Courgette and hot smoked salmon 'lasagna'

Preheat the oven to 220°C

Warm 1 tbsp olive oil and softly fry a  minced shallot for 5 mins and for the last min a minced clove of garlic

Slice a courgette lengthwise as thin as possible, brush with olive oil and roast them in the hot oven for 10 min

Take them out and lower the temp to 180°C

In the meantime mix 125g ricotta, 1 egg, 7g hacked dill, 7g hacked chives, the zest of 1/2 lemon and the juice of 1/4 lemon with the shallot and season with salt and pepper

Brush a 20 x 15 cm oven dish with olive oil and cover the bottom with some ricotta, followed by a layer of courgette slices and then a layer of pulled hot smoked salmon (from 250g in total).

Repeat this till everything is used, finish with a layer of courgette

Bake this 'lasagna' for 15 mins. Rest 10 min before serving, finish with 20g toasted pumpkin seeds and some leftover herbs

(Here Yvette van Boven's original recipe in Dutch)

Follow me on Instagram @peterschoenmaker7 and have a look at my book 'Breakfast in Gascony' on Amazon for your Kindle   

Aubergine and red pepper pahi with fenugreek and curry-leaf oil

I agree, it's not a beautiful plate. But we have to eat plants from time to time and the taste was surprisingly nice. So heat the oven to 240°C (220°C fan)

Put an aubergine (quartered lengthways, each quarter cut lengthways into 4, then cut into 4cm pieces) and 2 red paprikas (halved, stems, seeds and pith removed and discarded) on a lined baking tray, add one and a half tablespoons of oil and a half-teaspoon of salt, then toss to coat. Roast for 25 minutes, until lightly golden and slightly charred in places, then take out of the oven. 

Once the roast veg are cool enough to handle, peel off and discard the paprika skins, tear the flesh into roughly 4cm pieces, then set aside with the aubergine.

Meanwhile, put 1 tbsp olive oil and 90g peeled and thinly sliced onions for the spice base in a large saute pan on a medium-high heat, and saute, stirring, for 10 minutes, until soft and slightly golden.

While the onions are cooking, put a clove of garlic, 5g peeled and roughly chopped ginger, 20 fresh curry leaves (or bay leaves, kaffir lime leaves, lime zest or even basil leaves all offering a similar taste), 1 tsp garam masala, 1/4 tsp ground turmeric and 10g coconut cream in a food processor, add 100 ml water and blitz for four to five minutes, until it’s like a paste. 

Scrape this into the onion pan with a 1/4 teaspoon of salt, turn down the heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, for seven to 10 minutes, until the oil splits. Gently stir in the aubergine, until they’re well coated in the spice mixture.

Mix 30ml apple cider vinegar and 1/2 tbsp demerara sugar (or light brown sugar) in a small bowl, add to the pan and cook for two to three minutes, until the vinegar is absorbed. Stir in the paprika and leave to cool.

For the fenugreek oil, put 25 ml olive oil in a pan on a medium heat and, once it’s good and hot, fry 12 curry leaves (or an alternative) for two minutes, until translucent. Add 3/8 tsp fenugreek seeds, crushed in a mortar, and a pinch of salt, stir for 30 seconds, then take off the heat.

In a small bowl, mix 13g coconut cream with 1,25 tsp lime juice and a pinch of light brown sugar and an eighth of a teaspoon of salt, then set aside.

Transfer the pahi to a high-sided plate, spoon on first the coconut cream followed by the fenugreek oil, then serve at room temperature.

(Here Ottolenghi's original recipe and more)

Follow me on Instagram @peterschoenmaker7 and have a look at my book 'Breakfast in Gascony' on Amazon for your Kindle   

Oysters with lime and pancetta crumbs

Pre-heat the grill 

Cut 7g pancetta very finely. Tear up a slice of white bread and crumble it in the kitchen machine.

