The choice is endless at this time of year with so many wonderful ingredients around...you don't need to spend hours cooking either the secret is seasonal fresh produce and you need to find a good small greengrocer too not a supermarket.

Ok so we will start with asparagus soup, you can use 'sprue' these are the first pickings and smaller than the best quality asparagus, but very tasty. It should come from the vale of Evesham /Pershore area, the best asparagus in the world is grown there.
Chop the asparagus, add to a small quantity of boiling water and cook till tender (about ten minutes).
Now liquidise/strain/add a knob of butter, lots of black pepper and a little sea salt (I also add a little Marigold organic veg stock but this may contain yeast )
Now the main course, tiny Jersey Royal potatoes scrubbed and boiled, when tender add a knob of butter/lots of black pepper and some chopped chives.
Vine tomatoes from Broadway /the Vale of Evesham, thinly sliced with lots of black pepper/a little sea salt/a drizzle of olive oil and some torn basil leaves.
With ..Grilled gammon and a watercress and orange salad (washed dried watercress with thinly sliced oranges with a french dressing)
or grilled fish maybe trout.
Pudding.
This seasons rhubarb either as a compote or crumble.
Compote .
Wash and chop the rhubarb in even slices about an inch long, add the juice and rind of an orange which takes the place of sugar as a sweetner (but you can add a ltitle soft brown cane sugar if you wish) , cover and cook slowly until tender (160 about 40 mins)
Crumble recipe on request,but the compote is healthier.

Goulash

1 1/2 (1125 g ) to 2 lb ( 900 g )of lean braising beef , cut into big chunks
2 large onions, peeled and chopped
1 red chilli, washed, deseeded and cut into tiny pieces
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
1 tablespoon of paprika
1 teaspoon of chilli powder
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon tomato purée
1 pint stock (or 1 tin chopped tomatoes + water to make up to 1 pint)
salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon of flour mixed with a little cold water (can be omitted)
some sour cream (Can be omitted)
cooking time : approx. 1 hour
braise a few pieces of meat at a time browning them on all sides, put aside
now fry the onions, garlic, chilli
add the paprika, chilli powder and mix all together
return the braised meat back into the saucepan and add the stock, bay leaf, tomato purée and salt and pepper,
times can vary depending on your cuts of meat ,
to thicken the sauce add the mixed flour towards the end and let it cook for at least 1 minute
add the sour cream just before serving
serve either with plain boiled potatoes, noodles or rice and your favourite vegetables
I sometimes add a teaspoon of caraway seeds at the start of the cooking process. Adds a special something and the aroma is beautiful


Curried Parsnip & Apple Soup

1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed or finely chopped
1 tablespoon cooking oil
1 teaspoon madras curry paste or equivalent powder (? 1 teaspoon)
2 med-large parsnips, peeled and chopped
1 apple (any) peeled, cored and quartered
1 litre vegetable stock or low salt stock cubes made up


gently soften onion and garlic in oil. Add curry paste and fry gently for about 3 minutes.
Add remainder of ingredients, bring to a simmer and cook until parsnip is cooked.
Whizz in processor or blender until completely smooth
Taste - add pepper if required


Enjoy


Spicy Carrot Soup

1 heaped tablespoon coriander seeds
olive oil
1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
900 gm (2lb) carrots, peeled and chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1.2 litre(2 pints) chicken or vegetable stock
pepper (salt if required)
4 tablespoons natural yoghurt or soya yog or omit
2 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander (cilantro)

Lightly toast the coriander seeds in a small pan over a low heat, until the spicy aroma starts to be given off, then crush them in a pestle & mortar or grind in a spice grinder
Heat a dash of olive oil in a large pan and add the onion and cook until soft and slightly golden. Add the carrots, celery, garlic and crushed coriander seeds. Stir well and cook gently for about 10 minutes, until the carrots start to soften
Add the stock, season, bring to the boil and simmer for 15 - 20 minutes until the vegetables are tender. Allow to cool a little and the liquidise
Return to a gentle heat and ensure it is nice and warm before adding the yoghurt and chopped coriander.
serve
enjoy!


