Recipe: Red pepper jam

Turn to page 16 of December's The Simple Things for our simple party toast ideas – moreish morsels that won’t linger for long at a festive do. Use this red pepper jam as a topping for goat's cheese toast 

Red pepper jam

Makes 2 x 500ml jars

4 tbsp vegetable oil
2 red peppers, roughly chopped
2 red onions, roughly chopped
4 long red chillies, chopped
250g cherry tomatoes
100g sugar
50ml fish sauce

1 Heat the oil in a heavy-based pan over a medium–high heat. Fry the peppers, onions and chilli for 5 mins, or until softened and slightly caramelized. Add the tomatoes and cook for 6 minutes, or until soft. Stir in the sugar and fish sauce, and simmer for 30 minutes, until thickened.

2 Leave to cool slightly, then whiz to a purée in a food processor. Ladle into sterilised jars and seal. The jam will keep in the pantry for 6–12 months. Refrigerate after opening and use within 1 month.

Recipe from In the Kitchen by Simmone Logue (Murdoch Books)
 

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Tipple of the month: Pomegranate Punch

A really pretty, colourful party piece for any get-together. The autumnal colours feel just right for this time of year

You will need:
Seeds from 2 pomegranates
2 x 750ml bottles prosecco, chilled
1 x 750ml bottle sparkling
apple-pomegranate or apple cider

1 Make an ice ring by tipping the seeds from a pomegranate into a Bundt tin, topping up with water and freezing overnight.

2 Mix the prosecco and sparkling cider in a small punch bowl or large mixing bowl. Just as your guests arrive, add the ice ring, as it can melt quickly. Sprinkle over some extra pomegranate seeds to garnish.

Recipe and photography from The Forest Feast Gatherings by Erin Gleeson (Abrams).

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Salt and coriander roast roots with smoky yogurt

Roasting roots on a bed of spiced salt intensifies the vegetables’ flavour and brings a touch of theatre to the table. The salt doesn’t have to go to waste afterwards, it can be re-used as a seasoning, or even to bake more roots. A smoky yogurt dressing sets off the sweet veg beautifully.

Salt and coriander roast roots with smoky yogurt

Serves 6-8 with salad
3kg rock salt*
Finely grated zest of two unwaxed lemons, plus 1 tbsp juice
4 tbsp coriander seeds, roughly crushed
Handful of thyme sprigs, plus thyme leaves to serve
1.5kg baby or small root vegetables in their scrubbed skins, such as multi-coloured beetroots, multi-coloured carrots, parsnips, orange and purple sweet potatoes
300g mild Greek yogurt
1 small garlic clove, crushed
2-3 chipotle chillies in adobo, crushed, or 2 tsp chipotle paste
1⁄2 tsp hot smoked paprika
Cold pressed oil (olive, hemp, rapeseed, pumpkin) to drizzle
Salad leaves, to serve

1 Preheat the oven to 200C/ Fan 180C/400F.
2 Combine the salt with the lemon zest, crushed coriander seeds and thyme sprigs. Spread half this mixture out across a very large roasting tin (or divide between two smaller tins). Nestle the roots into this mixture, making sure any larger ones aren’t touching to give the heat a chance to circulate. Spread the rest of the salt on top, mounding it up to cover every vegetable.
3 Roast in the oven for 50–60 minutes, until a skewer slides easily into even the largest root. Spoon the top layer of salt away, but keep the roots nestled in a bed of salt to serve (everyone can peel or split their own veg).
4 In a serving bowl combine the yogurt with the crushed garlic and lemon juice, and season with ground black pepper. Swirl in the chipotle and dust with paprika. Drizzle with the cold-pressed oil, shower with thyme leaves and serve alongside the roots and salad leaves.

Recipe from The New Vegetarian by Alice Hart (Square Peg); photography by Emma Lee

* Yes, really that much...

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Recipe: Roasted chestnuts

You don't have to wait for Christmas if you fancy chestnuts roasting on an open fire. Lia Leendertz shares her recipe for roasted chestnuts as well as a bit about the history of these festive treats

Despite their comfortable presence in the landscape, chestnuts are native to the Mediterranean and north Africa, and were only brought to the UK by the Romans. So happily have they adapted to our conditions though that they are now regarded as ‘honorary natives’.

Although many have naturalised and can be found growing in woodlands and copses, they were beloved of the aristocracy of the 18th and 19th centuries and were widely planted in parkland, and this is where we should set off now to find the biggest and most productive trees from which to forage.

Don’t get them mixed up with horse chestnuts (conkers), which are really not so nice to eat, roasted or otherwise. Sweet chestnuts have cases with long, bristly prickles, whereas those of horse chestnuts are smoother with short spines.

