Moroccan chickpea soup with cavolo nero

I love a hearty soup and this one is a firm favourite. I like to make a big batch as I have done here so I can freeze a few portions for easy meals on days I just don't have time to cook.

This recipe is for a big pan of about 3 litres, but if you don't want to make that much, or haven't the freezer space then just scale if down, halve the quantities and make a smaller batch to keep in the fridge for a few days. 

Ingredients

• 4 medium onions, halved and finely sliced

• 2 large carrots

• 1 large clove garlic, grated or finely chopped

• 1 tsp cumin

• 1 tsp ground coriander

• 1 tsp sweet smoked paprika or pimento

• 1 tsp dried chilli flakes

• 300g red lentils, rinsed in cold water

• 400g tin tomatoes

• 1.5 litres vegetable stock, fresh or a Kallo low salt cube

• 1 roasted (unpeeled) sweet potato, peeled and mashed

• 2 tbsp tomato puree

• 1 1/2 tsp Maldon sea salt, or similar

• Handful of cavolo nero / kale / spinach or whatever greenery you prefer!

• 1 tin 400g chickpeas, drained

• Sprinkle of chopped parsley, to taste

• Blob of sour cream in each bowl

Method

• Get a large saucepan and heat a few gulgs of olive oil before adding the onions and carrots. Cook gently for around 10-15 minutes or until softened.

• Grate in the garlic and cook for a couple of minutes.

• Next add all the dry spices and stir into the vegetables, allow to heat through for a further 2 minutes.

• Add the lentils, stir to coat in the spices then add all the stock, plus the tinned tomatoes and tomato puree. Simmer for 20 minutes with the lid on.

• Add the sweet potato - mash and stir it in, this will disappear to give a lovely sweetness and will thicken the soup.

• Season with the salt and then add the chickpeas and cavolo nero, kale or spinach, cooking for a further 5 minutes.

• Sprinkle with parsley and add a nice big blob of sour cream.

Roasted red pepper salad with coriander

Ahhh nothing beats roasted red pepper for me; the gorgeous sweet flavour and soft texture liven up any salad in my opinion. This dish goes perfectly with a Middle Eastern style meal; or can be eaten simply with some fresh bread, hoummus and grilled halloumi.

Ingredients

Serves 6 as part of a mezze

• 3 red peppers, grilled

• 1/4 garlic clove crushed

• Olive oil, couple of glugs

• 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar (may be a little more depending on taste)

• Sprinkle of cumin

• Handful of chopped parsley and/or coriander to finish, leaves chopped

• Salt & pepper

Method

• Place the whole red peppers under a hot grill on some tin foil, making sure that they are not too close to the heat source. Allow the skin to blacken and then turn until all the skin is coloured, but not completely charred. The wrap in the foil and leave to cool, so it is easier to remove the skins.

• Crush the garlic and mix with the olive oil, vinegar and some finely chopped parsley. Season generously.

• Remove the peppers from the foil after about 10 minutes and peel off all the skin, deseed, core and tear in medium sized stripes, or use a knife if you prefer.

• Place the pepper on a plate and pour over the dressing, sprinkle on some cumin and the rest of the chopped herbs. Serve at room temperature. For those coriander-haters out there, use basil or parsley, this salad will still taste divine.

Caprese salad

There are very few salads that come close to a Caprese; gorgeous creamy buffalo mozzarella paired with ripe juicy tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil and fresh basil. Simple and perfect.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 3 ripe vine tomatoes

• 125g buffalo mozzarella

• Fresh basil leaves

• Extra virgin olive oil

• Aged balsamic vinegar

Method

• Slice the tomatoes and arrange on the plate, drain the mozzarella and gently use your fingers or a knife to split it into bite-sized pieces

• Sprinkle some torn basil leaves on top and drizzle the olive oil and balsamic

• Season

Tip

Homemade pesto is a really nice addition to this dish to give it a different twist. I usually add a bit more olive oil to the pesto so it drizzles on the plate - if you are doing this then cut out the plain olive oil.  

Asparagus with poached egg on sourdough

I love this classic combo, pairing griddled asparagus with a soft poached egg on sourdough. Wow, what a dish! I think this is only of my favourite breakfast brunches.

