Recipes

Ingredients

olive oil 3 tbsp
onion 1, finely chopped
garlic 3 cloves, sliced
courgettes 6, halved lengthways and sliced thinly
vegetable stock 750ml
crème fraîche 150ml, plus a little extra to serve
mint leaves a small bunch, chopped
lemon zest (optional) to serve

Method

STEP 1
Heat the olive oil in a pan over a medium heat and cook the onion with a pinch of salt for 10 minutes until softened but not coloured. Add the garlic and cook gently for a few minutes then tip in the courgettes and cook gently for 20 minutes.

STEP 2
Pour in the vegetable stock and bring to the boil for a few minutes. Use a stick blender to whizz the soup until completely smooth, then stir in the crème fraîche and three-quarters of the mint and whizz again. Season.

STEP 3
Spoon into bowls and top with more crème fraîche and mint leaves, and some lemon zest, if you like.

Ingredients

clove garlic 1, sliced
olive oil 2 tbsp
plum tomatoes 1 × 400g tin
basil leaves handful
gruyère 100g, grated
tomatoes 3, sliced
courgettes 2, sliced

Method

STEP 1
Make the tomato sauce by cooking the garlic in the olive oil, then adding the drained plum tomatoes and handful of basil leaves and simmering until thickened.

STEP 2
Divide the sauce between two shallow gratin dishes. Arrange overlapping rows of tomato and courgette, sprinkling some gruyère between them. Drizzle with oil, season and bake covered with foil for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for 15-20 minutes. Serve with crusty bread.

Ingredients

65g butter
2 onions, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 celery sticks, chopped
6 garlic cloves, chopped
1 small Bramley apple
800g beetroot, trimmed and sliced (no need to peel)
1.5 litres chicken stock, hot
Soured cream and fresh dill sprigs, to serve

Method

STEP 1
Melt the butter in a large, heavy-based pan over a low heat. Add the onions, carrots, celery, garlic and a splash of water, cover and sweat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft. Peel, core and slice the apple and add to the pan with the beetroot. Cover and sweat for a further 15 minutes.

STEP 2
Pour in the stock, season and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 1 hour, until the beetroot is tender. Cool slightly, then purée with a hand-held blender, or in batches in a food processor, until smooth. Season and set aside to cool until just warm.

STEP 3
Divide the soup between bowls, season and top with dollops of soured cream and fresh dill sprigs.

Ingredients

100g butter melted
100g rolled oats
100g digestive or ginger buscuits, coarsley crushed
50g mixed chopped nuts
175g demerara sugar, divided in half
Good pinch of cinnamon
450g rhubarb cut into 2.5cm lengths
225g frozen raspberries

Method

STEP 1
Mix together butter, oats, crushed biscuits, nuts, half the sugar and cinnamon

STEP 2
In another bowl mix the remaining sugar with the fruits

STEP 3
Place half the fruit in the bottom of a 1.1 litre greased ovenproof dish. Sprinkle with half the biscuit mixture

STEP 4
Repeat layers

STEP 5
Bake: Fan oven: 165C for 30-40mins; conventional oven: preheat to 190C for 30-40mins; gas oven: mark 4 for 30-40mins

STEP 6
Serve hot or cold with ice cream or cream

Ingredients

8 new potatoes
50g green beans (or a small handful), trimmed and halved
3 eggs
2 Little Gem lettuces, quartered
50g pitted black olives
2 medium tomatoes (plum are good), quartered
145g can tuna in olive oil, drained, oil reserved (see below)

For the dressing

½ garlic clove
1 anchovy fillet (optional)
1 tbsp Dijion mustard
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
4 tbsp reserved olive oil from the tuna can (topped up, if needed)

Method

STEP 1
To make the dressing, mash the garlic and anchovy, if using, with a small pinch of salt on a board using the blade of a large knife, or in a pestle and mortar. Combine the paste with the mustard and vinegar, then slowly stir in the tuna oil. Set aside.

STEP 2
Tip the new potatoes into a large pan of cold salted water, ensuring they’re well covered. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Add the beans and cook for 5 mins, then remove with a slotted spoon and immediately plunge into a bowl of iced water to cool. Cook the potatoes for another 5 mins until tender, then drain and leave to cool. When cool enough to handle, halve or quarter them, and toss in a large bowl with 1 tbsp of the dressing. Leave to cool completely.

STEP 3
Meanwhile, cook the eggs in a second pan of simmering water for 7½ mins, then transfer to a bowl of iced water to cool. Drain the beans and eggs, then peel and halve the eggs.

