Carrot pie with apple and goat cheese

This unusual recipe from Dutch cookery writer Yvette van Boven's lovely Home Made Summer is a great way to kick off National Vegetarian Week.

It's well worth getting the book for the other recipes too - including an imaginative range of drinks.

Carrot pie with apple and goat cheese

for 6 to 8 servings

8 carrots, peeled

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed

1 onion, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced

1 fresh, tart apple, peeled, cored, and sliced as thinly as possible

4 oz (100 g) soft goat cheese

½ cup (100 g) crème fraîche

½ cup plus 2 tbsp (150 ml) carrot juice

3 large eggs

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Boil the carrots in salted water for 8 minutes, until just tender. Drain and rinse under cold running water. Halve them lengthwise and set them aside.

Grease a 9-inch (24-cm) tart pan with a removable bottom with a little butter.

On a well-floured counter, roll out the puff pastry into a nice round slab the size of the pie plate. Press the dough firmly into the plate and trim the edges neatly. With a fork, stab some holes in the bottom, then cover the dough and place the pie plate in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).

Arrange the onion and apple over the bottom of the pastry in the pie plate and place the halved carrots on top in a spoke pattern. Crumble the goat cheese over the pie, somewhat in between the carrots.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the crème fraîche, carrot juice, and eggs. Season with salt and pepper. Pour the mixture over the carrots and sprinkle everything generously with pepper.

Bake the pie on the lower rack of the oven for about 35 minutes, until golden brown.

What to drink: Almost any crisp fresh white or rosé would work with this. I'd probably go for a smooth Italian white like a Soave, an unoaked Chardonnay or Chenin Blanc or a Provencal rosé. Verdelho would be nice too. Or cider . . . yes, cider would be lovely.

Vivek Singh's butter chicken

In the run-up to National Curry Week TV chef Vivek Singh shares his favourite recipe for Old Delhi-style butter chicken from his enticing new book Spice at Home.

"Butter chicken has to be India’s favourite dish when eating out. I must have asked hundreds of people to name the one dish they always order when they go out and Butter Chicken has featured in every response! As for me personally, this is the best dish ever – it has sugar and spice, kick and texture, creamy unctiousness and bite, all at the same time."

Old Delhi-style Butter Chicken

Serves 4

2 x 750g free-range young chickens (poussin), skinned and cut in half along the backbone (alternatively, use 800g boned chicken thighs, cut into two)

For the marinade

80g full-fat Greek yoghurt

1 tablespoon Ginger and Garlic Paste (see below)

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1½ teaspoons salt

juice of 1 lemon

1 tablespoon red chilli powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon garam masala

For the sauce

1kg tomatoes, halved

5cm piece of ginger, half crushed and half finely chopped

4 garlic cloves, peeled

4 green cardamom pods

5 cloves

1 bay leaf

1 tablespoon red chilli powder

80g butter, diced

2 green chillies, slit lengthways

75ml single cream

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon dried fenugreek leaves, crushed between your fingertips

½ teaspoon garam masala

1 tablespoon sugar

First, prepare the chicken. Make small cuts all over the chicken pieces with a sharp knife to help the marinade penetrate. To prepare the marinade, mix all the ingredients together in a deep ovenproof dish. Smear the cut chicken with the marinade, cover and set aside in the fridge for 10 minutes.

Preheat oven to 220ºC/Gas Mark 7.

Cook the chicken in the preheated oven for 13–15 minutes. You may need to turn the pieces after 8–10 minutes or so to ensure they colour evenly on both sides. The chicken does not need to be completely cooked at this point as it will continue to cook in the sauce. Cut the chicken halves into smaller pieces. Strain off the juices through a fine sieve and set aside.

For the sauce, place the tomatoes in a pan with 125ml water, the crushed ginger, garlic, cardamom, cloves and bay leaf and simmer for about 10 minutes over medium heat until the tomatoes have completely disintegrated. Pick out the larger spices, then blend the tomato broth with a hand-held blender and pass it through a sieve to obtain a smooth purée. Return the purée to a clean pan, add the chilli powder and simmer for 12–15 minutes. It should slowly begin to thicken.

When the sauce turns glossy, add the chicken pieces and the reserved roasting juices. Then add 200–250ml water and simmer for 3–5 minutes until the sauce turns glossy again and the water is absorbed (for a thicker sauce, either add slightly less water or simmer for a little longer).

Slowly whisk in the butter, a couple of pieces at a time, and simmer for 6–8 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce is beginning to acquire a glaze. Add the chopped ginger, green chillies and cream and simmer for a minute or two longer, taking care that the sauce does not split. Stir in the salt, crushed fenugreek leaves and garam masala, then check the seasoning and add the sugar. Serve with naan bread or pilau rice.

Eat what you can, then store any leftover chicken and sauce in the fridge. Leftovers make a great filling for ravioli.

What to drink: with the butter and cream in this dish you could drink a creamy oaked chardonnay from Limoux in the South of France or from Chile.

