This a surprisingly tasty soup, which is wonderfully cleansing. Used originally as part of a weight-loss diet, I make it regularly as a really substantial lunch. This recipe makes a generous amount – I freeze half the soup and keep the rest in the fridge.

Serves 8
3 onions, chopped into chunks
2 green peppers, chopped into chunks
1 bunch of celery, chopped into chunks
1 iceberg lettuce, chopped into chunks
2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
800ml/1½ pints vegetable stock
300g/10½oz lentils or soup mix
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Add all the ingredients to a large pot and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 20–30 minutes until the lentils are soft.

Blend the soup to a smooth consistency with a hand blender; you may need to add a little extra stock if the soup is too thick.

Season with salt and pepper, and serve.

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I absolutely love Bok Choy, and although a completely foreign vegetable, it takes extremely well to growing in my vegetable garden! There are so many ways to make the best of this great vegetable, and for me, more often than not, it ends up as a regular ingredient to a quick and tasty stir fry, with lots of other fresh veggies. This braised Bok Choy recipe is a fantastic way to enjoy it, making it a perfect side dish to any main Chinese meal.

Serves 2
4 bok choy, sliced in quarters
1 tablespoon of sunflower oil
1 clove of garlic, sliced thinly
A thumb sized piece of ginger, sliced thinly
1 teaspoon of sugar
1 teaspoons of sesame oil
1 teaspoon of soy sauce
1 tablespoon of oyster sauce

Heat a wok over a high heat, add the oil to coat.  Add the garlic and ginger and stir fry for 30 seconds.

Add the bok choy and stir fry for 1 minute.  Sprinkle over the sugar, and pour in 60ml of water, toss everything to combine.

Bring the wok to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer covered for 3 minutes or until the bok choy is tender.

Finally add the sesame oil and oyster sauce, stir it through until everything is coated and serve straight away.

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This is a really tasty starter dish which is perfect for preparing the ingredients ahead of time and simply assembling them at the last minute to create a pretty impressive salad. If you don’t want to roast the beetroot yourself, you can by precooked vac packed ones in the supermarket.

Serves 6
6 medium sized beetroot
75g pine nuts
250g goats cheese, cut into bitesize pieces
60g rocket leaves
3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard
Half a clove of garlic, minced
A good pinch of sea salt and ground black pepper

You can cook the beetroot ahead of time if you wish, simply wrap them in tinfoil, place on an oven tray and bake for about an hour at 190C/Gas Mark 5 or until you can insert a fork smoothly.  Remove from the oven, allow to cool, then peel with knife and slice into quarters.

On a large frying pan, over a medium heat, toast the pine nuts, until golden brown, make sure to keep an eye on them as they can burn quite easily. In a large bowl whisk together the Dijon mustard, oil, vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper and set aside.

When you are ready to serve the salad, arrange the beetroot quarters and goats cheese pieces on each plate.  Toss the rocket leaves in the dressing and place a little on each plate. Finally scatter each plate with the toasted pine nuts and serve straight away!

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This is a perfect way to savour the fresh flavours of home grown broad beans. The thick broad bean paste can also be stirred through pasta for a tasty supper.

Serves 4
150g of shelled broad beans.
2-3 mint leaves.
½ clove of garlic.
3 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil.
A good handful of grated parmesan cheese.
A good pinch of sea salt and ground black pepper.
A few slices of toasted sourdough bread.

Place the broad beans in a pestle and mortar with the garlic, mint, sea salt and pepper.

Mash it all up until a thick paste forms.

Add the parmesan and a little olive oil to loosen the mixture, stir this through with a spoon.

Check the seasoning and then spread the broad bean mixture onto the toast.

Drizzle with a little extra olive oil, sprinkle with a little more parmesan and serve as a tasty little appetiser.

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I have a handy dandy Magimix food processor and it makes this recipe so simple and takes only minutes to prepare. If you don’t have one, it’s no big deal but it makes this easy recipe a little more time consuming. This crunchy coleslaw is the perfect accompaniment to any meat or poultry dish.

Serves 4-6 people
3 carrots, grated
1/2 head of red cabbage, finely chopped or coarsely grated
3 spring onions, finely chopped
3 tablespoon of mayonaisse
1 tablespoon of wholegrain mustard
A good pinch of ground black pepper

Add all the vegetables to a large mixing bowl. Add the wholegrain mustard, ground black pepper and mayonaisse and using a large spoon combine all the ingredients until the carrot and cabbage is evenly coated.

Transfer to a large serving dish, cover with cling film and place in the fridge until you are ready to serve. The coleslaw should last 2-3 days kept in the fridge.

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