Rich Omega 3 salmon and superfood beetroot are a delicious combination on a base of crispy potato slices and a sweet spicy sauce. If you are not a lover of beets, you can always substitute them for peppers or similar.

Serves: 4
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cook: 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

12 baby potatoes, thinly sliced
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp fennel seeds
4 salmon fillets
Zest and juice of 1 lemon or lime
Small handful of lemon thyme, finely chopped
2 tbsp sweet chili sauce
4 beetroots, peeled and cut into smallish wedges

METHOD:

Heat oven to 180 C/350F/Gas Mark 4.

Put the potatoes on a large baking tray and toss with the olive oil, fennel seeds and lemon thyme. Season and bake for 15 minutes until soft, and the potatoes beginning to crisp.

Toss the potatoes over and mix in the beetroot wedges. Return to the oven for a further 10 minutes.

Place the salmon fillets on the top of the potatoes and beets, and squeeze over the lemon juice. Brush the fillets with the sweet chili sauce. Return to the oven for a further 10 minutes.

Remove, add seasoning and serve.

A lovely taste of the Caribbean, these pasties will make you think of tropical beaches and warm summer breezes.

Jerk seasoning is a spice mix which contains cinnamon, nutmeg, chili, thyme (main ingredients) but all Jamaicans have their own version. Nowadays, you can buy excellent Jerk spice mixes and rubs from most supermarkets as it has become very popular to use as a mix and also as a marinade for barbecued meats. It can be used with any meat, or even fish, but pork, beef and chicken particularly benefit from its flavor.

You can make them full size like we have, or lots of ‘mini’ ones for snacks – not just great for a meal, but super party snack as well. They can also be made in advance, so you have an instant dish ready to go or to be frozen for up to one month.

Serves: 4 large, or 6 medium sized pasties
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 25-30 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb lean minced or ground beef
1 medium sized white onion, diced
1 medium sized red pepper, core removed and diced
2 or 3 sticks of celery, finely diced
2 tbsp jerk seasoning
3 tbsp beef stock
Short crust pastry, ready made
1 egg and a little milk, beaten for glaze
1 tbsp vegetable oil for sautéing

METHOD:

Heat oven to 170°C.

In a frying pan on a low heat, gently sauté the onion, red pepper and celery in the oil until softened.

Add the mince and jerk seasoning and mix well until all the meat has browned and is cooked through. Add the beef stock, stir through until all is combined. Turn off the heat.

On a clean surface (either your worktop or a board) roll out the pastry to approximately ¼ inch.

Using a large cutter, or an upturned saucer or small side plate, cut out circles of pastry. If you are making smaller ones, you can use an upturned wine glass or glass to cut. Cut as many circles as you need.

Divide the mixture evenly amongst the circles. Brush around the rim with the egg wash, and then gripping either side of the circle, pull up and ‘pleat’ the pastry at the top, sealing firmly. Lightly fold the pastry at either end so that the mixture does not escape whilst cooking. Glaze all over with the remaining egg wash until all the pasties are ready.

Lightly oil a baking sheet and place each pastie on the sheet, leaving a gap between each one to allow them to spread a little.

Bake for 25-30 minutes until the pastry is crisp and golden. Remove from the oven and leave to cool before refrigerating – if you can bear the temptation to eat one!

This dish is inspired by the wonderful taste and aromas of Christmas – cinnamon, a little ground spice, ginger and delicious cranberries. This is a great dish to make for friends as it takes little time to prepare and you can walk away and leave it for a couple of hours while you get on with other jobs!

Serves: 6
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 2½ - 3 hrs

INGREDIENTS:

1½ tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2-2½ lbs of chuck steak, trimmed of all fat and cut into chunks
24 shallots, peeled but left whole
4 cloves garlic, minced or finely chopped
1½ inch piece of ginger, peeled and cut into fine slivers
½ tsp saffron
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp coriander
1 tbsp ground almonds
3 oz dried cranberries
4 C of natural beef stock

METHOD:

Using a large flameproof and ovenproof casserole dish, heat the olive oil and brown the pieces of chuck steak all over. Remove from the pot, and add the shallots, garlic and ginger, and cook until soft and they have taken on color.

Add the saffron, cinnamon, almonds and coriander and stir frequently for at least 1 minute.

Add the stock and put the meat back into the pot. Cover and simmer for 1 hour, or place in the oven at 180 C/330 F. After 1 hour, remove the lid of the pot and continue to cook for another 1½ - 2 hrs, stirring frequently to prevent burning or sticking. If you are cooking in the oven, leave the lid on.

When the meat is tender and flaking, add the cranberries to heat up and become soft and juicy.  Add a little water or stock and continue to cook to your liking! You could add the juice and rind of one orange, to give it a really fruity flavor instead of the stock or water.

Serve with baked fennel or a sweet potato crush. Alternatively, make in advance and freeze, or store in the fridge for a couple of days.

