I get rather tired of all the advice and guidelines the food police keep drumming into us:eat less butter, cream and red meat: cut down on salt – no more than six grams a day; eat plenty of oily fish, drink water instead of fizzy drinks; and now, the current no-no, cut down on sugar. But the one thing they do advocate that I agree with is ‘five a day’. We should all know by now that eating five portions of fruit and veg a day is good, although recently there have been some murmurings that they should be increased from five to seven, or even 10.

I was looking at the UK’s National Health Service website recently and it’s quite sensible about what that magical five should comprise.

Obviously, fresh fruit is good, but so too is canned fruit, as long as it’s packed in natural juice not syrup. Dried fruits such as dates, figs, sultanas and raisins also count. Similarly, frozen and canned vegetables count as well as fresh. In fact, cooked tomatoes are even better for you than fresh, so adding a can of good Maltese chopped tomatoes to a dish will give your five a boost, and so too will a can of any other vegetables.

Baked beans, lentils and pulses generally count, but only as one, no matter how many portions you eat, because although they contain lots of fibre, they’re not quite so high in nutrients. So, my recipes today are all about either adding plenty of vegetables or making them the star ingredient.

I have given the qarabagħli (marrows) recipe before, albeit several years ago, and I make no apology for repeating it as it’s so good, but this time I’ve tweaked it a bit and added some fennel. It makes a very good vegetarian dish.

Cooked tomatoes are even better for you than fresh

I love aubergines, either on their own or in things, and I have a favourite pasta sauce using Maltese sausage and chopped tomatoes which I layer into a baking dish with fried aubergines and top it with béchamel sauce and mozzarella.

It’s delicious, although my husband is not very keen, as he doesn’t care much for pasta and isn’t fond of aubergines, but he has to put up with it now and again, as I love it.

However, he does love chicken any which way, so I made up for the aubergines by cooking some spiced chicken with chickpeas, peppers and new season’s pumpkin. His plate was almost licked clean, so I’ll chalk that one up as a success!

Qarabagħli (marrow) and fennel risotto

(Serves 4 to 6)

1 kilo baby marrows
2 tbsps olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 medium-sized fennel bulb, trimmed and thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
Salt and pepper
175g risotto rice
125ml milk
125ml cream
3 eggs, beaten
100g grated Parmesan or mature cheddar
1 tbsp chopped parsley

Trim the marrows, thinly slice two and put to one side, then dice the rest. Heat the oil in a large, deep frying pan and fry the onion and fennel until soft but not brown.

Add the garlic, diced marrows, half a teaspoon of salt and some pepper and mix well. Rinse and drain the rice and add it to the pan.

Partially cover the pan and cook for about 30 minutes over a low heat, stirring occasionally until the rice is just tender but still has a bit of ‘bite’ to it.

The liquid from the marrows should be enough to cook the rice, but add a tablespoon or two of water if you think it’s getting too dry.

Preheat the oven to 200˚C. Take the pan from the heat and stir in the milk, cream, eggs, three-quarters of the cheese and the parsley.

Taste and add more seasoning if necessary, then transfer the mixture to a buttered baking dish and arrange the sliced marrows on top. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and bake for 30 minutes.

Aubergine, Maltese sausage and pasta bake

(Serves 4)

Olive oil
2 medium aubergines, about 400g each, sliced and salted if preferred
4 Maltese sausages (about 400g), skins removed
1 large onion, chopped
2 sticks celery, chopped
2 medium carrots, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
400g can chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme, or 1 tsp dried
1 tsp dried oregano
200ml beef stock
Salt and pepper
250g small macaroni or penne
500ml béchamel sauce
100g grated mozzarella cheese

Heat two tablespoons of oil in a large frying pan and, working in batches and adding more oil as necessary, fry the aubergines until lightly browned, then drain them on kitchen paper.

Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan, crumble in the sausages and fry, stirring and turning until they lose their raw colour. Add the onion, celery and carrots and continue to fry until they start to soften, then stir in the garlic and fry for a minute more.

Add the chopped tomatoes, herbs and beef stock and season well with salt and pepper. Bring to the boil and then lower the heat and simmer, partially covered until thick, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook and drain the pasta. Return it to the pan, pour over the meat sauce and stir well. Preheat the oven to 200˚C. Spread a third of the aubergines over the bottom of a baking dish and pour in half the pasta.

Add another third of the aubergines, the rest of the pasta and finally the remaining aubergines. Pour over the béchamel, sprinkle with the cheese and bake for about 25 to 30 minutes until brown and bubbling.

Spiced chicken and chickpeas with pumpkin and peppers

(Serves 4)

8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut in half
Flour for dusting
2 tbsps olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tbsp paprika
1 tsp each ground coriander and cumin
½ tsp cinnamon
1 red and 1 yellow pepper, skinned if preferred
4 tomatoes, peeled, deseeded and sliced
300ml chicken stock
300g (prepared weight) peeled and deseeded pumpkin, cut into chunks
400g can chickpeas, drained
2 tbsps chopped parsley
Salt and pepper

Dust the chicken pieces in flour and shake off the excess. Heat the oil in a large frying pan with a lid and fry the chicken in batches until lightly browned, then transfer it to a plate. Add the onion to the pan and fry until starting to soften, then add the garlic and spices and cook for a minute more.

Add the peppers and tomatoes and fry for another two minutes. Stir in the chicken stock, return the chicken to the pan, together with the pumpkin, chickpeas, a tablespoon of the parsley and season well with salt and pepper.

Bring to the boil, lower the heat, cover the pan and simmer until the chicken is cooked through and the pumpkin is tender, then transfer to a serving dish and sprinkle with the rest of the parsley.

This is good served with either a pile of creamy mash or plain boiled potatoes.