Sweet potato & ginger soup with harissa croutons

Ingredients 2 sweet potatoes, 1/2 pint vegetable stock, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp coriander, 1 white onion, 2 cloves garlic, Croutons: bread, rapeseed oil smoked chillis, garlic salt, paprika, mint, rose petals, cumin, caraway seeds, basil oil, bell pepper, Rachel's Organic Greek Yoghurt.

Serves: 3 preparation: 1 hour

This soup is nothing short of magnificent. Rich, warming and comforting with a velvet thick texture - this goes perfectly with the spicy croutons and cool dollop of yoghurt

1) Roast the sweet potatoes in the oven for 30 minutes at 200 degrees.

2) Peel and finely dice the onion and sautee in a little rapeseed oil. Add the coriander and cumin.

3) Peel the skin from the potato and stir the flesh into the spiced onions.

4) Add the vegetable stock and mash the potato into it. Leave to simmer for 30 minutes, then parse through a sieve, to leave a smooth soup. Top with a dollop of yoghurt and the croutons.

To make the croutons:

1) Remove the core and seeds from the bell pepper, then roast until the skin is almost completely blackened. Allow it to cool, then peel off the charred skin carefully.

2) Blitz the dried, smoked chilli in a blender, then add to a mortar and pestle and grind into a relatively fine dry paste. The ratio of spices is relatively simple for my recipe, though of course you can adjust for taste. Add 1 tsp garlic salt, 1 tsp paprika, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp caraway seeds and grind into the chilli. Add a teaspoon of basil oil.

3) Add the bell pepper, 2 or 3 mint leaves and the rose petals (about half the petals from a single red rose) into a blender and pulse.

4) Stir the rose, mint and pepper mixture into the spice and oil paste - now you have harissa!

5) Spread a thin layer of harissa onto a slice of bread, then cut into squares. Fry off in a drizzle of rapeseed oil until crisp. 

apple & cucumber salsa

Ingredients White onion, cucumber, apple, fennel, radish, lime, white wine vinegar

Preparation: 15 minutes

It's no secret that I LOATHE onions. Nothing on this earth could induce me to eat them raw, or to eat something that is intentionally onion flavoured. They are a base ingredient, not a flavour in their own right as far as I'm concerned.
Salsa, to me manages to escape the curse of the onion due to the chilli and in this case, the onions take a back seat to the sweetness and freshness of the other ingredients. A great summer salsa, try it in a wrap with soured cream, melted cheese and BBQ'd chicken.

1) Finely dice the onion and pour over a tablespoon of white wine vinegar and the juice of 1 lime. Leave to rest for 10 minutes.

2) Finely dice the cucumber, apple, fennel and radish and stir into the onions.

3) I like to drain off most of the juice, but this is entirely a matter of taste.

Lavender curry

Ingredients 400g Coconut milk, 1 tsp lavender, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp chilli powder, 1 tsp coriander seeds, 1 white onion, 400g spinach, 1 courgette, butter or ghee, 2 cloves garlic

Serves: 2 preparation: 30 minutes

My personal curry tastes appeal more to the Thai style "soupy" green curries, but lavender could be used in a thicker Indian style Korma sauce if you prefer.
The exotic fragrance and flavour works in the same way coriander or mint does to cut the spices, and as in previous recipes - lavender is a perfect partner to coconut.

1) Grind the lavender with the spices in a mortar and pestle and set aside.

2) Finely dice the onion and add to the pan with the butter or ghee. Cook until the onions are soft, then add the garlic and spices and stir through.

3) Slice the courgette and cut each slice into quarters. Add to the pan and stir through, before adding the coconut milk.

4) Turn down the heat and allow to simmer gently until the courgette has begin to soften. Add the spinach and stir through until it has wilted, though not begun to lose its colour. Serve with rice or naan bread.

Roast carrot & goji berry soup

Ingredients 5 carrots, 100ml orange juice, goji berries, rapeseed oil.

Serves: 2 preparation: 2 hours

This soup is LOADED with vitamin C and A and I just love the vibrancy of it. When you boil carrots to soften them for soup, the colour always leaches away and they loose that lustrous orange hue. By roasting the carrots they maintain their natural sweetness and don't lose any of the flavour.

