Carrot, cardamom & caramelised onion soup

Ingredients 5 carrots, 1 potato, 2 onions, 6 cardamom pods, 1/2 tsp ground ginger, 1/4 tsp allspice, 1 clove garlic, 1 tbsp olive oil.

Serves: 4 Preparation: 30 minutes

I love soup. I find all the chopping, stirring and pureeing very soothing, the warm smells that fill the house comforting, and I love ladling out steamy bowls of soup for people to dunk hot crispy bread into, dressing it with ever more creative croutons or swirls of cream and yoghurt. Some soups, like this spiced bowl of sweet carrotty joy, are so packed full of flavour that they don't even need any vegetable stock. This works just as well with sweet potato but the silkier soup will come from using a good waxy potato.

1) Peel and finely slice the onions, then slice the rings in half before adding the slices to a hot pan with the olive oil. Stir them well, breaking the strips of onion up, then leave to completely caramelise, stirring only when you see them begin to turn brown.

2) Crush one clove of garlic and add to the pan, along with the freshly ground cardamom seeds, ginger and allspice. Stir well and leave to sizzle for a few minutes.

3) Peel and dice the carrots and potato, then add to the pan. I like to stir them for a minute or two to add a little colour before adding the water.

4) Allow to simmer for 15-20 minutes until the carrots and potato are soft, then add to a blender to puree thoroughly before serving.

New England Clam Chowder

Ingredients 1 lb potatoes, 1 lb clams, 1 pint vegetable stock, 4 bay leaves, 1/2 tsp dill, 50ml double cream, 2 tbsp butter, 2 stalks celery, 1 white onion, 1 tbsp plain flour. Bread

Serves: 4 Preparation: 1 hour

As part of the World Cup Food Challenge 2014, this recipe represents a traditional meal of America. If, like me, you're vegetarian then separating a portion to add sweetcorn to just before the clams go in makes this really easy dual-chowder! It's a lovely hearty soup, just the thing to comfort one on a cold day (please ignore the fact that it is June!) - especially if you serve it in a bread bowl!

1) Peel and slice the potatoes into inch cubes and set aside, peel the onion and dice it along with the celery.

2) Add half the butter to the pan and sautee the onion and celery until completely soft (about 10 minutes), then add the remainder of the butter along with the flour and whisk until a roux has formed.

3) Add the potatoes, bay leaves and vegetable stock to the pan and stir through. Once the potatoes are cooked, add the clams and dill and allow to simmer for a further 5 minutes.

4) Hollow out a bread bowl by cutting a circle into the top of the crust and scooping out the soft centre with your fingers. Stir the cream into the soup, season to taste with salt and black pepper, then ladle into the bread bowl.

Roast beetroot & tomato soup‏

Ingredients 1 lb tomatoes, 2 beetroots, 1 potato, 1/2 pint vegetable stock, 1/2 bulb garlic, paprika.

Serves: 4 Preparation: 1 hour

Tomato and beetroot are a lovely combination of sweet and tangy flavours and this soup has a wonderful silky texture. Great fired up with extra chillies!

1) To prepare the beetroot, wash it and slice off the stalks and leaves. Roast, along with the tomatoes and half a bulb of garlic in a covered dish in the oven for 30 minutes.

2) Peel and dice a potato and simmer in vegetable stock until soft then strain, retaining the stock.

3) Carefully peel the beetroot with the nick of a knife, then puree it, along with the potato, garlic and tomatoes in a blender - ensure all the roasting juices are used! Pass the mixture through a sieve and into a pan. Add a little water until the desired consistency is reached.

4) Season with salt and paprika to taste and serve hot.

Twice baked potatoes: leek & cheddar

Ingredients Potato, leek, butter, cheddar.

Preparation: 2 hours

Cooking the perfect baked potato is an art form, and filling it is an exercise in creativity that I never get tired of. Twice baked potatoes are glorious - a crispy shell filled with fluffy potato overlaid with gungey, creamy swirls of yumminess. I love the combination of leek and cheddar in so many dishes and it's scrumptious here.

1) To make the perfect baked potato.

2) Slice the leek and sautee in a pan with a knob of butter. Slice open the potato and scoop out as much of the potato as possible without compromising the integrity of the structure. (Oh yes, I went there!)

3) Grate the cheese and stir into the potato along with the leek, and spoon the filling back into the potato.

4) Bake for a further 10-15 minutes and serve.

