THE SUN-SOAKED PLATE...Mediterranean recipes for family and friends

Many years ago I lived in the south of France. After a long day in the kitchen I would literally have to survive on Gauloises , café noir and Pastis , but on the occasions the sulky, sullen French Chef would let me escape the hot, steamy kitchen for an hour or so in the afternoons, I’d head straight to a tiny, little food stand down the road that served the most amazing sandwiches I’d ever tasted…the “Pan bagnat”.   Literally meaning wet bread, all you have to do is cut a small, round loaf or a ciabatta in half and scrape out most of the inside. Fill this with chopped tomatoes, spring onions, peppers, olives, capers and anchovies and drizzle with a little olive oil and red wine vinegar. Replace the top and serve. It's basically a Nicoise salad in a roll and it was utterly delicious. A simple salad Nicoise is still one of my favourite summer recipes. Even today there still seems to be so much debate about what actually constitutes a true Nicoise salad. According to Niço...

They might look intimidating, but artichokes are simple and delicious. Ok, I know they can be a little fiddly and they do need a lot of care and attention to prepare, but once you’ve got the hang of it becomes easy and you’ll wonder why you never bothered to prepare and cook them before. The artichoke has a long and interesting history. For many years, although it was cultivated and eaten in Italy, it was unknown in France. During the 17th century it was thought to be an aphrodisiac and women were not allowed to eat them! Fortunately,