1) Peel the carrots and top and tail them. Drizzle with a generous glug of rapeseed oil and roast in the oven at 200 degrees for an hour and a half, until the surface begins to colour and they become "bendy"

2) Pulse the carrots in a blender, adding the orange juice about half way through. Thin out with a little water, though personally I like this soup to be quite thick. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

3) Either transfer to a pan to warm through, or zap for a minute in the microwave, adding the goji berries before serving. Stir them through, allowing them to soften in the soup as they're really quite unpleasant (tough and chewy!) otherwise.

Apple & pancetta crumble

Ingredients 1 Bramley apple, pancetta, butter, soured cream, oats, flour, parmigiano

Serves: 4 preparation: 20 minutes


Pig and apple is a combination I have demonstrated many times on this blog -  from burgers to bakes and rice salad to cannelloni it doesn't have to be as traditional as pork and apple sauce. Savoury crumbles are wonderful - toasty oats and the sharpness of parmeggian topping roast vegetables and cheese is a particular favourite of mine and one I will be sharing in coming posts. This mini crumble makes a wonderful starter with a dollop of soured cream in place of a custard.


1) Core, peel and dice the apple before sauteeing in a little butter. Add the pancetta after 2-3 minutes and sizzle, stirring until the apple has begun to soften.




2) Spoon into ramekins and set aside.


3) Mix 2 tablespoons of flour to 1 tablespoon of porridge oats, add a teaspoon of parmeggian and rub in a teaspoon of butter until fine crumbs form.


4) Spoon onto the top of the apple and pancetta and bake in the oven for 5-10 minutes, until the crumble topping has turned golden brown


5) Serve hot with a dollop of soured cream

French leek & potato soup

Ingredients 1 Leek, 1 maris piper potato, butter, sourdough bread, cheddar, parmigiano, 1 pint vegetable stock

Serves: 3 preparation: 1 hour

Leek and potato soup is so wonderfully comforting, but it can tend to be just a little bland. Adding the sharp richness of cheese transforms this into an indulgent delight. Much like French onion soup - with a layer of bread soaking up the soup yet crispy on top - this is a firm favourite.

1) Dice the leek and sautee in a little butter until soft. Peel and dice the potato and stir into the leek and butter.

2) Pour in the vegetable stock and simmer for 45 minutes until the potato is soft. Season according to taste.

3) Either mash the potato into the soup or pulse in a blender until smooth.

4) Transfer the soup into bowls and top with layers of sourdough bread, grated cheddar and parmeggian and grill until golden bubbly.

Orange & maple roast parsnips

Ingredients 4 parsnips, 2 oranges, maple syrup

Serves: 4 Preparation: 1 hour

I adore parsnips - such a spicy, earthy flavour which caramelises perfectly when roasted. Glazing parsnips with orange juice and maple syrup brings out the natural sweetness and forms a fabulous sticky crust.

1) Rinse but do not peel the parsnips, then slice into chunks. Squeeze the juice from the oranges and pour over the parsnips. Drizzle with maple syrup and stir the parsnips until they are evenly coated

2) Roast in the oven for 45 minutes - 1 hour at 200 degrees until the insides are fluffy and soft and the outsides begin to crisp.

Roast cauliflower gratin

Ingredients Cauliflower, rapeseed oil, gruyere, double cream

Serves: 4 Preparation: 30 minutes

I love cauliflower cheese, it is a magnificently comforting dish when cooked well - cauliflower has a musky, sweet flavour (though overcooked it becomes sulphuric and bitter) which really contrasts with the nutty, caramel tones of gruyere. By roasting slices of cauliflower however, the texture is firm and the flavour even nuttier. Simply gorgeous.

1) Prepare the cauliflower by removing the leaves and slicing the stem to the base. Slice the cauliflower into centimetre thick sections and roast in the oven for 20 minutes, drizzled with rapeseed oil.

2) Transfer the cauliflower slices to a separate dish, sprinkling each layer with grated gruyere and a drizzle of cream. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes, until the cheese bubbles and just begins to colour.