Chestnuts roasted on an open fire, perfectly softened and with a light charring at the edges are delicious, but this is surprisingly tricky to perfect. My chosen method is to cheat and start them off in the oven to ensure that they are well cooked through, before finishing them off with a spell on the fire.

Heat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6. Use a small sharp knife to make a cross in the skin of the curved side of each chestnut, leaving one or two untouched.

Place them in a baking tray, cover tightly with foil, and bake for about 30 minutes or until you hear one of the uncut ones pop. Then wrap them in a few layers of foil and pop them onto the embers of a fire for fire minutes, before eating them hot and freshly peeled with butter and a pinch of salt.

Lia Leendertz is currently crowdfunding the creation of The New Almanac, a reinvention of the rural almanac which will cover seasonal food, traditions, folklore, the moon and stars each month, and more.

Support Lia by buying a special first edition of the Almanac ahead of time, and see your name in the back of every book - buy The New Almanac by Lia Leendertz now.

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Be a kitchen witch!

Introducing a little magic into your cooking can be great fun: it’s exciting to go to the shops or garden and gather ingredients to bring love, luck or health to those you cook for. 

Start with these pearls of witchy wisdom:

• Pick parsley for parties. It’s said to bring eloquence and extra charm, helps reduce drunkenness and is a proven breath freshener! Serve with potatoes as they are grounding.
   
• Share a jasmine tea with someone and it will help you bond. Jasmine is a vine and represents the intertwining of people.
   
• Make an autumnal soup with leeks, squash, carrots, potatoes, fresh sage and chives. Prepare with love and serve to friends and family to bring warmth and happiness for the new season.

For more spells, recipes and magical meals read The Book of Kitchen Witchery by Cerridwen Greenleaf (Cico)

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Staple foods: 4. Squash and pumpkins

So much more than a Jack O’Lantern in waiting, make the most of your pumpkin this Halloween

The symbol of a season on the turn, a tool to ward off evil spirits and the fodder of fairytales – pumpkins are probably the most famous of all the winter squash, but are they the most delicious?

Related to cucumbers, courgettes and melons – and technically a fruit – these hardy squash come in a spectrum of shapes, sizes and colours, from dusky blues and creamy yellows to egg-yolk orange and moss green.

Pumpkins, which are native to America, are best known for their part in the Thanksgiving tradition (puréed with warming winter spices, as the filling for a sweet pie) or disembowelled and carved for Halloween.

They can be brewed into beer, grated into cakes, or simply mashed with butter – even the leaves and seeds can be eaten. But would you recognise the right squash for the job?

Extracted from Taste: The Infographic Book of Food by Laura Rowe, illustrations by Vicki Turner (Aurum Press, £20)

Download our free pumpkins booklet

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Recipe: Cabbage, beetroot and date salad

This brightly-coloured, no-cook Persian salad makes a fun and flavoursome accompaniment to a roast chicken. 

Crunchy raw cabbage is an everyday feature of salads in Iran and here red cabbage is combined with raw beetroot and dates for a sweet and healthy take on a winter ’slaw. Quicker, lighter and less fuss than your usual roast dinner veggies, a salad means less time in the kitchen and more time for autumnal walks.

SERVES 4 AS A SIDE 

2 medium, raw beetroots, peeled and grated
150g red cabbage, finely sliced
65g Iranian or Medjool dates, pitted and roughly chopped
20g bunch parsley, finely chopped

FOR THE DRESSING
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
3 tbsp lemon juice
1⁄2 tsp salt
1⁄2 tsp black pepper

1 Tip the beetroot into a large bowl, followed by the red cabbage, dates and parsley.

2 Whisk the dressing ingredients together in a small bowl. Just before serving, drizzle over the salad and give it all a good toss

Recipe from The Saffron Tales: Recipes from the Persian Kitchen by Yasmin Khan (Bloomsbury) Photography: Shahrzad Darafsheh and Matt Russell

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Recipe: Pitta bread

Is there anything more satisfying than making your own bread?

Pitta is extremely easy to make and it goes with everything because it’s light and doesn’t overpower a dish.

Pitta bread

7g instant yeast

240ml tepid/warm water
1 tsp golden caster sugar
400g plain flour
50ml olive oil, plus extra for oiling

1 Mix the yeast and warm water together in a large bowl. Leave for a couple of minutes and then add the sugar and stir through. Add the flour and olive oil and knead together until you have a smooth doughy consistency that bounces back. This should take 5-8 minutes. Leave the dough in an oiled bowl for about one hour until it has risen.

2 Preheat the oven to 220C/Fan 200C/425F.

3 Once risen, cut the dough into eight equal pieces and shape them into nice balls. Lay them on a baking tray and leave to rise for another 10 minutes. Once risen, flatten each ball with a rolling pin (not too thin), lay on a baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes or until the pittas have puffed up. Keep an eye on them during baking – bake for too long and the breads will be too crunchy and lose their softness.

