Strips of sirloin with guacamole and roasted veg

One night, we only had one steak so I had to think of something to do that would serve the two of us. It all started with thinking about a steak sandwich and resulted in this absolutely delicious meal that I'd happily serve to any guest.

1x 175 g sirloin steak, brushed with olive oil and seasoned with pepper and salt, fried for 1 min 15 sec on each side, the rested for 5 minutes in the oven on a warmed plate (not hot) covered with a warmed stainless steel lid (or tin foil) in an oven preheated and left on at 1/2 gas mark

guacamole, soured cream and veg

veg: 2 sweet (pointed peppers), 1 bunch spring onions, 200g thickly sliced mushrooms, 3 crushed garlic cloves - sautéd in a frying pan until soft then seasoned with pepper and salt and kept warm in the oven at gas mark 1/2 while the meat is cooked.

Served with crusty bread, optionally trickled with EVO.

Pasta with smoked mackerel, cherry tomatoes and avocado

I usually make this with cold left over pasta but it's nice with hot pasta as well.

250g of cooked pasta, hot or cold
200g smoked mackerel, flaked
1 ripe avocado, cubed (with a spoon)
250g cherry (plum) tomatoes, halved
freshly ground black pepper
a drizzle of olive oil

Roasted Aubergine Soup

This is a wonderfully sumptuous soup that is great as a starter or for lunch. Next time I'll try using ground cumin instead of the herbes.

2 large aubergines, halved lengthways
freshly ground black pepper
olive oil
1 banana shallot, finely chopped
1 large garlic clove, very finely chopped
Herbes de Provence
1 l vegetable (or other) stock
1 handful of bread crumbs

1. Season the aubergines with pepper, place them cut side down into a roasting tray, drizzle with olive oil and roast for 45 minutes to an hour in a very hot oven until they have softened. Take out and leave to cool before roughly chopping them up.
2.Heat a little olive oil in a saucepan and sauté the onions, garlic and herbs until softened but not brown. Add the aubergines, bread crumbs and stock. Season with a little black pepper. Bring to the boil, then simmer till hot. Blitz and serve.