Ingredients

Serves 1

• 6 asparagus spears

• 1 egg

• Fresh bread (of any variety)

• Pinch of sweet smoked paprika

• 1 tablespoon parmesan, finely grated

• Salt & pepper

Method

• Baste the asparagus in a little olive oil and heat a griddle, or frying pan if you don't have one. Place the asparagus in the pan and allow to colour on both sides. This shouldn't take much more than 4-5 minutes. 

• As the asparagus goes in the pan, bring a pan of water to boil and poach the egg; put the bread in the toaster. Everything cooks quickly, so it all have to go on together pretty much. 

• Once the toast is done, butter and put on the plate followed by the asparagus, sprinkled with a little paprika and then top with the egg. Finish with the grated parmesan and there you have one of the tastiest, quickest meals you'll ever make.

Tip

Perfect poached eggs

Ever wondered how chefs get their poached eggs into small neat looking bundles that wobble delicately on top of you toast? The trick is to to put the whole egg (still in the shell) on a spoon and place it in boiling water for 10 seconds. Then remove and crack into the water. You'll find that the small amount of heat you gave it in the shell just keeps the white together nicely, so it forms a better shape when poached. Of course if you have super fresh eggs then this isn’t necessary, but it’s a good trick to know for most standard supermarket ones!

Apricot & cardamom cake

Oh my goodness I love this cake; it tastes amazing and is different from the norm. The subtle addition of cardamom makes this bake interesting and would be the perfect end to a Middle Eastern-style meal. Gorgeous. The recipe comes from Simply Nigella and is very easy to follow. I love Nigella's new book as it is full of fresh new recipes that are full of flavour, but more straightforward and lower in fat. 

Ingredients

• 150 g dried apricots

• 250 cold water

• 2 cardamom pods (cracked)

• 200 grams ground almonds

• 50 grams fine polenta (not instant)

• 1 teaspoon baking powder (gluten-free if required)

• 150 g caster sugar

• 6 large eggs; ideally at room temperature

• 2 teaspoons lemon juice

• 1 teaspoon rosewater - I left this out as I find it too floral

• Sunflower oil or butter for greasing

• Decoration

• 2 teaspoons apricot jam (or rose petal jam)

• 1 teaspoon lemon juice

• 2½ teaspoons very finely chopped pistachios

Method

• Preheat oven to 180°c

• Use a 20cm (or 21cm also works well) springform cake

• Put the apricots in a small saucepan with the split cardamom pods and just enough water to cover them. While you're doing this grease the tin and line with parchment. Bring to boil and turn down to a gentle simmer for 10 minutes. Leave to cool and the apricots will absorb more water, so make sure you don't boil them dry

• Weigh the other ingredients while the apricots are cooling down. Once the apricots are cool put 5 aside and remove the cardamom pods, but not the seeds. Place the rest of the apricots and the cardamom seeds into a food processor, or if you don't have one you can finely chop with a knife (including the seeds - they'll be soft and easy to chop, just a bit fiddly)

• Next put the almonds, polenta, baking powder, caster sugar, sugar and eggs into a food processor or a mixer with the beater attachment and mix thoroughly. Once mixed add the lemon juice and then the apricots.

• Scrape the mixture into the tin and then position the apricot halves around the top of the cake and put in the oven for 40 mins.

• I checked mine after 30 minutes and it had browned enough on top so I placed a piece of tin foil lightly over the top for the last ten minutes - this is what Nigella recommends in her recipe

  Tip

• If you don't like cardamom then just leave it out of the recipe, or add a teaspoon of almond essence instead. It'll still be one of the most delicious soft cakes you have ever eaten.

Chana masala / chickpea curry

I made a big pot of this curry the other night so I have some tasty lunches over the next few days.

This is a recipe from Meera Sodha’s wonderful debut cookbook Made in India. Apparently I’m not alone in loving this dish as as she says in her description that, “right now, millions of Indians are probably tucking into a chana masala: it’s the dish that sustains a nation, the coals of India’s engine room.” Well, I can understand why – it’s full of protein-rich chickpeas, delicious aromatic spices and low in fat. What’s not to like?

