PEPPER VEGETABLES RECIPES

Steps:

• 1. To prepare your vegetables:
  2. Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6. Halve and deseed the pepper, then cut each half into 4 pieces. Peel the red onion and cut into 8 wedges. Carefully cut the squash in half then scoop out and discard the seeds. Cut each half into 2cm chunks. Wash and trim the baby leeks. Halve the courgettes lengthways then slice into 2cm chunks. Top and tail the aubergine, cut it into quarters, then into 2cm chunks. Quarter the tomatoes. Leave the cloves of garlic in their skins but squash them with the heel of your hand.
  3. Put all the veg in an extra large roasting tray, or 2 smaller ones. Crush the coriander seeds in a pestle and mortar then scatter over the veg with a good pinch of salt and pepper. Pick and roughly chop the rosemary leaves. Pick the thyme leaves. Scatter all of the herbs over the veg. Drizzle it all well with olive oil, then toss to coat.
  4. To cook and serve your vegetables: Roast your veg in the hot oven for around 50 minutes, or until soft, golden and cooked through. Serve with anything from roast chicken to grilled meats or fish, or try tossing with pasta or couscous for a simple veggie meal.
  5. Jamie's top tips:
  6. If the vegetables seem crowded in a single roasting pan, divide them between two. Overcrowding the pan will stop enough heat getting to the vegetables and they will steam rather than roast.
  7. Turning the vegetables as they roast helps them to cook evenly. If you’re using two roasting pans, swap them round half way through cooking. Roasting is a great way to make veg taste delicious, and it works for just about any combo – just make sure your oven is fairly hot, the veg are roughly the same size and that they get a good stir every now and again.
  8. You can also make this ahead of time and eat it cold – it’s just as delicious!

Steps:

• 1. I think it’s quite nice to have different shapes and sizes in a salad, so cut your medium tomato into wedges, halve the cherry tomatoes and slice the beef tomato into large rounds. Put all the tomatoes into a large salad bowl. Slice the onion very finely so it’s wafer thin and add to the tomatoes. Scratch a fork down the sides of the cucumber so it leaves deep grooves in the skin, then cut it into thick slices. Deseed your pepper, slice it into rings and add them to the salad along with the cucumber.
  2. Roughly chop the dill and most of the mint leaves, reserving the smaller ones for garnish. Add the chopped herbs to the bowl of salad, then squeeze your handful of olives over so they season the vegetables, then drop them in.
  3. Add a pinch of sea salt, the vinegar and the extra virgin olive oil. Quickly toss everything together with your hands. The minute all those flavours start working with the veg is when the magic starts to happen. Have a taste, and adjust the flavours if need be.
  4. To serve, pop the block of feta right on the top of the salad. Sprinkle the oregano over the top along with the reserved mint leaves, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and take it straight to the table. It’s confident and scruffy with a bit of attitude. Delicious.
  5. PS I’ve been known to pop leftover Greek salad into a liquidizer with a splash of extra virgin olive oil and a few ice cubes, then blitz it up to a smooth consistency so it's basically a Greek gazpacho. It’s not a classic thing to do, but it is very delicious, not to mention a great way of using up leftovers!