Beetroot soup with mustard yoghurt

Ingredients 2 beetroots, 1 potato, 1/2 pint vegetable stock, 1 tsp mustard, 3 tbsp Rachel's Organic Greek yoghurt.

Serves: 4 Preparation: 1 hour

Beetroot is the perfect vehicle for spicy, tangy flavours and this combination of creamy soup and mustard yoghurt is one of the loveliest I have discovered in quite some time. I happened to be dressing a potato and beetroot salad with honey mustard dressing when suddenly inspiration struck!

1) To prepare the beetroot, wash it and slice off the stalks and leaves. Roast in the oven for 30 minutes.

2) Peel and dice a potato and simmer until soft in the vegetable stock. Strain the potato, retaining the stock. I like to grate a little ginger in with the potatoes to give the soup an extra kick, but this is optional.

3) Carefully peel the beetroot with the nick of a knife, then puree it, along with the potato in a blender. Gradually add the vegetable stock until the desired consistency is reached (I think this works best as a fairly thick, creamy soup but if you want to stretch it further, or prefer it thinner that's up to you!) and return to the pan to keep warm whilst you prepare the yoghurt.

4) Stir the mustard into the yoghurt, and swirl into the soup to serve.

Cream of broccoli & stilton soup

Ingredients 1 Broccoli, 1 potato, 1/2 pint vegetable stock, 1 onion, 20g stilton, 50ml cream, 1 tbsp butter, nutmeg, black pepper.

Serves: 4 Preparation: 30 minutes

Stilton is a little like marmite in that people often either love blue cheese or hate it. For those who are a little squeamish about strong, stinky cheese - adding it to soup is a great way to unlock the flavour without it being too intense. This creamy, filling soup has the perfect balance of tangy cheese and fresh broccoli.

1) Peel and finely dice the onion and sizzle in a pan for 8-10 minutes with a tablespoon of butter until completely soft. 

2) Add half a pint of vegetable stock and half a finely diced potato. Simmer on the hob for 15 minutes and then add the broccoli florets.

3) After 5 minutes strain the broccoli, potatoes and onions and blend, adding the soup liquid a little at a time until pulsed smooth. Season with a litt nutmeg and black pepper and return to the hob.

4) Crumble a generous handful of stilton into the soup and a good glug of cream before serving.

Breaded new potatoes

Ingredients Egg, breadcrumbs, new potatoes, vegetable oil.

Preparation: 30 minutes

These crispy coated bites of soft potato may sound a little bland alone, but they make lovely croutons for soup and are especially incredible when dunked in chilli con queso. The smallest new potatoes work the best - these were about the size of cherry tomatoes.

1) Boil the potatoes for 15 minutes in a pan of hot water, then set aside to cool.

2) Set up one dish with a beaten egg and another with breadcrumbs, then when the potatoes are cool enough to handle, dunk in the egg and then into the breadcrumbs until coated. Double dipping may be necessary though I found the crumbs stuck perfectly to the skin of the potato.

3) Drop the potatoes into a pan of hot vegetable oil and fry until crispy and golden.

Spinach & mushroom soup

Ingredients 1/2 pint ham stock, 1 medium potato, 400g spinach, 250g chestnut mushrooms, 50ml sherry (I use amontillado for cooking), 1 tbsp butter.

Serves: 2 Preparation: 30 minutes

Despite being allergic to mushrooms, I do dearly love chopping them up. My husband loves eating them so I get the opportunity to lay into them with my big bad chef's knife on a regular basis. The challenge with cooking mushrooms though, is that obviously I cannot taste them because DEATH, so I rely on my sense of smell. This soup smells nothing short of INCREDIBLE. There is nothing like the combined scent of mushroom and sherry - it's so rich and fragrant and yet earthy all at the same time. This soup was very silky in texture and my husband assured me, absolutely delicious. Let me know what you think!

1) Slice the mushrooms and peel and dice the potato. Melt the butter in the pan and stir in the mushrooms. After 5 minutes, stir in the spinach. It may seem like it won't all fit in the pan but once it begins to wilt the volume will decrease don't worry!

2) Once the spinach has wilted, add the potatoes and stir through, allowing the combined juices from the mushrooms and spinach to begin to soften the potatoes. Add the sherry and stir through - try not to begin frothing at the mouth with lust at the rich, raisiny smell.

3) Add the ham stock and simmer for 10-15 minutes until the potatoes are soft. Blitz through in a food processor or using a stick blender until a smooth consistency is reached and serve hot.

