Coconut grain salad

Ingredients 1 can chickpeas, 1 cup pearl cous-cous, 150ml coconut cream, 1/2 tsp thyme, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1 can puy lentils.

Serves: 4 Preparation: 20 minutes

It is a truth universally acknowledged that coconut is one of the best things ever. In a world where I do not give my family refined sugar and limit dairy products; coconut palm sugar, coconut blossom syrup and coconut oil, water and milk are constantly on our grocery list. When I was pregnant I consumed so much coconut water that I am not remotely surprised that my son is hopelessly addicted to it. That and it tastes like breastmilk.  
ANYWAY! This salad is subtle and lovely, an extremely lazy nod to rice and peas (one of my favourite dishes at Soul Kitchen - my review here) and super quick to make. Do excuse the slight grey tone of the picture, it was a VERY gloomy day!

1) Add the pearl cous-cous to a pan along with the coconut milk, cumin and thyme.

2) Bring to the boil and after about 8 minutes, turn off the heat, stir through and add the drained puy lentils and chickpeas.

3) The liquid should have cooked off, leaving just a gloss of coconut but if not, drain through a sieve before serving. I like to add a little black pepper and salt 

Sweet potato, black bean and kale chilli‏

Ingredients 1 large sweet potato, 1 can black beans, 1 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp oregano, 1/2 tsp thyme, 1/2 glass red wine, 100ml passata, 100g kale, 1 red onion, 1 stalk celery, 1/4 tsp smoked paprika, olive oil, 2 cloves garlic.

Serves: 4 Preparation: 30 minutes

In the past, I have shared recipes on this blog using Quorn as a meat substitute but since I made the lifestyle choice to no longer eat any kind of processed/pre-prepared foods I have been replacing this occasional protein source with more beans and pulses and grains. Much healthier, a nicer texture, simple to prepare and utterly delicious. This chilli is the most magnificent comfort food and is wonderful served with rice, tortilla chips or in a flour or lettuce leaf burrito.

1) Peel and dice the sweet potato and roast in the oven for 15 minutes.

2) Finely dice the onion and add it to a pan along with the olive oil. Sizzle until soft, then add the garlic (minced). Add the herbs, spices and wine and cook off the liquid.

3) Add the passata, beans and sweet potato and stir through. Remove the hard stalk of the kale, discard, then blitz the leaves in your food processor. Add to the pan and cook until softened.

4) I like my food spicy, so I like to add a couple of teaspoon of chipotle chilli paste, but there should be enough kick from the paprika for those who value the skin on their tongue...

Harissa rice with grapes

Ingredients Grapes, rice, bell pepper, Smoked chillis, garlic salt, paprika, mint, rose petals, cumin, caraway seeds, olive oil.

Preparation: 20 minutes

Harissa is one of those ingredients that I just can't live without. Stir it into yoghurt for an instant dip of GLORY, spread it on sandwiches, thin with a little oil for a fabulous marinade... it is just altogether yummy. The sweet refreshing pockets of juicy grape in this otherwise spicy dish are absolute perfection.

To Make Harissa:

1) Remove the core and seeds from the bell pepper, then grill 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 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, then combine the rose, mint and pepper mixture into the spice and oil paste.

4) Stir into boiled rice, adding halved grapes and serve. Beautiful hot and cold!

Roast beetroot & carrot curry

Ingredients 1 can coconut milk, 1 can chickpeas, olive oil, 1 white onion, 2 cloves garlic, 1 beetroot, 2 carrots, 1 tbs cumin, 1 tbs turmeric, 1 tbs coriander, chilli powder to taste.

Serves: 4 Preparation: 1 hour

Autumn to me means a glut of roasted vegetables and beetroot with its luscious silky purple juices is never far from my mind. Using roasted vegetables in curry is somewhat unusual, I know, but that magical alchemy gives a better flavour and texture and they look so beautiful without all the colour leaching away. I like to roast a job lot at the beginning of the week to put in the fridge for salads, pasties, and to make stews and soups. They're incredibly cost-effective and this curry is utterly delicious.

1) Peel the carrots and beetroot, drizzle with a little oil and roast in a covered dish for 40 minutes.

2) Peel and dice the onion and sautee in the oil until soft. Add the garlic, spices and chickpeas and stir through.

3) Spoon the thick cream which will have risen to the top of your can of coconut milk (discarding the water below) into the pan and stir through. Allow to simmer on a low heat for 30 minutes (or until the chickpeas are soft) then add the carrot and beetroot and garnish with coriander. Serve with rice or naan.

