Heritage Recipes & Centerpieces
The Dyson-Fereday diet proves that eating sustainably does not mean giving up your family's culinary history. Below is a collection of beloved, handwritten recipes that have been meticulously adapted to fit the EAT-Lancet boundaries. By swapping heavy butter for plant oils, utilizing ancient whole grains, and strictly managing dairy and egg quotas, these weekend centerpieces are as kind to the earth as they are to the soul.
A beautifully dense, handwritten family masterpiece. We've preserved her brilliant "hot crust" and double-bake techniques, but adapted it for planetary health by boiling olive oil instead of butter.
Pastry: Boil water & oil. Mix into spelt flour/egg/salt. Knead, chill 5 mins. Line 18cm tin, saving 1/4 for lid.
Filling: Fry veg. Cool. Stir in nuts, cheese, 1 egg, salt, pepper.
Assemble: Layer half nut mix, cranberries, rest of nut mix. Top with lid. Glaze.
Bake: 180°C for 35-40 mins. Remove tin, glaze sides, bake 10-15 mins more.
The original 10 eggs are reduced to 3 backyard eggs, padded with a protein-rich chickpea flour binder to protect our planetary limits.
Boil cauliflower florets (15 mins). Fry chopped onion & rosemary.
Whisk eggs, chickpea slurry, flour, spices, and cheese into a batter.
Fold in cauliflower. Pour into a sesame-lined tin. Bake 180°C for 45 mins.
We swapped 4-6 eggs for just 2 backyard eggs stretched with a high-protein chickpea slurry. We kept the author's genius layering technique!
Put a sprinkle of cheese in the pastry case. Pour just enough beaten egg/slurry to wet the base.
Add cooked veg, top with remaining egg mix and cheese.
Bake at 140°C for 40 minutes.
Upgraded for planetary health by swapping white risotto rice and refined pasta for whole spelt grains and wholewheat macaroni.
Boil grains and pasta until tender. Drain.
Fry onion/garlic/spices. Add tomatoes & lentils. Simmer 10 mins.
Stir drained grains into the sauce. Serve hot.
Served with a cooling mint raita that respects strict daily dairy limits and eliminates added white sugar.
Fry veg and spices. Simmer with chickpeas & tomatoes for 20 mins.
Add garam masala, fold in spinach. Serve with mixed Raita.
We "stretch" a single imported avocado with local mashed peas, preserving texture while halving its carbon footprint.
Fry onion & spices. Simmer beans, mash roughly.
Mash cooked peas thoroughly, blend with avocado, season.
We stretch our daily two backyard eggs with a mountain of vegetables, and swap heavy cheese for a light sprinkle of local Gouda.
Fry all veg. Pour beaten eggs over veg and scramble.
Toast tortillas with cheese. Serve with Refried Beans.
The author naturally replaced heavy beef with mixed beans. We swapped half the mash for sweet parsnips, replaced butter with olive oil, and used Marmite for umami!
Mash boiled roots with oil and oat milk.
Fry veg. Add beans, tomatoes, Marmite. Simmer.
Top veg stew with mash. Bake 180°C to crisp.
Swapping half the potatoes for clay-loving globe turnips lowers the glycemic load while preserving the deeply savory, slow-cooked stock flavors.
Soak potato slices, then dry. Layer with turnips and onions in dish.
Pour stock/garlic over. Drizzle oil. Bake 180°C for 1 hour.
A stunning roasting technique. Swapping half the potatoes for turnips/beetroots and replacing heavy butter with olive oil reduces saturated fat.
Slash tops of roots. Stuff with garlic and bay leaf.
Place in dish with stock. Drizzle oil. Bake 200°C (1hr), basting often.
A vibrant "zero-cook" meal using wholewheat couscous to align with EAT-Lancet whole grain directives.
Hydrate couscous with stock. Fluff.
Toss with spiced oil, chopped veg/fruit, chickpeas, and almonds.
A bright family staple, swapping refined couscous for wholewheat.
Hydrate couscous in hot water. Fluff.
Combine finely chopped veg, sweetcorn, and vinaigrette.
Feta is strictly portioned to respect planetary dairy limits, while peas provide sustainable plant protein.
Toss peas, cucumber, and mint in oil/lemon dressing.
