (30g)

For the omelette
3 large eggs
1 tsp rice vinegar
1 tsp fish sauce
1 tbsp water
1 tbsp rice flour
⅛ tsp sesame oil
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
50g spring onions, trimmed and thinly sliced
⅛ tsp fine salt
100ml sunflower oil, for frying

To serve
1 tsp toasted white and black sesame seeds, or just white ones
A few coriander sprigs
Sriracha, or your favourite hot chilli sauce
Cooked sticky rice (optional)

Put all the pickle ingredients in a bowl, mix well and set aside for up to 30 minutes.

Put all the omelette ingredients except the sunflower oil in a bowl, and whisk to combine.

Put the oil in a small, 18cm nonstick frying pan on a medium-high heat. Once it's smoking, test to see if the oil is ready by dropping in just a drip of the omelette mix - it should immediately bubble vigorously. Once the oil is ready, carefully pour in the egg mixture and cook for two to three minutes, until the omelette is golden around the edges. Using two spatulas, carefully flip over the omelette, and cook on the other side for another two minutes, until golden and crisp. Again using the two spatulas, lift the omelette out of the pan and on to a plate lined with kitchen paper to drain; blot the top of the omelette with more kitchen paper, to soak up any excess oil.

Sprinkle over the sesame seeds and coriander, and serve with the pickle, hot sauce and rice, if using.

Send in your questions

Yotam Ottolenghi has been inspiring home cooks with Guardian recipes since 2006. Now he and his team are here to help with all your kitchen questions in a new weekly column. Whether it's about skills, kit or ingredients, they're the experts with the answers. Ask away ...

Your responses, which can be anonymous, are secure as the form is encrypted and only the Guardian has access to your contributions. We will only use the data you provide us for the purpose of the feature and we will delete any personal data when we no longer require it for this purpose. For true anonymity please use our SecureDrop service instead.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Dinner in less than 30 minutes: Yotam Ottolenghi's recipes for super-quick meals

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The fast show: Thai-style deep-fried omelette, spicy tofu with broccoli, and sea bass and seaweed spaghetti

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Our daughter loves roast vegetables, so we often batch-cook trays of them at the end of each week to use up any hardy vegetables we might have left over, and to extend their shelf-life, not least because a container of roast veg in the fridge is a useful tool for speedy midweek meals. One of my favourite ways to use them up is in a simple, wholefood salad. Working through my cupboards, I'll pick any other ingredients that jump out at me, combine them with a pulse and/or grain and turn them into this nourishing, one-bowl-wonder.

Leftover roast vegetable wholefood salad with green tahini dressing

Whenever we make a roast dinner, we usually cook extra vegetables to make sure we've got leftovers to turn into soups, salads or to squish into sandwiches. I recently had some leftover cooked millet in the fridge, so I decided to turn it and the veg into another of our family favourites: a wholefood salad (couscous and quinoa or a jar of legumes are other quick alternatives). Or cook chewy spelt, barley or rye grains in a pressure cooker for a really satisfying meal.

The green tahini sauce will keep in the fridge for up to five days. As well as this salad, it's delicious in sandwiches, or served with wilted greens or chickpeas straight from the jar or can.

For the salad (per person)
Salt and black pepper
100g cooked whole grains or pulses (millet, spelt, rye, lentils, beans etc)
100g leftover mixed roast vegetables
1 small handful soft herbs (parsley, coriander, mint etc), stalks finely chopped, leaves roughly chopped
Extra-virgin olive oil, to taste
Vinegar (balsamic, red-wine, apple cider), to taste

Optional extras
Nuts, seeds and spices, to taste

For the green tahini dressing (to serve 2)
40g soft herbs (parsley, basil, coriander, mint), including the stalks
45g dark tahini
Juice of ½ lemon
1 small garlic clove, peeled
¼ tsp sea salt

Season the cooked grains or pulses, then spread them evenly over a dinner plate. Top with the roast veg, sprinkle with the chopped herbs, and dress with the olive oil and vinegar, finishing with a sprinkling of nuts, seeds and/or spices, if using. Season to taste and enjoy as is, or add a generous drizzle of green tahini dressing.

Put the soft herbs in a blender with the dark tahini, 40ml water, the lemon juice, garlic and sea salt, then blitz smooth; add a touch more water, if need be, to loosen the mix to a double cream-like consistency.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How to turn leftover roast vegetables into a nourishing salad - recipe | Waste not

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Combine leftover roast veg with your choice of grains or pulses, and perhaps a herby green tahini sauce, and you'll have a colourful and nutritious weeknight dinner

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
This is a proper winter warmer; even better, it's a 30-minute dinner. The tomatoes break down into a wonderful sauce for the rosemary-spiked beans and kale, and the thing that elevates it from nice to something special is the quick homemade pesto, which you can whip up while the cassoulet is cooking. Purists, look away - I use cheddar instead of parmesan, and the results are spectacular, with a real hit of umami. Use whatever nuts you have to hand, but the basil and mint are a must.

Pesto-topped white bean, kale and tomato cassoulet

2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped
2 big garlic cloves, peeled and finely grated
2 sprigs rosemary, leaves picked and finely chopped
300g cherry tomatoes, halved
1 x 700g jar haricot beans (or 2 x 400g tins haricot beans), drained and rinsed
150g kale (or cavolo nero), tough stalks discarded, leaves shredded
Juice of ½ lemon, plus 1½ tbsp extra for the pesto
Sea salt flakes

For the pesto
15g basil leaves
10g mint leaves
40g pine nuts, cashew nuts or hazelnuts
80ml olive oil
40g mature cheddar, grated

Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a large, shallow casserole dish or wide, deep-sided frying pan, add the onion, garlic and rosemary, and cook on a medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes, until the onions have softened. Add the tomatoes, beans and kale, stir-fry on a medium heat for five minutes to start softening the kale, then cover, turn down the heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the pesto. Tip the herbs, nuts, olive oil and cheddar into a high-speed blender or food processor, blitz fairly smooth, then add a tablespoon and a half of lemon juice and sea salt to taste.

