Allotment cottage pie (pictured above)
Root veg, porcini mushrooms, Marmite, crispy rosemary
Sometimes I swap the lentils for borlotti or butter beans – both work really well.
Prep 25 min
Cook 1 hr 35 min
Serves 6-8
Energy 466 kcal; fat 12g; sat fat 4.4g; protein 14g; carbs 80g; sugars 15g; salt 0.8g; fibre 13.7g
10g dried porcini mushrooms
2 large leeks
3 carrots
500g swede
500g celeriac
Olive oil
3 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 tsp cumin seeds
Salt and black pepper
2kg potatoes
40g unsalted butter
1 splash semi-skimmed milk
1 onion
1 tsp Marmite
3 tbsp tomato puree
1 x 400g tin green lentils
Heat the oven to 190C (170C)/gas 5. In a blender, cover the porcini with 600ml boiling water. Trim, wash and slice the leeks 2cm thick, then scrub the carrots, swede and celeriac and chop to roughly the same size.
Drizzle two tablespoons of oil into a large casserole pan on a medium heat, strip in the rosemary, fry for one minute to crisp up, then transfer to a plate with a slotted spoon. Add the cumin seeds and prepped veg to the flavoured oil, season with sea salt and black pepper, then cook for 30 minutes, stirring regularly.
Meanwhile, peel and roughly chop the potatoes, cook in a pan of boiling salted water for 15 minutes, or until tender, then drain well. Mash with the butter and milk, and season to taste. Peel and quarter the onion, add to the porcini in the blender, along with the Marmite and tomato puree, and whizz until smooth. Pour into the veg pan and cook for 20 minutes, or until dark and caramelised, stirring regularly and scraping up any sticky bits from the bottom of the pan.
Tip the lentils (juices and all) into the veg pan, bring to a boil, then season to taste. Spoon over the mash, place on a tray, bake for 30 minutes, or until light golden and bubbling at the edges, then sprinkle over the crispy rosemary. Serve with simple steamed seasonal greens – it’s a winner!
Crispy cauliflower katsu
Light and delicate curry sauce, fluffy rice, lime-pickled chillies
Tip: for that 1980s retro feel, mould the rice in small bowls like I’ve done here – it’s pointless, but fun!
Prep 30 min
Cook 1 hr 15 min
Serves 6
Energy 637kcal; fat 9.2g; sat fat 2g; protein 23.6g; carbs 120g; sugars 16g; salt 1.5g; fibre 10.4g
2 heads cauliflower (800g each)
3 fresh mixed-colour chillies
Salt and black pepper
3 limes
150g plain flour
3 large free-range eggs
200g fine breadcrumbs
1 onion
4 garlic cloves
5cm piece ginger
1 carrot
1 bunch fresh coriander (30g), leaves and stalks separated
Olive oil
1 heaped tsp garam masala
1 tsp ground turmeric
3 tsp mango chutney
450g basmati rice
Heat the oven to 180C (160C fan)/350F/gas 4. Cut six chunky cauliflower slices, straight through the stalks, around 2.5cm thick (use up the leftover stalks by making my simple pickle). Season the cauliflower slices all over with sea salt and leave aside (this will draw out the natural moisture). Meanwhile, finely slice the chillies and place them in a bowl with a pinch of salt. Finely grate over the zest of two limes, then squeeze over the juice and leave to lightly pickle.
Put 100g of the flour into one bowl, beat the eggs in another, and tip the breadcrumbs into a third. Coat the cauliflower slices in the flour, dunk in the beaten egg, then dip, press and coat in the breadcrumbs. Place on an oiled baking tray and push down to compact. Bake for 45 minutes, or until golden and crisp.
Meanwhile, peel the onion, garlic, ginger and carrot, then finely chop with the coriander stalks, reserving the leaves. Fry in a large pan on a medium heat with a tablespoon of oil and the spices for 15 minutes, stirring regularly. Stir in 50g of flour and the mango chutney, followed by a litre of boiling water. Whisk together, then simmer for 15 minutes, or to your preferred consistency, stirring occasionally. Taste and season to perfection with salt and black pepper. Cook the rice according to the packet instructions, then drain. Serve the rice and sauce with the crispy cauliflower, chilli pickle, lime wedges and reserved coriander leaves.
Mushroom stroganoff
Crunchy cornichons, fragrant capers, creamy whisky sauce, parsley
Prep 10 min
Cook 10 min
Serves 2
Energy 251 kcal; fat 13.9g; sat fat 5.2g; protein 6.7g; carbs 11.9g; sugars 7.9g; salt 0.8g; fibre 4.3g
400g mixed mushrooms
1 red onion
2 garlic cloves
4 silverskin pickled onions
2 cornichons
4 sprigs fresh flat-leaf parsley
Olive oil
1 tbsp baby capers
50ml whisky
Smoked paprika
80g half-fat creme fraiche
Salt and black pepper
Rice, to serve
Get all the prep done before you start cooking: trim the mushrooms, tearing up any larger ones and leaving any smaller ones whole, peel and finely slice the red onion and garlic, and finely slice the pickled onions and cornichons. Pick and roughly chop the parsley leaves, finely chopping the stalks.
Place a large nonstick frying pan over a high heat, throw in the mushrooms and red onions, shake into one layer, then dry-fry for five minutes (this will bring out the nutty flavour), stirring regularly. Drizzle in a tablespoon of oil, then add the garlic, pickled onions, cornichons, parsley stalks and capers. After three minutes, pour in the whisky, tilt the pan to carefully flame, or light with a long match (watch your eyebrows!), and, once the flames subside, add a quarter of a teaspoon of paprika, the creme fraiche and parsley leaves, then toss together.
Loosen with a splash of boiling water to a saucy consistency, and season to taste with sea salt and black pepper. Divide between plates, sprinkle over a little paprika, and serve with fluffy rice.
Angry pasta fagioli
Squash, beans, warming chilli, rosemary oil
I like to pull out the chillies, chop them into a paste and serve them as an angry (fiery) condiment for stirring back through the soup, to taste.
Prep 20 min
Cook 40 min
Serves 4
Energy 506kcal; fat 17.9g; sat fat 2.6g; protein 17.3g; carbs 73g; sugars 13.9g; salt 1.2g; fibre 13.6g
300g butternut squash
1 carrot
Olive oil
4 fresh red chillies
1 onion
2 garlic cloves
300g dried wholemeal penne
Salt and black pepper
1 x 400g tin borlotti beans
1 x 400g tin quality plum tomatoes
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp red-wine vinegar
Peel the squash (deseed if needed) and scrub the carrot, then chop into 1cm chunks, and place in a large casserole pan on a medium heat with two tablespoons of olive oil. Prick and throw in the whole chillies (this will give you a warming, gentle heat), then cook for 10 minutes, or until lightly golden, stirring regularly.
Peel and finely chop the onion and garlic, then add to the pan and cook for a further 10 minutes, or until softened and caramelised.
Wrap the pasta in a clean tea towel and bash with a rolling pin to crack and break it up (give it some welly!), then stir into the pan with a pinch of sea salt and black pepper. Tip in the beans (juices and all) and scrunch in the tomatoes, along with three tins’ worth of water. Pop the lid on and simmer for 20 minutes, or until thickened and the pasta is cooked, stirring occasionally.
Meanwhile, strip the rosemary leaves into a mortar, add a pinch of salt and bash to a paste with the pestle, then muddle in three tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil and the vinegar. Swirl into the pan and serve up.
