MEXICAN CEVICHEA

serves: 6 preparation time: 15 minutes cooking time: 10 minutes

My, this is easy and tastes like sunshine. I go nuts for Mexico and this tasty little combo makes for a lunch or starter that I could happily eat every day – even better with a bit of warmth on your skin. With an excellent ratio of effort to pleasure, really the only work is in getting good enough fish.

Best to buy the fish on the day you are going to use it and check with your fishmonger that it’s the freshest there. Sometimes they have newer stuff out the back, and you need it to be spanking fresh.

If you’re prepping this ahead of time, don’t put the lime on the fish until about 10 minutes before you serve it. Even though there’s no heat involved, technically the lime juice ‘cooks’ the fish, so no get-out for raw fish wimps here.

Tabasco is a land-locked state in Mexico, so you’d be unwise to eat fish there. However, you might want to put a bottle on the table as I certainly like to shake a few drops of fire on to mine.

Put six glasses into the freezer – small wine, cocktail, tumblers, it’s up to you – just nothing too huge.

Dice the fish fillets into centimetre cubes and put in a bowl. Squeeze on the juice of one lime to cure it and mix in the two small diced chillies. Stir it all up well and leave aside for 10 minutes.

In a separate bowl, mix together the spring onions, pepper, cucumber, coriander, avocado and the sliced chilli. Squeeze over the juice of another lime and season well with salt and a good crack of pepper.

Mix everything together well and serve in your iced glasses with a fat wedge of lime each.

MEXICAN CEVICHEA

TURKEY AND CHICKPEA PATTIESP

serves: 4 as a starter preparation time: 25 minutes cooking time: 15 minutes

You may be tempted to think that, when entertaining at home, chefs produce endless platters of foie gras, truffles, oysters and venison … Well, not this one! Turkey and chickpea patties are one of my favourite dishes to cook for friends as a starter or even a light main course.

When my children saw these for the first time they suddenly recalled my lectures about ‘always telling the truth’ and swiftly informed me that I was actually cooking turkey burgers, so I could forget all the pattie nonsense. They are right, of course. Only snobbery has stopped me giving this invention its rightful place in the chain that is burger evolution.

By the way, if you can’t easily get hold of plantain, then sweet potato works just as well. These turkey patties (aka burgers) would also go very well in a sesame seed bun with lettuce, red onion and mayo!

Whizz the chickpeas in a food processor until they are almost as fine as breadcrumbs, then put them in a large bowl with the minced turkey and mix together using your hands. Now add the garlic, mint, parsley, chilli flakes, sweet chilli sauce and ginger, and again work these flavours in using your hands. Season with a pinch of salt if you fancy it, then divide the mixture into four.

To shape the patties you need a plain-edged pastry cutter – the one I use is about 12cm across. Push a dollop of the mixture into the cutter and, using the back of a spoon, smooth it down to form a small burger. You can, of course, do this shaping by hand – just make sure you combine the mixture tightly so there are no air pockets within. The patties can be left in the fridge for a few hours.

To make the salsa, place the very finely chopped red onion and tomato in a mixing bowl. Add the yoghurt, lime juice and avocado and mix everything together. If you wish to store this, pack it tightly into a bowl and cover the surface with cling film to stop it discolouring.

When you are ready to serve, heat a frying pan and add a tablespoon of the olive oil. Place the patties in the pan and let them sizzle away for at least 4 minutes undisturbed. Then gently lift them and check the undersides, which should be golden brown and very slightly crispy. If they are, flip them over and do the same on the other side. When they are ready, remove them from the pan and keep warm. Meanwhile, peel the plantain or sweet potato and cut into four long slices about 3mm thick. Pan-fry these in the remaining olive oil until brown and slightly blistered on both sides – this should take about 7 minutes. Place a patty on a plate, lay a long slice of plantain across it and top with a dollop of salsa. Lovely with a dressed rocket salad and some sweet chilli sauce.

TURKEY AND CHICKPEA PATTIESP

SIMPLE SUSHIA

makes: 30–35 pieces of sushi as a starter for 6, or great as canapés preparation time: 45 minutes

It may just be a myth, but supposedly for the first whole year of becoming a sushi chef, all you do is cook rice. If this is true (and it’s brought me amusement and amazement for so many years that I kind of don’t want to know if it’s not) it’s scary for many reasons. Is there really that much to know about rice? And how can anyone care that much?

Getting at least the basics of this great art form is pretty simple – even for someone who’s not drawn to precision like me – and the result is so very proud-making. Totally impressive and, as long as you leave yourself enough time, the process can be a really enjoyable one.

