Octopus, chorizo and pickled purple carrots

Peel 2 purple carrots and cut diagonally into thin slices. Place in a pan with water and salt and bring to the boil. Cook for 7–8 minutes until just tender then drain

Place 100 ml malt vinegar, 100 ml water, 75g caster sugar, 1/2 tsp caraway seeds, 1/2 tsp mustard seeds , 1/2 tsp black peppercorns and 1 garlic clove  in another pan and bring to the boil, cooking until the sugar has dissolved

Place the carrots into a clasp-top jar and pour over the pickle. Seal and leave to pickle in the fridge for at least 48 hours

Let 4 (store bought) cooked octopus tentacles fully defrost in the fridge

To make the carrot purée, peel 2 orange carrots and slice thinly on a mandoline. Heat a saucepan with a tight fitting lid over a high heat and add the carrots with a little water and salt

Steam until tender, being careful not to let the pan catch. Transfer to a blender, blitz with 12 ml olive oil until smooth, then pass through a fine sieve. Transfer to a squeezy bottle or piping bag and set aside

Use a paper towel to remove the outer skin of the octopus, leaving the suckers intact, slice in diagonal bites 

Heat a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat and add 25g diced chorizo
Cook until the oil starts to seep out of the chorizo, then add the octopus pieces and fry until crisp and golden on both sides

To plate, arrange the octopus around the plate and pipe dots of the carrot purée.

Add the pickled purple carrot slices, chorizo dice, scatter over some toasted almond flakes and garnish with a few rocket leaves. 

Drizzle over the remaining chorizo oil from the pan (which I forgot)

(Here Sally Abbé's original recipe)

Ratatouille on merguez

Of course everybody says that opening a can is cheating, but why make your own ratatouille when Bonduelle sells a great one?

Then slice 3 merguez sausages lengthwise open and fry the minced meat for about 3 mins.

Drain and use a serving ring to make this great tasting starter on a day you don't have a lot of time. Finish with cherry tomatoes and cress

(Here Onno Kleyns original recipe, incl homemade ratatouille)

Salmon ceviche, passion fruit & lemon

Slice 250g salmon very thinly

Make a marinade from 2 passion fruits, 1 tbsp extra virgine olive oil, 1 tbsp lemon juice, salt and pepper

Start plating with the salmon. Cover with the marinade and finish with cress and lime zest

Feeds 2

Grilled octopus with fennel, caramelised lemon and salsa cruda

Steam or simmer 4 octopus tentacles for 45-60 minutes, until very tender, then set aside 

Preheat an oven to 170°C

Quartered and root trim a fennel and blanche for 3 mins in boiling water. Pat dry and put them on a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle over 1 tsp fennel seeds. Pour over 50ml of vinegar, season with salt and pepper then cook in the oven until tender and just starting to crisp at the ends (around 30-45 minutes)

Place a griddle pan over a medium-high heat (or light a barbecue and wait for the coals to begin glowing)

Make the salsa cruda by combining a banana shallot, finely chopped, a heaped tbsp finely chopped parsley,  a heaped tbsp finely chopped dill, 25 ml extra virgin olive oil and 15 ml vinegar. Season to taste and set aside

Place 2 lemon circles on the griddle pan or barbecue and cook for a few minutes on each side, until charred and softened. Set aside

Rub the tentacles with olive oil and season, then place on the griddle or barbecue and cook for 1-2 minutes until lightly charred and crisp

To serve, place a lemon wedge, a fennel quarter and 2 octopus tentacles on each plate. 

Finish with the salsa cruda

(Here Ben Tish's original recipe)

Sea bass ceviche with Campari

Whisk 3 tbsp extra virgine oil with 1 tbsp Campari, the zest and 3 tbsp juice from an orange, 1 tbsp Chardonnay vinegar and 1 tsp caster sugar.

Use a sharp knife to cut 175g sea bass in thin slices

Slice 2 radishes very thinly

Start plating with the fish, then the radish, the vinaigrette and finally some watercress leaves and grated bottarga (which I did not have, so I used  salmon roe)

(Here Giovanni Pillu's original recipe in Dutch)

Weever and cockles with green curry

Bring 1 l water to the boil with 60g salt, then cool for at least 2 hrs.

Then add 2 filets of weever (NL:Pieterman, FR:vive. Or use sea bass) to pickle for 10 mins. 

Take out and dab dry.