4 Serve, dipping into some olive oil and za’atar if you like.

These will keep for a few days if sealed in an airtight container.

Recipe from Palestine on a Plate by by Joudie Kalla (Jacqui Small) Photography Ria Osbourne 

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Living: Jam making and preserving

The growing season may be almost over, but the preserving season is in full swing. If you have a spare afternoon and a freezer fruit glut, it's the best time of year to stir some fruit in a cauldron-like pan

Turn to page 42 of October's The Simple Things for Lia Leendertz's recipes for Blackberry and vanilla jam, Spiced damson and apple jelly, and Pink grapefruit and ginger marmalade.

Want some tips on pickling, pantries and preserves? Issue 39 of The Simple Things (September 2015) has plenty of tips beginning on page 116 (get back issues here!), or read on. 

Jam-making, an act steeped in nostalgia and nest making, is hard to resist, and at this time of year when rich fruit pickings abound, not just in the garden or allotment but also in the hedgerow, it feels almost like a duty to do it. This simple act of husbandry fills the kitchen with comforting smells and activity, the pantry with provisions and distils the essence of summer in a jar.

But before you disrupt the household with bubbling pans and empty jam jars, pull on an apron and gather together a few items.

A preserving pan (sometimes called a maslin pan) is essential, the stronger the better and preferably made of stainless steel which won't corrode. A jam thermometer takes the guesswork out of reaching the setting point, and a long-handled preserving spoon is handy for safe stirring. A jam funnel makes pouring hot jam into Kilner jars a simpler operation and a variety of labels and covers gives the end result a decorative flourish.

Preserving brings a little of the summer's flavour and colour to the chillier months when the choice of seasonal food is limited. But which preservation method to go for? Here are some options:

Pickling: fruit and vegetables are immersed in a vinegar and spice solution

Fermentation: vegetables are soaked in a spiced brine solution. Sugar is sometimes added. Kimchi, a Korean food staple, is the ultimate fermented food

Chutney: chopped fruit and veg are cooked with vinegar, spice and herbs, to produce a sweet-sour mixture with a chunky texture

Brining: cuts of meat are steeped in salt water

Salting: meat and fish are coated with salt to draw out moisture and kill bacteria

Seasonal pickling

Spring: rhubarb, cabbage, cauliflower, citrus fruit, asparagus

Summer: raspberries, plums, beetroot, asparagus, baby carrots, cucumbers, runner beans, apricots, courgettes, tomatoes, peaches

Autumn: apples, damsons, garlic, quince, blackberries, red cabbage, tomatoes, fennel, peppers

Winter: apples, cabbage, quince, citrus fruit

From How to Pickle by Gerard Baker for Lakeland

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Recipe: Tomato pasta sauce

Surprise someone with a care package

Who doesn’t like receiving nice parcels? Care packages show that the joy of giving doesn’t need to be restricted to birthdays or Christmas. 

October’s issue of The Simple Things includes a few ideas for putting together care packages – and this simple tomato sauce recipe is one of the suggestions for inclusion in the House Party package. It’s a great addition for a hand-delivered package – especially for a time-pushed recipient. A quick dinner solution, this is technically a pasta sauce, but try it added to a tin of beans to make fancy baked beans. We’ve also heard that it’s pretty tasty straight out of the jar…

Serves two as a pasta sauce for dinner

10 plum tomatoes,
halved lengthways olive oil, for drizzling
balsamic vinegar,  for drizzling
3 garlic cloves, unpeeled
5 basil leaves, torn in two, plus extra whole leaves for bottling

1 Preheat your oven to 160°C. Pop your tomato halves into a lined baking dish and season well with salt and pepper. Pour a generous glug of olive oil over each tomato, then follow suit with about one-third of the amount of balsamic. Mix the tomatoes, oil and vinegar together with your hands.
2 Add the garlic cloves and top each tomato half with a basil leaf half. Roast for an hour, checking every 20 minutes and rotating the dish to ensure even cooking, if necessary. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
3 When the tomatoes have cooled, spoon into a clean glass jar (or jars), adding a few extra basil leaves to the sauce, preferably where they can be seen. 
4 Fasten the lid and have fun decorating the jar, or make it a label or tag to match your care package. This will last up to a week in your refrigerator – if you don’t eat it before then!

Tip - stuff in a baguette with Fior Di Latte cheese and fresh basil leaves, or mix with a tin of cannellini, lima or haricot beans for homemade fancy baked beans. 

See page 80 of October’s issue for more care package suggestions. 

