Roast chicken and mint salad

A sound use for leftover pilau rice, but so good is it that I often cook a pan of rice especially. I usually use leftover roast chicken, but there is no reason why one couldn't roast a couple of breasts. A nice garden lunch this one.

serves 3

basmati rice - 200g

sprouted seeds (mung, lentils etc) - 175g

small, hot red chillies - 2

mint - 6 bushy sprigs

nam pla (Thai fish sauce) - 2 tbs

lime juice - 2 tbs

olive oil - 3 tbs

2 roast chicken breasts or leftover chicken

Wash the rice then put it into a small pan covered by about the same volume of water. Add a little salt and bring to the boil. Turn down to a jolly simmer and cover with a tight lid.When the water has evaporated (and deep holes have appeared in the surface) test it for tenderness. Turn the heat off, then leave the rice covered with its lid for 10 minutes. Fluff up the rice with a fork and leave to cool. Rinse the sprouted seeds in cold running water and drain. Make the dressing by chopping and seeding the chillies, chopping the mint leaves (and discarding the stem) and mixing in a serving dish with the nam pla, lime juice and olive oil.Cut the chicken into thin strips. Toss them with the dressing then add the cooled rice. Mix gently then check the seasoning. You may need a little salt. Leave for 20 minutes or so for the flavours to marry.

Asparagus with Lancashire cheese

As the asparagus season gets into full swing, and I have eaten just one too many plates of buttered spears, I start looking for other ways to deal with this short-lived delicacy. One of the best solutions I have come up with this year involves using a young, soft and mild Lancashire cheese.

asparagus - 250g per person

young Lancashire cheese - 50g per person

a little softened butter

Trim the asparagus, cutting away any tough stalks and removing any mud. Cook the spears in deep, lightly salted boiling water till tender. The time will vary according to the thickness of your spears. Slice the cheese thinly, no matter if it crumbles. Remove the asparagus from the water and immediately dress it with a little softened butter and thin slices of the cheese. The cheese will soften on the hot spears.

Salmon and dill cakes

Salmon and dill is one of those made in heaven marriages that works in many forms: as gravadlax, as a delightfully retro mousse or as a beautiful piece of gently poached fish with an accompanying green sauce. A long-time fan of this particular culinary partnership, I had a go at making light, crisp, potato-free fishcakes and putting them on the table with a jar of the dill and mustard sauce that is usually served with gravadlax. Make your own sauce, or buy it by the jar from fishmongers, delis and major food shops.

serves 3

salmon - 500g

a large egg white

fresh dill - a small bunch

flour - a tbs

grain mustard - a tsp

the juice of half a lemon

to cook: olive or groundnut oil

to serve: dill and mustard sauce, lemon wedges

Remove the skin from the salmon then chop the flesh finely. Put it in a bowl with the egg white, a couple of tablespoons of dill fronds - finely chopped - the flour, mustard and lemon juice then mush together with a generous grinding of salt and black pepper. Squash spoonfuls of the mixture together lightly with your hands to make 10 small balls. Flatten each one slightly then set aside for a few minutes. Get a little oil hot in a shallow pan. Place the patties in the hot oil - I do this in two batches - and leave them for two or three minutes until they have coloured on the underside. Turn them over with a palette knife and colour the other side. Cut one in half to check it for doneness. The fish should be lightly cooked within and golden and crisp on the outside. Eat them with wedges of lemon and the mustard sauce.

Tomatoes with turmeric and yoghurt

A tomato curry with a deeply spiced brick- red sauce. Wonderful with brown rice.

serves 4

onions - 2 medium

groundnut oil - 3 tbs

garlic - 4 juicy cloves

a hot red chilli

brown mustard seed - 1 tsp

ground turmeric - 2 tsp

cumin seed - 2 tsp

a 'thumb' of ginger

crushed tinned tomatoes - 400g

largish tomatoes - 8-12 (Marmande would be just right)

thick yoghurt - 100g

Peel the onions and roughly chop them, then let them cook slowly in groundnut oil over a low to moderate heat. Peel the garlic, slice it thinly then add it to the onions.Chop the chilli finely and add it, with its seeds, to the onions. Stir in the mustard seed, turmeric and cumin seed and continue cooking. Peel the ginger then cut it into matchstick-sized shreds. Add it to the pan and let it cook briefly before you add the tinned tomatoes, 400ml of water and a grinding of black pepper and salt. Turn up the heat and bring to the boil, then add the whole tomatoes.

Turn the heat down to a gentle simmer and leave to cook, covered with a lid, for 25 to 35 minutes, turning the tomatoes once or twice during cooking. You want them to soften but not totally collapse. Add a little more water should the mixture thicken too quickly.

Push the tomatoes to one side, then stir in the yoghurt. Let the sauce heat through, stirring gently, but without letting it come to the boil. Serve with rice or warm naan.

Vanilla ice cream cake with strawberry sauce

You could, of course make your own sponge cake for this simple ice cream dessert. But then, if you are going to that much trouble you might as well make your own ice cream too. Most major food shops sell really buttery plain sponge cakes. If they have ground almonds in all the better.

plain sponge cake - 275g

vanilla ice cream - 1 litre

strawberries - 200g

caster sugar - 2 tbs

You will also need a loaf tin, approximately 22cm x 12 cm, lined with clingfilm or greaseproof paper

Slice the sponge thinly and use it to line the bottom and sides of the loaf tin. Leave enough to put a layer on top later. Patch it where you must, but try to keep the splices as large as possible.

Let the ice cream soften slightly in its tub, but it mustn't melt. Spoon the ice cream into the loaf tin, pushing it right into the corners. Smooth the top then cover with the remaining slices of sponge cake.Cover tightly with cling film then freeze for a good hour. (It can stay frozen for several days if tightly wrapped.) Bring the cake out of the freezer a good 20 minutes before you need it to let the sponge soften.To make the sauce, blitz the strawberries and sugar in a food processor till they are a runny purée. Serve the ice cream in thick slices, with the sauce in a small jug.

Salmon and dill cakes 2002 Verdicchio, Marotti Campi (£6.69, Oddbins) With more flavour than most Italian whites at this price, this is weighty and complex with notes of green olive and fresh straw.

Tomatoes with turmeric and yoghurt 2003 Kangarilla Road Chardonnay, McLaren Vale (£7.99, Majestic) I love the label and I like the wine too. This is quite subtle by standards of McLaren Vale, with melon and citrus fruit flavours and a touch of oak.

Asparagus with Lancashire cheese 2002 Chteau Thieuley, Bordeaux (£6.75, Waitrose) From a property that has led the way in revolutionising the quality of dry white Bordeaux, this mealy, lightly oaked blend is a delight.

Roast chicken and mint salad 2003 Asda Valpolicella (£2.98, Asda) This is light, fresh and easy to drink.

Vanilla ice cream cake with strawberry sauce 2001 Chteau Liot Sauternes (£9.79 per half, Waitrose) This chteau very rarely lets you down. This is sweet and toasty. Tim Atkin