LABS Recipes

23rd April 2020 | 24 min read

LABS-recipes-LABS Recipes

Diet can have a big impact on your health and well-being during lock down so it’s important to cook dishes at home which will fill your body and mind with vital nutrients.

Our talented Executive Chef, Alistair Dibbs, has been hard at work putting together some recipes for delicious dishes which can be created at home.

Blackberry and Caramelised Pecan Cheesecake

EQUIPMENT

24cm spring loaded cheesecake tin with removable base
Parchment paper
Blender or smoothie maker

INGREDIENTS

For the base

  • 150g digestive biscuits
  • 100g roasted pecan nuts
  • 50g butter melted
  • 3g ground cinnamon

For the filling

  • 600g cream cheese
  • 400g double cream
  • 15ml lemon juice and zest of 1 lemon
  • Half a vanilla pod
  • 140g caster sugar
  • 12g gelatine
  • Blackberry Jelly
  • 300g blackberries
  • 40ml cassis
  • 20ml lemon juice
  • 60g caster sugar
  • 8g gelatine

For the Topping

  • 100g sugar
  • 50ml water
  • 50g pecans
  • 60g blackberries
  • 1 lemon

METHOD

For the base:

Preheat your oven to 170 degrees and roast the total amount of pecans (150g) for around 4 minutes to accentuate their flavour. Let them cool down and then blitz just 100g of the pecans, the cinnamon and the digestives until finely ground, then add the melted butter. Line the base of the tin with the parchment paper and place the base mix on top, pressing it firmly onto the parchment. Place it in the freezer for 20 minutes to set firmly.

Next, make the cheesecake mix.

Soak the gelatine in cold water for 5 minutes. Meanwhile semi whip 350g of the cream and set aside. Place the remaining 50g of cream along with the sugar and vanilla into a small saucepan and gently heat until it is almost boiling then remove from the heat. Next add the lemon juice to the cream cheese and whisk them together for 20 seconds or so to loosen them. Squeeze the gelatine to release the water and add it into the 50ml of hot cream and sugar, whisking it to ensure that it is dissolved and then add it all into the cream cheese. Gently fold the semi whipped cream into the cream cheese mix. Remove the base from the freezer and place the cream cheese mix on top, pressing it down and smoothing it over with a palette knife (it is very important to get a smooth even finish).Don’t fill the cheesecake ring up all the way, leave at least 5mm to allow room for the jelly. Place it in the fridge for an hour to set.

For the blackberry jelly:

Soak the gelatine in cold water for 5 minutes. Next, place the blackberries, sugar, lemon juice and cassis into a small pan and heat them all up for 5 minutes until the sugar has dissolved. Pour the mixture into a blender (or better still a smoothie maker) and blend until smooth. Squeeze the gelatine to remove the excess water and add it to the blackberry mix in the blender and blend for a couple more seconds. Now, push the mixture through a fine sieve to remove the many seeds. Leave it to cool down a little bit but it still needs to be slightly warm. Pour it over the cheesecake mix which will now be set. You want it to cover the entire surface of the cheesecake with the jelly. Place it back into the fridge for an hour or until set.

For the caramelised pecan topping:

Prepare a tray by placing an A4 piece of parchment paper on top of it. You will also need 2 clean tablespoons.
Place the sugar and water in a small pan and bring it to the boil. Let it continue to cook, the water will evaporate forcing the sugar to start to caramelize. When the sugar turns a light brown add the remaining 50g of pecans to it. Working quickly remove the pecans one by one with the spoons, placing them on the parchment paper to cool down which will only take 5 minutes.

Remove the cheesecake from the fridge and grate the zest of lemon directly onto the top of the cheesecake. Next pile on the blackberries and then finally add the pecans. Serve with blackberry sorbet or just on its own.

Bavette Steak with Romanesco Sauce

INGREDIENTS

  • 200g good quality roast red peppers from a jar
  • 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
  • 60g smoked almonds
  • 5g smoked paprika
  • 15ml sherry vinegar
  • A pinch of cayenne pepper
  • 60ml olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • Pinch of salt and black pepper
  • 8 leaves of fresh basil, finely chopped
  • 4 x Bavette Steaks  (ideally 180g)
  • 50m vegetable oil

METHOD

Drain the peppers, roughly chop them and place them into a blender along with all the other ingredients apart from the oil and basil. Puree the ingredients until they form a sauce, then with the blender still running slowly pour in the oil, it will emulsify into the sauce, thickening it at the same time. The sauce should be the consistency of yoghurt, if it is very thick add a few drops of water.
Remove the sauce from the blender and pour it into a bowl, stir in the basil and check the seasoning.