Recipe from Care Packages by Michelle Mackintosh (Hardie Grant). Photography by Chris Middleton. 

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Recipe: Courgette and pistachio cake with zesty lemon icing

This pretty summer cake has to be the most satisfying way to deal with a glut of courgettes

Serves 12-16

300g caster sugar
5 eggs
350ml vegetable oil
11⁄2 tsp vanilla extract
100g pistachio nuts, chopped
80g ground almonds
650g grated courgettes
300g self-raising flour
100g plain flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
11⁄2 tsp mixed spice

for the candied lemon zest

3 lemons
100g caster sugar

for the zesty lemon icing

125g unsalted butter
250g icing sugar, plus extra to dust 1 tsp vanilla extract
40ml whipping cream
zest and juice of 1 lemon

1 Preheat the oven to 170C/Fan 150C/ 325F. Grease a 23cm cake tin and line the base with baking paper.
2 In a mixing bowl, beat the sugar, eggs, vegetable oil and vanilla extract until thick, using an electric mixer. Fold in the pistachios, ground almonds and grated courgettes. Sift in the flours, bicarbonate of soda and mixed spice, then stir until well combined.
3 Pour the cake mixture into the prepared tin. Bake for 1 hour in the preheated oven, or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for 5-10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and leave to cool completely.
4 To make the candied lemon zest, use a zester to peel the lemon zest into long, thin strands. Transfer to a small saucepan, add the sugar and 300ml water and bring
to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until the lemon zest is translucent. Remove the zest using tongs or a slotted spoon, then spread out on a tray lined with baking paper and leave to dry for 10-15 minutes.
5 Make the zesty lemon icing by whisking the butter with an electric whisk until light and fluffy. Add the icing sugar and vanilla and whisk again for 3 minutes. Pour in the cream and whisk for a further 2 minutes, or until the icing is light and creamy. Mix in the lemon zest and juice and, using a spatula, spread the icing over the cake. Garnish with little nests of candied lemon zest, dust with icing sugar, then slice and serve.

Recipe from In the Kitchen by Simmone Logue (Murdoch Books)

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Recipe: Apple 'doughnuts'

OK, so these aren’t real doughnuts, but you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how delicious (and addictive) they are, despite being far healthier than their sugary namesakes. Kids will love making and eating them – so why not turn it into a game and see who can be the most creative? Great for using up your apple harvest, the doughnuts make a fun breakfast or healthy snack at any time of day. 

MAKES 12

300g full-fat cream cheese
100g peanut, almond or cashew nut butter
2 tbsp fruit purée or coulis
1 tsp maple syrup or honey
2 large apples, either red or green or 1 of each
3 tbsp chocolate spread or toffee sauce (optional)
75g mixture of your chosen toppings (see below)

TOPPINGS:

dried fruit, eg golden raisins, cranberries, dried apricots or goji berries
nuts, eg hazelnuts, pecans, almonds or pistachios
seeds, eg pumpkin, sunflower,
toasted sesame or linseeds roasted nut and seed mix toasted coconut flakes
bee pollen
edible flowers

ESSENTIAL KIT:

apple corer

1 Line a tray with non-stick baking paper and set aside.
2 Divide the cream cheese between two small bowls. Mix the nut butter into one and the fruit purée or coulis into the other. Stir 1⁄2 tsp of syrup or honey into each bowl. Cover and set aside. Can be made a day in advance.
3 Use the apple corer to remove the cores. Cut each apple into six even-sized slices (including the ends) and lay them flat on the prepared tray, ends cut side up.
4 Spread the nutty cream cheese over six slices and the fruity one over the other six, leaving the hole clear. Use your toppings to decorate the apple doughnuts as you like. You can also chop your toppings into smaller pieces if you prefer. Either arrange them on top of the apple slices or press the creamy side down onto the toppings to stick.
5 As a further flourish, drizzle chocolate spread or toffee sauce over the apple doughnuts, if you like. To loosen the sauce for drizzling, spoon it into a small bowl and sit the bowl in another bowl of just-boiled water. Give it a good stir once it starts to melt.

These can be made up to a day ahead and kept covered in the fridge. Serve on a tiered stand or layered between small squares of baking paper in a nice box.

For a twist...

• Use chocolate spread instead of nut butter, or jam instead of fruit purée.
• Decorate the tops with cake sprinkles for a treat.

Recipe from The No-Cook Cookbook by Sharon Hearne-Smith (Quercus) 

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Three recipes: Symmetry breakfasts by Michael Zee

Breakfast is about feeding your loved ones, says Michael Zee, who creates dishes for two that taste as good as they look. Michael Zee’s beautiful and perfectly symmetrical breakfasts are hard to resist. What began as an Instagram of his boyfriend’s breakfast now has more than 600,000 followers and led to his first cookbook.

