Winter Ratatouille

French summer classic gets a seasonal makeover. Here I have wintertime staples such as squashes, purple sweet potatoes, beetroot, carrots and apples - all thinly sliced and fanned out on a luxurious sauce that can be easily veganized. And the finishing touch of maple butter glaze with crispy herb is an absolute must. Whether it’s a special occasion or a dinner party this one will definitely get you all the “oohs” and “aahs” and the bonus is kids will love it too (as long as you don’t reveal the list of veggies).

I love to serve it with lightly toasted tortillas, so that everyone can dig in and make their own wrap with the ratatouille. And this Citrus Salad goes really well with this one.

Ingredients (serves 4-6 as side)

2 tbsp Salted butter (substitute with Olive Oil to keep it Vegan)
170g Leek Whites or the edible portion, thinly sliced
3 Garlic Cloves, chopped

1” Ginger Piece, peeled and grated
1/2 tsp Ground Allspice Berries (substitute with Ground Cinnamon)
1/2-3/4 tsp Ground Nutmeg (adjust to your taste / preference)
1/2 tsp Fine Sea Salt
2-3 Sprigs of Thyme
2 sprigs of Tarragon (substitute with Sage), discard stems and separate the leaves. Chop up the leaves coarsely
150ml Vegetable Stock (substitute with Water)
85g Crème Fraîche (substitute with Sour Cream or Vegan Cream Cheese)
25g Grated Gruyere or Cheddar Cheese (substitute with Vegan Cheddar)
1 tsp crushed White Pepper (black or pink pepper will work too)

Veggie Prep (everything should be thinly sliced into 3mm half moons)
2-3 Apples (preferably Pink Lady or Golden Delicious / Gala Varities)
2-3 Small Sweet Potatoes (Orange or Purple variety)
2 Medium Beets
1/2 of a Small Butternut Squash
1/2 of a Small Delicata Squash
1 + 1/2 tbsp Olive Oil
1/2 tsp Salt
2 sprigs of Thyme

Glaze
1.5 tbsp Unsalted Butter (substitute with Vegan Butter)
1 tsp Maple Syrup

1/2 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
1/2 tsp Crushed White Pepper (black or pink pepper)
10-12 Fresh Tarragon or Sage Leaves

Directions

1. Finish the Veggie Prep: Combine 1 tbsp Olive Oil (reserving 1/2 tbsp) with all veggie prep ingredients in a large bowl. Toss really well until everything is coated in oil, salt and thyme

2. Make the sauce: In a 10” oven proof skillet (if you don’t have one then use a regular skillet and use a 10” Round baking tin later) add butter, leeks, ginger and garlic. On medium flame continue frying until they start sweating and smelling aromatic (about 4 mins or so). Then add dry spices and cook for 2 minutes; now add chopped tarragon leaves and stock. Give it a good mix and increase the heat to bring to vigorous simmer - once simmering cook it for 5 mins and turn off the heat. Pre-heat oven to 375F. Once cool enough, transfer into blender, add crème fraîche and cheese. Whiz until it’s a smooth sauce like consistency

3. Arrange and bake: Transfer 3/4 sauce back to the oven-proof skillet or a round cake tin. Swirl the skillet/tin so that a layer is formed in the base then start arranging the seasoned slices of vegetables from the large bowl. I prefer to create a set of different colored slices (example: 1 slice of Apple, 1 slice of carrot, 1 slice of Delicata, 1 slice of Beet, 1 slice of Purple Sweet Potato and 1 slice of Butternut Squash), then repeat the pattern. Even if it’s haphazard it will still look fabulous due to the stunning natural colors of all vegetables. I try to stuff in a lot more vegetables as they shrink a lot while baking so don’t be afraid to squish and overlap. If there are leftover vegetables, then lay them over on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake them on a separate rack until golden and cooked. Those will be amazing for another dinner. Now, pour the remaining sauce on top of arranged vegetables finish with 1/2 tbsp Olive Oil and crushed white pepper. Cover with an aluminum foil and bake for 30 mins and uncover, increase the temperature to 400F and bake for another 20-25 mins or until the veggies look caramelized and when poked with a fork, they are tender

4. Serve: When ready to serve, heat up butter in a small pan. Once sizzling, add tarragon or sage leaves. Fry until crisp, fish out the leaves and let the butter cool a bit. Now whisk, maple syrup and the aromatic butter into a glaze. Brush the ratatouille with the glaze and decorate with crispy tarragon or sage leaves. Enjoy!