Sweet potato chilli

Ingredients 3 sweet potatoes, 300g Quorn mince, 400g mixed beans: kidney beans, pinto beans, haricot beans, cannellini beans and black eyed beans, 1 cup rice,

2 tablespoons Rachel's Organic Greek yoghurt, olive oil, 1/2 tsp each of coriander, cumin, smoked paprika, ground ginger.

Serves: 4 Preparation: 1 hour

A good chilli brings tears to the eyes; tears of spice, tears of joy. This approach involves roasting the sweet potatoes in dry spices, infusing the soft flesh with raw flavour power, then adding beans and Quorn to give this a protein and texture kick. Creamy yoghurt rice to round it off makes this a perfect supper when you need a little warmth and comfort.

1) Peel the sweet potato and cut into chunks. Add to an ovenproof dish with a lid. Add the spices and shake the dish with the lid on. Add a good glug of olive oil and shake again to coat the sweet potato with spices and roast in the oven at 220 degrees for 45 minutes.

2) Add the rice to a pan of hot water and simmer for 20 minutes. Strain and set aside to cool.

3) Stir in the beans and Quorn and return to the oven for a further 15 minutes. Stir the yoghurt into the rice and serve with the hot chilli.

Stuffed pumpkin: Beef & chorizo mole

Ingredients Chorizo, beef, white onion, dark chocolate, tomato puree, mixed beans, red wine, cumin, coriander, cayenne pepper, olive oil

Preparation: 45 minutes

Halloween is a comin' and I'm filled with festive ideas for serving food. These TEENY PUMPKINS are adorable but there's not a lot of good eating in them, so they're merely a receptacle for this amazingly rich, beef and chorizo Mexican Mole. If you're a vegetarian - here's how to make my Quorn mole.

1) Slice the top from your munchkin pumpkin and carve out the flesh and seeds.

2) Roast in the oven for 25 minutes and set aside.

3) To make the filling - melt 4 squares of dark chocolate in a pan and add 1 finely chopped white onion and a glug of olive oil. When the onions have just begin to soften add the beef and chopped chorizo and stir thoroughly until the chocolate has coated the onions and meat. Add in 1 tablespoon of tomato puree, a teaspoon of Cayenne pepper and a teaspoon of chopped coriander. Stir thoroughly and add in a glug of red wine with the mixed beans - red kidney beans, pinto beans, cannellini beans and haricot beans (Tesco sell "taco beans" for convenience) and stir well.

4) Spoon the filling into the munchkin pumpkin and bake for a further 15 minutes before serving.

Red rice burgers

Ingredients 1 cup Red rice, 1 bell pepper, white onion, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp coriander, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp chilli powder, butter, 1 garlic clove, 1 egg

Serves: 4 Preparation: 1 hour

I went to London as a teenager on a theatre trip with some school friends, and on the final night, I ordered a brown rice burger for dinner. It was the first time I'd ever had one and to this day it remains one of the most delicious things I have ever eaten. It took me 14 years to dare to recreate it (with my own spin, naturally) as I was worried that it would never live up to the glorious burger of my memory. I'm pleased to say that this spicy, juicy burger is even better. Give it a try.

1) Cover the rice with salted boiling water and, stirring frequently, simmer for 30 minutes, adding more water if necessary.

2) Remove the core and seeds from a bell pepper and finely dice it. Peel and finely dice a white onion, and crush a clove of garlic.

3) Fry off the onion in a little butter, then add the pepper and garlic along with the spices and sizzle on a low heat for 20 minutes until completely soft.

4) Add the cooked rice, straining off any remaining water in the pan and stir to incorporate. Set aside to cool just enough for you to be able to handle the mixture.

5) Whisk an egg and stir into the rice, then form patties with your hands, or by pressing into a circle mould. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes at 200 degrees and serve with salad and the condiments of your choice in a bread bap.

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. 

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.

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.

Carrot, feta & spiced apple salad

Ingredients  1 Carrot, 1 apple, allspice, cinnamon, cumin, muscovado sugar, feta cheese, watercress, pea shoots, ginger hummus

Serves: 1 Preparation: 10 minutes

I never understand why people think that salads are boring, or somehow something to be endured. For me they're one of the only types of food that one can put just about any other type of food into. Bread, potato, pasta, cheese, fruit, vegetables, nuts, herbs, eggs, flowers... you name it!
This is a rather new concoction of mine to showcase the spiced apple slices and ginger hummus that I have quickly become very fond of.

1) Core the apple and slice into crescents. Sprinkle the crescents with a dusting of brown sugar, cumin, allspice and cinnamon and toast under the grill for 5 minutes, turning half way through.

2) Peel the skin from the carrot, then peel the carrot into ribbons. Toss with the watercress and peashoots, and crumble over the feta.

3) Add the apples and drizzle with ginger hummus before serving.

Stuffed Cabbage: Mexican mole

Ingredients Quorn Mince, 1 white onion, dark chocolate, tomato puree, mixed beans, red wine, cumin, coriander, cayenne pepper, olive oil, Rachel's organic Greek yoghurt, mozarella, savoy cabbage.

Serves: 6 Preparation: 1 hour

I often get dejected emails from people who cannot or choose not to eat products containing flour and I'm always surprised by how many of them do not ever think of wrapping the contents of a sandwich in iceberg lettuce rather than bread or a tortilla, or don't think of using a razor thin shaving of courgette or other vegetables to replace pasta in tagliatelle or cannelloni. The same goes for the humble cabbage leaf. I would far rather use savoy cabbage over vine leaves - they taste fantastic, they're more robust and easier to handle and the fabulous wrinkly texture is perfect for stuffing because all the little nooks and crannies are filled. This dish is a wonderful alternative to tortillas when making enchiladas.

1) Melt 4 squares of dark chocolate in a pan (I used some chilli and lime chocolate from BonBon to give this some extra heat) and add 1 finely chopped white onion and a glug of olive oil

2) When the onions have just begin to soften add the packet of Quorn mince (you could use some cooked, drained beef mince if you are not a vegetarian) and stir thoroughly until the chocolate has coated the onions and beef.

3) Add in 2 tablespoons of tomato puree, a teaspoon of Cayenne pepper and a teaspoon of chopped coriander. Stir thoroughly and add in a glug of red wine.

4) Add in the mixed beans - red kidney beans, pinto beans, cannellini beans and haricot beans (Tesco sell "taco beans", 2 cans of which are perfect) and stir well

5) Add salt, tomato puree and chopped chillis to taste

6) Add the greek yoghurt and grated mozarella into a milk pan with a pinch of salt and stir on a low heat until the cheese is incorporated. Pour over the tortilla rolls and add extra cheese and a sprinkling of cayenne pepper. 

4) Blanch the cabbage leaves in hot, salted water for 5 minutes, then plunge into ice-cold water so that the leaves retain their colour.

5) Dry thoroughly (I found shaking them outside before patting them with kitchen roll to be the easiest way) and spoon 2 tablespoons of the mixture into the centre. Roll up as you would a burrito and place seam side down in a casserole dish - as below.

6) Rather than completely covering the cabbage, I thought a tablespoon and a half or so on top of each leaf to be sufficient. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes until the sauce bubbles and serve!

Chachouka

Ingredients 2 bell peppers, 10 baby plum tomatoes, 1 white onion, 2 cloves garlic, 200g spinach, 2 eggs, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1 tsp coriander, 1/2 tsp paprika, pinch saffron, 1 tsp chilli powder, olive oil, butter

Serves: 2 preparation: 30 minutes

Chachouka is a North-African casserole - I remember strings of melting soft onion, spices and the sharpness of the saffron and tomato under creamy egg yolk the first time I tried it in Paris, years ago. Because, as you know, I loathe onion - I've added spinach to the mix with fabulous results.

1) Slice the tops from the bell peppers and remove the seeds. Remove the portions of flesh from between the membranes and slice into strips. Roast in the oven along with the whole tomatoes for 15 minutes at 200 degrees, drizzled with a little oil.

2) Peel and slice the onion, then break into rings. Sautee in a little butter along with the spices on a medium heat for 15 minutes, adding the garlic at the last 2.

3) Stir in the spinach, pepper and tomatoes, then transfer to an ovenproof dish. Press wells into the surface with a tablespoon and crack the eggs into them. Bake in the oven until the egg white has just turned opaque, then serve.

Harissa yoghurt

Ingredients Smoked chillis, garlic salt, paprika, mint, rose petals, cumin, caraway seeds, basil oil, Rachel's Organic Greek yoghurt, bell pepper.

Preparation: 20 minutes

Harissa is a spice mix which hails from North African countries like Tunisia and Morocco and is used as a base for everything from dry meat rubs to a paste which can be spread on bread or added to sauces.
As you might expect there are thousands of recipes out there, from sharp and spicy to mellow smokey flavours, but my version - with a rose base - is universally gorgeous in my humble opinion. I like to mix it with yoghurt to make a dip (as pictured) or add to fajitas.

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) Stir 1 teaspoon of Harissa per 200g of yoghurt.

Quorn Guinness Mole

Ingredients Guinness, 400g kidney beans, pinto beans, cannellini beans and haricot beans, 6 squares 70%-80% dark chocolate, 1 white onion, 1 tbsp cumin, 50g coriander, olive oil, tomato passata, 1 tsp cayenne pepper.

Serves: 4 Preparation: 30 minutes

A mole (rhymes with Ole!) is a traditional Mexican dish but like most Mexican cuisine, it has been cooked for generations according to family tradition, so there are literally thousands of varieties and one would be hard pressed to make it accurately when one person will give you a list of 30 suggested ingredients and the next over 100! The last of my very belated St Patrick's Day Guinness recipes!


1) Peel and finely dice the onion and fry off in a little olive oil with the cumin and cayenne pepper.


2) Add a packet of Quorn mince and half a pint of Guinness. Allow the Guinness to reduce for 4 minutes before adding the squares of chocolate.


3) Once the chocolate has melted, add the beans (Tesco sell "taco beans", 2 cans of which are perfect) and a little passata tomatoes. Stir through some finely chopped coriander and then allow to simmer until the sauce has thickened before serving.


Perfect with rice, nachos, stuffed into taco shells or tortillas.

Guiness & pork tenderloin mole

Ingredients Pork loin, 1/2 pint Guinness, 400g kidney beans, pinto beans, cannellini beans and haricot beans, 6 squares 70%-80% dark chocolate, 1 white onion, 1 tbsp cumin, 50g coriander, olive oil, tomato passata, cayenne pepper.

Serves: 4 preparation: 2 hours


A mole (rhymes with Ole!) is a traditional Mexican dish but like most Mexican cuisine, it has been cooked for generations according to family tradition, so there are literally thousands of varieties and one would be hard pressed to make it accurately when one person will give you a list of 30 suggested ingredients and the next over 100! This recipe was created with someone who loves Mexican food but can't handle hot spices in mind (The Boy) so please do adapt the heat at will. The last of my very belated St Patrick's Day Guinness recipes - I guarantee that this pork will just fall apart and melt in your mouth... enjoy!


1) Add a little oil to a frying pan or griddle big enough to take a loin of pork and seal the meat for about 5 minutes, rolling it frequently until it is just coloured. Remove from the pan and set aside.


2) Add a peeled, diced onion to the pan and fry off in the oil and meat juices until clear and soft. Add the Guinness and reduce for 2 minutes.


3) Add the cumin, pieces of chocolate and stir until they have melted before adding the beans (Tesco sell "taco beans", 2 cans of which are perfect) and a little passata tomatoes. Stir through some finely chopped coriander.


4) Set the pork in a roasting dish and pour the sauce over. Roast, covered in the oven for an hour and a half, stirring every 30 minutes to ensure the beans on the surface do not dry out.


5) The pork will just pull apart and this shredded pork can be served with rice, in tortillas... however you like!

Southern Comfort fajitas

Ingredients 300g Quorn steak strips (or beef steak strips), southern comfort, tomato passata, 1 white onion, iceberg lettuce, soured cream, butter, jalepenos, cumin, cheddar, tortillas, Guacamole: 3 avocados, jalepeno, lime, coriander, soured cream, avocado oil.

Serves: 6 preparation: 20 minutes

I have never been a fan of Southern Comfort - the smell turns my stomach and I find the taste too sweet. Usually when cooking Mexican food I use tequila but a lack of tequila and the dregs of a bottle of SoCo that someone brought to a party recently made me wonder if the fruity, spicy flavour would work well as an alternative. Turns out it did! Enjoy...


1) To make guacamole, see my previous recipe.


2) Marinate the Quorn in Southern Comfort for about 5 or 10 minutes (it's like a sponge and will soak it right up - if you're using beef you might want to make it an hour beforehand).


3) Peel and finely dice the onion and sautee in a little butter until completely soft. Add the Quorn and any excess Southern Comfort and cook off the alcohol.


4) Add a little tomato passata, cumin and some chopped jalepenos to taste


5) Serve with shredded iceberg lettuce, grated cheddar, guacamole and some soured cream in a tortilla.

Sweet potato & feta burrito

Ingredients 1 sweet potato, 100g feta, 1/4 cucumber, tortilla, cumin, paprika, chilli powder, onion powder, dried coriander, Hummus: Chickpeas, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, sesame seeds

Serves: 2 preparation: 30 minutes

Now that the summer months are approaching, I'm looking forward to sitting outdoors to eat a refreshing, light lunch instead of huddled in the warmth of the office eating leftovers from the night before. This combination of soft, spicy sweet potato, crunchy cucumber, tangy feta and smooth savoury hummus is the perfect filling for a soft tortilla.


