Balsamic glazed roast peppers

I know the title of this one sounds a bit retro 90s, but it's a lovely handy thing to make a batch of and keep in the fridge as an antipasto and use however you want - chuck into pasta, on pizzas, salads, sandwiches, whatever. The quantity here will fill two roasting trays. Do more if you've got more than two oven shelves!

3 bell peppers, deseeded and torn into big chunks one or two shallots, sliced lengthways 1 dsp muscavado sugar Couple of big splashes of (not too expensive) balsamic vinegar salt and freshly ground black pepper Couple of lugs of olive oil

Pre-heat the oven to 120C. Put all the ingredients except the olive oil in your roasting trays, and rub together well so everything's coated nicely. Then drizzle the olive oil over the top, mix together again gently and pop in the oven for 45 minutes or so, until starting to caramelise but so they're still juicy. About half way through, take them out and give them a quick mix around, scraping any gooey caramelised goodness off the bottom of the tray and mixing it back into the peppers. When they're done, they'll have shrunk down quite a bit and all the flavour will have concentrated. Let them cool uncovered so they don't steam and go soggy.

Mushroom and artichoke salad

This is a quick and easy weekday supper. Serves two.

Three big handfuls of seasonal salad leaves
A big handful of chestnut or similar mushrooms, quartered
Big dash of soy sauce
75g (drained) artichoke heart antipasto
sprinkle of mixed seeds
Lug of olive oil or 10g unsalted butter

For the dressing:
Juice of half a lemon
1 tsp green pesto, or sprig of fresh parsley, roughly chopped
1 tbs olive oil

Splash the soy sauce over the chopped mushrooms. Mix well to coat the mushrooms and leave to stand for several minutes. Meanwhile, heat a heavy-bottomed frying pan, add the mixed seeds and toast them gently until they're just starting to pop. Don't let them burn. Transfer them to a bowl and set aside.
Add the olive oil or butter to the frying pan and let it get to cooking temperature. Add the chopped mushrooms and cook them for about ten minutes, stirring frequently.
Meanwhile, make the dressing - put all the dressing ingredients in a lidded jar or other suitable container and shake well.
Place the salad leaves in a bowl, lay the artichoke hearts on top, then the cooked mushrooms. Drizzle the dressing over the top and sprinkle the toasted seeds.

Optional extras:
If you like, you can add some parmesan shavings; or half a finely sliced red onion, which has been left to marinate with a little sugar and splash of balsamic vinegar beforehand.

Grilled aubergine antipasto

This antipasto is great in sandwiches, on pizzas, in salads, or just for getting carried away and nomming the whole jar without realising.

1 aubergine, cut in half lengthways then diagonally into half cm thick slices
Juice of half a lemon
a lug of groundnut oil
Table salt
Olive oil (or a mixture of olive and vegetable oil - quantity needed will vary depending on size of aubergine and the storage jar, but it'll be a few good lugs)
Handful of dried herbs (thyme, oregano, whatever's handy. A sprig of rosemary would be nice)
2 cloves of garlic, bruised and cut in half

Rub the aubergine slices with lemon juice, which will stop them discolouring. Then sprinkle them all over liberally with ordinary table salt - don't use posh Maldon sea salt flakes!
Leave them for fifteen minutes while the salt leaches out any bitter flavours, then wash off the salt and dry the slices thoroughly on kitchen towels. Rub them with groundnut oil. Get a cast iron griddle pan really hot, and cook the slices in batches, turning once - do until stripes appear on each side (about 45 seconds each side).
Leave the slices to cool, then put in a jar with the garlic and herbs and cover completely with the olive oil. Will keep in the fridge for four or five days. And when you've eaten all the aubergine, the remaining oil will also taste fantastic!