[Recipe] Three little classics

The following is a guest post from recipe creator and food stylist Tracy Valentina Wood, of Visually Delicious. Her passion for all-things-food begins with fresh, seasonal ingredients and continues right through to the final plated dish and surrounding accoutrement. She believes how it looks is as important as how it tastes.

Champignons à la Grecque

• 250g very small button mushrooms, cleaned
• 3tbsp olive oil
• 1 skinned, seeded, and chopped tomato
• 1/2tsp crushed black peppercorns
• 1/2tsp crushed coriander seed
• 1 fresh bay leaf
• 3 sprigs thyme
• Sea salt flakes
• 1-2tbsps chopped parsley

Put olive oil, tomato, peppercorns, coriander seed, bay leaf and thyme into a small saucepan with a pinch of salt, bring to a simmer and cook for 2-3 minutes, then add the mushrooms. Cook gently for about 5 minutes. Take out the mushrooms, put them into a small shallow serving dish; and continue to cook the sauce for a few more minutes until it is thick and somewhat reduced. Pour over the mushrooms, scatter with parsley and serve at room temperature.

Leeks with Red Wine

• 8 small leeks
• 3tbsp olive oil
• A wine glass of red wine
• 50ml very good broth
• Sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper

Clean the leeks thoroughly, and put them side by side in a frying-pan in which you have heated the olive oil. Cook gently for 3 minutes, turning them over now and then. Pour over the red wine, and watch out for the sputtering, let it bubble away for a minute, and then add the broth and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cover the pan and cook for 5 minutes, turning them over halfway. When they can be pierced with a skewer easily, take out and place on a serving dish, reduce the sauce a little, and pour over the leeks. Serve hot or cold, either way is delicious.

Roasted Red Peppers with Marinated Goat Cheese

There is no exact recipe for this dish, I usually use what I have on hand. This is the combination of flavours that I like best:

Allow one long, sweet red pepper per person, cut in half lengthways and take out the seeds. Lay on a baking tray lined with baking paper and fill each half loosely with one tablespoon seeded, diced tomato, one anchovy fillet, a teaspoon of capers, a little chopped garlic, some fresh marjoram leaves, and black pepper. Drizzle over good extra virgin olive oil, and put into a preheated 160C oven for about 20-30 minutes. The peppers should be soft, and slightly charred around the edges. Take out of oven, splash moderately with decent sherry vinegar, dollop with Meredith Dairy marinated goat cheese, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, and strew with a handful of fresh mint leaves. I know you'll love it.

Read this next: Seasonal twice tomato tart

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