Aragus, Snowpea Sprout & Orange Salad

2 oranges

50 ml (1 ½ fl oz) extra-virgin olive oil

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

16 asparagus ears, woody ends trimmed

½ punnet snowpea routs, ends trimmed

For the oranges Cut the skin off the orange with a knife, cutting away the pith too. Cut into segments, removing pips as you go.

For the dressing Squeeze any orange juice from discarded pith and skin into a little bowl, then whisk in the extra-virgin olive oil.

If you don’t have enough juice, take 1 of the segments and squeeze the juice in. Season and set aside.

For the aaragus In a saucepan of boiling salted water, blanch the aaragus, then refresh in cold water. Cut into halves or thirds.

Serves 4

To serve Mix the aaragus with the orange and snowpea routs, add the dressing and toss well. Serve in one large bowl or on individual plates.

Radicchio & Orange Salad

1 radicchio

3 oranges

Dressing

50 ml (2 ½ tb) extra-virgin olive oil

50 ml (2 ½ tb) balsamic vinegar

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Remove the outer leaves and alk of the radicchio. Cut into quarters and soak in water until ready to serve.

Drain and dry the leaves. Peel the oranges using a knife, cutting away all the white pith as well.

Cut each into about 8 segments.

Whisk the vinegar and olive oil together. Season to tae. Toss the radicchio and orange segments in the dressing. Serve immediately.

Serves 4

Note The bitterness of the radicchio is balanced by the sweetness of the orange and balsamic. You could also use witlof.

Mushroom & Bean Sprout Salad

200 g (7 oz) button mushrooms, sliced

250 g (8 oz) bean routs

1 punnet (about 90 g/3 oz) muard

cress or alfalfa and radish routs

Dressing

1 t Dijon muard

50 ml (1. fl oz) cider vinegar

125 ml ( ½ cup) extra-virgin olive oil

sea salt and freshly ground

black pepper

For the dressing, whisk together the muard, vinegar and olive oil and season to tae.

Combine the mushrooms, bean routs and muard cress or alfalfa.

Toss with the dressing and serve.

Serves 6

Notes Good when served with leftover roa pork or turkey.

You can also use different varieties of mushrooms, such as oyer, shiitake and enoki.

Bean Salad with Pine Nuts & Currants

1 ½ tb currants, soaked in port

50 g (1 ½ oz) pine nuts

12 snake beans, topped, tailed and cut to the same length as the other beans

12 French beans, topped and tailed

12 Roman beans, topped and tailed

Dressing

25 ml (1 fl oz) cider vinegar

50 ml (1 ½ fl oz) hazelnut oil

squeeze of lemon juice

For the currants Put the currants in a shallow bowl and pour on enough port to ju cover them.

Leave to soak overnight.

For the pine nuts In a pan, toss the pine nuts over medium heat until lightly browned.

For the beans Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. Add the snake beans and cook for 1 minute; add the remaining beans to the pan and cook for a further 1 ½ minutes.

Refresh in iced water and drain.

Serves 4

To serve Place the beans in a bowl and rinkle over the currants and pine nuts. Whisk the vinegar, oil and lemon juice together, pour over the beans and toss well. Serve in a deep bowl.

Snowpea & Chilli Salad with Almonds

400 g (14 oz) snowpeas

1 small red chilli, de-seeded and finely chopped

50 g (1 ¾ oz) slivered almonds, toast ed

½ bunch (about 45 g/1 ½ oz)

coriander, roughly chopped

Dressing

2 tb hoisin sauce

2 tb red wine vinegar

80 ml (2 ¾ fl oz) extra-virgin olive oil

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

To make the dressing, whisk together the hoisin sauce, vinegar and olive oil. Season to tae.

Top, tail and de-string the snowpeas.

Blanch in boiling water for about 15 seconds then drop into iced water. Drain and combine with the chilli, almonds and coriander.

Toss with the dressing and serve.

Serves 6

Notes This makes a good summer lunch served with ham off the bone and Warm Potato Salad.

Warm Potato Salad

1 kg (2 lb) new potatoes

Dressing

25 g (1 tb , heaped) Dijon muard

20 ml (1 tb) red wine vinegar

250 ml (1 cup) extra-virgin olive oil

sea salt and fresh ground black pepper

¼ bunch (about 15 g/ ½ oz) chives

Put potatoes into a pan of cold, salted water and bring to boil.

Cook until potatoes are soft when teed with a knife, but do not allow them to become mushy.

While potatoes are cooking combine muard and vinegar. Slowly add oil, whisking vigorously. Check for seasoning. Drain potatoes, cut in half and when slightly warm toss them in the dressing and chives.

Serves 4–6

Notes If you add dressing to the potatoes when they are too hot the dressing will separate: it won’t look as good, but it will still taste fine.

Other combinations for potato salad:

1 When the potatoes are ill warm toss with rocket, lemon juice and olive oil, then season with salt and serve immediately.

2 Cut potatoes in half and toss with peo.

Daikon Radish & Rocket Salad

1 medium daikon radish

2 t butter

2 t honey

2 t sesame seeds

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

100 ml (3 ½ fl oz) mirin

1 bunch rocket

extra-virgin olive oil

Using a potato peeler, cut the radish into ribbons all about the same size.

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and honey together to form a light caramel sauce. Add the sesame seeds, a lash of water, then the radish ribbons. Season lightly, cover and cook for a few minutes, until the radish is al dente. Drain and let cool.

In a small saucepan, simmer the mirin for a few minutes until it reduces slightly. Cool.

