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  • I often use dried apricots in place of the mulberries, but cranberries and dried cherries are good alternatives.

  • The sweetness of the date syrup can be balanced by a spoon or two of stewed tart apples.

  On a winter’s evening, I warm butter and olive oil in a shallow-sided, cast-iron pan, turn the heat down low and use it to fry thin slices of potato, Jerusalem artichoke or fennel. Vegetables that will crisp or soften as you wish, and to which I can add other ingredients at will – sweet black grapes and whole parsley leaves to the crisp artichokes; peas and salty cheese to the softened fennel. I do the same with slices of pumpkin or butternut squash, then introduce feta or breadcrumbs or perhaps a fried egg whose yolk will double as an impromptu sauce.

  A heavy frying pan in which you can leave things to cook at a moderate temperature is worth its weight in gold. It is the gift I would give to a kid leaving home. The possibilities are endless. Mushrooms, sliced and sautéed with herbs to pile on a mound of silken hummus; beans whose outsides slowly crisp in olive oil and are then tossed with tomatoes and a wobbly egg of burrata; Brussels sprouts fried with miso paste to a deep walnut brown, then forked through sticky brown rice. They all give a substantial green and deeply savoury supper. The list is endless.

  The success often lies in the pan itself. A pitted or wobbly-based pan will produce uneven results. Sometimes you need a thin-bottomed pan in which to flash-fry, other times a pan as heavy as possible that will hold the heat and which can be left to do its task while you get on with other elements of dinner. Choose your weapon.

  It is worth finding a suitable lid. Especially if you are cooking vegetables that need to be brought gently to tenderness before a final crisping, such as potatoes, parsnips and carrots. The sort of heavyweight pans I find so useful for slow winter cooking often come without a lid, so it is not a bad idea to find one that fits before you leave the shop.

  I am very fond of my old iron sauté pans, but they do need a bit of care when you first get them home. A good oiling with linseed oil, a long, slow bake in the oven and a careful dry before putting them away will give them a chance to develop a patina, a naturally non-stick layer that will, unlike a commercial non-stick finish, see you through a lifetime of suppers.

  ARTICHOKES, BEANS, GREEN OLIVES

  Crisp beans and fried artichokes. Dinner from the deli.

  Serves 2

  green olives, stoned 200g

  olive oil 100ml

  basil 20 leaves

  lemon juice 75ml

  parsley leaves from a small bunch

  black garlic 2 cloves

  olive oil, for frying 2 tablespoons

  haricot beans 1 × 400g can

  fine ground polenta 6 tablespoons

  eggs 2

  artichokes in oil 350g

  groundnut oil, for deep frying

  Put the olives into the jug of a blender, then add the olive oil, basil leaves, lemon juice, parsley leaves and black garlic. Reduce to a thick purée.

  Warm the olive oil in a shallow pan that doesn’t stick, drain the beans and add them to the pan, then let them cook over a moderate heat, turning occasionally, until they are lightly crisp.

  Put the polenta on a large plate. Break the eggs into a shallow dish and mix the yolks and whites together lightly with a fork. If the artichokes are whole, then slice them in half. Roll each half in the beaten egg, then place in the polenta and turn over, pressing down firmly to coat evenly.

  Heat the groundnut oil, add the artichokes and fry till golden and crisp. Lift each from the oil and drain briefly on kitchen paper before dividing between two plates. Serve with the crisp beans and the olive paste and, if you wish, a wedge of lemon.

  • Make a black olive paste if you prefer, using stoned black olives. I would also be tempted to add a pinch of dried chilli flakes when you blend the ingredients.

  • You can use breadcrumbs instead of polenta. Sieve fresh dry crumbs on to a plate and roll the artichokes in them after coating in egg.

  AUBERGINES, GINGER, TAMARIND

  Hot, sweet, sour.

  Serves 2

  lime juice 100ml (about 2 limes)

  ginger 30g

  fish sauce 3 teaspoons

  palm sugar 4 teaspoons

  hot red chilli 1

  hot green chilli 1

  tamarind paste 4 teaspoons

  groundnut oil 2 tablespoons

  aubergines 300g

  For the apple yoghurt:

  mint leaves 12

  a small apple

  white wine vinegar 2 tablespoons

  natural yoghurt 200ml

  Put the lime juice into a mixing bowl. Peel and grate the ginger, stirring the resulting paste into the lime juice. Pour in the fish sauce, then stir in the palm sugar until dissolved.

  Finely chop the red and green chillies, removing the seeds if you wish, then add them to the marinade with the tamarind paste and groundnut oil, combining the ingredients thoroughly.

  Cut the aubergines in half lengthways, then into wedges as you might a melon. Now cut each wedge in half. Put the aubergines into the marinade, turn to coat and set aside for a good half hour. During this time they will soften a little.

  Make the apple yoghurt: finely chop the mint leaves and put them in a small mixing bowl. Grate the apple into the bowl, it can be as coarse or as fine as you wish, then stir in the white wine vinegar and yoghurt, cover and set aside.

  To cook the aubergines, heat a cast-iron griddle (and switch on the extractor). Place the aubergines on the griddle and leave to brown on the underside. Turn, loosening them from the griddle with a palette knife, and brown the other side. Keep the heat low to moderate, and make sure they are cooked right through – they must be fully tender.

  Serve the aubergines, hot from the griddle, with the apple yoghurt sauce.

  • Cut the aubergines in slices or wedges, as the fancy takes you. There will, I assure you, be much smoke, so switch on the extractor or open a window. Better still, cook them outside on the barbecue. Arm yourself with a palette knife to gently prise them from the bars of the griddle. I like to keep the heat no hotter than medium to give the aubergine time to cook through to the middle, a process you can speed up by covering the aubergines with an upturned metal bowl (or a lid, if your griddle has one). If you prefer, rather than the sour apple dressing, make a dressing of olive oil, lime juice and coriander leaves.

  • A twist of noodles, tossed with the merest splash of sesame oil, could be a suitable accompaniment here, as would long-grain rice, steamed and seasoned with black pepper and sesame seeds.

  BRUSSELS SPROUTS, BROWN RICE, MISO

  The savour of miso. The homeliness of brown rice.

  Serves 2­–3

  brown sushi rice 190g

  Brussels sprouts 750g

  groundnut oil 2 tablespoons

  light miso paste 1 tablespoon

  Japanese pickles (tsukemono) 2 tablespoons

  Put the rice in a bowl, cover with warm water, then run your fingers through the grains. Drain, repeat, then tip into a saucepan, cover with 5cm of cold water and set aside for half an hour.

  Wash and trim the sprouts, then cut each in half. Bring the soaked rice to the boil in its soaking water, add half a teaspoon of salt, cover and lower the heat so the water simmers. Leave for thirty minutes or until the rice is approaching tenderness. Remove the pan from the heat and leave to rest for ten minutes before removing the lid.

  Warm the oil in a shallow pan. Toss the sprouts with the miso paste, then transfer to the hot oil, moving them round the pan as they become crisp and pale golden brown.

  Remove the lid from the rice, run a fork through the grains to separate them, then divide between two or three bowls. Spoon the miso sprouts into the rice and add some of the Japanese pickles.

  • Fried in a little oil, the miso paste forms a fine crust on the outside of the sprouts. Serve them as an accompaniment if you wish, but I like them as the star of the show, tucked into a bowl
of sticky rice and scattered with salty Japanese pickles. I serve this as it is, but also as a side dish for slices of cold roast pork and its crackling. This is sticky rice, my favourite, but you don’t want it in lumps, so running the tines of a fork through the cooked grain is a good idea.

  BURRATA, BEANS, TOMATOES

  Milky snow-white cheese. Toasted beans. Peppery basil.

  Serves 2

  garlic 3 cloves

  olive oil

  cannellini beans 1 × 400g can

  cherry tomatoes 250g

  basil leaves a handful

  burrata 2 × 250g balls

  Flatten the garlic cloves with the blade of a kitchen knife, then peel away the skins. Warm four tablespoons of olive oil in a shallow pan and add the garlic, letting it cook briefly over a moderate heat. Drain the cannellini beans.

