This is another kind of lasagne dish but replaces pasta with eggplant and meat with lentils. 

Ingredients

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 x 400gr can chopped tomatoes

1 eggplant, thinly sliced

1 large courgette or small marrow, thinly sliced

2 cups cooked lentils (see below)

1 egg

2 cups cheese sauce (see below)

1 Tbsp dried oregano

Cheese Sauce – makes approx 2 cups

2 Tbsp butter

3 Tbsp plain flour

1 cup milk

1 cup grated cheese

Salt and freshly ground pepper

In a medium sized saucepan over low to moderate heat lightly cook the flour in the butter.

Add milk and cook, beating with a wooden spoon or whisk.  Take off the heat, add cheese and season with salt and pepper.

Lentils

For the lentils your will need to simmer 1 cup of lentils, a finely diced small onion, 1 small grated carrot, a pinch of dried oregano, salt and pepper, 1 cup of water and 1 cup of red wine in a medium sized saucepan with a tight fitting lid.  Simmer gently for about 1 hour then set aside to cool.  Check there is always enough liquid.

How to cook

Preheat oven to 180°C.  Spread olive oil and one third of the tomatoes in the base of a lasagne dish or baking dish.  Cover with half the sliced eggplant followed by half the sliced courgette.

Tip over lentil mixture.

Cover with remaining courgettes, followed by remaining eggplant.  Press down you’re your hands.

Spread the rest of the tomatoes evenly over the top, cover tightly with tin foil and bake for 1 hour.

Remove from the oven.  Mix egg with cheese sauce then spread over the top of the moussaka.  Return uncovered, to the oven and bake for a further 40 minutes.

Remove from the oven and stand for 20 minutes before serving.  Serves 4.

Ingredients:

1-2 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion, finely diced

1 capsicum, finely diced

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon paprika (optional)

2 chorizo sausages, thinly sliced

200 grams chicken thighs or breast, thinly sliced

1 teaspoon dried oregano

2 cups Arborio rice

1 x 400 gram can chopped tomatoes

200 grams prawns or shrimps

1 lemon

How to cook:

Heat olive oil in the bottom of a large heavy based frying pan or wok.

Throw onion and capsicum into the pan and cook for a few minutes until softened a bit.  Add salt and paprika, then stir and leave to cook for a few minutes.

Add chorizo and chicken, along with oregano.  Cook briefly, stirring to prevent the uncooked chicken from sticking to the pan..

Stir in rice and fry for another 5 minutes, stirring continuously.

Add tomatoes to the pan then fill the can twice with water and pour the water into the pan.  Gently stir to combine.

Once the liquid has come to the boil, reduce heat and cover.

After 20 minutes, remove lid, add prawns and stir.  At this point you could also add mussels or any other seafood.  Cover and continue to cook over low heat.  Squeeze the juice from the lemon into the pan and stir through.

Finally, cover and leave to stand for 15 minutes before serving. 

Ingredients

4 slices white sandwich bread

1/2 cup walnuts

1/4 cup parsley (or basil or thyme)

3 sping onions, roughly chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

2 Tbsp butter

4 sole fillets

How to cook

Preheat oven to 180 degree.  In a food processor, place all ingredients except fish and pulse until compined to create a moderately fine crumb mixture.

Split sole fillets in half and place the larger halves ona  greased oven tray.

Divide half the crumb mixture on top of the fillet halves.  Places the other fillet halves on top of the crumb mixture, effectively making a sandwich where the fish is the bread.

Place the rest of the crumb mixture on top of the top fillets.  Bake for 20 minutes.

Serves 4

Vinaigrette

Makes about 1 1/2 cups

1 cup olive oil

2 Tbsp cider vinegar

1 heaped tsp fresh mustard

2 tsps honey

2 cloves garlic, finely diced

1/2 tsp salt

Handful of fresh mint, finely chopped

Comine all ingredients in a jar with a tight-fitting lid and shake to combine.  Store in the fridge.  Remove from fridge half an hour before you wish to dress something to bring it up to room temperature.  Shake well before dressing.

Ingredients

400 grams chorizo sausages

500 grams pumpkin, peeled and diced

300 grams puy lentils

1 red onion, thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

Zest of a lemon

Handful of fresh coriander

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons soy sauce

Juice of 1 lemon

2 teaspoons sesame oil  

How to cook

Boil lentils in salted water until just cooked.

