Starters

Beetroots and smoked mackerel

• 1 mackerel per two people
• creme fraiche
• 2 small beetroot per person

Fillet and debone the mackerel. Apply salt to the fillets and let lightly cure for ten minues. This forms a sticky pellicle to which smoke can adhere. Place tin foil on the base of a pan. Add wood chips or rice, and heat until it starts to smoke. Suspend the mackerel fillets over the smoke using a sheet of foil with holes poked in it. Cover and smoke for 20 mins, until the fish is cooked. Flake fish, and mix with creme fraiche.

Serve with cooked beetroot.

Turkish red lentil soup

• 2 carrots, 1cm dice
• 1 onion, sliced
• 2 courgettes, 2cm dice
• 2 garlic cloves, sliced
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp cayenne
• 1 tsp salt
• 500ml chicken/vegetable stock
• lemon juice

Soften carrots and onion in olive oil for 7 mins. Add garlic and courgette, cook for 3 mins. Add tomato paste and spices. Stir for 1 min. Add chicken stock. Bring to boil and simmer for 15 mins. Roughly blend with a stick blender. Add lemon juice before serving.

Chicken liver pate

This needs to be made ahead, making it a good starter for a dinner party. Pates need fat in them for the texture. Duck and geese store fat in their livers. Chickens don’t, so we need to add it in the form of butter ourselves.

• 400g chicken livers
• 2 shallots, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic
• 250g butter
• sage
• salt + pepper

Slowly fry shallots and garlic for 10 mins. Turn heat up, add livers and sage and brown them. They should be still pink inside. Blend with 150g softened butter. Transfer to serving dish. Clarify the rest of the butter by heating it till it splits. Pour the clear liquid onto the pate. Discard the milk solids. Press a sage leaf into the butter to make it look nice and chill until ready to serve.

Serve with sourdough, sea salt and honey.

Puff-pastry tarts

These are easy to put together for starters or side dishes.

• 1 roll of puff pastry

Toppings:

• halved cherry tomatoes mixed with olive oil, rosemary, goats cheese
• caramelised onions with olives and anchovies
• cooked mushrooms with thyme, garlic and ricotta

Roll pastry out, score it 1cm from the edge. Add topping and bake at 180C for 20-30 mins

Chicory, stilton and walnut salad

• 1 head chicory per person
• walnuts
• stilton

Wash chicory and separate leaves. Add chopped walnuts and pieces of stilton. Serve with a viniagrette with honey in it.