Red Dragon Pie
with sweet potato mash

2 cups just-cooked Aduki beans
1 onion, finely diced
1tsp olive oil
2 carrots, peeled and finely diced
1tsp plain flour
1tbsp sundried tomato puree
1tbsp soy sauce
2 bay leaves
1 pint made-up Marigold vegetable bouillon
Good splash Tabasco
Pepper

Potatoes - sweet and ordinary, half and half, peeled and chopped into chunks.
2oz cheddar, grated

Soften the onion in the olive oil over a very low heat; add the carrots and cover, then leave to soften for another 10 minutes. Scatter in the flour and stir for a minute. Dissolve the tomato puree and soy sauce in the stock, and pour over the vegetables; add the bay leaves and Tabasco, and simmer for another 20 minutes. Add the cooked beans and stir to incorporate; pour the mixture into an ovenproof dish, removing the bay leaves.

Boil the potatoes together until tender, then drain and mash with half the cheddar. Season to taste; then spread over the bean mixture. Start from the edges and work the potato into the centre, to avoid the filling escaping at the sides. Finish with the remaining cheddar, then put straight into a preheated oven at 160 dg C for 20-30 minutes (until golden on top and steaming right through).

Eat with mixed salad or crusty bread.

In times of trouble I turn to wooden spoons and softened butter. It's not that I want to eat the goodies so much as that I simply want to be cocooned in a warm kitchen, spoon in hand, weighing and beating and cutting chocolate into pretty shards. I wonder why it's so therapeutic? Some days I can barely stir myself to rustle up dinner, but when I get really busy and panic-ridden, I just can't wait to get in the kitchen and make a buttery, floury, chocolately old mess. And leave the dishes.

Top of my list right now is Bill Granger's peanut butter cookies (soft in the middle, with less-than-overpowering peanuttiness). Mind you, everything looks great in his kitchen - the kind of sunny, open space that you could spend a whole lifetime.

Speaking of kitchens, I took some photographs of mine. We had it ripped out and replaced last year - goodbye 1960s electric oven that chooses its own temperature, hello brassy range oven and shiny tiles. Goodbye dirty white walls and red-painted concrete floor (huh?), hello swamp-monster green and flagstone tiles. And it is now officially the best place in the house, so I decided to photograph it. As soon as I get me a PC-camera lead, you can take a look.

One final thing before I go - and it's an English-style Sausage and Bean Hotpot. I know they make sophisticated versions of this in Tuscany, but our Heinz Bean and Frankfurter version is still my favourite. I made it more complicated for myself, by boiling Haricot beans from dry and adding treacle and mustard to get... a taste that is suspiciously like Heinz. Anyway, I don't care, because I know exactly what went into those babies.

The sausage and bean stew would be great on its own, with bread or mash, but I topped with a Lancashire Hotpot crust. This is not for guests. It is, though, perfect for weeknight scoffing with a fork and some ready-sliced bread.

SAUSAGE AND BEAN HOTPOT
2 cups Haricot Beans, soaked and boiled for about 30 minutes
1 cup Marigold Vegetable Bouillon (made up)
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1tbsp treacle
1tsp wholegrain mustard
0.5tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
Good pinch salt
2 small leeks, shredded
3-4 medium carrots, diced
4 Frankfurter Sausages (the vegetarian kind, which tastes smokey and authentic as well as being low fat!)
Handful peeled potatoes

Boil the frankfurters for 2 minutes and drain.

Smear a large casserole with olive oil and begin to saute the leeks and carrots, gently, without browning. In a blender, whiz the tomatoes, stock, treacle, mustard, vinegar and salt. When the vegetables are soft add the sauce and bring to a gentle simmer. Tip in the beans and cover, then simmer for another 20-30 minutes (until the beans are only JUST cooked). Meanwhile, slice the potatoes into £1-thick pieces, tip into boiling water, and set a timer for 9 minutes.

Heat the oven to 180 degrees C. Chop roughly, then stir the sausages into the stew along with a good grinding of black pepper. Drain the potato slices and arrange them on the top. Drizzle with a small amount of olive oil, and shove into the oven. Leave for around 20-30 minutes for the potatoes to brown on top.