“Breakfast is the meal that most people take for granted,” says Michael. “Chewing at one’s desk or swigging a coffee on the go, we seem to care less and less about the most important meal of the day. I want to challenge the belief that there are breakfast foods and non-breakfast foods. The fact is, anything can be breakfast – and probably is, somewhere.”

Baghdad baid masus 

If you love shakshuka, then give these special eggs from Baghdad a try: eggs fried in a spiced cumin and coriander butter, with finely diced celery and onion, served with crispy pitta chips and a herby labneh dip.

2 pitta breads
Olive oil
3 tsp za’atar
50g butter
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, grated or finely chopped
11⁄2 tsp cumin seed
11⁄2 tsp coriander seed
1 tsp hot paprika or chilli powder
4 eggs
200g labneh (substitute 170g cream cheese mixed with 30g yoghurt if you’re struggling to source this)
Fresh chopped mint, parsley and coriander
Juice of 1 lemon

Preheat your oven to 180°C.

Open up the pocket of each pitta and split each into two so that you have four ovals. Cut each into strips. Place them on a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with za’atar. Bake for about 15 minutes until crunchy and brown around the edges.

Heat the butter in an ovenproof frying pan over a medium heat and add the celery, onion, garlic, cumin, coriander and paprika. Cook this for 10–12 minutes until soft.

Crack in the eggs and when they are just about set on top, put the pan in the oven with a lid on. The oven should still be hot (from baking the pitta) but not switched on.

In a bowl, mix the labneh with the freshly chopped herbs and lemon juice. Remove the eggs from the oven and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve from the pan at the table, with dollops of the herby labneh and pitta chips for dipping.

Ymerdrys 

Pop rye bread into a food processor, blitz it into a crumb and eat it with ymer, a type of sour yoghurt, and fresh fruit.

300g dark rye bread (or whatever you have left over)
2 tsp brown sugar
450g ymer or yoghurt
250g mixed soft berries

Preheat your oven to 180°C.

Tear the rye bread into chunks and put it in a food processor along with the sugar and any other flavourings you’ve decided on. Blitz until it resembles rubble.

Spread evenly over some baking paper on a baking tray. Bake for 15 minutes but give it a jiggle at around 7 minutes, for even cooking, then check again at 10 minutes.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly. I like mine still a bit warm. Serve with yoghurt and fruit.

M’smmen 

A lovely flaky, crispy pancake from Morocco. Serve with honey and lashings of culinary argan oil (made from toasted argan kernels)

FOR THE DOUGH

450g plain flour
100g fine semolina
1 tsp caster sugar
1 tsp salt
1 sachet fast–action yeast
300ml tepid water

FOR FOLDING

Sunflower oil
100g soft butter
100g fine semolina

FOR THE TOPPINGS

Honey
Argan oil (go easy on this)
Pine nuts, lightly toasted
Mixed berries

Put all the dry ingredients for the dough into a bowl or mixer and add the water until the mix forms a slightly sticky dough. Be careful that you don’t add too much water at the start. If you’re using a mixer, knead the dough for about 5 minutes using a dough hook. If you’re working by hand, knead the dough on a floured surface for about 10 minutes. It should be smooth and elastic.

Split the dough into 10 balls and, using the sunflower oil, lightly coat each one so that it doesn’t dry out. Clear a large work surface to prepare your pancakes and generously oil so that the dough doesn’t stick.

Take a ball of dough and, with oiled hands, press it flat. Working from the middle outwards, keep going until the pancake is so thin you can almost see through it; don’t worry if you make some holes. Scantly spread some butter over and sprinkle some semolina on – this will help the flaky layers form when cooking.

Like folding a letter, fold the left two thirds in and then bring the right side over. You should have a narrow strip now. Bring the top down two thirds of the way and fold the bottom up to match. Now you have a square. Repeat until all the balls are folded.

Preheat a dry pan over a medium–high heat. Starting with the first square, flatten it out until it’s about twice its original size. Fry each pancake for about 5 minutes on each side until golden brown, flipping several times throughout.

Drizzle with honey, argan oil, pine nuts and berries.

All recipes from SymmetryBreakfast: Cook, Love, Share (Bantam Press) by Michael Zee. 

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Recipe: Walnut and damson cheese sausage rolls

September's The Simple Things includes three recipes by Lia Leendertz in celebration of the ancient agricultural festival of Mabon.

Says Lia, 'I love a sausage roll, particularly to pack up and take on a picnic, and these contain all the nutty fruitiness of the season. Damson cheese is a sort of thick, sliceable jam, which I often make from my damson glut to eat with cheese and crackers, but it’s lovely here. If you can’t get hold of it, just use plum jam instead'.

