A pan of potato, chorizo and kale – with an egg

Serves 2

I love the smoky, warm taste of this filling supper dish – and the way that the melting chorizo stains the potatoes rusty red. Choose raw cooking chorizo (Unearthed, from Waitrose and Ocado, is good) and always only cook the leaves of kale, snipping away any tough stalks.

— 400g small potatoes

(Charlotte are ideal)

— 100g kale or cavolo nero,

leaves only, no stalks

— 2 ‘cooking chorizo’ sausages

(approximately 140g total) — 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil — 2 free-range eggs

— pinch of paprika

Bring a large pan of water to the boil and add the whole potatoes. Simmer for about 10 minutes, until you can pierce them with a knife but they are still firm and waxy inside. Scoop the potatoes out with a slotted spoon and leave to drain and cool for a couple of minutes. Slice into thick rounds.

Add the kale leaves to the water with a pinch of salt and boil for one minute. Tip the parcooked kale into a sieve, then rinse thoroughly under the cold tap. Squeeze excess water out of the kale with your hands then – if necessary – roughly chop it.

Meanwhile, use a sharp knife to score the chorizo down one side. Open the skin and remove the meat. Discard the skin.

Heat the oil in a 20cm frying pan and add the potatoes. Fry over a medium heat, turning every now and then, until tinged gold on the edges. Add the chorizo and continue to fry, stirring, until it is just cooked. Add the kale and stir-fry for another 2-3 minutes. When you have a lovely reddish-gold hash with dark crisp kale, use a tablespoon to make two wells in the mixture.

Crack an egg into each and continue to cook. When the whites are firm and the yolks still runny, the dish is ready to serve – sprinkle a pinch of paprika over the eggs and season.

Chicory, pancetta and parsley salsa

Serves 4

Sweet, gently cooked chicory and smoky flavoured chips of pancetta stimulated with a fresh parsley dressing. A nice side dish for pork chops, or eat alone with bread to mop up the juices.

— 12 rashers smoked pancetta or thinly cut smoked streaky, dry-cured bacon — 2 tbsp butter

— 2 large chicory roots, cut

in half lengthways

For the salsa

— 100g flat parsley, finely

chopped — 1 tbsp capers, rinsed and

roughly chopped

— 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil — juice of ½ lemon

Place a heavy-based pan over a low-medium heat. Fry the pancetta slowly, until the rashers are crisp. Drain on kitchen paper then set aside in a warm place.

Clean the pan, place over the same heat then add the butter. When it foams place the chicory halves in it, cut-side down. Cook until they soften and colour on the underside, then turn them, cover and cook slowly until they are completely soft.

Meanwhile, combine all the salsa ingredients. Scatter the pancetta over the chicory in the pan, zig zag the salsa over the top and take to the table.

Braised pasta with beans and watercress pesto

Serves 4

The great potage pasta e fagioli, but done the speedy Dorset way with bought stock, canned haricots – I prefer them to soft, large cannellini beans – and the county’s watercress. For a meatfree version, leave out the bacon. — 100g small soup pasta

(rosamarino is perfect)

— 2 tbsp olive oil

— 1 medium onion,

finely chopped

— 1 garlic clove, chopped — leaves from a 10cm rosemary

sprig, chopped

— 1 rasher back bacon,

finely chopped

— 2 cans white haricot

beans, drained — approximately 1 litre of

chicken or vegetable stock

For the watercress oil

— leaves from 1 bunch

of watercress

— ½ tsp freshly ground

black pepper

— 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

To serve

— finely grated hard cheese

such as Twineham Grange, It is better to cook the pasta ahead, so the soup is not starchy. Bring a roomy pan of water to the boil, then add half a teaspoon of salt and the pasta. Cook for about 4-5 minutes, until soft with a slight bite in the centre. Drain, rinse, then set aside.

Add the oil to the same pan then add the onion, garlic, rosemary and bacon, and cook over a low heat until the onion is soft but not browned. Add the beans, pasta and enough stock to make a runny stew. Bring to the boil and simmer for a few minutes. Season to taste.

Put the watercress leaves, black pepper and oil in a mortar and pestle, and pound to a rough paste – or liquidise in a blender.

Serve the soup ladled into bowls, with a spoonful of the cress oil floating on top, and then scatter over a heaped tablespoon of the grated cheese.

Berkswell or Grana Padano/pecorino