Gordon Ramsay: Gazpacho
A cool gazpacho must be one of the best starters you can have in the heat of summer, when tomatoes are ripe and plentiful. For a thicker and heartier version, blitz a few slices of stale bread (crusts removed) along with the vegetables. Serves four.
6 ripe vine tomatoes, finely chopped
1 fat garlic clove, peeled and finely crushed
1 red pepper, deseeded and finely chopped
1 small red onion, peeled and finely chopped
½ cucumber, peeled, deseeded and finely chopped
Juice of 1 lemon, or to taste
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
300ml cold vegetable (or chicken) stock
300ml tomato juice
1 large handful basil and tarragon leaves, chopped
Dash of Tabasco sauce
Dash of Worcestershire sauce
Good quality olive oil, to drizzle
Croutons, to serve
Put all the vegetables in a large bowland sprinkle over the lemon juice and some salt and pepper. Mixwell.
Pour in stock and tomato juice tocover, then stir in the herbs and adash each of Tabasco and Worcestershire sauce. Cover with clingfilm and chill for at least four hours to let the flavours meld. Servein chilled bowls with a drizzle of olive oil and croutons scattered on top.
To drink: Chilled sherry is a classic match with this cold, garlicky, spicytomato mixture, but it can be heavy, so try PX Elqui 2009 (£4.99, Marks & Spencer; 13.5% abv), awhite table wine made from thesherry grape Pedro Ximenez.
Gordon Ramsay's Great Escape is out now (Harper Collins, £25). To order a copy for £17.99, including UK mainland p&p, go to guardian.co.uk/bookshop.
Mark Hix: Heritage tomatoes with aged Lancashire cheese and pickled walnuts
UK tomato growers are once again growing some great old varieties that make a really interesting and simple salad. Pickled walnuts are anold-fashioned condiment whosesweet, vinegary flavour complements the tomatoes very well. Use a good aged cheese, because it gives a nice saltiness and natural seasoning to the salad. Serves four.
400-450g mixed tomatoes
2-3 pickled walnuts, along with some of their liquid
3-4 tbsp rapeseed oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
100g aged Lancashire (or cheddar)
Cut the tomatoes into a selection ofeven-sized wedges and chunks, leaving cherry tomatoes whole or halved. Chop the pickled walnuts into small pieces and mix in a bowl with some of the liquid from their jar and the rapeseed oil, and season to taste.
Arrange the tomatoes on plates (orone large serving plate) and spoon over the dressing. Shave the cheese into thin slices, scatter over the tomatoes and serve.
To drink: A robust sauvignon blancsuch as Domaine Henri Pellé Menetou Salon Morogues 2008 (£11.49, Virgin Wines; 12.5% abv), from the Loire, will echo the taste of real tomatoes.
Mark Hix is chef/patron of, among others, Hix Oyster & Chop House and Hix Soho. His new book is Hix Oyster & Chop House (Quadrille, £25). To order a copy for £23 (including UK mainland p&p), go to guardian.co.uk/bookshop
Jane Baxter: Vietnamese springrolls
This is such a fresh dish that it makes a perfect summer starter or canapé. Other raw veg can be substituted for those listed here. Add cooked chicken or prawns for a more substantial non-vegetarian snack. Makes eight large rolls.
For the dipping sauce
1 tsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp water
2 red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped
2 cloves garlic chopped
2 tbsp fish sauce (or, to make the dish vegetarian, light soy sauce)
1 lime, juiced
For the spring rolls
50g vermicelli rice noodles
1 tsp sesame oil
8 good lettuce leaves (little gem or romaine)
24 fresh basil leaves
24 fresh mint leaves
8 sprigs fresh coriander
1 carrot, peeled and cut into very fine strips
½ red pepper, cut into very fine strips
¼ cucumber, cut into very fine strips
6 sugarsnap peas, cut into very fine strips
6 radishes, cut into very fine strips
8 rice paper wrappers
To make the dipping sauce, put thevinegar, sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat, leave to cool, then stir in the rest of the ingredients and set aside.
Cook the noodles for three to fourminutes (or according to the instructions) until al dente, drain and refresh under cold running water. Cut the noodles into small pieces and toss in the sesame oil.
