Universal Food Core

Ingredients
75 g good crumbly ricotta cheese
1 lemon , zest of
1 fresh red chilli , deseeded and finely chopped, to taste
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons fresh oregano or marjoram leaves , finely chopped
1 small handful Parmesan cheese , freshly grated, plus extra for sprinkling
4 handfuls mushrooms , brushed clean
extra virgin olive oil
1 handful rocket or soft leafy herbs

Method
Preheat your oven to 220ºC/425ºF/gas 7.
Put your ricotta into a bowl with the lemon zest, chilli and a little salt and pepper. Beat together with a wooden spoon, then fold in your chopped oregano and the Parmesan.
Carefully remove the stalks from your mushrooms and discard them (or keep them for making a pasta sauce), then toss the mushroom caps in a little oil, salt and pepper.
Lay them upside down on a baking tray so that they can be filled with small amounts of your fantastic ricotta mixture.
Carefully spoon in the filling, sprinkle a little Parmesan over the top and bake in the preheated oven till golden – about 15 minutes.
Great served on a big plate, sprinkled with some dressed rocket leaves or soft leafy herbs

Ingredients
2 tablespoons shaoxing wine or dry sherry
1 tablespoon light soy sauce , plus extra to serve
1 teaspoon caster sugar
2 teaspoons cornflour
4 x 100 g higher-welfare pork shoulder steaks
2 cloves of garlic
5cm piece of ginger
1 bird's-eye chilli
5 spring onions
400 g spring green vegetables, such as asparagus, tenderstem or purple sprouting broccoli, mange tout, sugar snap peas
1 tablespoon fermented black beans
2 tablespoons groundnut oil

Method
At least 30 minutes before cooking, or even the day before, mix together the shaoxing wine or sherry, soy sauce, sugar and cornflour in a bowl. Trim and finely slice the pork, then add to the marinade and toss to coat. Cover and set aside (in the fridge if you’re marinating the meat for more than 30 minutes).
Peel and finely chop the garlic and ginger, trim and finely chop the chilli (deseed, if you prefer) and spring onions, then trim and chop the green vegetables into 4cm lengths. Rinse and drain the black beans.
Heat the oil in a wok until smoking hot. Drain the pork strips (reserve the marinade) and add to the wok. Stir-fry for 1 minute, then stir in the garlic, chilli and ginger and continue cooking for 1 more minute.
Throw in the greens, spring onions and black beans along with the reserved marinade, and continue to stir-fry over a very high heat for a few minutes, until the vegetables just begin to soften. Add a splash of water if it starts to stick.
Serve your stir-fry on a bed of steamed or sticky rice, with an extra splash of soy sauce, if you like.

Ingredients
CHIPOTLE DRESSING
2 teaspoons chipotle Tabasco sauce
2 limes
TOMATO SALAD
4 spring onions
1 bunch of fresh coriander
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
5 large mixed-colour tomatoes
50 g baby spinach
OMELETTE
6 large free-range eggs
olive oil
20 g Parmesan cheese

Method
Measure the Tabasco into a jam jar, then squeeze in the juice of 1 lime and add a good pinch of black pepper.
Put the lid securely on the jar and shake well. Cut the remaining lime into wedges, and put aside.
On a chopping board, trim and finely slice the spring onions, and pick and roughly chop the coriander leaves, then scrape into a large bowl, reserving a little coriander for later.
Add the red wine vinegar and a pinch of sea salt, then mix together well.
Roughly chop the tomatoes and spinach then add to the bowl and mix again.
Crack the eggs into a bowl or jug, add a splash of water, season lightly with salt and pepper, then whisk with a fork until well combined.
Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a 26cm non-stick frying pan over a medium heat, pour a quarter of the egg into the frying pan, swirling and tilting so that it covers the whole base of the pan.
Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the omelette is just set – when the omelette is nearly ready, finely grate and scatter over a quarter of the cheese.
Slide the omelette onto a serving plate, spoon a quarter of the salad down the middle, then roll it up.
Spoon over some of the chipotle dressing and garnish with the reserved coriander leaves, then serve immediately with lime wedges for squeezing over. Repeat with the remaining mixture, serving as and when ready.

Ingredients
10 regular or blood oranges
250 g runny honey
3 large free-range eggs
200 g ground almonds
100 g fine polenta

Method
Preheat the oven to 160ºC/325ºF/gas 3. Rub a 20cm springform cake tin with olive oil, then line the base with greaseproof paper and rub the paper with oil, too.
Squeeze the juice of 3 oranges (roughly 100ml) into a pan, add 100g of honey and simmer until thickened and reduced, then remove from the heat.
Meanwhile, in a free-standing mixer on a high speed, whisk 200ml of olive oil with the remaining 150g of honey for 2 minutes to combine.
Beat in the eggs for 2 minutes, while you finely grate and add the zest of 3 oranges.
Stop the mixer, then fold in the ground almonds, polenta, and the juice of 1 or 2 oranges (roughly 50ml).
Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until golden and cooked through. Leave to cool for 10 minutes in the tin, loosening with a palette knife before releasing – be gentle with it.
To serve, quickly peel and slice the remaining oranges and dish up alongside the cake, drizzling the pretty syrup over everything before tucking in.