Slice the sausages into 3cm pieces.  In a pan add a little oil and cook sausages on a high heat.

Heat olive oil and butter in a sautee pan.  Add pumpkin, onion and garlic until pumpkin is tender. 

Add the lentils, sausages, soy sauce, sesame oil, lemon juice and zest.  Mix to combine.

Serve with a garnish of chopped coriander.

Serves 4 – 6

Ingredients

800 grams small waxy potatoes

1 cup mixed black and green olives

Olive oil

1 tablespoon finely chopped rosemary

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

1 punnet cherry tomatoes

How to cook

Preheat the oven to 200°C

Place the potatoes and olives in a baking dish.  Toss with olive oil, rosemary and season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.

Roast until crisp and tender then add the cherry tomatoes and turn to coat.  Roast until the skins just start to burst, about 5 minutes.

Transfer to a serving dish.

Ingredients

4 eggs, hard boiled and quartered

200 grams asparagus, trimmed and steamed until al dente

3 medium tomatoes cut into quarters

425 grams can tuna in water or brine, drained and flaked – alternatively use fresh tuna or salmon, cooked to your liking

60 grams pitted black olives

½ cup fresh parsley, chopped

400 grams baby new potatoes, boiled, drained and halved

1 tablespoon capers

½ red onion, thinly sliced

2 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon lemon juice

 How to cook

Boil the eggs before preparing the salad. Steam the asparagus until tender.  Rinse under cold water then cut into thirds.

Combine the tomato, egg, tuna, olives, capers, onion, parsley and potato in a large bowl.

Combine the olive oil and lemon juice in a small bowl and add the asparagus to the large bowl with the other ingredients before drizzling with the dressing and serving.

Ingredients

4 x 200 gram snapper steaks, skin on

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon finely chopped rosemary

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1/2 teaspoon paprika

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

16 large black olives

Beans

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon finely chopped rosemary

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1 carrot, peeled and diced

1 onion, diced

1 stick celery, thinly sliced

100 grams streaky bacon, sliced

2 x 400 gram tins large butterbeans, drained

11/2 cups fish or chicken stock

1 tomato, diced

1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

Squeeze of lemon juice

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

How to cook

Beans: Heat the oil in a sauté pan and cook the rosemary, garlic, carrot, onion, celery and bacon until tender. Add the beans and stock and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the tomatoes, flat-leaf parsley and a squeeze of lemon juice. Season.

Fish: Combine the oil, rosemary, garlic and paprika and rub onto both sides of the fish. Season. Heat a large sauté pan with a little oil. Add the fish and olives and cook for 3-4 minutes each side or until just cooked through. Cooking time will depend on the thickness of the fish.

To serve: Spoon the beans into shallow soup plates and top with the fish and olives. Garnish with lemon wedges. Other firm white fish such as hapuku or monkfish also work well in this recipe.

Serves 4

Ingredients

400gr Kaimai Goats cheese

100gr walnuts, roughly chopped

200gr dried figs, finely diced

100ml balsamic vinegar

50ml water

Few sprigs of thyme or rosemary

4 tbsp runny honey

Bunch of lettuce

How to cook

Slice the goats’ cheese into four 100g slices. Alternatively, you could use little individual rounds of cheese. Put the slices of cheese on to a baking tray that you have lined with tinfoil and that can go under your grill. Heat the walnuts in a hot oven for five minutes to toast them slightly. You can also dry-roast them in a frying pan for a few minutes, but be careful – they burn quickly and need to be kept moving. Roughly chop the walnuts when they have cooled down. Place them in a saucepan with the figs, balsamic vinegar, herbs and about 50ml of water, and cook over a gentle heat until the mixture is quite dry and the vinegar has turned a bit syrupy.

Allow to cool and taste – season with salt and pepper if necessary, or a little sugar. When you are ready to serve, heat up the grill, drizzle the honey over the goats’ cheese, and grill until bubbling and golden brown. The honey will give it a lovely sweetness and help it brown very quickly. Place the goats’ cheese on plates with some mixed leaves, spoon some of the fig and walnuts on top and serve.

Serves 4