Serves: 4

INGREDIENTS:

Chocolate profiterole

3 oz of unsalted butter
6½ oz of water
4 oz of plain flour
4 tsp of caster sugar
3 eggs, lightly beaten
Vegetable oil
Salt

Chocolate profiterole filling

20 oz of double cream

Chocolate sauce

2 oz of caster sugar
3¼ oz of water
6 ½ oz of dark chocolate, broken into small pieces

METHOD:

To make the chocolate profiterole, begin by heating the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas mark 6 and lightly oil a large baking sheet. To make the pastry for the chocolate profiteroles, put the butter, sugar and 6½ oz. of water in a pan over a gentle heat to melt the butter. Once melted, increase the heat, and immediately add the flour and a dash of salt all at once.

Remove from the heat and beat the mix with a wooden spoon to form a smooth paste. Return to a gentle heat and stir for 1 minute so the mix comes away from the sides of the pan. Take off the heat again and beat in the egg incrementally. Once all the egg is added, beat for a minute or so to get a smooth glossy paste.

Divide the mix up on the baking tray. Either use a spoon to make walnut-sized pieces, leaving a little space between them for them to puff up, or use a piping bag and plain nozzle to pipe on small balls instead. Next, dip a teaspoon into warm water and use the back of it to smooth the top of each profiterole.

Bake the buns in the oven for 10 minutes, then turn the tray and bake for another 5-10 minutes until dark golden (if underdone the buns will be soggy once cooled). Remove from the oven and make a small hole in the base of each profiterole with a skewer. Place them back on the tray, holes upwards, and cook for a few minutes more.

Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack. Once cold, they can be stored in an airtight container in a cool place for 24 hours. Place the cream in a bowl and whip until soft peaks form, then transfer to a piping bag with a ¼ in plain nozzle, and place in the fridge while you make the chocolate sauce.

Place the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of hot water to melt. Meanwhile, place the sugar and water in a pan over a moderate heat, dissolve the sugar and bring to the boil. Stir the melted chocolate into the sugar syrup and set aside. To finish, pipe the cream into the chocolate profiteroles then stack them up on a plate. Drizzle over a small amount of the chocolate sauce, and then serve with plenty of extra hot chocolate sauce on the side.

Half the fun of making these sweet little cupcakes, is picking the decorations to go on the top! There are so many edible delights to buy ready made now, so you can have fun and involve the children as well. These cakes are made using buttercream, but you could use ready to roll Royal Icing.

Serves: 10 medium sized cupcakes or 16 small ones
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 – 15 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

For the cupcakes

4 oz butter
4 oz self raising flour
4 oz caster sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
1-2 tbsp milk

For the buttercream

5 oz butter, softened
1-2 tbsp milk
10 oz icing sugar
Food coloring of choice

METHOD:

Prepare a baking tray with the cupcake cases on, or a holed cake tin, but still use the cases.

Heat oven to 180 C/340 F/Gas Mark 4.

Cream butter and sugar together until soft and pale in color. Do not over beat the mixture as it may curdle.

Beat in the eggs a little at a time, add the vanilla extract and stir until combined.

Fold in the flour, and add some of the milk. Mix together and add more milk until the mixture drops off the spoon. Spoon into the cupcake cases to just over half way.

Bake for 10-15 minutes until golden brown on top. Cool for 10 minutes and then place on to a wire rack and leave to completely cool before icing.

For the icing, beat the butter until soft and creamy and add the icing sugar slowly, mixing each time you add some. Add a little milk until the mix is nice and smooth. If you want to add food coloring, do so now and mix until it has all blended in. Take a piping bag with a star-shaped nozzle and work the icing through in a circular motion.

Add colored sprinkles, edible gold dust, sugar balls and edible stars to decorate, or anything you want to make them Christmassy.

A little indulgent, but easy to make and very tasty! The combination of chocolate and bananas is always delicious! You will need 4 individual dariole molds for this recipe, or you can make it in one small dish.

Serves: 4 individual puddings
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

3 oz all purpose flour
3 oz sugar
2 large eggs
2 oz unsalted butter
½ tsp baking powder
3 tbsp sweetened powdered chocolate
1 tbsp water
1tbsp vegetable oil
1 small ripe banana, mashed
1 small ripe banana, cut into thin slices
A little butter for greasing
Honey for drizzling

METHOD:

Heat oven to 350°F/175°C.

Put the dry ingredients into your mixing bowl, make a small well in the center and crack in the eggs. Add the mashed banana and pulse well until all combined, then speed up your mixer to make the ingredients smooth. Add the oil and beat again for about 30 seconds

Mix the chocolate powder with a little water, and add to the mix, using a flat knife to mix through a little. Do not beat.

Grease each mold and then put the banana slices on the bottom of each mold. Add a little honey over the bananas.

Spoon over the pudding mix evenly into each mold.

Bake on a tray in the oven for 15-20 minutes, until the mix is firm to the touch.

Remove from the oven, leave to cool slightly, then turn out onto plates. If the pudding is slightly stuck, simple run a knife round the edge to release.