Gnocchi with cashew & avocado sauce

Ingredients Gnocchi: Potato, pasta flour, egg, plain flour. Sauce: 4 tbs cashew cream, 100ml water, 1 avocado

Serves: 2 Preparation: 10 minutes (plus 1 hour for gnocchi, overnight for cashew cream preparation)

This is a combination of two of my recipes: gnocchi and cashew cream as a serving suggestion, but it's also a great way to use up a ripe avocado. If like me you eat them pretty much daily, there will always be one in your fruit bowl (ahem... bucket might be a more apt description in my case...) and this is a great, healthy supper with a protein-rich sauce.

1) My recipe for gnocchi here. If you would like to make this vegan, just omit the egg.

2) My recipe for cashew nut cream here.

3) Bring the gnocchi to the boil in a large pan of salted water. Once the little dumplings float to the surface, they're done.

4) Slice the avocado in half and use a tablespoon to scoop it from the shell. If the avocado is ripe enough the stone will pop out with a spoon but another good method is to prick it with a knife and pull it out. Pop into your food processor, squish through a potato ricer or mash with a fork/masher and add to the cashew cream. I like to flavour this up with a little mustard and salt sometimes but the delicate creamy flavour is lovely just as it is. Drain the gnocchi and stir into the sauce.

Gnocchi with kale & artichoke pesto

Ingredients 200g kale, 1 tbsp almond butter, 1 artichoke, olive oil, gruyere, 1 potato, 3oz pasta flour.

Serves: 2 Preparation: 1 hour

This serving suggestion for my kale and artichoke pesto is one of the lightest gnocchis that I have ever made, as I usually associate gnocchi with heavy cream sauces. I concocted this recently for a vegan friend (minus the gruyere for her of course!) and it turned out beautifully. Give it a try!

1) To make kale & artichoke pesto.

2) To make gnocchi: Bake a small potato and allow it to cool. Remove the skin and add to the blender along with the pasta flour. Blitz through and roll the mixture into balls.

3) Roll the balls in flour, score with a fork, then drop in boiling, salted water. Once the dumplings float to the surface (about 2 minutes) they're ready.

4) Drain the pan of gnocchi and stir in the pesto and grated gruyere. Serve hot

Stilton mash

Ingredients 3 Maris Piper potatoes, 15g stilton, 1 tbsp butter.

Serves: 4 Preparation: 20

Another day, another recipe for mashed potato!
Earlier today I tweeted "Stilton mash: smells like ballsweat, tastes like Heaven." - not the most appealing of similes, but I stand by it! This mash is a gorgeous creamy mouthful of tangy flavours. Even if you're not a lover of stilton, it really does pack a savoury punch for soups and sauces so give it a try.

1) Peel and cut the potato into evenly sliced chunks. The smaller the pieces, the quicker they cook but you don't want to go too small or all the flavour will leach out into the water! About an inch square should be sufficient.

2) Boil in salted water for 15 minutes and strain before running through a ricer or for best results use a food processor, adding the butter and crumbled stilton to the piping hot potato until a thick, silky puree has formed.

Peanut buttered mash

Ingredients 1 tsp peanut butter for every potato.

Preparation: 20 minutes

Over the years I have shared many mash recipes on this blog. Whether potatoes or other root vegetables, whether herby, garlicky, buttery, cheesy, spicy or creamy - mashed potato is the food of the Gods. When I was recently sent some luscious Whole Earth peanut butter, I knew it would add a great salty richness to my mash. I tried this with and without adding regular butter and honestly it's delicious either way so this is vegan friendly.


1) Peel and cut the potatoes into chunks and bring to the boil in a pan of water. Leave to simmer until soft (about 20 minutes depending on how small you cut your potatoes) then drain away the water through a colander.

2) Using a potato ricer, masher or food processor, mash the potatoes and stir in a teaspoon of peanut butter for every potato before serving hot.

Pistachio crusted potatoes

Ingredients Potatoes, pistachios, olive oil.

Preparation: 30 minutes

After making my Carrot & Wensleydale salad, I had some of the seasoned pistachio mixture left. I was going to make Dukkah, a firm favourite of mine, but I had some fabulous potatoes from my favourite stall at Leeds Market and decided to make a lovely crispy coating.

1) Slice the potatoes (half the flavour is in the peel, leave it on!). I wanted the nutty coating to really cling to the potatoes so I crinkle cut them, but if you don't have a crinkle cutter (check your food processor!) then you could score the potatoes with a fork.

