My Kitchen

Serves 4

Vegetarian

4 heads of Bibb lettuce

6 tbsp chopped mixed

fresh herbs

2 shallots 8 radishes

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

5 tbsp rapeseed oil

Salt and black pepper

A simple salad, ideal with grilled chicken or fish. If you can’t get Bibb lettuce, use Little Gem instead; and feel free to replace the rapeseed oil with a good-quality extra-virgin olive oil.

Cut away the base section from each lettuce and place the leaves in a large bowl. Add all the herbs to the bowl and mix well together. Peel and thinly slice the shallots, slice the radishes and layer both with the salad leaves onto plates.

In a separate bowl, mix together the mustard and vinegar and slowly add the rapeseed or olive oil. Season well with salt and pepper, drizzle the dressing over the salad leaves and serve.

Montgomery cheese balls with rosemary (#ulink_af521a30-c6ed-5a8b-9f1f-be49437f2438)

Serves 4

Vegetarian

450ml (16fl oz) milk

125g (4½oz) Montgomery’s Cheddar or any good-quality, mature Cheddar cheese

20g (¾oz) butter, plus extra for greasing

150g (5oz) plain flour

2 whole eggs, beaten

6 eggs, separated into whites and yolks

2 tbsp finely chopped rosemary leaves

300g (11oz) dried breadcrumbs, such as Japanese panko

1.2 litres (2 pints) vegetable oil, for deep-frying

Salt and black pepper

These are excellent as canapés, as a starter or, in larger quantities, as a vegetarian main course. Serve simply with salad, such as the Bibb Lettuce Salad with Radishes (see page 13).

Gently warm the milk in a small saucepan over a low heat – do not let it boil. Grate the cheese into a bowl and set aside.

Place the butter, flour, beaten eggs and the six yolks in a large saucepan, add the grated cheese and set over a low heat. Gradually add the warm milk, stirring continuously with a whisk to prevent lumps. Once all of the milk has been added, keep stirring until the mixture begins to thicken.

When the mixture starts to come away from the sides of the pan, season with salt and pepper and pour out on to a greased baking tray to cool. Once cool, mould the mixture into balls each about the size of a golf ball and place in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up.

Beat the egg whites in a bowl and mix the rosemary and breadcrumbs in another bowl. Dip the cheese balls first into the egg white, then the rosemary breadcrumbs and either cook straight away or return to the fridge and cook later.

If using a deep-fat fryer, heat the vegetable oil to 190°C (375°F). Alternatively, fill a deep, heavy-based frying pan to a depth of 2cm (¾in) with oil and use a sugar thermometer to check that it has reached the correct temperature.

Remove the balls from the fridge and lower into the fryer or pan. Cook for 4–5 minutes until golden brown, then carefully lift out with a slotted spoon, drain on kitchen paper and serve.

Seared sea bass with blood orange and spring onion salad (#ulink_1b5db97b-3f39-595d-b896-4dcae78e4ac5)

Serves 4

4 blood oranges

1 bunch of spring onions, cut into 2.5cm (1in) lengths

200g (7oz) mixed salad leaves

1 tbsp olive oil

4 × 125g (4½oz) sea bass fillets, all bones removed

1 bunch of basil, leaves only

Salt and black pepper

For the dressing

25ml (1fl oz) white wine vinegar

Pinch of caster sugar

110ml (4fl oz) extra-virgin olive oil

Farmed sea bass has become widely available in recent years, but if you can get hold of line-caught bass it’s definitely worth the extra cost. Blood oranges are a beautiful deep red colour and have a much more distinctive flavour than regular oranges (although you could use these as an alternative). They go well in savoury dishes and salads.

Peel three of the oranges and break the segments into a large bowl along with the spring onions. Season with salt and pepper, then add the salad leaves and toss together. Set aside.

To make the dressing, squeeze the juice from the remaining orange into another bowl and mix with the vinegar and sugar. Whisk in the extra-virgin olive oil until fully incorporated. Drizzle a little of the dressing over the prepared salad and toss together to coat.

Pour the olive oil into a non-stick frying pan set over a high heat. Place the sea bass fillets in the pan, skin side down, and sear for 3–4 minutes or until the sides of the fish start to brown. Turn over, cook for 1 more minute, add half the basil and remove from the heat, keeping the fish in the pan to allow them to carry on cooking in the residual heat. Set aside.