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Samantha, a dedicated youth worker at Wigan Youth Zone
Her story

Meet Samantha

Samantha is a dedicated youth worker at Wigan Youth Zone, where she puts all her energy and creativity into providing engaging activities. For over two years, she has run cooking lessons to teach young people about nutrition and building confidence, while also utilising the charity’s weekly FareShare food deliveries.

Sam’s strong connection to food and family is reflected in her cherished New Year's Eve hot pot tradition and her love for her dad's comforting vol-au-vents.

Cook Samantha’s family recipes

Grandad’s hotpot

“Hot pot has always been part of our family. Every New Year’s Eve, we’d go to my grandparents’ house and Grandad would make his famous hot pot – enough to feed 15 of us. We’d spend the morning peeling potatoes and getting everything ready. As well as being our family tradition for more than 60 years, it’s a traditional Lancashire dish, which can feed a big family on a budget.”

Serves • 6
Prep • 20 mins
Cook • 50 mins
Easy
Samantha’s Grandad’s hotpot

Recipe

Ingredients

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Method

Tips and swaps

•  You can make this recipe vegetarian or vegan by swapping out the meat and stock for your favourite meat-free alternatives and the Worcestershire sauce for a splash of vinegar.

•  Many shop-bought pastries are suitable for vegans – just make sure to check the packaging.

•  You can also substitute the pastry for thinly sliced potato rounds, arranged in circles covering the entire filling.

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Cook Samantha’s family recipes

Mushroom vol-au-vents

“Vol-au-vents are my ultimate comfort food – and my dad’s speciality. On my 18th birthday, he’d made a big batch for the buffet earlier in the day. So, after I was done celebrating and my mates were all dreaming of takeaways, I came home and there they were, waiting for me – exactly what I needed. He’s a lorry driver, and that night it was like having my very own meals-on-wheels delivery service, straight to the kitchen!”

Serves • 6
Prep • 25 mins
Cook • 15 mins
Easy
Samantha’s Mushroom vol-au-vents

Recipe

Ingredients

Tick off as you go!

Method

Tips and swaps

•  These vol-au-vents are canapé size, but you could make larger ones to serve as a starter.

•  You can easily make these vegan by using a vegan-friendly mushroom soup (or substituting for vegan cream) and some plant-based milk instead of the egg. A lot of supermarket pastry is already vegan-friendly but make sure to check the label.

•  For a meatier version, you can swap out the mushrooms for chicken (or add a mix of both) and use cream of chicken soup.

•  Feel free to experiment with whatever dried or fresh herbs you have at home – thyme and tarragon work well with both chicken and mushroom.

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