Take the pressure off making dinner with these one-pot recipes

Sweet potato chilli

Ingredients:

6 sweet potatoes (250g each)

Olive oil

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 x 95g jar of chipotle chilli paste

500g fresh or frozen chopped mixed onion, carrot and celery

½ a bunch of coriander (15g)

3 x 400g tins of black beans

3 x 400g tins of quality plum tomatoes

60g feta cheese

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Put a large deep casserole pan on a medium-high heat. Peel the sweet potatoes, placing them in the pan as you go. Add one tablespoon of olive oil and fry for five minutes, turning occasionally, until starting to get golden. Push to one side, add the cumin, let it sizzle, then spoon in the jar of chipotle chilli paste and add two jars’ worth of water. Tip in the chopped mixed veg, finely chop and add the coriander stalks, reserving the leaves, then bake for one hour.

2. Remove from the oven and add the beans, juice and all, then the tomatoes, scrunching them in through clean hands, along with one tin’s worth of water. Stir well, then roast for another hour, or until the sweet potatoes are tender. Season to perfection, then – if enjoying straight away – crumble over the feta and tear over the coriander leaves, to serve. Enjoy as is, batching up extra portions to stash in the fridge or freezer for future meals.

Sweet potato chilli nachos

Reheat some chilli until piping hot, then spoon over crunchy tortilla chips and grate over a little cheddar cheese, finishing with some jarred sliced jalapeños and a couple of fresh coriander or baby mint leaves, if you’ve got them.

Sweet potato chilli quesadilla

For two, smash leftover sweet potato and grated melty cheese between two tortillas and toast on both sides in a hot frying pan until golden. Remove, then quickly reheat some chilli until piping hot. Add jalapeños, yoghurt, and fresh coriander.

Sweet potato chilli soup and avo

Slice some leftover sweet potato. Blitz some chilli in a blender, loosening with a little water if needed. Reheat both in a pan until piping hot, then serve with cubes of ripe avocado, fresh coriander leaves, yoghurt or sour cream, and toasted tortillas.

Sweet potato chilli salad bowl

Reheat some chilli until piping hot, then serve with rice and crunchy salad like shredded carrot and juicy tomatoes, dressed with lemon and fresh coriander. Finish with yoghurt or soured cream, a drizzle of hot chilli sauce and a tiny bit of feta.

Sweet potato chilli wrap

Reheat some chilli until piping hot, then spoon over a warm tortilla and add shredded little gem lettuce, fresh baby mint leaves and a little crumbling of feta. Serve with a lime wedge, for squeezing over.

Sweet potato chilli jacket

Keep it classic – reheat some chilli until piping hot, then spoon over a crispy jacket potato and serve with a dollop of yoghurt or soured cream, a tiny bit of feta and a few fresh coriander leaves, if you’ve got them.

Serves: 1

Ingredients

125g fresh lasagne sheets

2 spring onions

80g spinach

60g smoked salmon (2 slices), from sustainable sources

½ a lemon

5g parmesan cheese

Olive oil

1 tbsp cottage cheese

Optional: extra virgin olive oil

Method:

1. Boil the kettle. Cut the lasagne sheets in half lengthways, then into 2cm strips, using a crinkle-cut knife, if you’ve got one. Trim the spring onions and finely chop with the spinach and half the salmon. Finely grate the lemon zest, then the parmesan, keeping them separate. Put a 28cm frying pan on high heat.

2. Once hot, put a little drizzle of olive oil into the pan with the spring onions, spinach, chopped salmon and lemon zest. Scatter the pasta into the pan, then carefully pour in enough boiling kettle water to just cover the pasta – about 250ml. Let it bubble away for four minutes, or until the pasta has absorbed most of the water and you’ve got a nice sauce, stirring regularly and loosening with an extra splash of water, if needed. Turn the heat off, squeeze in the lemon juice, stir in the cottage cheese and parmesan, and then season to perfection. Delicately tear over the remaining salmon, and finish with a kiss of extra virgin olive oil, if you like.

Chocolate party cake

Serves: 20

Ingredients:

450g soft unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing

650g icing sugar

4 large free-range eggs

250g self-raising flour

2 tsp baking powder

75g cocoa powder

1 x 300g tin of mandarin segments in juice

150g light cream cheese

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease a 25cm by 30cmroasting tray and line it with a sheet of damp greaseproof paper. In a food processor, blitz 250g each of butter and icing sugar, then crack in the eggs, add the flour, baking powder, 50g of cocoa, and a splash of juice from the mandarin tin, and blitz again until smooth. Use a spatula to gently spoon the mixture into the tray in an even layer, and bake for 20 minutes, or until risen and an inserted skewer comes out clean. Remove from the oven, leave for five minutes, and lift out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

2. Meanwhile, make the buttercream. In the processor, blitz the remaining 200g of butter and 400g of icing sugar until pale and fluffy, then pulse in the cream cheese, loosening with a splash of mandarin juice, if needed. Drain the mandarin segments and place them on kitchen paper. On a serving board, carefully cut the cool cake through the middle to give you two large flat rectangles (I like to use a bread knife and run it under the hot tap first to help get a smooth cut). Spread a third of the buttercream over one of the cakes, dot over the mandarin segments, and sit the other cake on top. Trim the edges for a smart finish, if you like (you can call the offcuts chef’s treat!). Pulse the last 25g of cocoa into the remaining buttercream, and use it to decorate the top of the cake, making dips and peaks with the back of your spoon.