Remove the outer leave from a leek, then finely hack the rest, add a minced clove of garlic, season with thyme, salt and pepper and softly fry in olive oil

Warm in another pan some olive oil, with reserved leek leave, a minced clove of garlic and some thyme. Add a glass of white wine and 500g cockles. Boil till the shells are open. Drain en keep the cooking liquid

Take the cockles from the shells

Bring the cooking liquid to the boil and reduce by 50%, add 1 tsp green curry paste and 20cl double cream. Once the sauce is warm again add the juice from 1/8 lime, salt and pepper

Put 3 tbsp flour in a plastic bag, put a 160g filet of weever in the bag and shake well. Repeat with a second filet.

Pan fry the fish, skin side down, in olive oil with a tbsp butter and 1/2 tbsp thyme. Once the skin is nice and golden turn the filets and fry for another minute.

Remove the fish and warm 100g samphire in the same oil, after a minute add the cockles to warm them

Foam the sauce with a stick blender (which I forgot)

Start plating with the fondue of leek, followed by the samphire and cockles

Put the fish on top and finish with the foamy sauce

(Here Miryam Minne's original recipe in Flemish) 

Tuna tataki, crispy veggies

Whisk 6g olive oil with 2g sesame oil, 10g soy sauce, 10g hoisin sauce, 3g mirin and 1/4 tbsp apple syrup

Add 1/2 minced clove of garlic, 1/4 tbsp grated ginger, 1/8 hacked red chili and the zest of 1/4 lime

Brush a 200g piece of sashimi tuna with 1/3 of this marinade

Briefly toast 10g white and 10g black sesame seeds in a dry pan, then cool on a plate

Add a tbsp olive oil to the hot pan,  flash fry all sides of the tuna, roll the tuna trough the sesame seeds and cut in 6 even slices

Slice 6 snow peas lengthwise, do the same with 2 green asparagus, then cut them diagonally in 3 parts

Snip the brown tops and bottoms from 30g beansprouts 

Bring water to the boil, add the peas, the asparagus and the taugé, take them out after 45 sec and cool in ice water, add salt to the water and keep it warm

Peel a small carrot and use the mandoline to slice into thin strips

Clean a spring onion and cut diagonally in 3 pieces  

Bring the warm water to the boil again to blanche the spring onion and 1/2 of the carrot for 30 sec, cool in ice water

Use a gas burner to burn 1/4 sweet pointed pepper, remove the burned skin under a running tap and slice into thin strips

Mix all veggies in a bowl, then season with olive oil, sesame oil, sushi vinegar, chardonnay vinegar, pepper and salt

Blend 10g coriander, 5g parsley and 10g grape seed oil, then mix with 2 tbsp mayo and transfer to a piping bag

Add 2 tbsp sushi vinegar and some lime juice to the marinade to make a sauce

Start plating with the vegetables, then the tuna. Season the tuna with sea salt. 

Finish with dots of the coriander mayo, some sauce and cress (which I forgot)

(Here Miryam Minne's original recipe in Flemish)

Pumpkin stuffed pani puri

Mince 1/4 onion and 1/2 clove of garlic and hack 90g pumpkin. Bring some water to the boil, add the vegetables, with a pinch of cumin seeds, a pinch of curcuma, 1/2 finely sliced red chili and some salt.

Once boiled blend into a purée, taste and season with lemon juice, salt and pepper. Cool and transfer into a piping bag.

Toast 1/2 tsp caraway seeds first and then 25g hacked almonds in a dry pan

Make a chutney from 1 tbsp hacked coriander, 1 tsp hacked mint, the juice of 1/4 lemon, some olive oil, salt and pepper

Deep fry 2 pani puri in 170°C arachide oil, for about 20 sec, turn all the time.

Make a hole in the pani puri and stuff halfway with the pumpkin, then some caraway and almonds and finally a teaspoon of the chutney

(Here a video with Ramon making this recipe in Dutch)

Chilled melon and olive oil soup with 'nduja toast and oregano

Begin by making the oregano oil, ideally the day before. Set a few of the oregano leaves aside for garnishing the soup and toasts, then blitz 150 ml olive oil, the leaves of 20g oregano and the zest of 1/2 lemon together in a blender. 

