Griddled sumac lamb with herby lemon peas

As with asparagus, the season for fresh peas and broad is brief so it's good to make the most of them before resorting once more to the useful frozen standbys. I find podding very therapeutic and it's a nice task while listening to the radio or watching TV.

The lamb here is not a million miles from souvlaki except I've not used skewers here. The principle is the same though - marinate then griddle. Peas are naturally sweet so balance well with the tartness of the lemon.

What you need:
150g lamb fillet
1 heaped teaspoon of sumac
1 small shallot, finely chopped
A portion of fresh peas
A generous handful each of flat-leaf parsley and mint
Half a lemon
Half a small preserved lemon
Olive oil
Seasoning

What to do:
Marinate the lamb - cube it, trimming off any excess fat, then put it in a bowl with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil, the juice from the half-lemon and the sumac. Set aside for 30 minutes while you pod the peas.

Sauté the shallot in a small knob of butter until it's soft and translucent. While it's cooking, boil the peas - they need 3-4 minutes depending how big they are. Wash the herbs, pat them dry with kitchen roll and cut the stems off. Chop the leaves, but not too finely.

Heat a cast iron grill pan until it's almost smoking hot.Grill the lamb cubes for 2-3 minutes each side.

Turn the heat right down under the shallots, add the herbs and stir through. Let them wilt for a few minutes then add the peas and finely sliced lemon. Season to taste and keep warm on a low hob until the lamb's ready. 

Make a bed of the peas and place the lamb on top.

Cook's tips: 
As an alternative to oil and lemon juice for the marinade, you could use plain yoghurt mixed with the sumac - its acidity works just as well as lemon in tenderising the meat, while its fat will keep it moist.

Be careful not to overcook the herbs - you want them just wilted and no more.

For a generous portion of peas, you need about 500g or just over 1lb in their pods. I really like the sharp, sour saltiness of preserved lemon but if it's too much for you use the zest of a fresh lemon instead.

Quick pea and ham soup

This hearty, warming soup is incredibly easy to make and can be almost flung together from ingredients you already have. It's a good way to use up leftovers too, which is how I usually put it together. This makes two portions.

One of the butchers in my neighbourhood has a hot counter, selling cartons of stew and roast chicken quarters. He also sells huge baked ham shanks for just £2. I sometimes bring one home for lunch and stuff some of the hot juicy meat into a bap with nothing more than some sliced tomatoes.

There's quite a bit of meat on a ham shank, though - when it's cooled I strip off the leftovers and make stock from the bone. The rest of the meat I use for lunchtime sandwiches, or it might go into an omelette. And it's perfect for soup.

What you need:
1 onion or 1 leek, roughly chopped
I largeish baking potato, cut into small cubes
About a litre of stock
2 servings of frozen peas
Ham, a generous handful

What to do:
Heat a little vegetable oil in a large heavy saucepan. Sauté the onion in a medium heat until it's soft and translucent. Pour in the stock and add the potato. Bring to the boil and let it simmer for 10 minutes. Add the peas, bring back to the boil then simmer for another 5 minutes. 

Chop the ham into tiny pieces and add about 2/3 to the soup. Using a stick blender, blitz the soup until it's almost, but not quite smooth so you can still see little bits of pea. Add the rest of the ham and season to taste.

Cook's tips:
The meat is what really gives this soup the flavour, so don't use supermarket slices as they tend to be tasteless and watery. It's essential to source proper ham. If it's on the bone, even better, as you can make stock with it (boil in water for 2 hour, or 1 hour in a pressure cooker, with some fresh bay leaves, an onion and a dozen juniper berries).

Don't season until the end - the ham may be salty enough to bring up the flavour of the other ingredients. If you don't have homemade stock, a ham or chicken stock cube is fine but they tend to be quite salty. Let everything cook together then check for seasoning. I like plenty of freshly ground black pepper.

I almost never peel potatoes as the skin has all the fibre and most of the vitamins. It also brings a little more texture to the soup. Baking potatoes are great for soup as they soften wonderfully when boiled, in a way you'll never get from using new or salad potatoes.

For a more luxurious finish, stir in a dollop of crème fraiche or some single cream before dishing up.

Lettuce and peas with preserved lemon

After a carb-heavy week in which I consumed not one but two cheese fondues (and recycled the leftovers of my own homemade one into a rarebit for the next day's breakfast) plus potatoes and much bread, I craved something light for supper. And with the unexpected early autumn heatwave hitting 28C in my city, a summer recipe was on the cards.

I'm not wildly keen on lettuce in its natural state - too many bad memories of the native English sort, all green and floppy and tasteless to start with then going soggy the minute dressing is applied - although I do enjoy a Caesar salad if the dressing is not too heavy and I'm very partial to frisée aux lardons, the recipe for which came from Parisian Boy.

I do like cooked lettuce though - the secret is to braise it gently until it's just wilted - and it goes spectacularly well with peas. Versions of lettuce with peas can be found all around southern Europe, each bringing out the essential sweetness of the main ingredients and many involving a generous dollop of double cream in the sauce. I find this too heavy for my liking, so I use half-fat crème fraîche instead for lightness and I like to add a note of tartness with preserved lemon.

What you need: 
A small onion, chopped
1 Little Gem lettuce, rinsed, drained and quartered
A mugful of frozen peas (or fresh if in season)
100ml of hot vegetable stock (a teaspoon of Marigold vegetable bouillon is enough for this quantity)
A generous spoonful of half-fat crème fraîche
Black pepper to season
1 preserved lemon
6 or 7 capers, rinsed (optional)
Small handful of chopped flatleaf parsley (optional)

What to do:
Make up the stock and heat some olive oil in a heavy sauteuse. Sauté the onion over a moderate heat until it turns translucent. Add the quartered lettuce and fry gently for a minute or two, turning it to wilt on all sides. Pour in the stock, add the peas and a good grinding of black pepper, then turn the heat down so it's only just simmering. Leave for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, halve the preserved lemon and pick out any pips, then slice very thinly. Purists say you should remove the flesh and only use the skin but I love the salty sourness of preserved lemon so much I use all of it. I also like to throw in a few capers, again for the tartness - give them a quick rinse under the tap if using (they are an acquired taste) to get rid of the brine. Add to the pan then stir in the crème fraîche. Serve immediately, sprinkled with the chopped parsley if using.

Cook's tips:
You can buy preserved lemons in most big supermarkets - Belazu and Al'Fez are the two main brands. You can also order them online from specialist websites that stock exotic ingredients, if you can't find them in a deli.

Little Gem really is the best salad leaf for this. Don't use anything bitter, like raddichio or endive, as it doesn't lend itself well to be cooked this way and the end taste is too sour. Iceberg is utterly tasteless, cooked or raw, and will bring nothing to the dish. Cos/Romaine, lamb's leaf and Batavia all work well - you'll only need only 3-4 large leaves of the Cos or Batavia, just shred them roughly before adding to the pan.