Lay out one lettuce leaf on a work surface, and top with an eighth of the herbs (ie three leaves each of mint and basil, plus one coriander sprig), an eighth of the vegetable strips and an eighth of the noodles.
Soak one sheet of rice paper in warm water until soft and pliable. Place on a damp cloth and carefully lift the lettuce leaf and lay it on topof the rice paper. Rollthe rice paper as tightly as possible over thefilling, folding in thesides, to make a neat, tight parcel. Repeat with the remaining rice paper, lettuce and filling.
To serve, cut in half diagonally and serve with dipping sauce.
To drink: No wine or even beer – Ilike green tea with these.
Jane Baxter is chef at the Riverford Field Kitchen, Buckfastleigh, Devon, and co-author of The Riverford Farm Cookbook (FourthEstate, £16.99). To order a copy for £12.99 (including UK mainland p&p), go to guardian.co.uk/bookshop
Silvena Rowe: Warm braised artichokes, broad beans and dill
A delicate vegetable dish that is perfect for supper or a light lunch. Artichokes are loved throughout theeastern Mediterranean and are frequently used in everyday cooking. Serves four.
2 lemons
4 large globe artichokes
800g fresh broad beans (in their pods)
100ml olive oil
4 shallots, peeled
900ml vegetable stock
1 tsp sugar
50g fresh dill, finely chopped
4 tbsp suzme (strained yoghurt; see note below)
Fill a bowl with cold water and add the juice and skin of one lemon. Cutthe stalks off the artichokes and remove the outer leaves to reveal the light-green heart. Drop the artichoke hearts into the lemon water (to avoid discoloration).
Remove the beans from their pods and drop into a pan of boiling water. Simmer for three to five minutes, drain and cool. Once cooled, slip off the outerskins.
Heat the oil in a large saucepan and sauté the whole shallots over amedium heat for 12–15 minutes. Add the beans, stock and sugar, and season. Squeeze in the juice from the other lemon and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the artichoke hearts, cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes, until the artichokes are tender. Leave to cool slightly in the cooking liquid, then strain.
Serve warm, sprinkled with dill and accompanied by a dollop of suzme – to make this, which is known as labneh in the Middle East,simply put 800g of full-fat yoghurt in the centre of some double-layered muslin or cheesecloth, twist the muslin so you have atight ball of yoghurt, tie the top with string and suspend over a bowl in the fridge orfrom the tap for a day or so.The excess liquid will leach out, leaving yoghurt of a very thick consistency.
To drink: The mineral charge and vibrant, almost astringent citrus notes of Hatzidakis Assyrtiko 2008 (£9.99, Waitrose; 13.5% abv), from Santorini, Greece, make it one of the few wines able to handle artichoke.
Silvena Rowe's latest book is Purple Citrus & Sweet Perfume: Cuisine OfThe Eastern Mediterranean (Hutchinson; £25). To order acopy for £18.99 (including UK p&p), go to guardian.co.uk/bookshop or call 0330 333 6846
Tom Aikens: Chilled cucumber and yoghurt soup
This serves 16, so just halve them to serve eight – you'll want more the next day, believe me, so it pays to make it in large quantities.
For the soup base
2 shallots, peeled and sliced
1 leek, trimmed, white part only
50g butter
8 cucumbers, peeled and diced
½ small bunch fresh mint, roughly chopped
1.5 litres vegetable stock
150ml double cream
To finish
2 cucumbers, peeled, trimmed and cut into a 0.5cm dice
2 cucumbers, skin left on, grated on a box grater (do not grate down as far as the seeds)
8 cucumbers, peeled, puréed and passed through a fine sieve
750ml plain low-fat yoghurt
75ml lemon juice
2 tbsp sugar
3g salt
14 turns of the black pepper mill
1 green chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
10 sprigs fresh mint, to garnish
To make the soup base, sweat the shallots and leeks in 10g of butter without letting them colour, then add the cucumber, mint, rest of the butter and stock, and cook until soft. Stir in the cream, purée and chill. Once chilled, add all the other ingredients bar the mint to the base and serve, garnishing each portion with chopped mint at the table (it will go black if you chop it any earlier).
