Vegetable Stew

Ingredients (for 8 people):
15ml olive oil
125g white onions, diced
10g garlic, chopped
125g courgette, diced
50g celery, diced (1/2 cooked)
375g potato, diced (cooked)
125g swede, diced (cooked)
50g celeriac, diced (1/2 cooked)
25g spinach, roughly chopped
50g red pepper, diced
375g canned chick peas
250g canned chopped tomatoes
250g canned tomato sauce (passata style)
375ml vegetable stock
50ml white wine
15g chopped parsley
10g chopped oregano
5g dried red chilli flakes
5g cinnamon
Pinch salt
Pinch milled black pepper
80g Parmesan cheese (or Pecorino Romano made with vegetable rennet), grated to serve on top

Heat the olive oil in a large pan, sauté the onions and garlic until they soften.
Add all the (non-canned) vegetables and cook for a further five minutes.
Add the remaining ingredients and simmer for 20 minutes.
Add seasoning to taste.
To serve, sprinkle grated Parmesan or Pecorino on the top

Green Bean Salad Almondine

4 cups green beans
¼ red onion thinly sliced
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp lemon zest
¼ tsp salt
¼ cup sliced almonds

Cook green beans. Plunge into cold water, drain and pat dry. Place in a large bowl, add onion. Mix vinegar lemon juice and zest and salt and mix. Add to beans and toss. Toast almonds over medium heat and sprinkle on top.

Mexican Corn Salad

2 cups of corn
2 cups diced tomato
1 tsp cumin
½ tsp chilli powder
¼ cup chopped scallions
1 red pepper diced
2 tbsp fresh cilantro
2 tbsp oil
1 tbsp red wine vinegar

In a large bowl combine corn, tomato, scallions and pepper. Set aside. In a separate bowl combine cumin, chilli, cilantro, oil and vinegar. Mix well and pour over vegetables and mix well. Chill until ready to serve.

Roast Parsnips with Honey

8 parsnips
3 tbsp oil
2 tbsp honey

Peel, top and tail parsnips and cut each into two shorter pieces, then cut thick ends into quarters and bottom pieces into half. Add to pan of cold water and bring to boil and simmer for 4 min. Drain. Heat oil in a roasting tin in oven 220?, Gas 7 for a few minutes. Add parsnips and turn them over in the oil. Roast for 20 min. Drizzle on honey and coat parsnips. Roast for another 5-10 minutes.

Carrots with tarragon & orange

600g carrots
Zest and juice of 1 orange
25g butter
1 tsp sugar

Peel and cut carrots into batons, place in a pan with other ingredients, gently bring to simmer and cook for 5 min. Remove lid and add 1 tbsp of tarragon or parsley and cook for another 5 min, drain and serve.

Broccoli & Beans with citrus butter

500g broccoli
500g green beans
25g butter
2 tbsp olive oil
Zest of 1 lemon

Bring a pan of water to the boil, add the broccoli, green beans and simmer for 2 min. Drain then add butter, oil and lemon zest to pan and allow the heat of pan to melt butter. Return vegetables to pan and toss.

Lentil and Mushroom Curry

250g whole brown lentils
1 onion chopped
1 garlic clove crushed
25g butter
2 tbsp curry paste
900ml vegetable stock
100g mushrooms quartered
100g oyster mushrooms quartered
100g chestnut mushrooms quartered
150ml plain yogurt
15 ml curried peach chutney
Salt and pepper

Soak the lentils in cold water for several hours, then drain thoroughly. Fry the onion and garlic in the butter in a large saucepan, stirring for 2 min. Stir in the curry paste and cook for 1 min. Blend in the stock and bring to the boil. Stir in the lentils, cover, reduce heat and simmer gently for 1 ½ hrs . Add all the mushrooms and continue cooking for 30 min until the mushrooms are tender and nearly all the liquid has been absorbed. Stir in the chutney and season to taste.

Italian Pepper Salad

2 red peppers sliced
2 green peppers sliced
1 red onion cut into small wedges
12 green olives
50g Mozzarella cheese grated
15ml olive oil
10ml red wine vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ tsp marjoram

Mix together the peppers, onion and olives and place in four small bowls. Sprinkle the cheese over. Whisk together the oil vinegar, some salt and pepper and the marjoram and drizzle over.

Banana & Chicory Salad

2 bananas thickly sliced
Grated rind and juice of 1 lemon
2 heads of chickory (Belgian endive)
15ml sunflower oil
Salt and pepper
T tbsp. chopped coriander
1 tbsp desiccated coconut (shredded), toasted
Few grains sugar

Toss the bananas in a little of the lemon juice to prevent browning. Cut a cone shaped core out of the base of each chicory head, then separate into leaves. Arrange in a starburst pattern on a serving plate and pile the bananas in the centre. Whisk together the remaining lemon juice, the rind, oil and a few grains of sugar. Add salt and pepper to taste and pour over. Sprinkle the leaves with coriander and the bananas with the coconut.

Chakchouka

2 onions chopped
2 garlic cloves crushed
40g butter
1 small cauliflour, cut into florets
225g broccoli cut into florets
1 green pepper diced
1 lb tomatoes skinned and chopped
60ml water
Salt and pepper
2 tsp paprika
¼ tsp chilli powder
¼ tsp ground cumin
4 eggs

Fry the onions and garlic in the butter in a large frying pan for 2 min until slightly softened. Add the cauliflower, broccoli, green pepper, tomatoes, water a little salt and pepper, paprika chilli and cumin. Cover and simmer for 20 min or until the vegetables are tender and bathed in sauce, stir from time to time. Make four wells in the mixture and break an egg into each. Cover and continue to cook for 5 min or until the eggs are set.