STEP 4
Tip the lettuce quarters, cooked beans and olives into the bowl with the potatoes. Add most of the remaining dressing and gently toss. Divide the salad between two bowls, and top with the tomatoes and eggs. Flake over the tuna, then drizzle with the rest of the dressing and season.

Ingredients

600g new potatoes, halved, larger ones quartered
500g radishes, halved, larger ones quartered
4 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp black mustard seeds
1 tsp chilli flakes, plus extra to serve (optional)
30g pumpkin seeds
150g Greek yogurt
2 spring onions, thinly sliced (green parts and all)

Method

STEP 1
Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Put the potatoes in a saucepan of water, bring to the boil and cook for 8 mins. Drain and leave to steam dry.

STEP 2
Put the potatoes in one roasting tin and the radishes into another. Divide the oil between them, along with the mustard seeds and chilli flakes. Season and give everything a good mix. Put in the oven and roast for 25 mins, then take out the radishes and roast the potatoes for an extra 10 mins until crisp. Meanwhile, toast the pumpkin seeds in a dry frying pan.

STEP 3
Spread the yogurt onto a sharing platter. Pile on the potatoes and radishes, then scatter over the spring onions, pumpkin seeds and a few more chilli flakes, if you like.

Ingredients

200g new potatoes, quartered
100g asparagus tips
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
6 eggs, beaten
40g cheddar, grated
rocket or mixed leaves, to serve

Method

STEP 1
Heat the grill to high. Put the potatoes in a pan of cold salted water and bring to the boil. Once boiling, cook for 4-5 mins until nearly tender, then add the asparagus for a final 1 min. Drain.

STEP 2
Meanwhile, heat the oil in an ovenproof frying pan and add the onion. Cook for about 8 mins until softened.

STEP 3
Mix the eggs with half the cheese in a jug and season well. Pour over the onion in the pan, then scatter over the asparagus and potatoes. Top with the remaining cheese and put under the grill for 5 mins or until golden and cooked through. Cut into wedges and serve from the pan with salad.

Ingredients

1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra to serve
50g chorizo, peeled and thinly sliced
450g salad or new potatoes, sliced (I used Charlotte)
4 tbsp dry sherry, or more if you need it (or use white wine)
2 skinless thick fillets white fish (I used sustainably caught haddock)
good handful cherry tomatoes, halved
20g bunch parsley, chopped
crusty bread, to serve

Method

STEP 1
Heat a large lidded frying pan, then add the oil. Tip in the chorizo, fry for 2 mins until it starts to release its oils, then tip in the potatoes and some seasoning. Splash over 3 tbsp sherry, cover the pan tightly, then leave to cook for 10-15 mins until the potatoes are just tender. Move them around the pan a bit halfway through.

STEP 2
Season the fish well. Give the potatoes another stir, add the cherry tomatoes and most of the chopped parsley to the pan, then lay the fish on top. Splash over 1 tbsp sherry, put the lid on again, then leave to cook for 5 mins, or until the fish has turned white and is flaky when prodded in the middle. Scatter the whole dish with a little more parsley and drizzle with more extra virgin oil. Serve straight away with crusty bread.

Ingredients

25g butter
2 leeks, outer layer removed, washed of any grit and sliced into rings
small handful rosemary leaves, roughly chopped
1 bay leaf
300ml double cream
300ml milk
1 celeriac (about 500g), peeled, quartered and thinly sliced
100g cheddar or gruyère, coarsely grated

Method

STEP 1
Heat the butter in a saucepan. Add the leeks, rosemary and bay leaf, then cover and cook very gently over a medium-low heat for 15-20 mins until the leeks are soft. Pour over the milk and almost all of the cream, then season and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and leave to cool a little, then scoop out the bay leaf.

STEP 2
Pour a little of the leek mixture into an ovenproof gratin dish. Arrange a layer of celeriac in the dish, then season. Spoon over some more of the leek mixture and scatter with a little cheese. Repeat the process, alternating between layers of the leek mixture, cheese and celeriac slices, then finish with a drizzle of cream and the last of the cheese. Can be prepared up to a day ahead and kept in the fridge.

STEP 3
Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Bake the gratin for 1 hr-1 hr 15 mins until the top is golden and the celeriac is tender when poked with a knife. If the gratin is browning a little too much, cover the dish in foil. Can be chilled, then reheated in a microwave or oven on a low heat with a drizzle more cream.