Beef Burgers with Buffalo mozzarella in ciabatta.

Get some quality minced beef (no messin decent you know what the cow’s name was beef) and throw it in a bowl with salt, pepper and a finely chopped chilli. Mix and pat into burgers. When it’s time stick them on the grill and watch them char – throw on some halved ciabatta and place a slice of the mozzarella on top of the burger. Put them inside the ciabatta and pour on the home made tomato salsa.

Feeling ambitious? Put the slice of mozzarella in the middle of the burger before you cook it!

Tomato Salsa

Finely slice a red onion, a garlic and a chilli and throw into a hot olive oiled frying pan, add a spoonful of sugar and a dash of balsamic vinegar turning the heat right down until everything has caramelised. Add a tin of decent tomatoes or some skinned chopped fresh ones. Leave to cook until the salsa has reduced to a sumptuous red sauce.

Chorizo and rocket Ciabatta

Just like the ones in Borough Market. Grill the Chorizo, stick it inside the Ciabatta with the rocket. Douse in semi decent Olive Oil. Done.

Tandoori Chicken Kebab

Mix some yoghurt, curry paste, lemon juice, ginger, garlic and coriander in a bowl and add your diced chicken (thighs are my fave) leave to marinade upto 24 hours. Stab the chicken onto some skewers and escape to the back yard. Place them on the barbie turning often to get an even cook. Serve in Pita bread with fresh Raita

Raita

Easy as this. Dice a cucumber and finely chop some mint. Pour over some yoghurt and put in the fridge to cool.

Corn on the Cob

Get your lazy bones friend to supply these, you know the ones who will try and turn up with ready made burgers from the CO-OP. Nobody wants those!

Vegi Burger

Slice an Aubergine nice and thick add it to a bowl with some Portobello mushrooms and some haloumi. Pour over Olive Oil, crushed garlic, sea salt, pepper and some lemon juice. Leave for an hour or so. Put the aubergine on the grill and turn it occasionally, after ten minutes add the mushrooms and after a further five add the haloumi. Cook it all and get some nice criss cross action going. Build them into a tower inside your crispy bun and pour over some of the Salsa

Potato Salad

Quarter and boil some new potatoes skin on until they are soft. Leave to cool. In a big bowl make the dressing, 1 part crème freche to 2 parts mayonnaise. Add sea salt and pepper. Mix it all together. Feeling ambitious? Add some crispy pancetta / spring onion. / dill / wholegrain mustard (not all at once though)

Pasta Salad

Cook your pasta (De Cecco rules) in boiling salted water & leave to cool. Throw into a big bowl some juicy chopped tomatoes (get a few kinds some yellow cherry ones look great) crushed garlic, some ripped up basil and some more delicious buffalo mozzarella. Mix it into the pasta and pour over plenty of good olive oil, and a fair amount of sea salt and smashed black pepper. If you use the best ingredients for this, it’s the best pasta salad you can get.

Banana Split.

Remember your childhood Banana Splits from Marine Ices. Well if I remember rightly they are easy as ABC to make. Slice a banana and put two scoops of vanilla ice cream on top. Squirt over cream and then decorate with chocolate flakes, toasted almonds, hundreds and thousands and strawberry sauce.

Mojitos

Smash up the mint, sugar and limes in the glass add crushed ice a shot of good rum and pour over some soda water. Squeeze a bit more lime juice and serve it up!

I’ve been reading a lot of Nigel Slater recently, his book Toast is a wonderful recollection of his childhood growing up around food and his Observer column always get my juices going. I love the simplicity of his books and the joy that he seems to get from telling us about cooking and what he cooks right down to a love for washing up. It also made me think that we often neglect food in this mag. People love to cook and eat, and if we can get your mouth watering pre 9am imagine the joy when you get home and make dinner. Over the next few issues we’ve created tear and share dinner parties. All you do is cut up the page and distribute the recipes around your chums. We’ll start nice and easy..