A vegetarian harvest supper

Before we finally plunge into winter here's a late autumn supper menu from my book Food, Wine and Friends that combines the best of autumn’s produce with a couple of convenience products.

Ready rolled pastry has made it wonderfully easy to knock up a quick, impressive tart while a simple dessert of grilled fruit dresses up a bought carton of ice cream. The soup can even be made ahead and frozen if you like.

Menu:
Pumpkin soup with honey and sage
Heirloom Tomato and Mozzarella Tart, warm new potatoes, Garden salad
Grilled figs with cinnamon and sweet oloroso sherry ice cream and brandy snaps

Pumpkin soup with honey and sage
This is based on a delicious soup I had at a restaurant called Tom’s Kitchen, run by top London chef Tom Aikens. His version, I discovered, contained chicken stock. Mine is vegetarian but you could of course base it on chicken stock too.

Serves 4-6

75g unsalted butter
1 small to medium onion, peeled and roughly chopped
1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, peeled and crushed
1 kg pumpkin or butternut squash, de-seeded, peeled and cut into cubes
2 heaped tbsp clear honey
3 sprigs of sage
750ml vegetable stock made with an organic vegetable stock cube or 1 level tbsp vegetable bouillon powder
75ml double cream
Lemon juice, salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Gently melt the butter in a large lidded saucepan or casserole. Add the onion and carrot, stir, cover and cook over a low heat for about 4-5 minutes. Add the cubed pumpkin or squash, honey and sage, stir, replace the lid and continue to cook very gently for about 10 minutes. Pour in the stock, bring to the boil and cook for about 10 minutes until the vegetables are soft.

Turn off the heat and allow the soup to cool slightly then remove the sage and sieve the soup, retaining the liquid. Put half the cooked vegetables into a blender or food processor with just enough of the reserved cooking liquid to blend into a smooth purée.

Transfer to a clean pan and repeat with the remaining vegetables, adding the puree to the first batch. Whizz the remaining liquid in the blender or food processor to pick up the last bits of puree and add that too. Bring the soup slowly to the boil then stir in the cream without boiling further.

Season to taste with lemon juice (about 1 tbsp), salt (about a teaspoon) and black pepper. Serve with an extra swirl of cream or scatter some crisp-fried sage leaves on top and serve with crusty wholewheat or multi-grain bread.

Heirloom tomato and mozzarella tart
There are so many beautifully coloured tomato and pepper varieties now it’s easy to make a really spectacular looking tart

Serves 4-6

375g ready rolled puff pastry
1 large or two smaller red peppers (about 225-250g in total)
1 large or two smaller yellow peppers (about 225-250g in total)
3 tbsp olive oil
2 whole cloves of garlic, flattened
4 heaped tbsp red pesto, fresh or from a jar
150g buffalo mozzarella, drained and finely sliced
125g red cherry tomatoes, de-stalked and halved
125g yellow cherry tomatoes, de-stalked and halved
1/2 tsp dried oregano or marjoram
1 medium egg, lightly beaten
A little freshly grated parmesan
A few basil leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas 6. Take the pastry out of the fridge at least 20 minutes before you need to unroll it.

Quarter the peppers, remove the pith and seeds and cut each quarter into half lengthways. Put them in a roasting tin with the garlic cloves, pour over 2 tbsp olive oil, mix together well and roast for about 20-25 minutes until the edges of the peppers are beginning to blacken. Remove and cool for 10 minutes.

Unroll the pastry and lay on a lightly greased rectangular baking tray. With a sharp knife score a line round the pastry about 1 1/4 cm from the edge. Spread the pesto evenly inside the rectangle you’ve marked. Lay the pepper strips across the base of the tart, alternating red and yellow sections. Tear the mozzarella slices roughly and distribute over the peppers. Grind over some black pepper. Arrange the halved tomatoes over the peppers, red on yellow and yellow on red. Rub the oregano or marjoram over the tart, season with a little salt and a little more pepper and trickle over the remaining oil.

