Lemon monkfish kebabs with basil aioli

These kebabs would be great cooked on the bbq or under a grill. Make sure you soak wooden skewers in water for 10 minutes before using them. Ask your fishmonger to prepare the monkfish for you.

-  Cut the monkfish into decent sized chunks. Marinade them  in olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt and pepper, and a pinch of chilli flakes if you like. Leave in the fridge for one hour.
- In the meantime, make the aioli using either homemade or shop bought mayonnaise. In a food processor (or using a pestle and mortar), blitz a clove of garlic with a large handful of basil leaves, some black pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice. Stir this mixture into the mayonnaise and set aside.
- When the monkfish has marinaded for an hour thread it onto skewers, alternating with red onion wedges. Grill on each side for 5 minutes or so until cooked through. Baste with excess marinade every now and then.
- We like this with sauteed new potatoes, asparagus and green beans.

Spaghetti with squid

This is simple, quick and packed full of flavour. It relies heavily on chilli, garlic and parsley so use plenty!

We like to use squid ink spaghetti from Carluccios but use regular spaghetti if you can't get hold of any. Get your fishmonger to clean and prepare the squid for you in advance so that it is cleaned and cut into rings.

- Cook the spaghetti according to packet instructions
- In the meantime, fry a diced banana shallot (or small onion) in some olive oil. After a minute or two add a couple of chillies (we used birds eye chillies).
- Once the chillies and shallot have sizzled for a few minutes add 3 cloves of crushed garlic and the zest of one lemon (keep the lemon for later) and plenty of salt and black pepper.
- Chop the parsley stalks (retaining the leaves for later) and add these to the garlic and chillies. Also add the squid at this stage and cook on a high heat for a couple of minutes.
- Drain the cooked spaghetti retaining a little (1/3 of a cup) of the cooking water. Add the spaghetti and cooking liqour to the squid, adding the juice of the lemon and the chopped parsley. We also add a glug of extra virgin olive oil at this stage.
- Give everything a good stir, check the seasoning and eat immediately.

Slow roasted shoulder of lamb with garlic, rosemary and anchovies

Ingredients (serves 2-3):

1/2 shoulder of lamb

4-5 small/medium sized potatoes

1 carrot

3 celery sticks

5 shallots

a handful of mushrooms

2 rosemary sprigs

1 bay leaf

2 cloves of garlic

2 anchovies

200ml of white wine and 200ml of stock

olive oil

salt and pepper

mixed greens

• Pre heat the oven to 180 degrees
• Peel the potatoes, carrot, celery, shallots and mushrooms and cut into chunks
• Make slits with a sharp knife in the lamb and insert slices of garlic, rosemary and a piece of anchovy into each. Season the lamb with salt and pepper.
• Add some olive oil to a large oven and hob proof dish and place on the hob on quite a high heat.
• Add the lamb and chopped veg to the dish and allow them to brown for around 5 minutes. Turn the veg and lamb over half way through.
• Transfer the dish to the hot oven and allow to roast for 30 minutes.
• Take the dish out of the oven and turn the heat down to 140 degrees. Add the wine, stock and bay leaf and put back in the oven for another 2 hours.
• Check on it occasionally and turn the veg and lamb over every half an hour or so. Add a little more stock and/or wine if it needs it and season to taste when there is about 10 minutes cooking time left.
• Towards the end of the lamb cooking time, cook some mixed greens in salted water and drain.
• When ready, turn the oven off, remove the dish from the oven and transfer the lamb shoulder to a chopping board. Put the dish with the veg and juices in it back into the oven to keep warm.
• Slice the meat off the bone - you should be able to pull chunks away using just a fork.
• To serve, place a pile of the greens in a deep bowl and ladle the lamb and vegetables on top. Finish by ladling some extra juices from the pan on top of the lamb.

Lemon, chilli and garlic squid

Ross cooks the squid in the smoking hot griddle whilst I watch from a safe distance with a glass of wine.

Ingredients (serves 2):

2 large squid

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 chilli, finely chopped

the juice of 1/2 a lemon

a small handfull of chopped parsley

olive oil

salt and pepper

• Pour a good glug of olive oil into a large bowl, add the diced garlic and chilli.
• Clean the squid and cut the tubes in half length ways and then in half again. Score the squid tubes with a sharp knife. Cut the tentacles into bite sized pieces.
• Add the squid, parsley and lemon juice to the chilli, garlic and oil and then season. Leave to marinade for around 20 minutes.
• Heat a griddle pan till smoking. Add the squid pieces to the pan - if there's not enough room for it all you'll have to cook it in batches.
• Turn the squid after a minute and spoon over some of the marinade. Cook for another minute or two and then serve hot.

Lamb with garlic and herb risotto

Ingredients (serves 2 with leftovers):

arborio rice (approx 2 cups)
1 white onion, chopped

2 large cloves of garlic, chopped

1 sprig of rosemary, chopped

2 sprigs of thyme

pinch of dried oregano

a few mint leaves

1/2 pack chestnut mushrooms, sliced

1/2 bag spinach

1/2 cup of peas

approx 400ml veg, lamb or chicken stock

approx 300ml white wine

parmesan, to taste

salt & pepper

olive oil

lamb (either rack, chops, cutlets etc)

1. Fry the onion and garlic until soft
2. Add the mushrooms and herbs and cook for another 5 minutes or so, season with salt and pepper
3. Add the rice and stir through to coat the grains
4. Start to add the stock and wine in stages and keep adding liquid when it needs it
5. After about 15-20 minutes put the lamb chops/cutlets under the grill and cook to your liking
6. Add the spinach and peas to the risotto for the last 5 minutes of cooking. Add the grated parmesan and adjust the seasoning
7. Serve the lamb on top of the garlic and herb risotto