Healthy whole nut chocolate bar, sugar gluten dairy free and suitable for raw vegans

Ok so before I begin I want to expel the myth that all chocolate is bad for you.

So chocolate starts life as a humble cacao bean.  Chocolate companies then buy up the expensive beans but in order for them to make a profit on what they have bought they process the hell out of the beans to increase the mass, otherwise we would be paying a tenner for a mars bar.  Fats, sugar, oils and flavourings are added to the beans during processing to turn one bean into, for example, one hundred times the volume.  Flavourings are then added to make the processed mass taste like it originally did - raw cacao.

Cacao in its original form is a really powerful superfood (super high in nutrtients) Rich in vitimins and minerals, it has more than 300 nutritional compounds and is one of the richest sources of antioxidants in the word. Raw cacao also aids in weightloss and promotes healthy skin and brain function. SO this is truly a treat you don't have to feel guilty about.  You can pick up raw cacao online or Holland and Barrett on the high street for around £5 per bag, 3 times the price of cocoa powder but remember what I said about the processing/bulking out and adding crap.... Making this bar will cost you about a fiver, again highlighting the need for chocolate companies to bulk out the raw beans, but just remember the health benefits and always always remember refined sugar is rapidly stored as FAT on the body! Its your choice.

Ingredients

200g toasted hazelnuts, they really need to be toasted as the flavour is a million times better. If you have bought untoasted simply add them to a medium heat frying pan and fry for around 5 minutes until golden all over, shake/rub off the skins if they have them on after toasting.

200g raw cacao butter (again online or Holland and barrett)

100g coconut sugar or maple syrup

sea salt (develops the flavour of chocolate so much, I prefer pink salt but sea salt flakes are fine)

1tsp vanilla

60g raw cacao powder

Method

Melt the cacao butter in a double boiler nice and slowly, don't let it get too hot so keep an eye on it.

Stir in everything else

Pour into a clingfilm lined tray, or a foil disposable, make sure the hazelnuts are equally dispersed.

Chill until set.

 

Healthy chia seed jam

use this as you would jam without the sugar and additives. Chia seeds can hold upto 20 times their weight in liquid so they thicken anything, here ive used it to thicken fruit puree so it turns into a jam consistency. Chia seeds are also a powerhouse of antioxidants and nutrients and almost all the carbs in them are fibre so you're allowed chia pudding and jam on low carb days.


Ingredients
makes a few tbsp.


a large handful of your favourite berries
1tbsp chia seeds
1tbsp maple
a pinch of vanilla


Method
Blend the berries into a puree and stir in the chia, vanilla and maple.
cover and leave in the fridge for the chia to swell and thicken. This should take 4 hours but you can leave it overnight.
keeps in the fridge for days.

Ultra low carb cauliflower crust pizza

This is a great alternative to a bread base, perfect if like me you cycle your carbs. Use veggie cheeses to make this suitable for vegetarians.


Ingredients, makes 1x 9-10 inch thin pizza


200g cauliflower (about half the head of a medium cauli)
1 egg
2tbsp parmesan
salt and pepper
a touch of oregano (optional)


Method
Grate or food process the cauliflower until it looks like cous cous.
Place in a microwavable bowl and microwave, covered in clingfilm for 4 minutes.
Remove from the microwave and squeeze out all the excess moisture and water, I did this by tipping the cauliflower into a teatowel and ringing it out really hard.
Place the dry cauli in a bowl with the rest of the ingredients and mash together with hands.
Lay a large circle of greaseproof paper (slightly oiled) on a baking sheet
Using an 8 inch cake ring  as a guide (i took the base out of a loose bottom tin and used that) tip the mix into the tin and press down evenly.
Lift the tin and then press/flatten out the cauli mix so its around 9-10 inches (8 will be too thick and wont crisp up)
Bake in a pre heated oven gas mark 7 (220) for 15 minutes until golden. don't worry if its not fully cooked as it will bake further once the toppings are on.
Once golden top with whatever you like and return to the oven on full heat for 5-10 minutes or until toppings are cooked.
Slide off the greaseproof paper straight onto your plate and enjoy.
Im having mine with chipotle pulled chicken, mozzarella, olives, pine nuts and a base of my kale and ricotta pesto.

