IT’S been a year since she won MasterChef, but life is still throwing up surprises for Natalie Coleman.

There was the MasterChef: The Finalists cookbook, which she co-wrote with runners-up Dale Williams and Larkin Cen, some very exciting work placements in the kitchens of celebrity chefs Tom Kerridge, Michel Roux Jr. and Marcus Wareing, and the hours she passed chewing the fat with childhood hero, Bradford’s Ade Edmondson, who won Celebrity MasterChef last year.

“Jennifer Saunders tweeted me, because I was going up to the BBC Good Food Show and [her husband] Ade was going to be there,” recalls Coleman, laughing as she admits she “screamed” with joy when Saunders followed her on Twitter.

Now Natalie’s got a new cookbook, Winning Recipes For Every Day. If you fancy opening the door to some of Coleman’s culinary delights, here’s a recipe from the book.

Spanish Chorizo and Chickpea Stew

Serves 6

INGREDIENTS 2tbsp olive oil, plus extra for drizzling 1 large onion, finely diced 1 red pepper, deseeded and cut into 1cm chunks 1 yellow pepper, deseeded and cut into 1cm chunks 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped or crushed 2 bay leaves 250g cooking chorizo, skin removed and cut into 1cm slices 1/2tsp cayenne pepper 1tsp smoked paprika 2 x 400g tins of chickpeas, drained and rinsed 1 x 400g tin of cherry tomatoes 1 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes 200ml chicken stock 3tbsp finely chopped parsley 200g spinach 2tbsp sherry vinegar Salt and pepper Crusty bread, to serve

METHOD Heat the olive oil in a large pot (with a lid) over a medium heat and gently fry the onion for three to four minutes until softened, then add the red and yellow peppers and cook for a further five minutes until softened. Do not let them brown.

Add the garlic and bay leaves and cook for a further minute, stirring frequently, then add the chorizo and cook for another five minutes, continuing to stir so the garlic doesn’t burn or catch on the bottom of the pan. After five minutes, add the cayenne pepper and paprika, stir so everything is mixed well, and cook for two minutes. Add the chickpeas and cook for three minutes, then add both the tinned cherry tomatoes and chopped tomatoes and cook for two minutes. Finally, pour in the chicken stock, turn up the heat and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat by half and cook with the lid on for 45 minutes, stirring every so often to make sure nothing catches on the bottom of the pan. After 45 minutes, remove the lid from the pan and cook for a further 45 minutes without the lid, so the stew thickens. Stir regularly so it doesn’t stick or burn.

After this time, add the parsley and cook for two minutes. Add the spinach, put the lid on and cook for two to three minutes until wilted, then give it a good stir so it’s all well mixed. Season with salt and pepper. Mix in the sherry vinegar - you may want to add a little more to taste, but do taste it first. Remove the bay leaves and discard.

Drizzle with a little olive oil and serve with crusty bread.