Spicy Peanut Soup

Ingredients

2 cups chopped onions
1 tablespoon peanut or vegetable oil
half teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon grated fresh peeled root ginger
1 cup chopped carrot
2 cups chopped sweet potato (or up to 1 cup of ordinary potato)
4 cups veg stock (water at a pinch)
2 cups tomato juice (or tomato paste + water)
1 cup smooth peanut butter
1 cup chopped spring onion (scallion US)
Saute the onions in oil until just translucent.
Stir in the cayenne and ginger.
Add the carrots and saute a couple more minutes.
Mix in the potatoes and stock.
Bring the soup to a boil and then simmer for about 15 minutes until the vegetables are tender.
In a blender or food processor, puree the vegetables with the cooking liquid and the tomato juice.
Return the puree to the saucepan.
Stir in the peanut butter until smooth.
Taste the soup. Its sweetness will depend on the sweetness of the carrots and sweet potatoes. If it is not naturally sweet, add just a little sugar to enhance the other flavours.
Reheat the soup gently, using a heat diffuser if needed to prevent scorching.
Add more water, stock, or tomato juice for a thinner soup.
Serve topped with plenty of chopped spring onions (or chives)
Serves 6-8


Brisket of Beef with Brown Ale

Serves: 4-6
Time to cook: Approximately 2 hours +
optional overnight marinating
Oven temperature:Gas mark 4-5, 180ºC, 350ºF

Take.

Lean beef brisket joint
Brown Ale
Oil
Shallots
Garlic
Bay leaf
Brown sugar
Worcestershire sauce
Tomato purée
Ground black pepper
Small turnips
Carrots
Gravy granules (not vital)

Make.
Place 1.5kg (3lb) lean beef brisket joint in a large bowl and pour over 450ml (¾pt) Brown Ale, cover and leave for 24 hours or overnight. (If you don’t have time to marinate the joint, just add the ale after the garlic in the paragraph below). Drain joint, reserve ale and pat dry the meat.
Heat 15ml (1tbsp) oil in a pan and fry the meat to brown all over. Transfer to a large casserole dish. Fry 8-10 shallots, peeled, and 1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed. Add the reserved marinated ale and bring to the boil. Add 1 bay leaf, 15ml (1tbsp) brown sugar, 30ml (2tbsp) Worcestershire sauce, 15ml (1tbsp) tomato purée and black pepper. Pour over the brisket. Cover and cook in oven for 45 minutes. Add 4 small turnips, peeled and quartered (left whole if small), and 2 carrots, peeled and quartered, to the casserole, baste the brisket and replace the lid. Return to oven for ¾-1 hour or until meat is tender.
Remove the brisket and vegetables from the casserole, keep the vegetables warm and transfer the meat to a carving plate, cover lightly in foil and leave to rest. Drain the juices into a saucepan and thicken with gravy granules.
Eat.

Serve with cheesy croutons (thick slices of French stick buttered and spread with wholegrain mustard piled with your favourite regional cheese, grated and placed under the grill until bubbling), gravy and a pile of steaming seasonal vegetables

Omit the gravy granules (i didn't use them anyway), the cheesy mustard croutons (they were great) and serve with a jacket potato or pasta

Azz - looks like your restrictions just lead to 'good, plain, wholesome food'. Any meat or fish with vegetables/salad. Any pasta with a myriad of sauces. Lots of casserole type food. I had a great recipe for Venison casserole (how wholesome is that - an animal that has lived naturally off the land) on Catsey but can't access it due to its age. I'll try again - it is stunning!