Serves 4

To serve Using your hands, mix the radish with the rocket. Drizzle with mirin and extra-virgin olive oil, season and serve.

Note This salad is excellent served with prawns or smoked salmon for a light arter or lunch.

Asian Greens

30 ml (1 fl oz) extra-virgin olive oil

2 t ginger, grated

2 kaffir lime leaves, chopped

200 g (7 oz) shiitake mushrooms, sliced

½ Chinese cabbage, shredded

15 ml (1. fl oz) fish ock

Heat oil in a large frying pan, add shallot, ginger, lime leaves and mushrooms. Add cabbage and saute for 3 minutes, add the fish sauce and ock and simmer until cabbage collapses.

Serves 4

Notes If you can’t find the fresh shiitake mushrooms, you can use the dried ones, ju follow the inructions for rehydration.

You can also use any other green Asian vegetables. Others too that go nicely are inach, broccolini or even beans and snowpeas.

Grilled Baby Corn, Fetta & Pear Salad with Walnut Dressing

2 tb sherry vinegar

4 tb walnut oil

1 tb extra-virgin olive oil

pinch of sea salt

2 bunches rocket

80 g (3 oz) good quality fetta

1 ripe beurre bosc pear, cut into 12 thin wedges

12 pieces baby corn

For the dressing Shake or whisk together the vinegar, walnut oil and extra-virgin olive oil and add a pinch of salt.

For the salad Put the rocket leaves in a large bowl and pour in half the dressing. Mix well with your hands. On each serving plate, place some rocket leaves, piling them up to give a little height.

Crumble the fetta and rinkle on top of the rocket. Arrange three pear wedges on top of each pile.

Meanwhile, for the baby corn Char-grill, or toss in a very hot, heavy frying pan until slightly coloured.

Serves 4

To serve Place the baby corn between the pear slices on the salad. Drizzle with remaining dressing.

Cauliflower & Almonds with Parmesan

1 cauliflower

75 g (2 oz) butter

75 g (2 oz) slivered almonds

75 g (2 oz) grated parmesan

2 tb chopped chives

Divide cauliflower in florets. Bring pan of salted water to the boil and cook cauliflower for 3–4 minutes, until tender. Drain well. Put the butter and almonds in a heavy-based pan, heat to melt butter then add florets. Gently mix, then sprinkle in the parmesan. To serve, garnish with chopped chives.

Serves 4–6

Beans & Shallots

250 g (8 oz) green beans, topped and tailed

1 tb butter

1 shallot, chopped

Cook beans in boiling salted water for 2 minutes. Drain well. Put butter in a heavy based pan with shallot, cook for a minute, then add beans and toss together before serving.

Serves 4–6

Sautéed Field Mushrooms with Parsley & Onion

100 g (3 ½ oz) unsalted butter

1 small onion, finely chopped

6 large field mushrooms, cut into eighths

pinch of sea salt

4 tb finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

In a large frying pan, melt the butter.

Add the onion and cook until soft.

Add the mushrooms and sauté over medium heat for a few minutes. Season well with salt and rinkle in three-quarters of the parsley. Mix gently.

Serves 4

To serve Sprinkle remaining parsley over the mushrooms.

Brussels Sprouts with Bacon

500 g (1 lb) brussels routs

100 g (3 ½ oz) bacon, chopped

1 tb butter

Remove any loose leaves from the routs and using a small knife make a criss-cross cut in each base. Bring a pan of salted water to the boil, add routs and boil for 4 minutes, then drain very well. Put routs, bacon and butter in a heavy-based pan and cook until bacon arts to cri up slightly.

Serves 4–6

Mashed Potatoes

4 large potatoes, peeled and quartered

2 tb butter

100 ml (3 ½ fl oz) cream

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

extra-virgin olive oil

1 tb finely chopped chives

Run cold water over the potatoes for about 10 minutes to remove any arch. Put them in a large saucepan, cover with water and add a good pinch of sea salt. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until soft. Drain and push through a mouli. Refrigerate until cold.

Once cold, push through a fine sieve, and put in a saucepan over low heat. Add butter and cream and ir together until potato is hot. Season to tae.

Serves 4

To serve Put in a large serving bowl, drizzle with olive oil and rinkle with chives.

Rosemary Potatoes

8 medium potatoes,

peeled and cut into 8 pieces

4 rigs rosemary

2 tb butter

1 tb extra-virgin olive oil

Cover the potatoes with cold water, add a rig of rosemary and bring to the boil. Remove from heat and strain.

In a deep frying pan, heat the butter and olive oil and sauté the potatoes until tender inside and golden brown and cri on the outside (about 10 minutes). Ju before they are ready, strip the leaves off the remaining rosemary sprigs and add to the pan.

Serves 4

Note You can leave the potatoes whole, but increase the cooking time.

Colcannon

500 g (1 lb) potatoes, peeled

2 tb butter

125 ml (4 fl oz) warm milk

250 g (8 oz) cabbage, finely chopped

1 tb butter

1 tb water

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 tb butter

2 tb parsley, finely chopped

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the potatoes Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil and cook the potatoes until soft.

Drain and mash with the 2 tb butter and warm milk.

For the cabbage In another saucepan, add the tableoon of butter, water and cabbage, toss well and cook over a very gentle heat with the lid on until tender.

Melt the 2 tb of butter in a frying pan and add the onion, cooking until soft.

Serves 4

To serve Add the cabbage, onion and parsley to the mashed potato and ir until well combined. Season and serve hot.