This is one of my favourite dinners to make during colder months of the year, it’s so warming and hearty and works perfectly for a simple, quick meal. plus it makes getting your five-a-day so much easier as it’s filled with courgette, aubergine, tomato, onion and garlic.

ingredients
2 courgettes, cut into small pieces
1 aubergine, cut into small pieces
1 red onion, peeled and roughly chopped
3 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
x1 400g can of chickpeas, drained
x2 400g can of tinned tomatoes
2 tablespoons of tomato puree
1 tablespoon of maple syrup
pinch of chilli flakes
salt and pepper
method
preheat oven to 180c, fan setting.
place all of the vegetables in a baking tray, along with the drained chickpeas and a good drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper.
give everything a really good mix, before placing in the oven for 35-40 minutes.
while the vegetables are cooking, place the tinned tomatoes, tomato puree, maple syrup, chilli flakes and another pinch of salt and pepper in a pan over a medium heat.
bring to the boil, before reducing the temperature and leaving to simmer for 10-15 minutes.
once the vegetables and chickpeas are cooked, remove them from the oven and stir through the tomato mixture.

Roasted Butternut Squash
1 small-to-medium (2 to 2 ½ pounds) butternut squash, cut into ¾-inch cubes
1 ½ tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
Ginger Dressing
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper for easy clean-up, if desired.
Cook the wild rice: Bring a large pot of water to boil (or see Instant Pot option provided in notes). Add the rinsed rice and continue cooking, reducing heat as necessary to maintain a lively simmer, for 40 minutes to 55 minutes. It’s done when the rice is pleasantly tender but still offers a light resistance to the bite. Remove from heat, drain the rice and return the rice to the pot.
Meanwhile, roast the butternut: Place the cubed butternut squash on your rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle it with the olive oil and sprinkle with the salt. Toss until the cubes are lightly and evenly coated in oil. Arrange them in a single layer and roast for 35 to 50 minutes, tossing after 20 minutes, until they are starting to turn golden on the edges and tender when pierced through with a fork.
While the wild rice and butternut cook, prepare all of the remaining components. Chop the kale and green onion, remove the arils from the pomegranate, and whisk together all of the dressing ingredients in a small bowl.

Buy a ham: Hams come fully cooked at the store making this the simplest meat dish you’ll ever prepare. Get a bone-in spiral cut ham, more on that below.
Let the ham temper: Take your ham out of the fridge and let it come to room temp for 2-3 hours, which will help your ham heat through evenly without drying it out.
Make a glaze: combine all the glaze ingredients together in a saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer.
Prep your pan: add 1 cup of water and a rack to a roasting pan. The water will steam the ham, making it nice and juicy.
Bake the ham: Place the ham cut side down and bake in a low oven, glazing every 20 minutes, until the ham is warmed through.
Caramelize: For the last little bit, brush on extra glaze and turn the heat up to caramelize. Let rest and enjoy!
Char siu honey baked ham ingredients
If you love the sweet and smoky flavors of Chinese char siu, you’re going to love this char siu inspired ham. You’ll need: brown sugar, honey, hosin sauce, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, five spice, white pepper, garlic, ginger, and a spiral cut bone in ham. The glaze is so addictive and full of umami you’re going to want to save the extra (there will be extra) to serve alongside the ham!

Brown sugar and honey
We’re going with a combination of brown sugar and honey so the brown sugar can add dark caramel notes while the honey adds light golden notes.

To toast the pepitas, combine the pepitas, 1 teaspoon olive oil, ¼ teaspoon each salt and cinnamon in a small skillet. Stir to combine, and cook over medium heat until the pepitas are starting to turn golden on the edges and making little popping noises, about 3 to 5 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and set aside.
When the wild rice is finished cooking and still warm, stir in the kale, half of the green onions, and all of the ginger dressing. Spread the mixture over a large serving platter (or use a large serving bowl, if need be).
Arrange the butternut squash over the wild rice mixture. Crumble the goat cheese on top with a fork. Top with the pomegranate arils, toasted pepitas, and the remaining green onions. Serve.
This salad is good warm or at room temperature. It will keep well in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Gently reheat leftover servings in the microwave, if desired.