Edit - there you go! A bit of a 'get orgainised 2 days before you want to eat' but, once you've done all the prep it's simple and really impressive. Also freezes well. Serve with yummy mashed potatoes, a jacket or pasta

INGREDIENTS:

1?1 1/2 kg boned venison shoulder, cut into 2.5cm pieces
75g smoked streaky bacon, chopped
3 tbsp olive oil
2 medium-sized onions, sliced
2 carrots, sliced
1 stick celery
2 tbsp flour seasoned with salt and freshly ground black pepper
300ml game or beef stock
a generous bouquet garni of parsley stalks, bay leaf, thyme and mint tied with a string
225g small baby button mushrooms, left whole, or chestnut mushrooms, thickly sliced
For the Marinade:
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp redcurrant or blackcurrant jelly
75ml cider vinegar
225ml red wine
1 medium-sized onion, chopped
1 carrot, diced
1 stick celery, diced
3 juniper berries, crushed
3 allspice berries, crushed (or use a good pinch of ground allspice or mixed spice)
2 sprigs fresh thyme


PREPARATION:

1. First marinate the venison: place the venison pieces in a large glass bowl and mix in the olive oil, salt and pepper. Melt the jelly with the vinegar in a small saucepan (or in the microwave) until dissolved. Pour over the meat, then mix through the remaining marinade ingredients. Cover and place in the fridge over night or up to three days. Stir through occasionally.
2. When ready to cook, drain the meat in a colander, reserving the marinade. Discard the solids that pass through.
3. Heat the olive oil in a large flame proof casserole and fry the bacon until just brown; remove and set aside.
4. Fry the onion slices, carrot and celery until they begin to colour; remove and set aside with the bacon.
5. Now fry the venison, in batches, until brown, using a little more oil if necessary. Remove the meat to a large bowl as it is browned. Sprinkle with the seasoned flour and toss through to mix well.
6. Preheat the oven to 170C/325F/gas mark 3. Pour the reserved marinade into the casserole and bring to the boil, scraping up any brown bits on the bottom. Skim off any scum that rises to the top. Add the stock and bring back to the boil. 7. Return the meat, vegetables and bacon to the casserole and add the bouquet garni and mushrooms. Bake in the oven for 2?2? hours or until tender. Check the level of liquid and add water if necessary. This is fantastic served with mashed potatoes. It keeps well in the fridge for several days, or in the freezer.


PREP/COOK
INFORMATION:

Cook time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Serves: 6

Lamb tagine with chick peas, apricots and cous cous


INGREDIENTS:

600g stewing lamb (shoulder or neck) cut into 2.5cm chunks
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp cumin
½ tsp turmeric
freshly ground black pepper
227g can of chopped tomatoes
300ml lamb stock
salt
400g canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
75g dried apricots, roughly chopped
250g pre-cooked couscous
400ml hot vegetable stock (or 1 heaped tsp Marigold vegetable bouillon with 400ml boiling water)
small handful (about 15g) freshly chopped coriander

PREPARATION:

1. Heat the oil in a large flameproof casserole and brown the lamb in batches, removing to the side when done.

2. Fry the onion until soft (about 5 minutes) then add the garlic, cinnamon, cumin, turmeric and black pepper and fry another minute or so.

3. Add the tomatoes and stock, bring to the boil, and then return the lamb to the casserole. Season with salt, cover and simmer for 1 hour.

4. After an hour, add the chickpeas and apricots and continue to simmer gently for another hour until the meat is tender. Add a little water if the liquid has reduced – you want plenty of rich sauce. 5. Before serving, pour the hot stock over the couscous and leave to absorb. Fluff up with a fork, season with salt and pepper and stir through the chopped coriander. Serve with the stew spooned over the couscous.


PREP/COOK
INFORMATION:

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 2 hours 20 minutes
Serves: 4

Ready for more?

