Linguine with wild garlic pesto & plum tomatoes

Ingredients 100g wild garlic, 100g fresh basil, 50ml olive oil, parmigiano, 1/2 lemon, 50g pine nuts, linguine, tomatoes.

Preparation: 5-10 minutes

If you follow me on Twitter, you may have seen me recently posting about foraging for wild garlic pesto but I have finally got around to actually updating here! I love wild garlic. It's so vibrantly green and though every bit as pungent as garlic bulbs, when eaten raw it does not have that same sting of heat. When I was pregnant with The Starchild I swapped garlic bulbs for wild garlic on many an occasion to avoid getting heartburn. This dish is so fresh and glorious and ridiculously quick and simple to make.

1) Put the pasta on to boil and slice the tomatoes into quarters.

2) Add the basil and wild garlic to a mortar bowl and grind to a fine pulp. You can use a blender if you wish of course.

3) Add the pine nuts, olive oil and grated parmeggian and grind thoroughly, adding lemon juice to taste, and if you wish a pinch of salt though personally I find the parmigiano and wild garlic take care of the savoury notes.

4) Drain the pasta and stir in a few spoons of pesto, then toss with the tomatoes and serve.

Gurkensalat

Ingredients 1/2 Cucumber, 2 large tomatoes, 1/4 white onion, 2 tbsp soured cream, 1 tsp dill, 1 tsp parsley, 1 tsp white vinegar, 1/2 tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp dijon mustard.

Serves: 4 Preparation: 5 minutes (plus half an hour for chilling)

As part of the World Cup Food Challenge 2014, this recipe represents a traditional meal of Germany. Most of you will know my feelings about raw onion by now, I absolutely LOATHE it with a fiery passion and never include it in my own food, including coleslaw which is a common side dish in German cuisine. As I have, however, posted many coleslaw recipes before from the conventional carrot and cabbage combination to those including beetroot and pear, I decided to force myself to eat raw onion by making Gurkensalat instead, a cucumber and tomato salad with a creamy mustard and vinegar dressing given depth by dill and parsley. Did I pick out the onions after tasting it? Yes. Was it otherwise delicious? Absolutely.

1) Whisk together the soured cream, vinegar, herbs, mustard and sugar. Rather than use it immediately, I allowed it to rest for half an hour in the fridge for the flavours to really come together and the soured cream to thicken back up a little.

2) Slice the onion and cucumbers finely enough to be translucent when held up to the light and the tomato as it comes.

3) Stir in the dressing and serve! If, like me you are not so fond of onions, scatter them on the top and after trying them and dress the rest of the salad later!

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.

Caponata

Ingredients 50g sultanas, 50g olives, 1 aubergine, 10-15 cherry tomatoes, 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar, 1 tsp muscovado sugar, 1 onion or 1 stick celery, olive oil, 1 piece dark chocolate.

Serves: 4 Preparation: 1 hour

Caponata is a hot Sicilian aubergine salad, one of those marvellous Italian dishes which is equally lovely alone as antipasti or tossed with rice or pasta to make a meal. I particularly like this with butter beans to form a sort of stew. This combination of sultanas, olives and balsamic vinegar is the perfect balance of sweet and savoury flavours, soaked up beautifully by the melt-in-the-mouth perfection of aubergine. The leftovers are marvellous spread onto bread for lunch the next day.

1) Slice the aubergine into cubes, toss with a tsp of salt and add to a colander to rest for at least half an hour to allow the bitter juices to drain away. I like to set the colander on top of a bowl so that I can check the progress - from one aubergine you will get at least 50ml of liquid!

2) Peel and finely slice the onions, or finely dice the celery and add to a pan with a glug of olive oil. Sizzle for at least 10 minutes to allow them to soften completely, then add the brown sugar, sultanas and balsamic vinegar. Turn off the heat and leave to rest so that the sultanas soak up the wonderful flavours and become plump and juicy.