Freshly made sushi is a world nicer than old and cold in plastic trays and if you’re wondering why I chose to include this recipe, the clue is in the title – Economy Gastronomy. They’re cheap, fun and a bit flash.

For those that feel their sushi needs to be fishy, this is delish with thin slivers of mackerel in place of the sesame aubergines.

You need a small bamboo mat for sushi rolling, as well as dried seaweed sheets (nori). The rice you can get in most supermarkets and some of them do the other bits too; otherwise nip into your local Asian shop or order online.

To prepare the rice

Cook the rice according to the pack instructions. Knock up the rice dressing by mixing together the rice wine vinegar, sugar and salt, then stir until everything has dissolved.

Tip the cooked rice on to a tray and spread it out. Pour the dressing over the hot rice and, using the side of a wooden spoon or spatula, make valleys in the rice for maximum absorption and leave to cool to room temperature. Once cooled, transfer to a bowl and drape over a tea towel.

To make the veggie filling

If making the aubergine filling, trim the ends, then cut a quarter slice off lengthways. Sit this, flat-side on your board, and make another similar cut to take off another quarter. You are now halfway to blocking it off, so make the remaining two slices to cut off the rest of the skin, so you are left with five pieces of aubergine.

Cut the central block into slices lengthways, about a centimetre thick, then cut all of the pieces into centimetre-wide long sticks – you’ll need about 15 good ones for the sushi, so any left over are for snacking.

Put a frying pan on a high heat and pour in half the sesame oil. When the oil is smoking hot, lay in half the sticks. Don’t play with them, but as you see them browning on the bottom, turn them over. After about 5 to 7 minutes, they should be nice and golden brown on all sides. Give them a bit of a season.

Once you have a colour you’re happy with, tip out any excess oil and keep it for cooking the next batch of aubergine. Sprinkle on the sesame seeds and put a lid on to stop them jumping out. Just a minute later, spoon in half the honey, give the aubergines a roll and coat gently, making sure you don’t break them as they are very soft by now. As soon as you have no liquid left in the pan, very gently transfer them out on to a plate, pouring any residual honey on top. Give the pan a quick wash and repeat with the other half of the aubergine, using any reserved oil and the rest of the sesame oil. Before you add the honey, remember to drain off any excess oil again – this time, chuck it away.

To make the fishy filling

Cut the central strip of bones out with a knife (too fiddly to use tweezers), slice the mackerel fillets into long thin strips (you’ll need about 10 in total), put them in the bowl and coat them in the soy.

To build your sushi

Have a bowl of water nearby and lay the rolling mat on the table with the smooth side up. Put a sheet of nori (shiny-side down) on the mat. Wet your hands in the water (this stops the rice sticking to your hands), then take about a cup of rice (roughly 175–200g) and spread it evenly over the two-thirds of the nori that is closest to you. Use your dampened fingertips to compress it a bit.

Now, lay two of your aubergine sticks or mackerel strips about a third of the way up the rice, so they span the width from side to side. In careful, close-packed lines, lay on the other ingredients one by one. Finish with a couple of coriander sprigs with the leaves pointing out at either side and a squeeze of lime. For the fishy ones, I think a thin brush of wasabi at the top of the rice gives it an extra bit of wallop, but it’s deeply optional.

Use your fingertips to gently wet the exposed top third of the nori. Since the Japanese know best, I have lifted this from the back of my nori packet:

‘Hold line of ingredients across rice firmly in place with fingertips. Using thumb, push up and turn bamboo mat edge nearest you up and over filling, pressing firmly to enclose filling and lifting bamboo mat while rolling to keep free from enclosing in sushi roll. Gently, but firmly, press bamboo mat around roll to shape. (The art of making maki-sushi is to get filling ingredients line-up in centre of roll.) Unroll mat.’

Everybody OK with that, then? Lots of fun, amazingly satisfying and not that hard, once you’ve got the hang of it. Cut into the first one to see how you did, and taste it for balance: you should be able to discern sticky rice, crunchy veg, zippy onion and coriander and the sharpness of the lime to contrast with the sweetness. Make any adjustments to your ratios, and mentally work through any necessary changes to your rolling technique too, then go again. The second one isn’t nearly so scary, and by the time you do your fifth and last one, you’ll be a real pro.

To finish the sushi

Once you’ve got a row of firm logs, put them on your chopping board, seam-side down, and choose a sharp, preferably thin knife (wetting your knife gives a neater, cleaner cut). Don’t go and ruin all that hard work by tearing them with a dull knife at this stage.

