Baked tomatoes with mozzarella, anchovies and breadcrumbs

Serves 4

A great dish as part of a variety of mezzah, the fancy bit of a picnic, or just with salad for a tasty lunch all on its own. Plum tomatoes tend to hold their shape better than the round varieties, but don't let that stop you if round ones are what you have, and if you should have the time and patience, doing this with cherry tomatoes makes a gorgeous little canape moment.

12 plum tomatoes

175g fresh breadcrumbs

8 anchovy fillets

2 large cloves garlic

a good handful of basil leaves

a ball of mozzarella

6 tblsp olive oil

Chop the anchovies, peel and finely chop the garlic and cut the mozzarella into small dice.

Preheat the oven to 220°c/ gas mark 7. Slice the tomatoes in half lengthways and scoop the seeds into a sieve over a bowl to drain off most of the water. Place the tomatoes skin-side down in a roasting tin so that they nudge up against one another nice and snug.

Mix the tomato scoopings with the breadcrumbs, anchovies, garlic, basil, mozzarella and two tablespoons of the olive oil.

Season the stuffing lightly with salt and plenty black pepper, and pile the filling into the tomato halves. Pour over the remaining olive oil and bake for 25 minutes until the filling is golden.

Smoked salmon and bacon salad

Serves 2

The one responsible, at the time, of pairing up mushy peas with deep fried fish must have had a screw loose and recieved a torrent of abuse until people actually realised a classic flavour combination had been unearthed. This here is a marriage of flavours that I think you're just going to take my word for and give it a go yourself to discover how good it really is. When I do this at home, I serve this either on hot toast or by doubling up on the lettuce leaves as a big bowl salad.

4 fat rashers of streaky bacon

40g small broad beans, podded
2 slices thick sourdough bread

A couple of good sprigs of parsley
2 little gem lettuces
4 slices smoked salmon

Dressing
2 tblsp olive oil
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp grain mustard

Make the dressing by whisking together all the ingredients (or shaking them in a tightly lidded jam jar)

Grill the bacon till crisp, and cook the beans in salted water till tender - no more than 1 or 2 minutes - then pop them from their skins and while still hot throw them into a bowl with a couple of tablespoons of the dressing.

Meanwhile remove the parsley leaves from their stalks, and give them a rough chop, wash and drain the lettuce.

Lightly toast the bread. Toss the lettuce and parsley in with the broad beans and the dressing.

Pile all the ingredients on the toast and drizzle with any leftover dressing. Eat while the bacon is hot.

Cold roast beef sandwiches with caramelised garlic and basil sauce

Serves 2

A truly wonderful sandwich where the ultimate addition of dipping the toasted bread in a warm sweet garlic and basil dressing makes all the difference. Now we all have access to properly made artisan breads like sourdough, which is just the thing for this. If you really season the beef well to bring out maximum flavour, you may like to offset this by sharpening the dressing with a touch extra lemon juice or wine vinegar.

4 plump cloves of garlic, sliced in half

100ml olive oil

a good handful of fresh basil leaves

1 tblsp balsamic vinegarsalt

8 slices of interesting bread, sourdough, ciabatta or olive

lemon juice or wine vinegar

8 thin slices of rare, cold roast beef, at room temperature

Sauté the garlic cloves in half the olive oil in a small shallow pan till golden and soft, about 15 minutes.

Shred the basil leaves and put them in the blender with the vinegar and a little salt. Toast the bread lightly.

Pour the soft garlic and its cooking oil with the remaining olive oil into the blender and whizz with the basil and salt.

Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt, pepper and either lemon juice or wine vinegar. Spoon the dressing over the toasted bread. Lay the cold roast beef on the toast and eat.

Pakistani potato curry

Serves 2

When you really are not sure what to cook, need to prepare a meal in a hurry and have barely a store cupboard to fall back on, potato curry is an answer I bet not many would come up with. As well as a conventional easy supper, I actually feel the very best way to enjoy this is the morning after for breakfast, on toast topped with a fried egg. It is great midnight snack material too, cold from the fridge with hot pita after a few beers doesn't really sound too bad does it? All varieties of potatoes can be used, even new. This is true simple comfort food, made in advance and reheated in the pan on a low heat or in the microwave.

2 tblsp sunflower oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 large plum tomatoes skinned and chopped

8 red chillies

½ tsp red chilli powder

1 tsp cumin seeds

salt

500g potatoes, peeled and diced, or whole new potatoes

chopped coriander leaves to garnish

Heat the oil in a saucepan, add the onion and cook until slightly browned. Add the chopped tomatoes, and then stir in the chillies, chilli powder, cumin seeds and salt to taste. Add 125ml water and cook, stirring, until any excess liquid has evaporated.

Add the potatoes together with another 125ml water. Stir well to coat the potatoes with the spice mixture, and then put the lid on the pan. Cook for 15-20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender but not breaking up.

Remove the lid and continue cooking until the oil separates out. Garnish with chopped coriander and serve hot.

Grilled courgettes with tahini dressing

Serves 4

I hear the weather back home is pretty damn fine at the moment, and it is Sunday after all, so I reckon a few barbecues must be in the planning stage. This great little dish is terrific as it is, or served as a side dish with crisp edged lamb chops and a little goats cheese, say, or, best of all, stuffed into flatbread with shreds of charred barbecued lamb.

55ml tahini
55ml water
Juice of ½ lemon
1 clove garlic, grated
Sea salt
450g courgettes, sliced 1cm thick lengthwise
3 tblsp olive or rapeseed oil, plus more for drizzling
Freshly ground black pepper
3 tblsp fresh mint leaves, shredded

First make the dressing, which is a cinch - just whisk together the tahini, water, lemon juice, garlic and a pinch of salt, then set aside.

Brush the courgettes with oil, sprinkle with a little salt and grill over medium coals until lightly charred and tender - about four minutes on each side.

Arrange the courgettes on a plate, drizzle over some of the tahini dressing and a splash or two of oil, a few grinds of pepper, some salt flakes and a sprinkling of mint. Serve immediately.

Roast pumpkin with spiced tomato sauce

Serves 2

This being such a simple dish of roast vegetables only really makes the grade through timing - catching the pumpkin as its edges start to turn from golden to burnt (never a bad thing) and cooking the tomatoes for the sauce to the point where the majority of the water has evaporated so it doesn't leak and split when served on the plate. Spice level too; try as I might, but chilli strength is an area where you can never rely on the last quantity you worked with. The sauce needs to be rustic and chunky, and have a sweetness from the blackened tomato skins which release a lot of their natural sugars in the process. I'd consider the nuttiness of cous cous or brown rice to go with this, flavoured with mint and lemon wouldn't be a criminal act either.

950g tomatoes

2 cloves garlic olive oil

2 small hot chillies

1kg pumpkin or squash

Preheat the oven to 200 c/gas mark 6. Cut the tomatoes in half and place them cut side up on a baking sheet or roasting tin. Drizzle with olive oil, and season with salt, pepper and the finely chopped chilli. Roast for 45-50 minutes until the tomatoes are soft and lightly flecked with black.
Meanwhile, halve and peel the pumpkin. Cut into thick, melon-like slices and scoop out the seeds with a spoon. Place on a baking sheet, toss in a little olive oil and season with salt and black pepper. Roast for 40 minutes, turning over after 20 minutes or so. It is done when it is fully tender to the point of a knife and a blackened sticky on the cut edges.

Roughly chop the tomatoes to give you your coarse sauce, and warm through in a pan lightly to evaporate any excess water. Serve with the roasted pumpkin and some rice or cous cous.

Fromage frais, yoghurt and plum purée ripple

Serves 4-6

You could go crazy with this combination of what is basically two levels of flavour. They could be layered up in a glass with a separation of some crumbled cookies for example rather than the blend and swirl way I've described below. It could also easily be semi frozen atop a cheesecake base. The jammy like fruit element needn't always be plums either, go seasonal if you can and take what's cheapest and at its best from the market. There's a bonus of plenty of protein and calcium for strong bones and teeth in here too.

4 ripe plums, about 500g
½ tsp ground cinnamon
2-3 tblsp caster sugar, to taste
1 star anise (optional)
300ml low fat natural yoghurt
300ml reduced fat fromage frais
2-3 tblsp icing sugar, or to taste

Halve the plums, remove the stones and roughly chop the flesh. Toss with the cinnamon and 2 tbsp caster sugar. Place a wide frying pan over a high heat, tip in the plums and add the star anise if using.

Sauté for 4-6 min until the plums are soft, moistening with a splash of water if necessary. Taste for sweetness, adding more sugar if the plums are too tart. Discard the star anise.

Transfer the cooked plums to a blender or food processor and whiz until smooth. For a really smooth purée, pass through a fine sieve to remove any pulpy bits. Leave to cool completely.

Spoon the yoghurt and fromage frais into a large bowl and add the icing sugar. Beat lightly to mix, then ripple through all but 2 tbsp of the plum purée. Spoon into individual glasses or plastic tumblers and swirl the remaining plum purée on top. Serve at once