A super tasty start to any meal

These two tasty sharing starters will wow your guests.

Two simple, tasty, sharing starters

They come from Diana Henry’s From the Oven to the Table

And are all about simple recipes using great produce and ingredients.

Plus, if you have veggies in the house, this could also be a lovely main.

Roast peppers with burrata & ‘nduja

SERVES: 4
PREP TIME: 10 mins
COOKING TIME: 30 mins
DIFFICULTY: easy
IDEAL FOR: sharing starter, crowd-pleaser, family
BUDGET: £

This isn’t really a recipe, more throwing together 3 fabulous ingredients.

And letting them shine.

The soul-warming spicy ’nduja melts on top of the charred peppers.

And the cold creamy burrata gives acts as the perfect compliment.

I served this as a starter to some friends recently and they genuinely ‘ooohed and arghed’.

Ingredients

  • 6 red peppers
  • A little extra virgin olive oil
  • Sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper
  • 60g ’nduja
  • About 400g burrata
  • Serve with fresh crusty bread

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 190°C fan.
  2. Halve the peppers, deseed them and put them roasting tin.
  3. Brush them with olive oil, season and roast for 20 mins.
  4. Break the ’nduja into chunks and put one inside each pepper and roast for another 10 mins.
  5. They are finished when the pepper skins are slightly blistered and a little charred in places.
  6. Leave them to cool a little, then tear the burrata and scatter over the peppers.
  7. Serve on the roasting tray or a large serving platter for everyone to help themselves to.

Cannellini beans, roasted tomato with a capers and mint dressing

This is a lovely fresh side to make.

Roasting the tomatoes makes them super sweet.

And goes great sitting on top of the garlic-y beans, drizzled in the zingy dressing.

SERVES: 6
PREP TIME: 10 mins
COOKING TIME: 15 mins
DIFFICULTY: easy
IDEAL FOR: sharing starter, crowd-pleaser, family
BUDGET: £

Ingredients

  • 3 x 400g tin cannellini beans
  • 4 tbsp capers
  • 500g cherry tomatoes (on the vine)
  • 2 tbsp honey (use agave if you want to make this dish vegan)
  • Salt and pepper
  • Large handful mint (or basil)

Dressing

  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
  • Salt and pepper
  • 7 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
  • A clove garlic, minced
  • 1 lemon, juice and zest
  • Handful parsley, finely chopped
  1. Preheat oven to 200 C.
  2. Make the dressing in a small bowl.
  3. Drain beans into a serving dish and add half the dressing and leave to the side.
  4. Place tomatoes in a baking tray, drizzle with the remaining 2 tbsps of the oil, season with salt and pepper and roast in preheated oven for 15 mins. Then let cool.
  5. Add the capers, mint (or basil) and the remaining dressing to the beans and mix through.
  6. Spread beans on a serving platter and arrange tomatoes on top.
  7. Pour the tomato cooking juices over the dish and serve.

Reference:

Diane Henry recipes