Charlotte Pike

Food & Drink Expert

Recipes

Niçoise salad

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This is such a delicious classic salad that is so satisfying and refreshing in hot weather. It’s pretty straightforward to make, and I usually have most ingredients available. Sometimes, I add thinly sliced red peppers or red onion, which are a nice addition, and sometimes, I omit the potatoes, as you can see from the photograph.

 

Niçoise salad

Serves 4

Ingredients

6 small waxy potatoes, boiled and cooled

2 hard boiled eggs, cooled

1 can best quality tuna, drained

50g green beans, cooked and cooled

2 large tomatoes, chopped or 8 cherry tomatoes, halved

12 pitted black olives

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tsp red wine vinegar

Salt and pepper

Method

You can cook the potatoes, egg and beans at the same time in one pan. Place the potatoes in a large saucepan of cold water and bring to the boil. Once the potatoes come to the boil, set the timer for 8 minutes. After 8 minutes, add the egg, and set the timer for 3 minutes. After 3 minutes, add the beans and set the timer for 4 minutes. After 4 minutes, drain the lot well and let everything cool before using.

Cut the boiled potatoes in to quarters and place in a large bowl. Peel the eggs and cut into quarters lengthways and add to the bowl, with the drained tuna, cooked green beans, olives and tomatoes.

To make a dressing, take a separate bowl, whisk the oil, vinegar, salt and pepper together, and drizzle over the salad. Stir gently to combine all ingredients evenly and serve immediately.

Apple Tarte Tatin

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Apple Tarte Tatin

This is a gorgeous dessert to make, but really does have the wow factor. Although it looks fancy, it’s very simple to make.

Serves 8

Ingredients

50g salted butter

50g caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

6 ripe apples, peeled, cored and halved

200-250g ready made, ready rolled puff pastry

Method 

Preheat the oven to 200C/180 Fan oven/ Gas Mark 4. Take an 8”/20cm springform tin and grease very well with butter

Place the butter and sugar in a large frying pan. Melt the butter over a low heat, and then turn the temperature up to high, allowing the mixture to bubble away until it turns a rich, reddish brown in colour

Turn the heat right down as soon as the sugar caramelizes as it can burn easily. Add the vanilla extract and stir into the caramel.

Add the apples to the caramel, cut side facing up and cook in the caramel sauce very gently over a low heat for 10 minutes. Spoon the caramel over the apples whilst they are cooking

Arrange the apples, again, cut side up, in the bottom of the cake tin, and pour the caramel over the top.

Take your puff pastry and cut out a circle to fit in the tin. Place the pastry over the fruit and tuck the excess pastry around inside the tin. Prick the pastry a couple of times on the top using a sharp knife.

Place the cake tin on a baking tray and bake the tarte in the oven for 25-30 minutes.  The puff pastry should be golden brown.

Leave the tarte to rest for 5 minutes in the tin before removing the sides of the tin. You may wish to run a sharp knife around the edge first.

Now, place a plate over the tarte and flip it over to turn the tarte out onto the plate.

Remove the base of the cake tin and serve immediately with double cream.

Za’atar Spiced Squash and Chickpea Traybake with Garlic, Tahini and Mint

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Za’atar Spiced Squash and Chickpea Traybake with Garlic, Tahini and Mint

This is such an easy and flavoursome supper dish. I like to make it with Crown Prince squash, which has a wonderfully creamy and nutty flavour and is so much less sweet than other varieties.

Serves 4

Ingredients

One medium size squash, washed, deseeded and cut into 1-2cm wedges

3 red onions, peeled and cut into wedges

Extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt

2 tbsp za’atar

2 x 400g tins of chickpeas, drained

1 lemon

75g tahini

3 cloves of garlic, peeled

100ml cold water

20g fresh mint leaves, roughly chopped

2 tsp sumac, ground

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas Mark 4. Put the squash and onion wedges onto a baking tray or two, drizzle with a little olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt and za’atar and put in the oven to roast for 20 minutes.

After 10 minutes in the oven, remove from the oven and add the chickpeas. Turn the vegetables if needed. Return to the oven for 15-20 minutes to bake the chickpeas.

Meanwhile, make the dressing. Blend the lemon juice, tahini, garlic and water together using a small blender. Taste and season with salt if you need to. Set aside.

When the timer goes off for the vegetables, check the chickpeas are lightly firm and crisp and the squash is tender. Pour or drizzle the dressing over the veg. Serve on plates, topped with mint and sumac. A dollop of yoghurt, extra olive oil and za’atar can be nice accompaniments. A flatbread on the side to mop up the juices is a lovely addition.