Who is Heston Blumenthal

Preparation time 30 mins to 1 hour

Cooking time 30 mins to 1 hour

Ingredients
3 medium aubergines
3 medium- large courgettes, as green as possible
1 head fennel
2 red peppers
3 tsp thyme leaves
10 basil leaves
10 coriander seeds
10 black olives, stoned and finely chopped
oil from the tomato fondue (see recipe below)
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

Method
1. Top and tail the aubergines and courgettes. Take an aubergine and standing it upright, slice down each edge of the vegetable, removing the skin and about 3mm of flesh, no more. Do the same to all the aubergines and courgettes. (This recipe only uses the outside of the vegetables as described. Use the middles for other purposes such as puréeing, in a risotto or roasting).
2. Keep the slices of aubergine and courgette separate and trim the edges of each slice so that you are left with a rectangular shape. Cut each one into strips about 3mm thick, working with one strip at a time. Bunch together strips and cut across, leaving you with 3mm cubes. Set aside.
3. Cut the top and bottom off the fennel and remove the outer layer. As you remove the layers underneath, you will be left with v shaped pieces of fennel, which you will need to cut in half so that you are left with two slightly curved pieces of fennel. Trim and cut into the same size as the other vegetables.
4. Preheat the grill.
5. Top and tail the red peppers and remove the pith and seeds. Rub them with olive oil and place skin-side up on the grill tray. Grill until they go black all over to achieve a lovely charred flavour.
6. When blackened, put in a bowl and cover tightly with cling film; leave for five minutes. You will then be able to peel them easily under cold running water. Once peeled, dice the flesh as above.
7. Have ready a fine mesh sieve set over a bowl.
8. Heat a large frying pan and add 2mm of olive oil to pan. When hot, add the aubergines in one layer. Cook for three minutes then tip into sieve allowing it to drain. Season and add ½ tsp thyme leaves. When drained, tip into a bowl.
9. Using fresh olive oil, repeat the process with courgettes on a slightly lower heat. Cook for two minutes, drain, season and add thyme.
10. Finally cook the fennel for five to six minutes. You do not want to undercook the fennel, as its crunchiness will dominate the dish. Drain as before.
11. To finish the dish, mix together all the vegetables with the tomato fondue and the olives.
12. Finely slice the basil and add to the vegetables along with the rest of the thyme and coriander seeds.
13. Finally, mix in a little tomato fondue oil and the oil from the fried vegetables to your taste, season and serve. If you want to eat this hot, reheat in a moderate oven for five minutes.

Phew!

Preparation time over 2 hours

Cooking time 30 mins to 1 hour

This is a wonderfully rich ice cream that is at the same time very light and clean and melts almost instantly in the mouth. Make the custard base the day before churning it, as the flavour and texture are improved by one day of 'resting'.

Ingredients
6 vanilla pods
625ml/1 pint whole milk
50g/2oz skimmed milk powder
120g/4½oz unrefined caster sugar
10 whole coffee beans
6 medium egg yolks

Method
1. Place the vanilla pods on a chopping board and run a small, sharp knife along the length of each pod, cutting it in half. Use the knife to scrape out the seeds. Put the seeds into the whisking bowl of an electric mixer and add the empty pods to the milk.
2. Pour the milk and vanilla pods into a casserole of at least 1.5 litre/2¾ pints capacity. Add the milk powder, a couple of teaspoons of the sugar and the coffee beans. Place the casserole on a medium heat and bring the milk to the boil. As soon as it boils, turn the heat down and allow the milk to simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and leave to infuse for 20 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, add the egg yolks to the vanilla seeds in the whisking bowl, along with the remaining sugar. Turn the machine to full speed and beat until the mixture whitens and increases in volume - about 10 minutes.
4. Place the casserole back on a medium heat and return the liquid to a simmer. Turn the heat down to low, then immediately pour this liquid very gently, pods and all, on to the egg mixture while still beating. Return this mixture to the casserole and place on a low heat. Stir continuously, preferably with a flat-bottomed wooden spoon. Do not boil. The custard is ready when a line drawn along the back of the wooden spoon retains its shape.
5. Have ready a bowl large enough to fit the mixture in and sit it in a larger bowl containing ice and a little cold water. When the custard is ready, pour it into the bowl and continue stirring for a few minutes until it is cold. Strain through a fine-meshed sieve. At this point the custard can be stored in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 2 days. Make sure that it is thoroughly mixed so that the vanilla seeds that have fallen to the bottom are evenly distributed.
6. Churn the custard in your ice cream machine and place in the freezer, with some clingfilm pressed on to the surface of the ice cream. Leave in the freezer for 2 hours before serving.

