Chickpea and butternut squash tagine

This quick tagine was totally a random recipe, but packed with warm Moroccan spices it's so delicious I wished I'd invited people over! It'll look elegant served by candlelight on a hot summer's evening, or as a tasty lunch with couscous, rice or flatbreads.

I just wanted a way to use up a squash and leftover chickpeas from making hummus, but oh my, this is sooo good it's a new favourite.

• 1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into slices
• 1 large onion, roughly sliced and chopped
• 2 sticks celery, chopped
• 1 orange
• 400g chickpeas (approx, cooked or canned)
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 medium chilli
• Ground coriander or coriander seeds
• 2 tsp cinnamon (or a stick)
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 2 tsp allspice
• 2 tsp vegetable stock
• 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
• (Dried chilli if you want more heat)

1. Preheat the oven to 180C.
2. Put the squash slices into a bowl. Splash with oil and a sprinkling of salt, enough to coat. Roughly chop one clove of garlic and mix everything together.
3. Spread the squash mixture on a baking sheet and roast for approx 20 mins until the slices start to caramelise on the outside but are still firm.
4. Meanwhile, splash oil into a large pan and gently fry the onion and celery.
5. When translucent, stir in the chilli, garlic and dry spices.
6. Add the tomato and stock powder. Fill up the can with water and add to the pan.
7. Peel a few strips of zest from your orange with a potato peeler, then juice it. Add both to the pan.
8. Add the chickpeas and cook for 5 minutes or so.
9. Check seasoning - add more salt if it needs, and dried chilli if it needs more oomph.
10. By now the squash will be ready. Remove from the oven, and chop the slices into bite-sized chunks. Tip into the pan and stir. Add more water if it's too dry, you want the squash to be covered.
11. Turn down to a gentle heat and cook until both the chickpeas and squash are tender.
12. Serve topped with chopped fresh coriander or parsley and a squeeze of lemon juice. 

Variations

If you want more sweetness, try adding dried dates or apricots.

When serving, a drizzle of tahini on top adds a nice nutty addition. Or top with toasted flaked almonds to add crunch.

Chilli hummus

Another sparkling summer recipe today! Hummus is endlessly variable, you can really add whatever flavourings you like. Home-made is miles better than the bland beige stuff that ends up going fizzy in your fridge.

Personally I like the bold heat of garlic, chilli and cumin, but add whatever flavourings you most enjoy. Serve it as a dip with chopped veg, but even better, spread a big dollop on a plate and pile savoury things on top - a herby salad with feta, any kind of roast veg, or even (shh) meat! Ditch the cutlery and mop it all up with tasty Mediterranean flatbreads.

Personally I prefer using chickpeas I've soaked overnight and boiled for an hour or so, I think the flavour is better. It's also much cheaper than canned! But if you're pushed for time, tinned chickpeas are just fine.

• 400g chickpeas (cooked or canned)
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 small medium-heat chilli (deseeded if you're nervous)
• 3 tbsp olive oil (the better the oil, the better the flavour)
• 2 tbsp tahini
• Juice of a lemon (two if they're tiny)
• Pinch of salt
• Pinch of cumin

1. Putting everything into a blend, and whizz til smooth.
2. Test it, and taste it. Add more flavourings if you fancy!
3. At this stage it will probably be too thick. If so, add a splash of water and rewhizz until its a smooth, thick, but not too dry consistency.

Lentil and tomato soup

Another veggie staple today: a quick and tasty lentil soup.

I must confess, I came pretty late to the lentil world. To me they were just those orange things you put into soups and stews to thicken them, but not much else. But after experimenting with green and brown lentils a few years ago I now really love them. Brown lentils in particular are a great alternative in any recipe where you'd use mince: shepherds pie, soups, stews, even a good old British spag bol! Even if you eat meat, add half meat and half lentils, a good way to reduce fat and increase nutrients

Lentils can also be incredibly cheap. Ethnic food shops are the best place to buy staples like lentils, rice and spices. I buy a huge bag of brown lentils from a local African shop for only a few pounds.

Lentil & Tomato Soup

Like most of my recipes this is just something I knocked up on the fly with what I had available, it takes about 30 minutes. Taste it yourself and see if it needs anything more. I used fresh tomatoes as I had them available - it makes a lighter soup than tinned, either is fine.

A good stock is vital to the success of any soup, and this recipe has a couple of unusual secret ingredients that make it really special. The first is miso paste which I got from an Asian supermarket. It makes a delicious savoury hot drink but is very good as a vegetable stock for beefing up the flavour of soups. If you don't have it, just add another spoon of vegetable stock powder. Swiss Marigold is by far the best.

The sweet soy sauce was a random experiment, but it's delicious and definitely brings out the flavour of the tomatoes. Substitute a sprinkling of sugar if you don't have it.

• 1 onion
• 2 carrots
• 1 tbsp vegetable or olive oil
• 1 clove of garlic, crushed
• 2 handfuls of brown lentils
• 4 large tomatoes (or a tin of chopped)
• 1 tbsp miso paste
• 1 tsp Swiss Marigold vegetable stock
• 1 tbsp sweet soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1 bay leaf
• 500 ml boiling water

1. If using fresh tomatoes, steep them in boiling water for a few minutes to remove the skin, and chop into rough chunks
2. Chop the onions and carrot into small chunks. Not too fine, you want to see pieces in the soup.
3. Slosh some oil into a saucepan and fry the carrots and onions on a gentle heat for a few minutes until pale. 
4. Meanwhile, make a stock with 500ml of boiling water, the miso paste, vegetable stock and sweet soy sauce and bay leaf. (If necessary strain the stock, miso often has bits of soybean in, depending on brand.)
5. Add the garlic and paprika, stir for a minute then add the tomatoes.
6. Top up with the stock, bring to a boil then put on the lid and simmer.
7. Cook for 20-30 minutes until the lentils are tender. Top up with boiling water if it gets too thick.
8. Do a final check for seasoning, then serve hot with a sprinkle of parmesan on top!

Variations: Add chopped celery with the carrots and onion if you like, I didn't have any. Chopped parsley or basil add a note of freshness, add right at the end of cooking.

Tips

Whenever I make a soup, I make a batch and freeze the leftovers. I always have numerous plastic containers (from the pound shop), just pop a portion or two in each container, then you'll have fresh soup to take to work or pop into the microwave.