My local fruit and veg stall (on Chiswick High Road) have a £1 table and they often sell bowls of wonky, different sized pointed Romano red peppers which I can never resist. I buy them, plonk them in the bottom of the salad drawer and decide what to do with them later. Usually I roast…

I love peas, fresh, frozen and tinned. The best peas for this delicate, elegant take on mushy peas are frozen petits pois. The peas are boiled as usual then liquidized with a little of the cooking liquid, some fresh mint and a dollop of something creamy. The consistency you are after is slack hummus because…

I spent quite a long time trying to hunt down a South American recipe with avocado that would go well with simply roasted cod. I didn’t want a sauce or guacamole and in the end did my own thing, making a chunky salsa, adding a few black olives to cheer things along and basil (prolific…

This recipe for lamb kebabs is adapted from an Elizabeth David essay in the Fresh Meat: Kebab Cookery section of Spices, Salt and Aromatics in the English Kitchen.Originally published in 1970, at a time when spices like cumin and caraway had to be searched out, it shows how diverse we’ve become with our cooking. I…

This is another allotment soup, well it could be if you or I had one and grew peas, cucumber, mint and spring onions. That’s what it takes to make this lovely soup, one to serve hot or cold with or without the final dollop of mascarpone I added as an afterthought. Serves 4 Prep: 20…

In June, when my tomato plants were setting their first trusses (truss is tomato talk for flowers and flowers mean tomatoes), I gave my Gazpacho with Trimmings recipe made with Isle of Wight (www.thetomatostall.co.uk) tomatoes. I’m still using some of their gorgeous little cherry tomatoes in this no-fuss Gazpacho but I’ve been able to include…

If you have a veg plot, you are sure to be growing courgettes and boy, do they keep on giving, particularly when the sun is shining. Look away and they start turning into marrows which is when I loose interest. I used a pretty big one for this soup and took the precaution of grating…

A huge leek prompted this risotto, a very handsome leek that could have won a beauty competition. Finely sliced it soon melts down cooked in butter, the rice flavoured with white wine and chicken stock although you could use vegetarian stock if you prefer. The risotto is finished with masses of finely grated Parmesan and…

I’ve failed miserably growing lettuce this year but very successful with rocket and various herbs, particularly mint. Both joined little gem lettuce with quickly pickled cucumber in this lovely so-called garden salad. I topped it with hard-boiled egg and grated hard ricotta, a new discovery. Ricotta salata is made with the whey part of sheep…

Dried, ground fig leaves bring a hint of coconut to sweet and savoury dishes. Make this adaptable seasoning yourself if you have access to fig leaves, if not it really doesn’t matter for this recipe because the escalopes will be delicious without. Cauliflower cream is best described as pureed cauliflower cheese but that undersells a…