To drink: I'm never sure about the wisdom of drinking anything with soup – liquid and liquid somehow don't work – but try the soft texture and gentle lemon taste of Tesco Finest Gavi 2008 (£6.99, on offer at£4.99 until 13 July; 12.5% abv).
Tom Aikens is chef/patron at Tom Aikens Restaurant, Tom's Kitchen and Tom's Terrace, all in London. His most recent book is Fish (EburyPress, £25). To order a copy for £18.99 (including UK mainland p&p), go to guardian.co.uk/bookshop or call 0330 333 6846
Skye Gyngell: Spinach, fennel and asparagus salad
I created this salad for a party given by Tate Modern to celebrate the rehanging of its permanent collections. It was served as a course on its own, but it is also a lovely accompaniment to grilled fish. Serves four.
150g young tender spinach
1 fennel bulb
6 asparagus spears
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
40ml extra-virgin olive oil
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
1 tbsp finely grated parmesan
Juice of ½ lemon
Thoroughly wash the spinach, place in a large saucepan with just the water clinging to the leaves after washing, and cook over a high heat until just wilted. This takes very little time – no longer than a minute. Drain and setaside.
Slice off the base of the fennel, remove the fibrous outer leaves and cut the bulb in half lengthways. Place each fennel half cut side down on a chopping board and, using a very sharp knife, cut lengthways into fine shards – the slices should be almost paper-thin. Snap off the woody ends of the asparagus and slice the spears finely lengthways.
Squeeze out as much moisture from the cooled spinach as possible (but don't be so brutal that you bruise the leaves), put into a large bowl and season with a little salt and pepper. Add the extra-virgin olive oil and toss with your hands.
Add the fennel, asparagus, lemon zest, parmesan and, finally, the lemon juice. Toss very gently with your fingertips. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt if needed. Pile on toplates and serve.
To drink: Sistina Pecorino Terre di Chieti 2009 (£8.74, or £6.99 when you buy two or more, Majestic; 13% abv) is herbaceous (good with the fennel) and has a lovely, lemon finish that leaves a clean taste in the mouth.
Skye Gyngell is chef at Petersham Nurseries in Richmond. Her next book, My Favourite Ingredients, isout inOctober (Quadrille, £25)
Simon Hopkinson: Tomato salad with basil cream dressing and oliveoil
I first ate this dish at the Italian restaurant Montpeliano in Knightsbridge; it must have been in the late 70s. We were given two large, white plates covered with ripest red tomatoes, sliced and anointed with a generous dressing of what looked like double cream. Then we tasted it. Ice-cold and almost sweet and sour, this cream dressing was unusually different. Fresh basil (also unusual at the time, at least to us country hicks), a grinding of pepper (giant mills all the rage, then) and a trickle of olive oil shining in rivulets on its creamy surface. Fabulous. Serves two.
1½ tbsp white-wine vinegar
2 tbsp warm water
Salt and pepper
75ml whipping cream
50ml extra-virgin olive oil, plus a little extra
1 pinch sugar
7-8 basil leaves, torn or chopped
4 medium ripe tomatoes, cored and sliced
In a mixing bowl, whisk together the vinegar, water and seasoning until dissolved. Now whisk in the cream, oil and sugar until well amalgamated, then stir in the basil. Lay the tomatoes on a large, (preferably) white plate, season very lightly andspoon over the dressing. Trickleover a little more olive oil and serve directly.
To drink: Made near Lake Garda, Càdei Frati Lugana 2008/9 (around £14.99, Philglas & Swiggot, Roberson, Highbury Vintners, Imbibros, Noel Young Wines, Bennetts Fine Wines, Rannoch Scott Wines, Vin Neuf; 13% abv) is thrillingly alive, with aglossy texture, tingles of acidity and good depth.
Simon Hopkinson's latest book isThe Vegetarian Option (Quadrille,£20). To order a copy for £18, including UK mainland p&p, go to guardian.co.uk/bookshop
Denis Cotter: Corn pancakes of courgettes, pine nuts and roasted onion with warm tomato andcaper salsa
Serves four.
