We’ve had quite a nice burst of sun in London over the past few days, which got me thinking about salads. But seeing as we’re not quite out of the woods temperature wise yet, this is greenery with guts.

The beetroot is warm and sweet with a bit of a spicy kick, and goes really well with the tangy, creamy goats cheese. If you wanted to, you could also throw in a few crushed walnuts, but I didn’t have any to hand, so I didn’t.

Y’all ready?

Ingredients (serves 2)

500g beetroot

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon chilli flakes

1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped

1 teaspoon, fresh oregano, chopped

Salt and pepper

Olive oil

100 g mild, soft goats cheese

120g mixed salad leaves – watercress / rocket / spinach

Method

So, first up, get your oven on to 180c and pop on your kettle. Now remove the stalks, and peel your beets. You might want to wear a pair of rubber gloves unless you want purple stained hands.

When you’re done, pop them in a pan and pour over the water from the kettle and put on the heat to par boil for around 10-15 minutes. After this time, drain away the ruby coloured water, and cut each beet into around 8 segments.

Now place all the segments in a roasting dish, and drizzle the honey and a good glug of olive oil over the top. Give them a good mix, ensuring that each one gets a good coating. Then scatter over the chilli flakes, thyme, orgegano and season with salt a pepper. Mix again so all the herbs and spices stick to the beets, and then pop in the oven to roast for around 30 minutes.

And that’s all the hard work done. Once the beets are roasted, take them out of the oven and let them cool down a bit. When they are cooler, but still warm, assemble your salad. Place the leaves on a plate, scatter over some of the beet segments, and then crumble the goats cheese over the top.

Drizzle with your favourite salad dressing (my usual being olive oil, lemon juice, Dijon mustard and black pepper), gently toss, and serve with some good bread.

Good spring eating.

Our detox is now over, but we eat this  pretty regularly regardless. It’s good served hot, but can be eaten warm or even cold the day after.

Ingredients (serves 2-3)

200g green lentils

200g feta cheese

2 red onions, sliced

1 red pepper, diced

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

Small handful of fresh oregano

1 heaped teaspoon of maras biberi or dried chilli flakes

Juice of 1/2 lemon

Olive oil

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Salt a pepper to taste

Method

First up, turn your oven on to 200c. Now cut the onions in half, slice thinly, separate and place in a medium sized oven proof dish. Chop the red pepper into 2 cm squares and add to the dish with the onions, then finely chop the garlic and add that too. Sprinkle in the oregano, maras biberi and a few good grindings of black pepper. Now toss everything with a bit of olive oil, making sure everything is mixed and coated, and then put in the oven for half an hour.

As soon as the onions are in the oven, cook the lentils in boiling water for 20-25 minutes. They should be tender but still with some bite when they’re ready. Whilst you’re waiting for the lentils make a dressing with the lemon juice, Dijon mustard and olive oil (around 100ml).

As soon as the lentils are done, drain them and take the onions out of the oven. Add them to the oven proof dish, and then break up the feta over the top. Pour over around three quarters of the dressing, mix all the ingredients together and then put the dish back in the oven for around 15 minutes.

When done, the bake should be browning around the edges and the feta soft and creamy. Serve with a punchy watercress, rocket, spinach and radish salad, dressed with the remainder of the dressing.

It’s been hot, hot, hot in London town this week, and the warm weather has got me thinking about summer food. Aside maybe from a decent burger on a barbie, for me it’s the Mediterraneans that totally nail ‘al fresco’ eating. Grilled meats, crunchy veg and fresh zingy flavours.

These lamb wraps have all that and more. The taste of the spicy, charred, marinated meat and the tzatziki work really well together, and the wraps mean that the dish is still pretty light. We don’t have a garden, so our griddle pan has to do.

Ingredients (makes 3 large wraps)

For the lamb

400g lamb leg steaks

Handful of fresh oregano leaves, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes

Juice of one lemon

50ml extra virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

Pinch of salt

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

For the tzatziki

200g 0% fat Greek yoghurt

1/4 cucumber, sliced and diced

Handful of mint leaves, chopped

Pinch of salt

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

A good glug of extra virgin olive oil

For the wraps

Flatbread wraps

Salad leaves (rocket, spinach, watercress or other)

Red onion, thinly sliced

Red chilli, finely sliced

Method

A few hours before you eat, preferably overnight, marinate the lamb. Chop the oregano and garlic, and then add to a bowl with the salt, pepper, paprika, chilli, lemon juice and olive oil. Whisk together, pour over the lamb, making sure the steaks are coated, and then pop in the fridge for at least two hours.