Allow the mixture to infuse overnight, or leave it to infuse for as long as you can on the day. Strain the oil through a muslin cloth set over a bowl to get a clear oregano oil. This will make more than you need for this recipe but it will keep in the fridge for several weeks 

To make the soup, remove any seeds or peel from 500g cantaloupe or honeymoon melon, then place in a blender with the 1/4 chopped red chili, 20ml chardonnay vinegar, 20 ml olive oil, 50g ice cubes and a pinch of salt. Blitz until smooth, then pass through a fine sieve and chill in the fridge until ready to serve

Use a melon baller to scoop out 10 small balls from another melon

For the toasts, place a griddle pan over a high heat. Drizzle  slices of sourdough bread with olive oil and toast the bread on both sides until crisp and lightly charred. Whilst the bread is still, hot, spread ‘nduja over them and garnish with a few oregano leaves

To serve, divide the soup between 2 bowls and finish with a drizzle of the oregano oil and a few oregano leaves. Serve alongside the ‘nduja toasts

Serves 2

(Here Steven Groves' original recipe)

Seabass, oven dried cherry tomatoes, pancetta vinaigrette

Pre-heat the oven at 125°C

Put 6 halved cherry tomatoes in an oven dish, sprinkle with lemon juice, olive oil, sugar, salt and pepper and dry in the hot oven during 2 hours

Cut 15g pancetta in 5x5 mm cubes and finely slice a shallot, softly fry them in 2 tbsp olive oil for 5 min, then cool

Cut 2 cherry tomatoes in small cubes, mix with 2 tbsp Chardonnay vinegar and add to the pancetta/shallot vinaigrette. Season with salt and pepper

Remove the skin from a sea bass fillet and make thin slices

Serve as shown with the fish slightly overlapping the dried tomatoes, cut a taggiasche olive and put pieces on top of the fish

Put the vinaigrette in the middle and finish with some hacked parsley

(Here Mr Kitchen's original recipe in Dutch)

Feeds 2

Courgette carpaccio

Use the mandoline to make lengthwise thin slices of a young courgette

Whisk 35 ml extra virgine olive oil with 1 tsp lemon zest plus 2 tsp juice and season with salt and black pepper

Start plating with the courgette slices, simple or more creative, cover them with rucola leaves and grated Parmesan and finish with the dressing and more black pepper

(Here Valli Little's recipe in Dutch)

Cauliflower puree with chorizo and a poached egg

Cut 35g chorizo in small cubes, bring 100 ml double cream to the boil, add the chorizo, boil for a minute. Let the sausage infuse the cream for 30 min, under a lid

Cut the florets from 1/4 cauliflower and boil in salted water for 15 mins.

Drain the cauliflower, drain the cream and put in the blender to make the puree.

Roughly hack 1 heaped tablespoon of hazelnuts, do the same with pistachios and roast them briefly in a dry pan

Diagonally slice a spring onion

Cut another 50g chorizo into small cubes, softly fry them in a dry pan to get out the fat

Poach 2 eggs

Start plating with the cauliflower puree, put the poached eggs on top. 

Sprinkle the nuts and onion over it, season with pepper and salt and finish with the red chorizo-oil

(here Myriam Minne's original recipe in Flemish)

Aubergine with herb cream on sourdough

Cut a large aubergine (about 250g) into 2cm cubes, tip into a colander placed over a bowl and scatter with a little salt. Set aside for 30 minutes. This will help the aubergine flesh to relax and take up less oil.

In a large, preferably nonstick sauté pan, warm 100ml of olive oil, then add the aubergine. Peel 2 cloves of garlic, then slice them thinly and add them to pan. Let the aubergine cook with the oil and garlic for about 10 minutes, partially covered by a lid, turning the pieces over from time to time so they colour evenly. Roughly chop 10 basil leaves and about 15 of parsley. Add them to the aubergine and set aside.

Make the herb paste: mix together 2 tbsp of mayonnaise with 75ml of sour cream. Stir in 1/2 tsp of Dijon mustard, 1 tsp of capers, 10 parsley leaves, a dash of white wine vinegar or tarragon vinegar and a little salt and black pepper. Taste and sharpen the flavour with more vinegar if you wish. Butter 2 slices of a sourdough loaf, panfry them and then spread with the herb cream. Pile the aubergine on top and serve. 

Feeds 2.

(Here Nigel Slater's original recipe)

Baked feta and dill frittata

Heat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan). Break 4 eggs into a medium bowl, add a half-teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper, whisk well and set aside.

Use a ruler to measure the thickness of a 100g block of feta – if it’s thicker than 1½cm, carefully trim it down to this thickness and crumble any offcuts into the egg mixture. Keep the rest of the feta block whole.