Dreaming of spring...

Okay, much as I love mashed potato and celeriac, I have now officially Had Enough of winter. The worst part is, it's only getting started - soon we will be cowering beneath stormy January skies and skating on icy February paths.

I have retreated to my seed catalogues, to choose all the new produce for next year - including some climbing beans especially for drying and storing (such as the purple-flowered bean above), and plenty of green things. Although salad is scarce right now, salad is just exactly what we feel like after the heavy Christmas eating. So, I am trying to grow Arctic King (for early spring lettuce) and planning red chard and perpetual spinach for next year. (Both can be cut and eaten young, and will keep on producing.)

Here is one of my favourite ways to use up the leeks that arrive, every week, in our vegetable box. This is good with a green salad, or maybe with a fresh coleslaw - shredded carrot and cabbage dressed with vinaigrette - and some bread if you like; it's a good source of protein. It looks pretty boring, but it tastes fantastic.

LEEK AND BUTTER BEAN GRATIN
2 cups dried butter beans
1 large leek
1 cup creme fraiche OR 1 cup double cream with a squeeze of lemon in it
2tsp grain mustard
1tsp sea salt

Soak the butter beans in boiling water, in a heavy casserole with a lid, for as long as you can (at least one hour). Drain the water and fill with fresh water, then bring to the boil and simmer the beans for about 30 minutes (but keep an eye on them - don't let them turn squidgy - aim for beans with bite). Drain the beans immediately into a colander and run some cold water over them. Now pull off the skins. It's a boring job but worthwhile. If the skins are soft and not hanging off you don't need to take them all off. Put the skinned beans into an ovenproof dish. Now finely shred the leek and mix it with the beans, adding the rest of the ingredients too. Cover with foil and bake at 160 degrees for twenty minutes, removing the foil for the final five.

Cooking spree...

I have had an unusually productive weekend, trying to organise as much as possible for Christmas... our next few weekends are tied up, so I have been feeling a bit stressed. My mental 'to do' list gets longer and longer. The cure is work: and lots of it. So I worked super-hard on Saturday. As well as freezing some cute puffs (below) I managed to make a huge pan of soup for the week and even wrote for a couple of hours and cleaned the house. (I was on my own - husband was called in to the hospital - and I am always more efficient when it's just me!)

Then - after a trip to the farm shop on Sunday - I even got our Christmas cake baked and stored. I used Nigella's Chocolate Fruit Cake recipe, which turned out really beautifully - rich and full of that gorgeous Christmas-baking scent. I am going to try making a delicately vanilla-flavoured marzipan to go on top, and if I find time to order metallic gold lustre... all will be perfect!

It has made me feel a bit too smug and complacent this morning, though. I am trying to kick-start the day but I still have this all-wrapped-up feeling. And I have soooo much left to do, and everything is soooooo not all-wrapped-up. Not in the slightest.

We did have a yummy butternut squash and spinach tart on Saturday, which I might write up, but, I mainly wanted to post this really lovely soup recipe. Will be eating it with seedy brown bread later tonight. It's not very strongly flavoured, but quite simple and warming. Also a great source of protein and see-in-the-dark vitamins!

SPICY CARROT AND RED LENTIL SOUP

400g carrots, washed and chopped
2 onions, chopped
4oz (4 heaped tbsp) red lentils
1tbsp curry paste (from a jar)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1" ginger, chopped, if available
1-2 pints Marigold vegetable stock

Gently soften the onions, ginger and garlic in the curry paste, with a lid on, in a large casserole. After about 5 minutes add the carrots, without stirring, and replace the lid. Leave to sweat for another 10 minutes, then stir well. Finally tip in the lentils (no need to rinse) and stock, season gently, and replace the lid (leaving a gap). Simmer for at least 20 minutes, then put the lid on properly and leave to cool slowly in the pan. When you're ready, blend thoroughly, and serve with a sprinkle of chopped coriander - or toasted almonds - and warm bread.

