Bruschetta

Ingredients
Serves: 16

1 baguette, cut into slices

8 plum tomatoes, diced

half a bunch fresh basil, chopped

half a red onion, minced

freshly ground black pepper

3 cloves garlic, halved

Method
Prep:10min Cook:5min Ready in:15min

1.

Preheat oven to 200 C / Gas mark 6.

2.

Combine tomato, basil and red onion in a small mixing bowl; stir well. Season with freshly
ground black pepper. Set aside.

3.

Arrange bread on a baking tray. Place in oven, and bake until well toasted, approximately 5
minutes.

4.

Remove bread from oven, and transfer to a large serving platter. Let bread cool 3 to 5 minutes.
Rub garlic into the top of each slice of toast; the toast should glisten with the garlic. Spoon the
tomato mixture generously onto each slice, and serve.

Tip:
Try spreading roasted garlic onto the toasted baguette slices for more garlic flavour.

Chickpea and rice balls

Ingredients
Serves: 4

100 g (3 oz) long-grain white rice

1 tbsp sunflower oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 fresh red chilli, seeded and finely chopped

2 tomatoes, skinned, seeded and very finely chopped

1 can chickpeas, about 410 g, drained and rinsed

1 egg yolk

3 tbsp chopped fresh coriander

tsp paprika

salt and pepper

Method
Prep:50min Cook:30min Ready in:1hr20min

1.

Put the rice in a saucepan, add 240 ml (8 fl oz) water and bring to the boil. Cover and simmer
very gently for 1015 minutes or until the rice is tender and has absorbed all the water. Remove
from the heat and leave to cool for a few minutes.

2.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180C (350F, gas mark 4). Heat the oil in a saucepan, add the
onion and fry gently for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until soft. Stir in the garlic and
chilli, and cook for 2 more minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the chopped tomatoes.

3.

Put the chickpeas in a bowl and mash with a potato masher until fairly smooth, or pure in a
food processor. Add the onion mixture, rice, egg yolk, coriander, paprika, and season to taste.
Mix together well. Divide the mixture into 12 equal portions and shape each into a ball.

4.

Place the chickpea and rice balls on a greased baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes or until
beginning to brown, turning them over carefully halfway through the cooking. Serve hot.

Shepherdess Pie
Ingredients
Serves: 6

1 onion, chopped

1 red or yellow pepper, chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 carrots, grated

1 large courgette, grated

1 (400g) tin chopped tomatoes

1 tablespoon tomato pure

generous pinch dried mixed herbs

1 (198g) tin sweetcorn

1 (400g) tin butter beans

800g (1 3/4 lb) mashed potatoes

Method
Prep:15min Cook:30min Ready in:45min

1.

In a large frying pan, saut onion and pepper (I like to use half a red one and half a yellow one)
in olive oil over medium heat until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in grated carrot
and courgette, and cook a further 5 minutes. Add tinned tomatoes, pure, herbs, sweetcorn and
butter beans and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 10 minutes.

2.

Place vegetable mixture into a casserole or baking dish. Top with mashed potatoes to cover, and
then sprinkle with grated cheese if using.

3.

Bung in the oven on 180 C / Gas mark 4 for around half an hour (until browned and bubbling at
the sides). Serve on its own or with sausages.

Note:
You can use the filling of this dish as a pasta sauce, or to fill tortilla wraps. It is also great for young
babies; the whole dish can be mashed easily. It can be frozen before baking and just needs to be thrown
in the oven directly from the freezer. I usually only freeze the filling and add the mash right before
baking.

Vegetarian Chilli
Ingredients
Serves: 6

350g packet Quorn mince

2 (400g) tins black beans, rinsed and drained

2 (400g) tins red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 (400g) tin borlotti beans, rinsed and drained

2 (400g) tins chopped tomatoes

340ml (12 fl oz) tomato juice

5 onions, chopped

3 tablespoons chilli powder

1 1/2 tablespoons ground cumin

2 clove garlic, minced or 1 tbsp garlic powder

2 bay leaves

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Method
Prep:10min Cook:1hr Ready in:1hr10min

1.

Combine all ingredients in a large pot. Bring to a simmer and cover. Let the chilli simmer for at
least 1 hour before serving

Quick Vegetable Curry

Ingredients
Serves: 5

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 1/2 tablespoons curry powder

2 tablespoons tomato pure

1 (400g) tin chopped tomatoes

1 vegetable stock cube

285g frozen mixed vegetables

340ml (12 fl oz) water

salt and pepper to taste

Chopped fresh coriander to garnish

Method
Prep:5min Cook:25min Ready in:30min

1.

In a large saucepan over medium high heat, heat oil and saut onion and garlic until golden.

2.

Stir in curry powder and tomato pure, cook 2 to 3 minutes.

3.

Stir in tomatoes, vegetable stock cube, mixed vegetables, water, salt and pepper to taste. Cook
approximately 20 to 30 minutes until vegetables are well done (not crunchy). Sprinkle with
fresh coriander prior to serving.