3) In a separate pan, Fry off the aubergines in a little oil until they are completely soft and the skin has turned a dark and vibrant purple. Transfer to the pan of onions/celery and sultanas and turn on the heat.

4) Pit the olives and blitz in a blender (or if you can't get hold of good olives - for goodness sake don't bother buying unpitted ones, they're like hunks of rubber! - a good olive tapenade will suffice), quarter the tomatoes then add both to the pan. Stir gently so as not to break the tomatoes down too much, just bring everything together.

5) Whether serving hot, or cold, grate a little good quality dark chocolate to season (I used 85% here but if your tastes are not quite so pure, 70% will be bitter enough).

Greek stuffed tomatoes

Ingredients 200g Lamb mince, 1 tbsp cinnamon, 1 tbsp oregano, 1 tbsp thyme, 2 cloves garlic, 50g breadcrumbs, 10 beef tomatoes.

Serves: 10 Preparation: 1 hour

These tomatoes are filled with the rich, warm flavour of moussaka and make a wonderful low-maintenance appetiser.

1) Either mix by hand, or add to a food processor the lamb, herbs, spices, mince and crushed garlic. Season with salt and black pepper and combine.

2) Slice the tops from the tomatoes and carefully cut the solid core with a knife. Insert a fork into the core and twist to remove, scoop out the seeds and discard.

3) Pack the mince tightly into the tomatoes, pressing down firmly, then replace the lids.

4) Bake in the oven at gas mark 5 for 45 minutes and serve hot.

Roast tomato & sweet potato soup

Ingredients 1 lb tomatoes, 1 can coconut milk, 1 onion, 2 cloves garlic, 2 sweet potatoes, coriander, chilli flakes, 1 orange, butter.

Serves: 6 Preparation: 1 hour

This soup was a sort of Frankenstein's monster, I'll be honest, but whilst the majority of time I plan to create a specific recipe - sometimes something evolves from a "bung it" and turns out to be spectacular! I've been all about pistachios this week and whilst roasting some tomatoes to make bruschetta with my pistachio pesto I had a glut of roast tomatoes left over and also some baked sweet potato so decided to make soup. To make the juicy tomatoes go further and add a silky feel to the thick sweet potato I combined it with coconut milk and then suddenly this scrumptious spicy warm Autumn soup emerged!

1) Add the tomatoes, whole, to a lidded ovenproof dish and roast at 200 degrees for 25 minutes. This keeps every bit of that luscious tomato juice and has a completely different flavour from just boiling the tomatoes in stock. Bake the sweet potatoes in their skins for the same amount of time.

2) Peel and slice the onion and sautee in a little butter. When the onions are soft, add the garlic cloves, crushed, then take off the heat before they begin to brown.

3) Add the onions and garlic to a food processor along with the tomatoes - juice and all - and blend thoroughly. Pass through a sieve and back into the pan, then peel and blitz the sweet potato and add the smooth puree to the concentrated tomato flavoured juice in the pan.

4) Add the coconut milk, season and taste. At this point I added the juice and zest of an orange but depending on the variety of tomato you use, your soup may not need this additional tang. It's a judgement call! Simmer for a further 20 minutes.

5) Serve with crushed chilli flakes and chopped coriander.

Panzanella

Ingredients 1 tbs Passata, 2 tbs basil oil, 1 tsp red wine vinegar, 1 tsp honey (or agave syrup if vegan). Cherry tomatoes, cucumber, basil, old bread, kamalata olives.

Preparation: 5 minutes

Panzanella goes back to the 16th century, but it wasn't until the 20th century that this Florentine version emerged: stale bread soaked in oil, vinegar and tomato with herbs and mixed with salad. Back in the day - only onions were used, not tomato. And given that I loathe uncooked onions with a fiery passion, I am very glad indeed that it's no longer the 16th Century! You know, that and smallpox. I serve mine with cucumber, olives and cherry tomatoes but you can of course use salad leaves or other fruits and vegetables if you wish. I save my heels of bread and make this for a quick supper or a scrummy lunch.