Instant and unbelievable clean banana and blueberry ice cream (can be made as a protein treat)

One of the main things people always ask is how to I get treats into my diet when I eat clean and have such a high protein intake.


Well from the posts from the last week I hope you can see I deny myself nothing, chocolate mousse, pancakes with stewed cinnamon apples and nut butter. ALL CLEAN.


This is another one of my favourites. Instant clean ice cream. Sugar and dairy free..


I say instant it requires two things, a little patience in the prep department and a bloody good food processor (magimix or similar)


You can make this without the blueberries, infact use any fruits, but you need bananas as the base as that's what makes this so incredibly creamy.


I have this for breakfast or after the gym to replenish my glycogen stores.  The health benefits of bananas is crazy and everyone knows that blueberries are a superfood.


Ingredients
makes 1 medium sized bowl or two small bowls.
2 bananas sliced
1 handful of blueberries or any other  berries (optional)
50mls almond milk (less if you don't add protein)
1 scoop of natural whey protein in vanilla, blueberry or banana (leave out if you aren't on a high protein diet)
for toppings:
chai, ground flax (linseed) goji berries, coconut oil, more blueberries. Whatever you want as long as its clean.


Method
place the bananas and blueberries on a baking tray and freeze until solid (a few hours or overnight, do it before you go to bed that's what I do)
once frozen immediately add to a food processor and blend, you might need to scrape down to get everything mixed evenly.
trickle in protein and the almond milk until the perfect soft scoop consistency is reached.
Decant and eat immediately. This is no good re-frozen.
Top with your chosen toppings and enjoy immediately.

Four utterly delicious and clean salads

So as you all know im an avid fan of meal prep. Most of my meals I prepare in advance because im so busy. The below four salads are great to grab on the go in Tupperware usually paired with protein of some sort. The flavours are bursting and fresh. Salad no longer means a bit iceberg and a slice of tomato. These are inspired from all over the world and contain only fresh, raw, clean ingredients.

 

The four salads are:

 

• Moroccan inspired carrot salad
• South American guacamole
• Slow roast squash, feta and spinach salad
• Superfood rainbow quinoa salad

 

I haven't given methods because making a salad is pretty self explanatory, just throw all the ingredients into one.  All salads serve 3 large (heaped palm sized) or 4 smaller portions.

 

Moroccan inspired carrot salad.
This goes great with marinated meats, its so fresh and delicious while packing lots of vitamins, minerals and superfoods from the pomegranate and chai.

 

Ingredients
2 grated carrots
1/2 red pepper finely sliced
2 grated or finely sliced radishes
1 small bunch of coriander or mint finely chopped
1/2 pomegranate (seeds only, get them out by bashing the back of the pom with a spoon)
juice of 1 lemon
small lick of extra virgin olive oil
2tsp toasted sesame seeds
2tsp toasted cumin seeds
sprinkling of chai seeds
salt and pepper

 

South American guacamole
packed full of good fats I enjoy this for breakfast with an egg white omelette before the gym.  Also great on rye bread for a snack.

 

Ingredients
1 large or 2 small very ripe avocados chopped chunky
1/2 red onion very finely diced
a handful of cherry tomatoes quartered
1 small bunch of parsley or coriander
1 chilli finely chopped
juice of 2 limes
salt and pepper

 

Slow roast squash, feta and spinach salad
This is simply delicious, especially when the garlic slow roasts with the squash and you can mush it up and add it to the salad. Pure comfort food, packed full of low glycemic (good) carbs, protein from the feta and iron from the spinach

 

Ingredients
1 small organic squash, I get the Tesco finest ones, cant remember what the bloody hell they are called by my god they are good, look like a normal squash but have a name beginning with a P and are a dark orange.. don't bother peeling the squash, do that after its roasted because its easier, chop into quarters and roast the squash in coconut oil, salt, pepper for 1 hour on medium until tender and slightly charred (I start it off high for 20 minutes then turn it down low) Once cooked scoop the flesh and chop roughly.
1/2 bag baby spinach
1/2 pack feta cheese (make sure its feta not the low fat and not the greek style)
2tbsp pine nuts toasted
2tbsp pumpkin seeds
optional:

1 stick of celery chopped

1/2 red pepper chopped
a handful of sugar snap peas chopped

 

Superfood quinoa salad
This is my staple salad, I always have a bowl of this in the fridge, it goes with absolutely everything and is also substantial on its own. This salad is also a great protein source for veggies. make sure all your veg is finely chopped for this, you can have it chunky if you want but it has a better overall texture if its a very fine dice.