Add the pancetta, the zest of a lime, 1/2 clove of garlic, 1 tbsp olive oil and salt&pepper and turn the machine on again to mix well

Open 4 oysters and cover them with the crumbs

Make small balls from aluminium foil, put them on a baking tray and firmly press the oysters onto them, then put under the hot grill. Keep watching till the crumbs are nicely browned and crispy

(Recipe by Delicious magazine)

Follow me on Instagram @peterschoenmaker7 and have a look at my book 'Breakfast in Gascony' on Amazon for your Kindle   

Hake ceviche with courgette

Start a day in advance with leche de tigre. Blend 25g peeled and hacked ginger, 1 hacked stalk of celery, 1/2 jalapeño, 15g caster sugar and 1 big clove of garlic, then add 200 ml fresh lime juice and blend for another 2 mins. Taste and add salt.

Put trough a ball strainer and really press out the pulp

Warm 100ml sunflower oil to 70°C. Blanche a handful of mint, then cool under cold water, put in a tea towel and wring out the moisture. Hack and blend the mint with the warm oil. Leave overnight then strain with cheese cloth.

The next day thinly slice 1/2 courgette lengthwise. Cut 1/2 green paprika in small strips.

Hack the stems of 40g coriander.

Thinly slice a 250g filet of hake.

Put the fish, the coriander and the paprika strips in a bowl and mix with 100g of the leche de tigre, for 3 mins.

Plate as shown, with courgette flower and mint leaves. Finally drip over 2 tbsp of the mint oil.

(Recipe from Delicious magazine)

Follow me on Instagram @peterschoenmaker7 and have a look at my book 'Breakfast in Gascony' on Amazon for your Kindle   

Spicy burnt aubergine flatbreads with tahini sauce

Turkish pepper paste (biber salçasi) brings a deeply savoury and spicy flavour to these flatbreads. It’s widely available, but can be swapped for tomato paste or harissa, if need be. While there are a few components here, everything can be prepared ahead of time. Make and shape dough the day before, cover and pop in the fridge to prove slowly.

Put 70g strong bread flour, 1/3 tsp fast-action dried yeast, 1/4 tsp caster sugar, 1/2 tbsp olive oil for the dough in a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add 40ml lukewarm water and a sixth of a teaspoon of salt, and mix on a medium speed for about six minutes, until it forms a smooth dough (alternatively, knead by hand for about 10 minutes). Shape the dough into a ball, return to the bowl, coat with 1/4 tsp olive oil, cover (I use reusable kitchen wrap) and leave in a warm place for an hour, to prove and double in size.

Meanwhile, set a griddle pan over a high heat and ventilate the kitchen. Char an aubergine (300g) and 300g vine tomatoes for 25 minutes, turning occasionally, until blackened all over and cooked through, then set aside. When they’re cool enough to handle, carefully cut the tomatoes into quarters, skin and all. Peel off and discard the aubergine skin, then cut or tear the flesh into large chunks. Put both in a large bowl with a quarter-teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper.

Put 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon and 1/8 tsp ground cloves, 1/3 tsp toasted cumin seeds, 40 ml olive oil, 4/4 tbsp biber salçasi, 1/4 tsp caster sugar and a pinch of of salt in a small saucepan on a medium heat, bring up to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, for four minutes. Take off the heat, leave to cool for 15 minutes, then stir 2 tablespoons of this oily mixture and a tsp lemon zest into the aubergine bowl.

Mix 3/4 peeled shallot, sliced into very thin rounds, in a small bowl with an eighth of a teaspoon of sumac and 1 tsp lemon juice and set aside to soften.

In another small bowl, whisk 25g tahini and 0,5 tsp lemon juice with 15ml cold water and a sixteenth of a teaspoon of salt, until smooth, then cover with a plate.

Put the griddle pan back on a medium-high heat. Lightly dust the worktop with flour, halve the ball of dough and, using a rolling pin, roll out each ball  into a 12cm circle about 3mm thick. 

Depending on the size of your griddle, lay one or two round flatbreads in the pan and cook for 45-60 seconds, until bubbles appear and the bread is nicely charred in places. Flip over, cook for another 15-20 seconds on the other side, until it, too, is nicely charred, then brush both sides with some of the reserved oil mixture and put on plates.

