Warm eggplant and kumara salad - Vegan, DF and GF

This has an interesting North African flavour profile - lime, sumac, ginger, chilli, stacks of fresh herbs. The various steps are well sequenced so nothing's a rush or complicated, and the whole thing  will take about half to three quarters of an hour. Colourful also!

Beetroot with lentils and walnut - Vegan, DF and GF

The beetroot and red onion wedges took a lot less time to roast than stipulated in the recipe, which took me by surprise a bit...This is a simple and effective combo of flavours, textures and colours. You could team it with good bread or some potato variant. The honey, grainy mustard and red wine vinegar dressing is just right to sharpen up the sweetness of the roasted beetroot and onion...

Prassinopita - Vegan, DF 

I don't have enough experience with GF flour and bread-making to know how well this would work with GF flour - you may know better than i, and i am happy to hear! The bread case is wrapped around a mix of leafy greens and green herbs - broccoli, leek, spinach, parsley, spring onion - with lemon and fennel adding flavour hits. Drizzle melted honey over the top and sprinkle with sesame seeds!

Loaded baked kumara - can be Vegan, DF and GF

One of the toppings here has yoghurt with harissa swirled through it (yum!) and it would be easy to either leave this one out, or swap the yoghurt for a non-dariy version.  Other topping are slowly caramelised red onion slices and a tahini garlic and lemon sauce, with lemon zest and fresh herbs scattered over the top: this is not just for decoration, it adds flavour and texture!

Smoked fish pie - can be DF and GF

This was a family comfort food favourite when my kids were  ...well, kids. It's very easy to make, again a leisurely stepped process that doesn't require a lot of attention. Rather than cooking the fish in milk you could use veg stock which would make this dairy free, and you could use chickpea flour to thicken the sauce making it GF. Easy. The mash uses egg and spread (butter or non-dairy). 

Slow-cooked Spanish chicken  -  DF and GF

This is not the prettiest dinner on the page, but man is it tasty! An hour and a half in the oven or all day in the slow cooker makes the chicken fall-off-the-bone tender. There's smoked paprika, tomato, garlic and lemon, chorizo, cannelini beans and flat leaf. Serve it with flatbread or rice or smashed potatoes or...