Recipes

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C. Put pork ribs on the baking dish and bake them for 30 minutes. Wash but don’t peel the celery root. Dice the carrot.
2. Put the baked pork ribs in a pot and add 3 liters of water. Chop the celery root and carrot and add them to the pot, along with half the unpeeled onion. Bring the pot to the boil and simmer for 30 minutes.
3. The heart of the borscht is sautéed vegetables. Dice the bell pepper, tomatoes, and remainder of the onion. Place the butter in a saucepan and add the vegetables. Cook them over a moderate heat until soft. Add the tomato paste, reduce the heat, and simmer for 5-7 minutes. Grate a beet, add it to the saucepan, and stew for a further 3-4 minutes.
4. Cut a garlic bulb in a half and add it to the pot. Shred the cabbage and put it aside.
5. Take the second beet and squeeze all the juice out. If you don’t have a juice squeezer, you can grate a beet and pass it through the sieve. Add the juice together with the allspice, bay leaves, and several pinches of salt to taste.
6. Optionally add the canned beans.
7. Add the smoked pears to the pot. They will make your dish smell smoky.
8. Add the shredded cabbage and cook for a further 5 minutes.
9. Take the borscht off the heat and let it stand for 30 minutes.

Serve the borscht with a spoon of sour cream and chopped dill. Put the leftover borscht in the fridge, and remember that it tastes better the next day!

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C.
2. Finely chop the red onions and sweat gently on a low heat in olive oil for 5 minutes.
3. Peel the garlic and add it to the onions.
4. Meanwhile, chop the bell peppers to 1 inch pieces. Add the bell peppers and tomatoes to a roasting dish, and rub with lemon juice, olive oil and black pepper. Transfer to the oven and roast for 30 minutes.
5. Once the onions and garlic have softened, chop and add the chilies, seeds and all. Mix well and continue to gently fry.
6. Thoroughly wash your hands following handling raw chilies.
7. Once the tomatoes and bell peppers have finished roasting, add them to the pan. Cook for at least 10 minutes, breaking them up with a masher or a hand blender as they simmer. Once broken up, mix in the sugar.
8. Transfer the sauce to a blender and blend until smooth.
9. Return to the pan and add the vinegar and juice of the limes.
10. Cook through for a further 10 minutes, then leave to cool.
11. Transfer to sterilized jars and keep refrigerated.
12. Leave for at least two weeks before tasting.

1. Mix the egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch with 1/3 of the milk.
2. In a saucepan, boil 2/3 of the milk with the lemon peel and cinnamon.
3. After 3 minutes, remove from the heat and take out the lemon and cinnamon.
4. Slowly add the egg mixture to the hot milk through a strainer to ensure there are no lumps.
5. Return it to the heat until it boils, stirring constantly.
6. Once the mixture has begun to thicken, remove from the heat and put it into individual bowls to cool.
7. For an authentic finish, sprinkle with sugar and brown with a blowtorch or under a preheated broiler to caramelize.

1. In a large wok, brown the chicken until golden, then turn the heat down and gently cook the garlic. Add the chopped green beans and stir.
2. Add the coconut milk, green curry paste and fish sauce. Mix well and slowly simmer.
3. Add the chopped mushrooms and simmer until the chicken (or tofu) is cooked.
4. Serve with jasmine rice and a sprinkle of coriander.

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F/220°C. Mix some of the milk and water in a jug, and add the yeast and sugar, then set aside.
2. In a bowl, mix the flour, salt and oil. Slowly add the liquid from the jug and form into a dough.
3. Break the dough in half and shape into two pizza bases. Set aside for about 15 minutes, whilst making the topping.
4. Spread the tomato puree over the pizza bases, chop the basil and rocket and sprinkle over the tomato. Lay the chopped Parma ham on top and add thick slices of mozzarella across the pizza.
5. Cook in the oven directly on the top shelf (with a tray underneath) for 10-12 minutes until the mozzarella is bubbling. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C and grease two 8 inch cake tins.
2. In a large bowl, mix the butter and sugar together, then add the eggs, flour and baking powder.
3. Spread the mix evenly between the 2 cake tins.
4. Place both tins in the middle of the preheated oven for 20 minutes, before checking with a knife. When the knife comes out clean, it's ready!
5. Allow to cool in the tins before moving them onto a cooling rack.
6. Add the jam, stack, dust with icing sugar and serve with a big dollop of cream. Enjoy!

