Tomato, cucumber and pomegranate salad

1/2 cucumber
250 g cherry plum tomatoes
1 pomegranate
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
juice of 1 lime
extra virgin olive oils

1. Peel the cucumber if you or your guests have problems digesting the skin. Cut lenghtways and scoop out the seeds with a teaspoon. Cut lengthways again and chop into 1 cm pieces.

2. Halve the cherry tomatoes.

3. Remove the fruit from the pomegranate taking care that none of the white pip gets in as it's bitter.

4. Place all the salad ingredients into a nice serving bowl. Season with pepper and salt. Squeeze over the lime juice and add about 4 tbsp olive oil. Leave to marinate for an hour or so before serving.

Autumn Pasta - Conchiglie with Butternut Squash

I just love all the little squash/pumpkins that are in the shops at this time of year. Unfortunately, most of them end up really flowery after roasting. Therefore I recommend butternut squash, which stays firm and is an absolute joy to eat. BTW, it's easy to turn this into a vegetarian recipe. Just leave out the chorizo and season the veg with a little salt.

(serves 4)

1 butternut squash
100 g chorizo
1 sweet red pepper
250 cherry (plum) tomatoes
freshly ground black pepper
extra virgin olive oil
2-3 garlic cloves.

350 g conchigle pasta
sea salt

freshly grated parmesan

1. Trim the top of the butternut squash, then half and core. Cut into sections and dice. Coarsely chop the pepper. Cut the chorizo lengthways and slice.

2. Place all the butternut squash, pepper, whole cherry tomatoes, unpeeled garlic cloves and chorizo slices into a roasting tray. Season with freshly ground black pepper and drizzle with a generous amount of olive oil. Mix well and place in the oven. Roast for 45-60 minutes at 200°C, gas mark 4.

3. When the veg are almost done, cook the pasta in boiling salted water according to packet instructions.

4. Drain the pasta and mix with the veggies. Sprinkle with parmesan and serve with a crisp leafy salad.

Mushrooms stuffed with butter beans served with pistachio basmati rice

This recipe can easily be turned into a veggie dish. Just leave out the bresaola and chorizo and season with salt. I served this with pistachio basmati anad a broccoli salad, only this time I used balsamic for the dressing instead of lemon juice and served the salad cold.
(serves 2-4)

1 tin of organic butter beans (no added salt or sugar), drained
1 red onion
1 white onion
3 garlic cloves
5 spring onions
50 g chorizo
4 sices of bresaola, optional
1 heaped tsp. dried oregano
150 ml full bodied red wine
extra virgin olive oil
freshly ground black pepper

4 large flat mushrooms
100 g crumbled feta cheese

1. Peel the mushrooms and remove the stalks. Set aside. 2. Halve and slice the onions, coarsely grate the garlic and slice the spring onions. Halve the chorizo lengthways and slice into 2-3 mm thick slices. Cut the bresaola in half and slice. 3. Heat the olive oil in a heavy saucepan, e. g. Le Creuset, add onions, spring onions garlic, chorizo, bresaola, chopped mushroom stalks, oregano and sautée first over a high heat, then over a medium heat to caramalise the onion and brown the meat. This'll take 10-15 minutes. 4. Add the drained butter beans and mix. Pour over the wine and season with pepper. Cook over a low to medium heat for about 30-45 minutes to infuse the flavours. 5. Fill the mushrooms with the bean mix and place in a lightly oiled baking tray. Cover with tin foil and bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes. Remove the tin foil, sprinkle over the feta cheese and put under the grill for a couple of minutes until the feta has browned.

Pistachio basmati

Pistachio Rice

Normally, I don't buy basmati rice because I prefer brown rice but when I spotted brown basmati at the supermarket the other day I was keen to try it out.