1) To make the dressing, combine the oil, vinegar and passata and season to taste. I like to add a little honey to cut the acidity of the vinegar but this depends on what you are mixing into your salad of course! If you're vegan, you can use an alternative.

2) Tear the bread into bitesize chunks. I have done this with the leftover heel of ciabatta, spelt bread, you name it - any crusty loaf will do. If all you have is sliced bread or you don't bake your own, then I would recommend toasting the bread first.

3) Stir the bread into the dressing and stir in the other ingredients. Serve immediately. If you'd like this as a packed lunch, make up a little jar of dressing, a foil wrap your chunks of bread and keep them in your box of salad to prepare just before eating.

Roast pepper, tomato & mozzarella linguine

Ingredients Linguine, mozzarella pearls, basil, parsley, olive oil, plum tomatoes, red bell peppers, 1 garlic clove.

Preparation: 25 minutes, plus marinating time

I can understand the concept of convenience food - opening up a jar of something and tossing it with some pasta, but shop-bought sauces make my soul and tastebuds wither away to nothing. I quite often make pesto or pasta sauces ahead of time to keep in the fridge, ready for a quick meal - and this luscious concoction of marinated peppers and tomatoes makes a wonderful quick supper.

1) Slice the top from the bell peppers, remove the core and seeds and slice between the membranes. Cut each pepper quarter in half.

2) Slice the tomatoes into quarters and remove the seeds. Roast the tomatoes and peppers in the top of the oven for 20 minutes until the skin begins to blacken. 

3) Add to a bowl with the olive oil, mozarella pearls, crushed garlic, parsley and herbs and leave to marinate for at least 1 hour but ideally overnight.

4) Toss with cooked liguine and serve

Sausage & smoked cheese lasagne

Ingredients Layer 1) 10 cherry tomatoes, 1 tsp butter. Layer 2) 4 Quorn sausages, 50g smoked cheese, 50ml buttermilk. Layer 3) 1 tbsp butter, 1 tbsp flour, 50ml milk, 1 egg.

Lasagne sheets/8 oz pasta flour, 4 eggs, 1 tsp olive oil, 10g cheddar.

Serves: 2 Preparation: 1 hour (plus 2-5 for chilling the pasta dough)

Smoked cheese is something that I rarely cook with. The heady flavour can easily overpower the other ingredients, but if you get it right it's a fabulous addition to meat dishes or in my case, being a vegetarian - Quorn!
This twist on lasagne (for my classic lasagne recipe, click here) uses the sharp freshness of cherry tomatoes to cut through the smoked cheese.

1) To make the lasagne sheets: Pour the flour, olive oil, a good pinch of salt, 3 eggs and 1 egg yolk into a bowl and kneed with your hands until you have a firm dough. Wrap this in cling film and chill in the fridge for 2-5 hours. 

2) Slice the Quorn sausages in half lengthways and roast in the top of the oven for 10 minutes at 200 degrees. Set aside.

3) Slice the cherry tomatoes in half and then into quarters and shuck the seeds with your thumb. Discard the seeds and add the tomato flesh to a pan along with a teaspoon of butter and simmer gently for 5 minutes. Spoon into your lasagne dish.

4) Dust a worktop with pasta flour and roll out the dough into a sheet 1/3 of a centimetre thick. Cut out rectangles of pasta and roll these through a pasta machine (or continue using a rolling pin if you don't have one). Add your first layer to the top of the tomatoes and press down to ensure that each part of the pasta is in contact with the tomatoes. Add the Quorn sausages, cut side down on top of the pasta.

5) Grate the smoked cheese and add to a pan with the buttermilk. Stir through until a smooth sauce has formed and pour over the Quorn sausages. Top with a layer of pasta, pressing down to ensure that each part is on contact with the sauce.

6) Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a pan and stir a tablespoon of plain flour into it to form a roux. Take off the heat and whisk the egg into the roux along with the milk. Whisk through for about 5 minutes and pour over the lasagne. Top with grated cheddar and bake the lasagne in the oven for 10 -15 minutes until the cheese is golden and bubbly.