Turn the oven heat up to 220°C/425°F/Gas 7. Brush the edges of the tart with the beaten egg and bake for 12 minutes or until the edge of the tart is well puffed up and beginning to brown. Turn the heat back down again to 200°C/400°F/Gas 6 and cook for another 12-15 minutes until the tops of the tomatoes are well browned. Coarsely grate or shave a little parmesan over the tart then leave to cool for 5 minutes. Tear the basil leaves roughly and scatter them over the tart. Serve warm.

Steamed potatoes with butter, parsley and chives
Freshly dug potatoes have a wonderful, earthy, nutty taste that’s best shown off by steaming

1 kg of new or waxy salad potatoes such as Charlotte
40g warm melted butter
2 heaped tbsp freshly chopped parsley
2 tbsp finely chopped chives

Scrub the potatoes, leaving the skins on and cut into small even-sized pieces. Steam until tender (about 7-8 minutes). Put the potatoes in a serving dish, pour over the butter, sprinkle with the chopped herbs, season lightly with seasalt and freshly ground black pepper and toss together. Serve warm.

Garden salad
One of the nicest things to have with meal based on seasonal produce is a large, freshly picked salad of dark leafy greens, either from the garden or from the farmer’s market

2 tbsp seasoned rice vinegar
4 tbsp organic sunflower oil
200g mixed dark leafy greens such as rocket, spinach and watercress and even a few fresh basil leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
A pinch of sugar (optional)

Whisk together the rice vinegar and sunflower oil in a large salad bowl, adding extra salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar to taste if needed. Tip the greens in the salad dressing just before serving and toss together.

Grilled figs with cinnamon and sweet oloroso sherry
An easy way to glam up a ready-bought carton of toffee or caramel ice cream

serves 6

6 ripe fresh figs
2 tbsp unrefined light brown soft sugar
1 tsp cinnamon.
15g butter
6 tbsp sweet oloroso sherry

Caramel, toffee or vanilla icecream to serve

Wash the figs carefully and pat dry. Halve and lay them cut side up in a buttered ovenproof dish. Mix the sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over the figs. Put a knob of butter on top of each half fig and spoon over the sherry.

Place the dish on the lowest grill level and grill until the butter and sugar have melted and the figs are beginning to caramelise (about 5/6 minutes). Serve with caramel, toffee or vanilla ice cream, spooning over the warm sherry-flavoured syrup

Brandysnaps
One of those clever recipes which look incredibly difficult but which are in fact quite easy to make

2 tbsp golden syrup
75g unrefined light brown soft sugar
50g butter
50g plain flour
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp allspice

Preheat the oven to 160°C/Gas 3/325°F
You will need 2 large baking sheets lined with non-stick baking parchment

Measure out the golden syrup into a saucepan. (You’ll find this easier to do if you dip the spoon into a jug of boiling water and shake off the excess before you put it in the tin). Add the sugar and butter and heat very gently until just melted then take the pan off the heat. Don’t allow it to boil. Sift the flour with the ginger and allspice and mix thoroughly with the sugar, syrup and butter mixture.

Put four teaspoons of the mixture on the first baking sheet, allowing plenty of room for them to spread. Place in the oven and cook for 8-10 minutes or until the biscuits are a rich brown. Five minutes later repeat with the second baking tray*.

When you remove the first batch of biscuits leave them to cool for about a minute then ease them off the paper with a palatte knife. If you want them the traditional curled up brandy snap shape roll them straightaway round the handle of an oiled wooden spoon then place on a baking tray to cool.

Otherwise just leave them flat. Keep baking the mixture in batches of four until it is all used up. The biscuits will keep for 2-3 days in an airtight tin.

* the point about baking brandysnaps in batches is that it gives you time to roll them up while they’re still warm otherwise they’ll break rather than bend.