Easy pasta suppers - all ready, from first picking up a pan to putting your meal on the table, in 15 minutes

Mushroom & garlic )(for 2)

Spaghetti
3 or 4 largish flat mushrooms
3 cloves of garlic
handful of chopped parsley
3 table spoons olive oil
black pepper

Put the spaghetti in boiling water & cook for 10 - 12 minutes
Meanwhile, warm the olive oil, chop the garlic, add to the oil and cook gently. Whilst it is cooking wipe and chop the mushrooms finely. Add to the garlic/oil mixture. Season with pepper. Cook for about 8 - 10 minutes.
Drain the cooked spaghetti, throw it in the pan with the mushrooms and mix it through
Put onto warmed plates and throw parsely over the top.

Carbonara (for 2)

Spaghetti or linguine
2 rashers streaky bacon
1 beaten egg
single cream or soya cream (optional)
black pepper
small drop vegetable oil

Put the spaghetti on to cook
Snip the bacon into small pieces and fry in a little veg. oil. Keep warm till the spaghetti is cooked.
Drain the spaghetti and tip the pan upside down so all the water drains out/evaporates
Put the spaghetti back in the pan and quickly throw in the bacon and the beaten egg/cream. Mix it through, so that the egg 'scrambles' lightly. Season with black pepper and serve.

Arrabatia (for 2)

Penne
Half tin chopped tomatoes
Small onion, chopped
Tablespoon tomato paste
Chilli flakes (amount depends on how hot you like it)
Table spoon veg oil
Black pepper

Put pasta on to cook
Soften onion in oil, add tomaotoes, chilli flakes pepper and cook for 10 minutes/
Drain pasta, add to tomato mixture and mix through
Serve

Cold smoked salmon and green lentils (for 2)
Here you are - 'my dinner party in 10 minutes' dish. It's so easy and so delicious.

2 fillets cold smoked salmon (not 'smoked salmon' you'd have as a starter, but thick fillets of cold smoked (and therefore uncooked) salmon. I get it at Tesco, which is my local supermarket. Either loose at the fish counter, about £1.30 each, or pre-packed as 'Finest'
Tin of green lentils
3 blocks or frozen spinach
little veg oil
black pepper
nutmeg

Pan fry the salmon on all sides in a little veg oil (gently, takes about ten minutes)
Whilst they're cooking, defrost and microwave the spinach, according to the directions on the pack
Open the lentils and heat through in a pan.
When the salmon is cooked, drain the lentils and put an elongated heap in the centre of your plates.
Put the cooked spinach on top and sprinkle with black pepper and freshly ground nutmeg (I'd put a small knob of buter too, but you needn't)
Put the salmon on top.
Voila - a bistro meal in minutes. It's fabulous - smooth, creamy, smokey fish and deep earthy spinach and lentils. I think I made it up myself - don't remember ever seeing a recipe.
Have a 3 course dinner party by serving fresh veggie sticks (carrot/celery/pepper/fennel) with a garlicky mayo to start and fresh raspberries and cream/soya cream/ice cream/soya ice cream with some nice crispy biscuits.
How easy is that?

Bon appetit!

Thanks DM!

Thanks Azz.
Just looked at a can of lentils and see there is yeast extract in the 'veg stock' they are canned in. So, a tiny bit more work and a little more time required. Starting from scratch the lentils take 45 minutes.
Put dried lentils, cold water quarter of an onion in one piece, quarter of an onion chopped, pinch of herbs, lots of black pepper and a clove of garlic in a pan, bring to the boil, boil rapidly for 10 minutes, turn down to a simmer and cook for another 30 minutes. Add a pinch of salt just before the end of cooking (or they will never soften).
Start the salmon & spinach 10 minutes before the end of that 30 minutes & serve as before.

Why not simple stuff like:

Grilled chicken/fish with salad - all or any of; spinach, herbs, lettuce, raw carrot, raw pepper, raw mushroom, tomato, cucumber, olives, onion, cooked asparagus and lemon juice dressing. Olive oil if you fancy it. Can add sweet potato or 'normal' potato. Or rice.


Or stir-frys? Combinations of chicken or even fish with cooked onion, garlic, pepper, assorted veggies, rice, tomato puree, chopped tomatoes, sweetcorn.