Reach for the Skye in the kitchen

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Carpaccio of Beef with Red Pepper Relish

THERE’S nothing flouncy or fancy about Skye Gyngell as she stands surrounded by crates of fresh produce.

Simply dressed in a T-shirt, jeans and apron, she’s squeezing a tomato here, a nectarine there, sniffing herbs and shaking out a lettuce, occasionally frowning if she finds something that doesn’t make the grade.

You’d never guess that this unpretentious and friendly woman has cooked for Madonna, swapped recipes with Nigella and worked alongside some of the best chefs in town – until she starts talking about food.

Then Skye, head chef at Petersham Nurseries in Surrey, reveals all the enthusiasm that has won her a string of accolades.

“Food truly captures my heart, and the kitchen is where I feel confident and at home. Nowhere else do I feel so free, nor so connected at the same time,” she says.

“Food fascinates, seduces and entrances me.”

Using flavour and freshness as her bywords, she has helped to win the Richmond cafe a string of awards.

Skye is famous for her commitment to seasonal produce and now she has gathered 16 ingredients that feature on her menus – from fish, cheese and nuts through to flavour enhancers such as olive oil, garlic and honey – into a new book, My Favourite Ingredients.

“More than anything else, I would describe my cooking as produce-driven,” she explains.

“Beautiful ingredients will take a dish to new heights. At the restaurant, we follow the seasons closely. I believe that food eaten in its right season and grown as close to home as possible tastes far better than food flown in from afar.”

Diners at Petersham Nurseries benefit hugely from the cafe’s small vegetable and herb garden – and Skye is passionate about making the most of it.

“It makes me excited and smile when the first peach of the year perfectly ripens in one of our greenhouses, or winter purslane (a salad leaf) makes an appearance after nine months of absence,” she says.

“There’s no better way of understanding what each season has to offer than to have a vegetable garden, however small.”

Skye, a mother of two originally from Australia, trained in Paris and London and was a freelance cook with an enviable and celebrated clientele prior to starting work at Petersham Nurseries four years ago.

When she joined the cafe it catered for 15 people only at weekends – but now it regularly serves more than 120 in one sitting and is open throughout the week.

“My cooking has evolved over the years in subtle ways,” Skye explains.

“It has become simpler, more produce-inspired. Flavours are now inclined to whisper rather than roar.

“Dishes are very definitely layered still, but those layers are lighter, cleaner and perhaps more ethereal. As I’ve grown in confidence I find myself paring down my cooking – interfering less if you like. The intention is to make the produce taste even more of itself and the season to which it belongs.”

The book includes a range of dishes – from simple ones such as Salad of Warm Torn Bread, Poached Egg and Parmesan Dressing or Little Baked Apples through to impressive humdingers such as Pigeon with Borlotti and Cavolo, and Grilled Poussins with Lemon, Marjoram, Flat Bread and Garlicky Yoghurt.

Her tempting first courses include two of her favourite ingredients, olive oil in Carpaccio of Beef With Red Pepper Relish and tomato in Nectarine and Tomato Salad with Parma Ham and Buffalo Mozzarella.

They could be brilliant starters for a summer meal or to impress guests at an autumn supper party.

Serves 4 as a main course or 8 as a starter

“A well executed carpaccio makes an elegant first course,” Skye says.

“It’s also a lovely way to showcase the flavour of good-quality beef. Traditionally, it’s usually just finely sliced, pounded beef dressed with nothing more than salt, extra virgin olive oil and perhaps a few shavings of Parmesan, but I’ve added a little more – summery red peppers and the lightest of curd cheese.

“In winter, I serve it with shavings of white truffle, deep-fried artichoke hearts or slivers of white celery heart.”