  Cut the tomatoes in half, pour a little more oil into the pan, then add the tomatoes and the drained cannellini. Fry briefly, for four or five minutes, until the beans are starting to crisp a little.

  Tear the basil leaves and add to the beans, stirring them in gently, until they start to wilt. Divide the beans and tomatoes between two plates, add the burrata and trickle with olive oil.

  • The beans will crisp deliciously around the edges if you leave them to fry in the hot oil. Stirring them too often will cause them to break up as they develop their golden shell.

  • Cannellini beans are my first choice here, but butter beans are worth considering too. Green flageolet don’t seem to work quite as well, though I am not entirely sure why.

  • This is one of the lighter recipes in this volume, yet each time I make it, I am surprised by how satisfying it is.

  BUTTERNUT, BREADCRUMBS, CURRY POWDER

  Sweet golden squash. Warm, spicy curry. Crisp crumbs.

  Serves 2

  onions, medium 2

  carrots, large 300g

  groundnut oil 3 tablespoons

  butternut squash 500g

  curry powder 2 teaspoons

  ground turmeric 1 teaspoon

  vegetable stock 500ml

  panko breadcrumbs 6 tablespoons

  parsley, chopped 4 tablespoons

  togarashi 1–2 teaspoons

  Peel and roughly chop the onions and carrots, then put them in a large saucepan with the oil and place over a moderate heat. Let the vegetables cook for ten to fifteen minutes until the onions are pale gold.

  Slice the butternut into 2cm-thick rounds, deseed and peel it if you wish. When the onions are nicely golden, stir in the curry powder, ground turmeric and a little salt and fry briefly, then pour in the vegetable stock and bring to the boil. Tuck in the slices of squash and lower the heat to a simmer. Leave for fifteen minutes, then remove the squash and place half of the sauce in a blender. Process to a smooth purée, then return to the pan and keep at a low bubble for five minutes.

  Toast the panko crumbs in a dry pan till golden, then toss with the chopped parsley and togarashi. Slide the squash back into the sauce for a couple of minutes, sprinkle with the parsley crumbs, then serve.

  • The sauce is based on a classic katsu, which flatters the sweetness of the butternut. You can turn up the heat if you wish with a little more togarashi seasoning or even a splash of chilli sauce.

  • The warmly spiced sauce is also worth trying with baked aubergine or roasted parsnips.

  • Togarashi, the Japanese spice mix, can be found in major supermarkets, Japanese food shops and online.

  BUTTERNUT, FETA, EGGS

  Crisp, light, sweet, salty.

  Makes 9 fritters. Serves 3

  butternut squash 300g

  garlic 2 cloves

  groundnut oil

  eggs 2

  feta cheese 200g

  plain flour 4 tablespoons

  thyme leaves, chopped 1 tablespoon

  parsley, chopped 3 heaped tablespoons

  groundnut or vegetable oil, for deep frying

  Peel and remove the seeds from the butternut squash. Push the squash through a spiraliser to give long, thin strings.

  Peel the garlic and thinly slice it. Warm a little groundnut oil in a large, shallow pan, then add the garlic, let it sizzle for a couple of minutes then, as it starts to colour, drop in the squash and fry for five or six minutes till the colours are bright and the squash is tender but far from falling apart.

  Separate the eggs. Make a batter by mixing together the egg yolks, crumbled feta cheese, plain flour, a grinding of black pepper and the chopped thyme leaves and parsley. Beat the egg whites till frothy, then fold into the batter. Toss the threads of butternut with the batter.

  Warm enough groundnut oil in a deep, heavy pan to fry the fritters. When the oil is at 180°C, take a large spoonful of the batter-coated butternut and lower into the hot oil. Repeat with a further three or four, frying for three or four minutes till crisp and golden in colour. As each fritter is ready, remove with a draining spoon and rest on kitchen paper. Continue with spoonfuls of the batter until you have nine fritters. Serve hot.

