Roast Butternut Squash, Brussel Sprouts, and Goats Cheese Gallete

This was the first free-form pie I ever made and I have to say I am totally sold. They are easy to make, very tasty, and best of all, adaptable i.e. a good use of whatever  veg and cheese you have leftover. This can take a while to make, but you can always cut down time by making the pastry beforehand and storing in the fridge until needed, or using ready made pastry.

Balsamic Caramelised Leek and Onion Quiche

Summer is here and that means quiche season in my house! This is a very straightforward caramelised onion  and leek quiche. A trick a friend once showed me for pastry is to line the bottom with polenta (cornmeal), as this really improves the crust. It's not critical, however, so if you want to omit it that's fine. This is lovely hot or cold, though I generally prefer quiche when it has been cooled.

Caramelised Red Onion Chutney

This was my first attempt at chutney and was very pleased with how it turned out since I was playing it by ear a bit with the ingredients. It's a very simple chutney, but the addition of treacle adds a subtle flavour which really complements the dark brown sugar; however you could omit it if you don't have any in your store cupboard. I ate this chutney with a range of cheeses such as mature cheddar, goats cheese, and Camembert and it went well with all of them.

Quinoa with Roasted Butternut Squash, Leeks and Feta

I've never cooked with quinoa before, so I was feeling a bit apprehensive about making this dish. I needn't have worried though as it tasted delicious. The addition of the feta cheese was very nice but if you wanted to make this dish a bit healthier you could omit it with no problems whatsoever.

Red Onion, Feta and Olive Tart

This recipe comes from one of my random vegetarian recipe books and is a firm favourite in my house. Apart from the caramelizing of the onions, the rest of the tart requires virtually no prep whatsoever (especially as I usually use pre-rolled puff pastry). Green or black olives will do just as well in this recipe, so use whatever you prefer/can get your hands on. It's also great cold for lunch the next day.

Mediterranean Vegetable Rice with Cannellini (white kidney) beans

One of mine and Pete's favourite dishes to make is something we call 'blue cheese rice thing' (as in 'what should we have. I've been meaning to blog it for a while, but never got round to it, and now I'm pregnant (32 weeks!) blue cheese has been off the menu for the last seven months. Which makes me very sad, and as soon as I've had the baby (sometime in November) I plan to practically eat my own weight in blue cheese, so expect a lot of recipes containing it then!

Moving on to this recipe, it has a similar base (rice + cannellini beans) but no cheese. It was one of my 'I'll just throw some ingredients together and see how it turns out' recipe. Thankfully, it worked really well. The olives are entirely optional but do really add to the dish, so I'd recommend keeping them in, unless you dislike them, in which case go ahead and omit them. I've found in the past that dill can be a really over powering flavour, so if you want to omit it (or don't have it in your store cupboard) then go ahead; I added only half a teaspoon to add to the flavour of the dish without being too dominant.

The dish is sort of like a risotto but using basmati rice instead of risotto rice because risotto rice is a) expensive and b) a bit too much effort. I cook this using the 'reduction method' of rice cooking which basically means adding twice as much liquid as rice (in volume), putting a lid on the pan and leaving it to cook.

Feta Cheese Summer Frittata

This is my first attempt at making a frittata, and it turned out really well. I used feta cheese in this, but any cheese you fancy will do; goats cheese would also work well, I think.

For best results, you want to use a dish which can be used on the hob as well as in the oven (such as a cast iron ceramic dish), and I've written the instructions with this in mind. Don't panic if you don't though, as I actually didn't have one to hand when I cooked this, so I fried everything in a pan and transferred it to an oven dish. It turned out fine, but the bottom of the frittata was not as well set as I would have liked.

Red Onion, Tomato, Pesto and Mozzarella Tart

I tend to think of tarts as spring/summer dishes, but recently had an urge to make a puff pastry dish. This is a pretty straightforward tart to make and tastes great hot or cold; I was lazy and bought pre-rolled puff pastry so all I had to do was assemble and cook. I added the mozarella after the tart had been cooked, as I really love uncooked mozeralla, but you could just add it to the top before baking if you prefer. I also used a mixture of large tomatoes and cherry tomatoes; cherry tomatoes have a nicer taste, but take a lot more time to prepare.

Roasted Halloumi and Vegetables

A pretty easy and very tasty roasted dish. I mixed this with plain cous cous to make a salad, but you could serve it hot with pasta, rice, pitta bread, wraps - basically anything you fancy. Feel free to mix up the vegetables, though I have to admit the super combo of sweet peppers, sweet potatoes and red onion really did it for me.

Sweet potato, feta and pine nut pie

This pie is one of my 'I have some odds and ends that need using up so I'll just try make something up' recipes. The filling definitely has a wow factor (for me) and all the flavours really worked well together. I'm not entirely convinced as to the pastry - as you may be able to tell from the photos, I did not make enough so the 'lid' was not entirely closed! I've estimated how much would be better and changed the amounts here. In fact, I think it would be better - instead of having a full enclosed pie - to just add the filling straight to the dish, and top with a store bought puff pastry 'lid'. This would also make things easier.

Leek, Red Onion, and Blue Cheese Pizza

This pizza topping is relatively easy to make and the blue cheese compliments the sweetness of the red onions and the sharpness of the leeks. Delicious! If you have a breadmaker with a pizza dough setting, use that to make the dough. Otherwise, just follow the instructions I've provided below. Of course, you could just use store-bought ready-made pizza bases, but they are far inferior to home made, so if you have the time (and the inclination) I'd strongly suggest making the dough yourself.

Red Onion, Thyme, and Smoked Applewood Cheddar Potato Dauphinoise

Inspiration for this dish comes from my brother Jesse, who a while back told me he'd invented a potato gratin with red onion, thyme, and smoked applewood cheddar and suggested I might want to try it out for this blog. It took me a few attempts to get this right, and what I learnt from these attempts was that the golden rules when it comes to potato dauphinoise are:

1. Slice the potato as thinly as possible (I used a boxed cheese grater).
2. Don't pre-cook the potato - you need the starch to thicken the sauce.
3. Don't try to lower the fat content of the recipe by using milk; it does not work and you end up with a far inferior dish.

After a few attempts, I was able to get this dish down to perfection; my boyfriend's comment after he'd taken his first bite: 'Yep, you've smashed it'. I think that about sums it up. A warning: this is a highly indulgent and rich dish.