Cheese and Lentil Loaf

• 140g/5 oz cooked lentils (you can use red, green or brown)
• 140g/5 oz grated Cheddar cheese
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 45g/1½ oz wholemeal breadcrumbs
• 1 egg
• ½ tbsp soy sauce
• ½ tbsp chopped herbs
• ¼ tsp black pepper

Mix together the lentils, cheese and onion in a bowl. Add the other ingredients and mix thoroughly. Place the mixture in a greased and lined loaf tin. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4 for approximately 35-45 minutes (the loaf should be firm to the touch). Let the loaf cool for a few minutes before lifting from the tin.

Serve with a good home-made tomato sauce.

Serves 2-3

Blackberry Syrup, or Cordial

• 600gm (1 1/4lb) blackberries
• 100gm (3 ½ oz) sugar
• 2tsp cinnamon pieces
• 2tsp whole cloves

Mash the fruit and strain through a sieve, pressing the fruit with the back of a spoon to extract as much juice as possible. Add the liquid to a saucepan and to every 300ml (1/2 pint) of liquid, add 100g (3 1/2 oz) of sugar. Add the cloves and cinnamon. Bring to the boil and simmer for 20-25 minutes, stirring regularly as the liquid reduces and thickens. Strain through a sieve to remove the spice pieces and pour into clean sterilized bottles. Store in refrigerator.

You can either use this as a fruit syrup, to pour over ice cream, pancakes etc, or dilute to taste with sparkling water.