Spicy cauliflower and purple yams

head of cauliflower
chilli black bean sauce
1 big purple sweet potato
1 regular potato
watercress
pink pickled onions
blue poppy seeds

Cut the potatoes into pieces and boil until tender. Mash them together with some olive oil and salt. Cut the cauli into florets and steam until tender. Sprinkle the watercress with a bit of oil and pile some onions and toasted poppy seeds on top. Serve alongside the cauliflower, drizzled with a little chilli sauce, and the potatoes.

Baked onions

4 medium onions
brine of preserved lemon
bay leaf
fennel seeds
breadcrumbs
thyme

Cut the onions in half lengthwise and peel the skin. Place cut side up in a baking tray. Spoon a tablespoon of brine over each half and a bit of black pepper. Pour a cup of water in the bottom of the dish and cover with foil. Bake for 45 minutes. In a small saucepan, temper some fennel seeds in plenty of oil. When they brown, add the breadcrumbs, thyme and a pinch of salt. When the onions are tender, take off the foil and pile some breadcrumbs on each piece. Bake another 10 minutes.

Vegan swede soup

Half pack of kombu
1 big carrot
1 big onion
1 celery
half thumb of ginger
half pinky of fresh turmeric
white miso
half a large swede
3 handfuls of pearl barley
1 head of collards
five garlic
wine vinegar

Put the kombu into a tall saucepan and cover with cold water for an hour or two. Put it over a medium flame and bring it slowly to simmer, skimming off the foam regularly. When it simmers, switch off the heat and fish out the kombu. Cut the vegetables into big chunks. Sweat the carrot, onion, celery, ginger and turmeric first. Then add the miso paste and dashi. Add the barley and the swede and simmer for 10 minutes before adding the collards and garlic and simmering another 10 minutes or so. In a small bowl, mix together a teaspoon of corn starch and a teaspoon of cold water, then add this slurry to the soup to thicken. Season with vinegar, salt and pepper.

Cloud eggs and pancakes

130g flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
30g melted butter
150g milk
1 egg
4 more eggs
cheddar cheese
marmite

Sift the dry ingredients together. Melt the butter and mix with 1 egg and the milk. Combine the wet into the dry and stir only a few times without overbeating. Never mind the lumps. Let the batter rest an hour if possible. While the eggs are baking below, cook four pancakes and spread them thinly with marmite.

Beat four egg whites until very stiff. Add finely grated cheddar and pepper. Preheat the oven to gas 7. Spoon four mounds of meringue onto baking paper, making a well in the top of each. Bake for about 7 minutes. (Now make the pancakes.) When the meringues are showing some colour, pull them out for a moment and slip a yolk into each well. Reduce the heat to gas 5 and bake another 5 minutes. Serve on top of the pancakes, drizzled with melted butter.