Sweet Potato and Black Bean Fritter Cakes

I had some mashed sweet potato left over in my fridge from dinner last night so I thought I should find a good way to use it! The result was this recipe and these fritter cakes are the perfect accompaniment to any summer salad or served with courgette noodles for a light but filling meal!

Ingredients (makes 4)
1 sweet potato
1 tin of black beans
1 tbsp of tomato puree
1 tsp of cinnamon
1 tsp of turmeric
1 tsp of ginger
1 tsp of oregano

Firstly, you need to prepare the sweet potato. Peel the potatoes and cut into small chunks. Steam until soft then set aside to cool.
Once the potatoes have cooled, place them in a food processor with the beans and tomato puree and mix until a smooth mixture forms.
Add in the rest of the ingredients and season as necessary.
Using kitchen towel, evenly spread a couple of drops of olive oil to lightly coat a frying pan and warm on a low heat. It is important to keep the temperature down to avoid burning the outsides!
Spoon the mixture into the frying pan, lightly pressing down to make circular fritters.
Once they start to brown on one side, flip them over and allow to brown on the other side.
Serve warm or cold!

Quinoa Bean Bowl

This is a really simple recipe - perfect for lunch or dinner! This dish is packed with protein from the beans, peas and quinoa and can be eaten hot or cold! The sauce can be made separately and served with a jacket sweet potato to make a comforting meal or kept in the fridge and served with salad for a warm weather alternative!

Ingredients (serves 2-3)

4 large handfuls of frozen peas
1/2 courgette
1 red onion
1 can of tomatoes
1/2 tin of kidney beans
1/2 tin of cannelloni beans
1/2 tin of sweetcorn
2 tsp of cinnamon
1 tsp of ginger paprika
2 tsp of dried mixed herbs (I used rosemary, thyme and basil)

100g of quinoa

Cook the quinoa according to instructions. While that is cooking, finely chop the onion and courgettes and place in a frying pan on a low heat with a few drops of olive oil. Once these start to soften, put the tomato into a saucepan with the cinnamon, herbs and ginger.

When the tomato begins to bubble, add the rest of the ingredients, including the onion and courgette from the pan. Allow the ingredients to heat through (especially the peas). Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Drain the quinoa and mix it into the sauce before serving.

Butternut Squash & Lentil Soup

There is an absolute rule at home that we do not attempt to make soup. For a family of cooking enthusiasts we are pretty terrible at it and it notoriously results in disaster - how you can go quite so wrong I do not know. So today I decided to break all the rules - call me a maverick but you don't get anywhere staying inside your comfort zones, do you? I am also limited to a relatively liquid diet (thanks to a nasty spell of mumps), had lots of leftover lentils and am currently obsessed with coconut.

As it happens, this actually turned out pretty well so I thought it was worth sharing.

This is a slightly wintery soup but the coconut gives it an exotic touch that is getting me excited for summer.

Ingredients (serves 3-4)

250-300g of butternut squash (about 1 cup)
3 carrots
750ml vegetable stock (or water seasoned with herbs, salt and pepper)
1 1/2 cups of lentils
100ml of coconut milk
100g of coconut cream
1 tablespoon of ginger
a sprig of rosemary

If your lentils are not yet cooked, start by rinsing them and placing them in a pan with vegetable stock.

Peel the carrots and butternut squash and cut into chunks. Place them into the pan with ginger and a little salt and pepper. Leave to boil for about 5 minutes on a low heat before adding the coconut milk.

Once the vegetables start to soften, add the coconut cream and allow to dissolve. If your lentils are already cooked, add them to the pan too. Once the coconut cream has dissolved, remove the pan from the heat and pour the contents into a food processor. Blend until a smooth, creamy liquid forms, adding a little water if it is too thick. If you are using a hand blender, make sure you let the contents cool before blending so that you don't burn yourself!

Once a smooth soup is formed, pop it back on the hob to heat up or store in a tuppaware for later. Serve with a sprig of rosemary - mainly because it looks pretty but also because it tastes good too!

Quinoa & Lentil Stuffed Pepper

This delicious dish works as a meal on its own or as a great side if you're feeling hungry!

Serves 2

2 Peppers
8 Cherry tomatoes
1 Garlic clove
1/2 courgette
1 Leek
1 Onion
1/4 cup of cooked quinoa
1/4 cup of cooked lentils

* Cut the top off the peppers and remove the seeds
* Slice the tomatoes in half and put inside the two peppers
* Using a knife, press on the garlic glove to crush it slightly. Cut it into about 6 pieces and put half into each pepper
* Cook at 180° until they start to soften

* Cook the quinoa and lentils according to the instructions on the packet
* Finely chop the onion and leek and sauté in a pan - I use a tiny bit of coconut oil for this
* Mix the lentils, quinoa and sautéed veg and spoon into the peppers

* Cook for a further 10 minutes or until the peppers are soft if needed.

I served mine on a bed of steamed kale and spinach but they are delicious alone or as a side themselves!