Full of flavour

SQUASH WITH CARAMELISED FREEKEH & WALNUTS

SERVES 5-6

• 2 butternut squash

• Splash of on-virgin olive oil

• 2 tsp garam masala

• 1 tsp ground ginger

• 2 large onions, 1 sliced and 1 finely chopped

• Knob of vegan butter, plus a splash of oil

• 400g freekeh

• 75g jaggery (or use dark brown sugar), crushed

• 500ml vegetable stock

• 300ml orange juice

• 100g walnut halves, crumbled

• 100g dried peaches (or dried apricots), soaked in a splash of the orange juice

• Splash of dry white wine

• Sea salt and black pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5. Cut the squash into cubes, skin and all, and discard the seeds. Pour a little oil into a bowl and add the spices and a little salt and pepper; mix them and rub the flavoured oil all over the squash before placing it on a baking tray along with the sliced onion. Roast for around 40 minutes or until the squash is tender. Trim off the skin and set the flesh aside.

2. Next, melt a little butter and oil in a saucepan over a low heat and fry off the chopped onion. Add the freekeh, stirring well, and then the jaggery. Turn the heat up high so the jaggery melts and the freekeh is all coated in sugary oil, then add the stock and the orange juice. Bring to the boil and then simmer for about 35 minutes or until the freekeh is cooked (freekeh is always a little al dente – it is part of its charm).

3. Next, toast the walnuts in a hot pan and set them aside. Drain the peaches and throw them into the same pan; once they are super-hot, I usually throw in a splash of dry white wine, but you can also use lemon juice or verjuice.

4. Stir the roasted squash, peaches and walnuts through the wheat, reserving a little of the latter for garnish. Serve with a peachy salad and yoghurt.

Top tip

Freekeh is an acquired taste. It is a young green wheat that has been charred and then thrashed, and the residual smokiness is what gives it its distinctive flavour. I’d not been a huge fan of it until I prepared it this way – the added sweetness balances out the underlying bitterness of the grain.

FENNEL & POTATO BIRYANI

SERVES 4

• 2 x 180ml cups basmati rice

• 2-3 green cardamom pods, cracked

• 2 bay leaves

• Spoon of vegan ghee, plus a splash of oil, for frying

• 3 tsp fennel seeds

• ½ tsp cumin seeds

• 2-3 pieces cassia bark (or cinnamon)

• 2 cloves

• 2 red chillies, chopped

• 1½ big onions, finely chopped

• 2 garlic cloves, minced

• 2cm fresh peeled ginger, minced

• 1 large fennel bulb, chopped

• 2 celery sticks, chopped fairly finely

• 2 medium potatoes, peeled if required, and diced into 1cm cubes

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