Once the cassoulet is ready, taste, season with the juice of half a lemon and a sprinkle of salt, and serve hot in deep bowls topped with the pesto.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Rukmini Iyer's quick and easy recipe for pesto-topped white bean, kale and tomato cassoulet | Quick and easy

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A casserole of tomatoes melted into rosemary-scented beans and kale, and topped with minty cheddar pesto

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
BEANS AND BACON

To feed four, but it can easily expand and is a good dish for many hearty eaters on a cold day, so go as big as your pot allows you (on a cold day).

white haricot beans 1kg, soaked overnight
pig's trotter 1 (2l chicken stock will be splendid if no trotter is available)
carrots 2, peeled
onions 2, peeled
celery 2 sticks
garlic 3 heads
thyme, rosemary and parsley a bundle
good green streaky bacon 1kg piece, with skin on
duck fat or extra virgin olive oil
onions 3, peeled and chopped
leeks 2, peeled and chopped
plum tomatoes 1 tin
sea salt and black pepper

DIRECTIONS

Put the beans into a pan with clean water, bring to the boil, skim and reduce to a simmer until thoroughly giving. This will take approximately 1½ hours. As soon as they meet the salty bacon they will stop getting any softer, in fact they seem to firm up (many recipes suggest soaking and blanching for 10 minutes is enough, but in my experience, once they meet salt - however long you cook them for - they never give in). Once cooked, remove from the heat, but keep them in their liquor.

Separately cover your trotter with water, add the carrots, whole onions, celery, heads of garlic and the herbs, and bring to the boil. Skim, reduce to a simmer, and cook for 2½ hours.

While all this is happening, remove the skin from the piece of bacon, if possible in one piece, and slice the bacon into 8mm-thick slices.

Get a deep pan hot and add a healthy dollop of duck fat (or oil). Firstly fry the piece of bacon skin, fat down, so it releases some of its fat into the pan, and remove; then colour your bacon slices and remove; then fry your chopped onions and leeks until softened, and add the tin of tomatoes, crushing the tomatoes in your hands as you do so. Let this cook down for 20 minutes to sweeten the tomatoes, stirring to remove all the good bits of bacon that might adhere to the pan. Season, remembering the bacon is salty, add two ladles of the trotter stock, and let cook for another 10 minutes. Drain the beans but keep their liquor, add to the pan, and mix with the tomato base.

WHITE CABBAGE AND BROWN SHRIMP

This is a wonderful salad. It is as simple as mixing all the ingredients together so you end up with the little brown shrimps caught in a weave of cabbage.

The salty sweetness of the shrimp makes a happy companion to the mysterious warmth of the raw cabbage.

TO SERVE 6
standard white cabbage, half, very thinly sliced - you will be surprised by how much you have once the cabbage is chopped
peeled brown shrimps (Morecambe Bay), 2 handfuls
chervil 2 bunches, one chopped finely (for flavour) and the other picked (for the salad's glamour)
For the dressing
lemon juice of 1
extra virgin olive oil
sea salt and black pepper

BOILED HAM AND PARSLEY SAUCE

Incredibly simple, but delicious and particularly beautiful on the plate. I believe it is important to have the parsley sauce in a jug on the table so the eaters can express themselves with their pouring. When buying your ham, avoid pink things in hair nets, look for organic and free range if possible. It is always good to cook a bit more than you will eat so you can have cold ham.

TO SERVE 4
good rolled green collar ham 2kg piece
celery 2 sticks
onions 2, peeled and stuck with 8 cloves
leeks 2, cleaned
bay leaves 3
black peppercorns 10
good-sized carrots 10, peeled but left whole; this way they stay sweeter
For the parsley sauce
butter 100g
plain white flour 100g
milk 600ml
sea salt and black pepper
curly parsley a big bunch, finely chopped

DIRECTIONS

Place your ham in a pot, keeping in mind you will need room for your carrots. Cover with water, add the celery, onions, leeks, bay leaves and peppercorns. Bring gently to the boil, skim, reduce to a simmer for 2½ hours. Add your carrots.

Now make your sauce. Melt the butter in a pan, add the flour and stir on a gentle heat - do not let it colour, it's ready for the milk when it smells biscuity. Add the milk, whisking ferociously, making sure the heat's not too fierce. When you have a firm white creamy mixture, add a ladle of ham stock, and whisk again. Do this until you have reached your desired consistency. Test for seasoning. Just before serving add the chopped parsley and stir.

When the carrots are cooked you are ready to serve (if the ham is cooked and the carrots not, remove the ham from the water and turn up the heat). Slice the ham and serve on a plate with carrots and a drizzle of ham stock from the pot. Mustard is vital on the table.

You will be left with delicious ham stock for another day, and cold ham for your sandwiches.

DEVILLED KIDNEYS

The perfect breakfast on your birthday, with a glass of Black Velvet.

