Serves 4
Vegan
1 red pepper, deseeded and roughly chopped
1 red onion, roughly chopped
1–2 tomatoes, roughly chopped
About 1 tbsp tomato ketchup, or to taste
Tabasco sauce
Salt
Quick to whizz up, spicy and versatile: this is great as a dip, or can be served with many dishes to bring a refreshing flavour note and a burst of colour.
Blend the red pepper, onion and tomatoes in a food processor or with a hand-held blender until finely chopped. Stir in tomato ketchup to taste – about 1 tablespoon – and season with a drop or two of Tabasco and some salt. Put into a bowl to serve.
Artichoke Hearts with Baby Mushrooms
This is an almost instant starter that you can put together really easily using one of my favourite ‘short-cut’ ingredients: char-grilled (sometimes called barbecued or roasted) baby artichoke hearts, available in any supermarket, usually in the chiller section with the olives. This is lovely served warm, with some soft, light bread, such as ciabatta, also warm, to mop up the juices.
Serves 4
Vegan
400g (14oz) packet char-grilled artichokes in sunflower oil
300g (11oz) baby button mushrooms, wiped, any large ones halved
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 bay leaf
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
Salt and black pepper
Chopped flat-leaf parsley, to serve
Warm ciabatta bread, to serve
1. Tip the char-grilled artichokes, oil and all, into a large saucepan, and add the mushrooms, garlic and bay leaf. Put the pan over a moderate heat and let the mushrooms cook gently in the oil for about 10 minutes.
2. Stir in the lemon juice, check the seasoning and add salt and pepper as necessary.
3. Divide between 4 warmed plates, scatter with chopped parsley and serve with warm bread.
Little Aubergine Fritters with Caper Sauce
These are deliciously crisp and crunchy on the outside, tender within, and very easy to make. I love them with a creamy caper sauce – one of my absolute favourites.
Serves 4
2 medium-sized aubergines
Olive oil, for shallow-frying
Lemon wedges, to serve
For the coating (see tip)
120g (4oz) cornflour
½ tsp salt
90–120ml (3½-4½fl oz) water
100g (3½oz) fine dried breadcrumbs
For the caper sauce
4 generous tbsp mayonnaise
1 tbsp capers, chopped
1. Peel the aubergines using a swivel-blade potato peeler; remove the stalks, and cut the aubergines into slices about 8mm (¼in) thick. You can cut them into circles, long slices, fingers or triangles, whatever shape appeals to you.
2. Mix the cornflour, salt and water to make a mixture that is soft enough to dip the aubergine slices into but stiff enough to stick to them; I stir the mixture with my fingers as I add the water gradually so that I can feel when it reaches this stage.
3. Dip the aubergine pieces first in the cornflour mixture, then into the crumbs, to coat them all over.
4. Heat enough olive oil in a frying pan to coat the surface lightly, then put in the fritters and fry them on both sides, until they are crisp, golden brown, and the aubergine inside feels tender when pierced with a sharp pointed knife. Drain them on kitchen paper.
5. While they are frying, quickly make the sauce by mixing together the mayonnaise and capers. Put into a small serving bowl.
6. Serve the fritters with lemon wedges, and the sauce.
Tip: The cornflour-and-crumb coating is my favourite for fritters, croquettes and so on. I find the thin but sticky paste gives a wonderfully reliable, crisp result, which I prefer to an egg-and-breadcrumb coating.
Make it vegan: Instead of dairy mayonnaise, use the Tofu Mayonnaise.
Figs with Stilton and Warm Honey and Balsamic Dressing
A delicious combination of flavours and colours, this is a perfect autumn – or Christmas – starter, and is very easy to make. Try to get sweet ripe figs if you can, although the balsamic and honey marinade will help along less-than-perfect ones. There are plenty of good vegetarian Stiltons to choose from.
Serves 4
4 fresh ripe figs
8 round lettuce leaves, such as outer leaves of little gems
4 small handfuls watercress, trimmed
175g (6oz) Stilton, cut or broken into bite-size pieces
Black pepper
For the dressing
1 tbsp strongly flavoured honey, such as thyme or fair-trade forest honey
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Good pinch of salt
1. Slice the figs down through the stem into eighths.
2. In a small saucepan, gently heat the honey, olive oil and balsamic vinegar until the honey melts. Mix in the salt, then add the figs, stir gently over the heat for a minute or two until the figs are coated with dressing and slightly warmed. Remove from the heat.
3. Arrange two rounded lettuce leaves on each serving plate; top with watercress, the slices of fig and the Stilton.
4. Drizzle any remaining dressing over the top, grind over some black pepper, and serve.
Snacks & Light Meals
Warm Lime-roasted Sweet Potato and Couscous Salad
Bulgur, Edamame, Pea and Broad Bean Salad with Minted Yoghurt Dressing