Ingredients
250g dried black turtle beans, soaked for 24 hours, or 2 x 240g tins, drained
240g tin of chopped tomatoes
1 large or 2 small carrots, diced
1 onion, chopped
1 stick of celery, diced
1 red pepper, roasted, skinned and chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled
1 bay leaf
2 dried kashmiri chillis
1 tsp chilli powder
1 star anise, crushed
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
2 cloves, crushed
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground caraway seeds
1 handful raisins
1 handful flaked almonds
1 tbs cocoa powder
1 handful fresh coriander, chopped
Salt
Juice of 1 lime

Method

The beans
If using dried beans, once they have been soaked for 24 hours, put them in a large pan with enough water to cover them plus about 5cm. Add the onion, carrot, celery, garlic, chillis and bay leaf. Bring to the boil, put the lid on and simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours until they are soft and edible. Keep an eye on them, if the water runs out top it up otherwise the beans will stick and burn.
If you are using tinned beans, then drain them. Fry the carrot, onion, garlic, celery in a little onion, then add the beans and chillis and cover with 1 to 2cm of water. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes until they are soft and edible, don’t let them burn.

The spices and finishing off
Grind the whole spices. Add them to your pot along with the other already ground spices. Add the tin of tomatoes and cook for 10 minutes. Add the cocoa, raisins, almonds and red pepper, cook through. Once the dish is fragrant and tasty, then you can add the salt, lime and fresh coriander. You may want a spicier dish in which case add a little more dried chilli powder and cook it through.
You can serve it now, or it will heat up easily, you may need to add some water when reheating to stop the beans sticking. Serve with soft flour tortillas, yogurt and guacamole.

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I have been making this tortilla for years, it is a real store cupboard recipe. Waxy potatoes are a must, floury ones like King Edwards will fall apart and leave you with just oniony mashed potatoes. Older new potatoes are ideal, as they are waxy, but less work than new potatoes because they are bigger. Slice them lengthways as thinly as you can, or use a mandoline.
Serve with salad and a mild cheese like Ossau Irraty or Manchego and membrillo.

Ingredients
500g onion, thinly sliced
750g waxy potatoes, scrubbed (not peeled) and sliced thinly, 3mm thickness
3 eggs, beaten
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
2 tbs fresh oregano, chopped

Method
Boil the potatoes for seven minutes in salted water. They should be just cooked, but not falling apart. While they are cooking, gently fry the onions in oil and a pinch of salt until they are soft, sweet and browning.

Drain the potatoes and put them back into the dry pan over a low heat for a couple of minutes. This is so they dry out as wet potatoes will cause you trouble. Don’t take your eyes off of them or they will burn. Mix in the cooked onions and stir in the beaten eggs and pepper, do this gently so you don’t break up the potatoes.

Heat the oil in a decent non-stick frying pan. Once the oil is hot, add the potato, onion and egg mixture, squashing it down into the pan a little. Turn the heat to medium and wait for the eggs to cook. Use a spatula or fish slice to look under the tortilla.

Once it is browning, you are ready to turn it over. Loosen the tortilla all the way round with a blunt knife. Turn the heat off, place a large plate over the pan and a rolled up tea-towel over that. Turn the pan upside down, the tortilla should come out cleanly. Wipe the pan down with kitchen towel and heat another tablespoon of oil. Once hot, slide in the tortilla to cook the other side. Once both sides are cooked, serve onto a plate, season with salt and oregano. Wait for it to cool. You can serve it at room temperature or cold.

Variations
Add 1/2 red pepper, thinly sliced and cooked with the onions.
Add a clove of garlic to cook with the onions.
Add a couple of slices of Serrano ham, shredded.
Add chives or parsley instead of oregano

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Asparagus
New season asparagus brushed with olive oil and quickly grilled over the barbeque is perfect. At its best from late May through to June. Season with salt and pepper.

Banana chillis stuffed with halloumi

Corn on the cob
For this old favourite, the fresher the corn the better. As soon as corn is picked it begins to deteriorate, the texture goes chalky and the sweetness starts to go. If the cobs are in their husks, wet the husks so they don’t catch fire. If the cob does not have the protective husk, brush the kernels lightly with oil and cook, turning frequently. Serve the cobs with butter that has been mixed with finely chopped red chillli, chopped parsley and sea salt.

Peppers and anchovies
Halve red and yellow peppers, brush the skin lightly with olive oil and fill each half with a couple of roughly chopped anchovies, a few capers, black pepper and some oil out of the anchovy jar. Grill over the barbeque until the peppers soften and start to char. Serve with torn basil leaves.

Tangy tomato relish to go with vegetable kebabs and/or red meat

Sweetcorn relish

Vegetable kebabs

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This recipe requires the larger pale, green, mild chillis common in Middle Eastern supermarkets, but I have known my local supermarket to stock them too. When you choose the chillis, bear in mind you will be stuffing them so get the fattest ones. They go well with tomato salad, pittas and lamb kebabs. You won’t need salt as the halloumi is a very salty cheese. Be careful with the chillis, they can easily split as you prepare them.

Ingredients
4 banana chillis
100-150g (or ½ packet) of halloumi, cut into thin lengths
Olive oil for brushing

Equipment
2 metal or bamboo skewers, not thick ones as they tend to split the peppers
Sharp knife
Chopping board

Method
Roll the chillis between your fingers, this will loosen the seeds inside. Chop the top off each and shake out the seeds, poke out the white bits with a skewer or knife, don’t break the skin though. Put a couple of pieces of cheese into each chilli, you want to be generous, but be aware the cheese will melt and fall out of the top if it is overstuffed. Brush or rub them with a light coating of oil. Now comes the skewering. The skewers will be passing horizontally through a line of vertical chillis. Pass one skewer through the top of each chilli. Pass a second skewer through the bottom of each chilli. Barbeque over a medium heat, turning once or twice using the skewers as handles. They are ready when the cheese is melting and the skin of the peppers blistering.