1) To make your own hummus, see previous recipe.


2) Slice the sweet potato into chunks and drizzle with olive oil before tossing in a bowl with the dry spices so that the potato is coated evenly.


3) Roast in the oven, skin side down for 20 minutes then set aside to cool.


4) Slice the feta and cucumber into chunks of similar size and along with the  sweet potato spoon on the centre of the tortilla in a straight line. I think this works best by pressing it onto a layer of hummus, though you could dollop hummus over it instead of course.


5) To fold the burrito, take the left and right side and lift to ensure the contents are dead centre, then first fold the bottom over the contents, then the left and right sides and tuck in the top. This will keep it all intact in your lunchbox. Serve cold.

Kohlrabi tabbouleh

IngredientsGiant (aka Israeli) cous-cous (I bought mine from Millie's Organic in Leeds), tomatoes, parsley, 1 lime, salt, black pepper, paprika, cumin, kohlrabi, cucumber.

Preparation: 10 minutes

Traditionally when I make tabbouleh, it's all about the parsley. Lemon juice, mint, tomato, bulgar wheat and a little all-spice are present but the parsley takes centre stage. This weekend I got hold of some kohlrabi which I ADORE and couldn't think of a nicer way of serving it than creating a kohlrabi tabbouleh. Kohlrabi has a delecate balance of cabbage notes and sweet, nutty freshness. Texture-wise I wanted the crunch to really stand out so substituted the bulgar wheat for giant cous-cous. Cous-cous is made using semolina which has been sprinkled with water, hand rolled and then passed through a sieve, dusted with more semolina and rolled and passed through again to form the granules that you can buy in the shops. Cous-cous in Israel has a much larger granule and personally I prefer it, the texture is more like the bubbles in a tapioca pudding and it's absolutely delicious, absorbing flavour more intensely than the smaller grains do.

1) Pour the cous-cous into a pan of boiling salted water and stir through for 6-8 minutes before straining in a sieve and setting aside to cool.

2) Peel the kohlrabi with a sharp knife to remove the green skin, then slice the white flesh into chunks.

3) Wherever possible, buy your tomatoes on the day you need them, still attached to the vine and don't keep them in the fridge; it chills away all the sunshine from the flavour. Pick from the vine, rinse in lukewarm water and slice into quarters.

4) Wash the cucumber to remove any wax from the skin and slice into chunks.

5) Squeeze the lime into the cous-cous and stir through, loosening any sticky grains with your hands - add a generous handful of freshly picked chopped parsley and season well with salt and cracked black pepper.

6) Add a tiny sprinkle of ground cumin and paprika, then stir through the kohlrabi, tomatoes and cucumber.

I served this with some iceberg and raddiocho lettuce leaves to scoop up the tabbouleh which is traditionally eaten with the hands.

Dukkah with romanesco broccoli

Ingredients     Sesame seeds, pistachios, himalayan pink sea salt, coriander seeds, mustard seeds, black peppercorns, paprika, chilli powder, cumin seeds, romanesco broccoli, pumpkin oil, basil oil.

Serves: 5 preparation: 10 minutes


I'm introducing three elements to you with this recipe. Firstly Dukkah, an absolutely stunningly delicious Egyptian dry spice mix which is usually served with bread and dipping oils. Secondly pumpkin oil which I bought at the incredible Cornucopia at Leeds Corn Exchange this week. It's a fabulous healthy oil made from dry roasted cold pressed pumpkin seeds which is evocative of sesame oil but FAR nicer. As soon as I tasted it, I knew it would change Dukkah for me forever. Thirdly, romanesco broccoli which is a gorgeous vegetable comprising of fractal spirals of crunchiness with a creamy flavour somewhere in between broccoli and cauliflower. I can rarely bear to cook it, instead preferring to admire the vivid green colour and sink my teeth into it. I chose to dunk the florets into the pumpkin oil and dukkah today and may never eat it with bread again! YUM!


1) Add equal quantities of the seeds and nuts to a hot pan and toast them off for 1-2 minutes or until the mustard seeds begin to pop.


2) Transfer to a mortar and pestle along with the sea salt, paprika, chilli powder and black peppercorns and grind until you have a rough, gritty powder.


Dukkah can be kept sealed in a jar in the cupboard for some time and makes a fabulous, fabulous dry rub for meat. I mixed the pumpkin oil with a little basil oil to bring out the sweetness of the romanesco broccoli.