Lentil & Cashew Nut Roast

Ingredients:

200g red lentils,
450ml vegetable stock,
1 bay leaf,
100g unsalted cashew nuts,
2 onions, finely chopped
1 red pepper, finely chopped
1 carrot, grated
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tbsp lemon juice,
75g grated cheese,
100g breadcrumbs,
3 tbsps parsley,
1 egg

Method:

1. Add lentils, stock & bay leaf to a pan & bring to the boil. Cover & allow to simmer for 10-15 mins until the stock has been absorbed.
2. Toast cashew nuts in a dry frying pan for a few minutes & chop roughly.
3. Preheat oven to 190C.
4. Add some oil to frying pan & fry onions for a few minutes before adding, pepper, carrot, garlic and frying until soft.
5. Mix together in a large bowl the cooked lentils, fried vegetables & all the other ingredients.
6. Put into a greased loaf tin & cover with foil.
7. Bake for 30 minutes, remove foil & bake for a further 30 minutes.
8. Allow to rest for 10-15 minutes before slicing.

Serve with gravy, vegetables, potatoes as an alternative to meat for a Sunday roast.

Kids Fruit Pizzas

Ingredients:

Base: 4 Tortilla wraps

Sauce: 125ml yoghurt (I used dairy-free coconut based yoghurt),
1 tsp runny honey,
half teaspoon vanilla extract,
3/4 teaspoon orange juice

Fruit: Any fruit, but berries, chopped apple, tinned pineapple chunks, tinned mandarin slices all work well

Method:

1. Using a round biscuit cutter, cut the tortilla wraps.
2. Mix together in a bowl the sauce ingredients.
3. Spread the sauce on the tortilla rounds.
4. Top with the prepared fruit.

Lavender & Rhubarb Cake

Ingredients:

Cake:

6 eggs

pinch of salt

175g caster sugar

150g plain flour

125g butter

2 tsp lavender buds

Filling:

8x foot long rhubarb stalks

200g caster sugar

50g butter

1 heaped tbsp cornflour

3 eggs

red food colouring

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 160C.
2. Place the eggs, salt and sugar into a mixing bowl and whisk until there is lots of air in the mix and it almost stands in peaks.
3. Melt the butter and sieve the flour, then add them and the lavender buds to the mix, folding in gently.
4. Split the mix between 3 cake tins.
5. Bake for about 15 minutes, until golden brown and the skewer comes out clean.
6. Allow to cool for a few minutes before removing from the tins to cool completely.
7. Chop the rhubarb into centimetre slices and add to a pan with 50g caster sugar, place a lid on the pan and heat gently for 5-10 minutes, occasionally stirring, until the rhubarb is well stewed.
8. Sieve the stewed rhubarb to remove the pulp, you will need to push it through the sieve to maximise the juice you get from the fruit (ideally you require about 200ml).
9. Melt the butter in a clean saucepan.
10. Mix the cornflour with a little of the rhubarb juice. 
11. Add the cornflour, rhubarb juice, lightly beaten eggs and sugar to the pan with the butter and heat gently, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens.
12. If necessary add some red food colouring to get the pink colour.
13. Allow the rhubarb curd to cool, then place the first layer of cake onto a plate, spread a third of the rhubarb curd on top, place a second cake on top, spread another third of the curd on top, add the final cake and spread the rest of the curd on top. Sprinkle with a few lavender buds for decoration & if available a sprig of lavender.

Naan Bread

Ingredients:

200g Greek yoghurt
1/2 tsp salt
200ml water
500g self-raising flour
olive oil for brushing

Method:

1. Put yoghurt & salt in a bowl, add the water & mix well.
2. Add the flour and mix til forms a dough, then knead it to make it smooth.
3. Cut the dough into 8-10 pieces.
4. Roll out the dough until it is about 0.5cm thick into a round or oval shape.
5. Heat frying pan over a medium heat.
6. Brush one side with oil & place that side face down in the pan.
7. Brush the other side of the naan with oil.
8. Cook for 1-2 mins either side until golden brown, puffed up & cooked through.

Enjoy with a tasty curry or kebab

Slow Cooked Lentil Ragu

Ingredients:

2 onions

2 carrots

3 celery stick

2 red peppers

200g dried red lentils

200g dried green lentils

3 tins chopped tomatoes

100g tomato puree

700ml vegetable stock (made with 2 OXO cubes)

2 tbsp vegetarian Worcestershire sauce

2 tbsp mixed herbs

Method:

1. Chop onions, carrots & celery into chunks.
2. Add all the ingredients to the slow cooker and stir together.
3. Cook on low for 5-7 hours until the lentils are cooks and the sauce is thick.

Occasionally extra liquid may need to be added before the end of the cooking time. If there is too much liquid, you can leave the lid off for the last hour to allow some excess water to boil off.

Ideal to serve with rice or pasta or jacket potatoes. Great sauce for a lasagne too.

Bakewell Tart

Ingredients:

250g puff pastry (shop bought or have a go at making your own HERE)

1 heaped tbsp raspberry, strawberry or cherry jam

125g butter

125g caster sugar

100g ground almonds

25g plain flour

1 egg, beaten

half a dozen glace cherries or almond slices for decorating

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180C.
2. Roll the pastry into a round to line your baking tin or flan dish (15-20cm in diameter is perfect). You will want to line the bottom & sides.
3. Place the pastry into the tin, pressing into & up the sides of the tin.
4. Place a piece of greaseproof paper onto the pastry & place your baking beans/weights on top (also know as baking blind).
5. Place in the oven for 15-20 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a pan.
7. Mix together the ground almonds, plain flour & caster sugar in a bowl. 
8. Add the butter & beaten egg & mix well.
9. Once your pastry base is removed from the oven, remove the greaseproof paper & baking beans, allow to cool for 5 minutes. 
10. Reduce the oven heat to 160C.
11. Add the filling & decorate the top with excess pastry, glace cherries & sliced almonds.
12. Bake in the oven until firm & golden brown, approx 45 minutes to an hour.

Homemade Baked Beans

Ingredients:

4x 400g tins of haricot beans (can also be made with any other types of tinned beans)
4 bay leaves
2 onions, finely sliced
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 carrots, grated
300ml vegetable stock (made mine with 1 veg OXO cube)
2 x 400g tins of chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp paprika
pinch of ground cloves
black pepper
1 tsp black treacle

Method:

1. Put all the ingredients into the slow cooker.
2. Mix together well & cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours.

NB If you make a huge batch you can freeze in portions.

This recipe is soooo simple but yet as delicious if not more delicious than tinned baked beans.