1. Prepare the vegetables by peeling and chopping the potatoes, finely chopping the onions, leeks and garlic.
2. Heat a little oil in a pan and add the chopped vegetables, gently cooking them for about 5 minutes.
3. Add the vegetable stock to the same pan and turn up the heat until simmering, adding the watercress after about 10 minutes. Cook until all the vegetables are soft and easily mashed.
4. Liquidize the soup either with a hand blender or in a mixer, until smooth.
5. If the soup has cooled too much whilst being liquidized, stir in the crème fraîche and reheat before serving (otherwise serve straight away). Season to taste.

1. In a large pan, boil the pasta in plenty of water until cooked.
2. Whilst the pasta is cooking, chop the onion and gently fry it with the garlic in a little oil until soft and the onion looks clear.
3. Add the vegetarian sausages. Once browned, remove and chop into chunky bites.
4. Pop the sausages back into the pan and add the tomatoes, sugar, pesto and sun dried tomatoes. Season to taste. Simmer until most of the water from the chopped tomatoes has gone.
5. Drain the pasta and add to the pan with the sausages and tomatoes. Stir in half of the cheddar and transfer to a shallow dish. Sprinkle with the rest of the cheddar and dot the sliced mozzarella over the top.
6. Grill for 10 minutes or until the cheese has melted and started to brown. Serve with basil leaves.

1. Use a little of the sunflower oil to grease an 8 inch square baking tin (or similar size) and line the tin with greaseproof paper.
2. Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C.
3. Break approximately 1/3rd of the chocolate bar off and chop into small pieces. Roughly chop 2/3rds of the pecan nuts and mix together with the chopped chocolate. Set aside.
4. For finishing the brownies, chop or crush the remaining pecan nuts and walnuts, mix together and set aside.
5. Melt the remaining chocolate by bringing a couple inches of water to the boil in a small saucepan that is suitably sized for holding a heatproof bowl in the pan opening. Do not allow the bottom of the heatproof bowl to touch the water. Place the chocolate into the bowl to melt, stirring occasionally to ensure the chocolate has fully melted. Once melted, set aside and allow to cool slightly.
6. Whilst the chocolate is melting, begin to sieve the plain flour, coconut flour, and cocoa powder into a large mixing bowl and mix. Once mixed, stir in the baking powder and sugar.
7. Once the chocolate has cooled a little, begin to slowly stir the vanilla essence, sunflower oil, soya milk, and melted chocolate into the flour and cocoa mix.
8. Now stir in the previously chopped chocolate and pecan nuts, ensuring they are stirred evenly into the mixture.
9. Pour the mixture into the baking tin and spread evenly with a spatula.
10. Sprinkle the chopped pecan nuts and walnuts across the top and bake in the centre of the oven for 18 to 23 minutes.
11. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 45 minutes. Carefully use the edges of the greaseproof paper to lift the brownie out of the tin and place onto a chopping board. With a sharp knife, gently cut into evenly sized pieces.
12. Serve on their own or with some vegan cream or ice cream.

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C. Starting with the pastry; rub the flour and butter together in a bowl until crumbling like breadcrumbs. Add water, a little at a time, until it forms a dough.
2. Roll out the pastry on a floured board and gently spread over your tin. Place in the fridge for 20 minutes before blind baking for a further 10.
3. Whilst the pastry is cooling, chop and gently cook the onions, garlic and courgette.
4. In a large bowl, add the soya milk, half the parmesan, and the eggs. Gently mix.
5. Once the pastry is cooked, spread the onions, garlic and sun dried tomatoes over the base and pour the eggs mix over. Sprinkle the remaining parmesan and careful lay the feta over the top. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.