TO SERVE 2
lambs' kidneys 6, suet and membrane removed, and slit in half lengthwise, retaining the kidney shape
plain flour 3 tbsp
cayenne pepper 1 tsp
dry English mustard 1 tsp
sea salt and black pepper
butter a big knob
Worcestershire sauce
chicken stock a healthy splash
toast 2 pieces (white or brown, up to you, though - just an observation - white seems to sup up the juices better

DIRECTIONS

Nip out the white fatty gristle of the kidneys with a knife or scissors. Mix together the flour, cayenne pepper, mustard, and salt and pepper in a bowl.

Get a frying pan very hot, throw in a knob of butter, and as this melts roll your kidneys in your spiced flour, then shake them in a sieve to remove excess. Place them in the sizzling pan, cook for 2 minutes each side, add a hearty splash of Worcestershire sauce and the chicken stock, and let all the ingredients get to know each other. Remove the kidneys to your two waiting bits of toast, let the sauce reduce and emulsify in the pan (do not let it disappear) and pour over the kidneys and toast. Eat - happy birthday!

MINCE AND TATTIES

A dish discussed as much as cassoulet is in Castelnaudary. Questions such as should you add peas or carrots can start a gastronomic row of great proportions. Sticking my neck out, I know Caledonian MacBrayne adds peas to its mince but I don't, although I do like a spot of carrot in mine.

It gets worse - I can't help making a small gesture to the Auld Alliance as well. Here are my mince thoughts.

TO SERVE 6
onion 1, peeled and thinly sliced
leek 1, cleaned, sliced lengthways in half, then thinly sliced across
carrot 1, peeled, sliced lengthways in half, then thinly sliced across
garlic 4 cloves, peeled and chopped
extra virgin olive oil a splash
minced beef 1kg
tomatoes 2 tins
oatmeal a handful
Worcestershire sauce 1 shot glass
red wine ⅓ bottle, my gesture to the Auld Alliance
chicken stock if needed
sea salt and black pepper
proper boiling potatoes a dozen

DIRECTIONS

In a large pan, sweat the onion, leek, carrot and garlic in the splash of olive oil until softened. Add the mince, giving it a healthy stir to break it up. Add the tinned tomatoes, crushed in your hand - a subliminal gesture. Keep stirring and add the oatmeal, not so much that you end up with a porridge. Stir, add the Worcestershire sauce and red wine, then stir again. Take a view on the liquid content; if it seems a wee bit dry, add some stock. You are looking for a loose lava consistency. Check for seasoning.

Now allow the mince to simmer gently for 1½ hours, if not 2 (if it is drying out, add more stock). Time allows the mince to become itself, as is the case for most of us. While the mince cooks, peel the potatoes and simply boil them in salty water. After a long journey, there is no dish more welcoming. Also, a dram doesn't go amiss.
From The Complete Nose to Tail: a Kind of British Cooking (Bloomsbury, RRP £30). To order a copy for £21.99 with free UK p&p go to theguardian.com/bookshop or call 0330 333 6846

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
St John at 20: five classic Fergus Henderson recipes

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
From devilled kidneys to beans and bacon, enduring recipes from The Complete Nose to Tail. By Fergus Henderson

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
St John Restaurant's brown shrimp and white cabbage salad This dish is often to be found on the menu at the excellent St John Restaurant in London. I'm lucky enough to be able to find peeled brown...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Many great spaghetti dishes come together in under 15 minutes. Aside from a slow-cooked ragu or a Bolognese, a spaghetti dinner gives you little time to prepare yourself, whether that's finishing an email, video game or conversation before it's on the table, steaming its way into a gluey tangle. Carbonara, spaghetti aglio e olio (the one with garlic and olive oil), cacio e pepe (the other one with pecorino and black pepper) and spaghetti vongole (the one with fresh clams, garlic and white wine) are as speedy to make as they are delicious to eat. Yet they all come with one small caveat.

Before we get too excited about quick mid-week dinners, meal planning and all those other buzzwords, what they don't inform you is that within five minutes of cooking you'll be breathlessly running around in a kind of manic fluster. In this instance, it's good to have a small kitchen so that everything is within arm's reach.

One of my teachers at cookery school gave us some words of wisdom: 'you control the food. Don't let the food control you.' Somehow this sage advice slips my mind as I hurriedly remove clams from their shells, and oh yes, the pasta is turning to mush.

Sometimes, during a particularly tense part of cooking, as I aimlessly wander around the kitchen looking for garlic/a tea towel/my sanity, the dinner having stealthily slipped through my grasp along with any control I thought I had, I think to myself, 'didn't I go to cookery school?' 'Didn't I work as a chef for three years?' 'Shouldn't this be easier?'

Every time, the speedy turn-around of a spaghetti dinner gives me whiplash. At the end of the day though, the inherent beauty of spaghetti is that it is forgiving. Just like their Italian inventors, spaghetti dishes are unfazed by just about anything. When we remember to not let the food control us, spaghetti can emerge from the pan perfectly every time.

Spaghetti Vongole

Despite spaghetti vongole's rather swanky high-end appearance with all its strewn parsley and open clam shells it is probably the most relaxed of the spaghetti-sauce bunch. As long as you are aware of your surroundings which includes overflowing pasta water, nothing drastic will happen.

I've found it to be helpful to repeat the name 'vongole' which must be said with an Italian accent - 'vongolay' - and I enter the kitchen with a relaxed feeling of Italian nonchalance. Cooking then feels like an escape to Italy rather than a runaway train.

Spaghetti vongole is pasta tossed in a salty broth which you make with garlic, chilli and half a glass of white wine (every single recipe I found stated this imprecise (yet now ironically precise) half a glass of wine. Chucking in the remainder of your glass before pouring yourself another is an Italian trait I highly admire) and with this broth you steam fresh clams.

The pearly shells slowly crack open like hungry mouths and you can tip in your cooked spaghetti, extract some clam meat to make it easier to eat (less crunchy anyhow), then shower everything in parsley and lemon juice.

If you've never eaten clams, I highly recommend you try this recipe. They are sweet and meaty, and the white wine broth clinging to the spaghetti is light like sea water meanwhile hitting your taste buds with garlic, lemon and chilli - all the best flavours for pasta and seafood. It has been my dream to make spaghetti vongole for YEARS - yes YEARS which is ridiculous - and finally, thanks to my 2022 recipe bucket list, it's finally our time and I'm delighted!

Walk into that kitchen like a laid-back Italian - just remember to prepare all your ingredients, keep your eye on the heat, and these easy breezy 15-minute spaghetti dinners will stay under control.

Spaghetti vongole

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Easy Spaghetti Vongole - Nigella Eats Everything

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Spaghetti vongole with clams, garlic and white wine is is a quick 15-minute dinner best served with a side of Italian nonchalance

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
When I was growing up, the crack of a can of Guinness and the subsequent foamy, white moustache sported by my dad marked the end of the working week, when he temporarily laid his suit to rest. Even now, two tins of the stuff are waiting on the kitchen table for my husband, Hugh, and me when we drive from London to Lincolnshire on a Friday night to see my parents. In this recipe, its velvet, ferrous tang is softened somewhat as it lends its savoury richness to a pearl barley stew that, to me, is every bit as comforting as a trip down memory lane.

Mushroom, Guinness and pearl barley stew

Prep Cook 1 hr
Serves 4

7 tbsp olive oil
2 brown onions, peeled and finely chopped
2 carrots (200g), finely diced into 3-5mm pieces
2 celery stalks (200g), finely diced into 3-5mm pieces
4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1 tbsp tomato paste
750g chestnut mushrooms, halved and cut into 5mm slices
250ml Guinness stout
1½ tsp fine sea salt
150g pearl barley

To finish
1½ tbsp fresh lemon juice
20g parsley, very finely chopped
¼ tsp fine sea salt

Put five tablespoons of the oil in a large casserole on a medium heat and, when hot, then add the onions, carrots and celery, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes. Stir in the garlic, cook for another five minutes, then add the tomato paste and mushrooms, and mix well. Leave to cook for another minutes or so, stirring every now and then, until the mushrooms have reduced.

Pour in the Guinness (it will froth up), salt and 700ml water, and bring to a simmer. Stir in the pearl barley, then leave to simmer on a medium to low heat for 30 minutes, until the grains are tender; keep an eye on the pot and, if need be, top up with more water.

While the stew is cooking, in a small bowl mix the remaining two tablespoons of oil with the lemon juice, parsley and salt.

Divide the stew between four bowls and spoon as little or as much of the salsa on top as you wish.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Meera Sodha's vegan recipe for mushroom, Guinness and pearl barley stew | The new vegan

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A rich and silky Irish casserole studded with irresistibly chewy barley

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Madhur Jaffrey's simple kodava mushroom curry - Chatelaine

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Another lovely mushroom curry from Coorg, this time made without coconut milk. Find more of Madhur Jaffrey's recipes at Chatelaine.com

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
One of Disney's best-loved movies is the 1955 classic Lady and the Tramp, the story of a love affair between a sophisticated uptown cocker spaniel dame and a downtown mutt (mostly schnauzer, I'd guess, but it's never determined). It's a canine love story par excellence, and the defining scene takes place at Tony's, a classic New York City red-sauce joint: chequered tablecloths, candles in chianti bottles, breadsticks and, of course, spaghetti with meatballs. We all know what happens next: the lovers engage with the same strand of pasta and end up mouth-to-mouth, lip-to-lip, kiss-to-kiss. A better metaphor for love I do not know.

Spaghetti with tomato sauce and meatballs

I'm sure that Lady and The Tramp was a heavy influence on the conception of Brutto, the Italian trattoria I opened in Clerkenwell in October 2021. Dogs always welcome ...

250g stale white bread, crusts removed
250ml milk
300g pork mince (high-welfare, outdoor-reared, ideally)
Flaky sea salt and black pepper
1 tsp ground cinnamon Extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and extremely finely diced
1 large celery stick, peeled and extremely finely diced
1 large carrot, peeled and extremely finely diced
500ml passata
350g dried spaghetti - any decent brand
Lots of grated parmesan, to serve

Break the bread into small chunks, put in a bowl with the milk and leave to soak for 20 minutes. Squeeze dry and set aside.

Put the pork in a large bowl, generously season, then add the cinnamon and squeezed-out bread and mix with your hands until thoroughly combined. With your hands, pinch off pieces of the meatball mix and roll them into small balls - think the size of a gooseberry - and set aside.

Put a good glug of oil in a large, flat-bottomed pan on a low heat, then gently saute the onion, celery and carrot with a little salt and pepper, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes - do not let it turn brown. Add the passata and cook, still on a low heat so it reduces slowly, for about 20 minutes, until thickened.

Drop the meatballs into the sauce and leave to bubble gently for about 15 minutes, until they are cooked through. Depending on the size of the pan, if the meatballs aren't quite submerged, you may need to add a little more passata (or even water) to loosen the sauce a little.

While the meatballs and sauce are simmering, cook the spaghetti in boiling salted water according to the packet instructions, then drain.

Stir the drained pasta into the meatball pan, toss everything together, then taste and adjust the seasoning, if necessary, and stir in a splash more olive oil. Divide between four gorgeous plates, apply lots of grated parmesan and make sure you invite your dogs.

Russell Norman is owner of Brutto, London EC1, and author of Brutto: A (Simple) Florentine Cookbook, published on 2 November by Ebury at £32. To order a copy for £26.67, go to guardianbookshop.com

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Russell Norman's recipe for Lady and the Tramp's spaghetti with meatballs

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The tale of a high-society pooch falling for a street mutt has captured audiences' hearts since 1955. And key to the romance? That plate of spaghetti and meatballs

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Thomasina Miers’ recipe for meatballs and tomato sauce with double corn parmesan polenta

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Ricotta and sage meatballs with tomato and basil ragu, served with a cheesy sweetcorn polenta

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
BBC Good Food on Instagram: "Saturday evenings don't always require an elaborate meal – sometimes you just want something speedy and packed full of flavour. Our sausage stroganoff tagliatelle ticks all those boxes and then some. Try it for yourself with the 20-minute recipe linked in our bio. 

#bbcgoodfood #bbcgodfoodrecipes #speedypasta #easypasta #sausagepasta #creamypasta #familypasta"

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
1,202 likes, 13 comments - bbcgoodfood on October 14, 2023: "Saturday evenings don't always require an elaborate meal – sometimes you just want something sp..."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.embed_code
View this post on Instagram

A post shared by BBC Good Food (@bbcgoodfood)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
he kitchen table is a plank of bog oak, rescued from the Fens, as dark as chocolate cake. The surface is matt except for a patch that has worn to a shine, marking the spot where I sit and write notes in fountain pen that eventually become my weekly Observer column - the letters I have been writing to you from this kitchen for 30 years. These handwritten notes are guided by the season, what is at its best, by my old collection of kitchen diaries and what I have been cooking over the last few days.

Such notes are made before I have been to the shops or the market, before I have cooked and tested and retested a recipe (then cooked it again to be photographed by Jonathan Lovekin, who has been part of this column here almost as long as I have). There are no recipe developers and food stylists, no photographic props, I just cook as if making dinner, put it on a plate or dish on which it looks comfortable and hopefully tempting then, once photographed, we sit down and eat. Any leftovers are packed up into a care package for Jonathan's long journey home or are there to feed me for the next day or two. I then wash up.

I was surprised and slightly intimidated when, in 1993, I was offered a column in the Observer's weekly magazine. Surprised because I hadn't actually applied for it: the suggestion came from Matthew Fort, who wrote the restaurant column for the Guardian at the time and to whom I am eternally grateful. Intimidated, because I was stepping into the pages of Jane Grigson, a writer I revered more than any other and who had been in place for more than 20 years. There had, in the interim, been a year of long and beautiful essays and recipes by the late Leslie Forbes.

My first column started with the line, "It has been a good week for flavour" and the recipes celebrated the arrival of the first damsons (the accompanying recipe was a compote with a dash of gin) and a haul of red peppers, which I roasted with thyme and garlic, and served with their caramelised juices and a drop of balsamic vinegar. The recipe makes a big deal of using the roasting juices in the dressing, something I seem to have been going on about for three decades. But then, I do feel such details are the heart and soul of a recipe.

The minute details of cooking continue to fascinate me, the quality of the time we spend in the kitchen

My filing system (full disclosure, there is none) would probably follow the slow path of change in the nation's eating. Despite what happens in restaurants and colour supplements, books and television cookery shows, the actual change in home eating has moved slower than black treacle. The constant hunt for a better way to do something; the embrace of fresh ideas; the inspiration of travel and also the acceptance of the new all take a while to filter through to the home kitchen, yet there is a marked difference in what many of us are eating compared to 30 years ago.

The embrace of more casual eating, the disappearance of the three-course meal and the emergence of vegetarian and vegan eating - something of a rarity even in the early 80s - have now become mainstream and so much a part of this column. The majority of the recipes in this magazine are suited to non-meat eaters. Vegetables, beans, rice and sustainable fish rule. The roast peppers from that first column have probably appeared in a dozen or so versions over the past three decades, my favourite being the one from 2010, where the silky roast peppers were tossed in a basil, mint and garlic dressing. In a more recent one they are stuffed with soft tofu and green olives, the silken tofu melting into the juices as they bake.

Flipping through my dusty pile of press cuttings, I am intrigued that the recipes were much shorter than they are now. There are multiple reasons for this. Recipes do contain more ingredients than they did 30 years ago, partly because of their increased accessibility (can't find any mention of gochujang, miso, guanciale or even za'atar in the first decade's recipes) and partly because of the rise in cooking as a hobby and not simply "something that has to be done". But also, and I think this is crucial, this is the second generation of people who are not necessarily taught to cook at school, leaving without the ability to make themselves something to eat. This is why published recipes need to be more detailed than ever.

The minute details of cooking continue to fascinate me, the quality of the time we spend in the kitchen, the little kitchen tasks that bring us joy. To this day I am never happier than when making something for someone to eat. It is what I do and hope I continue to do, every day of my life.

I should add I haven't always been alone in this kitchen, cooking for a decade with James Thompson, now founder of The Great Oven, a project that builds community ovens in places of conflict, and latterly with Giles Cooper, who has diligently retested recipe after recipe. I owe a massive thank you to my editors, the eagle-eyed subeditors (who have saved my life a thousand times), to the picture editors and everyone at the Observer who has helped get this column on to page and screen. But most of all to you, for reading my words and following my recipes, for all these years. Thank you.

It would be nigh on impossible to choose my favourite recipes from all those published - even if I could find them. At a back-of-an-envelope calculation that's about 4,500 of them. I have managed to put together a collection of those that have been most mentioned to me by you and have apparently been many of your favourites.

It would be a Herculean task to count how many recipes for roasted vegetables have appeared in this column. The first was in the opening one - red peppers with garlic and olive oil - and over the years there is barely a vegetable that hasn't had its edges charred in my scorching oven.

There is no doubt that date syrup and za'atar turned up more regularly after my trips to the Middle East and in particular those to Lebanon. The slight tartness of the date syrup, not unlike pomegranate molasses, has much to offer the sweet, fudgy flesh of the roast pumpkin. Serves 4.

Set the oven at 200C/gas mark 6. Peel the pumpkin, remove the fibres and seeds and discard, then cut the flesh into 2cm thick slices. Place the slices on a baking sheet. Mix together the olive oil, za'atar and dried chilli flakes, then spoon over the pumpkin. Bake for 35-40 minutes until tender and translucent.

Bring a kettle of water to the boil. Put the couscous in a bowl, pour over enough of the hot water to cover the couscous and set aside.

Make the dressing: mix the date syrup with the crushed garlic, olive oil, lemon juice and grain mustard.

Chop the coriander and the parsley. When the couscous has soaked up the water, run a fork through it to separate the grains, then fold in the chopped parsley and coriander and a seasoning of salt and black pepper.

Remove the pumpkin from the oven, place the couscous on a serving plate together with the pumpkin, then trickle over the date dressing.

Baked squash with sauerkraut and gruyère

Something quite wonderful happens to a vegetable cooked in the oven. The flesh soaks up the cream or olive oil; delicious cooking juices assemble in the tin and the cut edges sweeten and caramelise. I doubt there is a vegetable on earth that hasn't been baked in this column. From tomatoes stuffed with pesto to peppers with feta cheese and olives, and marrow with tomatoes and basil. Much of my love of such recipes comes from an apprenticeship where I made cast-iron dishes of sliced potatoes, garlic and cream and cooked them in a low oven for the entire afternoon. The potatoes emerged, for early evening service, almost collapsing into the garlicky cream. In today's climate, few of us will put the oven on for a side dish, so anything baked in the oven usually has to be a main course. One of the most popular recipes on this page has been the stuffed squash with sauerkraut and cream. Serves 3.

Set the oven at 200C/gas mark 6. Cut the squashes in half and use a spoon to remove the seeds and fibres. Place the squash hollow side up in a roasting tin, then divide the butter and thyme between them. Season with salt and black pepper and bake the squashes for 40 minutes until the flesh is soft and giving.

While the squashes bake, peel and finely slice the onions. Warm the oil in a deep pan, over a moderate heat, add the onions and cook until pale gold and soft, stirring regularly. Expect this to take a good 20 minutes. Roughly chop the parsley, then stir into the softened onions. Remove from the heat and add the sauerkraut, cream and cheese.

Take the squash from the oven, divide the filling between the halved vegetables, then return them to the oven. Continue baking for about 20 minutes until the filling is turning gold and the cream is bubbling around the edges.

Roast pork with green olives and cabbage

Perhaps because this column is published on a Sunday, I often include a recipe for something that might be appropriate for a big family lunch. Roast lamb, perhaps, its skin seasoned with anchovies, or crisp duck legs with red cabbage and juniper. But the most popular family roasts have always been pork and the favourite of those is the roast loin with green olives and cabbage. I ask my butcher to bone and tie the pork loin - my own attempts are less than perfect - and I keep the meat unwrapped for as long as I can before cooking, so the skin is dry. (It will make for better crackling.) Rather than roasting by the clock, I find a meat thermometer is a sound investment. You can pick them up from cookware shops.

I make the olive and lemon dressing while the pork is resting. The cabbage can be started when the roast pork has about 20 minutes to go. It is a good-natured dish and will keep warm in its pan, covered by a lid or reheated at the last minute. Serves 6.

pork loin 2kg (boned, scored and rolled weight)
olive oil 6 tbsp
garlic 3 cloves
rosemary 3 bushy sprigs

For the cabbage:
red cabbage 1kg
olive oil 3 tbsp
juniper berries 10
yellow mustard seeds 2 tsp
cider vinegar 3 tbsp
redcurrant or other fruit jelly 3 tbsp
sauerkraut 250g

Set the oven at 220C/gas mark 7. Put the pork, rolled and tied, in a roasting tin and rub with a little of the olive oil - just enough to moisten the skin. Roast the pork for 30 minutes until the skin is starting to puff and blister.

Peel and roughly chop the garlic. Finely chop the rosemary leaves, discarding the stems. Mix the rosemary and garlic with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Remove the pork briefly from the oven and spoon the rosemary and garlic oil over the meat, then return to the oven and lower the heat to 180C/gas mark 4. Continue roasting for 45 minutes until the juices run clear, or until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 60C on a meat thermometer. Remove the meat from the oven, cover lightly with foil and leave in a warm place to rest.

Make the dressing: put the roasting tin on the hob over a moderate heat. Roughly chop the green olives, finely chop the parsley and mix with the lemon juice and olive oil.

For the cabbage: cut the red cabbage into pencil-thick shreds. Warm the olive oil in a large, deep, heavy-based saucepan over a moderate heat. Add the cabbage, juniper berries and mustard seeds and a little salt, then cover tightly with a lid. Cook for 3-4 minutes until slightly wilted, then turn the cabbage with kitchen tongs. Replace the lid and continue cooking for another 7-10 minutes until the cabbage is tender. Add the vinegar, cook for a minute or two, add the fruit jelly and stir through the cabbage, then add the sauerkraut and toss together.

Slice the pork and serve with the olive dressing and the cabbage.

