Pea, parsley & cheddar dip with pumpkin seed crackers

A recipe from a charming and inventive cookbook this week - blogger Rejina Sabur-Cross's Gastrogeek. I've picked it because I love dips - who doesn't? - but also because of the amazing-looking crackers.

Regina writes: "This is one of my all time favourite dips, and the crackers are insanely easy to make – in fact every time I’m in the supermarket and I see those expensive packets of gourmet crackers, I always remember just what a piece of cake it is to bake these and make a beeline straight for the flour section instead. Perfect for snacking on in front of the telly or passing round with drinks.

Serves 4

For the dip

1 garlic clove

1 teaspoon salt

150g frozen petits pois, defrosted

2 tablespoons soured cream

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

1‑2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley

70g mature Cheddar cheese, grated

25g toasted pine nuts

1 tablespoon chives, finely chopped

1 teaspoon garlic powder

freshly ground black pepper

Crush the garlic clove with 1 teaspoon of salt to form a paste. Transfer to a bowl and add the remaining dip ingredients. Blitz together using a hand-held electric blender and place in the fridge to chill.

For the crackers

50g plain or spelt flour, plus extra for dusting

50g wholemeal or rye flour

5 teaspoons of seeds of your choice

3 tablespoons grated Parmesan or other hard cheese, for sprinkling

pinch of salt

In a bowl, mix the flours with about 6 tablespoons of water to form a supple dough. Turn a roasting tin or baking sheet upside down, dust it with flour and roll the dough out to cover the tin. It should be nice and thin - don’t worry if it doesn’t look perfect.

Preheat the oven to 180˚C/gas mark 4. Sprinkle the dough with a little water and from a slight height (to ensure even distribution) sprinkle over the seeds, cheese and a pinch of salt. Pop the inverted tin in the oven and bake for 15‑20 minutes or until golden and crisp.

Remove and slide a spatula under to loosen the cracker before breaking up into big bite-size shards.

Serve the hot crackers with the cold dip. Any leftover crackers will keep in an airtight container for a few days.

What to drink: I'd probably go for a Sauvignon Blanc or Semillon with this but you could drink an Italian white like a Vermentino, a rosé or even a glass of sparkling wine like a Cava.

Gastrogeek by Rejina Sabur-Cross is published by Kyle Books, priced £15.99. Photography: Chris Terry

Crab macaroni cheese

I always think it's hard to improve on macaroni cheese but adding crab, which my mate Fiona Sims has done in her brilliant new The Boat Cookbook, is an inspired touch.

Although the cookbook is for sailors there are plenty of recipes to appeal to landlubbers like me - including a great version of pasta con le sarde (pasta with sardines) and a chocolate fruit cake.

Fiona writes: "Macaroni cheese is my ultimate boat comfort food – add crab and it becomes something special. A fresh, dressed crab is the best thing to use here, as it cranks up the flavour intensity, but you can use a tub of pasteurised white crabmeat, or failing that two 170g tins of white crabmeat. Serve with a crisp, green salad."

For 4

50g butter

2 leeks, trimmed, washed and finely sliced

400g macaroni, or other short pasta

50g flour

600ml milk

150g mature Cheddar, grated

¼ tsp nutmeg, grated

1 dressed crab

2 handfuls of breadcrumbs

salt and pepper

Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed pan and add the leeks, then cover and sweat for 10 minutes to soften.

Meanwhile bring salted water to the boil in a large saucepan and cook the pasta, then drain and keep warm. Heat the grill. Add the flour to the leeks, stir to combine and cook for a couple of minutes. Gradually add the milk, whisking to avoid lumps, and simmer for 5 minutes. Add half the cheese and all of the nutmeg and crab, then heat through and season before stirring in the cooked pasta.

Tip the lot into a shallow baking dish if you are using a boat grill (if you are cooking at home with a larger grill, any heatproof dish will work). Top with the breadcrumbs and the remaining cheese. Grill for a couple of minutes until the topping is crunchy and golden.

What to drink: I generally drink red with a mac'n'cheese (see here) but given the crab I'd go for a crisp white like a Sancerre or other Sauvignon Blanc

The Boat Cookbook: real food for hungry sailors by Fiona Sims is published by Bloomsbury. Photograph © Julian Winslow.

Barbequed brochette of prawns, squid and courgette with sauce vierge

A stunning recipe from Bruce Poole's cookbook Bruce's Cookbook that shows barbeques don't have to be all about burgers and ribs.

Bruce's restaurant Chez Bruce in Wandsworth in south London, is a place where chefs - and food writers - like to go when they're off-duty. This is one of the simpler recipes in the book which by and large isn't one of those 'quick'n'easy' volumes but a serious collection of recipes for people who want to turn out Michelin-standard - but not fiddly - food. A must-buy for any cookbook collector.

Serves 4 as a main course or more in smaller form as part of a bigger barbecue offering

2 large courgettes, topped and tailed
salt
8 fresh baby squid, each one no longer than 10cm, cleaned by the fishmonger
12 large, raw prawns, thawed if frozen
1 lemon
For the sauce vierge
6 large ripe plum tomatoes, blanched and skinned
2 large shallots, peeled and finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, peeled and minced
salt and freshly ground black pepper
your best olive oil
1 small bunch of fresh basil, leaves picked and torn

Light the barbecue. Slice the courgettes lengthways on a mandolin into thin, 2mm-thick slices. Sprinkle with salt and leave to disgorge in a colander for half an hour or so.

To make the sauce vierge, separate the tomato flesh from the seeds and pulp and discard the latter. Cut the flesh into neat 1cm dice and combine with the shallots in a mixing bowl. Add the garlic and season with salt and pepper. Leave for 15 minutes to encourage the salt to get to work with the toms. Add a good slug of olive oil and the torn basil. Adjust the seasoning and reserve at room temperature.

Dry the courgettes on absorbent kitchen paper and roll them up into tight coils. Fold each squid in half. Thread the folded squid, the courgette coils and the prawns on to the skewers evenly. Don’t worry unduly if there is an uneven number of courgettes.

Season the brochettes with salt and pepper just prior to grilling. Place them without any oil on to the barbecue and cook until pleasantly charred all over – about 5 minutes in total. Transfer to a plate and sprinkle with olive oil and lemon juice. Serve with the sauce vierge and perhaps some couscous, or a cold rice or pasta salad.

What to drink: Plenty of possibilities - a crisp, elegant Sauvignon Blanc, an Albario or a dry Italian white like a Vermentino would all be good. Or - and I suspect Bruce might well go for this himself - a bone dry Alsace grand cru Riesling.