A few saffron strands
100g fine cornmeal
50g plain flour
½ tsp salt
½ tsp paprika
1 pinch cayenne pepper
2 eggs
300ml milk
2 red onions, halved and thinly sliced
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
40g pine nuts
500g small courgettes
4 cloves garlic, sliced
1 tbsp chopped fresh marjoram
30g finely grated hard sheep's cheese, such as pecorino
250g sungold or cherry tomatoes, halved
1 fresh green chilli, thinly sliced
1 tbsp small capers, rinsed
Crumble the saffron and soak it in asmall amount of boiling water for five minutes. Sift the cornmeal, flour, salt, paprika and cayenne into a bowl. Beat the egg and milk together briefly, add the saffron and its water, then whisk into the flours to make a smooth batter. Leave to sitwhile you warm a 20cm crêpe pan, then make thin pancakes that are only lightly coloured on both sides. Stir the batter well before each pouring, because the cornmeal tends to sink.
Heat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6. Toss the red onions in an oven dish with a little olive oil and apinch of salt. Roast for 15 minutes, until the onions are browned. Add the pine nuts for the last five minutes of roasting.
Slice the courgettes in half lengthways and again in half across, then cut into sticks about 5mm thick. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in awide, heavy pan over medium heat. Sauté the courgette, garlic and marjoram, stirring often, for five to six minutes. Stir in the roast onion and pine nuts, and remove from the heat to cool. Stir in the cheese, and season with salt and pepper.
Place a pancake on a work surface. Put some of the courgette filling in a line across the centre and roll up the pancake to make a tight parcel. Repeat with the other pancake to get eight in total. Place these on a parchment-lined oven tray, brush with olive oil and put the tray in the oven for five minutes to heat through.
While the pancakes are reheating, putthe cherry tomatoes, chilli and capers in a small pan with two tablespoons of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Heat gently until the tomatoes soften. Just before serving, add a splash of water to ensure the salsa is moist. Serve the pancakes with the salsa and maybe some new potatoes.
To drink: With its savoury taste of red fruit and fresh straw, and its creamy mouthfeel, Muga Rioja Rosado 2009 (around £8.99, Majestic, Waitrose; 13% abv) is a fabulous summer rosé whatever the occasion.
Denis Cotter is chef/patron of CafeParadiso in Cork, Ireland. Hismost recent book, Wild Garlic, Gooseberries And Me (Collins, £14.99), is out in paperback nextmonth. To order a copy for £14.49 (including UK mainland p&p), go to guardian.co.uk/bookshop
Shaun Hill: Courgettes with orange, pine nuts andherbs
Stuffed vegetables sound boring, but they have an honourable history: vine leaves, artichoke hearts and aubergine in the eastern Med, cabbages and peppers in central Europe. This dish is Sicilian in inspiration. Don't waste any of the delicate flesh to make room for the stuffing – just pack it on top of the halved vegetable. Only attempt this (and any other courgette dish, for that matter) in summer, when they are small andactually have a good taste and texture. For four as a starter or light lunch; otherwise, enough for two.
1 medium red onion, peeled and finely chopped
120ml olive oil
90g fresh breadcrumbs
12 pitted green olives, roughly chopped
2 tbsp pine nuts
2 tbsp currants
2 tbsp chopped parsley
1 tbsp small capers
Juice of 1 orange
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 courgettes
Fry the onion in the oil until soft, then stir in first the breadcrumbs and then all the other ingredients bar the courgettes. Season, and set aside to cool.
With a vegetable peeler, peel off alternate strips from the courgettes' skin (ie, so they look stripy), then blanch whole in boiling water for two minutes. Drain, and cool under running cold water. Halve the courgettes lengthways, brush with alittle olive oil and season with salt. Heat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6. Press the stuffing on top of each courgette half, and bake for 20minutes – or, if the courgettes are really small, grill slowly.
To drink: Tesco Finest Fiano 2009 (£5.99; 13% abv) reminds me of almond blossom, sunflower seeds, orange flower water and beeswax, and this Sicilian wine is perfect with this dish.