Slice the pieces a couple of centimetres thick. I figure they’re about the right height and size if you get seven out of each roll. Serve with a pile of pickled ginger, wasabi and a little individual dish of soy on the side, not to mention a huge amount of pride.

SIMPLE SUSHIA

SPICY CHICKEN BHUNA SALADP

serves: 4 preparation time: 25 minutes, plus marinating time cooking time: 15 minutes

When you see the word ‘bhuna’ on an Indian menu it generally indicates that the dish has been dry-fried. Before this the meat is often marinated. The recipe below does have a fair few ingredients, but with a little planning it really doesn’t take all that much effort. The vinaigrette should be at the ready in your fridge at all times and the marinade can be assembled at least a day in advance (though not with the chicken in).

Mix all the marinade ingredients together in a bowl. Then add the diced chicken breasts and coat thoroughly with the marinade. Ideally they should have at least an hour in the marinade, so store them in the fridge.

Meanwhile, prepare all the bits for the salad, starting with the courgette. These can be sliced very finely and left raw, or pan-fried, or cooked on a ribbed grill pan. Whichever way you choose, they should have a slight crunch. Next crack the coconut in half by wrapping it in a cloth and giving it a sharp smack with a hammer. Remove the hard outer husk and then, using a potato peeler, take long strips from the flesh. Toast these under a hot grill until they are just beginning to brown, turning every minute or so.

Make the mustard vinaigrette now (see below).

Just before serving, remove the chicken from the marinade and pan-fry it in batches in a little vegetable oil. Make sure the pan is hot and not overloaded with chicken – that way you will end up with nicely coloured pieces of chicken. As each batch cooks, finish it with a pinch of garam masala and a little chopped mint.

Arrange all the remaining salad bits in a large bowl, add the courgette, coconut, chicken and vinaigrette, then finish by breaking up the poppadoms and scattering them over the top for a bit of crunch.

SPICY CHICKEN BHUNA SALADP

MUSTARD VINAIGRETTE

Place all the ingredients in a jam jar, put the lid on and shake well to create a tangy dressing which goes well with many salads. Adjust the amount of sugar and vinegar to suit your palate.

CARAMELIZED ONION AND CHESHIRE CHEESE TARTA

serves: 12 as a starter, or 6 as a main preparation time: 1 hour cooking time: 1 hour

This is a tart rather than a quiche because it’s really all about the onions, with very little of the binding egg custard that defines a quiche. Impossible to go wrong with cheese and onion – it makes a much better filling than salt and vinegar.

Cooking the onions for such a long time makes them very soft and sweet, which is why Cheshire is the perfect match, with its slightly sharp taste and firm, crumbly texture.

To make the pastry, put the flour into a food processor, cut the butter into knobs and drop these individually down the chute as it’s spinning until all incorporated. Now drop in the egg yolks, one after the other, and a second later turn it off. Give it a season whilst still in the food processor (it should now have a pale, clumpy, sandy texture), then tip it out, add a splash of milk and wrap it tightly in cling film and put in the freezer for half an hour.

Get a wide heavy-bottomed pan on to a high heat and melt the butter. Tip the onions in and put a lid on – if your pan isn’t big enough, do half and wait for them to collapse a bit before adding the rest. Add the garlic and give it a good stir, making sure that nothing is burning at the bottom, then turn the heat down a bit, but keep it medium-high. Toss in the thyme bundle and poke it down into the onions, then put the lid back on.

After 15 minutes, take the lid off and turn the heat down to low. If you’ve got any brown bits on the bottom of your pan, add a splash of water and scrape them off with a wooden spoon. Give it a good season and cook for a further 35–45 minutes, stirring occasionally. They’re done when they are beginning to stick to the bottom of the pan and smell like French onion soup.

Take your crumbly pastry out of the freezer and coarsely grate it directly into a 28cm tart case (3.5cm deep). Use your fingertips to press evenly on the base and up the sides, and save a nugget in case you need to make some repairs later. Put the pastry case back in the freezer for 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/160ºC fan/gas mark 4. Blind bake the pastry case by lining it with greaseproof and filling it with baking beans. Pop it into your oven for 10 minutes, then lift out the paper and the beans. Make an egg wash, using the white of one egg, saving the yolk for later, then brush this over the pastry case. If you see any cracks, fill them with a bit of your emergency pastry and put it back in the oven for a further 10 minutes. Keep an eye on it at this stage as all ovens are different and pastry is slightly temperamental – you’re looking for an all-over golden brown. Then take it out and drop the oven temp to 160ºC/140ºC fan/ gas mark 3. Gently do any final emergency repairs – you need her to be water-tight.