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Ingredients
1 aubergine, cubed into 2cm pieces (chop these first and salt them as below)
2 courgettes, cubed into 2cm pieces (chop these first and salt them as below)
1 onion, cubed into 2cm pieces
2 red peppers, cubed into 2cm pieces
2 sprigs rosemary, roughly chopped
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

Equipment
Barbeque/campfire
Sharp knife
Chopping board
Sieve
Mixing bowl
Skewers
Kitchen towel or clean t-towel

Method
Put the courgette and aubergine in a sieve and cover with salt, about two tablespoons worth. Leave for 15 minutes, while you prepare the other vegetables and rosemary. Rinse the aubergine and courgette under running water and pat dry with kitchen towel or tea towel. Put into the bowl with all the other vegetables and rosemary, olive oil and pepper. Mix thoroughly rubbing the rosemary into the vegetables. Thread onto the skewers, making sure each kebab has a bit of everything, probably 8 to 10 pieces per skewer. Grill over a medium heat until the vegetables start to colour and soften.

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Ingredients
1 corn on the cob
1 red pepper
¼ red onion, finely chopped
¼ to ½ red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped (optional)
1 handful of fresh coriander, chopped
1 bulb of garlic, soaking wet
Juice of ½ lime
Pinch of sugar
Salt
Vegetable oil

Equipment
Barbeque or campfire
Chopping board
Sharp knife
Bowl
Spoon
Tinfoil

Method
If the corn is still in its husk, then wet it so that it does not burn. If the cob does not have the protective husk, then lightly brush the kernels with oil. Roast the corn, garlic and red pepper on top of the grill. Turn the pepper and corn to cook them all over. Remove the pepper when the skin has blistered and blackened. The kernels of the corn should be softening, and the the garlic needs to be soft so that its flavour is sweet rather than strong. Skin the pepper once it is cool enough to handle, squeeze the garlic out of its skin, cut the kernels off the cob. Mix it all together in the bowl, season with salt and sugar and leave for a little while before serving on the side.

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Prepare garlic and ginger paste at home to reduce chopping chores, and this paste can be used in other cuisines too. If you grind your own spices then do this at home or just take a good quality ready-made garam masala.

I like a variety of dishes for my Wednesday dinners: a pulse dish, a cheese dish and a vegetable-based dish. Whether you serve rice and bread really depends on how much space you have on your stove: shop-bought chapatis thrown on a barbecue grill for ten seconds a side will do.

- Garlic and ginger paste
- Chana masala
- Saag halloumi
- Tomato and onion salad
- Spicy minted peas

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I made this for a barbeque in my back garden in London. It went perfectly with seafood kebabs and Andalusian lamb (marinaded in red wine vinegar and juniper). I recently made this in a pestle and mortar, but you can throw all the ingredients in a blender, just don’t over blend as you want a sauce with some texture to it.

How to sterilize a jar

Clean jars and new lids in hot soapy water. Put the jars in a pre-heated medium oven for ten minutes. Use as soon as they are cool enough to fill.

Ingredients

3 red peppers, roasted, deseeded and skinned, roughly chopped
2 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
3 tomatoes, score the skin in a cross all the way around and roast for a few minutes
80g hazelnuts, roasted in a medium oven for 5-8 minutes until brown, then rub until the skin comes away
2 dried ancho chillis, if not available then 2 dried kashmiri chillies plus a pinch of smoked paprika
2 tbs red wine vinegar
75ml olive oil
Salt to taste
Sugar to taste

Crush the hazelnuts in a pestle and mortar until crumb-like, then add the garlic and ancho chillis (or the kashmiri chillis and paprika), salt, and crush some more. Add tomatoes and peppers, red wine vinegar and a pinch of sugar: you may need to decant to a larger bowl unless you are using a massive mortar. Add the oil in a fine drizzle, stirring each bit in well, otherwise you may end up with a greasy sauce, rather than a velvety one. Taste, season.

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Ingredients
200g carrots, peeled and grated
Juice of half an orange
1 tbs white wine vinegar or juice of half a lemon
Salt and pepper
Pinch of cinnamon
5 dried dates, stoned and chopped
1 tsp honey
1 tbs olive oil

Equipment
Grater (slice the carrots very finely if not available)
Chopping board
Sharp knife
Bowl
Spoons

Method
Mix all ingredients in a bowl and leave to rest for ten to twenty minutes to let the flavours mingle. Serve.

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Ingredients
8 tasty tomatoes, cut in half horizontally
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 red chilli, sliced in half lengthways or 1 tsp of paprika
1 tbs red wine or red wine vinegar
1 tbs olive oil
Salt

Equipment
Barbeque/campfire
Tin foil
Bowl
Sharp knife

Method
Once you have the barbeque going, wrap all the tomatoes, garlic, chilli and vinegar or wine in a double layer of tin foil and place on the grill.
After ten to twenty minutes of cooking, carefully tip the contents of the foil into a bowl -watch the steam doesn’t burn you as you open your parcel. Bash the garlic and if you want extra spice then scrape out the flesh of the chilli with a sharp knife. Mix all ingredients together, add the oil, season and taste. Serve with your burgers instead of ketchup.

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