Pumpkin ravioli with ginger butter

Ingredients 8 oz pasta flour, 4 eggs, 1 tsp olive oil, 1 pumpkin, 10 cherry tomatoes, 1 tbsp butter, 1 tsp ground ginger

Serves: 2 Preparation: 2-5 hours

Making pasta is a labour of love. There are recipes for which dried pasta is perfectly acceptable, and then there are those recipes which require getting your hands dirty... this recipe is positively filthy. The sweetness of the pumpkin, the tart, tangy combination of ginger and tomato... this is pasta perfection.

1) Pour the flour, olive oil, a good pinch of salt, 3 eggs and 1 egg yolk into a bowl and kneed with your hands until you have a firm dough. Wrap this in cling film and chill in the fridge for 2-5 hours.

2) You can buy pumpkin puree in a can if it's out of season, but to prepare from scratch: Cut the pumpkin in half and scoop out the seeds and pith with a spoon. Make sure all the stringiness has been removed. Peel away the skin with a chef's knife and cut the flesh into cubes. Roast in the oven for 50 minutes and blend until smooth.

3) Dust a worktop with pasta flour and roll out the dough into a sheet 1/3 of a centimetre thick. Cut out rectangles of pasta and roll these through a pasta machine (or continue using a rolling pin if you don't have one). Add a teaspoon of the pumpkin mixture to one side of the rectangle, fold in half and pinch the edges together, taking care not to leave any air trapped inside.

4) Melt a tablespoon of butter in a pan along with a teaspoon of ground ginger. Slice the cherry tomatoes in half and place them cut side down in the pan.

5) Drop the pasta into a large pan of hot, salted water. The pasta will sink to the bottom initially but when it is ready (2-3 minutes maximum unless your pasta is too thick) it will float to the top. Remove the ravioli from the pan with a slotted spoon and transfer to the pan of butter. Stir through and serve.

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.

Kale Pesto Caprese Pancake Cannelloni

Ingredients 120g plain flour, 2 eggs, 210ml milk, 90ml water, 1 tbsp vegetable oil, butter, 100g pine nuts, 1 lemon, 30g parmigiano, mozzarella, tomato, Rachel's Organic Greek Yoghurt, Cheddar

Serves: 4 Preparation: 45 minutes

I adore making pancakes. There's something so soothing about the ritualistic rolling of batter in a pan. When I created my recipe for kale pesto, I instantly envisioned it in contrast to oozing cheese and pasta. But then after using it as a pancake filling, I couldn't resist making cannelloni using my leftover pancake batter and borrowing the incredible yoghurt sauce that I created for enchiladas to smother my stuffed pancakes with. It's a delicious, yet light dish... coming soon kale pesto pasta. Om nom nom. 

1) Mix the flour with a pinch of salt in a large bowl, make a well in the centre and crack in the eggs.

2) Measure 90ml water in a pyrex jug, then top it up to 300ml with milk.
Beat the eggs into the flour with a wooden spoon and gradually beat in the milk and water mixture until smooth.

3) Stir in the vegetable oil and leave to rest for at least 30 minutes but preferably an hour.

4) To make the pesto - Add the basil leaves to a mortar bowl along with a pinch of salt and the pine nuts. Grind thoroughly, adding a squeeze of lemon juice and grated parmigiano to taste. Tear the leaves of the kale from the woody stalks and add to a blender along with the pesto. Blend thoroughly, drizzling oil at the same time until the desired consistency has been reached.

5) Heat a non-stick frying pan until very hot, then add a small knob of butter. Pour in one ladle of batter, quickly turning the pan off the heat to coat the base evenly with the batter. Return to the hob and cook for about one minute, until the base is lightly browned. I like to use a spatula or palette knife to just loosen the edges of the pancake - once the air gets under it you will find it does not stick to the pan but slide about which helps it to flip!