Beat the remaining 2 eggs plus the yolk with the milk in a big bowl, then whisk in the cream, mustard and seasoning. Take the thyme out of the onions and crumble in the cheese, keeping a bit for the top. Pour the cream and egg mixture into the onions and stir well. Tip it all into your tart case and spread it out so that it comes up to the edge of the pastry all the way round. Scatter the remaining cheese on top, then stick it in the oven for 40 minutes. Leave to rest for at least 10 minutes before serving with a simple green salad.

CARAMELIZED ONION AND CHESHIRE CHEESE TARTA

SALMON RILLETTESP

serves: 4 as a starter/snack preparation time: 10 minutes cooking time: 10–15 minutes

This is as glamorous as leftovers can get. The next time you have any trimmings and offcuts left over after prepping fresh salmon this dish is an ideal way to use them up. The smoked salmon is not absolutely necessary, but I do think it makes this something special. I make these at Christmas to serve on toast as canapés before lunch. Posh five-star snacking? I know! But hey, you’re worth it.

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/160ºC fan/gas mark 4.

Place the fresh salmon in a small ovenproof baking dish and wet it with a dessertspoon of water. Cover the dish with foil and cook for 10–15 minutes. (Obviously the timing depends on how big a piece of salmon you have: lots of little bits will take much less time than a large chunk. The idea is to undercook the salmon slightly, as this way you end up with really moist rillettes.) Remove the fish from the dish and allow it to cool.

When the salmon is cool, flake it into a bowl. Now add the crème fraîche or Greek yoghurt, lemon juice, butter, dill and horseradish – but don’t mix it together yet. Shred the smoked salmon into strips and add these to the bowl. Finally add a twist of black pepper, then gently fold and mix everything together, taking care not to break it down to a mush. When everything is thoroughly combined, put in a serving dish and chill in the fridge for at least an hour. Serve with hot brown toast.

SALMON RILLETTESP

SPICY SEED-RUBBED BBQ BEEFA

serves: 6–8 preparation time: 10 minutes cooking time: 30–40 minutes

It’s never quite made sense to me that as a nation we love our barbies, taking the time to spark them up at the slightest hint of sunshine and then, for the most part, we throw very mediocre meat on them.

Watching this majestic lump sizzle over coals with the sun above you creates one of those pure ‘I love cooking’ moments. Don’t worry if the seeds on the outside go quite dark, black even, these bits just taste divine at the end.

When it comes to choosing your hunk of beef, rump is the cheapest option, rib-eye works well, as does sirloin but it’s more expensive. Quick heads-up: if you marinate the meat overnight, you’ll get a good few yards more pleasure out of it.

In a pestle and mortar or in a spice grinder, mix together everything for the marinade except the oil. Pound and grind alternately, making sure you crush the seeds and crack the peppercorns. It takes about 4 minutes of decent work, and I tend to use the end of a rolling pin rather than the pestle as I think it does the job faster. Stir in just enough olive oil to make a paste.

Rub and smear the paste all over the meat and leave for as long as you can – in the fridge overnight (but take it out way ahead of time so it’s not fridge-cold when you cook it) or at room temperature if you’ve only got a few hours.

Once the coals on the barbecue are white hot, push them round to the outside and sit the meat on the rack in the middle – too much direct flame will bring on excessive blackening – and shut the lid or put something metal over it to capture the heat. A bowl made from foil by moulding it over a mixing bowl works really well.

Don’t move the meat around, but turn it after about 8–10 minutes. Repeat for the same amount of time on each of the 4 sides so that it cooks for just over half an hour (obviously these times vary depending on the temperature coming off the coals). To test if the meat is done, stick a skewer or thin knife into the centre of it and gingerly touch it to your top lip. Don’t take it off until you feel a distinct warmth, but it shouldn’t be anywhere near properly hot.

Give it a good 10 minutes’ rest, loosely covered with foil, before slicing with a sharp knife. The seeds will have burnt a bit, but that just makes for added crunch and intensity of flavour to contrast with the beautiful, wobbling flesh inside.

SPICY SEED-RUBBED BBQ BEEFA

GRILLED LAMB’S LIVERP

WITH PEAS AND BACON

serves: 4 preparation time: 15 minutes cooking time: 25 minutes

I have a hunch that while you may be the type who makes a beeline for the offal on a restaurant menu, you think it’s not the sort of thing you could actually cook yourself. Well, think again! Get your butcher to do all the mucky prep and then give it a go – it really isn’t that difficult.

