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Cheese & Ham Scones with Wild Garlic are great when you fancy a change from classic cheese scones. Still with plenty of cheese, they’re also studded with little morsels of ham. When wild garlic is in season, I love the subtle flavour it brings. At …Read more
Gazpacho Smoothie with Wild Garlic is a refreshing drink or light meal with lots of raw blended vegetables. Perfect on a hot day, you can substitute a small clove of garlic and greens such as spinach when wild garlic isn’t in season. If you want …Read more
Cheat’s Chicken Broth, although made in little more than half an hour, is full of flavour. Using commercial stock cubes and a chicken breast, it’s perfect when you or someone in your house is feeling poorly and needs food that’s easily digestible but nourishing. Make …Read more
Roasted Cauliflower Soup is a warming, comforting delight. Made with both milk and stock it’s creamy and velvety without being cloying or overly rich. Topped with crunchy, cheesy and garlicky croutons plus morsels of cheese to melt in as you eat, it’ll chase away the …Read more
Savoury Granola, a mix of seeds and nuts toasted with your choice of flavourings, is great for quickly adding nutrition, texture and flavour to loads of different meals. Kept in a jar in the fridge, a batch will last for weeks, ready to sprinkle over …Read more
Vegetable Slaw with Orange, Honey & Mustard Dressing is one of those recipes adaptable to whatever you happen to have in the fridge. I like a combination of shredded fresh raw vegetables with a good variety of colour. Favourites are crunchy peppers, carrot, onion and …Read more
Onion Bhaji are easy to make at home with none of the stodginess found in most supermarket versions. Mine have a very light batter so that the taste of the onions and spices come through. In this post I’ll also tell you about a simple …Read more
Egg Foo Yung is a quick Chinese-style omelette cooked rather like a pancake. Eaten on its own or part of a larger meal, I think Egg Foo Yung is even better with a savoury, tangy super-fast sauce poured over. It’s great for using up leftover …Read more
Mushroom & Chestnut Soup is wonderfully full flavoured, containing dried porcini mushrooms as well as fresh mushrooms. I like to add a little smoked bacon, but that can be left out if you want to keep the soup vegetarian. But what makes this different to …Read more
Aloo Bonda, also known as Batata Vada, are wonderful little spiced potato balls coated in a chickpea flour batter and deep fried. Served as a snack, starter or part of a larger Indian-style meal with chutneys for dipping, you’ll be surprised how such simple ingredients …Read more
Roasted Red Pepper & Borlotti Bean Soup makes use of economical and easy to use peppers from a jar plus tinned beans. With the addition of vegetables like onion, carrot and celery it’s a nutritious, vibrant soup with the warming heat of a little chilli …Read more
Smoky Bacon, Leek & Potato Soup is a welcome change from the usual creamy leek and potato version. Made in around 45 minutes, this golden coloured soup has bags of flavour, including smokiness from bacon or pancetta. Say ‘leek & potato soup’ and what …Read more
Chicken Croquettes, creamy on the inside with a hint of Parmesan, crunchy on the outside, are a great way of turning leftover roast chicken into irresistible fried morsels. Serve with potatoes and salad or vegetables, or with similar little dishes in an Italian style fritto …Read more
Bean, Bacon & Cabbage Soup is nourishing and flavour-packed. Using tinned cannellini beans speeds up the process and each bowlful will give you three to four portions of vegetables. Perfect comfort food for Autumn and Winter. As if the fact that Autumn is …Read more
Tahini Miso Vegetable Slaw with Crispy Chickpeas is a big, satisfying bowlful. Crunchy shredded vegetables with a dressing based on creamy tahini, full flavoured miso paste and as much chilli heat as you like are joined by chickpeas roasted until crispy and moreish. A hearty, …Read more
Roast Beef Salad is undoubtedly a sensible way to use up leftovers from the Sunday roast. But, made with quality beef sirloin, I think it’s so good it’s worth roasting a joint specially to make this satisfying plate. With little salads of roasted carrots, garlicky …Read more
Broad Bean Paté with Goats’ Cheese & Mint is a wonderful dish for Spring and Summer. With a combination of earthy broad beans, tangy goats’ cheese, refreshing mint and a hint of lemon, it’s light but satisfying. It’s fabulous spread thickly on toasted bread or …Read more
Aubergine Fritters are one of those foods that are really simple but so satisfying: golden chickpea batter on the outside, soft and creamy inside. I think these could even convert those who don’t usually like aubergine, but the recipe works with courgette too. Paired with …Read more
Easy Seed Crackers are light, crispy and delicious. Grain-free, gluten-free, made with nothing but seeds, water and your chosen seasonings, they’re the perfect crunchy accompaniment to spreads, dips, soups or cheese. Add to lunch boxes or enjoy as a healthy nibble. If …Read more
Quinoa Salad with Peas & Broad Beans includes some of the best ingredients of Spring and Summer. But you don’t have to wait until the new season’s peas and broad beans are available to make it. That’s because frozen versions, available all year round, can …Read more
Socca ia a north Mediterranean flatbread made with a batter of chickpea flour, water and salt, cooked in olive oil. Incredibly simple, you can fry it like a pancake or bake in the oven and make your Socca crispy or soft. Infinitely versatile, you can flavour …Read more
This Miso, Ginger & Sesame Vegetable Salad is a real favourite at our house. The sweet and tart, zingy dressing is made in about five minutes. All you need to do then is decide what crunchy veg you want in the salad. I love carrot, …Read more
Courgette & Chive Pancakes are incredibly simple but so good. Crispy at the edges, soft inside, and with a subtle taste of chives and Parmesan cheese. Put together in minutes then shallow fried, they make a great breakfast or brunch topped with eggs or a …Read more
Roasted Beetroot Hummus is a great variation on the classic Middle Eastern dip. The sweet earthiness brings a new dimension without overwhelming the chickpeas and tahini of the original. Roasting both the beetroot plus a head of garlic (which becomes beautifully mellow) will add even …Read more
Pork Rillettes are a rich treat for unashamed meat lovers. Made with tasty, free-range pork, slowly cooked in home-rendered pork fat, the soft spread is wonderful on toasted bread with homemade, quick-pickled vegetables on the side. FRUIT & VEG ARE NOT MEAT (YES, THAT …Read more