6) Flip over the pancake (if you have a clumsy wrist, slide the pancake onto a plate, then tip the pan over the plate and turn it upside down. No one will ever know!

7) Once the pancake has cooked on both sides, repeat until you have 6 pancakes. Spread the kale pesto onto the pancakes and add a line of mozzarella in the centre. Roll up the pancakes and set them in an ovenproof dish.

8) To make the sauce, grate the cheddar into the yoghurt and spread over the pancakes. Top with an extra layer of cheese and bake for 15 minutes.

Pancakes - kale pesto caprese

La	Ingredients 120g plain flour, 2 eggs, 210ml milk, 90ml water, 1 tbsp vegetable oil, butter, 30g basil, 200g kale, 100g pine nuts, 1 lemon, 30g parmigiano, mozzarella, tomato, olive oil

Serves: 6 Preparation: 20 minutes

I adore making pancakes. There's something so soothing about the ritualistic rolling of batter in a pan and who says that pancakes have to be sweet? When I  created my recipe for kale pesto, I knew that I wanted to make a warm version of a caprese salad (basil, tomato and mozzarella) and with pancake day coming up... what better way to serve it?! 

1) Mix the flour with a pinch of salt in a large bowl, make a well in the centre and crack in the eggs.

2) Measure 90ml water in a pyrex jug, then top it up to 300ml with milk.
Beat the eggs into the flour with a wooden spoon and gradually beat in the milk and water mixture until smooth.

3) Stir in the vegetable oil and leave to rest for at least 30 minutes but preferably an hour.

4) To make the pesto - Add the basil leaves to a mortar bowl along with a pinch of salt and the pine nuts. Grind thoroughly, adding a squeeze of lemon juice and grated parmigiano to taste. Tear the leaves of the kale from the woody stalks and add to a blender along with the pesto. Blend thoroughly, drizzling oil at the same time until the desired consistency has been reached.

5) Heat a non-stick frying pan until very hot, then add a small knob of butter. Pour in one ladle of batter, quickly turning the pan off the heat to coat the base evenly with the batter. Return to the hob and cook for about one minute, until the base is lightly browned. I like to use a spatula or palette knife to just loosen the edges of the pancake - once the air gets under it you will find it does not stick to the pan but slide about which helps it to flip!

6) Flip over the pancake (if you have a clumsy wrist, slide the pancake onto a plate, then tip the pan over the plate and turn it upside down. No one will ever know!

7) Once the pancake has cooked on both sides, serve filled with slices of mozzarella, tomato and the pesto.

Aubergine timbale

Ingredients 1 aubergine, 2 red bell peppers, 4 cherry tomatoes, 1 camembert, butter, 3 eggs

Serves: 4 Preparation: 1 hour

I recently bought some new pudding moulds and have been going timbale crazy lately. These aubergine timbales are absolutely lovely - meltingly soft aubergine, juicy roast tomatoes and peppers and succulent, gooey Camembert.

1) Slice the aubergines to half centimetre thick discs and sprinkle with salt. Leave to rest until you see dark juices beading the surface, then wipe away with kitchen towel.

2) Slice the top from a bell pepper and remove the core and seeds. Slice into slivers.

3) Slice the tomatoes in half and then into quarters. Slice the core and seeds from the tomato and then roast in the oven along with the peppers for 20 minutes at 200 degrees.

4) Melt a little butter in a frying pan and add the aubergine slices (I cook 4 at a time), turning immediately to allow them to soak up the butter evenly. Sizzle until the butter browns and is completely soaked up by the aubergine before turning again - then continue turning until the surface of the aubergine colours and the skin changes to a vibrant, shiny purple. Set aside to cool.

5) Rub the inside of the pudding moulds with a thin layer of butter, and then line the pudding moulds with the aubergine slices, starting with the base, then working up to sides. If you press firmly, the aubergine will stick together well.

6) Fill the cases with tomato, aubergine and globs of Camembert.