Want to make Damson cheese? Scroll down for a recipe. 

Walnut and damson cheese sausage rolls

Makes 6 large or 18 small

50g walnuts, plus a few extra
400g free-range sausage meat or 6 pork sausages
a few sage leaves, chopped
250g pack puff pastry
100g damson cheese
1 egg, lightly beaten

1 Preheat the oven to 180C/Fan 160C/350F. Tip the walnuts onto a baking tray and bake for 7-10 minutes, until slightly toasted. Set aside to cool, then chop roughly.

2 In a bowl, combine the sausage meat (if using sausages, squeeze them out of their skins), chopped toasted walnuts and sage. If using sausage meat, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper (sausages are already well seasoned). Use your hands to mix everything together thoroughly.

3 Lay out your rectangle of pastry and slice it into three across the shorter length to give three long strips. Cut the damson cheese into batons and lay it in a line down the middle of each strip. Divide the sausage mixture and arrange it evenly along the three lengths. Carefully roll the mixture up, brushing one edge with beaten egg to stick the edges of the pastry together. Turn the roll over so that the seam is on the bottom, then cut it into however many lengths you want. Place on a baking tray lined with baking paper.

4 Brush the tops of the sausage rolls with beaten egg, then chop a few extra walnuts and sprinkle them over the top. Finish with flakes of sea salt. Bake in the preheated oven for at least 25 minutes. I often leave mine for longer, as I love the pastry really crisp and well done. Remove from the oven when yours are as you want them and leave to cool a little before eating (they’re delicious still slightly warm). 

Damson cheese

Recipe by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall for the Guardian (visit the original page for more damson recipes).

This traditional fruit "cheese" is a very thick, sliceable preserve that is immensely good served with actual cheese. It keeps for ages. Makes 850-900g.

2kg damsons
Around 750g granulated sugar

1. Put the damsons in a large preserving pan, add a couple of tablespoons of water and bring slowly to a simmer, stirring as the fruit begins to release its juices. Leave to simmer until completely soft. Tip the contents of the pan into a sieve and rub it through to remove the stones and skin, leaving you with a smooth damson purée.

2. Measure the purée by volume. For every 500ml, add 350g sugar, and combine in a large, heavy-based pan. Bring to a simmer over a low heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar, then cook gently, stirring regularly so it doesn't catch, until reduced to a thick purée. It's ready when you drag the spoon across the bottom of the pan and the base stays clearly visible for a second or two. This can take up to an hour of gentle, popping simmering and stirring.

3. Pour the "cheese" into very lightly oiled shallow plastic containers and leave to cool and set. It will keep almost indefinitely in the fridge. Serve in slices with bread and cheese, or, if you fancy, cut into cubes, dust lightly with granulated sugar and serve as a petit four.

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Recipe: Raspberry, apricot and orange ice lollies

Soaked cashews are the secret to lovely, creamy dairy-free lollies. Start the night before to allow time for the cashews to soak

Makes 8
6 large apricots (approx 500g), sliced
juice of an orange
125g fresh or frozen locally grown raspberries*
4–5 tbsp pure maple syrup (or honey)
60g raw cashews, soaked overnight in cold water, drained and rinsed
1 tsp finely grated orange zest small pinch of fine sea salt
* If using frozen berries, allow them to defrost a little before using in this recipe

1 Place apricots and orange juice in a medium saucepan, cover with a lid and bring to the boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 5 mins. Remove lid and cook for a further 8–10 mins, stirring often to prevent the bottom from catching, until thick and pulpy. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

2 Combine raspberries and 1–2 tbsp of the maple syrup in a small bowl and lightly crush with a fork to form a rough paste. Divide evenly between 8 lolly moulds and set aside.

3 Transfer cooled apricots to a blender, along with soaked cashews, 3 tbsp maple syrup, orange zest and salt. Blend until smooth. Pour into moulds (it’s a thick mixture, so you may need a spoon to help), then using a knife, marble the raspberries through the apricot mixture slightly. Insert wooden sticks and freeze for at least 4 hours or overnight.

4 Run moulds under warm water to help release the popsicles.

Recipe taken from A Year In My Real Food Kitchen by Emma Galloway (Harper Collins) 

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Recipe: Coco Cabana cocktail

With 120 fruits native to its rainforest, there’s no wonder Brazilians make a mean cocktail. If watching the Olympics this month makes you pine for tropical climes, mix yourself a jug of this fabulously kitsch cocktail (palm trees essential) and the combination of rum, cachaça, strawberries and coconut will instantly transport you from kitchen to Copacabana beach.

