On a winter’s evening, I warm butter and olive oil in a shallow-sided, cast-iron pan, turn the heat down low and use it to fry thin slices of potato, Jerusalem artichoke or fennel. Vegetables that will crisp or soften as you wish, and to which I can add other ingredients at will – sweet black grapes and whole parsley leaves to the crisp artichokes; peas and salty cheese to the softened fennel. I do the same with slices of pumpkin or butternut squash, then introduce feta or breadcrumbs or perhaps a fried egg whose yolk will double as an impromptu sauce.

      A heavy frying pan in which you can leave things to cook at a moderate temperature is worth its weight in gold. It is the gift I would give to a kid leaving home. The possibilities are endless. Mushrooms, sliced and sautéed with herbs to pile on a mound of silken hummus; beans whose outsides slowly crisp in olive oil and are then tossed with tomatoes and a wobbly egg of burrata; Brussels sprouts fried with miso paste to a deep walnut brown, then forked through sticky brown rice. They all give a substantial green and deeply savoury supper. The list is endless.

      The success often lies in the pan itself. A pitted or wobbly-based pan will produce uneven results. Sometimes you need a thin-bottomed pan in which to flash-fry, other times a pan as heavy as possible that will hold the heat and which can be left to do its task while you get on with other elements of dinner. Choose your weapon.

      It is worth finding a suitable lid. Especially if you are cooking vegetables that need to be brought gently to tenderness before a final crisping, such as potatoes, parsnips and carrots. The sort of heavyweight pans I find so useful for slow winter cooking often come without a lid, so it is not a bad idea to find one that fits before you leave the shop.

      I am very fond of my old iron sauté pans, but they do need a bit of care when you first get them home. A good oiling with linseed oil, a long, slow bake in the oven and a careful dry before putting them away will give them a chance to develop a patina, a naturally non-stick layer that will, unlike a commercial non-stick finish, see you through a lifetime of suppers.

ARTICHOKES, BEANS, GREEN OLIVES

      Crisp beans and fried artichokes. Dinner from the deli.

       Serves 2

      green olives, stoned 200g

      olive oil 100ml

      basil 20 leaves

      lemon juice 75ml

      parsley leaves from a small bunch

      black garlic 2 cloves

      olive oil, for frying 2 tablespoons

      haricot beans 1 × 400g can

      fine ground polenta 6 tablespoons

      eggs 2

      artichokes in oil 350g

      groundnut oil, for deep frying

      Put the olives into the jug of a blender, then add the olive oil, basil leaves, lemon juice, parsley leaves and black garlic. Reduce to a thick purée.

      Warm the olive oil in a shallow pan that doesn’t stick, drain the beans and add them to the pan, then let them cook over a moderate heat, turning occasionally, until they are lightly crisp.

      Put the polenta on a large plate. Break the eggs into a shallow dish and mix the yolks and whites together lightly with a fork. If the artichokes are whole, then slice them in half. Roll each half in the beaten egg, then place in the polenta and turn over, pressing down firmly to coat evenly.

      Heat the groundnut oil, add the artichokes and fry till golden and crisp. Lift each from the oil and drain briefly on kitchen paper before dividing between two plates. Serve with the crisp beans and the olive paste and, if you wish, a wedge of lemon.

      • Make a black olive paste if you prefer, using stoned black olives. I would also be tempted to add a pinch of dried chilli flakes when you blend the ingredients.

      • You can use breadcrumbs instead of polenta. Sieve fresh dry crumbs on to a plate and roll the artichokes in them after coating in egg.

AUBERGINES, GINGER, TAMARIND

      Hot, sweet, sour.

       Serves 2

      lime juice 100ml (about 2 limes)

      ginger 30g

      fish sauce 3 teaspoons

      palm sugar 4 teaspoons

      hot red chilli 1

      hot green chilli 1

      tamarind paste 4 teaspoons

      groundnut oil 2 tablespoons

      aubergines 300g

       For the apple yoghurt:

      mint leaves 12

      a small apple

      white wine vinegar 2 tablespoons

      natural yoghurt 200ml

      Put the lime juice into a mixing bowl. Peel and grate the ginger, stirring the resulting paste into the lime juice. Pour in the fish sauce, then stir in the palm sugar until dissolved.

      Finely chop the red and green chillies, removing the seeds if you wish, then add them to the marinade with the tamarind paste and groundnut oil, combining the ingredients thoroughly.

      Cut the aubergines in half lengthways, then into wedges as you might a melon. Now cut each wedge in half. Put the aubergines into the marinade, turn to coat and set aside for a good half hour. During this time they will soften a little.

      Make the apple yoghurt: finely chop the mint leaves and put them in a small mixing bowl. Grate the apple into the bowl, it can be as coarse or as fine as you wish, then stir in the white wine vinegar and yoghurt, cover and set aside.

      To cook the aubergines, heat a cast-iron griddle (and switch on the extractor). Place the aubergines on the griddle and leave to brown on the underside. Turn, loosening them from the griddle with a palette knife, and brown the other side. Keep the heat low to moderate, and make sure they are cooked right through – they must be fully tender.

      Serve the aubergines, hot from the griddle, with the apple yoghurt sauce.

      • Cut the aubergines in slices or wedges, as the fancy takes you. There will, I assure you, be much smoke, so switch on the extractor or open a window. Better still, cook them outside on the barbecue. Arm yourself with a palette knife to gently prise them from the bars of the griddle. I like to keep

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