Place a small (roughly 17cm-wide), nonstick, ovenproof saute pan on a medium-high heat and add 30 ml oil. Once it’s hot, add 1/2 teaspoon of cumin seeds, cook for a minute until fragrant, then add 90g finely chopped onion and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, for three minutes, until the onion is translucent. Stir in 120g baby spinach and 20g finely chopped dill, and cook for two minutes, until the spinach has wilted and the dill is fragrant.

Pour the beaten egg into the pan and stir to combine with the onion, spinach and herbs. 

Nestle the feta in the centre of the egg mixture, so it’s three-quarters submerged, then drizzle a teaspoon of oil and 1/4 teaspoon of cumin seeds over the top. 

Transfer the pan to the oven, bake for 15 minutes, then remove and turn the oven grill to its highest setting. 

Once the grill is hot, pop the pan on the top shelf of the oven closest to the grill and cook for two minutes until the frittata is golden brown and the top of the feta slightly coloured.

Using a spatula, release the frittata from the bottom of the pan, then carefully slide it on to a serving plate. 

Sprinkle over a tbsp chopped dill and a pinch of aleppo chilli, and serve warm or at room temperature with lemon wedges on the side. 

Serves 3-4

(Here Ottolenghi's original recipe)

Crispy stuffed courgette flowers

Remove the stalks inside courgette flowers because they are bitter, at the same time look for insects

Grate 40g Parmesan and mix with 125g ricotta. Add the zest of a lemon.

Hack 4 anchovies and stir into the cheese.

Taste and season with pepper.

Spoon into a piping bag.

Fill the flowers, but make sure there is enough room on top to twist them shut

Mix 125g flour (preferably Japanese tempura flour) with about 130 ml ice-cold sparkling water and some salt.

Pour 1 cm arachide oil in a frying pan, bring to to 180°C, dip the flowers in the batter and then fry on one side till nicely coloured and crispy, then the other side.

For 6-8 flowers

Crispy gamba's, Asian salade and a sesame vinaigrette

Start with the dressing: mix 2 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp mirin, 1 tbsp sake, 1 tbsp sushi vinegar and some grated ginger and garlic

Beat a lemon grass with the back of a knife, then cut into small pieces and add to the vinaigrette, with 1/2 tbsp oyster sauce, 1/2 tbsp chili sauce, 1/2 tbsp sesame oil, the juice of 1/4 lime and 1 tbsp sunflower oil

Toast 1/2 tbsp sesame seeds in a dry pan

Clean 4 gamba's, remove the intestinal tract and pickle them in 50gr sea salt for 4 mins

Rinse, dry and leave in the fridge for 2 hrs to become glassy

Then dust with curry powder and pepper

Remove the seeds of 1/2 red chili and cut into a brunoise, briefly boil the red pepper in boiling water

Slice 1/2 shallot into a brunoise

Warm 1 tbsp agave syrup, then add the red chili and the shallot to become glassy

Add a dash of sake, 1/2 tbsp sushi vinegar, 1/2 tbsp Mirin and 1/2 tbsp vinegar, boil for a couple of seconds and cool in the fridge

Peel 50g cucumber, remove the seeds and slice into matchsticks

Do the same with 50g carrot, the wine of a paksoy leaf and 50g leek

Remove both ends of 50g beansprouts

Mix all veggies with with 1 tbsp sushi vinegar, 1/2 tsp sesame oil and a few drops of lime juice

Bring a pan with sunflower oil to 190°C

Beat an egg, crush 50 g Panko

Pass the gamba's trough the beaten egg, then through the Panko. Repeat this.

Deep fry the gamba's till golden brown

Start plating with the mixed veggies, then put the gamba's on top

Cover the gamba's with the shallot compote, then drizzle the dressing over it

Finish with some coriander leaves and the sesame seeds

(Here Myriam Minne's original recipe in Flemish)

Teriyaki salmon, misomayo, asparagus

Pre-heat the oven at 140°C. Slice the skin from 200g salmon, halve, brush with arachide oil and season with pepper and salt. 

Put on greaseproof paper on a baking tray, cover with an other sheet of paper and press down with a second tray.

Bake for 15-20 mins, cut the crispy skin into strips, to be used as decoration on the dish. 

Then set the oven on 150°C.

Slice a green asparagus very thinly with the mandoline.

Soak a tbsp seaweed in cold water for 20 mins, drain and season with pepper.

Mix 1/3 tbsp white miso with 2/3 tbsp water, then mix with 2 tbsp mayo, season with lime juice and -zest.

