Fall in Love With The Taste of the Mediterranean

Halve the peppers, remove the seeds and very finely slice. Set a large, ovenproof frying pan or shallow flameproof casserole over a medium heat and add a generous amount of olive oil. Fry the peppers for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, peel and finely slice the garlic and red onions. Pick the basil leaves, set aside and finely chop the stalks. I like to do this as I go, adding the garlic, red onions and basil stalks to the pan as I slice to speed up the prep. Season well, then when the veg has started to soften and colour a little, spoon in the ’nduja. Fry for five minutes, until it has broken down and it releases its fiery red oil into the veg. Add the can of tomatoes and 500ml water to the pan.

Increase the heat, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat a little and vigorously simmer the sauce for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, stir together the mascarpone and milk in a mixing bowl. Finely grate in two-thirds of the Parmesan, season well and beat together. When the components are ready, remove the tomato sauce pan from the heat.

Preheat your oven to 200C/180C fan/gas mark 6. Spoon half the ’nduja sauce out into a bowl, then tear half the lasagne sheets into the pan with the other half of the sauce. Spoon just under half of the mascarpone sauce over the top, then tear over half the mozzarella and half the basil leaves. Evenly spoon over the reserved ’nduja sauce from the bowl. Then repeat with the remaining ingredients: tear over the remaining lasagne sheets, evenly spoon over the rest of the mascarpone sauce and tear over the remaining mozzarella. Finely grate over the rest of the Parmesan, scatter with the basil leaves and drizzle everything with olive oil.

Cover the pan with a lid, or a sheet of foil, and pop into the oven for 15 minutes. Then remove the lid or foil, increase the oven temperature to 220C/200C fan/gas mark 7 and continue to bake for a further 18–20 minutes until golden and bubbling on top. Leave the lasagne to rest for at least five minutes before serving.

Preheat your oven to 240C/220C fan/gas mark 9. Remove the chicken from the fridge and spatchcock it, if that hasn’t been done already. To do that, cut down either side of the chicken’s backbone and parson’s nose with a pair of large, sturdy scissors or poultry shears and discard it (or save it for stock). Then lay the chicken out flat like a book, skin side up. Press firmly on the breastbone with the heel of your hand to really flatten it out.

Place the spatchcocked bird on a plate and rub with the sweet smoked paprika, oregano and a super-generous pinch each of salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil and rub it all in. Set aside while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Peel the onions and cut into thin wedges. Horizontally halve the bulb of garlic. Finely chop the chorizo, if it isn’t already. Tear the sourdough into large pieces and use it to line a large roasting tin. Scatter over the onions, garlic and chorizo, then top with the spatchcocked chicken. Dot the cherry tomatoes all around the chicken, then tear over half the basil leaves. Drizzle everything with olive oil, season and pop the tin in the oven.

Immediately reduce the oven temperature to 200C/180C fan/gas mark 6 and roast for around one hour. Halfway through, baste the chicken if possible with any juices. After an hour, the skin should be crisp and the veg and bread gnarly. Carefully lift the chicken on to a plate or tray and leave to rest for a few minutes.

Line a 900g loaf tin with clingfilm, leaving some to hang over the sides. Roughly chop 125g of the chocolate and melt in a microwave, or in a heatproof bowl over a small pan of simmering water (make sure the bowl does not touch the water). Keep stirring until just melted, stir in the salt, then set aside for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, pick most of the basil, stalks and all, place in a high-speed blender and blitz with 150g of the sugar, 100ml of the double cream and the vanilla until smooth. Blitz in the mascarpone and milk. Place the remaining double cream in the bowl of a stand mixer (or use a large mixing bowl and electric beaters) with the remaining 150g of sugar, then whip until you have medium-stiff peaks. Fold in the basil mascarpone mixture.

Evenly drizzle one-fifth of the molten chocolate into the base of the lined tin, then spoon in one-quarter of the basil cream. Repeat these layers with the remaining chocolate and cream: you should have four layers of cream, topped and tailed with chocolate. Cover with the overhanging clingfilm and place in the freezer for at least six hours.

When you are ready to serve, melt the remaining 25g of chocolate, then set aside for 10 minutes as before. Turn out the ice cream on to a serving plate, drizzle with the cooled molten chocolate, scatter with the remaining basil leaves (unless you are keeping the flavour a secret!) and serve.