 

Igredients
1/2 cup quinoa cooked as per pack instructions
1/2 can of black eyed beans drained (don't cook them)
1 stick of celery finely chopped
A small handful of cherry tomatoes finely chopped
1/2 a pepper finely chopped
1/4 bag of finely sliced baby spinach
A few florets of very finely chopped broccoli (raw so cut it small)
1/2 pomegranate seeds (see above tip)
juice of 1 lemon
small lick of extra virgin olive oil

 

1tbsp each of
chai seeds
pumpkin seeds
flax (linseed)
toasted pine nuts
toasted peanuts, almonds or cashews (not the salted ones)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Clean pancakes / protein pancakes

I eat these once a day, they are a great way for my to hit my protein macros/targets.
If you aren't on a high protein diet just leave the protein powder out, you don't need to amend the recipe, simply leave it out and they will still be banging. These are thick American style pancakes around 3 inches in diameter each.

 

Ive included a few variations which I love, so much choice and its all clean!

 

Ingredients:
makes 3 small
1 banana
1 scoop of vanilla protein powder  (you can use other flavours but they might taste different)
1 egg
coconut oil for frying

 

Method:
simply blend all three together, so simple its unreal.
heat coconut oil and fry tablespoons of the batter over a medium heat for around 2 minutes per side.
my favourite topping is simple cinnamon, pure maple syrup, a couple of raw almonds and ground flax (also known as linseed) and a sprinkle of chai seed.

 

Variations:

• berries and raisins, you can have them raw or softened in a pan in a little coconut oil.
• cook 1 chopped apple in a little pure maple syrup and cinnamon until soft for apple pie pancakes.
• melt 1tsp of coconut oil, raw cacao and a dash of almond milk together for a clean chocolate sauce.
• top pancakes with Greek yogurt, chai, poppy, pumpkin and linseed/flax
• top with 1tsp of natural peanut butter
• plumbs softened in a pan in cinnamon and a little honey
• use pancakes to stack Greek yogurt and strawberries for a kind of shortcake stack of pancakes

 

 

 

Feta baked with tomato and oregano

I love this side dish, although its substantial enough to eat on a summers night with loads of bread and butter.
I originally started this recipe with loads of fresh tomatoes baked with oregano and a little wine, i added the cheese later when i wanted a side dish for roast chicken that wasnt too "Sunday dinner like"

Ingredients
makes enough for 2

1x 400g of tomatoes
2 large vine tomatoes
1 block of feta cheese around 100g
1 pinch of chilli
1 garlic clove crushed
extra virgin olive oil
1tsp oregano
a little parmesan for the top (optional)

Method
first you need to make a kind of quick tomato sauce.
heat a little veggie oil in a pan and sweat the garlic, that means cook it without colouring or burning it, so nice and gentle.
Add the chilli, oregano and tinned tomatoes, bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes to get all the flavours going.
season to taste.
Now to your baking dish, i like a nice 2 person gratin dish but pyrex is also fine and also you can make little individual ones of these if you like.
Crumble the feta into the dish and pour over the tomato sauce.
top with sliced tomatoes and grated parmesan and bake on 200 (gas mark 6) for 20 minutes until golden and bubbling.
Serve with crusty bread for a great side dish for chicken or fish or a great starter on its own.

Gnocchi with squash, goats cheese and pine nuts

This is a great summer supper dish, its more substantial than you might think as gnocchi can be quite heavy, its tatties and flour after all.  I always find its best to use leftover mash which is stone cold, if you make mash especially you have to wait for it to get cold and for the protein to stabilise (sounded canny clever that didnt it) it basically means it wont be sticky and sloppy.

