Spiced Sugar

Makes 1kg of sugar
3 fresh bay leaves
finely grated zest of 2 oranges
finely grated zest of 2 lemons
6 whole cloves
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
10 gratings of whole nutmeg
1 vanilla pod, halved lengthways
1kg unrefined caster sugar

"What’s mad about this is that, even though all of these spices and flavours are so pungent on their own, they actually taste like tutti frutti sweets when together. You can use this sugar for so many things; from a sweetener for porridge, sprinkled over baked bananas, popcorn, or to make a gorgeous Chantilly cream. It will keep for a while, so if you’re going to make it, you may as well make a batch and keep it in an airtight container."

Whack the bay leaves, orange and lemon jest and all of your spices into a food processor and give it a good whiz. Once that’s well blended add your sugar and whiz again so you’ve got a lovely spiced sugar. Because there’s quite a bit of moistness in the zest and vanilla pod it’s a good idea to pour the sugar onto a baking tray, spread it out evenly then leave it to dry for a few hours.

Once the sugar is nice and dry, pass it through a sieve to catch any larger pieces of spices. Discard anything left behind in the sieve then put your sieved sugar into an airtight container, where it will keep happily for ages.

Recipe Courtesy Jamie Oliver.
Picture Courtesy Recipezaar.

Pesto (serves 4)

½ a clove of garlic, chopped
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 good handfuls of fresh basil, leaves picked and chopped
a handful of pine nuts, very lightly toasted
a good handful of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
extra virgin olive oil
optional
a small squeeze of lemon juice

"First I’m going to show you an easy recipe for making pesto and then I’ll give you some ideas on how best to use it, instead of just having it with pasta all the time. When it comes to making pesto, you can invest in a good processor if you like, but you can also make it using a pestle and mortar. If you have a blunt blade from your processor then don’t chuck it, but keep it specially for making pesto or marinades where you need to bruise out the flavour, instead of chopping. You may think it’s nice to toast the pine nuts until they’re coloured, to give them a nutty taste, but the really good pestos I’ve tasted in Italy just have them very lightly toasted, to give a creaminess rather than a nuttiness. Pesto is normally made with green basil, but purple basil looks good if you can get hold of some. Another way, slightly more American, uses rocket instead of basil – it’s fragrant and interesting with roasted meats, but I prefer this classic pesto recipe."

Pound the garlic with a little pinch of salt and the basil leaves in a pestle and mortar, or pulse in a food processor. Add a bit more garlic if you like, but I usually stick to ½ a clove. Add the pine nuts to the mixture and pound again. Turn out into a bowl and add half the Parmesan. Stir gently and add olive oil – you need just enough to bind the sauce and get it to an oozy consistency.

Season to taste, then add most of the remaining cheese. Pour in some more oil and taste again. Keep adding a bit more cheese or oil until you are happy with the taste and consistency. You may like to add a squeeze of lemon juice at the end to give it a little twang, but it’s not essential. Try it with and without and see which you prefer.

Recipe courtesy Jamie Oliver.
Picture Courtesy Mouse House Kitchen

Homemade Tomato Ketchup

• 1 large red onion, peeled and roughly chopped
• ½ a bulb of fennel, trimmed and roughly chopped
• 1 stick of celery, trimmed and roughly chopped
• olive oil
• a thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced
• ½ a fresh red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
• a bunch of fresh basil, leaves picked, stalks chopped
• 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
• 2 cloves
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• sea salt
• 500g amazing cherry or plum tomatoes, halved plus 500g tinned plum tomatoes, chopped
or
• 1kg yellow, orange or green tomatoes, chopped
• 200ml red wine vinegar
• 70g soft brown sugar

Bizarrely enough for a chef, I really do take my hat off to Heinz, who have become the global brand of quality in the ketchup world. It’s such an everyday cupboard product that you’ve probably never thought to make your own. But if you’re growing tomatoes in the garden, or you catch sight of some really beautiful ones at the market in summer, just think how much of a treat it would be to offer your family or guests homemade ketchup. It’s great fun to make. And you can make different colours of ketchup using just yellow, orange or green tomatoes – simply exchange the cherry and tinned tomatoes for the same amount of your chosen coloured ones.

Place all the vegetables in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan with a big splash of olive oil and the ginger, garlic, chilli, basil stalks, coriander seeds and cloves. Season with the pepper and a good pinch of salt.

Cook gently over a low heat for 10 to 15 minutes until softened, stirring every so often. Add all the tomatoes and 350ml of cold water. Bring to the boil and simmer gently until the sauce reduces by half.

Add the basil leaves, then whiz the sauce in a food processor or with a hand blender and push it through a sieve twice, to make it smooth and shiny. Put the sauce into a clean pan and add the vinegar and the sugar. Place the sauce on the heat and simmer until it reduces and thickens to the consistency of tomato ketchup. At this point, correct the seasoning to taste.

Spoon the ketchup through a sterilized funnel into sterilized bottles (see page 324 for ways of doing this), then seal tightly and place in a cool dark place or the fridge until needed – it should keep for six months. Great with steaks and chips.

Recipe Courtesy Jamie Oliver.
Picture Courtesy whatsforsupper