Using only one pot reminds us that simple cooking can often be the best: flavours and textures coming together to create a whole and balanced dish. And it's not just about rich stews and slow cooking; recipes can be bright, fresh and quick to make, too – a spring risotto with lemon, or a filling salad of butter beans, cherry tomatoes and tuna with a sherry-vinegar dressing. Summer soups, autumn vegetable dishes and even decadent puddings can be made without cluttering the kitchen with pots and pans.
Many of us don't have time to make complicated recipes or be the perfect host with several dishes on the go. Let's leave that sort of co-ordination to chefs. One-pot cooking is about conviviality of a less formal type. A bowl of steaming fish stew put on the table for everyone to help themselves or a pot au feu adorned only with mustard and cornichons, and robust red wine. That's how I like to cook when I have friends coming over.
Less can be more when it comes to cooking – whether it's number of ingredients, kitchen equipment or components to a dish. Simplicity lets the ingredients do the talking.
Courgette and herb frittata
Serves 2
unsalted butter 15g
spring onions 4, finely sliced
courgette 1, medium, sliced
mixed herbs a chopped handful of parsley, coriander, dill and mint
allspice ½ tsp, ground
feta 100g, crumbled
eggs 6
salt
freshly ground black pepper
A frittata is a sort of baked Italian omelette which puffs up during cooking like a cake. It's incredibly simple to make, and using this method you can alter the ingredients as you choose. Spinach and ricotta or asparagus and herbs are two of my other favourites.
Preheat the grill to a medium setting. In a small ovenproof saucepan, melt the butter over a medium heat. Add the springonions along with a pinch of salt andsweat gently until they soften slightly. This will take a couple of minutes.
Add the courgette slices and continue to cook gently for 5-10 minutes, allowing them to brown slightly and soften.
Put the herbs in a bowl with the onions, courgettes, allspice and feta. Crack in the eggs and beat lightly, keeping parts of the egg white and yolk separate. Season well.
Pour the mixture into the pan and cook for about 4 minutes over a medium heat or until the bottom has set and browned slightly. Then put the pan under the grill for about 12 minutes. The frittata will puff up and turn a golden brown, but should still be a little runny inside when cut open.
Spanish butter bean and tuna salad
Serves 2
garlic 1 clove, crushed to a paste with salt
sherry vinegar 2 tbsp
extra-virgin olive oil 4 tbsp
red onion ½, finely sliced
butter beans 1 tin, rinsed (400g)
cherry tomatoes 250g, halved
pitted black olives 50g
flat-leaf parsley 20g, roughly chopped
tuna 1 tin (200g), sustainably sourced
salt and freshly ground black pepper
This full-flavoured salad is one of my favourite easy-to-make lunches. Apart from the tomatoes and parsley, all of the ingredients can be found in the store cupboard, so it's a great dish to throw together at the last minute and take with you as a packed lunch.
In a large bowl, whisk together the garlic, vinegar and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Add the onion, butter beans, tomatoes, olives and parsley and mix well. Gently stir in the drained tuna, being careful not to break it up too much.
Black risotto with squid
Serves 4-6
olive oil 2 tbsp
red onion 1, finely diced
garlic cloves 3, finely chopped
thyme leaves 1 tsp
dried chilli flakes ½ tsp
fennel seeds 1 tsp, ground
squid 450g, including the tentacles, cleaned and cut into strips
risotto rice 300g
white wine 100ml
cuttlefish ink 12g (about 4 sachets)
hot fish stock or water 1 litre
unsalted butter a small knob
flat-leaf parsley 2 tbsp, chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper
A spectacular-looking dish to serve to friends. The black ink from the cuttlefish gives this dish its wonderful colour; you can buy it in sachets either from the supermarket or a fishmonger. The risotto has a deep and unusual flavour, but the method is the same for any risotto.
In a large heavy-bottomed pan, heat the oil over a medium heat. Add the onion alongwith a pinch of salt and gently fry until it begins to soften but not colour. Nowadd the garlic and continue to cook for 1-2 minutes, then add the thyme leaves, chilli flakes and fennel seeds. Finally, add thesquid pieces and fry briefly until they start to curl. Pour in the rice and stir well, coating every grain so it looks shiny. Season with salt and pepper.
Now add the wine, stirring for a minute before adding the cuttlefish ink. Stir until every grain of rice is coated in black ink, then add the hot stock, a ladle at a time. Stir gently until all the liquid has been absorbed before adding the next ladleful.
Continue stirring and adding the stock a ladle at a time for 20-30 minutes, or until the rice is soft, but still has a bit of bite and the liquid around the rice is creamy. Stir in the butter and chopped parsley. Check the seasoning before serving.
Date and orange cake
unsalted butter 150g, plus extra for greasing
light brown sugar 100g
eggs 2
self-raising flour 200g
cinnamon 1 tsp, ground
almonds 75g, ground
salt a pinch
oranges 2 or 3 large, the zest of one and atotal of 175ml juice
dates 200g, chopped
candied peel 30g, plus extra for decorating
icing sugar 50g
Lightly spiced, moist and naturally sweet with dates, this cake makes a wonderful pudding served warm with just a dollop of yogurt or crème fraîche. Any leftovers can be eaten up at tea time.
Preheat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4. Butter a 1 lb loaf tin and line it with bakingparchment. Add the butter and sugar to a bowl and beat together until light and fluffy. Mix in the eggs one by one,adding 1 tbsp of flour after each. Gently fold in the remaining flour, cinnamon,almonds and the salt. Add the orange zest, then loosen the mixture with 100ml of the orange juice to make asmoothbatter. Fold in the chopped datesand candied peel and spoon the mixture into the lined loaf tin.
Bake for 1-1½ hours, or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comesout clean. Remove from the oven and use a skewer to pierce holes in the topof the cake. Leave to cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes before turning out and peeling away the baking parchment.
Mix the remaining 75ml of orange juice with the icing sugar to make a smooth glaze. Pour this over the cake then sprinkleover the reserved candied peel.
Blanche Vaughan's In One Pot is published by Orion at £18.99. To order a copy for £15.19, with free UK p&p, go to guardian.co.uk/bookshop or call 0330 333 6846
David William's wines of the week to go with Blanche Vaughan's recipes
With the fritatta try:
Tesco Finest Stellenbosch Sauvignon Blanc, South Africa 2012 (£9.99, Tesco)
There's agreen and grassy zip to this punchy dry white from the Vergelegen estate that'll bring out the freshness of the herbs in this dish.
With the salad try:
The Society's Corsican Rosé 2012 (£8.95, The Wine Society)
A tangy and full-flavoured rosé that's very much in keeping with the Mediterranean feel of this salad.
With the cake go for:
Lornano Vin Santo del Chianti Classico, Tuscany, Italy 2003 (£14.99, 37.5cl, Laithwaites)
Chiantishire may be better known for reds, but its sweet wines are worth looking out for. This one has an intense toffee-nut richness.