Ingredients
for the gnocchi:
250g cold mashed potato
salt and pepper
100g plain flour

for the rest of the dish:
1 butternut squash
a lick of veggie or olive oil for roasting
salt and pepper
goastcheese 1 standard log from a supermarket is fine
a handful of pine nuts gently toasted in a dry frying pan (this is vital to develop their flavour)
50g of butter melted
a handful of baby spinach

Method
Theres two main sections you need to get cracking with the gnocchi and the squash, probably start with the gnocchi, mix all of the ingredients together with a good whack of salt and pepper to your taste.
take half the mix and roll it out into a thin sausage about the width of your finger, unless you have fingers like Madonna, then roll them a little thinner.
Cut your fingers of dough into 1.5cm pieces and press each piece with the back of a fork to make a slight indentation.  This isnt just for decoration but the grooves help tjhe sauce stick to the gnocchi.
leave your gnocchi to one side covered with a teatowel and start your squash.
Peel and chop into 2cm pieces, roughly, no ones going to measure but the smaller you chop them the quicker they will cook.
Toss them in the oil, season and roast on 200 for 30 minutes or until tender.
To cook the gnocchi get a pan of water boiling, pop some salt in and drop your gnocchi in, they will take around 2-3 minutes to cook and will float to the top once done.
As soon as they are cooked you need to work quickly, drain them and immediately toss with the cooked squash and any oil from the pan.
add the pine nuts, spinach, butter and crumbled goastcheese and toss everything together for a minute.  No need to have any heat under the pan, there will be enough residual heat from the squash and gnocchi.
There we go a nice quick supper.

Once you have the basics of this recipe down you can chop and change, gnocchi with tomatoes, chilli and rocket, or with pesto, or with mushrooms and mascarpone. spring veg, creme fraiche and lemon - loads of options.

A Simple quick Curry

Da Vinci once said simplicity is the ultimate sophistication and I’m inclined to agree. So many people can’t make a good curry, and even more resort to jars and tins and pre made pastes.  This is a really simple quick curry recipe my nana Perveen taught me how to make when I was younger, half my family are from the middle east and my nana lived there for about 15 years when she met my granda so she knows her stuff.

This is a standard curry sauce; you can add any meat or some butternut squash, veggies or lentils for a veggie curry.  I’ll only say one thing about the meat, if your using chicken don’t just put raw chicken in unless it’s really good quality.  It won’t taste of anything; it’ll just be a texture in your mouth.  I always roast a whole chicken and pick the meat off, shredding it and adding it to the curry half way through.  It has so much flavour and is cheaper than breasts as you can pick a good quality chicken up for £6 to feed 4 people and the last I checked two breasts were pushing a fiver.

Ingredients
will feed 4

1 tsp mustard seeds

1tsp fenugreek
2 chilies, sliced
1tsp turmeric
1tsp coriander seeds
1tsp garam masala
2 onions
4 cloves of garlic chopped fine or grated
1x 1 inch piece of fresh ginger, chopped fine or grated
2 chilies, chopped fine seeds in or out whatever you prefer
1 tin of 400g tin tomatoes
1 tin of 400ml tin coconut milk (it doesn’t make the curry taste of coconut don’t worry it just adds richness, if you really don’t want to add it just use 2x tomatoes)
 salt and pepper
Oil
1 bag of spinach

MEAT: 1 cooked chicken, 6 raw tiger prawns per person, leftovers from your Sunday roast beef/lamb/pork or some veggies and lentils for a veggie curry

Method

Get a frying pan hot and add the mustard seeds. Once they start to pop which is about 10 seconds put them in a bowl and add the coriander to the pan. Toast the coriander seeds for a minute or so to release their flavors. Shake the pan to make sure they don’t burn and again set aside to allow to cool.

Finely dice the onion and add it to a large saucepan with the garlic and ginger and oil.

Sweat on a low heat for around 10 minutes.

While this is happening crush your spices which will be cool by now.

Once they are crushed and the 10 minutes have passed turn the heat up, add the crushed spices, the fenugreek, turmeric, garam masla, and chili to the pan and stir constantly over a high heat.  This is an essential stage as all spices need to be hard fried to release their potential.  Literally 20 seconds will do it, stirring all the time to coat the onions.

Season with salt and pepper.

Add the tomatoes and coconut milk to the pan immediately with about 100mls of water.

Give everything a good stir.

Simmer for 10 minutes then add your meat whatever you are using. (Unless you are using prawns as they only take minutes to cook so don’t add them until 5 minutes before the end)

Simmer for another 10 minutes.

