The Recycled Cook

The Recycled Cook By Adrian Sleeman Piedmont Peppers Another vegetable dish for you today which can either be used as a starter, a side dish or even on as a light supper. The original recipe uses dried anchovies but I have substituted Serrano ham in this version. To make this as a vegetarian option simply revert back to the anchovies. Firstly halve the peppers, cutting through the stem which makes the presentation better. This is easiest with a large, sharp cooks knife. De-seed and take out the core. Place some thinly sliced slivers of garlic in the base of each pepper, bashing them lightly with the handle of the knife to release their flavour. Tear some small slices of cured ham such as Bayonne, Serrano, Parma or, as I do sometimes, Carmarthen ham (legend has it that the Romans took this idea back to Italy and created Parma ham).  Drizzle with a little olive oil and season with black pepper. Add some small sweet basil leaves if you have them or tear up

The Recycled Cook By Adrian Sleeman Fennel, Cucumber and Apple Salad A very easy, if a little dangerous vegetarian cooking blog from me today. This is a simple side salad which can be served with any light lunch dish but it works particularly well with a warm Quiche. The contrast of hot and cold adds another dimension to what would otherwise be a very simple dish. In truth this is not so much of a salad as a cold pickle as all the ingredients are allowed to rest in a mixture of lemon juice and vinegar. As always with these dishes there are no hard and fast rules about the ingredients or the proportions, it is a matter of what you have available and how adventurous you are feeling. I had a Fennel bulb and a green Apple available as well as some baby courgettes but I could have equally added radish celery or a fruit such as Mango or Pineapple. Now comes the dangerous bit, you need to slice the ingredients thinly and the best way to do this is with a Mandolin (if you ha