For the steak

1 hour before you intend to cook the steaks remove them from the fridge and leave them to come up to room temperature.

After an hour heat your pan on a high heat (if you are using a BBQ heat the coals and let them burn off but ensure that they remain very hot). Pour some of the oil onto a metal tray and place the steaks on the tray and gently coat them in the oil. Generously season the steaks all over and place them into the pan or onto the BBQ. Sear them for roughly 3 minutes per side for a medium steak, ensuring they have a dark brown caramelised surface all over. Let the steaks rest on a clean tray for 10 minutes before thinly slicing them and serving them with the Romanesco sauce alongside the steak.

Resting the steaks will help prevent them from becoming tough. When slicing them, ensure that you slice them against the natural grain of the meat with a sharp serrated knife, this will help to break down the fibres in the meat and help it stay tender.

 

Cucumber Gazpacho with tomato sorbet

Soup doesn’t have to be saved for the colder months,  as this fresh summer soup proves.

INGREDIENTS

  • 500g cucumber
  • 100g celery stalks, chopped
  • 1 x avocado, skin and stone removed
  • 1 x green pepper, diced
  • 20g caster sugar
  • 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
  • 250g natural yogurt
  • 5g basil leaves, chopped
  • 5g mint leaves, chopped
  • 20ml white wine vinegar
  • 20ml extra virgin olive oil
  • 30g rocket, chopped
  • Juice of half a lemon
  • Large pinch of sea salt
  • A few drops of tabasco sauce

METHOD

Place the cucumber on a chopping board and split if down the middle length ways. Using a teaspoon, scoop out the seeds along both halves and discard them. Chop up the cucumber and add it along with all the other ingredients to a blender or smoothie maker. Blend the mixture until it is very smooth, thin it down with a little bit of water if it is too thick and check the seasoning.

For the Tomato Sorbet:

INGREDIENTS

90g caster sugar
70ml red wine vinegar
600g Very ripe plum tomatoes
2 cloves garlic
1 large pinch sea salt
30ml extra virgin olive oil
1 x pinch of cayenne pepper
1 x pinch of smoked paprika
A few drops of Worcester sauce
A few drops of tabasco

METHOD

Cut the tomatoes in half and remove and discard the seeds. Roughly chop up the halved tomatoes and place them into a food blender along with the garlic. Blend the mixture until it becomes a thin puree and add the rest of the ingredients to the blender and blend for a few more seconds. Push the mixture through a sieve to remove the tomato skin and any stray seeds. Check the seasoning, it should have a strong, slightly sweet and sour tomato flavour with a little heat from the cayenne.

Pour the mixture into a 2 litre plastic container and place it in the freezer. Every 20 minutes remove the container from the freezer and give it a good whisk for 10 seconds or so (this incorporates air into the sorbet and stops it from setting to hard) before placing it back in the freezer. Keep doing this until the sorbet becomes to firm to whisk. The sorbet will take a couple of hours to freeze in total.

To serve

Pour the cucumber gazpacho into a chilled bowl. Using a spoon scoop out a ball of sorbet and place it in the centre of the soup. Garnish the soup with some thin slices of radish, mint sprigs and olive oil.

To Garnish

1 x scoop of tomato sorbet
A few sprigs of mint
A few slices of radish
Extra virgin olive oil

Courgette Risotto

Delicious English courgettes are in season right now. If you are lucky you will find courgette flowers for sale too in specialist groceries shops, if not you can make this risotto without the deep fried courgette flowers.

INGREDIENTS

  • 50ml olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 3 cloves of garlic
  • 500g risotto rice
  • 200ml white wine
  • 1.2 litres boiling water and 2 vegetable stock cubes or 1.5 litres vegetable stock

To finish the risotto

  • 3 medium sized courgettes
  • 50g homemade or good quality shop bought pesto
  • 60g freshly grated parmesan
  • 40g crème fraiche
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the courgette flowers

  • 4 large courgette flowers
  • 50g plain flour
  • 50g cornflour
  • 80ml sparkling water
  • Pinch of salt and a squeeze of lemon

METHOD

In a large, heavy pan heat half the olive oil and gently fry the onion and garlic for around 10 minutes being careful to not let them take on any colour. Add the rice and cook for 2 minutes. Next, add in the wine and cook until it has evaporated. Add the hot stock a ladle at a time, allowing each ladle to be absorbed before adding the next.

