Crown Prince Squash with Goats Cheese and Cucumber Dressing

Of all the varieties of squash, crown prince has to be my favourite: smooth, creamy and rich. It's a steak if you're a vegetarian. That's why it's perfect with a bit of light cucumber and lemon juice to cut through the richness. This is great for a light lunch or a side dish for your evening winter roast.

1 crown prince squash
200g goats cheese
100ml extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and cracked pepper

Dressing:
1 cucumber
1 lemon
Pinch of sea salt

Method:
Cut the crown prince squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Using a sharp knife, peel off the skin and cut squash into large chunks and lay out on baking tray. Drizzle over olive oil and season well with salt and pepper. Place in oven set at 200ºC for 45 minutes.
For the dressing, cut the cucumber into quarters and place in food processor with juice of lemon and salt, blend together until cumber is puréed.
Once the squash is roasted, serve with large pieces of goats cheese and cucumber dressing.

Ginger Curried Chickpeas with Water Mint, Cucumber, Goats cheese, Bourbon and Rose Dressing

I created this salad several months ago but this image got lost in a catalogue of pictures I have. Not sure how this one slipped by as it's defiantly one of my favourite salad this year. Ridiculously healthy, wonderfully fragrant and all drizzled in a floral boozy dressing. 

I've also used water mint in this salad, a foraged item commonly found on edges of streams, damp meadows and ponds throughout England and can be used just like regular mint. This recipe should make around 4-6 portions depending on your portion sizes.

500g dried chickpeas
1 teaspoon bicarbonate soda
400g canned plum tomatoes
1 carrot, peeled and roughly cubed
1 red pepper, roughly diced
1 red onion, peeled and sliced
2 sticks celery, roughly cubed
3 cloves garlic, crushed
3 tablespoons freshly grated ginger
300ml apple juice
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
50ml extra virgin olive oil
1 cucumber
200g goats cheese
100g bunched water mint
200ml bourbon
2 teaspoons rose water
Sea salt
70g baby spinach, washed

Method:
Soak chickpeas in a large pot of water for 8 hours or overnight. Once soaked, drain and rinse chickpeas under cold running water. Place chickpeas back in pot and fill with water, add the soda and place over a high heat and bring to the boil. Using a slotted spoon remove the foam that forms on the surface of water. Cook the chickpeas until tender and fluffy then drain and cool under cold running water.

In a small fry pan add the fennel seeds, coriander, cumin and mustard seed, place over a medium heat and gently toast the seeds until fragrant (make sure you don't burn them as this will taint the flavour of the chickpeas). Once gently toasted, place seeds in a mortar and pestle and ground into a powder.

Using a large high rimmed baking tray or casserole dish with lid, add the chickpeas, tomato, carrot, red pepper, onion, celery, garlic, ginger, apple juice, ground spice, olive oil and a tablespoon sea salt. Gently stir together, cover with a lid or foil and place in oven set at 180ºC for 1 hour. Halfway through cooking stir cover and place back in oven.

Once cooked, leave to stand for 20 minutes covered. In the meantime, slice cucumber in half lengthways and scoop out the seeds, cut cucumber in half again lengthways and roughly cube. To make the salad, I suggest you do individual portions, first lay down some spinach leaves followed by a couple large spoonfuls of chickpeas. Gently break up desired amount of goats cheese over salad, then tear water mint over salad. Lastly mix the burbon and rose water together and drizzle a couple of teaspoon of dressing over each salad. 

Beetroot and Sea Beet Salad

Sea beet resembles a robust spinach however belongs to the beetroot family and grows wild near coastal areas. Very strong on flavour, salty and has a lingering mustard after taste and packed with nutriance!
This salad is quite easy to prepare and is a full on taste slash texture explosion!!!!!!!

1kg beetroot
500g sea beet
50g walnut halfs
100g goats cheese
2 long red chillies thinly sliced
50ml extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

METHOD:
Wash beetroot and trim the tops then cut into 2cm chunks. Lay beetroot on baking tray and sprinkle with salt and half the olive oil, using your hands mix together. Place beetroot in oven set at 200oC for 30 minutes.
Put a fry pan over medium heat and in batches gently wilt the the sea beet with remaining olive oil.
Once the beetroot has cooked leave to cool for 15 minutes. Then its time to construct the salad, you can either make individual servings or one large platter. First lay down some sea beet followed by roasted beetroot, crumble desired amount of goats cheese on salad and finally sprinkle over walnuts and chillies then serve.