What to drink
Wine will of course go perfectly well with this menu (a Chardonnay, I suggest with the soup, a soft fruity red like Merlot with the tarts) but maybe I can make a case for artisanal cider which is undergoing something of a renaissance at the moment or perry, which is cider made with pears. I’d pick a medium-dry rather than a very dry one which should take you right through the first two courses. The dessert already includes alcohol in the form of a sweet oloroso sherry but you could serve a small glass with it too if you like.

Picture of pumpkin soup (not the above recipe) ©RitaE at Pixabay

A simple spring supper for 4

This is the kind of easy meal I like to make for friends. The soup can be made in advance (or buy one of the excellent ready made chilled soups there are nowadays and dress it up with some fresh herbs), the steak is finished in the oven and the dessert literally takes minutes.

Pea, broccoli and mint soup with goats’ cheese crostini

The first of the pea crop is coming through now but frankly, frozen peas will do just as well. The slight bitterness of the greens offsets their sweetness perfectly.

Serves 4

1 tbsp olive oil
15g butter
1 small to medium onion peeled and roughly chopped or 5/6 spring onions, trimmed and chopped
1 small head of broccoli (about 225-250g)
225g fresh peas (podded weight) or frozen peas
500ml light chicken or vegetable stock (or stock made with organic vegetable bouillon powder)
10-12 mint leaves
1 heaped tbsp finely chopped parsley and chives
For the goats cheese crostini
8 crostini bases*
100g very fresh young goats cheese

Warm the oil in a large saucepan then add the butter and the onion, stir and cook over a gentle heat for about 4 minutes until soft. Cut the broccoli florets off the stalk then cut them in small, even-sized pieces. Add the broccoli and peas to the onion, pour in the stock and bring to the boil. Simmer until the vegetables are soft (about 4-5 minutes). Strain off and reserve the liquid. Tip the vegetables into a blender or food processor, add a little of the liquid back and whiz until smooth, gradually adding the remaining liquid (you may have to do this in two batches), Pour the soup back into the saucepan. Finely chop the mint, add to the soup and warm through but don’t leave on the heat or the colour will go. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Spread the crostini bases with fresh goats cheese. Serve the soup in small bowls with a scattering of fresh herbs and a couple of crostini on the side.

To drink: You could either go for a minerally Loire Sauvignon like a Sancerre or Pouilly Fumé, a young Chablis or a top quality pinot grigio from the Alto Adige

Seared fillet steak with asparagus and mushrooms

One of my favourite recipes from my latest book Meat and Two Veg. If you’re making steak for more than two it’s easier to flash it in the oven than cook them individually.

Serves 4

1 tsp mixed peppercorns
1/2 tsp coarse sea salt
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1 dsp plain flour
600g piece of fillet steak
1 tbsp olive oil
15g butter
For the asparagus and mushrooms
1 bunch of fresh asparagus
350g chestnut mushrooms
2 tbsp olive oil
25g butter
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 230°C/Gas 8/450°F. Put the peppercorns, sea salt, rosemary in a mortar and crush to a fine consistency. Mix in the flour and tip into a shallow dish. Pat the steak dry and roll in the spice mixture. Heat a large frying pan for about 2 minutes, add the oil, heat for a minute then add the butter. As the foaming dies down place the steak in the pan and sear briefly on each side. Put the steak in a shallow dish or roasting tin and transfer to the oven for 10-15 minutes, depending how well done you like it. Remove and rest in a warm place for 10 minutes. Meanwhile trim the woody ends off the asparagus, cut them in two then cut the larger spears in half lengthways. Steam or microwave for 3 minutes until just tender. Wipe or rinse the mushrooms clean and slice roughly. Heat a tablespoon of oil in the pan and toss the asparagus spears in it for a couple of minutes until they begin to brown and char. Remove from the pan and set aside. Add the remaining oil and butter and fry the mushrooms for 3-4 minutes. Return the asparagus to the pan and warm through. Season with a teaspoon of balsamic vinegar, salt and freshly ground black pepper. Pour any juices from the beef into the roasting pan then slice the beef thinly. Serve with a spoonful of juices poured over with the asparagus and mushrooms alongside. We quite often eat this without potatoes but if you want to serve some you could serve some boiled or roast new potatoes (put them in before the steak if you’re roasting them)

To drink: The steak and mushrooms are a more important factor than the asparagus in this match though you might want to pick up on its flavour by choosing a red that has some herbaceous notes of its own like a cabernet franc or a cool climate cabernet sauvignon or cabernet/merlot blend.