  • So good are these little fritters that I have tried them with other vegetables too, including shredded courgette (a success) and beetroot (less so). It is worth having something to dip them into, such as a cucumber, mint and yoghurt dip or a bowl of especially creamy hummus.

  EGGS, EDAMAME, BEAN SPROUTS

  A soft pillow of egg. A tangle of vegetables.

  Serves 2

  edamame beans, podded 200g

  spring onions 8

  pak choi 200g

  garlic 3 cloves

  large green chillies 2

  groundnut oil 4 tablespoons

  bean sprouts 200g

  eggs 6

  nigella seeds 2 teaspoons

  coriander a handful

  Bring a pan of water to the boil, add the edamame and boil till tender – about eight minutes. Drain and refresh in a bowl of iced water.

  Finely chop the spring onions, discarding the roots and any tough dark green leaves. Shred the pak choi. Peel and thinly slice the garlic. Finely slice the chillies.

  Warm half the groundnut oil in a large, shallow pan, fry the spring onions, garlic and chillies till soft, then add the shredded pak choi and lastly the bean sprouts, tossing them in the hot oil and cooking for three or four minutes till softened.

  Break the eggs into a bowl and beat them lightly with a fork. Add the cooked and drained edamame, the fried vegetables and aromatics. Season with a little sea salt and black pepper and fold in the nigella seeds and coriander.

  Warm the remaining oil in a large metal-handled frying pan, pour in the omelette mixture and fry over a moderate heat for about eight minutes, until the edges have set and the middle is still almost liquid. Heat the oven grill. Place the frying pan under the grill and continue cooking for two or three minutes until the centre of the omelette is lightly set. (Ideally, it should be a little baveuse, verging on the point of setting.) Cut in half and serve.

  • To the basic mixture you can add pretty much any vegetable you have to hand, from fried mushrooms to steamed shredded cabbage. The cooking time is brief, so most vegetables will have to be lightly cooked first. Brassicas such as long-stemmed sprouting broccoli work very well, as do any late autumn beans. I especially like steamed mustard greens.

  FENNEL, PEAS, HALLOUMI

  Fresh green flavours for a golden autumn day.

  Serves 2

  fennel 300g

  olive oil 3 tablespoons

  halloumi 250g

  For the dressing:

  frozen peas 250g

  basil leaves 30g

  mint leaves 20g

  olive oil 150ml

  Trim and thinly slice the fennel, no thicker than a pound coin. Warm the 3 tablespoons of oil in your largest frying pan, place the fennel in the pan in a single layer, then season lightly and cook until the fennel is light gold on the underside. Turn each piece over and continue cooking until soft and translucent.

  Slice the halloumi into pieces slightl
y thicker than the fennel and place them in the pan, tucking them in wherever there is a gap, overlapping where there isn’t. Let the cheese toast and turn patchily gold.

  Put the frozen peas in a colander and run them under the cold tap for a few minutes till they have defrosted. Let them drain. Whizz the peas, basil and mint leaves and the oil in a food processor till almost smooth – a slightly rough texture is good – then spoon over the cheese and fennel and serve. If you have a few fennel fronds, add them at the very end.

  JERUSALEM ARTICHOKES, PISTACHIOS, GRAPES

  Golden carbs. Black grapes.

  Serves 2–3

  a lemon

  Jerusalem artichokes 200g

  shallots, small 6

  black grapes 150g

  olive oil 3 tablespoons

  golden sultanas 4 tablespoons

  shelled pistachios 4 tablespoons

  parsley leaves a handful

  Halve the lemon and squeeze the juice into a bowl. Peel the Jerusalem artichokes, then cut into rounds approximately 0.5cm thick. Put the artichokes into the bowl with the lemon juice and toss together. This will prevent them going brown.

  Peel the shallots and cut them in half from stem to root. Halve and deseed the grapes. Warm the olive oil in your largest shallow pan. Add the artichokes and shallots to the hot oil, turning them over when their underside is golden and they are starting to soften.