Ingredients

1. 850g boneless lamb loin (see tip below)

For the stuffing

1. Large handful dried apricots
2. Handful almonds
3. 1 tbsp chopped fresh herbs, such as thyme or parsley

Method

1. 1. Preheat the oven to 180°c/ fan160°c/gas 4. Cut the apricots into quarters with scissors, and put into a bowl. Cut the almonds in half with a knife and add to the apricots. Add the chopped herbs and mix everything in the bowl together with your hands.
2. 2. Open the lamb loin out flat and rest on a board, with the darker meat facing upwards sprinkle it with a little freshly ground black pepper.
3. 3. Put the apricot stuffing in the middle of the lamb and roll the meat around the stuffing to make a long roll – fold the flap of skin over, to keep the stuffing inside the meat. Hold the roll of lamb together, and ask someone to tie a piece of kitchen string around it. It’s a good idea to tie it around in 2 places, to hold it all together during cooking.
4. 4. Put the lamb in a roasting tin and cook in the oven for 55 minutes, until it’s piping hot all the way through. With lamb, it doesn’t matter if it is still slightly pink in the middle – it’ll taste good and is safe to eat. Leave the lamb to ‘rest’ on a plate for 10 minutes before carving (this makes it more tender and juicy). Ask an adult to carve, and serve with the roast potatoes and cabbage.

Ingredients

1. 25g tamarind pulp
2. 1 tsp sunflower oil
3. 1 tsp palm sugar
4. 2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
5. 1 litre fish stock
6. 2 lemongrass stalks, outer layer discarded and finely sliced
7. 5cm piece galangal, sliced
8. 2 fresh or dried kaffir lime leaves
9. 1 red bird’s eye chilli, sliced
10. 250g raw king prawns, peeled, deveined with tail shells left on
11. Juice of ½ lime
12. 2 tbsp Thai fish sauce (nam pla)
13. 1 spring onion, sliced
14. Handful fresh coriander leaves

Method

1. 1. Put the tamarind pulp into a bowl and pour over 125ml hot water. Set aside for 10 minutes. Heat the oil in a large saucepan and add the palm sugar and garlic. Stir-fry for 1 minute.
2. 2. Pour in the stock and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer. Strain the tamarind liquid into the pan and add the lemongrass, galangal, lime leaves and chilli. Simmer for 15 minutes.
3. 3. Add the prawns and simmer for 2-3 minutes, until pink and cooked through. Stir in the lime juice, fish sauce, spring onion and coriander. Serve straightaway.
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Ingredients

1. 275g large, raw unpeeled prawns
2. 4 tsp vegetable oil
3. 150g shallots, roughly chopped
4. 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
5. 1 tbsp sambal oelek or minced red chilli from a jar
6. 1.5 litres chicken stock
7. 175g lean pork mince
8. 1 tsp Thai fish sauce
9. 1 tsp soft light brown sugar
10. 100g dried fine egg noodles
11. 100g dried rice vermicelli noodles
12. 100g fresh beansprouts
13. 75g baby spinach
14. 2 hard-boiled eggs, quartered

Method

1. 1. Peel and de-vein the prawns, leaving the tail-shells on. Reserve all the heads and shells. Heat the oil in a large pan, add the shallots and three-quarters of the garlic, and fry for 5-6 minutes until richly golden. Add the prawn heads and shells, and sambal oelek, and fry for 2-3 minutes more. Add the stock, bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
2. 2. Meanwhile, in a bowl, mix the pork with the fish sauce, sugar and remaining garlic, then shape into truffle-sized balls.
3. 3. Bring a large pan of unsalted water to the boil. Add the egg noodles and cook for 2 minutes. Scoop out with a small sieve and leave to drain. Add the rice vermicelli to the pan of hot water, take the pan off the heat, leave them for 2-3 minutes until tender, then drain.
4. 4. Strain the stock through a sieve, return to the pan and bring back to a simmer. Add the pork balls and simmer for 2 minutes. Add the prawns and simmer for 1 minute until just cooked. Remove from the heat.
5. 5. Divide the noodles among bowls, then top with the beansprouts and spinach. Ladle over the soup, dividing the pork balls and prawns equally among each bowl. Top with the egg.

Ingredients

1. 1 tbsp olive oil
2. 1 large onion, finely chopped
3. 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
4. 1 tsp cayenne pepper
5. 200g yellow split peas, rinsed well
6. 1 litre vegetable stock
7. 400ml can coconut milk
8. 1 Scotch bonnet chilli
9. 2 fresh thyme sprigs
10. 1 cob of fresh corn, cut into 2cm slices
11. 200g waxy potatoes, diced
12. 200g butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and cut into 1.5cm dice
13. 200g frozen sweetcorn
14. 2 red peppers, diced

Method

1. 1. Heat the oil in a casserole and soften the onion and garlic for 10 minutes. Increase the heat, add the cayenne and cook for 2 minutes. Add the split peas and the stock. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 30 minutes.
2. 2. Add the coconut milk, chilli, thyme, sweetcorn slices, potato and squash. Season and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Add the frozen corn and red pepper for the last 3 minutes of cooking.
3. 3. Remove the chilli, thyme and sweetcorn slices. Cool the soup, then blend half in a blender until smooth. Return to the pan, along with the sweetcorn slices and thyme (discard the chilli), and mix with the unblended soup. At this stage, you can freeze the soup for up to 3 months.
4. 4. Defrost completely, check the seasoning, heat through and serve.

Ingredients

1. 1.25kg kabocha squash or pumpkin
2. Sunflower oil
3. 40g butter
4. 1 medium onion, chopped
5. 1.2 litres hot vegetable stock
6. 4 tbsp crème fraîche
7. Fresh flatleaf parsley sprigs, to garnish

For the pumpkin seed pesto

1. 30g shelled, unsalted pumpkin seeds (from supermarkets and health food shops)
2. 40g fresh coriander leaves
3. 1/2 green chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
4. 1 fat garlic clove, crushed
5. 65ml olive oil
6. 25g Parmesan, finely grated

Method

1. 1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan160°C/gas 4. Cut the squash or pumpkin into chunky wedges and scoop away all the fibres and seeds, leaving the skin on. Rub the squash pieces with sunflower oil and season well with salt and pepper. Put them into a small roasting tin, skin-side down. Roast for about 40 minutes or until tender. Remove the squash from the oven and transfer onto a plate. When cool enough to handle, slice away and discard the skin and cut the flesh into small chunks.
2. 2. Melt the butter in a large pan, add the onion and cook gently for about 10 minutes until the onion is very soft but not browned. Add the roasted squash, any juices from the plate and the stock. Season, then cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
3. 3. Meanwhile, make the pesto. Heat a dry, heavy-based frying pan over a high heat. Add the pumpkin seeds and shake them around until lightly toasted. Cool, reserving 1 teaspoon of seeds to garnish. Put the rest of the seeds into a food processor with the coriander, chilli, garlic and oil. Blend to a paste. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the Parmesan, seasoning to taste.
4. 4. Leave the soup to cool slightly, then liquidise in batches until smooth. Return to a clean pan and bring back to a gentle simmer. Stir in 4 tablespoons of the pesto and adjust the seasoning. Ladle into warmed bowls and garnish each with a spoonful of crème fraîche, the reserved toasted pumpkin seeds and a sprig of flatleaf parsley.