Amal Hatem

Caponata pasta
Method
STEP 1
Heat the oil in a large pan and cook the onion for 8-10 mins until starting to caramelise (or for longer if you have time – the sweeter the better). Add the garlic for the final 2 mins of cooking time.

STEP 2
Tip in the mixed veg, tomatoes, capers and raisins. Season well and simmer, uncovered, for 10 mins, or until you have a rich sauce.

STEP 3
Meanwhile, boil the kettle. Pour the kettleful of water into a large pan with a little salt and bring back to the boil. Add the pasta and cook until tender with a little bite, then drain, reserving some of the pasta water. Tip the pasta into the sauce, adding a splash of pasta water if it needs loosening. Scatter with the basil leaves and parmesan, if you like, and serve straight from the pan

Black pepper chicken & lemon yogurt
Method
STEP 1
Crush the peppercorns using a pestle and mortar. Add the grated garlic and ½ tsp salt, and mash to a thick paste. Stir in the turmeric and lemon juice, then set aside.

STEP 2
Sit the chicken in a dish, skin-side up, and evenly slash the skin all over. Rub the marinade all over the chicken so it’s completely coated, then cover and chill for at least 1 hr, or ideally overnight.

STEP 3
Heat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Transfer the chicken to a shallow roasting tray, skin-side up, and sit the garlic bulb alongside it. Drizzle the oil mostly over the chicken and a little over the garlic. Roast for 30 mins, then remove the garlic bulb from the tray and set aside. Continue to roast the chicken for 10-15 mins more, or until crisp-skinned and cooked all the way through. If you have a cooking thermometer, it should read at least 65C when inserted into the breast, and 70C in the thigh. Leave the chicken to rest, uncovered, for 10-15 mins in the tray.

STEP 4
Meanwhile, peel and squeeze the garlic from the roasted bulb into a bowl, then mix in the yogurt. When the chicken has rested, lift it onto a board and stir all the resting pan juices into the yogurt. Taste the yogurt for seasoning, adding a bit more lemon juice if needed. Slice the chicken into pieces and serve scattered with coriander, if using, alongside the yogurt sauce, peppered yellow rice (see recipe, below) and lemon wedges on the side, if you like.

Fish mappas
Method
STEP 1
Put a large saucepan of water on to boil and cook the rice following pack instructions. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large, wide saucepan over a medium heat and add the onions. Cook for 5-10 mins until softened and starting to colour. Add the garlic and tomatoes, and fry for 2 mins. Add the curry paste, fry for 2 mins more, then pour in the coconut milk and bring to the boil.

STEP 2
Add the fish to the pan and simmer gently for 5-8 mins until just cooked through. Turn off the heat. Sprinkle the coriander over the curry and serve with the rice.

Smoked paprika prawn skewers
Method
STEP 1
Soak the skewers in a bowl of water for 10 mins. Meanwhile, peel the prawns, leaving the tails intact, and devein. To do this, run a sharp knife down the back, making a tiny incision just enough to remove the visible black vein. Wash the prawns and pat dry with kitchen paper.

STEP 2
In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the paprika, garlic, cumin, oregano, lemon zest and 1 tbsp olive oil. Add the prawns and leave to marinate for 15 mins at room temperature. Then skewer a prawn onto each stick.

STEP 3
Heat the remaining oil in a roomy frying pan and fry the prawns for 3-4 mins, turning halfway through until just cooked. You may need to do this in batches. Season, squeeze over some lemon juice and serve.

Weaning recipe: Lentil & sweet potato purée
Method
STEP 1
Heat the butter in a saucepan, add the coriander, if using and cook for 1 min. Stir in the lentils and sweet potatoes, then pour in enough water to just cover.

STEP 2
Bring to the boil, then cover and simmer for 15 mins or until the lentils and sweet potatoes are tender.

STEP 3
Drain, then mash together. Stir through the yogurt, if using.

Crackle roast pork with sausage-stuffed apples & onions
Method
STEP 1
The day before, sit the pork on a wire rack over a dish and put in the fridge, uncovered, so the skin has time to dry out.

STEP 2
Using a sharp knife, cut a roughly 3cm-wide ‘core’ from all the apples and onions. Coarsely grate as much apple flesh as you can from their ‘cores’ before you hit the seeds. Put the grated apple in a mixing bowl, snip the skins of the sausages and squeeze the meat out into the bowl too. Add the breadcrumbs, fennel seeds, mace and walnuts. Mix well with a little seasoning. Push some of the stuffing mixture into every onion and apple, packing it tightly and mounding the top as it will shrink a little during cooking (any extra stuffing can be rolled into the size of golf balls and roasted alongside).

STEP 3
Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Rub the pork with 1 tbsp of the oil and plenty of sea salt. Break up the onion cores and reserved skins to build a trivet in the middle of your largest roasting tin, then sit the pork joint on top. Roast for 1 hr, then lower the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and roast for another hour.