Crumble feta over top before serving.
Crisp, high-protein salad using the author's strict NO MALT vinaigrette rule!
Whisk dressing. Toss with chickpeas, diced apple, feta, onion, chilli.
Swap imported sweet potatoes for local winter squash or beetroot to drop food miles to zero.
Roast roots at 220°C for 40 mins. Chop.
Serve warm over rocket, topped with cheese, seeds, and balsamic glaze.
Adapted by swapping refined white breadcrumbs for wholemeal spelt (perfect for leftover crusts!), and substituting the heavy butter finish with a rich swirl of olive oil.
Stud onion with cloves. Boil in milk with bay & pepper. Cool 15 mins to steep.
Discard aromatics. Stir in breadcrumbs. Simmer 15 mins to thicken.
Stir in oil and season.
A beautifully festive, handwritten stuffing that beats the "packet mix". Adapted for planetary health by swapping the 60g butter for olive oil.
Mix torn bread, celery, apple, cranberries.
Sauté onion in oil. Add water. Combine with bread mix, chestnuts, and herbs.
Bake covered in foil for 15 mins.
The absolute classic. We drop the extra butter entirely, relying on olive oil to fry the onions, and bind it all together with a single backyard egg.
Fry onion in oil. Stir in sage & lemon zest.
Mix with breadcrumbs. Bind with egg.
Shape 8 balls. Roast at 180°C for 20 mins.
We keep the indulgent blue cheese strictly portion-controlled to protect dairy limits, and swap imported pine nuts for local walnuts.
Place mushrooms in dish. Crumble blue cheese over.
Toast walnuts 2 mins, sprinkle over cheese.
Nestle tomatoes/garlic. Drizzle oil. Bake 200°C for 20 mins.
Strictly portioning a single mozzarella ball to protect daily dairy limits, brushing with olive oil instead of butter.
Cut pastry into 12 squares. Place in muffin tin.
Mix chopped cheese, tomatoes, basil, oil.
Fill squares. Fold corners. Brush with oil. Bake 200°C (20 mins).
A vegan pâté that replaces heavy charcuterie. Doubled quantities for a centerpiece batch!
Caramelize onion & mushrooms. Deglaze with balsamic.
Sauté with garlic & herbs. Cool.
Blend with walnuts, miso, mustard. (Add water to loosen).
Swapping refined self-raising flour for whole spelt, and replacing butter with heart-healthy rapeseed oil.
Stir oil into flour/baking powder until crumbly.
Mix in cheese and milk to form dough.
Cut into 8. Bake 200°C for 15 mins.
Adapted by swapping refined self-raising flour for whole spelt, and replacing butter/margarine with olive oil.
Mix dry ingredients with celery, cheese, garlic.
Whisk oil, egg, milk. Combine to make dough.
Bake in loaf tin 180°C for 45-60 mins.
Swapping heavy butter for rapeseed oil, and white flour for whole spelt. Chilling without cling film!
Mix oil into flour until crumbly.
Add water to form dough. Chill under a bowl for 30 mins.
Swapping heavy butter for rapeseed oil and apple compote, using whole spelt flour. We kept the author's vital 2025 margin warning: always line the tin!
Whisk wet mix (oil/compote/eggs/flax/sugar).
Fold in flour, spices, brandy, then the massive bowl of fruits.
Bake in lined/wrapped tin at 130°C for 2h45m. "Feed" with brandy.
We slashed the 400g sugar down to 100g, used apple compote to halve the oil, and swapped white flour for whole spelt. 4 eggs reduced to 2 + 2 'flax eggs'.
Combine wet ingredients. Fold in dry ingredients.
Fold in carrots & walnuts. Bake 150°C for 45-55 mins.
Saturated coconut oil is swapped for light rapeseed oil. *Eco-Tip: Replace imported bananas with local bletted medlars or pear purée!*
Mix wet ingredients. Gently fold in flour & dates.
Bake at 180°C for exactly 18 mins.
We swap double cream for lighter milk (or oat milk) and use a crisp olive-oil spelt crust to drastically lower saturated fat.
Heat milk, sugar, spices. Pour over whisked eggs.
Add purée. Pour into crust. Bake 180°C for 35-40 mins.