Watermelon, halloumi, lime-pickled red onions

There have been a lot of great veggie cookbooks this summer but one of the most useful is Genevieve Taylor's Charred which finally empowers vegetarians to enjoy barbecues as much as meat eaters. That said this isn't the recipe in the book that makes the most extensive use of the grill but it's such a sublime combination of ingredients it's really summer on a plate.

Gen writes: OK, I’ll admit that no actual vegetables were grilled in the making of this salad but I hope you agree it is worthy of inclusion. And, after all, grilled halloumi with almost anything is very much worth eating. You cangrill watermelon (useful to know if your melon is a little underripe), but I do prefer its texture when eaten raw.

Serves 6–8

1 small red onion, very thinly sliced

zest and juice of 2 limes

2 tsp caster sugar

1kg (2lb 3oz) watermelon, about ½ medium-sized one

4 tbsp olive oil

3 x 250g (9oz) blocks of halloumi, cut into 1cm (½ inch) thick slices

a small bunch of coriander (cilantro), leaves roughly chopped

a small bunch of mint, leaves roughly chopped

50g (½ cup) pistachios, toasted and roughly chopped

Put the onion into a small bowl with the lime zest and juice and the sugar, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Set aside for about 30 minutes while you prepare the rest of the salad.

Cut the watermelon into 1cm (½ inch) thick wedges, trimming off the rind as you go. Spread over a large platter.

Fire up your barbecue ready for direct grilling, or heat up a griddle pan on the hob.

Drizzle a little of the oil over the halloumi (save the rest for the salad), then place directly over the heat on the grill bars. Cook for 2–3 minutes, until seared, then turn over with a fish slice and cook the other side. Once the halloumi is cooked, cut each slice in half on the diagonal and scatter over the watermelon.

Sprinkle over the coriander, mint and pickled onion slices, drizzling over the lime juice from the bowl too. Scatter thechopped pistachios over the salad Finish with a generous drizzle of olive oil and a grind of salt and pepper and serve immediately,while the halloumi is still warm.

What to drink: Any crisp fresh white would be great with this from an albarino to a sauvignon blanc.

Extracted from Charred by Genevieve Taylor, published by Quadrille at £16.99. Photograph © Jason Ingram.

Grilled halloumi flatbreads with preserved lemon and barberry salsa

Like many of Sabrina Ghayour's fans I've been hugely looking forward to her new book Bazaar which brings her vibrant cooking style to vegetarian food. You'll need to get a copy of your own (unless you're a subscriber and stand to win one if you're lucky) but here's a taster.

Sabrina writes: "This is my version of a taco, but with all the punch and vibrancy you would associate with Middle Eastern flavours. You can substitute the halloumi for Indian paneer or tofu. The flatbreads alone are incredibly moreish – you may never buy shop-bought flatbreads again!

2 x 250g blocks halloumi cheese

2 tablespoons Greek-style yogurt

5cm piece of fresh turmeric, peeled and finely grated

1 garlic clove, crushed

finely grated zest of 1 unwaxed lime

good squeeze of lime juice

vegetable oil

1 x recipe ‘Shaken’ Sweet Quick Pickled Onions (see below)

pul biber chilli flakes, to garnish

Maldon sea salt flakes and black pepper

For the flatbreads

30g unsalted butter, melted

175g plain flour

100ml semi-skimmed milk

2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

2 teaspoons garlic granules

1 tablespoon olive oil

For the salsa

½ small packet (about 15g) of fresh dill, roughly chopped

4 preserved lemons, deseeded and very finely chopped

1 tablespoon dried barberries

1 avocado, peeled, stoned and roughly diced

2 teaspoons nigella seeds

For the harissa yoghurt

250g Greek-style yoghurt

1 heaped tbsp rose harissa

Cut each block of halloumi into 4 thick, equal slices. Put the yogurt, grated turmeric, crushed garlic and lime zest into a bowl, add the lime juice and mix well. Season with salt and pepper. Leave the halloumi slices to marinate while you’re making the flatbreads.

Put all the flatbread ingredients, except the oil, into a mixing bowl and mix until a firm dough has formed. Wrap the dough in clingfilm and leave to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.

To make the salsa, mix the ingredients together in a small bowl, season with salt and pepper and set aside.

To make the harissa yoghurt, mix the ingredients together in another bowl, season with salt and pepper, and chill until ready to serve.

When you’re ready to cook the flatbreads, preheat a large frying pan over a medium heat. Divide the dough into 4 equal portions and roll out each piece into a thin round, about 25cm in diameter. Brush the hot pan with olive oil and cook the flatbreads, one at a time, for about 45–60 seconds on each side, or until lightly browned.

In the same frying pan, heat a drizzle of vegetable oil over a medium-high heat. Add the marinated halloumi slices and fry for about 1 minute on each side, or until nicely browned.

Divide the halloumi between the flatbreads and dollop a generous amount of the harissa yogurt on top. Add the salsa and some pickled onions, then sprinkle over some pul biber. Roll up and serve immediately.

For the 'shaken' sweet quick-pickled onions you will need

1 large red onion, halved and very thinly sliced into half moons

1 tbsp caster sugar

1 tbsp rice vinegar

1 tsp pul biber chilli flakes

generous amount of Maldon sea salt flakes

Combine all the ingredients in a lidded plastic container. Close the lid tightly and shake vigorously for a couple of minutes until the onion slices soften then serve. Keep refrigerated for up to 2 days in a sealed container.