While the risotto is cooking, prepare the courgettes to go on top of the risotto. Using a peeler, take one of the cougettes and peel 8 thin strips from its length. Lay the courgetti strips on a chopping board and sprinkle them with salt and a squeeze of lemon (this will cure them). Leave them for 10 minutes and then roll them up into cylinders and set them aside. Dice the other 2 courgettes into squares the size of a sugar cubes, season them and gently pan fry them in olive oil and set aside.

Once the risotto rice is cooked al dente (ie it has a bit of bite left to it) turn the heat right down and add the parmesan, pesto, crème fraiche and seasoning – this will give it that luxurious restaurant taste, and check the seasoning. Set it aside for a few moments while you deep fry the courgette flowers.

To prepare the courgette flowers:

Heat a pan of vegetable oil to 170 degrees (take care when doing this)

Whisk all the batter ingredients together and carefully dip each flower into the batter. Carefully place each flower into the oil and repeat with the 3 other flowers, each one will take about 30 seconds to cook, then flip them over and give 30 seconds on the other side. When cooked remove from the oil and place onto kitchen paper to drain.

To assemble the dish:

Place a portion of risotto onto each bowl. Place the diced courgetti on the top and them place 2 of the courgette cylinders on top of each portion of risotto. Finish with a courgette flower and a final grating of parmesan.

Roast aubergine with salsa verdi, feta, smoked almonds and pomegranate

INGREDIENTS

For the roast aubergines:

  • 2 aubergines sliced into into 1cm disks.
  • 4 cloves of garlic, crushed into a paste with the back of a knife
  • Handful of thyme, roughly chopped
  • 60ml olive oil
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the salsa verdi:

  • 40g basil
  • 40g parsley
  • 20g mint
  • 5g tarragon
  • 20g capers
  • 10g dijon mustard
  • 100ml extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • Juice of half a lemon

To finish the dish:

  • 100g feta cheese, diced
  • 50g smoked almonds skin on, lightly roasted.
  • The seeds of 1 pomegranate
  • A handful of mint leaves

METHOD

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees.

Place the aubergine slices on an oven tray, ensuring that they are not overlapping.

In a small bowl mix together the thyme, garlic, olive oil and seasoning. Using a pastry brush if you have one, brush this mixture over the aubergines and then cook them in the oven for around 12-15 minutes until light golden brown.

While the aubergines cook, make the salsa. In a blender or smoothie maker simply blend all the salsa verdi ingredients together until they are very smooth. The salsa should be the consistency of pouring cream. Add some seasoning if needed- you should be able to taste all the different herbs as well as the zing of the lemon and capers.

If you are using a whole pomegranate, remove the seeds by cutting the pomegranate in half and working over a bowl, bang the back of each half of pomegranate with a spoon. If the fruit is ripe, the seeds will come out easily and fall into the bowl. Wear an apron as this is a messy job.

Discard any juice that comes out and set aside the seeds until needed.

To assemble the dish:
Place the warm aubergine slices on a jay cloth or some kitchen paper to drain off any excess oil. Next transfer them to a serving plate, overlapping them in an attractive way. Then, spoon over the salsa verdi and scatter the feta cheese over too.

Finish the dish with the pomegranate seeds and a sprinkling of the smoked almonds and some mint leaves

Chicken Schawarma with Tahini

Schawarma is perfect for a small outdoor gatherings in the hot weather. It is traditionally threaded onto a large skewer and cooked by rotating it over a powerful flame but this one can be cooked in a hot oven – around 200 degrees

INGREDIENTS

For the chicken

  • 2 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp coriander seeds
  • ½ tsp crushed peppercorns
  • 2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
  • A small piece of ginger, peeled
  • and finely chopped
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • ½ tsp ground cinnamon
  • 8 boneless cornfed chicken thighs
  • Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 4 tbsp Greek yoghurt, drained

For the salad

  • 1 head of large (or 2 smaller ones) cos lettuce
  • A handful each of parsley, mint and coriander
  • 1 cucumber
  • 200g radishes

For the dressing

  • 1 garlic clove
  • ½ tsp sea salt
  • 20g tahini
  • 1 tsp honey
  • 50ml extra-virgin olive oil
  • 50 ml water
  • Juice of 1 lemon

METHOD

Put the cumin and coriander seeds in a small, dry pan and toast over a medium heat for about a minute, until they start to give off their aroma. Transfer to a spice grinder or a pestle and mortar with the peppercorns, and grind together finely.

