Last updated 19:44, Thursday, 31 July 2008

WHILE on holiday, we discovered a roasted tomato salsa that really took our fancy.

We ended up eating it every day and so decided to recreate our own version when we got home.

Let us warn you, it is not for the faint-hearted as it is unashamedly extremely spicy.

It is a rustic style sauce using whole fresh tomatoes. If you prefer it without the tomato skins, remove them by piercing the tomato skin with a sharp knife, then blanch them in boiling water for a few seconds. Where you have pierced the skin it will begin to peel away and should slip off easily.

Six tomatoes, eye removed and cut into eights

Two cloves garlic, sliced into thin slivers

One small red onion, cut into thin slices

Two tblsp olive oil

Eight small hot green finger chillies, roughly chopped (we used the whole chilli, seeds and all)

Two bay leaves

One tsp tomato puree

Pinch of salt

Mix all the ingredients together.

Put into an ovenproof dish or tray and roast in the oven at 200 degrees until the excess moisture evaporates and you are left with a sticky, unct-uous sauce.

It should take around 30 minutes.

Don’t worry if it browns or chars slightly, that is part of its rustic appeal. The salsa can be served hot or cold and could be used as a dip or to top meat, fish or, as we suggest here, potatoes.

Patas bravas is a popular tapas dish of spicy potatoes with a tomato sauce. Here’s our easy version

Blanch some potatoes which have been cut into large chunks in boiling salted water for around 10 minutes. We don’t peel them as the skin is the best bit.

Drain then combine with a little olive oil, a dash of smoked paprika (or regular if you don’t have smoked), some chilli flakes, a pinch of salt and a pinch of ground cumin.

Roast in the oven at 200 degrees for around 35 minutes or until soft in the inside and crispy on the outside.

Top with the roasted tomato salsa (hot or cold).

To accompany the potatoes we suggest resurrecting a not-so-fashionable fish – mackerel.

When it is fresh, and that really is the key - don’t bother with it if it isn’t - mackerel shrugs its strong overly pungent image and emerges as a fresh delightful tasting fish.

It is bang on trend for being in season and being an oily fish satisfies the need for omega 3 in your diet. Thinking about the credit crunch, it couldn’t be a better choice as it is one of the cheapest fish you can buy.

We stress again, make sure it is very fresh. Get it locally if you can as lots of mackerel is caught on our very own harbour sides.

It needs minimal cooking. We suggest cooking it as fillets rather than the whole fish.

To pan fry – put a little oil in a frying pan and cook on a medium high heat, skin side down for three minutes.

Flip the fish over and cook for a further minute on the other side. Season with salt and pepper.

To grill – season with salt and pepper and drizzle with scant oil. Put under a hot grill skin side up for three minutes and turn over for a further minute.

Finally, to complete the meal, here’s our healthy vegetable slaw.

This is a slightly lighter version than the traditional mayonnaise based dish with a few extra flavours.

The cooling dressing will be good to counteract the chilli in the salsa and in fact would be good to serve with any spicy food.

Two carrots, peeled

One stick celery

¼ small white cabbage

¼ pack mange tout

½ red onion

¼ cucumber

Finely slice/shred all the above vegetables.

Put into a large bowl and mix in two to three tblsp of hummus, two to three tblsp natural yoghurt (we use low fat versions of both) and the zest and juice of one lemon. Stir through some chopped chives, coriander or watercress if you wish and season with salt and pepper.