Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface then line a 25cm tart case. Chill in the fridge or freezer for 20 mins.

Heat oven to 200C. Line the case with baking paper and fill with baking beans. Bake blind for 20 minutes, then remove the paper and beans and finish baking for a further 10 minutes until the pastry is golden. Leave to cool in the case, then carefully trim the edges of the pastry

Gently beat together the eggs and cream. Add in the Parmesan cheese and mint, then season with salt and pepper. Fill the tart case with the filling. Mix together the courgette ribbons and Heap into the tart. Dot with the crumbled goats cheese and pine nuts, then pop in the oven to bake for 20-25 mins until just set and golden.

 
- Smoked salmon, avocado and Brie on Rye

Makes 1 sandwich

Preparation time 5 minutes

2 pieces of seeded rye bread

a teaspoon of butter, optional

50g smoked salmon

2 slices of ripe brie cheese

½ avocado, sliced

A squeeze of lemon

½ teaspoon poppy seeds

Lay the two pieces of bread out on the kitchen surface and spread each with the butter. Lay on the smoked salmon and avocado, then squeeze with lemon. Top with Brie and then sprinkle with poppy seeds and a good grinding of black pepper.

 
- Rare roast beef with crushed potato salad with horseradish, radish, watercress and roasted tomatoes.

Serves 4

Preparation time 10 minutes

Cooking time 2 minutes

Cooling time 1 hour

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 beef fillet steaks, each 5 cm thick

sea salt and white pepper

100g crème fraiche

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

2 tablespoons good horseradish

a squeeze of lemon juice

300g charlotte potatoes, cooked whole then cut in half lengthways

4 spring onions, thinly sliced

1 bunch watercress, trimmed

10 radishes, quartered

8 cherry tomatoes, preferably a mixture of red and yellow

4 chives, snipped

Heat the oil in a frying pan until really hot. Season the beef steaks with salt and pepper then sear them all over for 20 seconds on each side until the meat is fairly dark on the outside and really rare in the middle.

Remove and leave to rest for one hour in the freezer until it firms up and is almost frozen (a restaurant trick that will make it easier to slice).

Technically you need to let things cool before popping them into the fridge or freezer but as this meat has simply been seared it should not be too warm. Use your own instincts though - if you think it needs to cool a little before freezing then feel free to do so.

Mix together the crème fraiche, horseradish and mayonnaise with some salt and pepper. Mix with the potatoes, spring onions, watercress, radishes, tomatoes and chives.

When you’re ready to serve, thinly slice the beef, aiming to cut 12 slices from each steak. (You can sneak the end bits as a chef’s perk!) Lay slices, overlapping each other, on each plate. Top with some salad and serve.


- Tuna, and caponata salad

Serves 4

Preparation time

Cooking time

2 x 5cm thick spankingly fresh tuna steaks or sashimi loin

seas alt and freshly ground black pepper

1 large aubergine, chopped into uniform 1 cm cubes

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 red onion, chopped

1 red pepper, finely chopped

1 yellow pepper, finely chopped

250g cherry tomatoes

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tsp caster sugar

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

150g kalamata olives stoned

30g capers in vinegar

handful basil leaves, shredded

a small bag of rocket

juice of 1 lemon

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

sea salt and fresh ground black pepper

capers for serving.

Heat the oil in a frying pan until really hot. Season the tuna steaks with salt and pepper then sear them all over for 20 seconds on each side until the meat is fairly dark on the outside and really rare in the middle. Remove and leave to rest for one hour in the freezer until it firms up and is almost frozen (a restaurant trick that will make it easier to slice).

Technically you need to let things cool before popping them into the fridge or freezer but as this meat has simply been seared it should not be too warm. Use your own instincts though – if you think it need to cool a little before freezing then feel free to do so.

Heat half the oil in a large sauté pan. Add the aubergine, then cook for 8-10 mins until brown and soft. Tip into a colander over a bowl. Fry the onions and peppers for 6-8 minutes until starting to soften.

Tip any oil from the bowl back into the pan and top it up with a splash of fresh oil. Fry the tomatoes and the crushed garlic together. Sprinkle the sugar over, splash in the vinegar, then cook for 3-4 minutes until the tomatoes start to release their juice.

Tip the aubergine, onion and peppers back in. Scatter in the olives, capers and basil, then give everything a good stir. Cook for 5 mins until simmering, then season to taste. Turn off the heat, drizzle in the rest of the oil, then set aside to cool for this salad.

Dress the rocket leaves in the lemon juice, olive oil and seasoning.

To serve slice the tuna really thinly and lay out onto a plate. Top with some cold Caponata salad and some dressed rocket leaves and maybe scatter over a few more capers.

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