Columbus's Legacy Cooking Lesson

Christopher Columbus's voyages opened up a new world of food to mankind and profoundly changed the diet of hundreds of millions of people. It was the greatest accident in history. The discovery and diffusion of New World plants caused the single greatest change in human diets since the development of agriculture. Thanks to him we have chocolate, maize, guavas, beans (green and dried), avocados, peanuts, pineapples, squash, papayas, potatoes, cassava, passionfruit, tomatoes and chillies in our diets. We eat the consequences of Columbus's voyages every day.

This cooking lesson will focus on some the recipes from the Columbus supperclub, featuring produce from the New World, that are most easily achievable at home. We will cook and eat together so it's very social (and you will take home leftovers).

The menu will be:

Vietnamese glass noodles with pork, prawns and peanuts. This is an absolutely stunning main course and is served at room temperature so can be prepared ahead. You'll wow your friends for sure if you make this dish! One of the most popular dishes from the Mighty Mung supperclub.

Roasted sweet potato, mograbiah, feta and pomegranate salad this is a delicious salad from the Middle East that makes a light main course all on its own. A huge hit with friends when I tested it on them.

Perkedel Jagung – Indonesian corn fritters - a nice simple veggie starter that's cheap and easy to make and serve with a salad

Spicy roasted squash this recipe is always a huge hit and so easy when you know how!