While this is happening add your spinach to a food processor or stick blend to a puree (you might need a little water to help you along)

You should be left with a green liquid sludge.

Add this to the pan (add your raw prawns now if making a prawn curry)

Simmer for more minutes then serve with rice, naan, whatever you like.

All in all this is just over 30 minutes for an authentic and totally delicious curry.

Risotto with pan fried scallop, black pudding and poached duck egg

This is a delicious dinner party dish or a simple evening supper, its one of the dishes i do most at cooking shows because it shows a lot of technique and gives loads of tips.  Scallops arenyt as expensive as people seem to think either. i reckon around 80p for a good king scallop is a bargain.

Leave out the scallops for a simple supper or maybe substitute with some nice haddock or mackerel?

Ingredients:

serves 2

1tsp butter and 1tsp olive oil

1 shallot finely diced

1 clove of garlic crushed

700mls fish stock

100g black pudding

50g Butter

50g of grated parmesan

Salt and pepper

200g risotto rice

100mls white wine

1 fresh duck egg. (no more than 2 weeks old)

1tbsp of white wine vinegar

2/3 king scallops per person, cleaned without roe

Method

You want your risotto to be smooth and ozzy not stodgy and dry. 

Heat the stock in one pan.

In a separate pan, heat the olive oil and butter, add the shallot and garlic, and fry very slowly for about 15 minutes without colouring. (this is commonly referred to as ‘sweating’.)

When the shallot and garlic have softened, add the rice and turn up the heat.

The rice will now begin to lightly fry, so keep stirring it.

After a minute it will look slightly translucent. Add the wine and keep stirring — it will smell fantastic.

Any harsh alcohol flavours will evaporate and leave the rice with a tasty essence.

Once the wine has cooked into the rice and reduced by half, add your first ladle of hot stock and a good pinch of salt. Turn down the heat to a simmer so the rice doesn’t cook too quickly on the outside.

Keep adding ladlefuls of stock, stirring and almost massaging the creamy starch out of the rice, allowing each ladleful to be absorbed before adding the next. This will take around 15 minutes.

Taste the rice — is it cooked? Carry on adding stock until the rice is soft but with a slight bite.

Don’t forget to check the seasoning carefully. If you run out of stock before the rice is cooked, add some boiling water.

Remove from the heat and add the butter and Parmesan. Stir well.

Place a lid on the pan and allow to sit for 2 minutes. This is the most important part of making the perfect risotto, as this is when it becomes outrageously creamy and oozy like it should be.

Working quickly cook the egg and scallops as below.

Get a saucepan of water boiling with the vinegar added and also get a frying pan with a little bit of olive oil in it smoking hot (good idea to get these on a few minutes before so your ready to go as soon as the rice is done)

Crack the egg into a small cup and gently tip it into the pan of water and vinegar. Se the timer for 2 minutes to give you a nice soft poached egg.

While your egg is poaching, lighly season the scallops and add them to the hot pan along with the sliced black pudding, count to 1 and a half minutes then flip the scallops. 

Immediately turn the heat off, add a knob of butter, and baste the scallops for one final minute. 

This will give you perfectly cooked scallops every time.  Adjust the timings if the scallops are quite thin.

Serve the creamy ozzy risotto in a bowl with the scallops and black pudding on top and crown each plate with a soft poached egg and maybe a drizzle of the butter from the scallops pan.

Squash and aubergine curry

I had originally intended to go a green curry but I was a few ingredients short, after a cupboard raid I decided on a veggie curry! Not something I usually try but the flavour blend of Asian and Indian is beautiful. It keeps really well in the fridge too.

Ingredients

Serves 4

vegetable oil
1 large aubergine, quartered lengthways then halved
1 large butternut squash, skin removed, chopped into chunks
400ml can of coconut milk
300ml vegetable stock
2 large onions, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
a thumb-sized piece ginger , peeled and roughly chopped
1 stalk lemongrass woody outer leaves removed and chopped
2 red chillies seeds removed and chopped
coriander stalks from a large bunch, roughly chopped use the leaves to garnish
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp turmeric




Method
Sweat the onions down in a little oil until soft but not coloured.
Add the garlic, ginger, lemongrass stalk and chilli and stir to combine.
Fry the aubergine in another pan in oil, make sure the pan is very hot to ensure the aubergine fries and doesn't soak up the oil.
Back to the pan with the onions in, add the spices, turn the heat up and fry for a minute or so, stirring constantly so the spices dont burn.
Add the chopped butternut squash, the fried aubergine.
Add some salt and pepper, keep the heat high and add the coconut milk and the vegetable stock.
Simmer with a lid on for around 45 minutes.
Simmer without a lid on until desired consistency is reached. The longer you leave it the thicker it will be.
Add the coriander stalks to the curry just before serving and stir them in.
Serve with the leaves of the coriander thrown over and some fragrant steamed rice.