Preparation time less than 30 mins

Cooking time over 2 hours

A good gratin should be cooked for a long period of time at a low temperature. This will leave the potatoes as soft as butter while allowing them to hold their shape. This dish actually improves when made in advance and reheated.

Ingredients
400ml/14fl oz whole milk
3 fresh bay leaves
bunch of fresh thyme
1 clove garlic, crushed
1kg/2lb 4oz potatoes, such as Desirée or Romano
200ml/7fl oz double cream
75g/3oz unsalted butter
salt and cayenne pepper, to taste
freshly grated nutmeg, to taste

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 110C/225F/Gas ½.
2. Pour the milk into a saucepan and add the herbs and crushed garlic. On a medium heat, bring to the boil and leave to simmer for 5 minutes.
3. Remove from the heat and leave to cool so that the milk infuses with the herbs and garlic. Once infused, strain to remove the herbs and pour the milk back into a large heavy-bottomed pan.
4. Slice the potatoes as thinly as possible. Add them to the milk, separating them as much as possible, and place the pan on a medium heat. Bring the liquid to a simmer, stirring occasionally to stop them from sticking. After a few minutes, when the milk has thickened, add the cream and butter and gently agitate the pan so that everything is mixed in.
5. Add the salt, cayenne pepper and nutmeg. Be careful - cayenne pepper is strong stuff. This gratin will take more salt than expected, as the potatoes absorb quite a lot.
6. Pour the potatoes into a baking dish at least 5cm/2 inches deep and measuring about 25 x 15cm/10 x 6 inches, trying to get them as flat as possible. The potatoes should be covered by about ½cm of liquid. A little less is fine, but if there is more liquid than that, do not add it. Tightly cover the dish with kitchen foil and bake in the oven for 4 hours. Every 45 minutes or so, gently press down on the potatoes with the back of a wooden spoon.
7. Just before serving, flash the dish under a hot grill to gratinate it.

With the right variety of potato, these chips are crisp on the outside and light and fluffy on the inside. The beauty of this method is that the potatoes can be cooked twice and kept in the fridge until required.

Ingredients
1.2kg/2lb 8oz potatoes, such as Charlotte or Belle de Fontenay
1 litre/1¾ pints groundnut oil
salt

Method
1. With a sharp knife, square the potatoes into rectangles and then cut them into chips about 1cm/½inch thick. The length of the chips is not so important, but try to keep them the same thickness so that they will cook at the same rate.
2. As soon as the chips are cut, put them into a bowl under cold running water for 10 minutes or so to rinse off some of the starch, then drain them.
3. Next, bring a casserole of unsalted water to the boil and plunge in the drained potatoes. Bring back to the boil and simmer very gently until the point of a knife will penetrate the chips easily.
4. Very carefully lift the potatoes out of the water, using a slotted spoon, and place them on a tray. Allow them to steam until they are cool, then place them in the fridge. The chips will harden when cold.
5. Heat the groundnut oil to a temperature of 130C/250F (CAUTION: Hot oil can be dangerous. Do not leave unattended) and carefully plunge in the chips as they may splutter. After a while, they will take on a drier appearance (do not let them brown at all). When this happens, they have finished their second cooking process; drain them, let them cool to room temperature, and put them into the fridge. When cold, they are ready for their final cooking.
6. Heat the groundnut oil to a temperature of 180C/350F (CAUTION: Hot oil can be dangerous. Do not leave unattended). Carefully plunge in the chips and cook until golden brown. This may take 8-10 minutes.
7. Drain and season with salt only; they will take quite a lot. Serve.