Roasted Butternut Squash
1 small-to-medium (2 to 2 ½ pounds) butternut squash, cut into ¾-inch cubes
1 ½ tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
Ginger Dressing
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper for easy clean-up, if desired.
Cook the wild rice: Bring a large pot of water to boil (or see Instant Pot option provided in notes). Add the rinsed rice and continue cooking, reducing heat as necessary to maintain a lively simmer, for 40 minutes to 55 minutes. It’s done when the rice is pleasantly tender but still offers a light resistance to the bite. Remove from heat, drain the rice and return the rice to the pot.
Meanwhile, roast the butternut: Place the cubed butternut squash on your rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle it with the olive oil and sprinkle with the salt. Toss until the cubes are lightly and evenly coated in oil. Arrange them in a single layer and roast for 35 to 50 minutes, tossing after 20 minutes, until they are starting to turn golden on the edges and tender when pierced through with a fork.

While the vegetables roast, cook the pearl barley according to the instructions on the pack. once cooked, drain and spoon into a large mixing bowl.
Once the butternut squash and cauliflower have cooked, spoon them into the bowl with the pearl barley. add the chopped parsley, chopped almonds, lemon juice, pomegranate seeds, 1 tablespoon of olive oil and a pinch of salt, and mix really well.
in a small bowl, mix together all of the dressing ingredients until smooth.

Roughly chop the tomatoes and place into a large bowl. stir through the olive oil, tahini, nutritional yeast, lime juice, chopped garlic, Coriander and a large pinch of salt. cover and leave to one side for 10 minutes to allow the flavours to infuse.
Once ready to enjoy, toast the bread.

The tahini and olive oil create a creamy sauce for the tomatoes, while the garlic and lime juice add a delicious flavour.

This is one of my favourite dinners to make during colder months of the year, it’s so warming and hearty and works perfectly for a simple, quick meal. plus it makes getting your five-a-day so much easier as it’s filled with courgette, aubergine, tomato, onion and garlic.

ingredients
2 courgettes, cut into small pieces
1 aubergine, cut into small pieces
1 red onion, peeled and roughly chopped
3 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
x1 400g can of chickpeas, drained
x2 400g can of tinned tomatoes
2 tablespoons of tomato puree
1 tablespoon of maple syrup
pinch of chilli flakes
salt and pepper
method
Preheat oven to 180c, fan setting.
Place all of the vegetables in a baking tray, along with the drained chickpeas and a good drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper.
Give everything a really good mix, before placing in the oven for 35-40 minutes.
while the vegetables are cooking, place the tinned tomatoes, tomato puree, maple syrup, chilli flakes and another pinch of salt and pepper in a pan over a medium heat.
Bring to the boil, before reducing the temperature and leaving to simmer for 10-15 minutes.
Once the vegetables and chickpeas are cooked, remove them from the oven and stir through the tomato mixture.

To toast the pepitas, combine the pepitas, 1 teaspoon olive oil, ¼ teaspoon each salt and cinnamon in a small skillet. Stir to combine, and cook over medium heat until the pepitas are starting to turn golden on the edges and making little popping noises, about 3 to 5 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and set aside.
When the wild rice is finished cooking and still warm, stir in the kale, half of the green onions, and all of the ginger dressing. Spread the mixture over a large serving platter (or use a large serving bowl, if need be).
Arrange the butternut squash over the wild rice mixture. Crumble the goat cheese on top with a fork. Top with the pomegranate arils, toasted pepitas, and the remaining green onions. Serve.
This salad is good warm or at room temperature. It will keep well in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Gently reheat leftover servings in the microwave, if desired.
WILD RICE NOTE: You’ll see a wild rice blend in my photos, but after further testing I recommend using regular wild rice instead. If you would like to go ahead and use wild rice blend anyway, cook it according to the package directions.

