Frying pan Turkish flatbreads

Today marks the start of Organic September and what better way to kick it off than this great recipe from much-acclaimed vegetarian cookery writer Anna Jones, author of A Modern Way to Cook

Anna writes: "The part of east London I live in is full of Turkish cafes. They turn out charcoal-baked flatbreads and insanely good salads, and although meat is front and centre in Turkish food, there are some amazing vegetable dishes too. Here is a quick way to make my two favourites at home."

Anna's Frying Pan Turkish Flatbreads

Ingredients

To make the flatbreads

• 200g spelt flour, plus extra for dusting
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 200g Greek yoghurt, or 150ml warm water

To make the topping

• 2 red onions
• 3 red peppers
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon dried Turkish chilli flakes
• 1 green chilli
• a small bunch of fresh mint

To make the salad

• 1 red onion
• 1 lemon
• 5 ripe vine tomatoes
• a small bunch of fresh mint
• a small bunch of fresh parsley
• 1 tablespoon sumac
• 1 teaspoon harissa or Turkish chilli paste
• 2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
• extra virgin olive oil

Getting started

Put all the flatbread ingredients into the bowl of your food processor and pulse until the mixture forms a ball. If you don't have a food processor, this can be done in a bowl using a fork to begin with, followed by your hands, but it will take longer.

Dust a clean work surface with flour and tip out the dough. Knead for a minute or so to bring it all together. This is a quick flatbread recipe, so you don't need to knead it for long. Put the dough into flour-dusted bowl and cover with a plate. Put to one side to rise a little for 10-15 minutes while you do some other jobs. Don't expect it to rise like normal dough, but it may puff up a tiny bit.

To make the topping, heat a frying pan on medium heat, then finely chop your onions and red peppers and put them into the pan with 1 tablespoon of oil. Cook on a medium heat for 10 minutes, until soft and sweet, then add the dried chilli. Chop the fresh green chilli and mint and add to the pan along with a final tablespoon of oil.

Next, make your salad. Finely slice the onion and put into a bowl with the juice of half a lemon and a good pinch of salt. Scrunch with your hands, then leave to pickle.

Chop the tomatoes roughly, then roughly chop the leaves of fresh herbs. Put them into a bowl with the spices and the pomegranate molasses and add the lemon-picked red onions. Season well with salt and pepper and add a little more lemon juice and a good drizzle of olive oil, balancing out the flavours until it tastes great.

Now back to the flatbreads. Put a large frying pan or griddle pan (about 22-24cm) on a medium heat.

Dust a clean work surface and rolling pin with flour, then divide dough into four equal-sized pieces. Using your hands, pat and flatten out the dough, then use the rolling pin to roll each piece into about 20cm round, roughly 2-3mm thick.

Once your pan is hot, cook each flatbread for 1-2minutes on each side, until nicely puffed up, turning with tongs.

Spread with the onion and chilli mixture while hot, and serve straightaway with spoonfuls of salad.

What to drink: As it's still warm and summery as I'm posting this I'd go for a crisp dry white or rosé. There are in fact some good ones from Turkey (though I haven't come across many that are organic) but anywhere round the Mediterranean - neighbouring Greece, Italy or Southern France would be fine too.

Follow all the Organic September action, find recipes and features at www.soilassociation.org/organicseptember and by following #OrganicSeptember on social media. You can find more of Anna's recipes on her website Anna Jones.

Carrot pie with apple and goat cheese

This unusual recipe from Dutch cookery writer Yvette van Boven's lovely Home Made Summer is a great way to kick off National Vegetarian Week.

It's well worth getting the book for the other recipes too - including an imaginative range of drinks.

Carrot pie with apple and goat cheese

for 6 to 8 servings

8 carrots, peeled

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed

1 onion, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced

1 fresh, tart apple, peeled, cored, and sliced as thinly as possible

4 oz (100 g) soft goat cheese

½ cup (100 g) crème fraîche

½ cup plus 2 tbsp (150 ml) carrot juice

3 large eggs

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Boil the carrots in salted water for 8 minutes, until just tender. Drain and rinse under cold running water. Halve them lengthwise and set them aside.

Grease a 9-inch (24-cm) tart pan with a removable bottom with a little butter.

On a well-floured counter, roll out the puff pastry into a nice round slab the size of the pie plate. Press the dough firmly into the plate and trim the edges neatly. With a fork, stab some holes in the bottom, then cover the dough and place the pie plate in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).

