MARIANNA LEIVADITAKI

As the head chef at Morito in Hackney, I’m usually really busy in the kitchen, but while the restaurant is closed during the quarantine period, I haven’t much to do but cook at home (or, in my case, overcook – I’ve made enough to feed all my neighbours!). I love preparing food that reminds me of my childhood: although Britain has been my home for 20 years, I was brought up in Crete, where my father was a fisherman and my family ran a seafood restaurant on the waterfront. The most important thing I learnt there was that you don’t need elaborate cooking styles to make food taste delicious – you just need really fresh ingredients. On sunny days, I’ll make a simple watermelon salad using leftover bread, any nice salad leaves that are in season and as ripe a fruit I can find (you’ll know it’s ready to eat if it makes a low-pitched, hollow sound when you give it a strong-handed pat). For authentic Cretan feta, I recommend Maltby & Greek, or for a more locally sourced alternative, try Kupros Dairy in north London, which uses English raw milk to produce its own versions of traditional Mediterranean cheeses. Just be imaginative and don’t follow the recipe too rigidly. ‘Aegean’ by Marianna Leivaditaki (£26, Kyle Books) is published on 2 July. www.mariannaleivaditaki.com

INGREDIENTS 2 slices of sourdough bread, cut into small squares 7 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 500g watermelon flesh, cut into small bite-size pieces, pips removed 10 black Greek olives, pitted 1 handful of fresh mint, chopped 1 tbsp pumpkin seeds 1 small cucumber, sliced lengthways and then across into thin half-moon pieces 1 handful of purslane (or rocket leaves), roughly chopped 200g feta, cut into medium-size cubes Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste