Coconut & lentil soup with hazelnut & plantain dumplings

Ingredients 1 plantain, hazelnut butter, coconut  milk, vegetable/chicken stock, cumin, paprika, 2 cups lentils, coriander, cayenne pepper, bell pepper, orange.

Serves: 4 Preparation: 1 hour (plus overnight soaking)

The picture really doesn't do this soup justice - the luscious coconut, tangy orange and cumin and the beautiful delicate flavour of the dumplings make this a great soup to bring some sunshine to the winter months.

1) Soak the lentils overnight in cold water and rinse thoroughly under running water in a colander. Add into a pan with half a pint of vegetable/chicken stock with 1 tablespoon of cumin and a pinch of cayenne pepper. Stir through and allow to simmer whilst you prepare the other ingredients.

2) Dice a bell pepper and add into the pan along with a can of coconut milk and the juice of one orange. If you wish to heat things up, add a diced birds eye chilli too.

3) To make the dumplings; bring a pan of water to the boil and drop the entire plantain into it. Boil for 25-30 minutes. You will know it is ready as the skin will split and virtually peel itself! Remove the skin and add the flesh to a blender along with two teaspoons of hazelnut butter. Blend until a ball forms.

4) Pinch off pieces of the plantain mix and form tight balls by rolling between two palms. If you have any left over this makes a fabulous chicken stuffing.

5) Add the plantain dumplings to the soup and leave to simmer for at least 5 minutes. Serve with chopped coriander and a dusting of paprika.

Spinach, stilton & cashew cannelloni

Ingredients   Spinach, stilton, cashew nuts, hazelnut butter, bell peppers, red wine, passata tomatoes, white onion, cheddar, basil, basil oil

1) Crush a few handful of cashew nuts in a blender, stir in a teaspoon of hazelnut butter to bind into a paste and then add the spinach and blue cheese. Stuff the mixture into cannelloni tubes and set aside.


2) Remove the top and seeds from 2 bell peppers and slice into chunks. Roast in the oven, drizzled with basil oil for 20 minutes, or until the edges just begin to blacken.


3) Finely dice a white onion and sautee in butter until soft. Add a glass of red wine and reduce, stirring regularly until half the liquid remains. Gradually add the passata tomatoes, chopped basil and parsley and season with a pinch of salt.


4) In as casserole dish, first place the cannelloni tubes, side by side and then spoon a layer of roast peppers, followed by a few ladles of the tomato and red wine sauce. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes, then add a layer of grated cheese. Bake in the oven for a further 10 minutes and serve.

Turkey roulade with apricot & cashew

Ingredients  Turkey steak, cashew nuts, hazelnut  butter, dried apricot, black pepper, basil oil, dried basil.

1) Crush a few handful of cashew nuts in a blender (or using a mortar and pestle), stir in a teaspoon of hazelnut butter to bind into a paste and set aside.


2) Grind some black pepper, dried basil, a pinch of salt and stir through some basil oil. Give your turkey steaks a good pounding with a meat mallet and then spread the pepper and basil oilto one side.


3) Flip over the turkey steak and add a tablespoon of the cashew nut mixture and a dried apricot. Roll the turkey steak around the filling. Repeat for each turkey steak and bake in the oven for 15 minutes, basting with the juices after 7 minutes.

Whore's carbonara

Ingredients brandy, hazlenut butter, courgette, cream cheese, linguine, thyme, mushrooms, bacon, brie, almond butter, garlic,

1) Drop your linguine into a pan of boiling water.

2) Crush some garlic and chopped thyme and sautee in a second pan with a knob of butter and a teaspoon of hazlenut butter.

3) Dice a handful of mushrooms (I used shitake) and 3 slices of bacon into lardons and stir into the butter. Add a shot of brandy and stir through.

4) As the mushrooms begin to soften stir in a tablespoon of cream cheese.

5) Using a potato peeler, shave razor thin strips of courgette and drop into the pan of pasta

6) Drain the linguine (separating the courgette) and add to the pasta sauce along with a generous knob of brie (I used Coeur De Lyon - fabulous honeyed taste) and stir through.

7) Serve topped with the courgette