Mix the garlic and ginger into the spices with the paprika and cinnamon. Put the chicken thighs into a large bowl and add the spice mix, the lemon juice and zest, the olive oil and three tablespoons of yoghurt.

Season generously with salt and rub the marinade into the chicken with your hands. Marinate in the fridge for 24 hours.

The following day, heat the oven to 200C. Put the chicken thighs on a foil-lined baking tray and roast for 20 minutes, turning once, until cooked through (you can check they are cooked by slicing into one – if the juice runs clear then it is cooked – if you have a temperature probe the chicken needs to read 75 degrees in the centre). Leave the chicken to rest for 10 minutes then slice them into strips.

For the dressing:

While the chicken is cooking make the dressing. Crush the garlic and salt with the flat side of a knife. Transfer it to a bowl and whisk in the tahini, honey, oil and yoghurt. Add the water if needed. Finish the dressing with the lemon juice. It should have a distinctive, vibrant flavour with a little sweetness.

For the salad:

Now make the salad. Wash and dry the lettuce and cut it into thin wedges, you should get eight per lettuce. Halve the cucumber lengthways, scoop out the seeds with a teaspoon, then slice diagonally into half-moons. Top and tail the radishes and finely slice them. Gently mix through the dressing.

To serve:

Transfer the salad to a serving platter and slice the chicken and place on the salad. Finish the dish with some lemon wedges and some additional dressing.

Strawberry Tart

This is one of our all time favourite desserts; it looks very impressive when finished and really evokes images of summer. Perfect served with a good quality crème frache or fruit sorbet.

EQUIPMENT 

  • Rolling pin
  • 25cm metal tart case with removable base
  • Pastry brush

INGREDIENTS

For the pastry:

  • 250g plain flour
  • 125g cold butter cut into small pieces
  • 60g caster sugar
  • 1 egg yolk
  • Zest of 1 lemon

For the Pastry Cream

  • 225 ml milk
  • 225ml cream
  • 1 vanilla pod
  • 6 egg yolks
  • 120g caster sugar
  • 25g plain flour
  • 20g cornflour

For the strawberries and glaze

  • 500g small English strawberries
  • 100g strawberry Jam
  • Juice of half a lemon
  • 25ml water

METHOD

To make the pastry:

The pastry can be made in a blender or by hand and the secret of making good pastry is to work it as little as possible otherwise it can become tough.

Place the flour and butter in a blender (or bowl if making by hand) and briefly blitz until they look like breadcrumbs. Next add the sugar, lemon zest and egg yolk until it resembles a stiff dough. Remove it from bowl or blender and place in the fridge for an hour.

Next, prepare your tart case by brushing it lightly with melted butter and dusting it with flour.

Now, throw some flour onto your work surface and roll the pastry out with the rolling pin, rotating it as you go along. The finished rolled out pastry should be about 2mm thick and about 10cm larger than your tart case. Roll the pastry over your rolling pin and carefully lay it across your tart case so it fully covers it and there is some extra pastry all around the case. Press the pastry into the tart case, taking care to push it into the edges and prick the base with a fork all over to prevent it rising. Leave an overhang on the pastry and put it back into the fridge for an hour.

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees. Now to ‘blind bake’ the pastry. Remove the lined tart case from the fridge and place 3 layers of cling film over the pastry and pour around 800g of raw chic peas or rice on top of the cling film. Gather the edges of the cling film together so it forms a bag and cook the pastry in the oven until it is a light golden brown. Remove the ‘bag’ and brush the pastry with the beaten egg and give it a couple more minutes in the oven, then remove it from the oven and leave to cool. Carefully trim the overhand away with a very sharp knife.

Next, make the pastry cream:

Place the milk, cream, vanilla and lemon zest in a pan and bring to the boil.

In a bowl whisk the egg yolks and sugar together and then add the cornflour and flour in too.

