Oven baked risotto

1tbsp oil

1 chopped onion

300g risotto rice

100ml white wine

400g tin chopped tomatoes

200g roasted peppers

500ml veg stock.

good hadnful of parsley chopped

Heat the oven to Gas6.

Heat the oil in an oven proof pan, fry the onion until soft. Turn up the heat, add the rice and stir in the wine until absorbed, then pour in the tomatoes, peppers and 440ml stock.

Cover and bake in the oven fr 25mins until the rice is tender and creamy.

Stir in the remaining stock, parsley and scatter with Parmesan.

Pea Risotto

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion (about 8 oz.), peeled and finely chopped

2 cups Arborio rice

1/2 cup dry white wine

About 5 1/2 cups chicken stock

8 oz shelled fresh peas

1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper
Pour olive oil into a pan over medium-high heat; when hot, add onion and stir often until limp, about 5 minutes. Add rice and stir until opaque, about 3 minutes.
Add wine and stir until absorbed, 1 to 2 minutes. Add 5 1/2 cups stock, about a cup at a time, stirring after each addition until almost absorbed, 25 to 30 minutes total; stir in peas with the second cup of stock. If risotto is thicker than desired, stir in a little more broth. Stir in cheese and add salt and pepper to taste.

To make this totally vegetarian use a good vegetable stock.

Pea and Watercress Soup

2tbsp olive oil
15g butter

1 large onion chopped

1 garlic glove chopped

1 large potato cubed

1.5 litres of chicken stock

900g frozen peas

100g watercress

Heat the oil and butter in a large pan, add the onions and garlic, cook gently until softened. Add the potato and toss with the onion and garlic before adding the stock. Bring to the boil and simmer for 15 mins until the potato is tender.

Add the frozen peas and simmer for a few minutes. Add the watercress and stir until wilted. Remove from the heat, cool, and then blend until smooth. Season to taste, and reheat to serve.

Tomato and Red Lentil Soup

60g onion

1tsp olive oil

1 crushed clove garlic

60g diced carrot

60g red lentils

200g tinned tomatoes

250ml vegetable stock

Heat olive oil, add chopped onion & garlic. Cook until golden brown, add diced carrot. Cover and cook gently over heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add red lentils, tomato and stock (you can also add oregano and basil if you like). Bring to the boil and then simmer for 20 minutes until lentils are tender. Blend and serve.

Pumpkin Soup

1 large pumpkin
1 pint of stock (Veg or chicken)
2 cloves garlic
1 medium chilli
1 can coconut milk
lots of corriander

Boil the pumpkin in the stock until tender. Drain but retain the cooking water.

In a blender, combine the chilli, garlic and corriander. Give it a good wizz.

When the pumpkin is soft drain. Combine the pumpkin with the chilli/garlic/coriander mix and blend until smooth.
(I did this with a handblender in my big cooking pot).

In your cooking pot add the coconut milk to the pumbkin mixture and simmer. If the soup is too thick add some of the reserved cooking water.

Serve hot in large bowls, garnished with chopped corriander.

Butternut and Sweet Potato Soup

350g diced butternut squash and sweet potato
750ml hot chicken stock
1/4tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground mace
good grinding of black pepper
4tsps single cream

Put the butternut and sweet potato in a saucepan, with the chicken stock and spices.
Bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes, until vegetables are tender.
Puree the soup. Pour into serving bowls, garnished with cream swirls.

Chunky Vegetable Minestrone

2 carrots
1 onion
200g celery
2 pints vegetable stock
1 leek
100g green cabbage
2 tomatoes
50g soup pasta

Chop the carrots, oniions and celery, gently fry in a lrge saucepan until softened. Add the vegetable stock and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the pasta shredded cabbage, finely sliced leek and skinned, deseeded, chopped tomatoes. Cook for a further 15 minutes. Season to taste.

Cod Fish Cakes with Crunchy Lime Drenched Salad

Fish Cakes
120g self raising flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 large egg
4-4tbsp milk
400g cod
1 small red onion finely chopped
2 2bsp chopped parsley
Olive oil for frying.
Put the flour and salt into a bowl, and beat in the egg and milk to make a batter. Stir the cod into the batter with the onion, parsley and a grinding of black pepper. In a large non-stick frying pan shallow fry spoonfulls of the mixture in the oilve oil, until golden brown.

Crunchy Lime Drenched Salad
Juice of 1 lime
1/2tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/2tsp black pepper
1/2tsp salt
1/2 cucumber diced
1/2 red onion diced
3 tomatos diced
2-3 sprigs of mint chopped
pinch of sugar
small handful of chopped coriander
In a large serving bowl combine the lime juice, cumin, chilli, pepper, and salt. add the cucumber, onion and tomatoes, toss together and set aside to marinate for 15 mins. Stir in the mint, sugar and coriander and serve.

Potato, Courgette & Corriander Pie

3 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
150g Spenwood/Pecorino cheese, grated
1 clove garlic, peeled & chopped
1cm fresh root ginger, peeled & chopped
350g pots, peeled & thinly sliced
175g courgettes, thinly sliced
1 large onion, peeled & thinly sliced
75 ml white wine or vegetable stock (chicken stock can aslo be used).



Mix the corriander, cheese, garlic & ginger in a bowl. Line a dish with half the potatoes and cover with half the courgettes and then half the sliced onion. Spoon on half the cheese mixture. Continue with a second layer of the remaining potato, courgette and onion. Pour on the wine or stock and cover with foil. Bake in the oven (gas 5) for an hour until tender. Top with the remaining cheese mixture and finish off under the grill.

Tuscan style pasta and bean soup

1tsp Olive Oil

1 large onion chopped

1 celery stick chopped

1 courgette chopped

1tbsp rosemary finely chopped

2 gloves garlic chopped
2 tbsp Tomato puree

2 tins chopped tomatoes

1 chicken stock cube

100g farfallini (although any little pasta shapes would be fine)

410g cannellini beans tinned

Sweat the onion & celery in the oil for approx 10 mins. Add courgette, rosemary and garlic cook for further 5 mins. Stir in tomato puree, chopped tomates and 700ml boiling water. Crumble in stock cube. Simmer for 15 mins. Meanwhile cook the pasta (al dente). Add the past and beans to the soup and warm through for a further 5 mins. Serve with fresh crusty bread and sprinkle with cheese