Moussaka for cattle farmers

Traditional Greek readers may wish to look away now.

A few weeks ago I had a sudden fancy for a moussaka. I didn't really know what one was and had never even it before, but saw a delicious-looking picture in Gordon Ramsay's World Kitchen.

Much to my disappointment I discovered it contains lamb mince, not a favourite in our house. But once I had the idea in my head I wasn't to be stopped and decided to try making one with beef instead.

The first stage is very similar to making a lasagne. I fried steak mince with chopped red onions, tomato puree, a dash of red wine, roughly chopped fresh tomatoes and loads of black pepper. At the same time I fried some thin slices of aubergine on the griddle pan, with very little oil.

At this stage I should explain how to make a delicious white sauce, but life really is too short. I bought a carton of fresh cheese sauce instead.

Then comes the fun bit: layer the aubergine, mince mixture then cheese sauce in a large ovenproof dish, finishing with the cheese sauce on top. I followed Gordy's suggestion of grating some cheddar on top too before putting it in the oven for about half an hour.

The result is probably woefully unfaithful to Greek cuisine, but delicious and warming. I served it with some focaccia and green salad, and lashings of red wine. It goes down perfectly on a rainy evening with plenty of quiz shows on TV.

Tickled salmon pink

Pan fried salmon with wasabi and soy

Nyeh, you've gotta try this ... as the fat-tongued Oliver boy would say.

I think I got part of this recipe from Gordy, part from a noodle packet and part from my imagination.

Mix some wasabi paste with about an equal amount of light soy sauce, the juice of half a lime and some brown sugar (white sugar will do if you don't have brown). I don't know quantities, but it's best to start with about three dessert spoons of soy sauce and go by taste and judgement from there. Place two salmon fillets in the marinade and leave it to soak for a while.

In the meantime, finely slice some salad onions and fry them gently in a wok with some ginger and beansprouts. Add some ready-to-go rice noodles (I prefer thin ones) and splash in a dessert spoon of mirin, a drizzle of sesame oil and a bit of soy sauce.

Once the noodles are more or less ready, prepare a griddle pan over a very high heat and fry the salmon for about 2-3 minutes on either side (without oil, if your pan is non-stick enough). Serve the salmon on top of the noodles straight away, with a wedge of lime on the side to make it look like you've made an effort!

Not al my dentes

I had a thought the other night (I had been drinking ...): good restaurants should ask how you'd like your pasta cooked in the same way as they'd ask about meat!

Chefs always rave on about how pasta should be al dente - I saw Gordy on TV just the other day ripping seven shades out of some poor restaurateur in Spain because his penne was too mushy. But is it not down to personal choice?

I don't really like it al dente. That's just uncooked in my opinion and I don't like the feel of it. For me, that's the same as finding a hard, glassy bit in the middle of your baked potato or a still-chilly pea among your petit pois. Would it be so challenging to give me a choice? After all, I know that fillet steak tastes far better cooked rare, but if I were a chef I'd still have to give paying customers the chance to have it incinerated and leathery!

Or am I mad?

I've gone all brunch!

Scrambled eggs and asparagus on toast

I came back from Spain recently with a tremendous and very seasonal appetite for asparagus. I've been eating it a lot lately and, in my opinion, its natural partner is egg (and egg!).

One Saturday at about 11.30am I made up this brunch, based on egg/asparagus desire and a severe lack of food in the house.

I don't know if I'd go so far as to call this a recipe but I'll tell you how I put it all together. First I chop the asparagus spears in half to create lengths of about 5-6cm and put them into a saucepan of boiling water over a very low heat for about three minutes. I cut some ciabatta rolls open into halves and toast them, drizzling on some olive oil about halfway through the process.

My egg-scrambling method is unorthodox, but tried and tested. I crack some eggs (normally three for two people) into a bowl and whisk them with a bit of black pepper and a dash of olive oil. I then microwave them for roughly two minutes, stopping every 20-30 seconds to do the 'scrambling' bit with a fork. The oil helps them to stay moist and a bit runny.

To make it all deli and brunchy I serve the eggs delicately dolloped onto the ciabatta, with asparagus criss-crossed on top and a spoonful of hollandaise sauce on the side.

Incidentallly, I recently received a fantastic Gordon Ramsey cookbook as a birthday present and he writes about a similar recipe, but with the addition of anchovies. Back off, Gordon!