Feta & sesame poicamole

Ingredients 400g garden peas, feta, mint leaves, Rachel's Organic Greek Yoghurt, sesame seeds

Preparation: 10 minutes

One of my favourite recipes is poicamole, it's so fresh and delicious and I love to slather it on bread and tuck into a relatively healthy snack. Recently I was craving it but for some reason I had no parmeggian in the fridge.

1) Shell your peas (frozen peas are absolutely fine for this) and either boil or steam for 6-8 minutes.

2) Strain in a colander and pour the peas into a blender. Add a good handfull of chopped mint and start to blend.

3) As the peas are blending add teaspoons of greek yoghurt, a good pinch of salt, crumbled feta and pulse thoroughly. Serve on crackers or bread sprinkled with sesame seeds

Orange & kiwi glazed duck

Ingredients 3 oranges, 3 kiwis, caster sugar, new potatoes, samphire, duck.

Serves: 4 Preparation: Size: 1.75kg to 2kg = 2 ¼ hours
                                          2.50kg to 3kg = 2 ¾ hours


I recently acquired a 2.5 kilo wild duck, much to the excitement of my best beloved. I had been playing with a kiwi and orange glaze for a few weeks, loving it but not happy with it for ham or chicken. Duck was the only way in my humble opinion and how right I was. This recipe takes time, but it will leave you with a crispy, delicious duck - the meat flavoured with fragrant orange steam and the ultra crispy skin glazed with orange and kiwi and melt-in-the-mouth potatoes.


1) Pierce two of the oranges all over with a knife, then stuff them in the cavity of the duck. Squeeze the juice from the remaining orange into a milk pan along with three peeled, quartered kiwi fruit and half a cup of caster sugar.


2) Bring to the boil, mashing the kiwi into the orange juice until it is the consistency of a coulis. Set aside to cool and thicken.


3) Arrange the duck in a roasting tin and score the duck liberally with a knife. Ducks have less meat and far more fat than chicken - as it heats, the fat will begin to run from the duck to cook the potatoes, but it's pointless applying the glaze at this stage as it will not flavour the meat! Blast in the oven at 200 degrees for 1 hour.


4) Remove from the oven and poke with a knife or skewer to release ever more fat and juice. Add the new potatoes, stirring them in the fat to ensure they are coated and return to the oven for 1 hour (30 minutes for a smaller duck) at 150 degrees.

5) Liberally coat the duck with the kiwi and orange glaze and return to the oven for 45 minutes at 150 degrees before carving and serving.


I served this with sauteed samphire

Linguine with burnt butter‏, broccoli stem & parmeggian

Ingredients Broccoli stem, 20g butter, parmigiano, linguine

Serves: 2 preparation: 10 minutes


Following on from my recent recipe using broccoli stem, I wanted to create something a bit lighter and cleaner tasting as a platform for the full flavour of the parmeggian. Broccoli stem has a slightly cabbagey flavour, sweet and nutty which makes it the perfect accompaniment to the burnt butter sauce.


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


2) Slice the stem from the broccoli and peel away the tough outer layer of skin. Slice the stem into thin pieces and set aside.


3) Melt the butter in a pan and keep on a medium heat for at least 5 minutes, until the butter begins to turn brown. Add in the broccoli and sizzle for a further 2-3 minutes on a lower heat.


4) Strain the pasta and stir into the butter, then serve with shaved parmeggian.

Roast pepper & goats cheese polenta croutons

Ingredients  60g polenta, 1 egg, 1 bell pepper, goats cheese, olive oil (Optional: Rachel's Organic Greek Yoghurt)

Makes: 6 croutons preparation: 10 minutes

I have been making a lot of polenta fritters recently as part of a series of recipes using ingredients for people with various intolerancies. This recipe is a fantastic alternative to croutons in salad or soup - at once crispy and melting and so quick and simple. Roast pepper and goats cheese is one of my favourite flavour combinations - give it a try.

1) Slice the top from a bell pepper and remove the core and seeds. Slice between the membranes and cut into small slivers. Grill for 5 minutes until the skin begins to crisp and blacken.