2) Add the potatoes to a bowl with a glug of olive oil and toss to coat the potatoes. If you're not terribly proficient at tossing (fnar) then cover the bowl with a plate or a layer of cling film and shake them about thoroughly.

3) Add the ground pistachios, salt and pepper to the bowl and repeat the tossing/shaking until evenly coated.

4) Add the potatoes to a baking tray and roast in the top of the oven for 20-25 minutes at 200 degrees. If you're serving these as a side dish they're really convenient to share oven-space with a bit of chicken breast or whatever. These are delicious served hot but also work really well cold in place of croutons to add texture to salad or soup.

Ale & mustard potatoes

Ingredients 1 King Edward potato, 50 ml Hobgoblin ale, 1 tbsp butter, 1/2 tsp grainy mustard.

Serves: 2 Preparation: X

Coming as I do from the right side of the Pennines, I must of course deny all knowledge of what a Lancashire hotpot is *narrows eyes* but allowing potatoes to cook in delicious liquid and then crisp up doesn't half make a cracking dish. I invented this quick, simple side as part of my vegetarian alternative to the potatoes I had cooked in the juices of a roasting chicken and it's returned time and time again to my table.

1) Finely slice your potato (I don't bother to peel it - half the flavour's in the skin!) with a mandolin, food processor attachment or a good knife and add to a pan with enough ale to just submerge the potatoes. Parboil for 5 minutes, allowing the ale to reduce and soak into the potato a little, then drain away the excess ale.

2) Add the butter and mustard to the potatoes and stir through, then layer in a baking dish.

3) Roast in the oven for 10-15 minutes until the skin just begins to turn golden, season and serve.

Pumpkin oil wedges

Ingredients 1 potato, olive oil, pumpkin oil.

Serves: 2 Preparation: 40 minutes

Pumpkin oil is made of dry roasted cold pressed pumpkin seeds which is evocative of sesame oil but FAR nicer. As a seasoning for potato wedges, it's one of the most decadent savoury flavours in my humble opinion.

1) Don't peel the potatoes, just halve them and cut into wedges by quartering each piece towards the centre.

2) Add to a bowl along with a drizzle of olive oil, pumpkin oil and a pinch of salt. Shake the bowl to coat the potatoes.

3) I find the best way to ensure a crispy skin without frying is to place the wedges skin side down on a foil covered baking tray and roasting for 40 minutes at 220 degrees.

Nettle soup

Ingredients 1 leek, 1/2 pint vegetable stock, 1 potato, 200g nettles, butter

Serves: 2 Preparation: 20 minutes

When I first started making nettle soup, it took me literally 10 minutes of blanching and blending nettles with vegetable stock before I was eating my lovely fresh bowl of soup. These days I like more depth of flavour and a thicker texture which only adding leek and potato brings to the table. 20 minutes for soup is still great in my opinion, and nettles are freely available so this is certainly easy on the pocket.

1) Dice the leek and sautee until soft in a knob of butter.

2) Peel and dice the potato and add to the leek. Stir through and then add the vegetable stock.

3) To prepare the nettles, pick them carefully by cutting through the lowest part of the stem with secateurs or good scissors, then pick them up by the stems and pop them in your foraging bag/basket. Pour into a colander and run under cold water until any bugs have been washed away. You can use rubber gloves to protect your hands when picking the leaves from the stems but years of cooking burns have given me asbestos fingers and a few stings in you really don't much notice the tingle any more.

4) Once the potatoes are soft (about 15 minutes) add the nettles to the pan and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and pulse in the blender before serving.

Courgette & potato bake

Ingredients 1 potato, 1 courgette, 5 cherry tomatoes, 30g basil, 100g Rachel's Organic Greek Yoghurt, 100g cheddar.

Serves: 2 Preparation: 30 minutes

Everyone loves a good dauphinoise, but sometimes all that indulgence can get to even me and I yearn for something creamy and melty with a crispy top... but that won't make my thighs double in size at the very thought of it.
Enter yoghurt. One of my favourite ingredients as a vegetarian, it transforms this dish from a heavy carb fest into a light, tangy summer side dish.

1) Finely slice the potato and courgette with a knife, or using a mandoline. Parboil the potatoes for 4 minutes and set aside to cool.

2) Finely dice the basil, grate the cheddar and stir into the yoghurt.

3) Slice the cherry tomatoes into halves and then quarters, using your thumb to shuck away the seeds and juice from the centres. Stir into the yoghurt mix.