Ginger and Garlic Paste

Makes about 8 tablespoons

100g ginger, peeled

75g garlic, peeled

Chop up the ginger and garlic. Blend it to a fine, thick paste with 175ml water. Keeps in the fridge for up to 1 week.

Recipe extracted from Spice at Home by Vivek Singh, published by Absolute Press, price £25

Sheekey's famous fish pie

Any of you who have been to J Sheekey's in the West End will probably have succumbed to their unbelievably good fish pie. Here's the recipe from their cookbook J Sheekey Fish.

"Some people add lobster, prawns or peas to their pie" says their chef Tim Hughes. "We prefer this purer version."

Serves 4

200g cod fillet (or another white chunky fish such as halibut or monkfish), skinned and cut into rough 3cm chunks
200g salmon fillet, skinned and cut into rough 3cm chunks
200g smoked haddock fillet, skinned and cut into rough 3cm chunks
Half a small bunch of flat leaf parsley, chopped

For the sauce

50g unsalted butter
50g plain flour
125ml white wine
500ml fish stock
90ml double cream
1 tablespoon English mustard
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Half a teaspoon anchovy essence
Half a lemon, juiced
Salt and ground white pepper

For the topping

1kg floury potatoes, cooked and dry mashed (e.g. King Edwards)
50g unsalted butter
50ml milk
Salt and ground white pepper
20g fresh white breadcrumbs
10g freshly grated parmesan

To make the sauce, melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over a low heat and gently stir in the flour. Gradually add the wine, stirring well. Slowly add the fish stock (a good-quality cube is fine) until you have a silky smooth sauce. Bring to the boil and simmer gently for 15 minutes. To finish, add the cream and briefly bring to the boil again. Stir in mustard, Worcestershire sauce, anchovy essence and lemon juice. (Add more mustard and Worcestershire sauce if you like it spicy.) Check seasoning.

Gently fold the fish and parsley into the hot sauce, and pour into a large pie dish, leaving a space of about 3cm from the top of the dish. Leave to cool, so the topping will sit on the sauce when piped.

Pre-heat the oven to 190°C/gas mark 5. Mix butter and milk into the mashed potato until soft enough to spread over the fish mixture. Season. Pipe or gently fork to cover the fish.

Bake the fish pie for 30 minutes. Sprinkle over the breadcrumbs and cheese, and bake for a further 10 minutes until golden.

What to drink: A perfect excuse to bring out a Chablis or other good white burgundy or other luscious, creamy cool-climate chardonnay.

J. Sheekey's Fish by Tim Hughes and Allan Jenkins is published by Preface Publishing at £25. Photograph © Howard Sooley.

Yoghurt-baked fish with walnut-herb crumbs

This recipe came from a fascinating dinner at which chef Greg Malouf cooked a selection of Iranian dishes from his book Saraban which he wrote with his former wife Lucy with whom he still collaborates. This unusual and simple fish dish in yoghurt particularly appealed to me and I thought it would to you too.

Mahi-e mast-gerdu
YOGHURT BAKED FISH WITH WALNUT–HERB CRUMBS

Greg writes: Although it might at first seem a little strange to bake fish in yoghurt, I guarantee that this wonderful dish from the north of Iran, with its crunchy walnut and herb topping, will surprise and delight you. You’ll need to select a firm white fish that becomes succulent and tender as it cooks – I find rock ling (a south Australian fish) ideal.

SERVES 6
unsalted butter, for greasing
1 kg firm white fish fillet, skin removed
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
rice and fresh herbs, to serve

WALNUT–HERB CRUMBS
150 g fresh breadcrumbs
150 g shelled walnuts, coarsely chopped
and sieved
1/4 cup shredded flat-leaf parsley leaves
1/4 cup shredded tarragon leaves or
dill sprigs
90 g unsalted butter, melted

YOGHURT SAUCE
250 g thick natural yoghurt
1/2 teaspoon cornflour
1 large egg
1 small shallot, finely diced
2 tablespoons finely snipped chives
juice of 1/2 lime
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Lightly butter a baking dish just large enough to fit the fish comfortably.

To make the walnut–herb crumbs, combine the ingredients thoroughly in a bowl.

To make the yoghurt sauce, whisk the yoghurt with the cornflour and egg. Stir in the shallot, chives, lime juice and oil and season lightly with salt and pepper.

Remove any stray bones from the fish, then cut the fillet into 6 even pieces. Season the fish lightly all over with salt and pepper and arrange in the baking dish. Pour the yoghurt sauce over the fish. Pack a generous layer of the walnut–herb crumbs on top of each piece of fish. Season lightly again and bake for 15–20 minutes, or until the topping is golden and crunchy and the fish is cooked through.

Serve straight away with your choice of rice and fresh herbs. (Greg served this with a simple pilau and the very pretty fresh herb and flower salad in my rather blurry picture, right)

What to drink: We actually drank a rather grand Chablis premier cru with this but I think a simple crisp white like a Picpoul de Pinet or an Albariño would work just as well.

Saraban is published by Hardie Grant at £30.