*Note: if you have a cast iron Dutch oven or braiser with a lid then it will be perfect to use here

Saffron Roasted Cauliflower and Peppers in Caper Dressing

We all have a handful of recipes that we can whip up our eyes closed - this super easy tray bake falls into that category. Comprising all my go to pantry essentials and including my favorite spice “saffron” - this one is a winner anytime of the year! Make sure to use only Golden Raisins (bear with me even if you don’t like Raisins) in the dressing and by swapping the butter with oil you can adapt it to vegan dietary restriction. Since the saffron is included in the cooking medium, therefore you don’t need a very high quality or imported Persian Saffron - reserve that for no bake desserts!

Ingredients (Serves 4 as a side)

1 head of Medium Cauliflower, leaves intact & cut into quarters. Blanched for 60-90 seconds in boiling salted water

1 large Red Onion, quartered & cut into big chunks

8 mini Sweet Peppers, whole with a slit

4 Garlic Cloves, crushed

1 tsp ground Cumin Seeds

1 tsp ground Cayenne pepper (substitute with mild chile flakes for less heat)

1/4 tsp Fine Sea Salt

1 tsp Brown Sugar

Saffron Butter

4 tbsp Unsalted Butter (to keep it vegan substitute 1:1 with Olive Oil)

1 tsp saffron threads

1 tsp sea salt

Capers Dressing

4 tbsp drained capers, patted dry & finely chopped

12g flat leaf parsley, stem discarded and finely chopped

12g chives, finely chopped

2 tbsp white wine vinegar

2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp lemon zest

45-48g Golden Raisins (if you are dead set on not using raisins then swap with same quantity of Turkish style Dried Apricots)

1.5 tbsp Orange Juice (OJ)

Pinch of salt

Directions

💥 To make the saffron butter - combine saffron threads & salt then crush them into powder. Heat up butter, once shimmering add saffron-salt mix & cook on low flame for 3 mins. Then let it steep for at least 1 hour to overnight

💥 Pre-heat oven to 400F, then combine first 8 ingredients in a large roasting pan (I use a 13”x9” casserole pan). Transfer the saffron butter & mix until everything is well coated. Bake for 40 mins or until cooked and golden

💥 Meanwhile in a small heatproof bowl add raisins and OJ. Microwave on high power for 30 secs, let it sit for 15-20 mins. Roughly chop up the raisins and throw it back into the bowl. Add rest of the dressing ingredients into the bowl and mix everything. Once the vegetables are out of oven, let it cool for 2-3 mins then generously scatter caper dressing into the roasting pan. Give it a toss and serve right away!

Cavatappi in Shopski Style Feta

Adapting the Shopski Style Baked Feta - a beloved dish from Bulgaria into a pasta. Other than the time involved in pasta cooking, there’s no additional active cook time, everything happens in the oven! You can totally use roasted peppers from jars or pre-pickled chiles but I insist on trying everything homemade at least once. Feel free to use any short pasta such as farfale, rigatoni or gigli and give this easy and indulgent pasta dish a go!

Ingredients (Serve 3-4)

6 sweet red peppers (sub 2 red bell peppers, slit lengthwise
1 tbsp Olive Oil
1/2 tsp Fine Sea Salt
1 tsp crushed Black Pepper
30g Red Onion, thinly sliced
250g Cherry Tomatoes, Whole
1 Serrano Pepper pickled in vinegar and salt overnight, chopped (de-seed to reduce heat)
2 Garlic Cloves, crushed
1 tsp Cumin Seeds, ground
1 tsp Chile flakes
2 tsp Sweet Paprika
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
1 tbsp Tomato Paste
230g or 1/2 lb block of Sirene or Bulgarian Feta (substitute with Greek Feta)
1 tsp Runny Honey
1 tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
220g Cavatappi pasta, cooked based on package instructions

Garnish
1 tsp Baharat Spice Blend + 1/2 tsp Aleppo Pepper Flakes (regular red pepper flakes is fine)
1 tbsp Olive Oil
2 tsp Breadcrumbs

*Optional: fresh picked oregano leaves (substitute with Basil)