MAKE IT QUICK: Instead of preparing the butternut squash and pomegranate yourself, buy pre-cut options instead. Use two 12-ounce bags of pre-sliced butternut and 1 cup pomegranate arils. Or, use dried cranberries instead of pomegranate. You can cook the wild rice more quickly if you have an Instant Pot (see below).

INSTANT POT OPTION: Add the wild rice and 2 ½ cups water to the Instant Pot. Secure the lid and move the steam release valve to Sealing. Select the Manual/Pressure Cook option and cook on high pressure for 22 minutes. When the cooking cycle is complete, let the pressure naturally release for 10 minutes, then move the steam release valve to Venting to release any remaining pressure. When the floating valve drops, remove the lid and give the rice a stir. Remove the pot from the heat, and stir in the ginger dressing, kale, and half of the green onion while the rice is still warm.

CHANGE IT UP: Substitute sweet potato for the butternut, or 1 to 2 cloves garlic for the ginger. Any whole grain will work in place of the wild rice—farro would be good, or maybe quinoa. If you don’t like goat cheese, try feta. Don’t love kale? Omit it altogether or substitute a few handfuls of arugula instead. Love kale? I think you could use the full bunch, no problem. Instead of pepitas, you could use pistachios or pecans (toasted then chopped).

MAKE IT DAIRY FREE/VEGAN: Simply omit the goat cheese (or serve it on the side if accommodating guests with different dietary restrictions/preferences). You might like to serve individual servings with a dollop of vegan sour cream to make up for goat cheese’s creamy, tangy qualities.

This is one of my favourite dinners to make during colder months of the year, it’s so warming and hearty and works perfectly for a simple, quick meal. plus it makes getting your five-a-day so much easier as it’s filled with courgette, aubergine, tomato, onion and garlic.

ingredients
2 courgettes, cut into small pieces
1 aubergine, cut into small pieces
1 red onion, peeled and roughly chopped
3 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
x1 400g can of chickpeas, drained
x2 400g can of tinned tomatoes
2 tablespoons of tomato puree
1 tablespoon of maple syrup
pinch of chilli flakes
salt and pepper
method
preheat oven to 180c, fan setting.
place all of the vegetables in a baking tray, along with the drained chickpeas and a good drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper.
give everything a really good mix, before placing in the oven for 35-40 minutes.
while the vegetables are cooking, place the tinned tomatoes, tomato puree, maple syrup, chilli flakes and another pinch of salt and pepper in a pan over a medium heat.
bring to the boil, before reducing the temperature and leaving to simmer for 10-15 minutes.
once the vegetables and chickpeas are cooked, remove them from the oven and stir through the tomato mixture.

Buy a ham: Hams come fully cooked at the store making this the simplest meat dish you’ll ever prepare. Get a bone-in spiral cut ham, more on that below.
Let the ham temper: Take your ham out of the fridge and let it come to room temp for 2-3 hours, which will help your ham heat through evenly without drying it out.
Make a glaze: combine all the glaze ingredients together in a saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer.
Prep your pan: add 1 cup of water and a rack to a roasting pan. The water will steam the ham, making it nice and juicy.
Bake the ham: Place the ham cut side down and bake in a low oven, glazing every 20 minutes, until the ham is warmed through.
Caramelize: For the last little bit, brush on extra glaze and turn the heat up to caramelize. Let rest and enjoy!
Char siu honey baked ham ingredients
If you love the sweet and smoky flavors of Chinese char siu, you’re going to love this char siu inspired ham. You’ll need: brown sugar, honey, hosin sauce, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, five spice, white pepper, garlic, ginger, and a spiral cut bone in ham. The glaze is so addictive and full of umami you’re going to want to save the extra (there will be extra) to serve alongside the ham!

Brown sugar and honey
We’re going with a combination of brown sugar and honey so the brown sugar can add dark caramel notes while the honey adds light golden notes.