2) Whisk an egg and stir in the polenta.

3) Cut the goats cheese into chunks and stir along with the peppers into the polenta. If the texture is a little dry I like to add in a little Greek yoghurt.

4) Form a patty and drop onto a lightly oiled pan. Sizzle for 2-3 minutes on each side then cut into small squares (or circles in my case) before tossing with salad leaves or floating on soup.

Potato linguine with chorizo‏

Ingredients 1 maris piper potato, 100g passata tomatoes, 50g butter, chorizo

Serves: 4 Preparation: 30 minutes

This recipe is unusual for me in that I am using equipment that few people are likely to have. This blog is aimed at people who want to learn to make very simple, but gorgeous food using ingredients that are widely available and do not require speciality equipment. I recently bought a spiralizer, which cuts vegetables into... you've guessed it... long spaghetti like strands. If you have such a thing - potato makes a wonderful alternative to pasta for those who struggle with intelerancies. The simple buttered tomato sauce is thickened with the starch from the potatoes and works really well with chorizo.


1) Slice the chorizo and sautee in the butter. 


2) Spiralize the potato and blanch in boiling water for 2 minutes. Strain well and transfer into the pan of butter and chorizo.


3) Stir through until the butter has melted, then add the passata tomatoes and allow to simmer for about 20 minutes until the potato is soft enough to eat, but not so soft that it breaks up.

Potato linguine

Ingredients 1 maris piper potato, 100g passata tomatoes, 50g butter, cheddar

Serves: 4 Preparation: 30 minutes

This recipe is unusual for me in that I am using equipment that few people are likely to have. This blog is aimed at people who want to learn to make very simple, but gorgeous food using ingredients that are widely available and do not require speciality equipment. I recently bought a spiralizer, which cuts vegetables into... you've guessed it... long spaghetti like strands. If you have such a thing - potato makes a wonderful alternative to pasta for those who struggle with intelerancies. The simple buttered tomato sauce is thickened with the starch from the potatoes and is delicious with a little grated cheese stirred in.

1) Spiralize the potato and blanch in boiling water for 2 minutes. Strain well and transfer into a pan with the generous knob of butter.

2) Stir through until the butter has melted, then add the passata tomatoes and allow to simmer for about 20 minutes until the potato is soft enough to eat, but not so soft that it breaks up.

3) Season with salt and black pepper, stir through some cheddar and serve.

Chestnut & salsify soup‏

Ingredients 1 can chestnut puree, 1 salsify root,  butter, pumpkin oil, 1/4 pint vegetable stock

Serves: 2 Preparation: 45 minutes

Chestnuts are currently having a revival in my kitchen and this velvet textured soup has the sweet flavour of chestnut and wonderful mellow undertones of salsify. It has a simple, comforting taste which reminds me of eating baked beans - I know they're hardly culinary chic, but if you love beans on toast, dunking bread into this will feel familiar, I guarantee it!

1) Peel and dice the salsify and sautee in a pan with a little butter. Add the chestnut puree and turn the heat down to a simmer.

2) Dilute the soup with the vegetable stock and simmer for a further 30 minutes, stirring frequently.

3) Pulse in the blender and pass through a sieve to incorporate the salsify, then serve drizzled with pumpkin oil

Curly fries with avocado & cucumber mousse‏

Ingredients 1 avocado, 1/4 cucumber, mint, salt, potato, polenta, cayenne pepper

Preparation: 10 minutes

This recipe is unusual for me in that I am using equipment that few people are likely to have. This blog is aimed at people who want to learn to make very simple, but gorgeous food using ingredients that are widely available and do not require speciality equipment. I recently bought a spiralizer, which cuts vegetables into... you've guessed it... spiral strands or strips so that one can make curly fries or vegetable spaghetti so whether you want my recipe for the perfect spiral fries, or want to just make this delicious, fresh mousse... here you go!

1) 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 with 2-3 mint leaves and 1/4 of a peeled cucumber then blitz thoroughly.

2) Season to taste with salt and chopped mint. This goes beautifully with something spicy - if you don't have a spiralizer, try seasoning potato or sweet potato wedges instead to dunk into it.