300 g brown basmati rice
50 g unsalted toasted pistachio nuts, shelled and coarsely chopped
1 garlic clove
1/2 tsp cumin, toasted and ground
200 g brown basmati rice

1. Wash and cook the basmati according to the packet instructions in lightly salted water until tender.
2. Toast the cumin in a non-stick pan and grind in a mortar.
3. Coarsely chop the pistachios and grate the carlic.
4. When the rice is done, heat some olive oil. Add the pistachios, garlic and cumin to the pan. Fry for a couple of minutes. Add the rice and mix well. Serve immediately.

Chorizo Cassoulet with Cannellini Beans

This is a wonderful warming autumn dish which I served with a warm broccoli salad. If you're vegetarian and leave out the chorizo just add a little salt. If you want to leave out the wine, you can optionally add a tablespoon of balsamic.

100 g chorizo, halved lengthways and sliced
1 onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 leek, finely sliced
1 can organic cannellini beans (without salt or sugar), rinsed and drained
300 g potatoes, peeled and diced
1/2 small Hokaido pumpkin, diced
1 carrot, peeled, cut lenghtways and sliced
500 ml tomato passata
8-10 sage leaves. finely sliced
2 bay leaves, rolled up and secured with a cocktail stick extra virgin olive oil
freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp hot Hungarian paprika
1/2 glass of full bodied red wine
optionally soured cream for serving

1. Sauté the onion, garlic, leak, sage and chorizo over a medium heat until the veggies are soft.

2. Add the potatoes, carrot, pumpkin, beans, bay leaves and mix well. Then add the passata and wine, if used. Season with pepper and paprika.

3. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 30-60 minutes. The longer it cooks the more intense the flavours.

4. Serve with the warm broccoli salad or a crunchy green salad.

Warm Broccoli Salad

I served this with a chorizo cassoulet and it was just divine.

500 g broccoli
1 tbsp red onion, very, very finely chopped
1 clove of garlic
juice of 1/2 a lemon
freshly ground black pepper
sea salt
approx. 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1. Cut the broccoli into florets and cut the florets into halves or, if bigger, three or four pieces. Pleace into a steamer and steam for about 10 minutes until just cooked al dente.

2. In the meantime, make your dressing.

3. Tip the broccoli into a dish, leave to cool for a few minutes. Then dress and serve.
Variation:
Add a finely chopped chilli and use balsamic instead of lemon juice.

Soup of roasted courgettes with fennel seeds

We love not having to think about lunch and in winter this means we make a large pot of soup to sustain us during the week. But before it's time for the really filling, warming soups I'm making soups that still remind me of summer. Today, I roasted courgettes for a soup. It doesn't take long to put all the ingredients together but it takes a fair amount of time in the oven. The combination of caramelised onion, garlic and celery and fennel makes this soup truly scrumptious.

4 large courgettes
1 large onion
2 whole clove garlic bulbs
2 celery sticks
1 tsp fennel seeds
1.8 l vegetable stock
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
herby tops of three carrots
extra virgin olive oil
2 handfuls of fresh (or frozen) home-made breadcrumbs

1. Wash the courgettes, cut off top and bottom and half lengthways. Place cut side up into a roasting tray.

2. Peel and half the oninion and cut into thickish slices. Peel the garlic cloves and cut into about 4-6 pieces each. Cut the celery into 3 cm long bits. Crush every piece with the ball of your hand. Scatter onion and garlic over and around the courgettes.

3. Season with a little salt and a generous amount of black pepper. Sprinkle the fennel seeds over the top. Drizzle with olive oil and mix everything with your hands.

4. Place into a preheated oven and cook at gas mark 7/220°C until all the vegetabels are lightly browned. Our oven isn't great so I put it up to full whack after about 35 minutes and also turned the courgettes cut side down.

5. When the courgettes are cooked, make the sock either fresh or from powder and add the coarsely chopped leafy parts of the carrot tops.

6. Transfer all the veg into a saucepan, add the breadcrumbs and stock and purée. Check the seasoning and serve or leave to cool and refrigerate in portions ready to pack for lunch.