Quick and easy coleslaw

So I only discovered a few years ago that a coldsore was called a coldsore and not coleslaw, i remember thinking god a facial herpes named after a food thats not too clever,  Anyway, a proper coleslaw is the simplest thing and it’s ten times better than shop bought, ok so I’m going to say that but its like the first time you make your own pork pie and think, “I didn’t think it could get better than a Melton Mowbray but…”

Ingredients
3 onions, grated
3 carrots, grated
1 small white cabbage, shredded
1 tbsp grain mustard
3 tbsp mayonnaise (homemade or from a jar) or as much as you like to loosen the coleslaw
Juice of 1 lemon
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method
Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl, and season with salt and pepper to taste! PHEW hard work or what! 

Mussels with white wine (can be done with pasta)

This is a versatile dish as its kind of 2 meals in 1, the mussels themselves are perfect with a chunk of French bread and butter and a green salad, but to make them more substantial and to eak out the mussels if you are feeding a few people, the simple addition of pasta to the sauce gives the dish a different dimension.  They also make a great starter.
A quick note about mussels, getting fresh shellfish is really really important, if you eat a baddie then you’ll know about it, they can make you very poorly.  You need to eat mussels alive.  You can test if they are alive or not by following the below steps.

BEFORE COOKING:
If the mussel is closed its good and you can use it.
If the mussel is open give it a sharp tap and if it closes then its alive and you can use it, if it doesn’t close then its dead and you must discard it.
AFTER COOKING:
If any mussels have remained closed discard them, they are dead.

 Ingredients
Serves 2
A glug of olive oil
1 garlic cloves, crushed or chopped
2 shallots, sliced
400g mussels in shells, beards removed (get your fishmonger to do it for you)
100ml white wine
70ml double cream
A bunch of chopped fresh parsley
300g pasta of your choice, I like spaghetti or linguini
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 lemon juice only.
Method
Cook the pasta as per the pack instructions in lots of salted boiling water, get this on first as the mussels will only take 5 minutes.
For the mussels, heat the olive oil in a lidded saucepan over a medium heat. Add the garlic and shallots and sauté for two minutes, until softened.
Add the mussels and white wine, stir well and place the lid on. Allow the mussels to steam for 3-4 minutes, then remove the lid and check that all the mussels have opened. Discard any that have not opened.
Remove the mussels from the pan into a separate bowl.
Add the double cream, fresh parsley and cooked pasta to the pan and stir adding the lemon juice, salt and pepper..

Add the pasta direct from the water it was boiled in to the mussels pan, a bit of water wont hurt it.  Drizzle with extra virgin oil and a little more parsley.

Leek puddin

This is a real Northern favourite of mine.  I had planned to do it in the final of MasterChef but i was shit out of luck and didnt make it ha!!

I especially like it with pork but simialrly i love it leftover with cold mashed potatoes,  kind of like my own little bubble and squeek!  Seriously this is fantastic! Its like a soft sweet stuffed dumpling with a crisp top!  A must for any pork lover!! If your a veggie use veggie suet.

Ingredients
Serves 2
100g self raising flour
50g suet
2 leeks
a good knob of butter
a glug of double cream, about 50-100mls
30g of strong cheddar cheese
1tsp of your favourite mustard,
Salt and pepper

Method

Pre heat oven to gas mark 5 (190)

Make the suet up by mixing the flour some salt and pepper and the shredded suet and binding the mixture with a little water until its slightly sticky and comes together in a ball.

Clean the leeks, thinly slice them and sweat them in a large pan with a little olive oil and the butter.  Put a lid on the pan.

Stir in the cream, cheese and mustard, check for seasoning, if it needs more pepper go for it.

