Got leftover pumpkins from Halloween? Give this autumn twist on sticky toffee pudding a go.

Date mix: Soak 170g pitted dates, 2 tsp grated ginger, 1 spiced black tea bag, ½ tsp baking soda in 240ml boiling water for 15 mins, then remove teabag.

Cake mix: Beat 115g butter with 150g dark brown sugar until light. Add 2 eggs, 180g pumpkin purée, 190g flour, ¾ tsp baking powder, ½ tsp salt, 1½ tsp mixed spice. Stir in date mix. Bake at 180°C until a knife comes out clean.

Toffee sauce: Heat 100g dark brown sugar, 90g pumpkin purée, 60g cream, 50g butter, 2 tbsp maple syrup until smooth.

This has got to rank as one of the most exquisite and delicious vegetable treats ever – You can vary the stuffing – or even leave it out altogether – and the dish will still be fantastic. Flowers from pumpkins, summer or winter squash are also perfect for this.

8 flowers free from bugs

Oil for frying

For the filling

100g ricotta

2 tbsp grated Parmesan

A large handful of mixed herbs, such as parsley, chives, marjoram, thyme, parsley mint, finely chopped

salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the batter

100 self-raising plain flour, plus extra for dusting

40g cornflour

½ teaspoon sea salt

200ml ice-cold sparkling mineral water to finish

Beat ricotta until smooth, then mix in cheese, herbs, salt and pepper. Gently fill each courgette flower with up to 3 teaspoons of the mixture and twist the petals to seal. For the batter, whisk sifted flour, cornflour and salt with sparkling water until it’s the consistency of single cream. Dust flowers with flour, dip into batter, and fry in hot oil (180°C) in small batches for about a minute until golden and crisp. Drain on kitchen paper and serve immediately with sea salt and a drizzle of honey, if you like.

I think fennel is highly underrated. It can divide people due to its subtle liquorice flavour, but I absolutely love it.  It is so versatile too, thinly sliced raw in a salad, braised, the tops used as a herb and woody stalks are great in a stock, not to mention the seeds too!

2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes

2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

2 medium fennel bulbs, stalks trimmed and cut lengthways into eighths

1 large Braeburn apple, peeled and cut into thin wedges

100g smoked almonds, chopped (any tree nut will work too)

I tbsp chopped oregano

170g Taleggio cheese, rind removed and chopped small

30g panko breadcrumbs

2 tbsp butter

In a large saucepan or frying pan with the heat on low, add 1 tbsp of oil and the smashed garlic. Slowly toast until it’s soft and slightly golden, then add the chilli flakes for a few seconds before adding the fennel. Turn up to a medium-low heat and add the cider vinegar and a generous pinch of salt. Cover the pan and allow the fennel to steam. Check the fennel every few minutes, adding a little water when all liquid evaporates. Remove from the heat when the fennel is tender but not super soft. Then add the apples, almonds, oregano and half the Taleggio.

Pile the mix into a baking dish and top with the remaining cheese and breadcrumbs, and dot over the butter. Bake until it is hot all the way through and the cheese is melting, and the breadcrumbs are golden.

Serve straight away

This is a recipe from our last Soil to Fork series. If you missed it, be sure to check it out on our Instagram page. Our carrots are long finished now, but it’s a nice little dish that can be cooked up anytime of year, particularly nice when it’s chilly outside.

Serves 4

2 tbsp curry powder

1 garlic clove finely grated,

125g  Greek yogurt,

5 tbsp olive oil

500g  small carrots, tops trimmed, scrubbed

2 tbsp lemon juice

Preheat oven to 250C. Mix curry powder, half of garlic, half the yogurt, and 3 tbsp oil in a large bowl until smooth; season with salt and pepper. Add carrots and toss to coat. Roast on a rimmed baking sheet in a single layer, turning occasionally, until tender and lightly charred in spots, 25–30 minutes.

Whisk lemon juice, remaining garlic, and remaining yogurt in a small bowl; season with salt and pepper.

Place carrots, along with the crunchy bits, on a baking sheet on a plate. Top with yogurt mixture, coriander and serve with lemon wedges, seasonal salad and if you have the time a light coconut curry sauce.

Most keen growers I speak to either struggle with courgettes, mainly due to slug damage, or have so many they don’t know what to do with them. If you are in the latter group then this is a lovely way of utilising them. I served this with hummus and garden crudités at our harvest dinner at Bishopstrow with some lovely feedback.

450g courgettes

2 tsp salt

125g plain flour

125g spelt flour, whole wheat

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp sodium bicarbonate

1 tsp salt

4 spring onions finely sliced

30g basil roughly chopped

100g of grated cheddar

2 large eggs

170g buttermilk

Grate the courgette and mix with 2 tsp of salt and leave to sit in a colander over the sink for 30 mins. Squeeze the courgette to release all the excess liquid and set it to one side. In a large bowl mix together the dry ingredients until well combined. Add the courgette, basil, spring onion and cheddar and mix together lightly. Separately whisk the eggs and buttermilk together. Then fold the buttermilk and egg mixture into the dry ingredients, mixing only until just combined – any more and the bread could turn out tough. Fill small loaf tins three-quarter way full and bake for 45 minutes at 180C or until a small knife inserted comes out clean. Leave to cool completely before removing from the loaf tin.

