Tabbouleh

A proper tabbouleh is a parsley salad with a little bulgur wheat, not the other way around, as many people know it.

SERVES 4-6
bulgur wheat 100g
salt and pepper
lemons juice of 2, or to taste
spring onions 4, finely minced
mint leaves a small bunch, finely chopped
olive oil 60ml, or to taste
parsley leaves 2 large bunches, coarsely chopped
cherry tomatoes 450g, halved

Soak the bulgur in cold water for 30 minutes. Dump the grains in a colander and give it a good shake to drain. Put a clean tea towel in a salad bowl and gather up the drained bulgur to further dry it. Gently remove the towel, put the bulgur in the bowl, and begin to assemble the tabbouleh: season the grains generously with salt and pepper, then stir in the lemon juice and toss well. Add the spring onions and mint and toss. Drizzle in 3 tablespoons of the oil, and then taste and adjust the seasoning. Add half the parsley and mix well.
Spoon the tabbouleh on to a platter, and sprinkle the rest of the parsley over the top. Put the tomatoes in a bowl, season with salt and pepper and the remaining tablespoon of olive oil, and spoon them over the top of the salad.

Tomatoes and olives with coriander vinaigrette

You can prepare the vinaigrette in advance, minus the fresh coriander, then dress this salad at the last minute. I like the combination of toasted coriander seeds and sweet tomatoes.

SERVES 4-6
red onion 1 small, finely diced
garlic clove 1, smashed to a paste with a little salt
red wine vinegar 2 tbsp
salt and pepper
olive oil 125ml
coriander seeds 1 tsp
cayenne a pinch
ripe tomatoes, various sizes and colours 900g
good green olives, such as picholine, not pitted 1⁄2 cup
oil-cured black olives, not pitted 1⁄2 cup
fresh coriander 1 bunch, leaves roughly chopped

In a small bowl, mix the vinaigrette, starting with the onion, garlic, vinegar, and salt and pepper. Then stir in the olive oil.
Toast the coriander seeds in a dry skillet over a medium-high heat until fragrant. Transfer to an electric spice grinder or a mortar and grind or pound to a powder. Stir into the vinaigrette and add the cayenne.
Cut the tomatoes into thick slices and arrange in a random pattern on a large serving platter. Season lightly with salt. Scatter the green and black olives over the top.
Just before serving, check the vinaigrette's seasoning and stir in the chopped coriander. Spoon the vinaigrette over the tomatoes.

Spicy lamb burgers with grilled aubergines

These pan-Mediterranean lamb burgers are spicy and fragrant. If you have a nice butcher, get him to mince the lamb for you. I like to use minced shoulder for these burgers.
MAKES 24 SKEWERS OR LITTLE BURGERS
For the burgers:
minced lamb shoulder 1.3kg
onion 1 small, grated
chopped parsley 1⁄2 bunch, chopped
mint 2 tbsp, finely chopped
marjoram 2 tsp, finely chopped
garlic cloves 6, smashed to a paste with a little salt
cumin seeds 2 tsp, toasted and ground
coriander seeds 2 tsp, toasted and ground
ground cinnamon 1 tsp
salt 2 tsp
pepper 1 tsp
cayenne 1⁄2 tsp
red pepper flakes 1⁄2 tsp
For the aubergines:
aubergines 3 large, sliced into 1cm-thick circles
olive oil 2 tbsp
salt and pepper

To make the burgers, mix the lamb and all the remaining ingredients together well. Chill for several hours. (You can season the lamb a day ahead and refrigerate overnight.)
When you're ready to serve, prepare a fire in a charcoal grill. Paint the aubergine slices with the olive oil and season on both sides with salt and pepper. Grill the slices over hot coals for about 2 minutes per side. Remove to a large serving platter.
Divide the seasoned lamb into 24 portions. Form each portion
into a sausage shape about 10cm
long, and insert a slender skewer into each one. Or form patties and cook them like burgers. Grill over hot coals, turning once, about 3 minutes per side, so the lamb stays juicy. Put the burgers over the aubergine slices on the platter and serve.

Cucumbers and yoghurt

You can think of this as a salad or as a saucy accompaniment to everything else on the menu. I like it on the more yoghurty side, but you could add twice as much cucumber.

SERVES 4-6
cucumber 1 large, peeled, sliced and cut into half moons
salt and pepper
whole-milk yoghurt 490g
garlic clove 1, smashed to a paste with salt
olive oil 2 tbsp
mint 1 tbsp, chopped
dill 1 tbsp, chopped
chives 1 tbsp, chopped
red pepper flakes or slivered fresh
hot chilli

Put the cucumber in a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Add the yoghurt, garlic, olive oil, mint, dill and chives and stir it all together. Spoon into a bowl and chill for at least an hour. Before serving, sprinkle with pepper flakes or slivers of fresh hot chilli.

Apricot tart

Apricots have a very short season, and you've got to make the most of them when they're around. Stone fruit is prone to the vagaries of the weather, so if there's a frost when the trees are blooming, there will be no fruit that year – which makes apricots even more precious. This simple little farmhouse tart celebrates apricots at their peak of ripeness. It's a little bit counter-intuitive, but even ripe apricots need abundant sugar to bring out their sweetness. Otherwise, the tart will be too tart.

SERVES 4-6
plain flour 125g, plus more for sprinkling
sugar about 100g, plus more for sprinkling
salt a pinch
cold butter 120g, cut into very small pieces
ice water 60ml
apricots, firm but ripe 450g
water 60ml

Put the flour, 1⁄2 teaspoon of the sugar and the salt into a mixing bowl, and work in 60g of the butter with your fingers until it is well incorporated. Add the remaining butter, leaving it in little chunks. Stir in the ice water.
Gather the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and then squash it into a disc. Refrigerate for at least an hour.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a circle about 35cm in diameter. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment and refrigerate while you prepare the apricot glaze.
With a sharp paring knife, cut the apricots in half to remove the stones, then cut into quarters. Roughly chop about 4 of the apricots for the glaze. In a small saucepan, bring the chopped apricots, 100g of sugar and the 60ml of water to a brisk simmer and cook for about 20 minutes; strain and cool.
Preheat the oven to 190C/gas mark 5. Sprinkle the circle of dough with about a tablespoon of flour to keep it from getting soggy. Leaving a 5cm border, arrange the apricot quarters skin-side down in concentric circles until you've covered the entire surface of the pastry. Trim 2.5cm from the edge of the pastry and gently fold up the remaining edge over the fruit. Sprinkle the fruit and the overlapping pastry generously with sugar.
Bake the tart for 35-40 minutes until the pastry is nicely browned and the edges of the apricots are slightly caramelised. Carefully slide the tart, still on its parchment, on to a cooling rack. While the tart is still warm, paint the apricots with the glaze. Serve at room temperature.