Thai style noodle & sweet potato broth

After spending the majority of the day hungover and zombie-like, a spicy tasty noodle broth is needed to perk me up and make me feel alive again!
Ingredients:

• 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped in to small pieces
• 2 carrots, sliced
• 1 onion, chopped
• handful of beansprouts
• fresh coriander
• 1 teaspoon of coriander seeds, ground in a pestle and mortar
• 1 garlic clove - crushed
• Approx 2cm grated fresh ginger
• 1 vegetable stock cube
• 10 spring onions chopped (scallions / salad onions - whatever you call them)
• 1 chili chopped finely
• Creamed coconut (I used a 50g sachet)
• Noodles (I used a super cheap 15p packet from the supermarket)
• 1 stick of lemongrass
• Juice of 1 lime
• Oil
• Black pepper

In a large saucepan heat oil, gently fry the chopped onion, chili, garlic, ginger, lemongrass and ground coriander.
Make up 2 litres of vegetable stock (I just use one stock cube, so the stock flavour doesn't overpower) and add this to the onions once soft. Also add the carrots, sweet potatoes and creamed coconut, cover and leave to simmer.
Once the veggies are almost soft, add the noodles, beansprouts, lime juice and almost all the spring onions and fresh coriander. You may need to add a little bit more stock here.
After a few minutes the noodles should be soft, season with black pepper. Serve with the remaining spring onion and coriander sprinkled on top.
Relax & enjoy the goodness... and as if by magic my hangover is cured!

Butter bean stuffed Butternut squash

Brrrrr... It's chilly here in Glasgow and this demands cosy warm food!

I love butter beans almost as much as I love butternut squash, here is a creation of mine combining them both, resulting in autumn-tastic food.

Ingredients:

• 1 butternut squash
• 1 small onion
• 100g rice (I used basmati)
• about 1 pint of veggie stock (I used a veggie oxo cube)
• 1/2 teaspoon of harissa paste
• a few broccoli florets
• half a tin of butter beans
• black pepper
• handful of fresh coriander
• 50g soft goat's cheese (could use any soft cheese - like philadelphia if you wish)
• a little oil

Slice the butternut squash in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds, and then brush the inside flesh with a little oil. In a large oven proof dish (I use a lasagna tray) fill with about 2cm of cold water, then lay the butternut squash halves on top, skin side up. Put in a oven at about 150 degrees Celsius for about 30mins. When it is cooked the inside flesh should be super soft.

Meanwhile, chop the onion and gently brown in a little oil in a large pan. Then add the uncooked rice, stir, add the vegetable stock and the harissa paste. Cover, after about 5mins add the broccoli florets (chopped into small pieces). Cover until the rice is cooked and the stock absorbed.

Then take the rice mixture off the heat, add the butter beans and some coriander. Take the butternut squash out of the oven (carefully please - the water surrounding it will be very hot!), transfer the squash halves on to a baking tray, flesh side up. Using a spoon scoop out some of the flesh, to create hollows, adding this flesh to the rice mixture.

Now add the goat's cheese to rice mixture and give it a good stir.
Spoon this mixture into the butternut squash hollows, and top with a little black pepper. Put this under a medium grill for about 5mins & then serve.
The sweetness of the squash, combined with the creamy taste of the butter beans & goat's cheese is just delicious!