Tomato Essence.

 

Chop cherry tomatoes, a small bulb of fennel, a garlic clove, half a stick of celery, and a small amount of red onion (half a shallot also works well) and place into a blender with a few torn basil leaves, a few drops of tabasco and a dash of Worcester sauce.

Pulse a few times until you have a puree and then transfer to a bowl, cover with clingfilm and refridgerate for six hours or overnight.

Line a clean bowl with muslin and pour the puree into it.

String the muslin up over the bowl and leave overnight to strain - do not squeeze the bag!

Once strained serve with a little chopped tomato and parsley or refriderate until needed.

Tomato and Cucumber Salad with Roquefort Dressing.

 For the dressing mix a little tarragon vinegar with a splash of sherry vinegar and mix in a small teaspoon of dijon mustard and some crumbled roquefort until it is a paste.

Season and slowly mix in extra virgin olive oil until it is the consistence of a dressing.

Use roasted tomato tapenade for the base of the salad and then add chopped tomatoes and cucumber.

Sprinkle with chopped parsley and chives with a little mint.

Dress and serve.

Tapenade and Roast Tomato Tapenade.

 

Add equal amounts of chopped black olives, capers, crushed garlic, lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil to a blender and blitz to a paster but not ultra smooth.

Alternatively you can do this gradually in a motar and pestle.

Season with  black pepper and loosen with a little more lemon juice or oil if nescessary.

Serve with toasted sourdough or other good bread.

For the roasted tomato version slow roast deseeded tomatoes in an oven and allow to coole and add to the blender with the olives and capers.

Soup au Pistou.

 

First make the Pistou by blanching a bunch of basil leaves in boiling water for 4-5 seconds and then cooling immediately in iced water, when cold squeeze out any excess water and chop.

In a mortar and pestle puree a few crushed garlic cloves with a some rock salt and ground white pepper - you can also add a small dash of lemon juice.

Add the basil and garlic mixture to a small blender with a good glug of extra virgin olive oil and pulse into a paste.

Finely chop onion, carrott and celery and in a large pan soften on a med/low heat in olive oil, seasoning well with salt and white pepper.

When the onion is translucent add some veg stock and water, and bring to a simmer.

Add chopped fennel, french beans and cook on a low heat until softened, until adding chopped courgette, broad beans and a few minutes later peas and chopped cherry tomatoes.

Just before serving stir in the pistou and add to warm soup bowls before grating some parmesan cheese over the top.

Serve with rustic bread or large crutons.

Pan Fried Asparagus with Balsamic Dressing and Parmesan.

Cut the woody ends off the asparagus and peel the tough outer skin off the base of the stems if you need too.

Heat a very small piece of butter in a pan with some oil.

When hot add the asparagus, season with salt and pepper. 

Roll the asparagus to coat in the butter and oil, repeating this several times while it is cooking to turn the stems and cook evenly.

While the asparagus is cooking mix a small teaspoon of dijon mustard into some balsamic mixing thoroughly - trickle in olive oil while still mixing to emulsify and form a dressing.

When the asparagus is cooked plate and drizzle the dressing over.

Add some parmesan shavings and serve.

Roast Cod with Olives and Capers in Tomato Sauce.

Chop and finely dice red pepper and half a chili and fry in olive oil on a medium low heat until softened.

Add chopped tomatoes (a can or packet is perfectly fine), black and green olives, capers and season with salt and pepper.

While the sauce is cooking through place seasoned and oiled cod onto a tray with a couple of slices of lemon on top into an oven to roast.

When the cod is roasted serve on top of the tomato and olive sauce with a sprikling of chopped parsley.

Linguine with Crab, Chilli and Thyme.

Place a a pan of salted water on the heat and when boiling add the linguine.

While the linguine is cooking add a finely chopped shallot, chopped garlic and a little sliced chilli to a pan and soften in olive oil.

When the shallot is translucent add the crab meat and the thyme - removed from the stalks and finely chopped.

At this point you can spoon in a little of the cooking water from the pasta and add a grind of pepper and some additional olive oil to create a sauce.

Drain the cooked linguine and mix into the crab sauce, plate and grate over parmesan and serve.

Grilled Romaine Lettuce with Sauce Gribiche.

 

To make the sauce gribiche place a couple of eggs into a pan of water and bring to a rolling boil then turn off the heat and place a lid on the pan.