7) Crack the eggs into a bowl and whisk thoroughly, then pour over the other ingredients until each pudding case is full.

8) Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes at 180 degrees, then turn out the timbales from the cases carefully and serve.

Veggie Scramble

Ingredients 4 eggs, 200g spinach, 4 baby plum tomatoes, 1 avocado, 50g gruyere, bread, salt, black pepper, butter

Serves: 2 preparation: 15 minutes

There's a reason that this blog is called Everything Goes With Toast - in my humble opinion, when it comes to quick snacks, there is little in this world better than gilding a piece of toast with beautiful cheeses, vegetables, fruits, jams... I don't think I'll ever exhaust the potential of a slice of toast.
This is one of my favourite lunches - a thick wedge of crunchy, seedy bread topped with meltingly soft - well seasoned eggs and the juicy, silky combination of tomato, avocado and spinach. Packed full of goodness, super quick to make and utterly irresistable.

1) Crack the eggs into a bowl and whisk thoroughly. Season with salt and black pepper (I've discovered this amazing seaweed salt recently - soooo savoury) and set aside.

2) Pop the tomatoes off the vine and slice in half. Add to the pan with a knob of butter, the spinach and stir through until the spinach has just begun to wilt.

3) Halve the avocados and scoop the fruit from the shell, discarding the stone. Cut the avocado into chunks and add to the pan, along with the eggs and grated gruyere.

4) Stir constantly for 3-4 minutes until the eggs are cooked, then spoon the veggie scramble onto a slice of toast and serve immediately.

Since becoming pregnant, I have really enjoyed spreading hummus onto the toast before adding the eggs... but I can't guarantee that this will suit everyone's tastebuds! It's a good source of extra protein if nothing else!

Spinach, Feta & Tomato pastie

Ingredients 100g spinach, 50g feta, 1 tomato, Rachel's Organic Greek Yoghurt, Jus-Rol™ or 250g plain flour, 1 tsp salt, 250g butter to make Puff pastry.

Serves: 2 Preparation: 1 hour and a half

I have long been a slave to the Greek perfection of spinach and feta pie - fine layers of crispy filo are all well and good, but sometimes I like to vary this dish by adding the sharp, sweetness of tomato and switching filo pastry for puff pastry instead so that I can make lots of individual pasties instead of one big pie.

1) To make puff pastry: Add the room temperature butter to the flour and salt and rub together loosely. Don't mix it too thoroughly - you want to still see the butter. Add about 100ml of COLD water and mix until you have a rough but firm dough. Cover with cling film and rest in the fridge for 20 minutes. Roll out from left to right onto a lightly floured surface - you should see marbled butter at this stage. Fold in half and roll out again from left to right. Fold once more, then cover with cling film and chill for another 20 minutes before using.

2) Roll out the pastry and cut into sections for your pasties. Spread a layer of Greek Yoghurt over half of the pastry and press the spinach into it. 

3) Layer the feta and spinach, pressing down quite firmly to avoid trapped air.

4) Slice the tomato in half and slice out the core and seeds, leaving the flesh. Slice into strips and rest on the top of the spinach and feta.

5) Fold the empty half of the pastry over the toppings, pressing down again to ensure that there isn't any air trapped inside, and tightly fold and crimp the edges to form a seal. Prick a hole for the spinachey steam to rise out, and bake in the oven for 30 minutes at 180 degrees

Spanish-style potatoes

Ingredients 5 small potatoes (I used Exquisa), 1 tbsp paprika, butter, 1 bell pepper, 2 tomatoes

Serves: 4 Preparation: 1 hour


Potatas bravas, with that base of paprika and tomato, is the ultimate taste of Spain for me. Since becoming pregnant I have had to reduce my obsession with spicy food in order to avoid the dreaded heartburn, but I was surprised that taking away the heat of the chilli really didn't detract from the warmth and comfort of this wonderful dish. I served my leftovers the next night stirred through with kale and a dollop of Rachel's organic Greek yoghurt, and it was absolutely marvellous.