WHITE BEAN SOUP WITH TRUFFLE OIL

On a recent visit to London to see my lovely brother and his lovely wife, we had lunch at Carluccio's on Putney riverfront. After platters of olives, peppers, Italian-style greens and aubergine caponata, we were distracted by the shop. Okay... it was me. I was distracted by the shop. I managed to avoid the temptations of the fresh and bakery counter, since we still had to travel home. But the array of cupboard goodies was too much to resist... and I picked up a few things that I knew I'd seen in recipes somewhere... or that I knew I could make something delicious from... so, rose-scented chocolate... Italian Limoncello... and white truffle oil. Well, a few months later, we happened to be served a white bean and truffle soup in a local restaurant. It was one of those mini-courses, you know, they arrive between starter and mains, and they're almost always way too small and leave you wishing you'd ordered a whole dish and nothing else. (Actually, this day, our mains were even better than the tiny espresso-cup of white soup, so we left happy.)

So I finally had an excuse to pop open the truffle oil. I licked a bit that dribbled out as I poured, and it knocked my socks off. This is one of those ingredients that just takes over any dish, I think. It's a luscious flavour of mushroomy, earthy, garlicky, richness, for simple dishes, and you only need a drop - maybe a tablespoon for a four-person soup (in proper bowls). I added a bit at the beginning but all it needed was a splash at the end. Now I'm off to hunt for more truffle recipes to try out,... I have my eye on a brie and truffle tarlet...

WHITE BEAN AND TRUFFLE SOUP
1 slender leek, finely sliced (discard the green)
1tbsp butter
3 cups cooked butter beans, shelled
1-2 cups Marigold vegetable stock
1 bay leaf
Seasoning
1tbsp white truffle oil
Snipped chives, to garnish

Soften the leek in the butter ever so gently, with a lid on, for at least ten minutes. Stir in the butter beans to coat and turn up the heat, then add the stock and bay leaf, and bring to a gentle simmer. Simmer for 15 minutes, then cool. Season generously before liquidising, making sure the soup is nice and smooth (and not too thick) before adding the truffle oil and whizzing briefly to combine. Serve topped with the chives and if you like, hand around the oil to drizzle.

Baked Butter Beans in Two Sauces

2 cups dried butter beans, soaked overnight

1 onion, finely chopped
1/2 head celery, finely chopped
1 head fennel, finely chopped
4 medium tomatoes, chopped
1tbsp sundried tomato puree
1 cup vegetable stock
1 slice brown bread, grated into breadcrumbs
2tbsp finely-grated parmesan

1tsp cornflour
1/2 pint milk
1/2 tsp wholegrain mustard
1tbsp parsley, finely chopped
Salt and pepper

Bring the butter beans to the boil, and skim off froth. Reduce heat and simmer for an hour or more, until tender. Drain and refresh, then set to one side.

For the fennel and tomato sauce: Saute all the chopped vegetables in a large casserole over a low heat. Add tomatoes and turn up the heat; when it starts to sizzle, stir for a couple of minutes, then tip in the stock and puree. Transfer to an oven at 140 deg C for an hour. Remove and cool.

For the parsley and mustard sauce: Warm the milk in a pan, and add a paste made from cornflour and a splash of milk. Stir it in and continue stirring until the milk thickens. Remove from the heat, add mustard and, after it's cooled, stir in the very finely-chopped parsley.

To assemble: use two shallow baking dishes. Put half the beans in each; top one with the parsley sauce and the other with the tomato sauce, stirring well. Cover the tomato dish (and the parsley, if you like) with breadcrumbs and parmesan. Bake both at 140 deg C for 20-30 minutes, cool 5 minutes, and serve (with veggie kievs, potato dauphinoise, or baked ham).

SPICY RED PEPPER HUMMUS

The super-sweet red pepper brings something special to hummus, with a throaty kick at the very end. Serve it with raw carrot and toasted pitta, cut into strips. Or you could serve a big dollop with a plate of roasted vegetables - squash, aubergine, tomato - as a simple dinner.

