Warm lentil and Squash salad

This is a good warm winter salad-or in our case here a good rainy season salad!

1 Large butternut squash-peeled, deseeded ad cut into large chunks
2-3 red onions cut into 8th's
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 sprig of rosemary-finely chopped
Salt and black pepper
100g packed roasted chestnuts-roughly chopped
2 red chillies-deseeded and finely chopped
juice and grated zest of one lemon
3 good handfuls of small leaf rocket-or other salad leaf
Large bunch of flat-leafed parsley, chopped
Large bunch of fresh corriander, chopped
-250 grms feta cheese, crumbled (optional!)

For the lentils:
200 grms puy lentils (or something similar!)
3 cloves garlic
1 good sprig of rosemary
450 ml veg stock
200 ml dry sherry or wine
3 tbsp olive oil

For the dressing:
2 tbsp extra irgin olive oil
juice of half a lemon
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 190 degrees or gas mark 5.
Put the squash and onions into a plastic bag with the olive oil, rosemary, salt and pepper and toss together well.  Empty into a roasting tin.  place in the oven for about 40 mins, until soft and just beginning to brown on the cut edges.  Add the chestnuts and roast for another 5 mins-giving them time to heat through.
Meanwhile put the lentil into a medium sized sauce pan with the garlic and rosemary sprig.  Pour in the stock, the olive oil and sherry and bring to the boil.  Cook over a medium heat for about 20-25 minutes.  Keep an eye on the pan and add extra liquid if necessary.
when the lentils are tender but not mushy, drain and remove the garlic and herbs.  Add another tbsp of olive oil, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and leave to cool a little.
Add the chillies, lemon zest and juice to the lentils and stir everything together. then add the rocket, parsley and corriander, and lay out on a large serving plate. Check seasoning.
Scatter with the roasted veg and crumbled feta .
Mix together all the dressing ingredients and dress the whole dish.  This is best served warm

Asparagus Stir fry

toasted sesame oil-or olive oil
1 block of fresh firm tofu-cut into thin slices
2 large white onions-finely sliced
1 tbsp fresh grated ginger
1/2 bunch of asparagus-cut into 1 inch pieces
a couple of pinches of fine grain sea salt
3 cloves of garlic-chopped up a bit
1 big handful of flaked almonds-or cashew nuts chopped up a bit
a few handfuls of chopped chard or kale
zest and juice of one large lime
2 tablespoons of braggs liquid aminos-or tamari or soy sauce (hoisin sauce also works!)
1 large handful of basil, chopped

Have all your ingredients prepped and ready to hand.  Heat a splash of oil in a large pan-I use a non stick one, over a medium heat.  When it is hot add the onion and ginger-let soften, then add the asparagus and salt.  Continue cooking for a minute or until asparagus is bright green, add the tofu. When the tofu is golden add the chard/kale, nuts and ginger.  Stir fry for another minute or until the chard wilts.  Stir in the soy sauce and lime zest.  Cook for another few seconds, stirring all the while.

Remove from the heat and stir in the basil.  taste and add more salt if needed.

101 cook books-sweet potato recipe

I found this on 101 cookbooks and love sweet potato-we only get the white ones here but if you can find the lovely orange ones use those!

If you'd like to prepare part of this recipe in advance you can certainly bake the sweet potatoes a day or two in advance and save the mashed sweet potatoes in the refrigerator until you are ready to move forward with the remaining steps. Also, you can make these vegan by using olive oil and not butter.

2 1/2 pounds orange-fleshed sweet potatoes
1/3 cup coconut milk
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
1/3 cup raw, unsweetened grated coconut
2 tablespoons olive oil or melted butter
1/3 cup toasted macadamia nuts, chopped

Preheat your oven to 350F degrees, a rack in the upper third. Butter or oil 6 ramekins or a single medium-sized casserole dish.

Wrap each sweet potato in foil, pierce numerous times with the tines of a fork and place in the oven for somewhere between an hour and an hour and a half, until each is baked through. Times vary greatly depending on the size of your sweet potatoes - in the end you should be able to cut through the center flesh as if it were soft butter. Remove the potatoes from the oven, let them cool for a few minutes, and cut each sweet potato in half. Scrape the flesh into a medium mixing bowl. You should have about three cups of sweet potatoes. In a large bowl mash the sweet potatoes with the coconut milk. If my sweet potatoes are on the fibrous side, l take a hand blender to them for a minute or so (alternately you could use a food processor). Stir in the ginger, maple syrup and salt. Let it sit for a few minutes, stir again and taste - adjust the seasoning if you need to - this is your chance to get the right amount of salt and ginger in the sweet potatoes before they go in the oven.

Spoon the sweet potato mixture into individual baking dishes (or single larger baking dish), sprinkle with coconut, drizzle with olive oil and bake uncovered until warm and the coconut golden roughly 30 - 40 minutes. Remove and sprinkle with the toasted macadamia nuts.

Serves about 6.