1) Slice the potatoes to 1/2 centimetre thickness, skins and all, then sautee in a little butter for 5 minutes.

2) Slice the top and core from the bell pepper, then cut into slivers. Slice the tomato into quarters, remove the seeds and core, leaving just the flesh and cut into slivers.

3) Stir the paprika, peppers and tomatoes in with the potatoes, season with a little salt, then transfer to a casserole dish with a lid. Bake in the oven for 45 minutes at 180 degrees, then serve.

Roast tomato & olive soup

Ingredients 2 lbs tomatoes, 1/2 onion, 1 pint vegetable stock, kamalata olives, butter.

Serves: 4 Preparation: 1 hour

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. This soup is nothing short of fabulous. The salty tang of the olives brings an extra dimension to the rich, savoury tomatoes - this is definitely not one you'll get bored of!

1) Roast the whole tomatoes and for 20 minutes at 200 degrees, then add to a blender and puree.

2) Peel and finely dice half an onion and sautee in a little butter. Pass the tomato flesh through a sieve, into the pan of onions, then add the vegetable stock.

3) Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally then pass through a sieve a second time to separate the onions.

4) Pit the olives and chop finely. Stir into the soup and serve.

Avocado linguine

Ingredients Linguine, 1 avocado, baby plum tomatoes, vintage cheddar or parmigiano

Serves: 2 Preparation: 10 minutes

For bringing this recipe into your lives, I would bet my shiny red Doc Martin boots that you will feel compelled to forever love, adore and shower me with gifts - such as your first born children. It is not only quick, cheap and healthy - it is also stunningly, inconceivably delicious. Think thick, smooth, creamy, buttery textured avocado, the fresh sharp sweetness of tomato and the rich tang of cheddar. This is quite simply stunning.

1) Put the linguine on to boil in hot salted water for 8 - 10 minutes.

2) Halve the avocado around the stone and twist it apart. Remove the stone and scoop the avocado flesh from the shell. Add to a blender and blitz thoroughly.

3) Halve your baby plum tomatoes and place under the grill for 5 minutes.

4) Stir the grated cheddar or parmeggian into the sauce - this shouldn't need any seasoning so it's great for those on low-sodium diets or children. If you don't eat cheese, then do season the avocado with salt and pepper.

5) Strain the pasta and stir into the avocado. Serve immediately with the grilled tomatoes.

Quinoa & aubergine salad

Ingredients 1 cup Quinoa, 1 aubergine, 1 bell pepper, 4 baby plum tomatoes, paprika, kamalata olives, salt, rapeseed oil

Serves: 2 Preparation: 30 minutes

I love aubergines, simply love them. They soak up flavour like majestic sponges and when cooked well, just melt in your mouth. This salad can be served hot or cold and is simply fabulous.

1) Remove the top and core from a bell pepper and shake out the seeds. Slice finely, drizzle with a little rapeseed oil and roast in the oven along with the baby plum tomatoes for 20 minutes.

2) Slice your aubergines and lay the slices in a colander. Sprinkle salt on the aubergines and set aside.

3) Soak the quinoa for 5 minutes and rinse well in a sieve. Depending on where you buy it, it naturally has an acrid coating called saponin which you don't want flavouring your food!

4) Cover the quinoa in salted water and bring to the boil for about 15 minutes, stir continually as it soaks up the water and fluffs up, then remove from the heat and set aside to cool

5) The salt will have drawn the bitter liquid from the aubergines, rinse the liquid, pat the aubergines dry and brush with rapeseed oil. Dry fry in a very hot pan for about 5 minutes per slice, turning frequently. When the aubergines are ready the skin will have turned violet and the flesh will have darkened in colour and become meltingly soft.

6) Stir the tomatoes and peppers into the quinoa, seasoning well with salt, black pepper and paprika. I also like to add some finely diced black kamalata olives but this is entirely to taste.

7) Layer the aubergine and quinoa mixture using a circle mould, pressing each layer firmly. Serve hot or cold.