Arrange the onion and apple over the bottom of the pastry in the pie plate and place the halved carrots on top in a spoke pattern. Crumble the goat cheese over the pie, somewhat in between the carrots.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the crème fraîche, carrot juice, and eggs. Season with salt and pepper. Pour the mixture over the carrots and sprinkle everything generously with pepper.

Bake the pie on the lower rack of the oven for about 35 minutes, until golden brown.

What to drink: Almost any crisp fresh white or rosé would work with this. I'd probably go for a smooth Italian white like a Soave, an unoaked Chardonnay or Chenin Blanc or a Provencal rosé. Verdelho would be nice too. Or cider . . . yes, cider would be lovely.

Gizzi's Thai Roast Duck & Watermelon Salad

If you want to make just one dish to celebrate the Thai new year try Gizzi Erskine's fabulous Thai-style duck and watermelon salad from her most recent book Gizzi's Healthy Appetite.

Do note though, before you start, that you need a pan large enough to take a whole duck and that you need to make the Thai dressing and the crispy shallots before the duck finishes roasting. Otherwise it's dead easy, as fellow cookery writer Sabrina Ghayour who took the pic below will attest.

Gizzi writes: "One of my most memorable cooking experiences was when I worked at Min Jiang at the Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington, which is famous for its roast duck and dim sum. I spent a day learning all the secrets to the perfect Crispy Peking Duck. It’s no mean feat.

First, air is blown under the duck’s skin to separate the skin from the flesh. The duck is doused in searing hot syrup to constrict and glaze the skin, then it is left to dry overnight. It’s then roasted at a really hot temperature and actually served pink. The skin is carved away and the duck is sliced rather than shredded and served with plum sauce, spring onions, cucumber and pancakes.

I’ve made my recipe a bit more user-friendly. Essentially, you are just giving the duck a hot bath in molten liquor for a few minutes before drying it out in the fridge overnight and then roasting it. It’s no more effort than marinating something the night before, just a little more unusual. I’ve paired the duck with the most deelish Thai watermelon salad, inspired by chef Ian Pengelley, but feel free to serve the duck the classic way with pancakes if you prefer."

SERVES 4

PREPARATION TIME

30 minutes, plus drying overnight

COOKING TIME

1 1/2 hours

2 litres water

1 star anise

1 slice of galangal or ginger, bruised

2 spring onions, split down the middle

5 tablespoons maltose or (if you really can’t find it) honey

4 tablespoons light soy sauce

2 tablespoons salt

1 free-range duck, about 1.2–3kg, not too fatty

Thai Salad Dressing (see below)

lime wedges, to serve

For the salad

½ medium watermelon, cut into small cubes

100g cashew nuts or peanuts, roasted

a small handful of Thai basil leaves

a small handful of mint leaves

a small handful of coriander leaves

1 shallot, finely sliced

Crispy Shallots (see below)

You will also need a saucepan large enough to fit the whole duck

Place the water, star anise, galangal or ginger, spring onions, maltose or honey, soy sauce and salt in the saucepan and bring to the boil. Turn off the heat and leave to infuse for 10 minutes. Bring back to the boil, scoop out the aromatics, and then plunge the duck, skin-side up, into the water and immerse it fully. You may need to keep it pushed down with a wooden spoon. Bring to the boil for 3 minutes, then quickly remove the duck and dry fully on kitchen paper.

Clear a shelf in the fridge, lay a few sheets of cling film on the shelf, and then place some kitchen paper on top. Next, lay a wire rack on top of this. Place the duck on the wire rack and leave to dry in the fridge for 15 hours. The duck skin will feel like wax paper when it’s dry.

Preheat the oven to 200°C/Gas Mark 6. Place the duck on a rack in an oven tray and fill the tray with 300ml water. If you want classic roast Chinese duck that’s still pink, roast the duck for 40 minutes, or until the skin is crisp and golden; if you want crispy duck, cook for 60 minutes, turning the oven down to 180°C/Gas Mark 4 after 30 minutes. Leave the duck to rest for 10 minutes before carving. Carve off the legs and use two forks to shred the leg meat, removing the bones as you go.

Next, if you’re serving your duck pink, remove the breasts with the skin intact and cut widthways into slices; or you can shred it like crispy duck. Sprinkle over a tiny bit of salt, then arrange on one side of a large serving platter.