Liver is a fabulous meat. Very nutritious, it just needs to be cooked with a little care. Not all livers are the same, of course. Pig’s liver is that dry rubbery stuff we were all fed at school, putting us on a collision course with liver aversion. Pig’s liver is very cheap, but frankly it isn’t the best. Calves’ liver, on the other hand, is the best and, if you can afford it, I wouldn’t stop you using it. However, lamb’s liver, which we are using here, is both very reasonably priced and tastes great. A decent-sized lamb’s liver should comfortably satisfy four people, especially as we are serving it with extra bacon.

Ask your butcher to remove the membrane that covers the liver, then, if you are particularly squeamish, to slice it into eight long, even slices. Now all you need to do is cook it! I am suggesting you use a ribbed griddle pan, but if you don’t have one you should (a) sauté the liver in a normal pan and (b) put ‘ribbed griddle pan’ on your birthday present wish list.

Heat the oil or butter over a medium heat in a small frying pan and allow the button onions to colour while they cook. They will need to be tossed around occasionally to ensure that they are evenly coloured. Leave them cooling in the pan to one side, because we will be back with them shortly …

The liver will need to be lightly oiled on both sides before going into the ribbed griddle pan for no more than 2–3 minutes each side on a high heat. In this time it will cook to the point of medium, which is ideal; it will also take on rather pleasing grill lines from the pan. Take the liver out of the pan and keep it warm by covering with some foil while you finish the rest of the dish.

Put your pan of button onions back on a medium heat and pour in the chicken stock. Allow it to boil and then gradually whisk in the flour and butter paste until the sauce begins to thicken. (Letting the sauce bubble for a couple of minutes gets rid of any uncooked flour flavour and helps it thicken.) Just so you know, this paste is called beurre manié in the cooking world and its purpose is to thicken stocks or soups very slightly.

As the thickening stock starts to simmer, throw in the peas and the mint, closely followed by the lettuce. Toss everything around in the pan to allow the peas to get hot, the mint to impart its flavour and the lettuce to whimper and soften slightly. Check for seasoning and it’s game on.

While the sauce simmers, throw four rashers of bacon into the griddle pan and cook for 3–4 minutes. To serve, put a dollop of mash on to each plate, spoon over some of the pea mixture and top with the liver and bacon.

GRILLED LAMB’S LIVERP

LIGHT-AS-A-FEATHER SEAFOOD PANCAKESA

serves: 4 preparation time: 1 hour cooking time: 50 minutes–1 hour

Many of us still get excited by pancakes – a reminder of childhood, they have the buzz of Event Food. However, nothing could be cheaper and easier, not to mention more fun, than knocking up a batter and flipping away.

And while we’re challenging some preconceived time fallacies, debearding this amount of mussels takes about 4 minutes – time you have on your hands anyway as the batter is resting. Just wouldn’t want to put you off.

For the batter

Sift the flour and a big pinch of salt into a bowl and make a well in the middle. Pour in the 2 beaten eggs. With a wooden spoon, start to pull in some flour from outside. Then switch to a whisk and gradually add the milk, pulling in more flour until all is incorporated. Season well and set aside for half an hour with a tea towel draped over it.

For the filling

Peel the spuds and halve them, cover with cold water and a hefty pinch of salt. Simmer with a lid on until properly soft but not mushy, then, most crucially, drain thoroughly in a colander before mashing.

Now you have time to debeard your mussels. Grab hold of the bit of stringy stuff sticking out and draw it down towards the pointier end of the mussel before giving it a little tug so it comes out. While you’re doing this, keep the mussels you’ve debearded under running cold water. Chuck the beards away, along with any mussels that are open.

In a pan big enough to hold all the mussels, gently fry the onion and garlic in a little butter on a low to medium heat with a lid on, making sure they soften rather than colour. Stir occasionally for roughly 10 minutes. Add the mussels to the pan and roll them around. Pour in the white wine, add the bay leaves and pop a lid on to steam for 5 minutes, giving them a shake halfway through.

Once your mussels are cooked and open, use a slotted spoon to fish them out on to a tray (leaving behind as much onion as possible). Leave the pan on the heat and reduce the liquor down to a third before you turn it off. Put the mussels aside to cool then pick them out of their shells. Mix them into your spud mash.

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/160ºC fan/gas mark 4.

To cook the pancakes

Choose a thin pan, preferably non-stick for ease and roughly 25cm in diameter. Get it medium hot, then chuck in a knob of butter and as it fizzles, swirl it all around and up the sides a bit.

Ladle in just enough of the batter to give you a thin layer as you quickly tip it around the pan. After a minute or two, when you can see the edges going brown and turning up, flip it over (be brave) and cook it for another minute or two before turning it on to a plate (you’re allowed to have the first one as a cook’s snack with lemon and sugar as chances are the first one will be a bit thick).