Serves 4

I recently did a cooking demo at the Bath Foodie festival and of course, I was showcasing all the abundant produce from our kitchen garden. The star of the show is the whole carrot with the squid in more of a supporting role.

1 bunch of young carrots with tops

30g parsley

30g mint

4 spring onions sliced fine

20g capers

1 lemon

Olive oil

1 tsp Sriracha

5 pickled chilli peppers and their liquid

180g cleaned squid, tubes sliced into rings and tentacle halves

100g roasted and salted pistachios chopped

1 bunch baby beetroot cooked and peeled

Baby courgettes

Cut the young feathery green tops from the carrots, and discard the thicker stems and older leaves. Wash well and dry. Chop the carrot tops, parsley and mint together and add the spring onions, capers, zest of a lemon, sriracha, chopped chilli and two tablespoons of its liquid. Stir in enough olive oil to bind it and season. It should be bright and bracing.

Heat a heavy pan on medium heat and slice the carrots in half if quite large or leave whole if small. Lay the carrots in the pan with some olive oil so they sizzle and caramelise, they will need about 15 minutes to cook through.

Put the carrots to the side when cooked and turn the heat up high on the same pan. Season the squid well and add to the pan when very hot with a glug more of olive oil. Toss and shake the squid in the pan, it should take no more than two minutes to cook. Finish with a good squeeze of lemon and add to the carrots and mix with the carrot top salsa verde and let marinade for a few minutes.

Any other vegetables can be added to this bright dish, I utilised baby heritage beetroots and very young courgettes with their flowers.

Arrange the dressed vegetables and squid around a plate and sprinkle with the pistachios and another drizzle of olive oil.

One of my top ways to enjoy brassicas is by quickly blanching them, then finishing on the char-grill. Their sturdy texture and rich flavour make them a perfect match for bold flavours, like this new favourite dressing of mine. For me PSB rival asparagus for anticipation and taste and is the hi-light in the garden over February and March. We also have savoy cabbages in the garden that work great in this salad too.

1 large bulb of garlic

1tbsp dijon mustard

1 tbsp white miso paste

2 egg yolks

1 lemon juiced

50g pecorino grated

250ml neutral flavoured oil

Sprigs of dill chervil and mint

Large handful of walnuts

Sprouting broccoli lightly blanched for 30 seconds

To make the dressing wrap the garlic bulb in tin foil and bake for 20 mins at 180C or until it is soft to touch. When cooled remove the foil and slice the very top off and proceed to squeeze the caramelised cloves out of its roasted shell.

Add this to a food processor along with all the ingredients except the oil. Blend till all have been combined and with the motor running slowly pour in the oil. It should emulsify together to form a Caesar style dressing.

To take the walnuts to another level they are candied. For this simply boil 200g of water with 200g of sugar and add the walnuts. Simmer for 1 minute then drain them. While still warm bake on a tray at 160C for 8 mins until toasted and shiny. Sprinkle with salt to finish.

With a char grill set to the point of smoking, very lightly dress the broccoli in oil and press on the grill to leave bar marks.

Dress the broccoli the with emulsion and plate up topping with the nuts and herbs

Aubergines, the smooth and shiny dark violet orbs have started to appear in the kitchen gardens once again hanging like jewellery between their large slightly furry leaves. Once I’ve finished admiring them most go to Bishopstrow Hotel where the chefs have done its beautiful vegetable justice, pairing it with tamarind and a lentil Dahl. If you don’t fancy making it then head down to Warminster where it's on the menu all summer.

2 Aubergines diced, lightly salted and pressed

Tamarind dressing

50ml veg oil

2 lemons juice and zest

70g tamarind paste

5 cloves garlic

1 tbsp coriander seeds

2 tbsp raw cane sugar

50g chopped coriander

Squeeze any excess water from diced aubergine and add to a hot frying pan with 4 tbsp of oil. Sauté until the aubergine is golden all over and transfer to a baking tray.

Make the tamarind dressing by adding all the ingredients to a blender and blending until combined. Dress the sautéed aubergine with the tamarind mix and roast in the oven for 12 mins @ 180C until sticky and glazed.

Lentil Dahl

400g dry green lentils soaked overnight and rinsed

2 white onions, small dice

400g fine-diced carrot

6 cloves garlic minced

4 tsp fresh ginger minced

2 chillis (seeds removed)

5 tsp ground cumin

5tsp

curry powder

2 tsp turmeric

3 tsp ground coriander

1400ml vegetable stock

480 coconut milk

Heat a large saucepan with 5 tbsp of veg oil and sauté the onions until soft then add the chilli, ginger, garlic and carrot. Continue to cook on low heat for 5 minutes.

Add the seasonings, lentils and vegetable stock, stir and bring to a boil for 15 minutes or until the lentils have just a small amount of bite left.

Add the coconut milk and simmer for another 10 minutes. Cool slightly and adjust the seasoning. Serve with the warm tamarind aubergines greek yogurt and more fresh coriander.