Place the watermelon on the platter and scatter over the nuts, herbs, shallot slices and Crispy Shallots. Serve with the Thai Salad Dressing and lime wedges.

THAI SALAD DRESSING

SERVES 4

150ml water

200g palm sugar

3–4 Thai red chillies, sliced

1 lemon grass stick, bruised

1 small piece of galangal or fresh root ginger, about 5cm x 2.5cm, bruised

5 lime leaves, torn

2 tablespoons tamarind paste

2 tablespoons fish sauce

2 tablespoons lime juice

Boil all the ingredients together in a saucepan over a medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until it has reduced and is like honey. It needs to be thicker and morepotent than your average dressing because it will be diluted with all the juice the watermelon lets out. Leave to cool.

CRISPY SHALLOTS

SERVES 8

4 tablespoons coconut or rapeseed oil

4 banana shallots, thinly sliced into rings

Heat the oil in a frying pan over a low heat and fry the shallots for 10–15 minutes, or until they start to crisp up and turn a light golden colour. Scoop out the shallots and drain on some kitchen paper.

What to drink: I'd break my normal rule of pinot noir with duck for this recipe - I think an aromatic white such as pinot gris or gewurztraminer would pair much better with the Thai-style dressing. Or a fruity rosé such as this one which featured in my match of the week slot recently.

Recipe from Gizzi's Healthy Appetite, by Gizzi Erskine is published by Mitchell Beazley, £25

Top pic: The Gaztronome. Middle pic: Sabrina Ghayour

Home Economists Sofia Johansson, Anna Jones, Emily Ezekiel, Kat Mead.

Butternut squash with pistachio pesto, feta and pomegranate seeds

Finding a special occasion vegetarian dish is tough if you're not a veggie yourself but try this show-stopping recipe from Sabrina Ghayour's Persiana which won best new cookbook at this week's Observer Food Monthly awards.

Sabrina writes: "Middle Eastern people often perceive butternut squash as bland. Taking inspiration from an Asian pesto-and-squash dish made by my friend, the chef Tony Singh, I came up with my own Persian pistachio pesto, adding salty crumbled feta cheese and a handful of vibrant pomegranate seeds for a burst of flavour.

The result? It has become one of my most popular supper club dishes of all time and has proven itself to be the dish that converts those who were formerly not the greatest of squash fans."

Serves 2 as a main course or 4 as a side dish

1 large butternut squash, quartered lengthways and deseeded

4 tbsp olive oil

sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

150g (5 1/2oz) feta cheese

100g (3 1/2oz) pomegranate seeds

For the pesto

100g (3 1/2oz) shelled pistachio nuts

70g (2 1/2oz) Parmesan or Grana Padano cheese, chopped into rough chunks

olive oil

1 small bunch of coriander, leaves picked

1 small bunch of parsley, leaves picked

1 small bunch of dill, leaves picked

3 tbsp chilli oil

juice of 1 lemon

In a food processor, blitz the pistachios and cheese together, adding a generous amount of olive oil to slacken the mixture. Put all the herbs into the food processor with a little more olive oil as well as the chilli oil and lemon juice and blitz again, then add a handful of crushed sea salt and give the mixture one last blitz. Taste the pesto, ensuring it has enough salt and acidity, then allow it to rest in the refrigerator until you need it.

Preheat the oven to 200°C/fan 180°C/gas mark 6. Once the oven is hot, rub each wedge of butternut squash with the oil, season generously with sea salt and black pepper and place it on a baking sheet lined with non-stick baking paper. Roast the squash for about 45–50 minutes, or just until the edges have begun to char slightly. You want to blacken the edges a little – this gives them a nice chewy texture. To check the squash to see if it is properly cooked, insert a knife into the flesh – if it slides clean through, the squash is ready. If you feel resistance, return the squash to the oven for a few more minutes.

Serve each wedge of butternut squash on a plate, drizzled generously with the vibrant green pesto. Crumble the feta cheese on top and scatter over the pomegranate seeds to finish.

What to drink: With the punchy, herby pesto you should be looking at a sauvignon blanc or other crisp white wine here. But a dry Provencal rosé would also work really well.

From Persiana by Sabrina Ghayour published by Mitchell Beazley (www.octopusbooks.co.uk) Photo © Liz & Max Haarala Hamilton