Foodie files

TV chef James Martin shares his culinary secrets with Weekend

APPLE-TISING

I’ve been having fun spraypainting. I scoop rich ice-cream from Laverstoke Park Farm into a silicone apple-shaped mould, freeze it solid, then dip it into a

50/50 mix of white chocolate melted with cocoa butter, and use a food spray gun (you can buy them online) to paint it with cocoa butter tinted with food colouring. Then I add a chocolate stalk. Here’s a picture of one I made, alongside the tarte Tatin I served it with.

CHOOSE CHICORY

An underused vegetable in the UK, chicory comes in red or green, but the green tends to go yellow and can taste bitter. You can braise it and then chargrill it to serve with fish or scallops (pictured), or use it thinly sliced as a salad leaf – try it in a version of salade Lyonnaise, with bacon, poached eggs, croutons and vinaigrette.

BREAD OF HEAVEN

It’s so easy to make your own flatbread to go with salad or dips. Mix equal quantities of self-raising flour and full-fat yoghurt into a dough, adding a pinch of salt and a splash of water if needed, plus fresh thyme or dried oregano if liked. Knead into a ball and roll out thinly. Put in a really hot oven or on the barbecue for a couple of minutes, drizzling a little olive oil over.

CHEESE, PLEASE!

We really need to support our producers, so I’m going to point you towards some of my favourite British cheeses, starting with Ogleshield. It’s not that easy to get hold of but it’s well worth tracking down. Produced in Somerset by Montgomery, it’s made with rich milk from their own Jersey herd. They also make a wonderfully nutty Cheddar.