Smoked mackerel pie

There can be few more comforting sights on a rainy winter's night than a pie coming from the oven, its pastry bronzed and crisp, its contents oozing from its shell. Making a pie, though, is not for the faint-hearted: the filling, the pastry, the assembly, all take time. It is hardly a quick fix for those who arrive home in need of sustenance.

With this in mind, I came up with a simple pie, a parcel of crumbly pastry enclosing a filling that is both smoky and creamy. It ticks all the boxes and is rather good eaten cold, too. A little pie, easily made, its crumbly pastry filled with creamed smoked mackerel.

Peel the skin from 500g of smoked mackerel and remove the bones. This should leave you with 400g of flesh. Put the mackerel in a bowl, then add 200ml of crème fraîche, 2 tsp of grain mustard, a little salt and some black pepper. Chop a handful of parsley leaves and 1 tbsp of tarragon and add them to the mackerel.

Gently toss the mixture together and set aside. Cut 325g of puff pastry in half, then roll each into a rectangle about 24 x 17cm. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet, then pile the mackerel on top, shaping it into a shallow block and leaving a couple of centimetres of bare pastry around the edge.

Brush the pastry edge with beaten egg, then lay the second piece of pastry on top. Press the sides to seal, pushing down firmly to prevent any leaks. Brush the top with beaten egg and score 3 or 4 lines across the surface.

Bake at 200C/gas mark 6 for 40 minutes until crisp and golden. Serves 2, generously.

Grilled chicken with miso and honey

My first book, published the year I joined this paper, was for those who had little time to spend in the kitchen, but didn't want to live on takeaways and ready-made convenience foods. Real fast food is the sort of cooking I continue to celebrate in the weekly Midweek Dinner recipe. Many are vegetarian or vegan, which is how a good number of us like to eat during the week, but one of my favourites is the quickest of chicken recipes, especially so if you ask the butcher to bone the legs for you.

The notes are both sweet and salty and I usually eat it with a watercress and radish salad, for its crisp peppery notes.

Take a couple of whole chicken legs and remove the bones (or ask your butcher to do it for you). Mix together 4 tbsp of white miso paste, 2 tbsp of maple syrup or honey, 2 tsp of sesame oil and 3 tbsp of groundnut oil. Push the meat down into the marinade, cover and set aside in a cool place for a good 20 minutes, longer if you can.

Heat an overhead grill. Line a grill pan with foil, place the chicken pieces on top and cook under the preheated grill for about 8 minutes, then turn and grill the other side until golden. While the chicken is cooking, clean 350g of assorted radishes, slice them thinly and toss them with a little groundnut oil, rice vinegar and a handful of frisée or watercress.

Remove the chicken from the grill and serve with the radishes and leaves. Serves 2.

Mussels, coconut and noodles

I could happily live on soup and none more so than one that holds tangles of noodles in its depths. So many good things come to the party in this recipe. The sting of chillies and the spritz of lime, the deep umami of fish sauce and warmth of ginger and turmeric, all of which is brought together with a calming ladle of coconut milk. Once the ingredients are assembled, the recipe comes together at quite a pace. Serves 4.

Peel the ginger, cut into short lengths, then drop into the bowl of a food processor. Remove the stalks from the chillies, then add them complete with their seeds to the bowl, together with the spring onions, coriander and mint leaves. Peel the garlic, then add it to the ginger and herbs. Pour in the oil, then process for 30 seconds or until you have a smooth, wet paste. Scrape into a small bowl, cover with film and refrigerate until you are ready to use it. The paste will keep in good condition for a day or two.

Place a deep, medium-sized pan over a moderate heat and add the herb and spice paste, stirring it for a minute while it warms. Stir in the turmeric, peppercorns, coconut milk and fish sauce and bring to the boil. Using a rolling pin or the back of a heavy kitchen knife, smash the lemongrass so it splinters but remains together, then tuck it under the surface of the liquid. Lower the heat and leave to simmer, bubbling gently, while you cook the mussels.

Wash the mussels under running water, discard any whose shells are chipped or that refuse to close when tapped firmly on the edge of the sink. Place a saucepan over a high flame, add the mussels in their shells, then cover tightly with a lid. Leave for a minute or two, occasionally shaking the pan back and forth, then remove from the heat. Pull the mussels from their shells, but keep the small amount of liquid that has accumulated in the pan.

Put a kettle on to boil. Place the noodles in a heatproof bowl and pour over enough of the boiling water to cover them. Add the mussels to the soup, straining their cooking liquid through a small sieve into the soup. (There will only be a very little, but it is too flavoursome to waste.) Check the seasoning of the soup, adding extra fish sauce or salt and some of the palm sugar as necessary.

Drain the noodles, then divide them between 4 deep soup bowls. Ladle over the soup and mussels, adding a generous squeeze of lime juice and, if you wish, a few extra coriander and mint leaves.

Leeks and butter beans on toast

There isn't much I wouldn't put on toast and there isn't much I haven't. From mushrooms in garlic butter to baked plums. The essential point being that the juices soak into the toasted bread. If there is one basic food that has changed above all others in the last three decades it is bread. In 30 years we have seen small bakers shops open, close and open again. The difference is the quality of the bread. The old traditional bakers with their white bloomers and cottage loaves, so popular when I first started writing, are now as rare as hen's teeth, replaced at first by supermarkets and now by local artisan bakers making potato or raisin sourdoughs, Swedish rye loaves and linseed baguettes. All make good toast, as does the thick cut, featherlight Japanese shokupan. Of all the something-on-toast recipes I have run over the years, this is my favourite.

