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Cooking crowd pleasing meals often feels like mission impossible. Research by Bosch Home Appliances reveals one QUARTER of all households have someone suffering from either an allergy or food intolerance, on top of the 55% of parents who claim their children are far fussier than they were when they were young. In fact, as many as 45% of the nation’s kids refuse to eat mushrooms, while 29% will not eat onions, 25% refuse to eat tomatoes and as many as 23% refuse to eat any green vegetables. As we become increasingly aware of allergies and discerning about what we put in our bodies, there’s been a corresponding rise in the number of people turning away from meat, which means that one in five households now have a vegetarian or a vegan in the house. All together, that makes for some very conscientious eating, but a nightmare when it comes to knocking up one dish when our friends come over.

But communal dining is in our genes, going all the way back to when our caveman ancestors first huddled around a fire for warmth, protection and solidarity.

The caveman’s fire has a modern equivalent – the dining table. It’s where the family gathers, where we celebrate together and cut the cake, hash out new plans and review old ones, settle sibling rows, cry with both laughter and sadness, offer one another comfort and love – it’s the place where memories are made that will last a lifetime.

“Dinner’s ready!” means more than ‘come and eat’ – it means the world outside has stopped. It may be for just half an hour, but it’s a blissful respite from lives that have become hectic beyond belief.

Together with Bosch, I am determined to bring back the family table, and to help us get started, I want to share with you two of my favorite tried, tested and adored ‘feed the family’ recipes, cooked in the ingenious Bosch Serie 6 oven. No more making separate meals – this is food that everyone can sit down and share, no matter their dietary choices and requirements – the way it should be.

Whatever kind of cook you are, Bosch has a range of smart and stylish built-in ovens. One of my favourite features is the 3D HotAir, a system that distributes heat quickly and evenly throughout the oven, making it possible to cook on up to three levels simultaneously. Not only are you guaranteed a consistent temperature throughout, but Bosch’s clever circulation system means sweet and savoury dishes can be cooked at the same time without mixing flavours. That’s less time slaving and more time celebrating with your family. I was also lucky enough to receive the 2-piece slim universal pan set, which is a simple but frankly genius bit of detail, allowing you to fit 2 trays next to each other on the same shelf, meaning more combinations and more dishes cooking at the same time – a godsend for those oven-cramming family roasts!

If you don’t consider yourself the most skilled of chefs, these crazy intelligent ovens also have an AutoPilot feature, that allows you to cook from 30 different presets that best suit your dish. Once in the oven, select the suitable cooking program from the 30 available on the display menu, add the weight of the dish then press “Start”. AutoPilot then takes over and determines the cooking mode, temperature and duration. It even switches the oven off at the end of the program. Honestly, cooking couldn’t be simpler.

Shall we get started?

VEGAN SHEPHERD’S PIE with a PARSLEY & GARLIC MASH

Serves 6-8 | 25 minutes prep | 1 hour 30 cooking

• 2 large bulbs fresh garlic, broken up and skins left on
• 500g Maris Piper potatoes
• 500g sweet potatoes
• 1 bunch flat leaf parsley
• 1 onion
• 2 carrots
• 2 sticks of celery
• olive oil
• ½ bunch of fresh thyme
• ¼ bunch of fresh rosemary
• 250g mushrooms (chestnut or white)
• 280g jar sun-dried tomatoes, drained
• 4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 tsp cornflour
• 650ml vegetable stock
• 1 x 400g tin of green lentils
• 1 x 400g tin of butterbeans, drained

Roast the garlic cloves in your Bosch Serie 6 oven at 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4 for around half an hour until soft to the touch. Remove the garlic from the oven and allow to cool slightly before squeezing out all the sweet, golden paste. Discard the garlic skins.

Peel and chop all the potatoes into rough chunks. Place the Maris Pipers into a large pan of cold salted water over a medium heat. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, or until tender, adding the sweet potatoes after 5 minutes (as they’ll need less time). Drain and leave to steam dry, then return to the pan with and a pinch of sea salt and black pepper AND your roasted garlic paste. Crush together with a masher and set aside.

Peel and finely slice the onion, celery and carrots. Add to a large saucepan on a medium heat with the thyme leaves and rosemary, then cook for around 10 minutes, or until softened.

Meanwhile, roughly chop the mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes, then add to the pan along with the vinegar and a splash of oil from the sun-dried tomato jar. Cook for a further 10 minutes, then turn up the heat, and allow it to bubble away. Sprinkle in the cornflour.

Stir in the stock, lentils and butter beans, then leave it to chug away for 5 to 10 minutes, or until slightly thickened and reduced. Season to taste, then transfer to a baking dish (roughly 25cm x 30cm).

Roughly chop your parsley and add to the mash, now it’s had chance to cool. Spread the mash over the top, scuffing it up with the back of a spoon, then place in the hot oven for around 10 minutes, or until piping hot through. For a golden top, stick it under the grill for a final 2-3 minutes.

VEGAN BAKED CHEESECAKE

Serves 8 | 1 hour prep | 1 hour 30 minutes cooking

• 150g cashews (boil for 15 minutes if you don’t have a high speed blender)
• 225g creamed coconut, softened in hot water
• 225g vegan soft-cheese
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
• 200g maple syrup (or 200g sugar + 50ml water)
• melted coconut oil
• 1 lemon, zest and juice of
• sea salt
• 150g raspberries
• 150g rolled oats
• 150g blanched almonds (or 120g gluten free flour mix)
• 120g vegan margarine (or melted coconut oil)
• 2 tbsp granulated sugar

Add raw cashews to a mixing bowl and cover with boiling hot water. Let rest for 1 hour (uncovered), then drain thoroughly.

Preheat your Bosch Serie 6 to 190ºC/375ºF/gas 5. Line a 23 inch cake tin with greaseproof paper.

Add oats, almonds, a pinch of sea salt and sugar to a Bosch blender and mix into a fine crumb. Add vegan margarine and pulse together to form a moist dough. You should be able to squeeze the mixture between two fingers to form a dough, instead of it crumbling.

Transfer this mixture to your cake tin and, using your hand, flatten the mixture to form a base.

Blind bake in the centre of your Bosch oven for 20 minutes or until the edges are golden brown and there is some browning on the surface. The interchangeable level-independent telescopic rails can be added to any level of the oven. Helping to make cooking more convenient, the rails can be simply clipped on for flexible use and removed for easy cleaning. Allow to cool. Reduce the oven heat to 180°C/ 350°F/gas 4 for the next step.

Add your soaked and drained cashews to a high speed blender with your creamed coconut, vegan cream cheese, cornflour, vanilla, granulated sugar, 2 tbsp melted coconut oil (optional but adds a lovely creaminess), tart lemon zest, lemon juice, and a pinch of sea salt. Blend on high until very creamy and smooth, scraping down sides as required. Once satisfied with the consistency, fold in your raspberries, being careful not to over stir and bleed the colour too drastically.

Pour your filling over the pre-baked crust and spread into an even layer (tapping on a counter to remove air bubbles).

With your Serie 6 AutoPilot, select Assist > Cake, bread > Cake > Cake in tins or bake for 55 minutes, until the edges look very slightly dry and the centre appears jiggly. Leave to rest at room temperature before transferring to your Bosch refrigerator to let cool completely. Leave uncovered to avoid condensation.

Slice up and serve!

Bosch Serie 4 and Serie 6 ovens available to buy at www.bosch-home.co.uk