From there on, just keep melting a new knob of butter and making and stacking pancakes until you’ve run out of batter. You should get nine pancakes out of this (and I’m assuming you’ll have eaten one), which gives you enough for one each and a bit over for seconds.

Separate the eggs, putting the whites in a medium-sized bowl for whisking in a minute. Move your mash to a big metal bowl and stir the yolks into it along with the fish, prawns, some nutmeg, dill, salt and pepper.

Whisk the egg whites until the firm peak stage and fold them into the spud mix in three lots. The first you do quite vigorously, the second much more lightly in arcing motions and the final lot with the strokes of an angel. This is all about the fluffy.

Choose an ovenproof dish big enough to hold all the rolled up pancakes, and butter it.

To serve

Lay out your pancakes two at a time with the light side up and divide a quarter of the filling mix between each two. Put a sausage shape of filling in the centre of each one, roll and sit tight in the dish. Repeat for all the others. Lightly stroke soft butter along the top of each pancake, sprinkle on the Parmesan, season well and put them in the preheated oven for 20–25 minutes.

About 5 minutes before the pancakes come out, bring your mussel liquor up to a simmer for a couple of minutes and then chuck in your frozen peas. Turn the heat off and whisk in your very soft butter in small knobs. Taste and add a squeeze of lemon and seasoning, then finish with finely chopped parsley. Serve with a wedge of lemon and eat straight away, otherwise the fluffy filling will fall.

LIGHT-AS-A-FEATHER SEAFOOD PANCAKESA

BUTTERNUT TAGINEP

serves: 4 preparation time: 30 minutes cooking time: 40 minutes

If I had to pick one recipe to cook for Allegra, above all the others in this book, this would be it, simply because whenever I go round to her house she always has something similar bubbling away on the stove. To call it a ‘tagine’ is possibly using a touch of poetic licence, as the word actually refers to dishes cooked in an earthenware vessel of the same name much used in North African cuisine. However, I feel justified in my description, since the end results are pretty much the same.

I have kept things completely vegetarian because the dish has so much flavour, texture and variety it really doesn’t need the addition of meat or fish. However, if you are the type who feels the need, then I would suggest chicken or lamb.

The first step is to roast and grind the spices. The quantities I’ve given here work for me, but it’s a personal thing, so if you want to play with amounts go ahead. Place a large frying pan on the stove and chuck all the spices in. Allow them to heat up and start toasting very slightly. Remove the spices from the heat, allow them to cool and then grind to a powder using a spice grinder or a pestle and mortar. Any spices you don’t use will store well in a jam jar in the cupboard. Mark it ‘Tagine’ and you’re quids in next time.

Now the spices are done you’re ready to start the tagine. Heat a good glug of olive oil in a frying pan, dust the diced butternut with a third of the spice mix and fry in manageable batches until browned all over – it does not need to be cooked through at this stage. (Although not vital to the finished dish, browning the butternut gives a much more complex, interesting flavour to the tagine.) Set the spiced butternut aside.

Next, heat a casserole pot on the stove, add a tablespoon of olive oil and gently fry the garlic and red onion. Give them a couple of minutes before adding the peppers. Now add the butternut and another third of the spice mix. Add the tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Cook for about 15 minutes before adding the dates, olives and chickpeas. If it looks too dry, add up to 5 tablespoons of water at this point. Gently simmer until the butternut is just cooked and the dates are starting to break up. Check the seasoning and add a little salt and some more spice mix if required. The tagine can be cooled and reheated whenever required.

This dish is best served with couscous and I would offer flatbreads and a dish of yoghurt with chopped mint.

BUTTERNUT TAGINEP

CHICKEN SURPRISEA

serves: 6 preparation time: 25–30 minutes cooking time: about 1 hour

The surprise being, of course, that you have no idea what’s in it – apart from the clue in the origami … I’m less of a breast than a leg type (which you’d never guess from looking at me), so this way of steam-roasting them so they don’t go dry is my favourite way of cooking chicken breasts.

This hits all my buttons for having friends over. Very easy, bit of a spectacle, you can make them up ahead of time and there’s no need for any accompanying veg – it’s all in the bird. It’s also a great dinner for kids – use less chilli for theirs though.

You need one of those long rolls of foil for this, not the short stubby ones.

Wash the mushrooms and tug the stalks from the caps (we’re only using the caps in this recipe, but keep the stalks to use in a stock). Pour the toasted sesame oil into a frying pan over a medium heat. Once hot, add the chilli, ginger and garlic and fry for a few minutes until golden, then add the shiitake caps and fry for a further 5 minutes on a low heat.

