Category: Seasonal

Coriander rice:
• 4 mugs of boiling water
• 2 mugs of brown rice
• Pinch of natural pink sea salt
• Coriander Stalks

1. Ensure that you wash your rice before cooking.
2. To begin place your two mugs of boiling water and brown rice into a medium saucepan, then add your pinch of natural pink sea salt along with your coriander stalks
3. The method is called the absorption method, which means that you don’t have to drain any of the water out of your rice. The coriander stalks helps to perfume the rice lightly throughout.
4. Remove the lid and allow the rice to steam gently once the rice is ready it should be al dente with a little bite to it, to finish the rice chiffonade your coriander leaves and stir through the coriander leaves.

Sautéed Red Cabbage with yellow mustard seeds:
• 2 heaped tablespoons of yellow mustard seeds
• Drizzle of olive oil
• ½ a red cabbage chiffonade
• 1 lemon Zest
• 1 lemon Juice

1. In a medium saucepan add a drizzle of olive oil, then add your yellow mustard seeds allow them to pop and burst releasing their flavours and aromas.
2. Next add your chiffonaded red cabbage with a pinch of natural sea salt to lay a base of seasoning, as this helps to release some of the cabbages liquid.
3. Once the cabbage has softened and become al dente, add a touch of water to begin to lightly steam and cook your red cabbage till it becomes al dente.
4. To finish add your lemon zest and juice to season.
5. This cabbage dish is perfect to complement the curry and coriander rice as it is great carried of flavour.

Roasted broccoli and cauliflower vegan curry:
• 1 large onion (peeled and finely sliced)
• 2 banana shallots (peeled and finely sliced)
• 4 garlic cloves (crushed and peeled)
• A drizzle of olive oil
• Pink natural sea salt
• Leek Tops (finely sliced)
• Broc stalks (finely sliced)

Spices:
• 1 and ½ teaspoons of ground turmeric
• 2 teaspoons of medium curry powder
• 1 teaspoon of yellow mustard seeds

• 8 beef tomatoes (cut into quarters)
• 2 heads of broccoli (cut into florets, roasted and charred)
• 1 large head of cauliflower (cut into florets, roasted and charred)

Dried goods:

• 1 can of cannelloni beans drained and washed
• 1 can of green lentils drained and washed

Method:

1. To begin prep your cauliflower and broccoli into florets and place into a pre-heated oven at 180 degree, drizzle with a little olive oil and a pinch of sea salt.
2. Next in a medium saucepan add a drizzle of olive oil, once the pan has come up to temperature add your sliced onions, shallots and garlic to the oil. Alongwith a pinch of sea salt.
3. Once the onion base is soft and see through, add your yellow mustard seeds, curry powder and turmeric, ensure that you cook the spices out, as they can taste bitter.
4. Once the spices are all cooked out add your leek tops and broccoli stalk ensure that you cook the leek and broccoli stalk until al dente.
5. Next to remove the cooked on flavour add your quartered tomatoes and allow them to cook down as they help to remove and deglaze the bottom of the pan, as this helps to impart another level of flavour.
6. Increase the temperature a little and allow the tomatoes to gently cook and split.
7. Check on your cauliflower and broccoli by roasting the cauliflower and broccoli with a little olive oil as this helps to give the vegetables a light nutty flavour.
8. To finish your curry add your lentils and cannelloni beans to the curry as the curry is nearly ready and the beans are already cooked, allow the pulses to warm through along with your charred cauliflower and broccoli florets.
9. To finish the curry add your trimmed green beans as they only take a couple of minutes to cook through, add your beans to your curry and allow the green beans to cook through.
10. Cook the beans till they are al dente.

Serve along side your coriander rice and braised red yellow mustard seed cabbage, this is a great meal to prepare in advance as you can freeze and pack this curry away.

Vegetable stock:

• 1 half of an onion (peeled and sliced)
• 2 carrots (sliced)
• 2 celery sticks (sliced)
• Mushroom stalks and peel (from the Risotto dish)
• Onion peel
• Leek tops
• 2 bruised bay leaves

1. To begin place a large saucepan onto the heat, add your vegetables into the pan and lightly colour, as this results in deeper flavour and colour stock.
2. Next cover with 2 litres of cold water along with some peppercorns bring the stock up to the boil. Then reduce a little.
3. Allow your stock to simmer for at least 2 hours, this is quite a light stock as I didn’t want this to overpower the soup, rather carry subtle flavours.
4. Then pass through a muslin and use accordingly as stated below in the recipe.

Potato, Leek, Broccoli soup
Base:

• 1 Large white onion (sliced and peeled)
• 3 garlic cloves (peeled and crushed)
• 1 large green chilli (sliced with the seeds left in)
• 1 large banana shallot (peeled and sliced)
• 2 celery sticks (washed, peeled and sliced)
• 3 large carrots (peeled and sliced)
• Broccoli stalk (washed and sliced

The main part of the soup:

• 8 large organic potatoes
• 3 large leeks (washed and sliced)
• 1 head of broccoli (finely chopped)

1. To begin place a large saucepan onto a medium heat, once the pan has began to gently warm add a drizzle of olive oil. Then add your base ingredients and allow them to steam and soften for a while.
2. Add a pinch of natural sea salt and pinch of ground black pepper to form a base layer of seasoning for your soup.
3. Once your base has softened and taken a little colour, add your peeled and sliced potatoes and cook them out, as these are the items which will thicken and add velvet texture to your soup.
4. Add a little stock to deglaze the pan and to remove any of the cooked on goodness, which will help to enrich your soup, as well again adding another layer of flavour.
5. Next add your finely chopped leeks and broccoli to the pan, increase the heat and cover with your vegetable stock. Cook until the vegetables are al dente and the potato slices have gone see through.
6. Turn off the heat and taste to ensure that the seasoning is right. Then use a hand blender to blitz up, and now season, at this point to your personal taste, blend depending on how thick or thin you like your soup. You can always correct this by adding more or less of your vegetable stock.
7. One last check to ensure the seasoning is correct, taste and pre-heat a fired earth bowl and serve with a drizzle of olive oil.
8. Serve alongside a selection of breads and thick organic butter, with a little pinch of pink sea salt.

Stay safe, relax and enjoy!
GG

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