Shaun Hill is chef/patron of TheWalnut Tree Inn, Llanddewi Skirrid, Abergavenny, Monmouthshire. His most recent book is Better Gravy, And Other Kitchen Secrets (Mitchell Beazley, £14.99). To order a copy for £14.49, including UK mainland p&p, go to guardian.co.uk/bookshop
Anissa Helou: Carrots and lentils
I don't often think of combining carrots, lentils and yoghurt, but they work to great effect in this Turkish mezze. Serves four.
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 tbsp tomato paste
500g carrots, peeled and sliced into thin discs
100g green lentils, soaked for 30 minutes in cold water
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
250g Greek-style yoghurt
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tbsp fresh dill, to garnish
Put the onions and oil in a saucepan, place over a medium-high heat and fry, stirring occasionally, until the onions are golden. Stir in the tomato paste, add the carrots, stir for aminute or so, then take off the heatand set aside.
Drain and rinse the lentils, put them in a saucepan with half a litre of water and bring to a boil over amedium-high heat. Reduce the heatto low, cover and simmer for 15minutes.
Add the lentils and their cooking water to the carrot and onion mix, season to taste, cover and simmer for another 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the lid, raise the heat slightly and boil gently fortwo to three minutes, until theexcess liquid is completely absorbed. Cover with a kitchen towel and leave to cool.
Mix the yoghurt with the crushed garlic, add salt to taste and set aside.
Transfer the carrots and lentils to a shallow dish. Spread the seasoned yoghurt over the top without covering the vegetables completely, garnish with dill and serve.
To drink: Vin de Pays de l'Ardèche Gamay 2009 (£3.99, Marks & Spencer; 12% abv) is one of the bestcheap wines I know, and its refreshing, bright acidity copes well with the herbs and garlic here.
Anissa Helou is a food writer and journalist. Her latest book, Lebanese Cuisine, is published byGrub Street at £12.99. To order a copy for £9.99 (including UK mainland p&p), go to guardian.co.uk/bookshop
Elisabeth Luard: Broad beans (with or without ham) andmarjoram
Spoon food from sunny Andalucía – nothing fancy, to be eaten from abowl with a glass of chilled dry sherry in the sunshine when the broad beans are young and tender enough to include the pods. Broad beans, when fresh and young, have a delicate, asparagus flavour with afaint glueyness rather like okra. Amixture of older, middling and young beans, as happens when you grow your own, gives a satisfying contrast of taste and texture. Tomake the dish vegetarian, simplyomit the ham and double themarjoram. Make sure to bubble the juices down to a deliciously oilylittle slick.
Serves four to six.
1kg young broad beans, unpodded
4 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp diced serrano, prosciutto or lean bacon
1 glass (about 150ml) dry sherry or white wine
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
2 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 tbsp chopped fresh marjoram
Salt, pepper and a little sugar
Hard-boiled eggs (optional), to finish
String the broad bean pods as you would runner beans, and chop into short lengths following the curve of the beans inside. (If using older beans, discard the pods; and if the beans have really leathery skins, slip them out of their coverings, too.)
Put everything into a casserole or heavy pan, adding enough water just to submerge the beans. Bring to a boil and season with salt, pepper and apinch of sugar (this cuts the acidity of the wine). Turn down the heat to a steady simmer, cover and cook until the beans are perfectly tender –allow 40-50 minutes. Add more boiling water if it looks like drying out. When the beans and pods are tender, remove the lid, turn up theheat and bubble up fiercely to reduce the juices to a well-flavoured ladleful of sauce.
Allow to cool a little before serving with crusty bread for mopping both juices and fingers. For a more substantial dish, finish with quartered hard-boiled eggs.
To drink: The bracing, saline tang of La Gitana Manzanilla (around £8.49, Majestic, Sainsbury's, Tesco, Waitrose; 15% abv) is just right if you're after a light sherry. Drink chilled.
Elisabeth Luard's next book, A Cook's Year In A Welsh Farmhouse (Bloomsbury), is published in 2011
Vicky Bhogal: Watermelon, feta andgaram masala skewers
Serves two to four.
