processor and whizz for 1 minute until the mixture is thick. With the motor running, pour in the melted butter in a thin, steady stream – the sauce will thicken. Let it stand for 1–2 minutes.
4. Serve the asparagus with the sauce either poured over it or put into small ramekins for dipping.
Make it vegan: Creamy tofu mayonnaise is wonderful with the asparagus (and lots of other dishes too). Put the following into a food processor or blender: 200g (7oz) firm tofu (the normal type you can buy in any supermarket), drained; 1½ tbsp cider vinegar; 2 tbsp olive oil; 1 tsp Dijon mustard and ¼ tsp salt, and whizz until smooth. Get it really light and creamy: you’ll love it. It keeps for 5 to 7 days in the fridge, so it’s good to have on hand.
Grilled Fennel with Goaf’s Cheese and Olives
The secret to preparing delicious aniseedy fennel is to remove any tough fibres by shaving the outer bracts all round with a swivel-blade peeler – it makes all the difference. I also find that it’s best to par-boil fennel before roasting it, so you end up with tender, chunky pieces, nicely charred at the edges.
Serves 4
2 large fennel, shaved down the sides with a swivel-blade peeler to remove tough fibres, then sliced downwards into sixths or eighths
200g (7oz) smooth white goat’s cheese
2 tbsp chopped chives
Black or green olives
For the lemon and pepper marinade
4 tbsp olive oil
Zest and juice of ½ lemon
1 garlic clove, crushed
½ tsp sea salt
1 bay leaf, torn in half
½ tsp coarsely ground black peppercorns
1. Cook the fennel in 1cm (½in) boiling water for about 8 minutes, until just tender. Drain.
2. Lay the fennel pieces in a single layer on a grill pan or shallow container that will fit under your grill.
3. Make the marinade by mixing, or whisking, all the ingredients together.
4. Pour the marinade over the fennel pieces, making sure they’re all coated, then leave to marinate for at least 10 minutes, or until 10 minutes before you want to eat.
5. Drain off and reserve any excess marinade. Grill the fennel for 5–10 minutes, until charred around the edges.
6. Put the pieces of fennel in a large dish and pour the remaining marinade over them. Serve with soft white goat’s cheese, scattered with chopped chives and olives.
Tip: You can also cook this on a barbecue, spreading the pieces out on a fine mesh grid.
Make it vegan: You can make a delicious version of this using bought vegan garlic and herb cream cheese in place of the goat’s cheese.
Little Goat’s Cheese Filo Parcels with Cranberry Sauce
These are very easy to make, and universally popular. The number of sheets in a packet of filo pastry, and the size of the sheets, vary from brand to brand; don’t worry about getting the size of the pieces absolutely exact; near enough will be fine. The recipe makes more cranberry sauce than you’ll need for the recipe, but it will keep in the fridge for about 4 weeks or so.
Serves 4–6
1 packet filo pastry, cut into 36 squares, each about 15cm (5in)
Olive oil, for brushing
300g (11oz) smooth white goat’s cheese (the kind without rind)
Baby red chard salad leaves, to serve
A little vinaigrette, to serve
For the cranberry sauce
300g (11oz) fresh cranberries
250g (9oz) golden granulated sugar
Juice of ½ orange
1. Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F), Gas 6. Brush a 12-hole shallow bun tin with olive oil.
2. To make a parcel, brush the surface of 3 squares of pastry with olive oil and lay them overlapping each other to form a 12-pointed star shape.
3. Put a good heaped teaspoonful (about 25g/1oz) of goat’s cheese in the centre, draw the sides up around it and scrunch them together at the top to form a little parcel. Put it in one of the holes in the bun tin.
4. Repeat with the rest of the filo squares and goat’s cheese, to make 12 parcels in all.
5. Make the cranberry sauce. Put the cranberries into a pan with the sugar and orange juice. Cook over a gentle heat for a few minutes until the sugar has dissolved, then simmer for about 10 minutes, or until the cranberries are tender. The mixture will thicken as it cools.
6. Bake the filo pastries for about 10–15 minutes, or until crisp and lightly browned. Serve at once with the cranberry sauce and a leafy salad dressed with vinaigrette.
Make it vegan: Use vegan cream cheese instead of the goat’s cheese.
A Trio of Dips
Three easy, popular dips you can rustle up very quickly: perfect for an impromptu snack or party.
Stilton and Port with Black Pepper
Serves 4
200g (7oz) Stilton, broken into rough pieces
100g (3½oz) soft cheese
1 tbsp port
Salt and crushed black pepper
This flavour combination is a classic.
Process the Stilton, soft cheese and port to a smooth cream, using a food processor or hand-held blender. Season lightly with salt if necessary, then spoon into a dish and sprinkle generously with crushed black pepper.
Serves 4
Vegan
3 avocados, peeled, stoned and cut into rough chunks
Juice of 1 lime
28g bunch fresh coriander, roughly chopped
1 red chilli, deseeded and sliced
2–3 tbsp finely chopped red onion
Salt
This is a lovely bright green guacamole, fresh with lime and coriander, and with the crunch of red onion.
Blend the avocado and lime juice to a creamy consistency in a food processor or with a hand-held blender. Add the coriander, then stir in the chilli, red onion, and salt to taste; at this point, you can leave it all chunky, or give it a whirl with the hand-held blender or in the food processor until it’s the consistency you like. Serve in a small dish.