Put the egg noodles into a big bowl and break them up with your hands. Pour the contents of your frying pan on to them, along with the cashews and the carrot slices. Remove the outer dozen leaves from the Chinese cabbage and set aside. Thinly slice the remaining core and add to the noodles, with the sweet chilli and soy, then use your hands to coat the noodles all over.

Preheat the oven to 220ºC/200ºC fan/gas mark 7. Put the chicken breasts into a big bowl and pour on the oyster sauce. Roll these all around with your hand so they too get a good even coating. Trim the ends off the spring onions and have the limes at the ready.

Lay out 6 x 45cm square pieces of foil. Divide your noodle mixture into the middle of each one. The mushrooms, carrots and cashews tend to fall to the bottom, so make sure each parcel gets its fair share. Sit a Chinese cabbage leaf on the noodles, concave-side up, going from left to right, then lay the breast on it. Give it a squeeze of lime juice (use two of the limes for this) and a touch of salt and lay another Chinese cabbage leaf on top. Top this off with a piece of bok choy and a spring onion. Bring the sides of the foil together, then fold these loosely over the chicken.

Don’t stress about this next bit – it’s deceptively easy. Form one end into a fanned out tail and the other into a bird’s head, and don’t forget the beak. Make sure it’s quite well pinched together at the base of the tail and the neck to seal it. Now whip up the rest of the brood.

Arrange them three to a tray and if you have two ovens, use both of them, otherwise do them one above the other and swap them halfway through. Bake for about 45 minutes. Put the chooks straight on your guests’ plates with a wedge of lime and let them break into the birds at the table (being careful of the steam).

CHICKEN SURPRISEA

SALMON EN CROÛTEP

serves: 6 preparation time: 30 minutes (including egg, rice and mushroom cooking) cooking time: 40 minutes

In the world of fine dining, one soon comes to realize that anything with a French name can have an extra fiver slapped on the price and no one will complain. Therefore, in the interests of Economy Gastronomy, I shall rename this recipe … Salmon Wrapped in Puff Pastry. There, it’s cheaper already.

This is a classic restaurant dish. Unfortunately, it is too often done as an individual serving, by which I mean that a single portion of salmon is wrapped in puff pastry, imbalancing the pastry to salmon ratio to the detriment of the salmon.

When you visit the fishmonger ask him for half a side of fresh salmon. I would be fussy if I were you and ask for the head end. Basically this means he will take a 5kg salmon and remove one side or fillet of it. He will then cut it in half and give you the thick end. Now ask him to remove the skin. Result: you will be the proud owner of half a whole fillet of fish, which will give at least six really generous portions. If you are feeding only four people, fear not – it will reheat well tomorrow and is actually very good cold with mayonnaise and a salad.

Boil your rice and eggs in separate pans then drain and put to one side to cool. Peel and roughly chop the eggs when cool enough to handle. Cut off a third of the slab of pastry. On a lightly floured surface roll the two pieces out until you have two oblongs, both about 4mm thick. Aim for the larger one to be 30cm long and 22cm wide; the other 30cm long and 17cm wide. Put these into the fridge either rolled up or on two trays to rest for about 15 minutes for the gluten in the flour to relax. Meanwhile, put the rice in a bowl and mix in the chopped parsley, curry powder, cooked mushrooms and chopped eggs. Have a taste – I expect it will need a little salt and pepper too.

Lay a 35cm x 20cm piece of greaseproof paper on a large baking tray. Put the smaller oblong of pastry on the paper and position the salmon on it centrally. On top of the salmon pack an even layer of the rice mixture, giving the rice a few encouraging squeezes so it won’t tumble off.

Brush all the way around the edge of the pastry with the beaten egg. Now lay the bigger sheet of pastry over the salmon and rice. Make sure there is an equal overhang of pastry on all sides. Using your fingers, push the top half of pastry against the base and seal it all round.

Add the milk and sugar to the remaining beaten egg and brush the pastry all over – this will help it take on a rich golden-brown colour. Now put your Salmon en Croûte – for that is what it is – in the fridge. Yep, it needs another bloody rest! It can sit there happily for about 10 hours if necessary, but 30 minutes will do.

About an hour prior to serving, preheat the oven to 190ºC/170ºC fan/gas mark 5. Slide in the salmon and bake for 20 minutes, then lower the temperature to 160ºC/140ºC fan/gas mark 3 and bake for another 20 minutes, by which time the pastry will be a rich golden brown.