STEP 4
Rub the outsides of the apples and onions with another 1 tbsp of oil, then sit just the onions around the pork, loosely covered with some foil. Roast for a further 35 mins, then add the apples to the tin too, removing the foil from the onions. Bake for a further 25 mins until all the stuffing is cooked through, and the onions and apples are tender but the apples are still holding their shape. Lift the pork, apples and onions onto a serving platter and cover loosely with foil to keep warm. If the onions aren’t soft enough for your liking, re-cover with foil and keep baking in the oven while you make the gravy.

STEP 5
Pour any juices from the roasting tin into a jug. When the fat has separated, discard it and pour the meaty juices back into the tin. Put the tin on the hob and stir in the flour to a smooth paste. Cook, stirring, for 1 min, then gradually whisk in the cider, followed by the stock. Bring to the boil and bubble until the gravy has reduced a little and is of a good consistency. Sieve into another pan or gravy jug to get rid of all the onion bits and season well - if it needs sweetening, add some honey to taste.

STEP 6
Thickly slice the rested pork at the table, making sure everyone gets a good portion of crunchy crackling, then share out the sausage-stuffed apples and onions. Add roasties, some green veg, and a generous glug of the cider gravy.

Chilled minty courgette soup
Method
STEP 1
Heat the oil in a large saucepan, add the onion and cook gently for about 2-3 minutes until softened. Now add the courgettes and dried mint, and stir well to mix with the onion. Cover and cook over a gentle heat for about 10 minutes until the courgettes are softened but not coloured.

STEP 2
Pour in the stock and bring to the boil, then lower the heat to a gentle simmer. Strip the mint leaves off the stalks and drop them into the pan, then cover the pan and continue simmering gently for 20 minutes or until the courgettes are very tender. Remove from the heat and let the bubbles subside before blitzing in a food processor or blender until smooth (if you like a really smooth soup, simply pour it through a sieve after blitzing). Pour into a bowl and leave to cool, then cover and chill for at least 4 hours (or overnight).

STEP 3
To serve, taste and season with salt and pepper. Serve in chilled soup plates with a spoonful of cream drizzled in the middle.

Spicy chilli bean soup
Method
STEP 1
Heat the oil in a deep saucepan and fry the chopped onion over a medium heat until tender. Add the garlic and tomato purée, stirring for 1-2 mins until combined. Sprinkle in the spices and cook for another 1 min.

STEP 2
Tip in the chopped tomatoes, half fill the can with water, and add to the pan. Pour in the stock and simmer on a medium heat for 10-15 mins, uncovered. Season, then whizz using a hand blender until smooth. Add the beans and red pepper, and cook for another 15 mins until the pepper is tender.

STEP 3
Serve in bowls topped with a small pile of tortilla chips and a lime wedge.

Matcha breakfast bowl
Method
STEP 1
Mix the yogurt with the matcha and maple syrup, and divide between two bowls. Top with the kiwi, peach and blueberries. Sprinkle over the coconut flakes just before serving.

Spinach & pepper frittata
Method
STEP 1
Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Line a 20cm sandwich tin with a single sheet of baking parchment if your tin has a loose bottom.

STEP 2
Beat the eggs in a large bowl with the cottage cheese, garlic, half the Parmesan, the spinach, peppers, nutmeg and some black pepper. Tip into the tin, top with the tomatoes and sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan. Bake for 40 mins until set all the way through and starting to puff up. Cut into wedges and serve hot or cold. Will keep for 3-4 days in the fridge.

Pot-roast beef with French onion gravy
Method
STEP 1
Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Rub the meat with 1 tsp of the oil and plenty of seasoning. Heat a large flameproof casserole dish and brown the meat all over for about 10 mins. Meanwhile, add 2 tsp oil to a frying pan and fry the carrots and celery for 10 mins until turning golden.

STEP 2
Lift the beef onto a plate, splash the wine into the hot casserole and boil for 2 mins. Pour in the stock, return the beef, then tuck in the carrots, celery and bay leaves, trying not to submerge the carrots too much. Cover and cook in the oven for 2 hrs. (I like to turn the beef halfway through cooking.)

STEP 3
Meanwhile, thinly slice the onions. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan and stir in the onions, thyme and some seasoning. Cover and cook gently for 20 mins until the onions are softened but not coloured. Remove the lid, turn up the heat, add the butter and sugar, then let the onions caramelise to a dark golden brown, stirring often. Remove the thyme sprigs, then set aside.

STEP 4
When the beef is ready, it will be tender and easy to pull apart at the edges. Remove it from the casserole and snip off the strings. Reheat the onion pan, stir in the flour and cook for 1 min. Whisk the floury onions into the beefy juices in the casserole, to make a thick onion gravy. Taste for seasoning. Add the beef and carrots back to the casserole, or slice the beef and bring to the table on a platter, with the carrots to the side and the gravy spooned over.

Chicken & pesto pasta
Method
STEP 1
Cook pasta following pack instructions, adding green beans for the final 6 mins of cooking time. Drain and reserve a few tbsps of the cooking water.

STEP 2
Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large frying pan. Add spring onions and cook for 1-2 mins until soft, then set aside.

STEP 3
Add the shredded chicken in the pan and heat through. Stir through pesto and cream. Pop pasta and beans in with the chicken mix and stir to coat, adding a little of the cooking water. Season and sprinkle with Parmesan.