Lentil and Black Bean Chili Non Carne

Look, it's not photogenic. But it tastes good, I promise.

So I guess we are all looking to our cupboards for what we can make from pantry staples. And I've basically got chilli without the meat, but with the same punchy flavour and very similar texture.

And it's also meat-free! It isn’t strictly veggie the way I made it, I had just fried some chorizo for quesadillas so I used that oil to fry off my onions for some extra smoky depth of flavour. But you can very easily just use vegetable oil and make this veggie/vegan.

I find it easier to stick to flavour profiles I know and textures I like when I'm trying something new. I LOVE lentils and beans. I LOVE Mexican flavours. And I love the versatility of Mexican food. Note - I did not use kidney beans because I hate them. Feel free to use them if they're your fave.

You could serve this on top of nachos, or with some guac, sour cream, or salsa on top. It would be a lovely meat-free filling for tacos or enchiladas. I had mine with mozzarella stirred through it while hot which gives it some cheesy goodness, and scooped it up with a soft tortilla wrap.

Za'atar Lamb Meatballs with Spiced Lentils

You can make this in a smaller number of pots and pans than I did, but I’m not sure if my big pot is oven-proof so I transferred it to one of my lovely oven dishes to cook. I was just thinking how I never use my various mismatching Le Creuset stuff so I’m glad I was able to get some use out of them!

One of my favourite flavours that I tried in Lebanon was za’atar – traditionally a mixture of thyme, sesame, and sumac. It is earthy and nutty and sometimes almost tart. And it absolutely sings when spread on fresh hot bread and rolled up into a wrap. My mouth is actually watering thinking of this wrap I had.

And of course it’s cracking with a bit of lamb.

Serves 4, you get 3 meatballs per person

Northern Irish Vegetable Soup

Some foods are so ingrained in your growing up that you don’t even notice them. Wracking my brain a few St Patrick’s days ago, I couldn’t think of any typical Irish/Northern Irish foods to make for the occasion. This would have been perfect, but for me it wasn't "traditional Irish fare" it was just what my mum used to cook for dinner in the winter.

So the other day I was really hankering for vegetable soup. Proper vegetable soup. I had a quick look on the online grocery stores for the soup mix packs which are ubiquitous in Northern Ireland. They basically have the mix of pulses or a mix of the vegetables needed. I couldn’t find any, so I did what any self-respecting Northern Irish girl would do – I called my mummy.

She knew what I needed, and I ended up buying the ingredients individually. But all that means is I have enough dry ingredients for so many future bowls of soup. Winner!

This is a very quick and simple dinner, all in you’re talking an hour for it to cook (with one instance of overnight soaking) and you can leave it to simmer away on its own for most of that.

I served mine like my mum does – with some shredded roasted chicken and some wheaten bread. I made the bread while the soup was cooking, because Irish bread is all about instant gratification – no rising time required.

makes 4 generous bowls of soup

Ham and Lentil Slow Cooker Soup

All right, we are doubling DOWN on Christmas cooking now. We're knee deep in the season, people.

For me, Christmas is about eating with family and friends. I have a really awesome family. We meet up all the time when I’m home and have a great time together. They’re also full of good ideas that I can pass off as my own.

This soup is a prime example. My aunt makes the best soup. She is the queen of soup. One day she came to my nanny’s house with her massive 15L soup pot full of lentil soup and put it on the stove. When it was ready to be served, she went into it with a massive fork and pulled out a large joint of ham.

That’s right, she cooked the ham right there in the soup.

Absolute genius.

And I’ve shamelessly stolen the idea and made it into a slow cooker meal, something I can put on in the morning and then all of a sudden at dinner time a wonderful meal appears. I don't add any salt because the stock and gammon are salty enough, but a little bit of pepper works wonders.

Perfect dinner. My boyfriend doesn't think soup is enough of a meal for dinner, so he gets a grilled cheese with his.

Indian Feast - Chicken 65, Lentil Rice and Creamy Chickpeas

It was my birthday yesterday! And I celebrated it.. In work. Luckily my lovely boyfriend got me some great presents and delicious slices of cake to sample. AND he booked us a dinner for tonight to my favourite Indian restaurant. It's my favourite because the food is great and they encourage you to order a lot. It is an Indian street food place, so they encourage you to eat tapas-style. And everyone knows, tapas = ordering insane amounts of food.

And this restaurant inspired me to make something delicious recently. I’ve said it numerous times, but while Mexican food is my absolute favourite, Indian cuisine is my real and true first love. The first thing I ever learned how to cook from scratch was a curry. It wasn’t super delicious, but it was mine and it wasn’t from a jar, and I loved having created something from basic ingredients. I still make a version of that curry today and it has fond memories for me.

The ingredient list might be daunting, but pretty much all of them are my absolute cupboard staples!

But, we all know that Indian food is about a lot more than curries, and this is my take on some Indian-style street food, with a bit of everything – spiced fried chicken, flavourful lentils and rice, and some creamy chickpeas. Of course, these elements can be mixed and matched, but I like piling them all on my plate together – a feast for the senses – it looks good, smells FANTASTIC and tastes amazing!

Sweet Potato and Lentil Soup

So many utensils

There is nothing better for me on a cold winter’s evening than hearing a pot of soup bubbling away on the hob, promising deliciousness and warmth to come.  Because I am *so* Irish.

This particular one is adapted from one of my favourite series’ of little cookbooks, the BBC Good Food Healthy Eats book. I don’t do diets, but I do do soup. And this was a revelation. Thick, silky smooth, wonderfully coloured and highly flavourful. My notoriously hard to please boyfriend even complimented it, which I am counting as a super win.