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!

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.

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. 

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.

Leek & cheddar mini muffins

Ingredients    225g self raising flour, 50g plain   flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp garlic salt, 1/2 tsp mustard, 100g grated cheddar, 1/4  finely chopped leek, 6 tsp vegetable   oil, 150g Rachel's Organic greek yoghurt, 125ml milk, 1 egg.

Prepares: 52 mini muffins preparation 20 minutes

I am a total soup junkie and forever creating different flavours of breads to dunk in, or different textures and flavours to use as croutons. I have even been known to fill Hula-Hoops with cream cheese and float them on my soup. Mmmm melty goodness. Recently I have taken to making mini-muffins for soup and this is the first in what will be a series of my favourite mini-muffin crouton recipes.


1) Sift together the self raising flour, plain flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda.


2) Grate your cheese and finely chop the leek and stir into the flour.


3) Whisk together 1 egg with the mustard, milk and vegetable oil and stir into the flour mixture.


4) Stir in the yoghurt but do not make the mixture too smooth - it needs to be a bit lumpy for the muffins to rise and have those lovely fluffy bubbles of air inside.


5) Spoon into the mini muffin cases and bake at 220 degrees for 7-10 minutes (until they mushroom from the cases and become golden brown).


6) Allow to cool and pop them out of the cases and float on your soup.

Pink peppercorn sauce

Ingredients   100ml double cream, pink peppercorns, brandy, salt

Serves: 4 Preparation: 5 minutes (best made the day before required)


The picture above is of the peppercorn sauce when made just before required, if you allow this to mature overnight in the fridge it will thicken up to the texture of soured cream which is fabulous to spoon over steak or roast chicken.


1) Using a mortar and pestle, crush 2 tablespoons of pink peppercorns.


2) Add a tablespoon of brandy and a pinch of salt, then grind until a paste has formed.


3) Stir in the double cream and add a few whole peppercorns for decoration.

Polenta fries

Ingredients  1 cup polenta, vegetable stock, black pepper, cayenne pepper, garlic salt.

Serves: 4 Preparation: 5 minutes (plus 1 hour preparation)

Polenta is a highly underrated product! I use it as an alternative to mash if I get sick of potatoes, create a minted polenta crust for a lamb joint, or dusted it over my bread dough to add texture. A block of cooked polenta is relatively inexpensive and can also be used to make really gorgeous French fries, but you don't have to buy the ready-made stuff. You can make it yourself!

To make the polenta block

1) Measure a cup of polenta into a milk pan, and gradually stir in vegetable stock until a porridge like consistency has formed. 

2) Pour out onto a baking tray or square oven dish and smooth down with a spatula. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour, then turn out for chopping.

To make the fries


1) Cut slices of polenta from the block and slice into French fries


2) To prepare the seasoning, mix a tablespoon of polenta with 1/4 a teaspoon of garlic salt and 3/4 of a teaspoon of cayenne pepper. Put the polenta fries into a bowl and shake over the seasoning, tossing the fries until they are finely coated.


3) Deep fry the polenta for 3-4 minutes and season with freshly ground black pepper.