Directions
🥣 Pre-heat oven to 425F. In a large baking dish, combine red peppers, olive oil, salt and black pepper. Mix well. Bake for 15-17 mins, take it out and turn down the oven temp to 400F

🥣 Remove the peppers, when cool enough to handle roughly chop them and toss it back into the baking dish. Now add remaining ingredients except EVOO and honey into the dish and give it a good mix. Make space in the center and put the block of Feta. Drizzle EVOO and honey on top of the block

🥣 Bake for 20 mins and then crank up the temp to 425F and bake for another 5-7 mins. While this is baking, prepare the garnish - in a small pan, combine spices, oil and breadcrumbs, Fry on medium flame for 2-3 mins or until golden brown and aromatic. Keep it aside until ready to serve.

🥣 Once out of the oven, the feta should look caramelised on top and feel soft in the middle. While hot, vigorously mix the feta with everything else to make a thick creamy sauce. Then quickly transfer the cooked pasta into baking dish and mix until pasta is well coated

🥣 Sprinkle the spiced breadcrumb topping alongwith fresh oregano (if using) and serve straight in the baking dish

Leeky Fennel Farinata with Fixings

For your weekday lunches or chill Weekend brunches, I urge you to make this glutenfree Génoise classic! I have used yoghurt and baking powder for a fluffy center and Yorkshire pudding cooking principle of batter in super hot oil for crisp edges. Hope you like it as much as we do.

*it involves resting time so make sure to read the full recipe to plan accordingly

INGREDIENTS (serves 4 as a side)

Batter

200g Chickpea Flour

30g Full Fat Greek Yoghurt (sub with your preferred vegan yoghurt)

575g Cold Water

1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1.5 tsp Salt

1.5 tsp ground White Pepper (substitute with black pepper)

2 tsp Baharat Spice Blend (optional but highly recommended)

2 tbsp Olive Oil

2 tbsp chopped Tarragon leaves

Filling

100g Leeks (only white & light green portion), sliced into thin rounds

1 large Fennel Bulb cut into 8-10 wedges

Pinch of sugar

1 tsp Olive Oil

2 tbsp Toasted Pumpkin Seeds (optional)

50ml Neutral Oil

Flaky Sea Salt & Fennel Fronds for garnish

Pickled Asparagus (optional)

8-10 Green Asparagus, shaved into thin strips

1/2 tbsp lemon juice

1/2 tbsp lemon zest

1/2 tsp Chile flakes

1 tbsp chopped fresh Basil leaves

1 tbsp chopped fresh Tarragon leaves

Sauce (optional)

1 tbsp Unsalted Butter (substitute with vegan butter or oil)

15 Cherry Tomatoes

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 small Shallot, chopped

1/4 tsp Chile flakes

1 tsp Sugar

1/4 tsp Salt

2 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar

Directions

🥣 Combine and whisk first 3 batter ingredients until very smooth (ensure no dry floury spots remain). Cover & let it rest at room temp for 4-5 hours or overnight

🥣 Meanwhile make the sauce. Melt butter in a skillet, add tomatoes, garlic and shallot. Fry on medium heat for 10 mins or until tomatoes have broken down & look jammy. Once cooled, blitz the contents from skillet with remaining ingredients. Adjust seasoning & vinegar, if required. Keep it aside

🥣 Now add remaining batter ingredients to the rested base batter mix. Add leek rounds and whisk everything; pre-heat oven to 465F (or 230C). Now add 50ml oil to a 33 x 23 cm large baking dish & pop into pre-heating oven

🥣 Heat up 1 tsp olive oil in a pan, add fennel wedges & sugar. Lightly caramelize the wedges all over, for 3 mins. Take out the baking dish after 15 mins & immediately pour the batter while it makes a hissing noise. Swiftly arrange the Fennel wedges on top and put it back into the oven for 18-20 mins or until the edges look deep golden & crisp

🥣 While the Farinata is in oven, make the pickled asparagus - toss all ingredients & let it pickle for 20 mins. Once out of the oven, run a spatula underneath & transfer the Farinata onto a board , sprinkle flaky salt & more white pepper. Cut into squares, serve along with the sauce and pickled asparagus. Highly recommend with some Lillet Blanc or Rosé

*Note: you can absolutely substitute shaved asparagus with some arugula