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 200g dried chickpeas (or 2 x 400g tins)

• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

• 3cm ginger, peeled and grated finely

• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and grated finely

• 1 fresh green chilli, finely chopped

• 3 tablespoons of rapeseed oil

• 2 onions, slicces

• 1 x 400g tinned plum tomatoes

• 1 tablespoon tomatoe puree

• 1 teaspoon garam masala

• ¾ teaspoon ground cumin

• ½ teaspoon chilli powder

• ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric

Method

• If you are using dried chickpeas then soak in cold water with the bicarbonate of soda over night, or at least 6 hours. Rinse, drain, then cover with more cold water and boil for 30-45 minutes until soft, discard the scum if it appears when boiling.

• Grate the ginger and garlic, then chop the chilli, mix together with a pinch of salt.

• Put the oil into the pan and heat, when it is hot add the onions and cook for 10 minutes or until they become golden. Keep stirring!

• Add in the ginger, garlic and chilli mix into the pan and stir, then the tomatoes and squash them once in the pan, followed by the tomato puree. Cook the sauce for 8-10 minutes.

• Add the garam masala, 1 ½ teaspoons of salt, cumin, chilli powder and turmeric, cooking for a few minutes before adding the chickpeas. Add up to 5 tablespoons of water to thin the sauce if it is quite thick at this point. Stir well and cook for another 5 minutes.

• Serve with chapattis and a tomato and sweet onion salad dressed with rapeseed oil and fresh lime. 

Chapattis

Ingredients

Makes approx 5

• 300g Chapatti Flour 

• 100ml - 200ml water

• 2tbs sunflower or rapeseed oil (optional)

Method

• Place flour in a large bowl, make a well in the centre and stir the

• water in stages.

• Add the oil and work into a soft dough by hand. Knead for

• approximately 5 minutes.

• Divide the dough into 5 equal pieces and make into small balls by hand.

• Roll out each piece on a floured surface, with a rolling pin, into a thin round circle.

• Place a frying pan on a medium heat.

• Put the chapatti into the pan until blisters appear, then turn and cook the other side.

• Cook until golden brown on both sides and serve hot.

Tip

• Sodha's original recipe says to bash up the garlic, ginger and chilli using a pestle and mortor, but my method cuts out a lot of bashing time. I use a parmesan cheese grater or a Microplane to get a fine texture.

• Rapeseed oil – why use it ? It’s versatile, healthy, and is one of the only oils grown and bottled in the UK along with linseed. Rapeseed oil is high in mono-unsaturated and poly-unsaturated fats omega 3, 6 and 9, so can help you maintain healthy cholesterol levels. It also has less unhealthy saturated fat than all other cooking oils and fats.

Simple white loaf

Weirdly, despite my interest in all things food and eating, I haven't made much of my own bread. I think I have always dismissed the idea as too time-consuming. However, yesterday I decided to experiment and make a couple of loaves. Well, there's no going back; the taste, texture and smell are so totally different from most bread you can buy off the shelf and even artisan bread. I think it is partly due to the loaf being so fresh; it's right there in your kitchen rather than having to make any kind of journey.

There is something hugely satisfying about watching the dough rise and then kneading it afterwards. I love to see it bake in the oven; turning from a pale squashy mass into ‘proper’ bread. It feels like I’m being very clever. In fact, I’m not, as it’s quite a simple process really and seems to work pretty much each time. Come back to me when I’ve toiled for a week over a sour dough though…

This is just about the most straightforward loaf you can make. I doubled the quantities and made 2 medium sized loaves. I also added ¼ strong wholemeal flour to improve the flavour and to trick the kids into eating fibre. I have also done 50:50 white and wholemeal which is also great. This dough only requires 3 kneads for 10 seconds each; you can't get much more low effort than that.

My sister in law, who is a fabulous baker, first put me on to Dan Lepard. She is a prolific bread-maker and really rates Lepard's recipes. I have been searching up his recipes online so far, but I must invest in some of his books. I like the look of 'The Handmade Loaf' and for my love of baked sugary things 'Short & Sweet'.

Ingredients

• 400g strong white flour, plus more for dusting and shaping

• 1 tsp dry instant yeast (from the packet)

• 1 tsp fine salt

• 300ml warm water oil for kneading

Method

Mix flour, yeast, salt and warm water together in a bowl and mix until it ends up as a craggy mess. Cover with a cloth and let it be for ten minutes. Either use a mixer with the dough hook attachment or oil a work surface and knead the bread for 10 seconds. Return it to the bowl. Repeat this process twice more, waiting ten minutes each time.