Slowly pour the half of the contents of the pan onto the bowl with the yolks etc in. Give the bowl a whisk and then pour everything back into the pan containing the rest of the milk. Place the pan on a low heat and whisk continually for 5 to 10 minutes until the contents of the pan has thickened up and you cannot taste the flour anymore. Make sure there are no lumps and pour the contents of the pan into the pastry case evenly – you want the pastry cream to come up to half a centimetre from the top of the pastry. Let it cool down and then place into the fridge for 2 hours until it has set firmly.

For the strawberries and glaze:

Place the jam, water and lemon juice into a pan and warm it through, ensuring it’s fully mixed. Leave it to cool down a little.

Wash the strawberries and carefully dry them, and cut them horizontally across the thick end so they sit straight. Working from the middle outwards place the strawberries onto the pastry cream very closely so they are touching each other.

To finish, gently brush the strawberries with the thinned jam glaze and leave in the fridge for an hour to set before serving.

Baked Salmon ‘En Papillote’

Cooking ‘en papillote’ means cooking in a paper bag or parcel. It is an incredibly simple but effective way of cooking fish as it’s quick, healthy and keeps the nutrients in the food.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 piece of baking paper, 50 cm x 25cm
  • 2 180g portions of salmon, skin removed
  • 1 lemon, cut into 6 slices
  • 1 head of fennel, thinly sliced
  • 1 carrot, thinly sliced into disks
  • 60g baby spinach, washed
  • A handful of chopped basil or dill
  • 50 ml olive oil
  • Sea salt and cracked black pepper

METHOD

Preheat your oven to 190 degrees.

Lay the baking paper on your work surface so the longest edge in nearest to you (landscape) and fold the two shortest edges together to make a crease down the middle of the paper. Unfold it so the crease remains and you can use it as a guide. Place the paper in an oven tray large enough to accommodate half of it.

Next, place the carrot, spinach and fennel into a bowl, season it with the salt and pepper and add half the olive oil. Remove the vegetables from the bowl and place them onto the paper.

Now place the fish on top of the vegetables and add the olive oil, seasoning and chopped herbs to the top of the salmon and finally place the lemon slices on top of the salmon.

Pull the top half of the paper over the salmon and seal it up by folding it over so there are no gaps.

Place the parcel into the oven and cook it for around 12 minutes. You can test that the fish is cooked by inserting a knife through the top layer of paper into the fish. If it is cooked the knife will come out hot.

To serve – carefully open the parcel (be careful there will be lots of steam) and gently push the contents on to a plate, or if you are feeling lazy place the whole parcel onto a plate and eat it straight out of the paper.

Artichoke, tomato and grilled goat cheese salad

This strikingly colourful but simple salad really is a must try during those sunny, early summer days. Heritage tomatoes have just come into season and there are many varieties you can try including the San Marzano and Bulls Blood varieties from Italy which get out vote.

INGREDIENTS

  • 400g Chevre goats cheese, cut into 1cm disks
  • 400g Heritage tomatoes or tomatoes of your choice, sliced into thin disks
  • 400g jar of globe artichoke hearts in oil, drained
  • 100g pitted green olives
  • Sea salt and black pepper
  • 2 heads of red gem lettuce
  • Small handful of capers

For the salsa Verdi

  • 40g basil
  • 40g parsley
  • 20g mint
  • 5 g tarragon
  • 20g capers
  • 10g Dijon mustard
  • 100ml extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • Juice of half a lemon

METHOD

To make the salsa verdi, remove and discard the stalks from the herbs and roughly chop them. Place them in a blender with the rest of the salsa ingredients and blend for around 20 seconds until very smooth. The salsa should be a vibrant bright green. Set aside.

Pre-heat your grill on maximum heat. Place the goat cheese disks on a metal tray and briefly grill them until the goat cheese turns golden brown.

Place 10 of the sliced tomatoes in the centre of each plate and season with the salt and pepper. Overlap them to form an even circle.

Next cut the red gem into thin wedges and mix it with the olives and artichokes and add a couple of spoonfuls of the salsa verdi in too, then place this mix on top of the tomatoes.

Using a spatula place, the grilled goat cheese on top and finish the dish with a couple more spoonfuls of the salsa verdi around the plate and a scattering of capers.