1 can chickpeas, drained (equivalent to 200g cooked chickpeas)
2 heaped dessertspoons Tahini (sesame seed paste, from supermarket)

Juice of 1 small lemon

3 cloves garlic, peeled

3 "Peppadew" peppers (from a jar)

2tbsp olive oil

1tsp salt

1tsp pepper

Using a food processor, blend the lemon juice, tahini and garlic with a few of the chickpeas, ensuring the garlic is finely pureed before continuing. Add the olive oil and most of the chickpeas, and blend to a smooth puree. Now add the seasoning, and the rest of the chickpeas, and the peppers, and pulse-chop until you get a textured hummus. Taste to see if it needs more lemon juice or seasoning. If it's too thick, add extra olive oil or a bit of warm water, and pulse to combine.

Homemade beansprout slaw

For serving with those veggie beanburgers, in homemade floury baps, to show those carnivores what they're missing... and being far, far healthier too. We ate this with guests on the weekend and they thoroughly enjoyed it. Beansprouts are small and inoffensive - a really great way to add vitamins and protein to any vegetarian meal. Add them to sandwiches, stir-fries, salads, even hummus.

1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp mustard powder
2 egg yolks
8-10floz olive oil
1-2 tsp white wine vinegar
1 carrot
1 box beansprouts

In a pestle and mortar, crush the salt and mustard powder until yellow and refined. Beat in the egg yolks. You might want to transfer to a larger bowl now. Using an electronic whisk or a wooden spoon (harder work, more reward), beat the eggs again. Add a drop of oil and beat. It's very boring but you have to be patient and add a couple of drops at a time, beating thoroughly. (I don't know why.)

After your hand starts to feel like it will never move again, the mixture will be a bit thicker, and now - hurray! - you can speed up a bit, and tip in a bit more oil. I get bored and start pushing my luck, rashly tipping in oil (it doesn't curdle quite as easily as others may have you believe). You can add 1tsp vinegar now, too. At the 8floz mark, or even sooner, when it starts to look like mayonnaise - thicker than helmann's - you should taste and add more vinegar if you like. Probably no need to add 10floz oil. To thin it out a little, add a small splash of water, and beat it all together again. Put it into a clean jar and it will keep for a week.

For my super-slaw, grate one large carrot into a bowl, and fill with beansprouts. Add mayonnaise - a little more than you first think - until the slaw will drop off a spoon.

SPICY BEANBURGERS

I am quite happy to admit that when it comes to burgers, vegetarians are left on the sidelines, chewing a bit of cardboard. There's not a bean in the world that could tempt a carnivore to pick up a beanburger at a barbeque. Apart from the texture, it's very difficult to get a good, intense flavour that can stand up to barbequing, followed by the onslaught of floury baps and puddles of ketchup. Most veggie-burgers sort of morph into a vaguely vegetably slodge, if they haven't already collapsed over the barbeque grill. Shop-bought burgers are fine, although they're basically chopped vegetables in breadcrumbs, and don't you know it when you bite into that bun. How are we supposed to compete with a generous beef-burger, oozing its own fatty juices, that actually gains in flavour sitting on the barbie?

And don't give me vegetable kebabs or pretend-meat burgers. I want good, honest flavour, and lots of it. So, although I know nobody wants it, here's my best beanburger recipe. I've done a pretty good job of selling myself out. But if you're a vegetarian, and you fancy slapping some homemade burgers on the barbeque next time you're entertaining al fresco, perhaps you'll enjoy these. Add as much seasoning as you like, and pile the bap high with extra goodies.

SPICY BEANBURGERS
(makes 6)

1 red pepper, finely chopped
1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped
1tbsp sunflower oil

Saute the vegetables in the oil until soft, then add:

¾ cup red lentils
1 cup vegetable stock

Simmer for 10 minutes, on a very low heat, lid on.

