tofu burger

A simple, satisfying vegetarian burger.

Roasted pumpkin, tofu and a fried (organic, free-range) egg, nestled between slices of wholemeal/rye/sourdough bread (take your pick). Assemble and serve alone, or with some rocket drizzled in lemon.

mushroom and rice bake

I recently made Nigel Slater's Baked Mushrooms and Rice dish. It was a hit and has been made again and again since. Very simple to make, it is a great vegetarian alternative to a Sunday roast.

kale crisps

Back in April, tempted by the farmer's warning that this was the last weekend for kale, we bought as much as we could carry. Returning home, we soon realised that we had been a little over enthusiastic and so after searching through some of our favourite websites discovered a recipe for Kale Crisps  over on My New Roots.

This recipe is the perfect way to eat this superfood. All you need is a few simple ingredients (lemon, maple syrup, sesame seeds, olive oil, salt and tamari) and a big bunch of kale to make a delicious and healthy version of Britain's favourite snack.

The key here is the massaging of the kale, as this breaks down the structure of the leaf which is notorious for being tough.

lentil soup

Recently we tried this Coconut Red Lentil Soup recipe from 101 Cookbooks and it became an instant favourite. Over the past few weeks we have made this at least two nights a week, and made a version of it many times while on holiday in Scotland recently. It is a great dish to adapt depending on what you have at hand. It can be stripped right back to just lentils, tomato puree and some spices or can be made more elaborate. Variations have included using puy lentils and omitting the coconut milk, adding more tomato puree and celery, adding brown rice or barley - the options are endless. It is very filling and really holds heat, so is perfect for the extended winter weather here in London (just be careful not to burn your tongue like we seem to do every single time).

stewed apples

We pick up a bag of apples or two at our local farmer's market most weeks. Sometimes we buy more than we can eat raw, so we stew them with cinnamon and use them throughout the week with breakfast, as snacks, or as a base for desserts. I like to take a small tupperware container of stewed apple mixed with almonds to work. It also tastes lovely warmed up on the stove and served with some fresh yoghurt, seeds, nuts and honey.

spiced butternut squash and chickpeas

This is a version of the Spiced Sweet Potato and Chickpea dish from Sprouted Kitchen but with butternut squash replacing the sweet potatoes and leeks added. It is a really warming bowl of food, and fills you up very quickly. It would also be great in summer served cool, perhaps alongside some rocket drizzled in lemon juice or fresh avocado.

curry

Most weeks we make a curry. Usually we use cauliflower with peas and onion, served with brown rice and seeds (sunflower, sesame, linseed). Sometimes we use aubergine and tomatoes. It is a really versatile meal, and you can always add or subtract vegetables depending on what is in season or what is left in the fridge. Our way of cooking it is probably not very traditional or typical, and is perhaps closer to a stir fry, but it tastes good, is thrifty and pretty healthy too. The great thing with this kind of dish is you can make a lot and it will just get better the next day.

For a while we would used standard pre-mixed curry powders for flavouring, but recently decided to make our own curry paste. A quick google search mid-cook led to Jamie Oliver's Easy Homemade Curry Paste recipes. All are very simple, based around standard ingredients such as garlic, ginger, cayenne pepper, cumin, salt, oil, perhaps a dash of almond meal, tomato paste or shredded coconut... anyway you get the idea. This is a perfect mid-week recipe and the leftovers make for a cheap, delicious, filling lunch the next day. Beat's Pret every time.