3) To make the curly fries: spiralize the potato and add to a bowl. Dust with polenta and shake the bowl until the potato is covered. Deep fry for 3-4 minutes and season with salt and cayenne pepper.

Apricot stuffed with basil & goats cheese

Ingredients Dried apricot, goats cheese, basil, salt

Preparation: 5 minutes

I love goats cheese - whether combined with sweet or savoury ingredients it rarely disappoints. I love making little hors d'oeuvres like pastry shells filled with herby goats cheese, crusted with crushed nuts or seeds but have recently been considering alternatives for those with allergies such as flour or nuts. I adore dried apricots and filling the luscious, sticky fruit like this is nothing short of heavenly - try them served on pieces of sourdough.

1) Blitz the goats cheese in a blender with fresh basil leaves and a pinch of salt.

2) Dried apricots are already pitted so simply spoon or pipe the goats cheese puree into the pockets. These are equally lovely eaten at room temperature or firmed up in the fridge.

Baked apple with apricot & goats cheese

Ingredients Bramley apple, goats cheese, dried apricots

Serves: 2 preparation: 30 minutes

I can remember clearly my very first cookery lesson at school. We made a baked apple.
It was stuffed with sultanas and butter and it looked like a bizarre sort of baked potato.
I hated the texture, hated the taste, hated the smell and the ugly yellowish brown of the skin. I can honestly say I have never had a baked apple since - until today when I had a craving for apple and thought I would experiment with this old nemesis... the sticky sweetness of the apricot goes perfectly with the creamy, soft goats cheese. This is absolutely lovely but it's not going to win any beauty awards.

1) Slice the top from the apple and remove the majority of the core, leaving a little base to retain the filling. Hollow the apple out further until about 1/3 of the apple flesh has been removed.

2) Stuff the apple with layers of apricot and goats cheese and sit the top of the apple back onto the top. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes at 200 degrees.

Carrot, coriander & feta fritter‏

Ingredients 60g polenta, cumin, 1 egg, coriander, carrot, feta, olive oil (Optional: Rachel's Organic Greek Yoghurt)

Serves: 2 preparation: 10 minutes

Fritters are traditionally a sort of savoury doughnut, but thin like a pancake full of stuff, but like potato cakes - I like to make mine a bit thicker. Here the sweetness of the carrot, the perfumed coriander and cumin contrast beautifully with the salty tang of feta. This is pictured with a kiwi and orange sauce.

1) Whisk an egg and stir in the polenta.

2) Finely chop the coriander, cut the feta into chunks and grate the carrot. Stir into the polenta. If the texture is a little dry I like to add in a little Greek yoghurt.

3) Form a patty and drop onto a lightly oiled pan. Sizzle for 2-3 minutes on each side then serve.

Apple & lavender crumble

Ingredients  1 tbsp lavender, 1 Bramley apple, 100g rice flour, 25g ground almonds, 50g butter, 50g caster sugar.

Serves: 2 Preparation: 20 minutes

As some of you may have seen from Twitter this evening, I have just eaten an entire crumble to myself. This crumble to be precise.
Apple and lavender is an absolutely luscious combination of flavours - fresh, sweet, juicy fruit - the exotic perfume of the lavender complimenting the tartness of the apples. I cannot recommend this enough. And don't worry - for those of you who struggle with white flour, this combination of rice-flour and ground almonds make a light, tummy friendly crumble.

1) Add the lavender to 150ml water and bring it to the boil. Remove half of the lavender and discard.

2) Peel, core and dice the apple, then add it to the lavender water along with 1 tsp caster sugar. Simmer for 5 minutes and strain the lavender and apple from the water.

3) Cut the butter into small cubes and either blitz in a blender with the rice flour, ground almonds and caster sugar or rub the butter into the dry ingredients with your fingers until rough crumbs have formed.

4) Spoon the apple and lavender into a baking dish and sprinkle over the crumble. Bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes until the topping has turned golden brown.

Allergic to eggs? Instead of custard, why not serve with Rachel's Organic Greek Yoghurt