Divide the aubergine mixture between the flatbreads, scatter over mint and parsley leaves and the shallots, and serve with the tahini sauce drizzled over the top.

Feeds 2

(Here Ottolenghi's original recipe)

Follow me on Instagram @peterschoenmaker7 and have a look at my book 'Breakfast in Gascony' on Amazon for your Kindle   

French lamb with potatoes

Looking good? No, it's not an elegant dish. But believe me: it tasts great. So I decided to share it with you.

Preheat the oven to 200°

Peel 2 waxy potatoes, parboil 5-10 mins in salted water, drain, cool and slice very thinly 

Brush 1 tbsp olive oil on 2 slices of boneless leg of lamb (each 200g) and season them with salt and pepper.

Fry them in 1 tbsp olive oil for 2 mins per side, transfer to a warm oven dish  and keep warm

Lower the heat under the pan, then fry 1 minced onion and 1 cubed carrot for 4-5 mins, stirring regularly. Add the finely hacked needles from a sprig of rosemary and fry for another minute.

Add 65 ml chicken stock and 320ml tomato frito and stir well. Taste, season with salt and pepper and softly reduce the sauce 3-4 mins

Pour the tomato sauce over the lamb and cover with overlapping potato slices

Brush with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Bake for 40 mins or until the potatoes are golden brown and crispy

Rest for 5 mins before serving. Feeds 2

(Here Warren Menses' original recipe in Dutch)

Follow me on Instagram @peterschoenmaker7 and have a look at my book 'Breakfast in Gascony' on Amazon for your Kindle   

King Crab

Preheat the grill on 225°C

Thaw 2 King Crab legs in time. Halve them lengthwise with a sharp knife

Put them in an oven dish

Warm 100g salted butter, squeeze with a garlic press 2 cloves of garlic in the hot butter, simmer for 1 min.

Add 2 tbsp hacked parsley

Pour the butter over the crab, then put under the hot grill for 4 mins  

Follow me on Instagram @peterschoenmaker7 and have a look at my book 'Breakfast in Gascony' on Amazon for your Kindle   

Aubergine curry, butter chicken style

Preheat the oven to 180°C

Warm 10g butter and 40 ml coconut oil in a stew pot on medium heat. Spoon in 1 minced onion, 13g grated ginger, 3 minced cloves of garlic and a royal pinch of salt and fry 15-20 mins till nicely coloured 

Add 1 tsp curcuma, 1 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp garam masala and softly fry for another min.

Add 200g chopped tomatoes (from a can) and 200ml coconut milk and bring to the boil, then take from the fire

Halve an aubergine lengthwise, then cut a criss-cross pattern in the meat, brush with 2 tbsp tandoori paste, lightly sprinkle with sea salt, push them in the sauce (cut side upwards) and put in the hot oven for 1 hr and 10 mins till very soft and the sauce is reduced and thick.

Season with salt and pepper

Serve with fresh coriander, chutney and a roti to soak up the juices

Feeds 2

(Here the original recipe in Dutch)

Follow me on Instagram @peterschoenmaker7 and have a look at my book 'Breakfast in Gascony' on Amazon for your Kindle   

Scallop carpaccio, beurre noisette and pear

Put 4 big scallops in the freezer for 1 hour, which will make it easier to slice

Bring 25ml Calvados and a splash of water to the boil with 1/2 tbsp caster sugar and boil for 5-8 mins to make a light syrup

Peel a pear and cut lengthwise in 1/2 cm slices, then cut into cubes, marinate in 1 tbsp apple vinegar

Hack 10g hazelnuts and fry them in 1 tbsp olive oil with a pinch of sea salt till golden brown

Slice the scallops very thinly and plate. Cover with pear cubes.

Then heat 15g salted butter, add 1 tbsp hacked rosemary and fry till the butter is foamy, golden brown and smelling nutty

Pour the hot butter over the scallops, follow up with dripping the Calvados syrup and finish with the hazelnuts  and some cress

(Here the original recipe in Dutch)

Follow me on Instagram @peterschoenmaker7 and have a look at my book 'Breakfast in Gascony' on Amazon for your Kindle