Marcus Wareing - New Classics - Inspiring and delicious recipes to transform your home cooking

Above all, do remember to enjoy cooking. Food is something to be treasured, and cooking is such a wonderful way to learn, educate, socialise and enjoy quality time with family and friends. So please don’t be daunted by any of these recipes – they have all been written with home cooking in mind. This book is about sharing my passion for cooking and ingredients with all kinds of home cooks, from beginners all the way up. My advice is to dive straight in! Enjoy reading, creating and, of course, eating.

WATERMELON WITH PICKLED RIND, SALTED RICOTTA AND CORIANDER SALAD

Apple and cheese is a classic combination, and my twist on a refreshing summer salad is to pair watermelon and savoury salted ricotta. Instead of discarding watermelon rind, try pickling it. It has a great texture and keeps for quite some time in the fridge. It works well as an accompaniment to most meat and fish, and in salads, like this one.

Serves: 4

Preparation time: 15 minutes, plus minimum 24 hours pickling

½ watermelon (approximately 1.2kg)

4 tbsp olive oil

grated zest and juice of 1 lime

50g salted ricotta cheese

¼ bunch of coriander, leaves picked

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

FOR THE PICKLE

100ml white wine vinegar

4 tbsp runny honey

6 whole white peppercorns

2 cloves

1 bay leaf

1cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced

½ tsp yellow mustard seeds

½ tsp table salt

Peel the green layer off the watermelon, then remove the pink flesh from the white rind (put the pink flesh in a bowl, cover and chill) and carefully slice the white rind into roughly 1cm chunks. Put all the pickle ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Add the chunks of watermelon rind and bring back up to the boil. Remove from the heat and allow to steep for 30 minutes. Cover and chill for at least 24 hours.

Cut the pink watermelon flesh into roughly 1.5cm cubes, removing as many black and white seeds as you can (with a skewer). Mix the olive oil and lime zest and juice together in a bowl. Season the watermelon with sea salt and pepper and dress it with the oil and lime.

Divide the watermelon flesh between four plates. Drain off the pickled watermelon rind and add it to the plates. Finely grate the salted ricotta over the top of the watermelon (use a Microplane grater for this if you have one) then finish with the coriander leaves.

KALE, TOASTED ALMOND AND FRIED SAGE SALAD

This is a great salad for when the weather starts to turn cooler. Kale has a rather robust texture which lends itself well to being eaten either raw or cooked. In this recipe I have included both: the raw kale adds a freshness to the salad and the fried kale adds a light smokiness to the overall flavour.

Serves: 4

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

2 tbsp vegetable oil

2 shallots, thinly sliced

500g kale, tough stems removed

½ bunch of sage, leaves picked

100g flaked almonds

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

FOR THE DRESSING

3 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tsp wholegrain mustard

125ml olive oil

1 garlic clove, finely grated

Heat half of the vegetable oil in a large frying pan over high heat. When hot, add the shallots, season well with sea salt and cook for 6–8 minutes, until golden. Add half the kale and cook for a further 2 minutes until it just begins to wilt, then transfer the kale and shallots to a bowl.

Heat the remaining oil in a medium frying pan. When hot, add some of the sage leaves and fry for 2–3 minutes over high heat until crispy (fry them in batches). Place on kitchen paper to soak up the excess oil and season well with sea salt.

When the sage leaves have been fried, add the flaked almonds to the pan, season with sea salt and toast until golden. Remove from the heat.

To make the dressing, mix all the ingredients together in a bowl.

Thinly slice the remaining raw kale and mix it together in the bowl with the cooked kale, shallots, almonds and fried sage leaves. Season with more sea salt and loads of black pepper and drizzle with the dressing.

TOMATO, GOATS’ CHEESE AND BLACK OLIVE SALAD

Nothing beats a plate of tomatoes dressed in olive oil as a late-summer starter. Here I add goats’ cheese and my favourite black olives, Kalamata, for a real depth of flavour with the sweetness of tomatoes and shallots. Tomatoes taste much sweeter when they are at room temperature, rather than fridge-cold. They will also ripen quicker stored outside the fridge.

Serves: 4

Preparation time: 15 minutes, plus 20 minutes marinating

4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp good-quality balsamic vinegar

1 tsp capers in brine, strained and finely chopped

2 shallots, finely sliced

4 ripe plum tomatoes, sliced

8 ripe baby plum tomatoes, halved

120g soft goats’ cheese

50g pitted Kalamata olives, chopped

¼ bunch of basil

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Whisk the oil and balsamic vinegar together in a bowl. Add the capers and shallots and set aside to marinate for 20 minutes.

Generously season the tomatoes with salt and pepper and arrange them on a serving plate. Dress them with the dressing then crumble the goats’ cheese on top. Finish with the olives and lightly tear the basil leaves to scatter on top. Serve immediately.

ROASTED JERUSALEM ARTICHOKES WITH CONFIT LEMON AND A GARLIC AND PICKLED WALNUT DRESSING

I love the earthiness of Jerusalem artichokes. They are also a great staple during the winter months and right at the beginning of spring when everything is still a little sparse. Give them a good scrub to remove any grit or dirt, instead of peeling them before cooking, as the skin is very flavoursome.

Serves: 6

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 40 minutes

2kg Jerusalem artichokes, scrubbed clean

3 tbsp vegetable oil

25g butter

¼ bunch of thyme

2 garlic bulbs

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

FOR THE CONFIT LEMON

1 lemon

2 tbsp caster sugar

¼ bunch of thyme

FOR THE WALNUT DRESSING

3 tbsp chopped pickled walnuts

4 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp pickled walnut pickling liquor

Preheat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan/gas 7.

Place the washed artichokes, 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, butter and thyme in a roasting tray, toss to coat the artichokes in the oil, and season with salt and pepper. Cut the tops off the garlic bulbs, place them in foil, drizzle them with the remaining 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil and season with sea salt. Fold the foil over to enclose the garlic bulbs and place them in the roasting tray with the Jerusalem artichokes. Bake for 30–40 minutes, depending on the size of the artichokes, stirring every 10 minutes, until the artichokes are dark golden, the centres are soft and the garlic is soft and golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly, then cut the artichokes in half and place them back in the roasting tray to keep warm, adding a little more salt and pepper.