500g (1lb 2oz) best-quality fillet of beef

Extra virgin olive oil, to drizzle

Sea salt

Juice of

Red Pepper Relish:

1 large red pepper

40g (1

50g (2oz) very fresh pine nuts

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 small garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped

Small bunch of basil, leaves only, finely chopped

Small bunch of rocket, chopped

4 tspn sherry vinegar

1 tspn Pedro Ximenez sherry

50ml (2fl oz) mild-tasting extra virgin olive oil

To serve:

4 generous tblspn fromage blanc, or other sweet young curd cheese

Trim the meat of any sinew or fat, then wrap and place it in the freezer for about 20-30 minutes until thoroughly chilled but not frozen. (This will make it easier to slice).

Cut 16 x 25cm (10in) squares of baking parchment. Using a very sharp knife, slice the meat, with the grain, into eight slices. Brush one parchment square with a little olive oil and lay a slice of meat on top.

Cover with a second oiled square of parchment. Working from the centre outwards, pound the meat evenly and gently using a wooden rolling pin. Keep pounding (but not too hard or you will tear the flesh) until the meat is no more than 3mm (

Continue until you have eight slices of finished carpaccio. Refrigerate until ready to serve, but for no longer than 4 hours or the meat will discolour and lose flavour.

To make the relish, roast the pepper under a hot grill, turning until the skin is charred all over. Transfer to a bowl, cover with clingwrap and allow to stand for 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180C/355F/Gas Mark 4. (Timings are for fan-assisted ovens. For a conventional oven, turn the setting up by 10-15C (50-60F/

Soak the currants in a little warm water for 15 minutes to soften. Warm the pine nuts in the oven for a few minutes to release their flavour.

Peel, halve and de-seed the pepper, then cut into small dice and place in a bowl. Add the pine nuts. Squeeze out the excess water from the currants and add these, too. Season and add the garlic, basil, rocket, sherry vinegar, sherry and finally the extra virgin olive oil.

Stir well and allow to stand for a few minutes, then taste and adjust the seasoning. The relish should be slightly sweet, soft and fresh.

To assemble, carefully peel off one sheet of parchment paper from each parcel. Then lay a slice, exposed side down, on each chilled plate and peel off the top layer of paper. Add a second slice of beef to each plate if serving two each.

Drizzle with the olive oil, season with salt and sprinkle with a few drops of lemon juice. Spoon over the relish, leaving most of the meat exposed. Finish with the fromage blanc and a final drizzle of relish. Serve immediately.

Serves 4

“Nectarine with tomato may seem an odd combination for a salad, but it is actually quite exquisite,” Skye says.

“The nectarines should be sweet and properly ripe, the tomatoes the same.

“Texturally, it’s a lovely salad – soft and very refreshing on a hot summer’s day. It should be served just on the cool side of room temperature.”

4 perfectly ripe nectarines

20 perfectly ripe little tomatoes, such as San Marzano, datterini or cherry tomatoes

Few drops of lemon juice

4 tspn (or so) of good-quality extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 balls of buffalo mozzarella

12 basil leaves (ideally purple basil), shredded

8 fine slices of Parma ham

2 tblspn basil oil (recipe follows)

Aged balsamic vinegar, to drizzle (optional)

Cut the nectarines in half along their natural division, remove the stones, then cut each half into three wedges. Halve the tomatoes. Place the nectarines and tomatoes in a bowl and sprinkle with a few drops of lemon juice. Drizzle over the extra virgin olive oil and season with a little salt and pepper.

Tear the mozzarella balls in half with your fingers and lay two halves on each plate. Now build your salad, alternating the peach slices and tomatoes with basil and Parma ham, spooning a little basil oil between the layers and seasoning delicately as you go. Finish with a restrained drizzle of balsamic vinegar, if you like.

Serve at once, preferably with some really good, chewy, peasant-style bread drizzled with olive oil.

Basil oil is a vibrant, sludgy sauce. To make it, whiz the leaves from three large bunches of basil in a food processor with one peeled garlic clove and a good pinch each of salt and pepper until the basil is finely chopped.

With the motor running, slowly trickle in 200ml (7fl oz) of extra virgin olive oil through the funnel and blend until you have a beautiful green puree. Allow to stand for a few minutes, then taste and adjust the seasoning. Store in a jar in the fridge – it will keep for up to a week.