What to drink: Take your pick from a crisp fresh zesty white like a sauvignon blanc, a nice chilled glass of rosé or a cold beer.

Bazaar by Sabrina Ghayour is published by Mitchell Beazley, £26 (www.octopusbooks.co.uk). Photography by Kris Kirkham.

Simit with lemon and thyme-baked feta

If you've ever toyed with the idea of buying a wood-fired oven Genevieve Taylor's new book The Ultimate Wood Fired Oven Cookbook should persuade you. (And it didn't even cost a fortune. She built it herself!)

The recipes which go way beyond pizza are brilliant too* but I picked this intriguing Turkish bread which she serves with baked feta cheese which sounds ridiculously good*.

Gen writes: "Simit are delicious bagel-shaped bread rings from Turkey, liberally covered with golden sesame seeds and often served for breakfast with cheese and olive oil. Here I serve them with baked feta cheese as I love the soft, almost mousse-like texture it gets when it’s hot, perfect for spreading on the crusty bread. Eaten with a salad of ripe tomatoes and a few black olives, this makes a perfectly simple lunch."

220–230°C (425–450°F) MAKES 4

For the simit

400g (3 cups) strong white bread flour

1 tsp instant yeast

1 tsp fine salt

300ml (11⁄4 cups) hand-hot water 2 tbsp olive oil, plus more for shaping the dough

1 tbsp pomegranate molasses

2 tbsp sesame seeds

For the feta

1 x 200g (7oz) block of feta

2 tbsp olive oil

a few sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves, picked

zest from 1⁄2 a lemon

freshly ground black pepper

You need a fire that has reached a high, steady baking temperature of about 220–230°C (425–450°F), with no live flame, just glowing embers OR if you don't have a wood-fired oven Gen says you can bake the bread in a conventional oven at 220°C or 200°C in a fan oven.

Put the flour, yeast and salt into a mixing bowl and stir together until mixed. Pour in the water and oil and stir together until you have a ragged, loose ball of dough. Cover loosely with a clean tea towel and set aside for 10 minutes for the flour to hydrate.

Lightly oil the worktop and tip the dough on to it, scraping out all the loose bits from the bowl. Spread a little oil on the inside of the bowl and set aside. Use your oiled hands to very lightly knead the dough for 10 seconds, then put back into the bowl and leave to rest for 10 more minutes. Repeat this 10-second knead and 10-minute rest twice more. Cover the bowl and leave to prove on the worktop for an hour. You can also slide it into the fridge and prove it slowly for 4–6 hours if you prefer.

Tip out the dough on to a lightly floured worktop and divide it into eight even pieces. Take two pieces and roll them into long snakes, about 1–1 1⁄2cm (1⁄2–5⁄8in) thick. If the dough snakes are springing back and won’t stay in shape, leave them for a few minutes to relax, then try again.

Twist the two pieces together like a rope, then coil into a circle and pinch the two ends together to join so they look like twisted bagels. Set on a large oiled baking sheet and repeat with the remaining dough so you end up with 4 well-spaced simit. Brush the tops lightly with the pomegranate molasses and sprinkle liberally with the sesame seeds. Set aside to prove again for another 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, get the block of feta ready for baking by sliding it into a small baking dish. Drizzle over the olive oil, and sprinkle on the thyme and lemon zest. Season with a good grind of black pepper.

Once the dough has finished its second prove, slide the tray into the hot oven. Cook for 15 minutes, then check them, turning the tray around if necessary, so they cook evenly. At the same time, slide in the dish of feta alongside. Leave both to bake for a further 10–15 minutes.

Serve immediately, while the feta is hot and melting.

*the Mexican sweetcorn salad (Esquites) we had at the launch is also ridiculously good

What to drink: If you served this as Gen suggests with a salad of ripe tomatoes and some olives a glass of dry rosé would go down well or, if you can find one, the crisp Turkish white, Narince.

Recipe extract from The Ultimate Wood Fired Oven Cookbook by Genevieve Taylor published by Quadrille at £15. Photography © Jason Ingram.

White onion and bay leaf soup with Ogleshield and hazelnuts

I ordered this amazing soup at one of my favourite local Bristol restaurants Wallfish (now Wallfish & Wellbourne) and begged the recipe from the chef, Seldon Curry. It's tastes like the sweetest of oniony fondues and is soooo delicious.

Serves 6-8 (it's rich so you only need a small bowl)

125g butter

1250g white onions, peeled and finely sliced

5g salt

2 bay leaves

25g plain flour

600ml full cream milk plus extra if you need it

175g grated Ogleshield or Raclette cheese

For the garnish

3-4 tbsp rapeseed oil

75g roughly chopped roasted hazelnuts

2-3 tbsp finely chopped parsley

Melt the butter in a large pan and tip in the onions. Stir thoroughly to coat with butter then add the salt and bay leaves. Put a lid on the pan and cook over a low heat for about 45 minutes until deliciously soft and sweet.

Sprinkle over the flour, stir and cook for 5 minutes then gradually add the milk, stirring until smooth and continue to cook over a low heat for about 15 minutes. Remove the bayleaves, add the Ogleshield then take off the heat and pass in batches through a blender until smooth. (You can sieve it for extra smoothness if you want). Return to the pan, check the seasoning, adding a touch more milk if you need to thin it down.

To serve ladle the soup into warm bowls, drizzle over the rapeseed oil and sprinkle with chopped hazelnuts and parsley.

What to drink: You could either drink a crisp white wine like a chablis or an albarino or a dry cider.