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

Kale & artichoke pesto

Ingredients 200g kale, 1 tbsp almond butter, 1 artichoke, olive oil.

Preparation: 40 minutes

Pesto is a regular favourite with me, and so versatile. From the Italian classic basil/pine nut/garlic/lemon/parmigiano combination to the French classic pistou (using almonds) there are few variations of nuts and herbs that I have yet to grind up in my mortar and pestle and share on this blog. The combination of scrummy kale and fabulous artichoke makes this pesto one of my best yet.

1) Break the stem of the artichoke as close to the base as you can, then put the artichoke head first into a pan of hot, salted water and keep it submerged with an upturned pan lid (or plate). It will take 20-30 minutes to cook until tender - test the base with a knife - if it goes in smoothly it's ready!.

2) Blanche the kale then drain and dry thoroughly. 

3) Slice the artichoke leaves and add to the blender along with a generous glug of olive oil, a tablespoon of almond butter and the kale. Blitz until a soft puree has formed. Stir into pasta, spread onto sandwiches or why not try my gnocchi recipe?

Linguine with artichoke cream

Ingredients Artichoke, olive oil, linguine.

Preparation: 40 minutes

This ridiculously simple pasta dish is nothing short of fabulous! Silky, luxurious artichoke cream stirred into linguine - what could be easier? If you can't be bothered cooking your own artichoke, you could probably even use a jar of antipasti!

1) Break the stem of the artichoke as close to the base as you can, then put the artichoke head first into a pan of hot, salted water and keep it submerged with an upturned pan lid (or plate). It will take 20-30 minutes to cook until tender - test the base with a knife - if it goes in smoothly it's ready!

2) Simmer the linguine in hot, salted water for 8-10 minutes then drain.
3) Slice the artichoke leaves and add to the blender along with a generous glug of olive oil. Blitz until a soft puree has formed and stir in the linguine.

Artichoke cream

Ingredients 1 artichoke, olive oil.

Preparation: 40 minutes

Artichokes are marvellous things. So creamy and unctious in texture but they are packed with enough flavour to add complexity to salads, tarts and pasta. This simple dip, whether used to spread onto some good bread or as a pasta sauce is so silky and luxurious.

1) Break the stem of the artichoke as close to the base as you can, then put the artichoke head first into a pan of hot, salted water and keep it submerged with an upturned pan lid (or plate). It will take 20-30 minutes to cook until tender - test the base with a knife - if it goes in smoothly it's ready!

2) Slice the artichoke leaves and add to the blender along with a generous glug of olive oil. Blitz until a soft puree has formed.

Celeriac, spinach & cannellini bean soup

Ingredients 1 celeriac root, 200g spinach, 1 can cannellini beans, 1/2 pint vegetable stock, 1 tsp nutmeg, 1 tsp dill, 1 leek.

Serves: 4 Preparation: 30 minutes

I find that most soups benefit from slow, gentle cooking and being left for a day for the flavours to mature. Some soups however, are seriously quick to put together and this is certainly one of them! The husky flavour of the celeriac is brought out gloriously by the surprise perfection of nutmeg and dill. A definite winner.

1) Peel the celeriac with a sharp knife by cutting about a centimetre off both ends and sides, leaving a squareish core. Dice and add to a pan along with the leek, finely chopped and cover with the vegetable stock. Bring to the boil.

2) After 15 minutes, add the spinach and stir until it wilts. Puree thoroughly in a blender, then add back to the pan along with the beans.

3) Season with the nutmeg and dill, simmer for at least 5 minutes to cook the beans then 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.

Carrot & coriander mash

Ingredients 5 carrots, 1 tbsp butter, 1 tbsp coriander.

Serves: 2 Preparation: 20 minutes

There are some flavour combinations that just marry in the mind and become automatically associated with one another. Carrot without coriander is as unfathomable as spinach without nutmeg, apple without cinnamon. Roasting carrots with Eastern herbs and spices forms the basis of many soups and salads for me, but something about tonight made me crave the simple floral sweetness of the carrot and coriander alone. And mmmm how it works.

1) Peel the carrots and cut into thick discs. Steam for 15 minutes and mash or blitz in a food processor.

2) Stir in the butter and freshly chopped coriander. Season with salt and serve.

Cherry chocolate spice cake

Ingredients 200g butter, 100g icing sugar, 75g dark chocolate, 120g caster sugar, 3 eggs, 100g self raising flour, 25g cocoa powder, 1 tsp baking powder, 150ml red wine, 1 tsp cinnamon,

1/2 tsp cloves, 1/2 tsp allspice, 100g natural glace cherries, 2 packs chocolate fingers, 1 pack maltesers. 

Serves: 6 Preparation: 1 hour

When it comes to Christmas, mulled wine is at the top of my list of indulgences. The scent fills the house and warms the blood. When it comes to festive cakes, not everyone likes the traditional fruit cake so I always make an alternative. Last year it was mulled wine cake, which was lovely... but this year I wanted something a little more decadent, which meant at LOT more chocolate. Unlike the "dry" spice cake of last year, this cake involves cherry mulled wine syrup to flavour the cake, glaze the cake and ice the cake. A holy trinity of taste that I will definitely be making again and again!

1) Bring the red wine, cinnamon, allspice, cloves and cherries to the boil in a pan. Add 20g sugar and simmer until the wine has reduced to a syrup, pour through a sieve (saving the cherries) and set aside to cool.

2) Cream together 100g sugar and 100g butter using an electric whisk, then whisk through the cocoa powder and eggs, one egg at a time.

3) Add a tablespoon of the mulled wine syrup and sift together the flour and baking powder. Whisk into the cake batter, then bake in a buttered tin for 35 minutes at 155 degrees or until a skewer comes out clean. Allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a cake rack to cool completely.

4) To make the chocolate icing, melt the chocolate gently in a bain marie. Cream together 100g butter and 100g icing sugar, then slowly add the melted chocolate and a tablespoon of the mulled wine syrup, whisking continually.

5) Using the remainder of the mulled wine syrup, glaze the cake thoroughly before spreading on the chocolate icing. To decorate the cake, stick the chocolate fingers round the edge, using the chocolate icing as sort of grouting. The chocolate fingers form a sort of dish in the centre to fill with maltesers and the mulled cherries. I also dusted this with edible gold shimmer because CHRISTMAS!

Chestnut gravy

Ingredients 1 1/2 pints vegetable stock, 1 tsp rosemary, 1 tsp thyme, 1 bay leaf, 1 tsp freshly ground nutmeg, 1 tsp nigella seeds, 2 onions, 1 tbsp garlic salt, 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 can chestnut puree.

Serves: 10 Preparation: 30 minutes

Vegetarian gravy. It is what it is but it rarely competes with a "proper" gravy in terms of colour, texture and flavour. This Christmas, treat your vegan and vegetarian guests to a beautiful, fragrant sauce that isn't bulked out with thickening agents and flour that compromise the flavour. Speaking of flavour - what could be more Christmas than chestnut and nutmeg? Bring it on! (Mashed potato snowmen optional)

1) Peel and thinly slice the onion, then pop out the rings. Add to a pan with the olive oil and nigella seeds and sizzle until soft.

2) Add the rosemary, thyme and garlic salt, then stir in the chestnut puree.

3) Add the vegetable stock and bay leaf and stir until the chestnut puree has dissolved.

4) Season to taste with salt pepper and freshly grated nutmeg and serve.