Ingredients (Serves 4)

• 350 g black eyed beans, soaked overnight in cold water
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 1 tbsp clear honey
• 2 tbsp treacle (molasses)
• 4 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tsp dry mustard powder
• 4 tbsp tomato puree
• 450 ml fresh vegetable stock
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 sprig each of rosemary, thyme and sage
• 1 small orange
• 1 tbsp cornflour
• 2 medium red bell peppers, deseeded and diced
• pepper
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh flat leaf parsley, to garnish
• crusty bread, to serve

1. Preheat the oven to 150°C. Rinse the beans and place in a saucepan. Cover with water, bring to the boil and boil rapidly for 10 minutes. Drain and place in an oven proof casserole dish.
2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the onions for 5 minutes. Stir in the honey, treacle, soy sauce, mustard and tomato puree. Pour in the stock, bring to the boil and pour the mixture over the beans.
3. Tie the bay leaf, rosemary, thyme and sage together with a clean piece of string and add to the pan containing the beans. Using a vegetable peeler, pare off 3 pieces of orange rind and mix into the beans, along with plenty of pepper. Cover and bake for 1 hour.
4. Extract the juice from the orange and blend with the cornflour to form a paste. Stir into the beans along with the red bell peppers. Cover and cook for 1 hour, until the sauce is rich and thick and the beans are tender. Discard the herbs and orange rind.
5. Garnish with chopped fresh flat leaf parsley and serve with fresh crusty bread.

Few people are experienced enough in the kitchen to be able to create gourmet meals. There are some recipes however, such as the fragrant asparagus and orange risotto recipe, which are quick and easy to make and perfect to keep as a family staple.

There are very few ingredients that are needed for this dish, including asparagus spears, vegetable stock, olive oil, celery, rice, and oranges. It only takes about a half hour to prepare completely, and a great idea is to sprinkle some grated Mozzarella cheese on top of each bowl before serving.

Ingredients (Serves 4 to 6)

• 115 g fine asparagus spears, trimmed
• 1.2 liters vegetable stock
• 2 bulbs fennel
• 25 g low fat spread
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 2 sticks celery, trimmed and chopped
• 2 medium leeks, trimmed and shredded
• 350 g arborio rice
• 3 medium oranges
• salt and pepper

1. Bring a small saucepan of water to the boil and cook the asparagus for 1 minute. Drain and set aside until required.
2. Pour the stock into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to maintain a gentle simmer.
3. Meanwhile, trim the fennel, reserving the fronds, and cut into thin slices. Carefully melt the low fat spread with the oil in a large saucepan, taking care that the water in the low fat spread does not evaporate, and gently fry the fennel, celery and leeks for 3 to 4 minutes until just softened. Add the rice and cook, stirring, for a further 2 minutes until mixed.
4. Ad a ladleful of stock to the pan and cook gently, stirring, until absorbed. Continue ladling the stock into the rice until the rice becomes creamy, thick and tender. This process will take about 25 minutes and shouldn’t be hurried.
5. Finely grate the rind and extract the juice from one orange and mix in to the rice. Carefully remove the peel and pith from the remaining oranges. Holding the fruit over the saucepan, cut out the orange segments and add to the rice, along with any juice that falls.
6. Stir the orange into the rice along with the asparagus spears. Season with salt and pepper, garnish with the reserved fennel fronds and serve.

Middle Eastern food is tasty when done in the right way. It is actually one of the least loved foods in North America but a large reason for this is because few people actually know how to properly make these dishes.

One that is not only easy to prepare but delicious as well is the stuffed vegetables middle eastern Style recipe. This is a great dish to make for kids who just will not eat their vegetables because they definitely will want to when they see this meal in front of them. It uses a variety of nutritious vegetables such as tomatoes, zucchini, and bell peppers.

Ingredients (Serves 4)

• 4 large beefsteak tomatoes
• 4 medium courgettes (zucchini)
• 2 orange bell peppers
• salt and pepper
• warm pita bread and low fat hummus, to serve

Filling

• 225 g cracked wheat
• ¼ cucumber
• 1 medium red onion
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander (cilantro)
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh mint
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp cumin seeds

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Cut off the tops of the tomatoes and reserve. Scoop out the tomato pulp, chop and place in a bowl. Season the tomato shells, then turn them upside down on kitchen paper.
2. Trim the courgettes and cut a V shaped groove lengthwise down each one. Finely chop the cut out courgette flesh and add to the tomato pulp. Season the courgettes shells and set aside.
3. Halve the bell peppers. Leaving the stalks intact, cut out the seeds and discard. Season the bell pepper shells.
4. To make the filling, soak the cracked wheat according to the instructions on the packet. Finely chop the cucumber and add to the reserved tomato pulp and courgette mixture.
5. Finely chop the red onion, and add to the vegetable mixture with the lemon juice, herbs, olive oil, cumin and seasoning and mix together well.
6. Mix the wheat with the vegetables and stuff into the tomato, courgette and bell pepper shells. Place the top on the tomatoes, transfer to a roasting tin and bake for 20 to 25 minutes until cooked through. Drain and serve.