My Virgin Kitchen: Delicious recipes you can make every day. Barry Lewis

       2 tsp garlic granules

       2 tsp cumin seeds

       4 large handfuls of shredded kale, any thick stalks removed

       4 eggs (optional)

       2 avocados, sliced

       1 lime, cut into wedges

       1–2 dashes of hot sauce (optional)

       salt and pepper

      1. Fill a saucepan with water from a just-boiled kettle, add the sweet potato chunks and bring back to the boil. Simmer gently for around 7 minutes until softened, then drain and leave to steam dry.

      2. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Tip the sweet potatoes into the hot pan with the shallots, sweetcorn, garlic granules, cumin seeds and kale. Toss to coat in the oil and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the veg is browned and toasty, about 10–15 minutes.

      3. If you want to serve the hash with fried eggs, while the veg is cooking heat the remaining oil in another non-stick frying pan and fry the eggs until done the way you like them.

      4. Tip the vegetables into four bowls and top each with a fried egg and some sliced avocado. Serve with lime wedges to squeeze over and a few dashes of hot sauce.

       VIRGIN TIP

      You can pad this out further by adding other vegetables – try some grated raw carrot for a different texture.

SESAME HALLOUMI BITES WITH SWEET PEPPER SAUCE

      Halloumi is such a versatile cheese and works with lots of different flavours. In this recipe cubes are coated in a layer of golden sesame seeds and fried, then served with a mild sweet pepper dip. A perfect starter – although you could also serve as a party snack.

       READY IN 20 MINUTES

       SERVES 4

       100g sesame seeds

       1 egg, beaten

       25g plain flour

       250g block halloumi cheese, cut into about 16 small squares

       vegetable oil, for frying

       pepper

       FOR THE SWEET PEPPER SAUCE

       1 large red pepper, deseeded and roughly chopped

       3 garlic cloves, peeled

       100g caster sugar

       50ml distilled malt vinegar

       1 tbsp cornflour, mixed to a paste with 2½ tbsp water

      1. Start with the sweet pepper sauce. Put the red pepper, garlic, sugar and vinegar into a mini food processor with 180ml water. Whizz for 30 seconds or so to combine fully; it should look like a thin chilli sauce and the sugar should be fully dissolved.

      2. Pour this mixture into a small saucepan, place over a low heat and bring to a simmer (this won’t take long due to the sugar content). Add the cornflour paste and stir through over a low simmer. After a few minutes, it should be noticeably thicker. Remove from the heat, pour into a jar to cool and set aside.

      3. Put the sesame seeds, beaten egg and flour into separate, shallow bowls. Season the flour with a little freshly ground black pepper. Take a cube of halloumi and roll in the flour to coat, then dunk in the beaten egg. Next roll the egg-coated cube in the sesame seeds to fully coat it. You can always dunk again if you want a better coating. Repeat this step with the other cheese cubes and leave them to one side. Use one hand for the whole process – makes it a lot cleaner!

      4. Pour enough vegetable oil into a small saucepan to come at least a third of the way up the sides and place over a medium-high heat. You want it hot enough that a small piece of bread sizzles when placed in the oil, but not so hot that it browns the cubes too quickly, so adjust the temperature as you go. Fry in small batches until golden brown, resting on kitchen paper as you remove them carefully from the oil.

      5. Serve with cocktail sticks so you can dunk the bites in the sweet pepper dip.

       VIRGIN TIP

      The sweet pepper sauce is mild but tangy. To add more kick to the sauce chuck in a red chilli (including the seeds) when whizzing the mixture together.