Raw cauliflower, mushroom and feta salad

This delicious salad is inspired by one I ate in a brilliant fast food restaurant called Food Chain in Montreal last year. They shred the vegetables to order then serve them in bowls with an accompanying dressing and topping (mixed seeds in this case).

You pour over the dressing when you’re ready to eat which keeps the salad crunchy and fresh.

I thought it would be easy to recreate at home and it is. You just need to slice your vegetables really thinly. For two I’d suggest using a mandolin - for larger numbers a food processor with a slicing attachment. Needless to say your ingredients need to be super-fresh. This is not a salad to make with the fridge leftovers!

Serves 2 as a main meal, 4 as a side

1 small or half a medium red or sweet onion* (about 50g)
Half a medium-sized cauliflower (about 250g)
A good big handful of flat leaf parsley
125g button mushrooms
100g feta cheese, crumbled
Mixed seeds (optional)

For the dressing

2 tbsp lemon juice
Grated rind half a lemon (about 1 tsp)
5 tbsp olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

First make the dressing. Put the lemon juice and rind into a bowl with a little salt and plenty of black pepper and whisk in the olive oil. (Or shake all the ingredients together in a screw top jar

Peel the onion and slice finely on a mandolin. Discard any chunkier pieces. Soak the onion slices in cold water for 10 minutes then drain and pat dry.

Break the cauliflower into large florets removing the thicker parts of the stalk and mandolin them too

Chop the parsley coarsely removing any tougher stems

Wipe and finely slice the mushrooms

Put all the ingredients in a large bowl together with the crumbled feta. Whisk the dressing again and pour it over then toss all the ingredients together. Sprinkle with seeds, if using. Eat immediately.

What to drink: I see this as a healthy post-weekend option so I personally would drink sparkling water with it but you could serve a glass of crisp dry white wine like a Picpoul de Pinet or an albarino.

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