Asparagus, Pea & Mangetout Salad with Caramelized hazelnut dressing

This perfect summer is healthy and packed with vibrant flavour and colour. It also takes just 10 minutes to make.

INGREDIENTS

  • 200g English asparagus spears
  • 200g mange tout
  • 200g fresh peas, podded (you can use frozen too)
  • 4 baby gem hearts
  • 10g basil
  • 10g mint
  • 10g flat leaf parsley
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 100g hazelnuts, toasted and crushed
  • 30ml white wine vinegar
  • 30g honey
  • 20g wholegrain mustard
  • 100ml hazelnut oil
  • 100ml veg oil
  • 20ml olive oil
  • 150g feta cheese, diced into chunks
  • 50g radishes, thinly sliced
  • A handful of small mint leaves

METHOD

For the Salad

Bring a medium sized pan of water to the boil and add half a teaspoon of salt to it. Place a bowl of iced water next to you to plunge the vegetables into as soon as you remove them from the boiling water.

Its best to cook each variety of vegetables separately. First, cut off the last 5cm from the base of the asparagus and discard it – this is usually the woody part of the asparagus and is not nice to eat.

Then carefully place the asparagus spears into the boiling water and cook for three minutes exactly. Remove the asparagus with tongs and place straight into the iced water. Cut the asparagus into pieces of about 5 cm.

Cook the mange tout and peas in the same way.

Once all the vegetables have cooled down remove them from the iced water and place them in a colander to remove the excess water, then place them into a bowl.

Next wash the baby gem and then cut each one into 6 roughly equal wedges and add to the vegetables. Next chop the herbs and add them to the bowl too. Season liberally with sea salt and fresh ground black pepper.

For the dressing

Place the mustard, white wine vinegar and honey in a bowl and mix together. Next, whisk in the oils slowly and then add the crushed hazelnuts and check the seasoning, thin the dressing down with a few drops of water if too thick.

To Assemble

Add about a third of the dressing to the vegetables and check the seasoning.

Place it into your serving bowls and garnish with the sliced radish and feta if desired. Finish with a splash of olive oil, some extra mint leaves and scatter round some more hazelnuts.

Roast cauliflower with turmeric hummus and cauliflower cous cous

A firm favourite in LABS House, this dish is healthy, vegan and full of colour and flavour.  To get the perfect hummus, ensure you soak the chickpeas in plenty of water and then use a food processor to blend the hummus to get it super smooth.

INGREDIENTS

For the roast cauliflower:

  • 1 large cauliflower
  • 10g turmeric
  • 10g cumin
  • 25g vegetable oil

For the Cous Cous:

  • 200g cous cous
  • 25g olive oil
  • squeeze of lemon juice
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the humus:

  • 100g dried chick peas – soaked overnight in water
  • 15 g raw garlic
  • 50g tahini paste
  • 30g extra virgin olive oil
  • 5g turmeric
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper

To finish the dish:

  • 30g smoked almonds
  • handful of watercress or rocket
  • half a pomegranate – remove the seeds

METHOD

Cut out the central stem of the cauliflower and cut the rest of it into medium sized pieces (florets).

Reserve about 100g of the cauliflower for the cous cous.

Toss the remaining cauliflower in the seasoning, spices and oil and place on a baking tray with a few drops of water and roast in the oven at 175 degrees until just cooked and a light golden brown.

Remove from the oven and set aside.

Place the cous cous in a bowl. Bring 300ml water to the boil and pour over the cous cous and add the olive oil, lemon juice and seasoning.

Leave for about 30 minutes until the cous cous has absorbed the liquid and has cooled to room temperature.

Next place the reserved raw cauliflower in the blender and blend until it is the texture of breadcrumbs. Squeeze out any moisture and mix into the cous cous and set aside.

Place the dried chickpeas into a pan and cover with 300ml fresh cold water. Bring the pan to the boil and simmer gently for about an hour, until the chickpeas are very soft.

Next pour the chickpeas along with about 50ml of the cooking water into the blender and add the other ingredients. Blend until smooth – it should be a vivid yellow colour.

Check the seasoning as you may need to add a little more lemon juice or salt.

To assemble, place some of the hummus in the centre of the plate, next add three tablespoons of the cous cous, then place three or four of the cauliflower florets on top of the cous cous. Finish the dish with some of the smoked almonds, a few pomegranate seeds and the watercress. Serve immediately.