Simple and savory! Jamie Oliver’s veggie recipes

Halve the leeks lengthways and cut at an angle into 1/2-inch slices. Heat a wide saucepan, add a splash of oil and a knob of the butter, and when you can hear a gentle sizzling add the sliced garlic, thyme leaves and leeks. Move the leeks around so every piece gets coated. Pour in the wine, season with pepper and stir in the stock. Cover the leeks with the slices of Parma ham, place a lid on the pan and cook gently for about 25 to 30 minutes. Once the leeks are tender, take the pan off the heat.

To make the pangrattato, whiz the mushrooms and bread with a pinch of salt and pepper in a food processor until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs. Heat a generous glug of olive oil in a frying pan. Add the garlic cloves and the rosemary and cook for a minute, then fry the breadcrumbs in the oil until golden and crisp. Keep shaking the pan — don’t let the breadcrumbs catch on the bottom. Drain on kitchen paper, discard the rosemary and garlic, and allow the breadcrumbs to cool.

Bring a big pan of salted water to the boil. Lay the lasagna sheets on a clean working surface and sprinkle with a little flour. Place the sheets on top of each other and slice into 1/2-inch strips. Toss through your fingers to shake out the pappardelle, then cook in the boiling water for 2 minutes or until al dente.

Remove the Parma ham from the saucepan, slice up and stir back into the leeks. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then stir in the Parmesan and the rest of the butter. Drain the pasta, reserving a little of the cooking water, and add the pasta to the leeks. Add a little of the cooking water if need be, to give you a silky, smooth sauce. Serve quickly, sprinkled with some pangrattato, extra Parmesan and any leftover thyme tips. Serve the rest of the pangrattato in a bowl on the side.

All the vegetables should be cut into similar-sized pieces so that they cook at the same time, tossed separately with their suggested flavorings and seasoned generously. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Place the vegetables in a large tray next to each other and cover with tin foil. Cook in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, then remove the foil and continue roasting for another 20–30 minutes until the vegetables are golden and tender. If by any chance one is cooked before another, simply remove it from the oven and keep it warm in a serving dish.

Preheat the oven to 350º F. Parboil your carrots in boiling, salted water for 10 minutes, until they are very nearly cooked, then drain and put them into a roasting tray. You should flavor them while they’re steaming hot, so while the carrots are cooking get a pestle and mortar and smash up the cumin seeds, chillies, salt and pepper. Add the garlic and thyme leaves and smash up again until you have a kind of paste. The idea here is to build up the flavors. Add enough extra-virgin olive oil to generously cover the paste, and a good swig of vinegar. This will be like a marinade, a rub and a dressing all in one! Stir together, then pour over the carrots in the tray, coating them well. Add the orange and lemon halves, cut-side down. These will roast along with the carrots, and their juice can be used as the basis of the dressing. Place in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden.

While the carrots are roasting, halve and peel your avocados, discarding the stones, then cut them into wedges lengthways and place in a big bowl. Remove the carrots from the oven and add them to the avocados. Carefully, using some tongs, squeeze the roasted orange and lemon juice into a bowl and add the same amount of extra-virgin olive oil and a little swig of red wine vinegar. Season, and pour this dressing over the carrots and avocados. Mix together, have a taste and correct the seasoning. Call your gang round the table while you toast or griddle your ciabatta slices.

Tear the toasted bread into little pieces and add to the dressed carrot and avocado. Mix together, toss in the salad leaves and cress and transfer to a big platter or divide between individual plates. Spoon over a nice dollop of soured cream, sprinkle over your toasted bread.