In a bowl combine:
1 cup cooked/tinned kidney beans
1slice bread, chopped finely into breadcrumbs
1 beaten egg
1tsp paprika
1tsp chilli powder or Tabasco
1-2 tsp soy sauce
2 heaped tsp tomato puree

Add the mushy lentil mixture and then put into the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Flour your hands generously and shape into burgers (it will be sticky but firm).

Fry in a little oil, sear on a hot-plate, or bake in a medium oven for 25 minutes (they will be drier if you bake them).

Serve with different toppings – be imaginative, and pack in extra flavour. Try home-made mayonnaise, onion rings, rocket, and beansprouts!

Chickaleekie soup

People should eat more pulses, I think! They're so cheap (especially if you buy dried ones) and nutritious, a good source of protein and vitamins, not to mention fat-free.

They are though, I think, still avoided by people - they're not trendy, TV cooks don't use them often, and they're associated with old-fashioned farmhouse cookery even now. But they're so yummy and easy to use. Start with easy beans like chickpeas (delicious stir-fried with green beans, tomato, cumin, coriander and garlic - or blended with tahini to make hummus) and haricot beans (brilliant in a cassoulet in the oven - just add chopped vegetables, tomatoes, red wine, rosemary and bay leaves. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs and cheese in the last ten minutes for a crusty topping). Kidney beans make a fantastic chilli pasta bake: combine with a jar of salsa, a mug of good stock, a chopped pepper, and a couple of handfuls dried pasta - bake in an oven topped with 1 carton creme fraiche, 2 eggs and 1 handful cheddar (whisked together). I could go on, but I won't.

No potatoes in the house, and some leeks to use up, plus I have a tummy bug and want something good and easily digestible. So, on this midsummer day, I have a pot of soup simmering. Chickpeas make a good potato substitute here - higher in protein and lower in hip-unfriendly carbohydrate. If I had the bread I'd add some crunchy brown croutons to this soup at the end - and, maybe, just a sprinkling of freshly grated parmesan.

Italians have a lot of recipes for pulse-based soups; thick and stewy, with green vegetables and a final dousing of olive oil. The River Cafe and Jamie Oliver have recipes for this type of soup, which sometimes also has small pasta shapes in it. This is my version.

2 leeks, washed and chopped roughly
1tsp (generous) butter
1 tin chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1tsp Marigold Veg Bouillon
2 bay leaves
Salt and pepper

Soften the leeks in the butter until transparent (not brown). Add the chickpeas, bouillon, and bay leaves; cover with hot water and simmer 20 mins. Puree in a blender - cover your ears and leave it running for as long as you can bear! Return to the pan, season to taste, and serve hot from a mug.

CANNELLINI CASSOULET
with leek and butternut squash

The traditional French cassoulet contains pork or sausages, combined with white haricot beans and baked for a long time in the oven. It's easy to adapt this recipe - a splash of red wine, some tomatoes and vegetables, cannellini instead of Haricot - and it always tastes fantastic. Eat with traditional French bread (what else?!). Dried cannellini, by the way, are really easy to cook - as long as you remember to soak them overnight - they take just 40 minutes boiling with a tsp of bicarb. (You can still use them if you forgot to soak: put them into cold water and bring to the boil, then take off the heat and leave for a few hours before cooking.)

1 leek, finely shredded
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
250g slice butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and chopped
200g cooked cannellini beans (100g dried)
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1tsp dried sage
1tsp red wine vinegar
1tbsp sundried tomato puree
0.5tsp brown sugar
1 slice old white bread, chopped into breadcrumbs
1tbsp parmesan

Preheat the oven to about 14o deg C.

Saute the leek and squash in 1tbsp olive oil, warmed in a large casserole dish. Add the garlic and stir for a minute before adding the beans, tomatoes, sage, vinegar, puree and sugar. Stir everything together, cover, and bring slowly to a simmer. Add the cooked cannellini beans, and put into the oven for 40 minutes.

Remove from the oven, take off the lid, stir, and add a splash more water if necessary (you want a thick stew here). Sprinkle the breadcrumbs and then the parmesan over the top and return to the oven for 20 minutes. Stand for 10 minutes before dishing up - and serve with crusty bread.