Farinata

Also known as socca, farinata is a simple Italian flatbread type of pancake made of chickpea flour. I've made it before with Ottolenghi's recipe, but wanted to try Ruby Tandoh's recipe with rosemary and garlic, which actually tasted better if you ask me. It's quick and easy to make, and nice with a salad or something on the side.

Makes 8-10 large pancakes

8 tbsp olive oil, plus more for greasing
2 garlic cloves, crushed
3 sprigs rosemary
300g chickpea flour (gram flour)
1 tsp salt
Black pepper, to taste
500ml water

1. In a small saucepan over a medium-low heat, cook the olive oil, garlic and the leaves from two rosemary sprigs until the garlic is sizzling. Take the pan off the heat and leave to cool. If it sits around for a while, even better – the flavour from the rosemary and garlic will have longer to infuse.

2. Combine the chickpea flour, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Strain in the infused oil through a sieve (discarding the rosemary leaves and garlic), and add a little of the water. Stir to combine, then add the remaining water gradually until the mixture slackens to the consistency of a thick batter.

3. Heat some olive oil in a frying pan until hot. Spoon in enough of the batter to coat the bottom of the pan. While the upper surface of the bread is still wet, sprinkle on a few rosemary leaves from the remaining sprig. Once the upper surface has set (this won't take more than a minute or two) flip the pancake and cook for a further couple of minutes, or until golden brown in patches.

4. Repeat until all the remaining batter has been used, making sure that the pan is well‑oiled each time.

Peanut butter cups

I combined a couple of peanut butter cup recipes to come up with this version of peanut butter cups that is vegan, and wheat and sugar free. And addictive...

Ingredients

3/4 cup crunchy peanut butter

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 cup coconut shreds

1/8 cup melted coconut oil

100g dark or raw chocolate

+ crushed almonds/peanuts/walnuts to decorate

1. Mix together everything but the chocolate in a bowl. If it's too dry, add a little more coconut oil, a bit at a time. Spoon and press into lined cupcake tins.

2. Melt the chocolate. Spread evenly over the top of the peanut butter mix. Sprinkle some crushed nuts on top to decorate.

3. Pop them into the fridge for at least 2 hours until set.

Puréed beetroot with yogurt & za'atar

This recipe is from Ottolenghi's Jerusalem book. The chilli, garlic, syrup and za'atar combine sweet and spiceness together wonderfully. I wanted to make a vegan version, but I was afraid using plain soy yogurt instead of Greek yogurt would make the purée too runny. Now that I know what it's supposed to taste like I'll have to experiment and see if 1/2 portion soy yogurt and 1/2 portion mashed potatoes would do the trick. Of course I can always try making my own vegan yogurt too...

Serves 6

Ingredients:

900g medium beetroots (500g after cooking and peeling)

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 small red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped

250g Greek yogurt

1 1/2 tbsp date or maple syrup

3 tbsp olive oil + extra to garnish

1 tbsp za'atar

To garnish:

2 spring onions

15g toasted hazelnuts, roughly crushed

Preheat oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gask Mark 6.

Wash the beetroot and place it in a roasting tin. Put them in the oven and cook, uncovered, until a knife slices easily into the centre, approximately 1 hour. Once they are cool enough to handle, peel and cut each one into about 6 pieces. Allow to cool down. Place the beetroot, garlic, chilli, and yogurt in a food processor bowl and blend to a smooth paste. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and stir in the syrup, olive oil, za'atar and 1 teaspoon of salt. Taste and add more salt if you like.

Transfer the mash onto a serving plate and use the back of a spoon to spread the mixture around the plate. Scatter the spring onion and hazelnut on top and drizzle some more olive oil on top. Serve at room temperature.