Fresh sage is a seriously underrated herb, and there’s no better pairing for it than butternut squash, which makes this Europe-meets-Middle East fusion dish a total experience.

Serves 4

Prep: 25 mins

Cook: 40 mins

Ingredients

• 1 butternut squash (approx 1.2kg)
• 1 large cauliflower (750g)
• 2 red onions
• salt and pepper
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• olive oil
• 1 x 400g tin of green lentils
• 12 fresh sage leaves
• 160g baby spinach
• 1 lemon
• 4 tbsp tahini
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• ¼ tbsp maple syrup
• 40g pecans
• 1 pomegranate 

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C fan/200°C/gas 6. Cut the butternut squash in half lengthways, peel the skin, spoon out the seeds, then slice the flesh into 1cm thick semicircles. Remove the leaves from the cauliflower and slice the cauliflower through the stem into 2cm thick ‘steaks’. Cut the red onions into quarters, leaving the skins on.

Put the squash, cauliflower and red onions into a large roasting tray, season generously with salt and pepper, sprinkle with nutmeg, then drizzle with 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Rub the seasoning evenly over the veggies, then roast for 30 minutes.

Remove the tray from the oven. Drain and rinse the lentils and add them to the tray. Roughly chop the sage leaves and sprinkle them over the veggies, then spread the spinach across the tray. Put back into the oven and roast for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile zest the lemon and leave to one side. Prepare the tahini dressing by combining the tahini with the Dijon mustard, maple syrup, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and 4 tablespoons of water in a small mixing bowl until smooth and runny. Taste and season to your liking. Note: you may need more water or more tahini to get the perfect consistency, depending on which brand of tahini you use.

Roughly chop the pecans. Cut the pomegranate in half and whack the skin of each half with a wooden spoon to ease the seeds out. Remove the tray from the oven and squeeze the rest of the lemon juice on top.

Drizzle the tahini dressing around the tray, sprinkle over the pecans and pomegranate seeds, and finish with a scattering of lemon zest.

Tip: Not a fan of pomegranate? Sub with a handful of pitted and halved grapes

Perfectly crisp on the outside and soft in the middle, these hasselbacks are roasted with fresh rosemary and nestled among a vibrant mix of delicious morsels to create a stunning tray of food.

Serves 4

Prep: 20 mins

Cook: 1 hr 15 mins

Ingredients

• 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary
• vegetable oil
• salt and pepper
• 1 lemon
• 1.2kg medium potatoes
• 2 x 400g tin of cannellini beans
• 200g frozen peas
• 100g pistachios in shells
• 80g rocket
• extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 50g radicchio

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C fan/200°C/gas 6. Pick the leaves from the rosemary sprigs, finely chop them and put them into a small bowl. Add 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil, ½ teaspoon of salt, ½ teaspoon of pepper and the lemon zest, and stir to combine. Leave to one side.

Place a potato between the handles of two wooden spoons and slice down into the potato (this will prevent the knife going all the way through) all the way along at 3mm intervals. Repeat for the rest of the potatoes. Transfer them to a large roasting tray and brush the herby oil evenly over the potatoes, pushing the rosemary down into the gaps.

Roast for 70 minutes, until dark golden brown, turning the tray around halfway through to make sure they roast evenly.

Drain and rinse the cannellini beans. When the potatoes are ready, add the beans and frozen peas to the tray. Return to the oven for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, peel the pistachios and put roughly three-quarters of them into a food processor (see tip below if you don’t have a food processor), along with roughly two-thirds of the rocket, the zest and juice from the lemon, 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, the mustard, 3 tablespoons of water, and pinches of salt and pepper. Process the ingredients to form a rough paste, adding a splash of extra water if it’s too thick.

When the veggies are ready, stir in the radicchio and remaining rocket.

Roughly chop the remaining pistachios, scatter them over the top, then drizzle the rocket sauce over everything. Delicious and nutritious!

Tip: Don’t have a food processor? Finely chop the peeled pistachios and rocket and add to a bowl, along with the zest and juice of the lemon, the extra virgin olive oil, mustard, water and pinches of salt and pepper. Stir until combined.

Feast your eyes on this. It’s a sweet, spicy and savoury fiesta of food, where our very own DIY jerk sauce teams up with fresh fruits and veggies to create a carnival of flavours.

Serves 4

Prep: 25 mins

Cook: 40 mins

Ingredients

• 200g basmati rice
• 1 x 400g tin of coconut milk
• 1 x 400g tin of kidney beans
• salt and pepper
• 4 corn on the cob
• 300g oyster mushrooms
• 2 ripe plantains
• ⅛ of a Savoy cabbage
• ⅛ of a red cabbage
• 1 lime
• 3 tbsp vegan mayonnaise
• 1 ripe mango
• a handful of fresh coriander

For the jerk marinade:

• 2 shallots
• a thumb of fresh ginger
• 6 garlic cloves
• 1 Scotch bonnet chilli
• 8 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tbsp ground allspice
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• vegetable oil

Method

First prepare the jerk marinade. Peel and roughly chop the shallots, ginger and garlic, and put them into a food processor (see tip below if you don’t have a food processor).

Remove the stalk from the Scotch bonnet, cut in half and discard the seeds, then pick the leaves off the thyme and add both to the food processor along with the soy sauce, maple syrup, juice from half the lime, allspice, cinnamon, 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil and pinches of salt and pepper.

Preheat the oven to 200°C fan/220°C/gas 7. Put the rice into a sieve and rinse until the water runs clear, then transfer to a large roasting tray along with the coconut milk, 250ml of water and pinches of salt and pepper.

Drain and rinse the kidney beans and add them to the tray, then stir to combine. Cut the sweetcorn cobs in half, rub 4 tablespoons of the jerk marinade all over them, and add them to the tray. Cover the tray with baking paper or a larger tray, and roast for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, tear any large mushrooms in half and rub them with the remaining marinade. Peel the plantains, cut them into 1cm-thick slices, put them into a bowl, season with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil.

Remove the baking paper from the tray and discard, then add the mushrooms and plantains to the tray, covering the rice to help it steam. Bake uncovered for 20–25 minutes, turning the plantain and mushrooms halfway.

Meanwhile, prepare the slaw by finely chopping the Savoy and red cabbage. Put both into a mixing bowl along with the juice from the remaining lime half and the vegan mayonnaise. Stir to combine and set to one side.

To serve, top the Caribbean feast with the slaw, then peel and dice the mango and scatter over the tray along with the coriander leaves.

Tip: Don’t have a food processor? Finely chop the shallots, ginger, garlic and Scotch bonnet and add them to a pestle and mortar. Grind until mostly broken down. Add the thyme leaves along with the remaining ingredients and 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Grind into a rough paste.