Recipes make enough for around 10 servings, as part of a collection of dishes.
BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND SAFFRON SOUP
1 butternut squash
2 sticks celery
3 leeks
tbsp butter
1 tsp black mustard seeds
generous pinch saffron strands
600ml light chicken stock
4 slices bread, crusts removed and cut into squares
4 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp finely chopped parsley
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
zest of one lemon
Peel, trim and chop the vegetables. Combine them in a casserole with the tablespoon of butter, and colour the mixture over a gentle heat for 10 minutes. Add the mustard seeds, saffron, a seasoning of salt and pepper, and continue cooking for three minutes. Add the chicken stock, cover and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are just soft. Check seasoning, cool and liquidise.
Gently sauté the bread in olive oil until golden brown, then drain on kitchen paper. Combine the parsley, garlic and lemon zest, which becomes gremolata. Serve the soup in small cups with teaspoons, the croutons and a sprinkling of the gremolata. The photo above is from Starters, by Shane Osborn, published by Quadrille (£19 in UK)
AUBERGINE SALAD WITH
PITTA BREAD
2 medium-sized aubergines
2 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 tbsp roughly chopped coriander
half tsp hot paprika
1 tbsp tahini
extra virgin olive oil
4 slices pitta bread
100g green olives
1 lemon
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees/gas four. With a sharp knife make incisions in the aubergines and stuff with the slivers of garlic. Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes, until completely soft, then remove them from the oven and allow to cool.
Remove the flesh from the aubergine, discarding the skin, and cut lengthways and then into small dice. Toast the cumin seeds in a dry frying pan and then grind to a powder. Combine the aubergine with the cumin, coriander, paprika, tahini, a seasoning of salt and pepper and enough olive oil to bind. Place in the fridge for 20-30 minutes.
Warm pitta bread in the oven and cut into small triangles. Serve with the olives and aubergine purée, which should also have another douse of olive oil, and a squeeze of lemon juice just prior to serving.
GRILLED MUSSELS
1kg mussels, well rinsed and cleaned
2 tbsp finely chopped parsley
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
50g dry breadcrumbs
2 tbsp chopped tomato (tinned is fine)
olive oil
lemons to serve
Put the mussels in a saucepan with the lid on and place over a high heat until the shells just open. If you steam them for too long, they will end up being dry. When they are cool enough to handle, break off one half of the shell and discard, keeping the other with the mussel. Preheat the grill. Combine the parsley, garlic, breadcrumbs and tomato. Season this with salt and pepper and sprinkle it over the mussels. Arrange the mussels in a shallow roasting tin and drizzle with olive oil. Grill for four or five minutes, or until they are golden brown and bubbling. Serve with lemon wedges
SALT-COD BRANDADE WITH ROASTED RED PEPPERS, TOAST AND TAPENADE
500g salt-cod, soaked overnight in running water
250ml full cream milk
2 bay leaves
6 black peppercorns
2 garlic cloves, unpeeled and smashed with the flat side of a knife
500g floury potatoes
150ml olive oil
1 jar roasted red peppers
slices good bread
1 jar good quality tapenade
a couple of lemons, trimmed and quartered
Combine the fish, milk, bay leaves, peppercorns and garlic in a saucepan. Bring this gently to the boil and remove from the heat. Allow it to cool, and then remove the fish from the milk and roughly flake it. Strain the milk, discarding the garlic and bay leaves.
Peel and cook the potatoes, then drain and mash them. Don't salt them, you can adjust that at the end. Combine the milk and olive oil and whisk into the potatoes over a low heat (you may not need all the milk). Whisk in the cod and check the seasoning. Brandade can be served cold, at room temperature or, as I like it, slightly warm. To serve, toast the bread, cut into triangles and spread with tapenade. Lay these against a mound of brandade and scatter a sliced pepper or two and the lemon wedges about the plate.
GOATS' CHEESE, GARLIC AND CHILLI
200g soft goats' cheese, skin removed
100g ricotta
1 garlic clove, peeled, chopped and mashed to a pulp with a little salt
1 chilli, or to taste, deseeded and finely chopped
1 tbsp finely chopped parsley
extra virgin olive oil
1 head Little Gem lettuce, trimmed and separated
1 head chicory, trimmed and separated
Mash the first four ingredients together with a fork and scoop into the centre of a flat plate. Drizzle a generous four tablespoons of olive oil over this - I tend towards six. Scatter the parsley over the top and season generously with salt and pepper, particularly with pepper. Serve with salads leaves and bread for the mopping up operation.