Half Your Plate

There are as many ways to roast a chicken as there are cooks. This basic method is my favourite. Roasting the chicken perched on top of a thick bed of vegetables not only helps you prepare an entire meal at once but also guarantees that not a drop of flavour is lost. You can also skip all the normal laborious of slicing by simply shredding the meat into the works and tossing together a pan stew of sorts!

One of my all time favourite ways to enjoy ripe tomatoes is in a chilly bowl of puréed gazpacho soup. Normally raw ripe tomatoes are the base for the soup but since the local tomato season is so fleeting you can concentrate and brighten their flavours any time of the year by roasting them first!

Anytime I fire up my grill for supper I always look for a veggie to add to the works because grilling is not just for meat. Firm, juicy zucchini is an ideal candidate. This simple dish also shows how easily you can adapt the classic flavours of salsa to just about any fruit. Try it; you just might discover that you prefer peaches to tomatoes in your salsa!

This is my favourite way to toss together the amazing flavours of a Niçoise salad and skip the traditional fussy arrangement of the ingredients. My kids aren’t big fans of visible anchovies and don’t know that they’re hidden in the powerfully flavoured dressing loaded with tangy lemon, bright parsley and aromatic basil. They just know they love this salad and I love that it’s a whole meal in a bowl!