When I first started buying cauliflower from the vegetable van, I would look around to see if there was a neighbour I could share it with, as I was not acustomed to such giants. Now when I buy it, I have plenty of plans for it, some for slicing and roasting, some for adding to stir-fries, but most of it for a gently-spiced soup which I make in quantity to freeze. I buy kohlrabi, too, one of the milder members of the brassica family, with a delicious nuttiness and a crisp texture. Peeled and very thinly sliced, it makes a good salad ingredient and also makes a surprisingly tasty soup, enhanced with a drop of truffle oil. If you do not like the flavour of truffle, make a walnut ‘drizzling’ oil for soup by crushing walnut pieces in a mortar, blending in olive or sunflower oil as well as a pinch of paprika. This works well with all manner of pale soups.

We were regulars at Daniel Boulud’s eponymous restaurant in New York and were always amazed that he would put cauliflower, beetroot, radishes and turnips in exquisite dishes

Vegetables are a timely subject for this column, since we are still in Lent. You won’t find any chocolate recipes here; that’s what I have given up until Easter. So vegetables it is. One chef of my acquaintance has probably been more influential than any other when it comes to my cooking everyday vegetables. In the late 1990s we were regulars at Daniel Boulud’s eponymous restaurant in New York and were always amazed that he would put cauliflower, beetroot, radishes and turnips in exquisite dishes, just as often as the more luxurious asparagus, lima beans and snow peas.

Fish, too, is traditional lenten food and we are fortunate that there is still a relative abundance of it in these waters. I never know what I am going to cook until I see it, so I like to have one or two adaptable recipes in mind.

Prosciutto, jamon serrano, chorizo and other cured pork products always work well with fish, but if you prefer no meat at all you can leave the pancetta out of the following recipe and use extra herbs for flavour.

For dessert, I have chosen one that looks very elegant, but is not at all rich in the ingredients we might have given up for Lent. If you prefer to use dried figs or dates instead of apricots, prepare them in the same way, soaking then poaching and sieving. You will almost certainly not need extra sweetening.

Spiced cream of cauliflower soup with mint and cucumber raita

(Serves 4)

1 onion, peeled and thinly sliced
1 tbsp sunflower oil
1 to 2tbsp mild or medium curry paste
1 small cauliflower, separated into florets
2 tbsp flour
600ml vegetable or chicken stock
200ml coconut milk
1/2 cucumber, roughly chopped
150ml thick Greek yoghurt
Small green chilli, split and seeded (optional)
Small bunch mint, leaves only

Gently fry the onion in the oil until wilted and transparent. Stir in the curry paste and the cauliflower. When this is well coated, sprinkle with flour, stir until flour is absorbed and then add the stock. Bring to the boil and simmer until the vegetables are soft.

Remove from the heat and put in a blender with the coconut milk. Blend until smooth and return the soup to the pan. Reheat and add salt and pepper as necessary. Meanwhile, rinse the blender and in it blend the remaining ingredients to make the cucumber raita.

Serve the soup with a swirl of cucumber raita and hot naan or chapatis.

Kohlrabi soup with white truffle oil

(Serves 4)

1 onion, peeled and thinly sliced
1tbsp sunflower oil
2 kohlrabi, peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon flour
Pinch of mace, or nutmeg
Gozo salt, black pepper
750ml vegetable or chicken stock
150ml single cream
2tsp white truffle oil

Gently fry the onion in the oil until wilted and then add the kohlrabi, stirring to coat the pieces in oil. Add the flour and seasoning, stir this in, then gradually stir in the stock. Simmer until the vegetables are soft, cool them a little, blend with the cream and sieve.

Reheat and add more seasoning, if necessary. Just before serving, sprinkle on a few drops of white truffle oil.

Roasted fish with sage and pancetta, fennel purée and spiced cherry tomatoes

(Serves 4)

4 thick fish steaks or individual fish such as bream or acciola see recipe
8 slices pancetta
12 cherry or plum tomatoes, red or yellow, on the vine if possible
4 sage leaves
Gozo salt
Freshly ground black pepper
4 tbsps extra virgin olive oil
1 large fennel bulb, chopped
1 star anise or 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
25g butter
1/2 tsp ground cardamom and cumin

If using fish steaks, wrap two pieces of pancetta round each one, tying it into place and inserting a sage leaf between fish and pancetta. If using whole fish, make sure that they are thoroughly scaled as well as gutted. Wrap the pancetta round the middle of the fish. Season the fish lightly. Use some of the oil to grease an ovenproof dish and in it put the fish.

Cook for five minutes at 180°C to 200°C, add the cherry tomatoes, tossed in a little more of the oil, and dusted with spices. Cook for a further five minutes.

Meanwhile, sweat the fennel in the butter with star anise or fennel seeds until soft, adding a little water as necessary. Rub the mixture through a sieve or blend until smooth. Reheat and whisk in the remaining olive oil. Spoon the purée on to heated plates, place the fish on top and arrange the tomatoes around the plate.

This recipe adapts well to salmon steaks.

Ricotta hearts with apricot sauce

(Serves 4)

150g each ricotta and thick Greek-style plain yoghurt,
100g mascarpone
50g caster sugar – or to taste
2 egg whites
200g dried apricots, soaked until soft and then poached in a little water

Note: this recipe uses uncooked egg whites

Blend the ricotta, yoghurt and mascarpone until smooth and stir in the sugar. Whisk the egg whites to form peaks and fold into the mixture.

Spoon the mixture into pierced moulds, lined with wet cheese-cloth, place on a plate and refrigerate for about 12 hours to drain and firm up. Sieve the apricots and sweeten the purée to taste if necessary.

When ready to serve, turn the hearts out onto individual plates, carefully peel off the cheese-cloth and pour the sauce around.