While the lamb is marinating make the tzatziki (you can also do this the night before). Cut the quarter cucumber into half centimeter slices, and then dice. Pop into a bowl along with the chopped mint leaves, garlic, salt, pepper yoghurt and olive oil. Mix well and then set aside.

When you are ready to eat, get your barbecue or griddle pan on. When its good and hot, pop on your lamb. You want it nice and pink in the middle, so if your steaks are around a centimeter or so thick, you want to cook them for about 2 or 3 minutes each side. While the meat’s cooking, slice the red onion and chilli finely so they’re ready to go on the wraps.

When the meat’s cooked, take off the heat to rest for a few minutes. Whilst it’s resting, get a dry frying pan on the heat. When it’s hot, cook the flatbreads on the pan for 30 seconds on each side.This softens them up and makes them easier to handle.

You’re now ready to assemble the wraps. Spread a third of the tzatziki over the center of the wrap and then scatter some salad leaves on the top. Slice up the lamb steaks on the diagonal, and place on top of the leaves. Finally, sprinkle on the sliced onion and chilli, wrap up and then eat immediately.

Good times (I hope this makes sense, I was a bit drunk when I wrote it).

I seem to be on bit of a Italian tip at the moment, not that there’s anything wrong with that.

This recipe is kind of inspired by that bit in Goodfellas where the coked up Henry Hill is running all over town convinced he’s being trailed by a helicopter, whilst also preparing a homecoming feast for his sick brother. He’s there making the meatballs (or polpette), a vat of tomato sauce, aubergines and so on, and despite his paranoid state, all the food looks really tasty. I think Henry’s polpette were made with beef;  these are a mix of veal and pork mince, but whaddaya gonna do?

Ingredients (Serves 4)

For the meatballs

400g veal mince

400g pork mince

2 large cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano

1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage

A good grating of nutmeg

Salt and freshly milled black pepper to taste

Plain flour for ‘dredging’

1 large egg

For the sauce

1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped

3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1 large stick of celery, finely chopped

1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped

1 red chilli, de-seeded and finely chopped

1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

50g tomato puree

3 tins chopped tomatoes

200ml white wine

Salt and freshly milled black pepper to taste

Method

To make the meatballs, put all the dry ingredients in a bowl, grate in the nutmeg, add the salt and pepper, and mix with a spoon before cracking the egg in. Now get your hands in there and combine all the ingredients really well. You’re now ready to make the balls. In terms of size, you’re looking for something between a radish and a squash ball, and it really helps if you have wet hands to stop the mixture sticking. Take a dollop of the mixture, compact it in your hands, and then roll into a ball. Simple.

Depending on size, you should end up with between 20 and 30 balls. Once all the mixture has been used, scatter some plain flour on a plate, and then roll the balls through it. Roll the balls from hand to hand to shake off the excess flour before setting aside. Now pop a thick bottomed pan or casserole dish on the heat and add a few glugs of olive oil. You’re now going to brown the balls in the hot oil; you’ll probably have to do this in batches. As soon as they are coloured all over, remove and set aside.

Using the same pan and oil, you’re now going to make the tomato sauce. Add the onion, celery, carrot and garlic and sweat off until tender. Add the chilli, rosemary and seasoning. Fry for another minute before adding the tomato puree. After another minute or so, add the white wine and de-glaze the pan. Next add the 3 tins of chopped tomatoes and bring up to simmering point. Pop on a lid and cook for a good 30-40 minutes.

Now take off the lid, and pop in the balls and simmer for another 20 minutes with the lid off. This is going to make sure the balls are cooked through, and also reduces the sauce a bit. Now get your pasta on, spaghetti or linguini is perfect. Cook until al dente, drain, divide across 4 plates, and then spoon over the meatball and tomato sauce.

Eat whilst piping hot with a good sprinkling of Parmesan and a glass of Chianti, and then go get your f**kin’ shoeshine box.