Brush the salmon with arachide oil, season with salt and pepper and briefly grill in a hot griddle pan

Cover the salmon with teriyaki sauce (from a jar) and transfer to the oven for 2 mins.

In the meantime spoon the miso mayo on 2 plates, then the warm salmon.

Put a tbsp salmon eggs on the salmon, followed by the sliced asparagus

Finish with  the sea weed, the salmon skin and some wasabi furikake

(Here Myriam Minne's original recipe in Flemish)

Hasselback tomato tonnato with anchovy and herb crumbs

This is a fun riff on a modern classic. The tuna sauce is traditionally served with sliced veal, but works very well with the salinity and fragrance of fresh tomatoes. 

The tomatoes are cut ‘hasselback’ and stuffed with a herb and anchovy breadcrumb mixture - you could also chop through some wild garlic if it’s in season. Serve this with some crusty bread, or as part of a larger spread. 

 Preheat oven 200ºC/180ºC fan

Make the crumb by whizzing 40g breadcrumbs, 3 anchovy fillets, finely chopped 

1/2 handful each basil, chives and parsley leaves, 1 clove garlic and the zest of 1/2 lemon in a small blender and seasoning with salt and pepper

Make cuts in 2 San Marzano tomatoes at 1/2 cm intervals, but don’t cut all the way through (placing a tomato between 2 flat chopsticks helps)

Place the tomatoes into a roasting dish and stuff them with the crumb. Drizzle with olive oil and roast for 30 minutes, or until the tomatoes are soft and the crumb is turning golden

Once the tomatoes are cooked, set aside to cool a little while you make the sauce

Make the tonnato sauce by combining 1/2 tin tuna in oil, drained (60g drained weight), 1 anchovy fillet, 2 egg yolks, 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard  and the juice of 1/4 lemon in a small blender. Whizz to a paste, then stream in 75ml light olive oil slowly until you have a smooth sauce. 

Season with salt and black pepper

To serve, spread the tonnato sauce onto a plate and top with the tomatoes. Dot around 1/2 tbsp capers and drizzle with a little more olive oil to serve

Serves 2

(Recipe by Great British Chefs Kitchen)

Oven-to-table sausage traybake

Heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan) 

Put 2 tbsp olive oil, 4 garlic cloves (unpeeled) and 4 sausages in a large roasting dish or tin, then roast for 15-20 minutes, until the sausages start to turn golden on all sides.

Meanwhile, prepare the vegetables, and pop them into a large bowl as you do so. Quarter an onion and remove the outer skin; cut a celery stick into 2½cm lengths; peel a carrot and cut into 5mm slices; cut 6 small new potatoes in half (there’s no need to peel). Peel and quarter an apple then core and cut each quarter in half widthways.

When all of the vegetables are in the bowl, add 1 tbsp brown sugar, 1 tbsp soy sauce and 1 tbsp mixed fresh herbs (chopped parsley, sage, thyme), and give everything a good mix (I find it easier to use my hands).

Remove the roasting dish from the oven, squash the garlic cloves with the back of a fork to release the pulp inside, then lift out the skins. Stir the vegetables into the dish, then return it to the oven for 30 minutes, until the veg are tinged brown at the edges and just tender when spiked with a knife.

Meanwhile, spoon 1 heaped tsp cornflour into the base of a measuring jug, then whisk in 125 ml apple juice and 100 ml water a little at a time, so there are no lumps, then stir in 1/2 tbsp apple vinegar.

Remove the tin from the oven, sprinkle over 1/2 cup frozen peas then pour over the apple juice mix and pop it back in the oven for 15 minutes, so the peas heat through and the sauce bubbles up and thickens. 

Remove from the oven, sprinkle over more parsley (if using) and serve on warm plates

(Here Nancy Birtwhistle's original recipe for 4)

Yellowtail tartare, mango, tomato, coriander

Start with the dressing: mix the juice of 1/2 lime, 1 tsp soy sauce, 2 tbsp olive oil, 1/2 tbsp grated ginger, 1 tsp caster sugar. Taste and season with salt and pepper

Add 1/2 cm slices from 10 cherry tomatoes and 1cm cubes from 1/2 mango.

Then the leaves from 5 sprigs of coriander.

Thinly slice a filet of yellowtail and mix with the rest.

Put in the fridge for 30 mins -1 hour to marinate.

Plate as shown and finish with deep-fried Asian onions

(Here Myriam Minne's recipe in Flemish)