Category: Everyday meals

For the sauce:

• 1 green chilli (sliced, with the seeds left in)
• 1 large banana shallot (peeled and sliced)
• 2 large garlic cloves (peeled and sliced)
• 8 large blushing beef tomatoes (sliced into quarters)
• 1 can of good quality Italian chopped tomatoes
• Drizzle of good olive oil
• Sea salt
• Black pepper

1. In a large sauce pan add a drizzle of cold pressed olive oil, once the olive oil has lightly warmed through add your green chilli, shallot and garlic with a pinch of sea salt and black pepper as this helps to lay a base seasoning and builds the foundations of a great sauce.
2. Once your base is soft, add a touch of olive oil and add your tomatoes, by adding your tomatoes now, you deglaze the bottom of the pan and impart all of the cooked on flavour into you sauce.
3. Increase the heat to gently break down your tomatoes, then add a can of chopped Italian tomatoes and cook them out. Add another dash of olive oil, season with sea salt and black pepper, now allow your sauce to tick over.
4. You can add the vines from the tomatoes into the sauce, which gives the sauce a beautiful green house flavour and injection.
5. Turn your sauce and allow the flavours to merge and relax, this helps to impart greater depths into your sauce.

For your peppers:

1. Quickly wash your peppers under cold running water and place them directly onto the gas burner, as this burns and char’s the outside of the pepper effectively, whilst steaming the inside of the pepper and cooking them in their own juices. This helps to enhance their subtle flavour with a touch of smokiness.
2. Once charred and taken to smokey heaven, remove them off the gas burner and wrap them up in cling film. This again helps to steam the peppers and cook them further.
3. Leave for around 10-15 minutes, then depending on your taste, peel off the skin or if like me, you prefer some texture leave the skin on. Deseed and cut the peppers into quarters as you want a piece of charred pepper in every bite.

For your Aubergine and courgettes:

1. Using a sharp knife slice your aubergines length ways, once sliced salt them, as this helps to remove any excess moisture from your aubergine but also, helps to firm up the texture of the aubergines.
2. Leave the salt on for 10-15 minutes until you see the liquid bubbles coming up through the skin of the aubergines, then wash under cold running water and pat dry with a clean tea towel.
3. Place your aubergines onto a lightly oiled baking tray and bake till just al dente and lightly golden, as the aubergine will carry on cooking during the baking of the Parmigiana.
4. Slice your washed courgettes on the angle and re-peat what you did with the aubergines, as this again makes them nuttier.

Assemble in a fired earth tray, place a layer of your aubergines down, then add a layer of seasoning, then top with your courgettes and lastly you’re charred grilled peppers. Now top the vegetables with your beautiful tomato sauce from earlier. Repeat until all of the vegetables are used up (this normally takes two layers)

Top the parmigiana with any left over sauce and bake in the oven at gas mark 5 for about an hour to an hour and a half so that the aubergines are cooked and al dente and a paring knife slides through them.

Now top with sliced mozzarella and little grating of veggie parmesan cheese and place into the oven on gas mark 8 to get some crunch and colour to make the cheese go all creamy and crunchy.

Vegetable Stock:
• 2 carrot
• 1 white onion
• 2 sticks of celery
• ½ leek washed
• Coriander seeds
• Four bay leaves crushed and bruised
• ½ teaspoon Cloves
• ½ teaspoons Anise
• 200 ml of New Zealand Chardonnay
• 2 litres of cold water
• Portobello mushroom root and peel

1. To begin this stock, place a large pan onto a medium heat with a touch of oil once the pan has began to lightly smoke, add in your cut vegetables allow to colour alight as this helps to impart flavour and depth to your stock.
2. Once your vegetables are lightly golden brown and tender, add your 200 ml of white Chardonnay, then crush your aromats and allow to infuse in the wine as this again gives the wine another depth of flavour, additionally if you crush and bruise your bay leaves then you have that beautiful aniseed aroma.
3. Once the pan is deglazed add your water and allow to infuse for at least 30 minutes, bring the stock to the boil and then reduce to low simmer as this allows the stock to relax.
4. Once at this point pass and strain the stock through chinois as this helps to remove any impurities from the stock reserve the vegetables as these can be used to cook with a gammon or ham hock as this dish prides itself on a no waste idea.

Risotto:
Base:
• 2 sticks of celery peeled and finely diced
• ½ white onion and finely diced
• 1 large banana shallot and finely diced
• 2 cloves of garlic crushed and diced
• 500g portobello mushrooms some diced and some julienned
• Tobermory Three Cornered Garlic
• 800 grams of risotto rice
• 100 ml of New Zealand Chardonnay white wine

1. To begin your base, place a medium sized pan onto a medium heat, once the base has come up to temperature add a dash of olive oil then add your base as this is what makes the risotto.
2. Ensure that you cook the risotto base slowly and over a low heat as this helps to release their essential oils and flavour. This takes around 25-30 minutes add a little salt and pepper as this helps to form the base of the risotto.
3. Next deglaze with a little New Zealand Chardonnay white wine, once the wine has reduced and glazed add your risotto rice and allow to toast by toasting the grain, you allow the rice to open up which helps to release their starch which in turn thickens up the risotto.
4. Once the rice is ready add a ladle of stock at a time allow the rice to absorb the stock. As this helps to ensure a creamy and luxurious risotto.
5. Ensure to add enough stock at a time. Ensure that the rice is al dente, meaning to bite. To finish the rice off you can add a knob of butter, which helps give the rice a gloss and shine, but for dairy free eaters add a little cold pressed olive oil.

Add your sautéed portobello mushrooms as this helps to ensure that they remain juicy perfectly cooked, by sautéing off mushrooms in a little olive oil and a red hot pan you release a wonderful nutty flavour which then imparts goes back into your risotto to build the flavour profile. Just before your risotto is ready add your finely chopped three-cornered green to lightly cook as if it over cooks they have a tendency to turn brown.

To accompany this dish slice some rustic bread and chargrill once char grilled slice a clove of garlic in half and rub over the bread drizzle with cold pressed olive oil and place onto a wooden board and serve.

To finish bowl into pre-warmed artisan bowls top with veggie Parmesan cheese shavings and a drizzle of cold pressed olive oil and enjoy with a crisp glass of white New Zealand Chardonnay.

I will be cooking recipes this week using each of these ingredients as they should be readily available from your local green grocer – stay posted!

Be sure to get your greens – some seasonal favourites: spinach, kale, cavolo nero or spring greens.
This dish is also packed full with omega 3 and vitamin D!

Pan seared pork fillet, burnt onions with garlic and thyme, seared lemon chicory, wilted seasonal greens finished with a red wine and pomegranate jus.

Grilled mackerel, with crispy skin accompanied with charred cucumber, celeriac, on a bed of watercress, dressed with salsa verde.

A seriously tasty winter warmer – butternut squash and charred bell pepper soup, finished with a drizzle of Fortnum & Mason’s chipotle honey

This healthy colourful dish, mixes roasted butternut squash, miso and basil pesto through hand cut pasta. Topped with nutmeg spinach and toasted almond flakes, then on the side tuck into a whole garlic roasted cauliflower.