Leave for 8-12 mins depending on the size of the eggs, then place into cold water to stop the cooking process.

Peel the eggs halve and scoop out the yolks into a bowl, reserving the whites.

Add a dollop of dijon mustard to the yolks and whisk constantly while trickling in veg oil to form a mayonaise.

Finely chop the egg whites along with capers and some cornichons and mix into the mayonaise (you can also add some cream at this point if you wish to).

Finely chop a small bunch of chives, and chervil with a sprig of tarragon leaves and mix into the sauce with a drizzle of good vinegar such as sherry or white wine.

Griddle or barbecue the romaine lettuce leaves constantly turning and moving around until you get a combination of charred edges, cooked / wilted and al dente / raw on each leaf - plate and serve with sauce gribiche on top.

This sauce also works very well with other types of cooked lettuce and other spring veg such as asparagus.

Asparagus with Herb and Parmesan Sauce

 

Place the asparagus in a pan with a splash of water (you want enough water to steam the asparagus with enough left over to reduce quickly down to a sauce, so barely cover the bottom of the pan), ground black pepper and a small knob of butter, but no salt and bring to a simmer to steam the asparagus.

While the asparagus is cooking finely chop parsley, mint, chervil and chives and grate a small amount of parmesan or other hard cheese such as pecorino.

When the asparagus is just cooked remove from the pan and plate keeping warm.

Add a little more butter a splash of olive oil to the pan and turn up the heat to reduce.

While reducing add the cheese and most of the herbs and constantly stir until it forms a sauce.

Pour over the asparagus and scatter the remaining few herbs over and serve.

Lamb and Herb Meatballs with Orzo Pasta.

 

To make the meatballs add a bunch of mixed herbs - chopped very finely (I used parsley, mint, orgegano, marjoram, rosemary, sage and chives), to the minced lamb along with a pinch of chilli flakes a couple of grated or finely chopped garlic cloves, a teaspoon or two of ground cummin, a dash of lemon juice, salt and pepper then mix thoroughly - the best way to do this is with your hands and when you think you have done enough keep going a little longer.

Form the mince and herb mix into meatballs by rolling in the palm of your hands then set aside in a fridge to firm up.

Add chopped carrot, onion and celery to a pan with a little oil and fry on a medium low heat until the onions are translucent. Season with salt and pepper and add a small amount of chili flakes. 

Add a dash of wine and increase the heat to burn off the alcohol the add the orzo pasta and cover with water. Bring it up to the boil and then reduce to a simmer (you may need to add more water as the orzo cooks and asorbs the water).

About ten mins before the pasta is cooked start to fry the the meatball in a sperate pan until they are coloured all over and cooked through.

While the meatballs are cooking add chopped cavolo nero and chopped parsley to the pasta pan and cook through (kale or any other seasonal green such as spinach would work just adjust the cooking time to suit the leaf).

Serve in a bowl with the meatballs on top.

Mackerel with Beetroot Remoulade and Wilted Beetroot Leaves.

 

Cut raw beetroot into matchsticks and dress with mayonaise, grain mustard, olive oil, salt, pepper, balsamic vinegar, a squeeze of lemon juice, chopped chives and leave to infuse.

Add some oil and a small amount of butter to a pan, season the mackerel and fry skin side down.

When two thirds cooked place in a pre heated oven to finish cooking.

While the mackerel is cooking place young tender beetroot leaves into a pan with a tiny splash of water and on a med/low heat wilt down.

Dress with olive oil, white wine vinegar and season with salt and pepper.

Plate the three elements and scatter the mackerel with some chopped chives and serve.

Asparagus with Romesco Sauce.

 

To make the sauce add some roasted peppers to a blender with a garlic clove, red chilli flakes, tomato puree, smoked paprika, sherry vinegar, a glug of extra virgin olive oil and some bread crumbs and blitz to a smooth paste.

Crush some roasted hazel nuts in a mortar and pestle to the desired consistancy (you can blitz them with all the other ingredients if you dont want texture) and mix in, season and loosen with a little more oil if need be.

Serve on freshly cooked asparagus spears.

You can also choose to roast fresh red peppers, chillis, garlic (use more cloves) and tomatoes in the oven tossed with a little oil before adding to a blender with the other ingredients.