½ watermelon
2 100g blocks feta cheese
1½ tsp garam masala
½ cumin powder
1 glug extra-virgin olive oil
¼ tsp red chilli powder
Dash of lime juice
1 tsp fresh (or freeze-dried) chopped coriander leaf
Salt and pepper
Cut the watermelon into chunks andset aside. Cut the feta into chunks of the same size and place ina bowl, add the remaining ingredients and stir well to coat. Thread alternate chunks of watermelon and feta on to skewers and serve. Simples.
To drink: Even in the vineyard, torrontes grapes smell so muskily floral that you catch their scent before you reach them; the Argentine Crios de Susana Balbo Torrontes 2009 (£7.99, Majestic; 14% abv) is fresh, with a twist of spice that ties in well with the kebabs.
Vicky Bhogal's latest book is Flavour: A World Of Beautiful Food(Hodder & Stoughton, £20). To order a copy for £15.99 (including UK mainland p&p) go to guardian.co.uk/bookshop
Rose Elliot: Quinoa tabbouleh
Quinoa is a wonderful grain, one of the few to contain all the amino acids essential for complete protein, and its light texture makes it ideal for summer. I love to make it into this tabbouleh, green with fragrant mint and parsley. Serve it freshly made and warm as a side dish or, as Ido, surrounded by little bowls of olives, hummus, cubed feta and so on, for people to help themselves, scooping it all up in little gem or cos lettuce leaves. Perfect for a light lunch with a nice glass of chilled rosé. Serves four.
200g quinoa (red or cream-coloured variety)
400ml water
1 tsp vegetable bouillon powder (or a vegetable stock cube)
1 bunch flat-leaf parsley, picked and chopped
1 bunch mint, chopped
4 spring onions, chopped
1½ tbsp freshly squeezed lemonjuice
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt and freshly ground blackpepper
To serve
Some or all of the following: juicy olives, cubes of feta cheese, hummus, sliced avocado, chopped cherry tomatoes, toasted pine nuts
Crisp little gem or cos leaves
Put the quinoa in a sieve, rinse under the cold tap, then tip into a dry saucepan and stir over the heat for three to four minutes, until lightly toasted (the moisture from the rinsing will prevent it burning). Addthe water and bouillon, bring to a boil, cover, reduce the heat and cook gently for 20 minutes, until the liquid has been absorbed and the quinoa is tender. Remove from the heat and leave to stand, still covered, for 10 minutes.
Set aside the quinoa to cool slightly, or even completely, then stir inthe parsley, mint, spring onions, lemon juice andoil. Mix, then season to taste.
Pile the mixture up on a large plate and surround with little bowlsof olives, hummus etc, according to taste.
To drink: The grassy Loire freshness of Domaine Jacky Marteau Touraine Sauvignon Blanc 2009 (£6.49, Marks & Spencer; 14% abv) makes a breezy accompaniment to the keen acidity of the tomatoes and feta in this dish.
Rose Elliot's latest book is The New Complete Vegetarian (Collins, £25). To order a copy for £19.99 (including UK mainland p&p), go to guardian.co.uk/bookshop or call 0330 333 6846
Matthew Fort: Chlodnik
The great Polish summer soup – assoothing as it is satisfying.
2 285ml pots buttermilk
285ml pot smetana
4 hard-boiled eggs
1 cucumber
1 bunch radishes
1 cooked beetroot
1 tbsp fresh dill
Mix the buttermilk and smetana in abowl. Slice the hard-boiled eggs and stir in. Peel, deseed and dice thecucumber into small cubes, andstir in. Wash the radishes, slice thinly and stir in. Peel and cut the beetroot into small cubes and stir in.Add the dill and stir in. Leave inthe fridge to meditate for at least 12 hours. Eat cool.
To drink: Shots of icy Zubrowka bison grass vodka (around £17.99, Asda, Sainsbury's, Tesco, Waitrose) and/or a longer glass of a hoppy, abrasive Polish beer will cut through the dairy.
Matthew Fort's most recent book isSweet Honey, Bitter Lemons (Ebury Press, £8.99). To order a copy for £7.99 (including UK mainland p&p), go to guardian.co.uk/bookshop