Smashed strawberry meringue

A very easy English pudding, commonly known as Eton Mess

Serves 4-6

450g ripe strawberries
1 tbsp caster sugar + 2 tsp for the cream
1 pack of meringue nests (Marks and Spencer do really good ones that taste just like homemade meringues)
284 ml carton double cream
150 ml carton whipping cream

Pull the stalks off the strawberries and slice them thickly. Save a few slices then sprinkle 1 tbsp of the sugar over the rest and set aside. Break up the meringues into chunky pieces. Mix the two creams together with the remaining sugar and beat with an electric or handheld whisk until the mixture just holds its shape and forms a floppy peak. Layer up the strawberries, meringue and cream in individual glass dishes or a larger bowl, finishing with a layer of cream. Chill in the fridge till you’re ready to eat it then decorate with the remaining strawberries

To drink: Meringues and cream always suggest bubbles to me so pick a semi-sweet sparkling wine like a Clairette de Die or demi-sec Champagne.

A steak and Malbec supper

This menu was created as part of a series of pieces I wrote for Sainsbury's magazine. The idea was to invite your friends round for a wine tasting then all have a slap-up meal afterwards. This meal was based on a tasting of South American reds from Argentina and Chile but it would be just as fun to base it round Malbec (Malbec being the perfect wine for a steak).

If you want to serve some nibbles while you get the steaks ready I suggest making or buying some guacamole and some fresh tomato salsa and serving them with lightly salted plain tortilla chips (which you could accompany with a Margarita or a Sauvignon Blanc)

Menu:
Chargrilled steaks with chimichurri salsa
Stove-top potatoes
Warm cinnamon pancakes with cajeta and raspberries

Chargrilled steaks with chimichurri salsa

The Argentinians are not only great steak eaters but tremendous barbecuers - a dish like this would always be cooked on the ‘asado’ (open grill) Do the same if you’re one of those people who barbecues year-round. Otherwise cook them on a ridged grill or in a large heavy frying pan
Serves 6

6 evenly cut rib-eye or sirloin steaks
A little olive oil

Trim any excess fat off the steaks and smear them lightly with oil. Heat one or two ridged grill pans or heavy frying pans until smoking hot and cook the steaks rare or medium rare to taste. Put them on a warm serving dish to rest for 5 minutes as you finish them. Put a steak on each plate with some salad and stove-top potatoes (below). Shake the chimichurri salsa vigorously and splash it over the steaks and salad
(You may want to have a simple vinaigrette dressing to hand for those who find the chimichurri salsa too fiery!)

For the chimichurri salsa
This very odd-sounding salsa tastes wonderful on steak but you must leave it overnight for the flavours to infuse.

110ml (4 fl oz) olive oil
55 ml (2 fl oz) red wine vinegar
1 level tsp dried oregano
A small handful (about 20g) fresh flat leaf parsley, stalks removed and leaves roughly chopped
1/2 level tsp crushed chillies
1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
1 bay leaf
110 ml (4 fl oz) salmuera (salt water solution made from 1 level tbsp sea salt dissolved in 4 fl oz warm water and cooled)

Mix the ingredients for the sauce together in a large screw-top jar, shake
well and refrigerate overnight. Shake well before using

Wine suggestion:
The slightly salty, garlicky salsa will have the effect of softening the tannins of any red you put with it so this is an opportunity to drink a big tannic young red without worrying if it's going to overwhelm the dish. As well as Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Tannat would also work well.

