October 2025

Australia has recently been a topic of conversation that I’ve had with various friends and family. It seems that it’s not only the ‘in’ place to visit, but it’s also encouraging many young people from the UK to up sticks and try a completely different life. Indeed, just this month, my nephew is taking advantage of the two-year work visa scheme and is moving over to Sydney indefinitely! Hopefully, my son, Felix, won’t be following suit anytime soon – he holidayed there earlier this year, and for some time Australia was ‘flavour of the month’, however, I’m hoping that he’s finally back in the swing of London life and appreciating the pros of life in the UK. Admittedly, those pros can sometimes be hard to find; apart from, of course, the presence of myself and the rest of the family! The sunshine is one of the big attractions of living down under, but as I was saying to Felix just the other day, “wouldn’t you miss the seasons?”. And, it’s with this thought that I arrive at this month’s recipes… October marks our transition into the autumn, the days get cooler and shorter, but on the upside, there are the autumnal colours that start to arrive as the trees turn from green to reds, oranges, yellows and golds! With such glorious colours, why on earth would you want to move to Australia?!.. This month’s recipes are a celebration of those colours. Not only are they hearty and warming, but with ingredients such as butternut squash and sweet potato, they sing with seasonal colour. Menu One is ‘Marmalade Duck with Roasted Sweet Potatoes & Lentils’ it’s a recipe from Raymond Blanc’s ‘Simply Raymond’ cookbook. It’s one of those impressive dishes which looks like you’ve been slaving away in the kitchen for hours, but it is, in fact, super easy. The sweetness of the potatoes complements the duck beautifully. If you’re feeling particularly healthy, you could even leave out the duck and just serve the ‘Roast Sweet Potatoes & Lentils’ as a vegetarian main course! Menu Two is another bright coloured dish, ‘Roast Pumpkin Masak Lemak’ is a recipe from one of my favourite cookbooks of 2025, Agak Agak by Shu Han Lee. The pumpkin is cooked in coconut milk with a spice paste; the result is a mildly spiced, subtly sweet, delicious dish.

Menu One

Marmalade Duck (with Roasted Sweet Potatoes & Lentils) Serves 4

This is one of those impressive dishes which looks like you’ve been slaving away in the kitchen for hours, but it is, in fact, super easy. The sweetness of the potatoes complements the duck beautifully. If you’re feeling particularly healthy, you could even leave out the duck and just serve the ‘Roast Sweet Potatoes & Lentils’ as a vegetarian main course (double the recipe). The recipe is from Raymond Blanc’s ‘Simply Raymond’ cookbook (I’ve slightly changed the cooking instructions as I prefer to cook the duck in the oven rather than on the hob).

4 boneless duck breasts (approx. 160g each), skin on

4 tablespoons orange marmalade

1 tablespoon water

Dash of red wine vinegar

Sea salt and black pepper

1. Score the skin of the duck breasts, through the fat but not all the way through to the flesh, and salt them.
2. Place the breasts in a dry frying pan, skin side down, over a low heat to render down most of the fat, this may take as much as 10-15 minutes. When the fat is rendered, turn up the heat to crisp up and brown the skin (about 2 minutes). Finally, turn over to sear the underside for minute or so.
3. Place the duck breasts on a baking tray in a preheated oven, 200’c fan, for 8-10 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes.
4. Meanwhile in a small saucepan, warm the marmalade. Add the water and a dash of red wine vinegar. If the sauce looks too thick, add a little more water. Taste and season with salt and pepper accordingly.
5. Carve each duck breast and place the slices on plates with the marmalade sauce spooned over. Serve with the ‘Roasted Sweet Potato & Lentils’ (recipe below).

Roasted Sweet Potatoes & Lentils (serves 4 as a side or 2 as a main)

3 sweet potatoes

400g tin green lentils, drained and rinsed

2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

2-3 tablespoons olive oil

2 generous pinches of sea salt

4 turns of ground black pepper

2-3 handfuls of spinach

1-2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

A handful of coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley (optional)

1. Peel the sweet potatoes and chop each of them into 8-10 pieces.
2. Lay the sweet potatoes in a roasting tin, add the oil, sea salt and black pepper, and toss the potatoes so that they are evenly coated.
3. Roast the potatoes in a preheated oven, 160’c, for 20 minutes. Remove the tin from the oven, turn the potatoes, add the crushed garlic and return to the oven for a further 5-10 minutes. The potatoes should be slightly golden on the edges and just cooked through.
4. Finally, remove from the oven and while still hot add the lentils and spinach. Gently toss. The lentils will warm through and the spinach will wilt a little. Finish with a dash of vinegar and sprinkle with parsley, if using.

Menu Two

Roast Pumpkin Masak Lemak (Serves 3-4)

This is a recipe from one of my favourite cookbooks of 2025, Agak Agak by Shu Han Lee. The pumpkin is cooked in coconut milk with a spice paste; the result is a mildly spiced, subtly sweet, delicious dish. Simply serve with rice.

1kg pumpkin or winter squash

2-3 tablespoons vegetable oil

¾ teaspoon and a pinch of sea salt

200ml coconut milk

200ml water

For the spice paste:

100g shallots, roughly chopped

4 garlic cloves, peeled, roughly chopped

Thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled and roughly chopped

3 large red chillies, roughly chopped

½ teaspoon ground turmeric

¼ teaspoon ground coriander

To finish:

Juice of ½ lime

Handful of fresh coriander, roughly chopped

1 red chilli, thinly sliced

1. Cut the squash into 2-3 cm wedges, removing any seeds and fibrous bits and leaving the skin on. Toss with the oil  and a big pinch of salt and spread out on a large, deep roasting tray. Roast in a preheated oven, 190’c fan, for 20 minutes.
2. In the meantime, pound all the spice paste ingredients together either in a small blender or with a pestle and mortar, until you get a fine paste. Fry the paste in a saucepan over a medium heat until very fragrant, about 10 minutes. Stir in the coconut milk and water and bring to a simmer. Season with ¾ teaspoon of salt.
3. Pour the sauce over the squash in the roasting tin, cover with foil, and continue to roast in the oven for another 20-25 minutes until tender.
4. To serve, with a squeeze of lime, the chopped coriander and some chopped chilli.