Serve with vanilla ice cream or cream.

TIP:

You could also add a few chopped walnuts to the mix for added crunch.

So delicious, so easy to make, so enjoy! These look quite spectacular as they rise and resemble soufflés – very impressive!

Serves: 4
Preparation Time: Less than 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

3 oz coconut flour
2 eggs
2 oz granulated sugar
2 oz coconut flakes
1 tsp baking powder
4 tbsp heavy cream
½ tsp vanilla essence
1 oz dark chocolate, grated
1 tbsp butter
½ tbsp butter for greasing

METHOD:

Lightly grease 4 ramekin dishes. Heat oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas mark 4.

Cream the butter and sugar substitute together. Add the eggs and mix together gently, to avoid curdling.

Add the coconut flour, vanilla essence and baking powder, mix well to form a ‘dropping’ mixture.

Pour or spoon into greased dishes. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes.

Remove from the oven, and serve hot, with the grated chocolate over the top.

A lovely change from the usual roast chicken Sunday lunch. Freekeh has been hailed as the new ‘supergrain’, even though it has been around for thousands of years! It makes a very different and welcome change to normal stuffings, as it is nuttier in texture and combines well with herbs and almost any ingredient you want to stuff your chicken with. Freekeh is a ‘powerhouse’ of nutrients, can be used in salads, soups, pilafs and stews, so it is worth trying to include it in your weekly meal plans. Here is a recipe suggestion, but please do experiment. Try using it as a substitute for rice, it does work.

Serves: 4
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hr 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

For the chicken
1 large free range chicken
3 tbsp maple syrup
2 tsp mild mustard
1 tbsp olive oil

For the stuffing
3½ oz freekeh, cooked
½ orange, peeled and cut into small pieces
½ onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
Handful of dried cranberries
1 tsp dried cinnamon
Seasoning to taste

METHOD:

Heat oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas mark 4.

In a bowl, mix together all the stuffing ingredients and add seasoning to taste. If too dry, add a little water.

Make sure the chicken is clean both outside and inside the cavity. Wipe dry with paper towel.

Fill the chicken with the stuffing mix and tie the legs together to prevent too much spilling out. If there is any remaining stuffing, place in a dish, cover with foil and set aside.

Mix the olive oil, maple syrup and mustard together, and rub all over the chicken.

Roast the chicken for 1 hour and 20 minutes. Test to see if cooked through by inserting the tip of a sharp knife just above the leg – the juices should run clear.

Any remaining stuffing can be placed in the oven in the covered dish and cooked for about 20 minutes.

Serve the chicken cut into slices or joints with perhaps some roasted carrots and parsnips.

Plain grilled chicken is transformed by the old Italian recipe for gremolata. Zingy lemon, parsley and garlic really lift this dish. Serve with crisp greens such as just-blanched spinach or pan fried collard greens.

Serves: 4
Preparation Time: 10 minutes + 15 minutes marinating
Cook Time: 5-10 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

For the chicken
Juice of 2 lemons
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (4 x 5 oz) split lengthwise and pounded until approximately ½ inch thick.
2 tsp olive oil
Salt and freshly milled black pepper to season

For the gremolata
4 tbsp fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
4 tbsp lemon zest, grated
4 tbsp garlic cloves, minced

METHOD:

Place the chicken pieces in a bowl, sprinkle with lemon juice and oil. Season well and mix the pieces around so that they are coated. Set aside for 15 minutes to marinate.

Make the gremolata by placing all the ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

Using a griddle pan if possible, heat on high until almost smoking. Add the chicken pieces, 2 at a time if necessary, and cook until the seared griddle marks show on the underside, but no more than 2½ - 3 minutes. Flip over – it should take no more than 1-2 minutes for the chicken to cook through.

Serve the chicken onto plates, top with the gremolata.

A great way to feed a lot of people for a warm buffet or a family dinner. Chicken is partnered with plenty of garlic and herbs with roasted bread for a filling and tasty dish.

Serves: 5-6
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 40-50 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

10 pieces of chicken, such as thighs and legs, skin on
3 or 4 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp fresh rosemary
1 tbsp fresh oregano
4 cloves garlic, chopped
10 or 12 cherry tomatoes, left whole
2 onions, finely sliced
A few leaves of fresh basil, shredded, to finish the dish
6 slices of bacon or pancetta, chopped
½ loaf ciabatta, ripped into medium sized pieces

METHOD:

Heat oven to 340F/180 C/Gas Mark 5

On a baking tray, toast off all the pieces of ciabatta and set aside.

In a large baking dish (big enough for all the chicken pieces) put the sliced onions, garlic, bacon, chicken and toss with the olive oil. Add the fresh herbs, and toss again. Roast in the oven for about 20 minutes.

Remove from the oven, and turn the mix around to coat everything again. Add the cherry tomatoes and chunks of bread, place back in the oven and cook for a further 20-30 minutes until the chicken is golden.

Scatter with the shredded basil and serve with a tossed salad.