Stove-top potatoes

Baked potatoes are a staple of South American cuisine but develop a wonderful earthy flavour from being cooked in an earthenware pot. If you don’t have one use a cast-iron dish

1 kg even sized small waxy salad potatoes

Scrub or wash the potatoes if necessary and place in a shallow earthenware pot or very lightly greased cast iron dish. Cover with a lid or a piece of foil and cook over a very low heat for about an hour and a quarter, turning them occasionally, Pierce with a sharp knife to check they’re cooked through.

Simple mixed salad

2 romaine hearts or a bag of iceberg lettuce leaves
2 large or 3 medium sized tomatoes
1/2 a cucumber
A packet of chives

Wash the romaine hearts and tear each leaf into two or three pieces. Slice the tomatoes and cucumber. Cut the chives in three. Arrange a salad on each plate starting with the lettuce, then a few slices of cucumber and tomato and sprinkle with the chopped chives

Warm cinnamon crepes with cajeta and raspberries

I was introduced to cajeta - a divinely caramelly sauce from Mexico - by American food writer Rick Bayless. This is an adaptation of a recipe in his first book Authentic Mexican and is one of the most irresistible desserts I’ve ever eaten. You can make both the cajeta and pancakes in advance - or buy both ready-made to save time (see below)
Serves 6

6 cinnamon pancakes (see below) or bought pancakes
250g curd cheese
100ml (3 1/2 fl oz) whole milk
1 rounded tsp caster sugar
375g fresh raspberries or a 300g carton frozen raspberries, just thawed
100g toasted almonds
About 175ml of cajeta (see below)

Mix the curd cheese with the milk until smooth and stir in the sugar. Reheat the pancakes if you haven’t just made them by heating them briefly on each side in a lightly greased pan (or, with some ready made pancakes, in the microwave) Spread a generous dollop of the curd cheese over the pancake, scatter with raspberries and drizzle over a dessertspoon of cajeta. Roll up each pancake and lay in a shallow dish. Repeat with the remaining pancakes. Spoon over some more cajeta and sprinkle with toasted almonds
* You can fill the pancakes with vanilla ice cream if you prefer

For the cinnamon pancakes
Makes 6-8 24cm (9 1/4 inch) pancakes

110g (4 oz) organic plain unbleached flour or ordinary plain flour
1/2 level tsp ground cinnamon
A pinch of ground cloves or mixed spice
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 large free-range eggs
275ml (9 fl oz) semi-skimmed milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp brandy (optional)
25g cooled melted butter + another 25g melted butter for greasing the pan

You will need a 24 cm (9 1/2 inch) pancake pan or large frying pan
Mix the flour, spices, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Make a hollow in the centre. Beat the eggs lightly with the milk, vanilla extract and brandy then add the butter. Gradually pour into the flour stirring all the time. Or place the flour, seasonings, eggs and half the milk in a food processor, whiz, then slowly add the remaining milk to make a thin batter. Leave it to rest for half an hour then beat again.
Heat the pan for about 3-4 minutes over a moderate heat. Dip a crumpled piece of kitchen towel in the remaining melted butter and wipe it round the pan. It should sizzle. Pour in a ladle or coffee cup of batter and swirl it round quickly so that it covers the whole pan.
Cook for about 30 seconds till the edges begin to brown then flip over and
cook the other side. Stack the pancakes on a plate with a piece of greaseproof paper between them to prevent them sticking.

For the cajeta
This makes more than you’ll need for the recipe but you’ll also find it a fabulous topping for ice cream (or quite wicked spooned straight from the jar)

1 litre of goats milk + 200ml full fat (i.e. not semi-skimmed or skimmed) cows milk
225g (8 oz) golden caster sugar
1 tbsp glucose syrup
1/2 a stick of cinnamon
1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda

Pour the two milks into a large, heavy bottomed saucepan. Add the caster sugar, glucose syrup and cinnamon and heat over a moderate heat stirring occasionally until almost at boiling point. Remove from the heat and stir in the bicarbonate of soda mixed with 1 tbsp of cold water. (The mixture will fizz up but shouldn’t come over the sides if your pan is big enough) Return the pan to the heat and keep the mixture at a brisk simmer, stirring occasionally for about 45 minutes to an hour. It will gradually turn pale golden then towards the end of the cooking time a richer brown caramelly colour. At this point the bubbles will become larger and the mixture begin to rise in the pan again like milk boiling. Keep stirring to make sure it doesn’t catch. Once the mixture has become quite syrupy take it off the heat and strain into a measuring jug. You should have about 400-450ml of cajeta. Cool, stirring occasionally to stop a skin forming then pour into a clean jam jar or jars and refrigerate for up to a month.

Cheat’s cajeta
You can also make a good cajeta sauce by mixing equal quantities of Dulce de Leche with natural goats milk yoghurt. Make the recipe as above using ready made pancakes.

Wine suggestion:
A late harvest Muscat or southern French Muscat should go pretty well with this dish, if you fancy a pudding wine (though bear in mind the dessert is already quite sweet).

The image which is © nickola-che @fotolia.com is not a photograph of the recipe above but a similar one.

10 ways to barbecue better - top tips from TV chef Henry Herbert

A report on an all-day butchery and barbeque course at Hobbs House cookery school I went to a couple of summers ago. A great day out for any BBQ enthusiast (or women who live with one who want to keep their end up ;-)

Henry Herbert of Channel 4’s Fabulous Baker Brothers, who runs the school with his brother Tom, showed us how to cut up different types of meat, joint chickens and make burgers and sausages then how to cook them on the barbecue

Here are his top ten tips for improving your barbecuing skills:

1. Buy a barbecue with a lid to avoid flare-ups

2. Heat your charcoal or briquettes in a chimney starter

Probably the most useful tip for inexpert fire builders. You need a purpose-built chimney starter like this one (see also right and below). It provides the exactly the amount of fuel you need and it gets hot quickly and evenly. If you leave a few briquettes in the bottom of the starter and top with more you have extra coals for topping up the barbie when you need them.

3. Char your veg directly over the coals while the starter is heating

A great way to blister the skins of aubergines and peppers for a baba ganoush dip or a salad

4. Suit the heat source to the cut

If you’re cooking thicker pieces of meat like chicken legs use indirect heat - i.e. where the food is not directly over the coals. Cook thinner cuts like butterflied chicken breasts, steak and burgers directly over the fire.

5. Butterfly your chicken breasts

In other words cut through the breast lengthways leaving it attached at the side so you can flatten it out into a fillet. That way you don’t need to cook it too long

6. Leave the basting till the last minute

Especially if you're using a marinade that contains sugar which will burn if you expose it to a high heat for too long (hence burnt chicken legs).

7. Pre-cook your sausages

In beer, preferably. Or at least that’s what Henry did by sweating off some onions in butter, topping up with beer and poaching the bangers very gently in the liquid for about 10 minutes. Or you can use water. Then finish them off on the grill. It avoids burnt sausage syndrome - and the risk of food poisoning - and makes them extra-delicious

8. Buy your mince freshly ground from dry-aged meat

It made a huge difference in the burgers we handled which were sticky rather than slimey and wet. It also improves the taste (obviously) so you don’t need to add other ingredients such as onion. Just salt and pepper*

9. Heat your burger buns over the coals

For a warm bun - and perfect melty cheese - lay the cheese over the burger and top with the two halves of the bun

10. Have your burgers and steak at room temperature before you start

So you can cook them rare without leaving them raw. Actually that applies to all meats but obviously don't leave them out in the blazing sun.

* And if you’re making them in advance season them at the last moment like a steak to prevent the meat drying out. Otherwise the salt will draw out the moisture.

Butchery and BBQ masterclasses are held monthly at the Hobbs House cookery school in Chipping Sodbury, just north of Bristol and cost £185 including all the barbecue you can eat! For details see the website. The next is on July 18th.

I attended the course as a guest of Hobbs House.