4) In an oven-proof dish, layer the potatoes and courgettes with the yoghurt mix, pressing down each layer firmly. I like to top with an additional layer of grated cheese but this is entirely to taste.

5) Bake for 20 minutes at 200 degrees until the top has begun to crisp and turn golden brown. Serve hot.

Broccoli & cheddar potato cakes

Ingredients Broccoli, 1 potato, 200g cheddar, old bread, 1 egg, 1/2 cup sweetcorn

Serves: 6 Preparation: 40 minutes

Comfort food comes in different guises for me. Sometimes it's about something warm and cosy, sometimes it's about something sinful and indulgent which will cheer me out of a funk. And sometimes it's about something quick and satisfying. This recipe falls into the latter category - these potato cakes are so quick to throw together and have a great texture. A crispy outer shell, soft fluffy potato, gooey cheddar and crunchy sweetcorn.

1) Peel and dice the potato and broccoli. I like to use just the florets and save the stem for pasta sauce or a pasta ingredient. Boil the potato for 8 minutes, add the broccoli with 6 minutes to go and the sweetcorn with 2 minutes to go. One pan... less washing up! Strain and set aside

2) Whisk an egg into a shallow bowl and make breadcrumbs in a blender by adding old bread and blitzing. Put the breadcrumbs into a separate shallow bowl.

3) Mash the potato roughly with a fork, or if you prefer, separate it from the broccoli and sweetcorn and mash using a ricer. Stir the ingredients together and grate in the cheese.

4) Form into patties with your hands, then dip in the egg mix and roll in the breadcrumbs.

5) You can deep fry for 1 minute, but I prefer to bake in the oven for 20 minutes at 200 degrees.

Avocado fishcakes

Ingredients 1 avocado, 1 Maris Piper potato, smoked salmon, prawns, spring onion, old bread, coriander, lime

Serves: 4 Preparation: 30 minutes

When I posted my recipe for avocado mash last week, I knew (despite my hatred of fish) that it would make the perfect base for a fishcake. Some smoked salmon, juicy prawns, the delicate creamy avocado mash with a tangy hit of lime smothered in coriander breadcrumbs... if you like fish then you'll love this!

1) Peel and cut the potatoes, then boil in hot salted water for 20 minutes and strain away the water. Set aside to cool.

2) Pulse the bread in the blender to form crumbs and stir through some finely chopped coriander.

3) Halve the avocados and scoop the fruit from the shell, discarding the stone. Pulse in the blender until smooth and creamy, then add the potato, a squeeze of lime and pulse again to combine.

4) Chop 2 spring onions and stir through the mash, along with the salmon and prawns and season well. Form into patties and roll in the breadcrumbs.

5) You could fry these, but I baked in the oven for 15 minutes. Perfect with mayonnaise, yoghurt or even cocktail sauce

Cupcake Burgers: Beetroot, chilli & ginger

Ingredients Burger: 400g beef mince, 1/2 white onion, 2 portobello mushrooms, butter Frosting: 4 Maris Piper potatoes, 1 small beetroot, ginger, chilli flakes

Serves: 6 Preparation: 1 hour 30 minutes

This is possibly one of the weirdest of my creations, but I'm actually really proud of the way it has worked out! Cupcakes persist in being ridiculously hot in popular culture and ever more elaborate flavour combinations and decorations come flooding in. But what about people who don't like cake, or can't have sugar? Why should they suffer? Enter... the Cupcake Burger.
I have done a series of different "frostings" - this fabulous coloured and zingy mash is wonderful. If you'd rather try a different burger, including one of my vegetarian or vegan options... check out these ideas.

1) To prepare the beetroot, wash it and slice off the stalks and leaves. Roast in the oven for 30 minutes. 

2) Peel and cut the potatoes, then boil in hot salted water for 20 minutes and strain away the water.

3) Finely dice the onion and mushroom and fry off in a very little butter until the juice from the mushrooms has evaporated. Add the mixture to a blender along with the beef mince. Pulse to combine and then separate into rough patties.

4) Press firmly into the cupcake tins, remembering the burgers will shrink a little when cooked, so be generous and pack it in tight. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes at 200 degrees.

5) Carefully peel the beetroot with the nick of a knife and grate into your blender along with a teaspoon of powdered ginger and dried chilli flakes to taste

6) Spoon the mash into a piping bag and top the burgers with a swirl of "frosting" just like a cupcake!