Trim 500g of leeks, discarding the roots and the tips of the leaves, then slice each leek into thick coins. Wash them thoroughly in a colander under cold running water. Melt 50g of butter in a deep-sided pan and add the leeks. Cover with a piece of greaseproof paper and a lid and let them steam for about 20 minutes on a low heat, until soft.

Slice 6 pieces of thick bread and toast them lightly. Place them on a baking sheet or grill pan.

Warm the overhead grill. Sprinkle 1 heaped tbsp of plain flour over the leeks, stir and continue cooking for a couple of minutes. Stir in 250ml of double cream, 2 tbsp of mild grain mustard and 150g of coarsely grated Caerphilly, a little salt and plenty of black pepper. I like to stir in a handful of chopped parsley, too, if there's some around.

Once the cream is hot and the mixture has started to bubble, stir in a drained 400g can of butter beans and continue cooking for a couple of minutes.

Spoon the mixture on to the pieces of toast and place under the heated grill. Watch carefully and cook until golden. Serves 2.

Lemon buttermilk ice-cream

Rummaging through my cuttings and cooking diaries, there were few ice-cream recipes I wouldn't be happy to find soft and glistening from the ice-cream churn. A ball or two of ice-cream or frozen yoghurt, granita or sorbet was always going to be on a list of my favourite recipes. But which to choose? After much pondering, the shortlist melted down to a melon sorbet, lemon ice-cream sandwiches and a scoop of blackcurrant ripple. The sandwiches were streets ahead, but an entire afternoon's work.

But then I went to the freezer and found a new one, published only months, rather than years ago. Milky rather than creamy, as refreshing as melted snow and with a citrus hit of lemon zest. The winner was the upstart buttermilk and lemon.

Buttermilk, the liquid that is drained off when cream is churned into butter, has a slight sharpness to it that brings a freshness to ice-cream. It is lighter and less sweet than a custard-based ice. In the past week or two, I have eaten it with poached apricots and with raspberries. Serves 10.

Put the crème fraîche in a medium-sized, non-stick saucepan with the sugar over a moderate heat. Finely grate the lemon zest and add to the crème fraîche, then warm until the sugar is dissolved, stirring regularly. Remove from the heat, stir in the vanilla extract and set aside to cool. When completely cold, stir in the buttermilk, pour into an ice-cream maker and churn until almost frozen.

Have a plastic freezer box in the deep freeze. When the ice-cream is almost frozen remove the churn from the machine and scrape the mixture into the freezer box. Cover and freeze until firm to the touch. Take the ice-cream out of the freezer about 15 minutes before you intend to serve it. Place scoops of it into bowls.

Blackberry and hazelnut friands

One of the very first things I cooked was a tray of fairy cakes, their tops sliced off and tucked into a swirl of buttercream to resemble butterfly's wings. I think of the friand as a fairy cake for grownups, its almond-rich crumbs speckled with tart berries.

Where a cream cake feels cloying - you almost always wish you hadn't - a moist-crumbed friand is just enough and a doddle to make. So popular have they been in this column that I have made not only almond versions, but hazelnut, too, dotted with blackcurrants or blackberries, raspberries or a mix of them all, to give a tiny cake that is good for dessert, too. Makes 8-12.

Set the oven at 200C/gas mark 6. Lightly butter 12 shallow bun tins.

Put the butter in a small pan and melt over a moderate heat, then watch it carefully until it becomes a dark, nutty gold. Take great care not to let it burn. Leave it to cool a little.

Sieve the flour and sugar into a large mixing bowl, then add most of the ground nuts. Grate in the lemon zest. Beat the egg whites to a soft, rather moist, sloppy foam - they shouldn't be able to stand up.

Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients, then pour in the egg whites and the melted butter. Mix lightly but thoroughly, then pour into the buttered tins. Roughly chop the blackberries and drop into the tins. Scatter the remaining hazelnuts over the top.

Bake for 10-15 minutes, remove from the oven, then leave to settle before carefully removing from the tins with a palette knife.

Damson crumble

To this day my first haul of damsons will be under a crust of soft, buttery crumble within the hour, a reminder of the best food of my childhood. I honestly don't mind the stones, as long as there is a little dish on the table to throw them into. (You really cannot stone a raw damson.)

This recipe works for plums and apples too. At Christmas, it has appeared with apples and mincemeat in place of the damsons, and occasionally I will add oats or flaked almonds, but I do think the rule of less is especially appropriate here. Serves 6.

plums or damsons 650-700g
caster sugar 4 tbsp, or more to taste
butter a thin slice

Put the damsons in a shallow pan with the sugar and the butter and a tablespoon or two of water. Cook over a moderate heat until the juices start to flow from the damsons, probably about 5 minutes, depending on the ripeness of your fruit. Tip the fruit and juice into a deep pie dish.

Rub the butter, which should ideally be cold from the fridge, into the flour with your fingertips. When the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs, stir in the almonds and sugar. Sprinkle 1 tbsp of water over the mixture and stir lightly with a fork. Some of the crumbs should stick together in small lumps - this gives a more interesting crumble.

Scatter the crumble over the fruit, then bake in a preheated oven at 200C/gas mark 6 for about 35 minutes. The crumble is done when the crumbs are pale gold and some juice has, hopefully, soaked through the crust. Serve with thick golden cream.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Nigel Slater's 10 best recipes over the past 30 years

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Nigel Slater began his first ever column for the Observer, on 26 September 1993, with the words: 'It has been a good week for flavour.' Here, he looks back over the 30 years he has been feeding us - and chooses the recipes we have loved the most

# data[].attributes.body
Lot of cream!