Native Food Store

Ingredients
200 g dried sour cherries
3 tablespoons kirsch
100 g unsalted butter
500 g plain flour , plus extra for dusting
225 ml milk
2 sachets dried yeast
50 g caster sugar
1 large free-range egg
150 g mixed peel
50 g whole almonds
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
300 g marzipan or almond paste
100 g icing sugar
1 clementine

Method
A few hours ahead, or even a day ahead, soak the cherries in kirsch.
Melt the butter. Sift the flour into a bowl. Heat the milk to lukewarm, pour into a jug and stir in the yeast, sugar and a pinch of sea salt. Leave for 5 minutes, then stir in the butter and beat in the egg. Pour into the flour and mix till smooth and shiny. Turn onto a floured surface and make a hollow in the centre.
Drain away any excess booze from the cherries before adding them. Chop and add the mixed peel and almonds, followed by the cinnamon. Knead well. After about 5 minutes the dough should be elastic, but not sticky.
Flour the bowl and put the dough back. Cover with a cloth and leave for 1 to 2 hours, till doubled in size.
Empty the dough onto a floured surface and briefly knead; roll into a 36cm x 26cm rectangle. Roll the marzipan out to be the same length and place along the middle. Fold the dough over, encasing the marzipan, and place on a tray. Leave to rise until doubled.
Preheat the oven to 190ºC/gas 5.
Bake the stollen for 45 minutes, till golden. Leave to cool on the tray for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. Sieve the icing sugar into a bowl, add the clementine zest and juice to make a thick icing. Drizzle over the stollen before serving.

Ingredients
20 g fresh yeast , or 2 × 7g sachets of dried yeast
20 g runny honey
500 g strong bread flour , plus extra for dusting
500 g semolina flour , plus extra for dusting (if you can’t get hold of any semolina flour, plain flour will do)
extra virgin olive oil

Method
Follow the basic recipe until Step 8, then split the dough into half or quarters.
Roll or push it out to an oval shape roughly 1.5cm thick; don’t fuss around for perfection, it’s supposed to be rough and rustic, so what a great excuse for a beginner!
Place on a baking tray liberally dusted with semolina, and spread evenly with your chosen topping (see tips).
Finally, make those characteristic holes by pushing all your fingers deep into the dough many times, which allows the flavour of the topping to pe*****te.
Leave to prove again in a warm place and after about 45 minutes it will prove to that classic 3cm high.
Bake for about 15 minutes at full whack (240°C/475°F/gas 9) until ready. As soon as the focaccia comes out of the oven, feed it with a good drizzle of your very best extra virgin olive oil and a light scattering of sea salt. You can eat the focaccia as soon as it has cooled slightly.

Ingredients
500 g sweet potatoes
1 level teaspoon cayenne pepper , plus extra for sprinkling
1 heaped teaspoon ground cumin , plus extra for sprinkling
1 level teaspoon ground cinnamon , plus extra for sprinkling
olive oil
1 onion
2 mixed-colour peppers
2 cloves of garlic
1 bunch of fresh coriander (30g)
2 fresh mixed-colour chillies
2 x 400 g tins of beans, such as kidney, chickpea, pinto, cannellini
2 x 400 g tins of quality plum tomatoes
lime or lemon juice, or vinegar , to taste

Method
Preheat the oven to 200˚C/400˚F/gas 6.
Peel and chop the sweet potatoes into bite-sized chunks, then place onto a baking tray.
Sprinkle with a pinch each of cayenne, cumin, cinnamon, sea salt and black pepper, drizzle with oil then toss to coat. Roast for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until golden and tender.
Peel and roughly chop the onion. Halve, deseed and roughly chop the peppers, then peel and finely slice the garlic.
Pick the coriander leaves, finely chopping the stalks. Deseed and finely chop the chillies.
Meanwhile, put 2 tablespoons of oil in a large pan over a medium-high heat, then add the onion, peppers and garlic, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring regularly.
Add the coriander stalks, chillies and spices, and cook for a further 5 to 10 minutes, or until softened and starting to caramelise, stirring occasionally.
Add the beans, juice and all. Tip in the tomatoes, breaking them up with the back of a spoon, then stir well.
Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and leave to tick away for 25 to 30 minutes, or until thickened and reduced – keep an eye on it, and add a splash of water to loosen, if needed.
Stir the roasted sweet potato through the chilli with most of the coriander leaves, then taste and adjust the seasoning, if needed.
Finish with a squeeze of lime or lemon juice or a swig of vinegar, to taste, then scatter over the remaining coriander. Delicious served with yoghurt or soured cream, guacamole and rice, or tortilla chips

Ingredients
250 ml vegetable oil, plus extra for greasing
4 large carrots
1 large lemon
100 g currants , or sultanas
100 g pecans
280 g plain flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground cardamom
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon ground anise
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
4 tablespoons candied ginger in syrup
1 black tea bag
2 large free-range eggs
200 g caster sugar
200 g light brown sugar
30 g flaked coconut
BUTTERCREAM
200 g unsalted butter , (at room temperature)
200 g cream cheese
125 g icing sugar

Method
Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4. Grease and line a 20cm x 30cm traybake tin.
Peel and grate the carrots into a large bowl, then grate in the lemon zest. Mix in the currants, then roughly chop and add the pecans.
In another bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, all the spices and ½ a teaspoon of sea salt. Dice and add the ginger, then split open the tea bag, pour in the leaves, and mix well.
Whisk the eggs in a mixing jug, then mix in both sugars and the vegetable oil. Pour over the carrots, give it a good stir, then add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
Pour the batter into the pan and bake in the oven for 55 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Allow to cool in the tin for 15 minutes, then remove from the tin and invert onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Meanwhile, for the buttercream, place the butter in the bowl of a free-standing mixer and beat for about 5 minutes, or until creamy.
Add the cream cheese and beat until just combined. Next, add the icing sugar and beat again until smooth – don't overmix it, or your icing will be runny! Chill in the fridge for at least 15 minutes, then spoon over the cake and spread out evenly.
Toast the coconut in a dry frying pan over a medium heat for 3 minutes, or until lightly golden, tossing occasionally. Scatter over the iced cake, then slice up and enjoy!