Meanwhile, pour the wine into a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Gradually drop in the butter. Stir and, as it begins to melt, blend with a stick blender. Finish the sauce with chives, and serve this alongside the salmon with new potatoes and spinach.

SALMON EN CROÛTEP

GLUT AND SEASONALITY

BEING A PROFESSIONAL COOK, AS WELL AS BEING A (VERY AMATEUR) VEGETABLE GROWER, HAS GIVEN ME A HUGE RESPECT FOR THE SEASONAL APPROACH TO COOKING. RATHER THAN VIEWING SEASONAL AVAILABILITY AS A BIND, I NOW REGARD IT AS A BONUS. RATHER THAN BEMOANING INGREDIENTS THAT ARE UNAVAILABLE, I POSITIVELY LOOK FORWARD TO THINGS THAT ARE COMING INTO SEASON: EARLY POTATOES, RUNNER BEANS, ASPARAGUS, STRAWBERRIES – I COULD GO ON AND ON – ALL HAVE THEIR MOMENT ON MY CULINARY RADAR.

Seasonal cooking saves money – it’s a fact. New potatoes are in the supermarkets all year round, but come May-time the prices drop. This is simply because that’s the time when they are most abundant in this country, and so it is with much of the produce we enjoy.

As you sit down to plan your week’s eating prior to a shopping expedition, have a thought for what’s in season. I would suggest that a pavlova served in November will cost you twice as much as if you served it in July, so the extra moments pondering will eventually save you a fortune.

Of course, each fruit and vegetable has its moment of abundance, and remembering the dates can be a little tricky. However, lots of cookery writers have kindly included seasonal charts in their books, and if you don’t own one of those, you can always type the words ‘seasonal food’ into your search engine of choice, and I guarantee you’ll be bombarded by helpful hints.

I have taken all this to the next stage by setting up a system whereby the calendar on my computer automatically emails me just as something is coming into season. For example, each and every year on 10 April I receive an email which simply says ‘asparagus’. Upon receipt I can charge down to the market and be first in the queue as the lorry from Norfolk delivers the world’s finest example of asparagus officinalis. If this approach strikes you as being a little over the top and a touch compulsive, then I am probably married to you! All I can say is that it works for me – I never miss a day’s asparagus consumption and the same goes for sprouts, blackcurrants and sweetcorn.

Once you have embraced the seasonal approach, you must prepare to face one of the cook’s greatest challenges – dealing with gluts of seasonal vegetables. To the cook, the word ‘glut’ signifies a large amount of a particular fruit or vegetable which can leave one reeling in bewilderment. For example, you may invite a vegetable-growing friend over to lunch one Sunday in June. You probably hope that your friend will bring with them a decent bottle of wine (which you can bury in the wine rack whilst serving something cheaper – Economy Gastronomy at work!). But as you open the front door you realize that wine buying was far from your friend’s mind, and instead they’ve presented you with 7 kilograms of homegrown rhubarb. This is a glut.

To the cook, a glut is a challenge to be embraced. If it were rhubarb, I would suggest making and freezing two or three batches of crumble filling, perhaps adding a little stem ginger and grated orange zest. Next, you could make a chutney with another kilo of rhubarb – rhubarb chutney not only goes very well with strong cheeses such as Stilton or Cheddar but also surprisingly well with grilled fresh mackerel. You could also make a jam; some fruit purée to serve with ice-cream; and if there’s any left, why not roast it dry with sugar and blend it in a smoothie?

When your friend invites you to their house, exact revenge by turning up without wine but with six jars of rhubarb chutney instead!

Of course, gluts are actually a really good thing. Visit your local market late in the day at the right time of year and I guarantee you will be able to pick up boxes of overripe tomatoes on the cheap. These are perfect for making tomato sauce, from which you can create pasta sauces, soups, stews and casseroles all year round. The same goes for oranges, cauliflowers, onions …

Gluts are not just to be found at markets or in shops, though. Gluts can turn up while walking to the station or taking the kids to the park. Stinging nettles (soups and risottos), blackberries (crumbles and jams), and elderflower (cordial drinks and summer jellies), are all to be found in my corner of West London, and so much more can be found if you know where to look.

Once you have dealt with your glut of any particular fruit or vegetable, you will be left feeling warm and smug. You’ll end up writing special labels for jam jars of home-made delicacies, and start to become very secretive about the precise location of your seasonal bounty in case someone nabs it next year before you do!

Food-swapping with friends – less controversial than wife-swapping – is a brilliant way of distributing home-made jams, jellies and chutneys (I should join the Women’s Institute!). The secret is to be prepared – pounce when you come across a glut, and get cooking. It will improve your repertoire and save you money.