Coco Cabana 

75ml cachaça
75ml Malibu
50ml coconut cream
50ml lemon juice
50ml simple sugar syrup
90ml pineapple juice
180ml coconut water
75ml strawberry purée ice cubes
1 orange, sliced
1 lemon, sliced

Pour all the ingredients except the orange and lemon slices into a large jug and stir well.
Fill with ice and stir again.
Top with lemon and orange slices.

Pronounced ka-sha-sa, cachaça is the national drink of Brazil and appears in many of its cocktails. Like rum, it’s a sugar cane spirit, but distilled directly from fermented sugar cane juice rather than from the molasses. It’s now possible to find simple brands such as Sagatiba in larger supermarkets or specialist spirit shops. If you’re at loss or don’t like the taste (some people find it too rough or strong), you can substitute vodka or rum. Oh and Brazilians do really run their cars on it sometimes – if you’re ever crossing the road and notice a waft of sweetness in the air, that’s the ethanol from the sugar cane. Not one to try at home.

Recipe from Carnival! By David Ponte, Lizzy Barber and Jamie Barber (Quadrille)
Photography by Martin Poole  

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Recipe: Toasted basil and blackberry brioche with summer berries

Try this berry harvest bake from Lia Leendertz

'A berry- and herb-studded brioche is a great way to celebrate this moment of wheat and berries, but to say making brioche is a bit of a faff would be quite the understatement. It’s a fun project but this dessert will work beautifully with thick, toasted slices of a good-quality bought brioche loaf if you don’t have the time to make your own. The brioche recipe is based on a recipe from River Cottage Baking, with a few additions of my own. Ideally, start making this the day before you need it, as the dough benefits from spending a night in the fridge.'

Makes 2 small loaves, serves 4-6

For the basil and blackberry brioche

400g strong white bread flour
5g powdered dried yeast
10g salt
90ml warm milk
2 tbsp caster sugar
100g butter, softened
4 eggs, beaten
a handful of blackberries per loaf
basil leaves

To glaze
1 egg
2 tbsp milk

For the fruits
210g blueberries
170g blackberries
4 figs, quartered
a few sprigs of thyme

1 For the brioche, put all of the ingredients except the basil, the berries and the glaze ingredients into a large bowl and bring it all together into a dough. Knead for ten minutes (or put the dough into the bowl of your food processor and use the dough hook on it for ten minutes). Place it in a bowl, cover, and chill overnight. The next morning, remove it from the fridge and shape it into your loaves – I put mine into a round cake tin or small loaf tins – then leave them somewhere warm to prove. This could take several hours as the dough will be starting from cold.

2 Preheat the oven to 200C/Fan 180/400F. Once the loaves have doubled in size, decorate them by pushing the blackberries into the surface and laying the basil leaves across it, then beat the egg and the milk together and paint it across the surface. Bake for 10 minutes, then lower the oven setting to 180C/Fan 160/350F and bake for a further 30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.

3 Place the fruits and thyme into a saucepan and simmer gently until the berries have burst, the juice is released and the figs are turned the colour of the blackberries. Slice the brioche and toast a piece per person. Serve each person a small bowlful and a piece of toasted brioche to scoop up the warm, herby fruit and to dip into the juices. 

Lia Leendertz is a freelance gardening writer and the author of several books, including My Tiny Veg Plot and My Cool Allotment. Her first cookery book, Petal, Leaf, Seed: Cooking with the Garden’s Treasures is out now.  

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Recipe: Pea, mint, spinach and goat’s cheese quiche

This quiche is simple to make and packed with summery flavours

Turn to page 34 of August's The Simple Things for the full riverbank picnic menu: Pork and egg pie with a lattice top, Pea, mint, spinach and goat’s cheese quiche, Potato salad, and Meringue kisses. 

Pea, mint, spinach and goat’s cheese quiche

280g plain flour, plus extra for dusting the work surface
140g cold butter, cut into little pieces
6 tbsp cold water
300g frozen peas
handful of mint leaves
3 tbsp olive oil
2 eggs
284ml double cream
200g goat’s cheese
handful of baby spinach, wilted and water squeezed out in a tea towel

1 In a blender, combine the butter, water and flour until it resembles breadcrumbs. Roll up in to a ball and cover in clingfilm and rest in the fridge until ready*.

2 Cook the peas for 3 mins in boiling water, then drain and chill under the cold tap. In a hand blender, whizz together the peas, mint and olive oil, and season to taste.

3 Preheat oven to 200C/Fan 180C/400F.

4 Roll the pastry out on a floured surface to a circle about 3cm bigger than a 25cm tin. Drape the pastry over the tin and gently push the pastry into place using a little scrap of pastry. Leave a little pastry over the edge of the tin; this can be removed later. Chill in fridge for 10-15 mins.

5 Lightly prick the base of the tart and line with baking paper and ceramic baking beans. Blind bake for 20 mins, then carefully remove the beans and bake for a further 5-10 mins until lightly browned.

