The New English Kitchen: Changing the Way You Shop, Cook and Eat

about 10 chives

olive oil

salt

Chop all the herbs and the capers very finely and put them in a jar. Barely cover with olive oil and stir. Taste and add salt to bring out the flavours of the sauce.

herb oils

Herb oils can be used, a few drops at a time, to flavour salads, cooked vegetables and pasta. A pestle and mortar is the best tool to get the right effect. Parsley, basil, dill, oregano and chives are all suitable.

Roughly chop 4 sprigs of either herb, or the equivalent of chives, and put them in a pestle and mortar. Add a few drops of olive oil and begin to work it into the herbs, grinding with the pestle and mortar. Add more until you have a smooth, green oil. Season with a little salt to taste.

kitchen note

Oil blended with fresh or dried smoked chillies makes a good addition to a noodle soup.

herb, oil and breadcrumb ‘stuffing’

This can be spooned on to halved tomatoes, cylinders of courgette or thick aubergine slices before baking them in the oven. You can also fry it and serve it beside game or poultry with the gravy.

4 tablespoons breadcrumbs, fresh or dried (see here (#u2c33e651-eef1-4889-8b52-d965765cb8aa))

2 sprigs of basil or oregano, chopped

1 garlic clove, crushed with a little salt

3 tablespoons olive oil

Preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F/Gas Mark 7. Mix together all the ingredients until they are well blended and have the texture of wet sand. Spoon on to the vegetables and transfer them to an oiled baking dish. Cook for half an hour or until the vegetables are soft. Eat them on their own, or beside meat or fish.

year-round salad vegetables

lettuce

While I am grateful for those herbs in their little plastic packs, bags of washed infant lettuce leaves are expensive and taste suspiciously of chlorine. Washing salad in a strong solution of chlorine and water to kill the bugs that cause food poisoning seems to wash away the flavour, too. It can also make the leaves smell downright manky once they have sat on the shelf for a time. This is not to say that all small leaf salad is bad. You can buy fresh leaves, loosely packed, all year round – some from British farmers. Rocket, mizuna, ruby chard, sorrel, purslane, dandelion and pak choi have a beautiful fresh taste and can be bought from specialist grocers and farmers’ markets. At £10 per kilo, however, it hurts. The popularity of fresh wild rocket makes it easier to obtain, and slightly cheaper.

Whole Cos or romaine lettuces, on the other hand, are inexpensive, keep for ages and have a good mineral flavour. A salad made with torn romaine lettuce and herbs will be as good as any so-called gourmet leaf mixture. Use the inner leaves for salads and the outer leaves for stock or for creamy lettuce soups (see here (#litres_trial_promo)).

Store whole lettuces and salad leaves as you would herbs. They will keep for a week wrapped in slightly damp newspaper in a plastic bag. Limp lettuce can be revived by separating the leaves and putting them in a ceramic bowl. Cover with a dampened tea towel and leave in or out of the fridge.

cucumber

The standard supermarket cucumber is a watery creature but you can boost its flavour with a simple method. Peel the cucumber, halve it lengthways and scoop out the seeds. Slice thinly, then place in a colander in the sink and throw a little salt over it. Leave for an hour, during which time the water will seep out of the cucumber flesh. Pat dry with a towel, which will absorb the water and excess salt.

Cucumbers store well in the lower drawers of the fridge.

cucumber sandwiches

Butter very fresh white bread and sandwich a few layers of cucumber, prepared as above and seasoned with freshly ground black pepper, between 2 slices.

cucumber salad with mustard

Serves 4

1 cucumber, prepared as on here 93 (#ulink_9c4b93ff-6610-545f-83fa-c1cb214c615f)

6 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons golden caster sugar

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teaspoon soft crystal sea salt

2 tablespoons water

4 sprigs of dill, chopped

10 chives, chopped

freshly ground black pepper

Combine the cucumber with all the remaining ingredients, scattering the herbs on top. Serve with Fried Sole (see here (#litres_trial_promo)).

spiced braised cucumber

An easy, instant curry to eat with flat bread (see here (#u8e6f119f-8ddb-472c-a3de-c5c0d68f0785)).

Serves 2

1 tablespoon butter or ghee

1 onion, chopped

1 green chilli, chopped

1 tablespoon mild curry paste

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can of coconut milk

4 tablespoons water