4 Cheese and Pink Peppercorn Muffins

Four cheese's that come from 4 different animals, cow, sheep, goat and buffalo. All rolled into one bastard muffin or gourmet scone however you want to describe it and garnished with pretty pink peppercorns. Best served warm with enough butter to widen the hips.

450g plain flour
100g butter
2 eggs
125ml milk
100ml buttermilk
100g grated manchago
100g cream cheese
75g goats cheese
75g fresh buffalo mozzarella
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
20 pink peppercorns
Pinch of sea salt

METHOD:
Put butter in a small pot and melt over medium heat, once melted remove from heat and leave to cool slightly. In the meantime place peppercorns in pestle and mortar and roughly ground then add to large mixing bowl with flour, baking powder and salt, stir together. Dice mozzarella into small cubes and add to dry mixture with manchago, crumbled up goats cheese and cream cheese. Beat eggs into butter and pour into muffin mix with buttermilk and milk, using a butter knife cut through the wet and dry gradually combining together till just under mixed. Grease a 12 hold muffin pan with either oil spray or butter, evenly distribute muffin mixture into pan and bake in pre-heated oven set at 180oC for 24 minutes. Once cooked leave to cool in pan for 10 minutes before turning out.

Eat Your Greens Loaf

Disguise broccoli for those disconcerting dinner guest/children who turn green when vegetables are placed infront of them. A tasty and almost comforting twist on broccoli, this loaf has elements of heathly, chessy and a touch fiery.  

500g Broccoli
100g feta
100g grated mozzarella
1 brown onion
1 clove garlic
1 green jalapeno
1 egg
1 rosemary stalk
1 (75g) stale ciabattini or focaccia bread
3 tablespoon olive oil
½ teaspoon sea salt

Method:

¾ fill a large pot with water and place on high heat to boil, trim the broccoli and cut into bite sized chunks, peel the garlic clove and cut the jalapeno in half and remove the stalk (remove the seeds if you don’t like your food too spicy).
Once the water is boiling add the broccoli, garlic and jalapeno and leave to simmer for 2-3 minutes, once cooked drain the broccoli and place in a food processor with a roughly diced onion, rosemary leaves, roughly torn bread, feta, mozzarella, egg, oil and salt. Pulse all the ingredients together till a fine puree, line a loaf tin 5 inches by 9 inches (round 3inches deep) with grease proof paper and evenly spread out the mixture into tin. Bake in the oven set at 190oC for 40 minutes. Then leave to rest and cool for another 30 minutes before slicing.

Red, White and Green Tart

A tribute to the colours of Italy. Best made in summer with either silver beet or swiss chard depending on which part of the hemisphere your on. What makes this a great tart is the pastry! You nail the pastry casing and the rest of the tart will be a breeze! Best made with tender loving care. xoxo 

500g Silver Beet or Swiss Chard 1 Brown onion

4 cloves Garlic

1 green Jalapeño

4 Italians tomatoes

Olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

100g goats cheese

Pastry:

150g Butter

300g plain flour

150g grated cheddar

1 egg

200ml cold water

Method:

To make the pastry dice the butter into small cubes and place in a food possessor with flour and cheese, put the lid on possessor and blend together till fine like bread crumbs.

While the processor is running add egg and pour in the water and blend till just combined, wrap the dough in cling film and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to rest.

Once the dough has rested roll out on a floured surface to 5mm think, grease and flour dust a 12" flan dish with removable base and line the dish with pastry, press the pastry edges down and trim edges, refrigerate pastry for a further 30 minutes. Line the pastry with grease proof paper and dried legumes and blind bake in oven at 200oC for 15 minutes then remove grease proof and legumes and bake for another 5 minutes.

Wash and cut the tomatoes into quarters and place on baking tray, sprinkle tomatoes with salt, pepper and drizzle with olive oil bake in oven at 180oC for 30 minutes.

To make the filling place 4 tablespoons of olive oil in a heavy based pan and bring to a medium heat and add the whole peeled garlic cloves, diced onion and de-seeded and diced jalapeno saute till the onions are translucent, roughly shred the silver beet/swiss chard and add to the pan with a 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook for 30 minutes stirring occasionally.

Spoon the cooked silver beet mixture into a food processors and blend till smooth, using a spatchula spread the silver beet mixture into the tart case and evenly spread out the tomato wedges then crumble the goats cheese over the tart, place tart back in oven for for 10 minutes at 200oC

Once cooked slice into 8 slice and serve.