6 While the pastry is baking, beat the eggs in a large bowl. Add the cream and season.

7 When the case is ready, spread the pea mixture over the bottom of the tart case. Pour over the egg mixture. Scatter the crumbled goat’s cheese and wilted spinach over the top of the quiche.

8 Bake for 20-25 mins until set and the top is browned. Trim the edges of the pastry off and leave to cool on a wire rack. 

*Or buy shortcrust pastry readymade from the supermarket if you’re short on time or inclination. 

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Recipe: Nectarine honey cakes

The beautiful oral tones of honey can make baked goods sing. Slices of nectarine top these tender little cakes, but you could also use peach, apricot or plums 

During the summer months when stone fruits are cheap and plentiful, you can buy fruit in bulk, slice, lay out on a tray, freeze and then transfer it to zip-lock bags. You can then use the slices in
smoothies. Or, lightly stew and freeze in containers to later use in pies, tarts and crumbles – there’s nothing like pulling out a container of summer fruit to make a pud in the midst of winter. 

Nectarine honey cakes 

Makes 9 (Gluten-free)

75g butter, diced
60ml honey
80g ground almonds
45g ne brown rice our
2 tbsp arrowroot or gluten-free organic corn flour
1 tsp gluten-free baking powder
Finely grated zest of 1 small lemon
60ml (1/4 cup) almond, rice or coconut milk
1 large free-range egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 medium nectarine, thinly sliced

1 Preheat oven to 160C/Fan 140C/310F. Grease a nine-hole friand tin generously with melted butter. Place butter and honey into a small saucepan and set over a low heat, stirring often until the butter has just melted. Remove from heat and set aside to cool for 5 minutes.
2 Place ground almonds in a medium bowl and sift over the brown rice flour, arrowroot or cornflour, and baking powder. Add lemon zest and whisk well to evenly distribute flours. Whisk milk, egg and vanilla extract in a separate bowl.
3 Add to dry ingredients along with melted butter and honey. Whisk to form a smooth batter. Pour some batter into each friand hole and top with a couple of slices of nectarine.
4 Bake for 15–20 minutes or until golden – a skewer inserted into the centre should come out clean. Remove from oven and set aside for 5 minutes. Run a thin knife around the outside of each cake, then gently remove and transfer to a wire rack to cool further.

Cakes are best eaten on the day of baking; however, they will store, airtight, for 3 days.

Recipe from A Year in My Real Food Kitchen by Emma Galloway (HarperCollins)

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Recipe: Pea cheesecake

This makes a delicious light lunch or summer starter, and uses everything but the pod itself from the pea plant. (If you want to save your pea flowers to turn into more peas, omit them or use other edible flowers.) Savoury cheesecakes are a great alternative to quiches and tarts and, as this recipe uses oatcakes for the base, it is wheat-free, too.  

Pea cheesecake

Serves 4–6 as a light lunch with salad, 8–10 as a starter
1 × 23cm spring-form tin, greased and base-lined

base tier

200g oatcakes
100g unsalted butter
parmesan crisps
20g Parmesan cheese, finely grated pea purée
100g butter
2 garlic cloves, crushed
300g peas
filling
360g cream cheese
120ml double cream
4 eggs
zest of 1 lemon
salt and pepper, to taste
100g peas

decoration

handful of pea shoots, edible flowers (eg pea flowers, violas)

1 For base tier, put the oatcakes in a food bag and bash with a rolling pin until they are reduced to crumbs. Melt the butter, then combine with the crumbs in a bowl, mixing to coat. Press into the base of the tin in an even tier (a potato masher is the best tool here). Chill in the fridge for at least half an hour.

2 For the Parmesan crisps, preheat oven to 180C. Put 10 large pinches of grated cheese on a baking sheet, leaving space for them to spread. Place baking sheet in oven and, watching all the time, let the cheese melt into flat, slightly browned crisps. Remove from the oven and cool the crisps on the baking sheet.

3 For the pea purée, melt butter in a frying pan. Add garlic to the butter as it melts, but do not let it brown. Pour over the peas and blend to a rough purée.

4 For filling, whisk cream cheese, double cream, eggs and lemon zest in a large bowl. Add the pea purée, season, and whisk again until everything is incorporated. Stir in the whole peas. Pour filling over the base tier and bake for 35–40 mins until the cheesecake does not wobble when the tin is shaken, and the top is golden.

5 Turn the cheesecake out onto a plate, scatter over the pea shoots and flowers. Nestle the Parmesan crisps among them. Serve warm, with a peppery side salad.

Recipe from Grow Your Own Cake by Holly Farrell (Frances Lincoln) Photography Jason Ingram

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