Three Courses Recipe

Roast vegetables

Preheat oven to 220°C (425°F). Place the halved red peppers, tomatoes, chopped onion and unpeeled garlic cloves on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with 2 tbs olive oil and toss lightly so vegetables are evenly coated. Roast 25–30 minutes until skins are charred and tomatoes have collapsed.

Finish garlic

Remove garlic from oven when vegetables are done, allow to cool briefly, then squeeze the softened garlic from skins into a bowl and discard skins.

Cook soup base

Transfer roasted tomatoes, peppers (peel peppers if you prefer a smoother texture), onion and squeezed garlic to a large pot. Stir in tomato paste, vegetable stock, sugar, salt and black pepper. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes to meld flavors.

Blend

Add basil leaves and use an immersion blender to puree until smooth (or carefully transfer in batches to a blender). If you prefer a silkier soup, pass through a fine-mesh sieve back into the pot.

Finish and serve

Stir in heavy cream if using and reheat gently (do not boil). Taste and adjust seasoning. Ladle into bowls, garnish with torn basil leaves and a drizzle of olive oil. Serve immediately with warm crusty bread.

Preheat and prepare

Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F). In a large bowl, combine 2 tbs olive oil, minced garlic, chopped rosemary, thyme, lemon zest and softened butter. Season the mixture with 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp black pepper; mix into a paste.

Season chicken

Pat the chicken thighs dry with paper towels. Rub the herb-butter mixture under the skin and over the top of each thigh for maximum flavor. Place chicken in a large roasting pan, skin side up.

Prepare potatoes

Toss baby potatoes in remaining 1 tbs olive oil, 1/2 tsp salt and remaining black pepper. Scatter the potatoes around the chicken in the roasting pan. Tuck lemon wedges among the chicken and potatoes and scatter any remaining herb sprigs.

Roast

Roast in the preheated oven for 35–45 minutes until potatoes are tender and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the chicken thigh (avoiding bone) reads 74°C (165°F) and skin is golden and crisp. About halfway through roasting, spoon pan juices over the chicken once and optionally add 60 ml white wine or chicken stock to the pan to keep juices and make a simple pan sauce.

Rest and serve

Remove chicken and potatoes to a platter and let rest 5–7 minutes. Spoon pan juices over the chicken, garnish with extra thyme or rosemary if desired, and serve family-style.

Prepare poaching liquid

In a wide saucepan combine water, white wine, granulated sugar, vanilla bean and seeds (or vanilla extract) and the strip of lemon peel. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves.

Poach pears

Lower the peeled pears into the simmering liquid (they should be mostly submerged). Reduce heat so the liquid stays at a gentle simmer and poach pears 15–25 minutes depending on size — pears are done when a skewer passes into the center with little resistance. Turn pears occasionally to color evenly.

Cool and glaze

Carefully remove pears to a plate. Increase heat and boil the poaching liquid until reduced to a syrupy consistency (about 8–10 minutes). Stir honey into the reduced syrup. Return pears to the syrup briefly to glaze and warm through, then transfer to a serving platter.

Toast almonds and serve

While syrup reduces, toast sliced almonds in a dry skillet over medium heat, stirring, until fragrant and golden (2–3 minutes). Sprinkle toasted almonds over the pears and drizzle additional honey if desired. Serve each pear with a spoonful of mascarpone or a scoop of vanilla ice cream and spoon extra syrup over the top.