Shape the dough into an oval, dust it with flour and place it seam-side down on a baking sheet or make it rectangular and bake in a 2lb cake tin (as seen in the photo). Cover again with a cloth and leave for around 45 minutes until the dough has increased in volume by around 50%. Flour the top of the loaf, slash it down the middle to create a tear and bake at 220°C for 35-40 mins until golden brown.

Tip

Lepard recommends placing a roasting tray in the bottom of your oven and pouring boiling water into it when you put the loaf in the oven to create steam, which will help your crust and the tear.

First published in The Handmade Loaf by Dan Lepard 2004, reworked in The Guardian 2007, to see more of Dan's work visit danlepard.com)

Sweet potato, mozzarella, chilli & basil

This is a lovely easy recipe that you can make quickly and either eat at home if you're not in the office, or put in Tupperware to take with you. I absolutely love the fresh flavours of this dish - I could eat it everyday!

Ingredients

Serves 2

• 1 sweet potato

• 100g buffalo mozzarella, sliced

• 1/2 red chilli, thinly sliced, or chopped finely

• Juice of 1/2 lemon juice

• Drizzle of olive oil

• Basil leaves, ripped

• Salt and pepper

• Salad leaves & / roasted red pepper slices

  Method

• Roast a sweet potato on a baking tray in the oven at 180ºc for about 45 minutes depending on size. You can test with a skewer to see if is soft right the way through.

• Prep and plate the salad - have any combination you like, I like leaves and roasted red pepper (from a jar - easy!), but you could add grated carrot, red onion, raw peppers, cucumber - any salad you like.

• Cut the potato in half lengthways and top with mozzarella and chilli, then add a drizzle of olive oil and finish with a good squeeze of lemon.

Tip

• Keep a jar of roasted red peppers in your cupbaord as they’re great for quickly improving a salad or making sauces or dips like romesco or muhammara.

spicy chicken marinade

I made this chicken over the weekend for an impromptu BBQ when the sun was shining, and even though I say so myself, it was really bloody good! Early in the afternoon, I had a look in the fridge and found chicken thighs, Greek yogurt, and all the spices I needed in my cupboard.  I even had some leftover BBQ coals from last year. A minor miracle to organise a spontaneous BBQ and find you have all the things you need without making a dash to the supermarket.

I decided to make a couple of marinades, one spicy and one the kids could handle. Having a massive pot of yoghurt in the fridge I made this the basis for both.

I love using yoghurt to marinade meat. Its natural active bacteria breaks down the protein making the chicken moist and tender. The lactic acid in yoghurt also acts as a gentle tenderiser. It is much milder than citric acid and works a little slower, but this means it is unlikely to act too strongly making the meat mushy. You can leave the meat in the marinade for longer to gain flavour, but not lose texture.

As you can see from the photo, I made a simple salad with a yogurt and dill dressing, red cabbage slaw, roasted red peppers, and a squeeze of fresh lime.

Ingredients

• 6 chicken thighs (mine were skinless, but it doesn’t matter either way)

• 5 tablespoons of plain yoghurt (I used greek-style)

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 teaspoon Ras al Hanout

• 1 teaspoon ground cumin

• ½ teaspoon ground coriander

• ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper (you can leave this out if you don’t like it hot)

• 1 teaspoon sea salt flakes

• Juice of 1 lemon, slice up the remains

• Large pinch of black pepper

Method

Get a large mixing bowl and put all the marinade ingredients into it, mixing thoroughly, including the lemon slices. Add the chicken and leave to marinate in the fridge for up to 12 hours. The longer the better, basically, but after 3 hours mine was really good.

Either fire up the BBQ and grill these outdoors, or use an iron griddle or frying pan to cook indoors if need be. My chicken thighs were quite small, so they only took about 6 minutes a side to cook. To be on the safe side, I always slice open one piece of chicken to make sure it is cooked through.

Tip

Serve with a Moroccan roasted red pepper and a green salad, red cabbage slaw and some sunshine.

If the weather is bad, these chicken thighs can be cooked on an iron griddle or frying pan; this method works equally well. Cooking times are the same.