Roll the suet out on a floured surface to no more than 2cm thick,

Line 1 large or 2 individual pudding basins with the suet (don’t forget to lightly grease the pudding basins and don’t forget to leave some suet for the lid)

Fill the suet lined pudding basin with the leeks mixture.  Wet the edges of the suet and place the lid.

Bake in the oven for 25 minutes for individual puddings or 40 minutes for a large pudding.  The top should be crisp and bubbling on the edges.

Turn out the puddings, they always come out clean as the suet is very thick and the basin will have been greased.

Enjoy with pork and mash YUM!

Pumpkin gnocchi with sage butter and toasted hazelnuts

This is a simple quick supper with bags of flavour.  Its low fat and delicious.  I like to serve this with braised meat, like rabbit or pork!  Totally indulgent, i take leftovers for dinner.  Let me know what you think.

 

Ingredients Serves 4
300g mashed pumpkin/squash (roast it in a hot oven until tender with salt pepper and oil then mash) I like butternut or munchkin varieties.
100g floury potato mashed.
1 egg beaten (you might not use it all)
100g pasta flour if you cant get pasta flour regular plain will do
Salt and pepper to taste
olive oil for the frying pan and drizzling at the end.
A handful of hazelnuts, toasted in a dry pan and then husked (rub them briskly in a tea towel until all the brown has come off, this works well for me)


For the butter
a few sage leaves
50g Butter

Method Mix the tender roasted pumpkin and mashed potato together until smooth. Mix in the flour some seasoning and bind with the beaten egg.
Roll into a long cylinder on a floured work surface (use more flour if you feel it sticking)
Cut into 3cm pieces.
With a fork make the gnocchi groves on each piece by pressing the fork into the piece of dough.
Mix all the ingredients together gently until combined. Roll into a long cylinder and cut into 3cm long pieces. With a fork gently pull forwards on the gnocchi to make grooves. Fill a pan with water, add around a teaspoon of salt and bring to the boil. Drop in as many gnocchi as will fit comfortably without overcrowding the pan.
Turn the pan to a simmer and when the gnocchi rise to the surface which should be around 3 minutes they are cooked.
Lift out with a slotted spoon and put into the warmed serving dish.
When ready to serve, heat the olive oil to a hot temperature add the butter and sage and turn down to stop anything burning.
Add the gnocchi and with the pan on medium swirl to combine.  You can get a golden crust on the gnocchi if you like which is nice.
Scatter over the coarsely chopped hazelnuts and serve withy peppery rocket and a bit of parmesan maybe?

Tabouleh

This middle Eastern salad is more substantial than you might think and is one of my favourite salads of all time, pipped to the post only by the mighty rocket salad!

I usually serve this with lamb for a really quick dinner when I get in from work. 

It’s so diverse you can add things as you see fit including chicken to bulk it out to a main as appose to a side dish.  I eat this with slow cooked lamb tajines, lamb kebabs, meatballs, bbq's - loads of things, and it’s always the dish that gets the compliments.  I prefer this to cous cous as its healthier and heartier, bulgar wheat is a natural product unlike cous cous which is derived from semolina wheat.

 

Serve with flatbreads, olives and hummus for a fab veggie dinner!

Keep what you don’t eat in the fridge it will taste even better the next day.

Ingredients
serves 2 as a main of 4 as a side dish
250g of bulgar wheat, rinsed in cold water.
1 large courgette diced
1 clove of garlic minced
1 lemon juice and zest
4 tomatoes, chopped
1 red pepper diced
A bunch of parsley, mint and coriander, or any combo chopped up or torn whichever you prefer
salt and pepper
pine nuts or almonds, lightly toasted (optional)
feta cheese crumbled (optional)
extra virgin olive oil

Method
Start by soaking the wheat in plenty of boiling water, it doesn’t matter how much, you'll drain it.
In a frying pan heat a little oil, add the courgette and pepper and fry until golden over a medium heat, for the last minute add the garlic, you add it at this stage so it doesn’t burn.
Once the wheat has been soaking in the water for 30 minutes drain it and add it to a large bowl ready for mixing.
Now literally add everything, especially the juice from the tomatoes and the juices from the frying pan, a good glug of extra virgin olive oil and plenty of salt and pepper to taste.