Our favourite “Goddesses of Good Eating”, Hemsley and Hemsley, are back. Their new book Good + Simple was recently released and it’s flying off bookshelves. Last Monday saw the first episode of their new show, Eating Well with Hemsley + Hemsley air on Channel 4 to great applause and they recently opened the gorgeous space that is the Hemsley Cafe on the new floor of Selfridges London. Being delightful as Jasmine and Melissa are, they’ve taken some time out of their furious schedule to share a few of their favourite recipes from the new book. As ever, they are healthy but bursting with flavour and they will work wonders with children for days in the garden this summer or further afield on holiday. And if you see only one episode of their television show, make it that which airs on May 30th as it’s the family special. Meanwhile, from the girls….

COURGETTE AND CANNELLINI BEAN LASAGNE

SERVES 4

3 large courgettes

FOR THE ‘BÉCHAMEL’ SAUCE

250g ricotta

80g Parmesan or Pecorino, finely grated, plus extra for sprinkling

1 egg

FOR THE TOMATO SAUCE

1 x 400g tin of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

2 garlic cloves

120g sundried tomatoes (about 20 pieces) in oil, drained

3 tablespoons tomato purée

A pinch of sea salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

1 Add the ingredients for the ‘béchamel’ sauce to a food processor and blend until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

2 Add the ingredients for the tomato sauce to the food processor (no need to clean out the bowl) and blend until smooth.

3 Using a mandolin or very sharp knife, finely slice the courgettes lengthways into 3mm-thick pieces.

4 Preheat the oven to fan 180°C/Gasmark 6. Spread about half the tomato sauce over the bottom of a 16cmx 22cm ovenproof dish which is at least 8cm deep, as a thin layer. Top with about a third of the courgette slices in an even layer. Cover the courgettes with about half the ‘béchamel’ sauce, then top with half the remaining courgettes in an even layer.

5 Repeat the layering with the remaining tomato sauce, courgettes and ‘béchamel’, then sprinkle over a final layer of Parmesan to finish.

6 Bake for 45 minutes until golden brown on top. Remove from the oven and leave to stand for 5–10 minutes before serving.

HUEVOS RANCHEROS WITH GUACAMOLE

SERVES 2

4 large handfuls of spinach, roughly chopped

4 eggs

1 large handful of fresh coriander, leaves and stalks roughly chopped

1 small handful of grated mature Cheddar

FOR THE TOMATO SAUCE

1 large onion, diced

1 tablespoon ghee or coconut oil

2 garlic cloves, diced

2 red peppers, halved lengthways, deseeded and sliced into strips

2 bay leaves

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

A pinch of cayenne pepper or finely diced fresh red chilli, to taste

2 x 400g tins of tomatoes or 800g fresh tomatoes

200ml water (100ml if using fresh tomatoes)

Sea salt and black pepper

FOR THE GUACAMOLE

1 large ripe avocado

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Juice of ½–1 lime

2 spring onions or 1 small handful of fresh chives, chopped

1 handful of fresh coriander leaves, chopped

1 First make the tomato sauce. Fry the onion in the ghee or coconut oil over a medium heat for about 8minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened.

2 Add the garlic, peppers, bay leaves and spices to the pan and cook for another 2minutes.

3 Add the tomatoes and water, season generously with salt and pepper, then stir everything together and leave to simmer for 10 minutes until reduced to a thick, rich sauce.

4 Meanwhile, make the guacamole. Halve and stone the avocado, then scoop out the flesh and roughly chop. Place in a bowl and stir in all the remaining ingredients and some seasoning. Set aside.

5 Check the seasoning of the tomato sauce, adding extra salt, pepper and cayenne/chilli as needed, then stir through the spinach and cook for a few minutes until just wilted.

6 Use a spatula or spoon to make four wells in the tomato sauce mixture and crack an egg into each. The eggs will poach in the sauce and cook in about 4 minutes (lid on) for set whites and runny yolks.

7 Scatter over the coriander and cheese. Serve immediately (as the eggs will keep cooking) with big heaped spoonfuls of guacamole on top.

Cannellini Vanilla Sponge Cake with Chocolate Avo Frosting

Serves 25–30

For the cake

125g butter or coconut oil, melted, plus extra for greasing

3 x 400g tins of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

9 medium eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

220ml maple syrup

5 teaspoons apple cider vinegar or lemon juice

90g coconut flour

2½ teaspoons bicarbonate of soda

¼ teaspoon sea salt

150g punnet of fresh raspberries, to decorate

For the chocolate avo frosting

4 medium ripe avocados

5 tablespoons (about 75g) coconut oil, melted

8 tablespoons raw honey (to taste)

10 tablespoons cocoa powder

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons lemon juice

½ teaspoon orange extract (not essence)

A pinch of sea salt

1 Preheat the oven to fan 180°C/gasmark 6, then line the bases of two 25cm-diameter cake tins with baking parchment and grease the sides with butter or coconut oil.

2 Blend all the ingredients for the frosting together in a food processor until smooth, adding a dash of cold water if needed. taste, adjusting the flavourings to taste, then transfer to a bowl and set aside in the fridge.

3 For the cake, add the cannellini beans to the cleaned food processor bowl with the eggs, vanilla extract and maple syrup and blend until smooth. Add the remaining cake ingredients, except the raspberries, and blend to combine.

4 Divide the cake batter between the prepared cake tins, spreading out evenly and smoothing the surface. Bake in the oven for 35 minutes until well risen and lightly golden on top. (Check the cakes after 25 minutes and swap the tins between shelves, if necessary, as they will cook at different rates.)

5 Remove from the oven, transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool completely in the tins before turning out.

6 While the cakes are cooling, gently wash the raspberries and dry them carefully using kitchen paper or leave to air dry; (they must be thoroughly dry before adding to the cake.)

7. Spread half the frosting on one of the cooled sponges, top with the other sponge and spread over the rest of the frosting. Store in the fridge and bring to room temperature to serve. decorate with the fresh raspberries just before serving.

Extracted from Good + Simple by Jasmine and Melissa Hemsley (Ebury Press, £25)

Photography by Nick Hopper