Learn the secrets of a supperclub chef in Stay for Supper

Xanthe Ross, author of Stay for Supper, is definitely the outdoorsy type. The supper club chef gave up her job in restaurant marketing to attend a course with chef Dan Cox on Crocadon Farm in Cornwall, learning how to grow from seed, how to ferment and all things natural in the kitchen, and then took a sustainable food course at Ballymaloe Cookery School, where she would pick vegetables from the gardens after walking back from swimming in the sea every morning.

She took this further by starting a supper club offering vegetarian food, first in her grandfather’s Victorian greenhouse in Wales, which she renovated and used to grow ingredients for dinner, and then in her parent’s café in Notting Hill in London, offering food family-style and documenting it on Instagram. The clubs have thrived and the result is her first book, of “laid-back vegetarian food to share”.

The recipes are not tricky and could function as inspiration for a café or deli menu, or a family-style feast when served in combination. She offers up a section of ‘things on toast’, including eggs baked in a tomato sauce, and wild mushrooms with butter beans and parsley salsa. Soups and stews offer winter comfort in the form of squash, carrot and miso soup, the River Café-esque leek, cavolo nero and white bean soup, and leek and potato soup with cheese on toast.

Mains such as buckwheat crepes with mushrooms and fried egg or new potato frittata with herb salad would be perfect on a casual daytime menu, as would the salad selection, including new potato, asparagus, chive and egg, and warm lentil salad with smoked almonds and feta.

The chapter on sides is really a collection of smaller dishes in their own right, such as labneh with roast tomatoes, thyme and confit garlic, slow-cooked ratatouille and pickled summer vegetables. And for all the light and easy main dishes, the chapter on desserts has some rib-sticking, proper puddings: apple and blackberry pie, blood orange and thyme cake and chocolate mousse dolloped from a bowl and served with whipped cream.

She finishes with suggestions for menus, such as a winter lunch or an autumn supper, and ideas for which dish goes with what, allowing you to create your own supper club menu. She also offers advice on hosting: how to combine layers of flavour and texture, how to decorate a table with objects that communicate your intent with the food, the music to play and, most importantly, why you should take your time when cooking. As she says: “I encourage you to give yourself the time and space to cook and to make a moment out of doing so.”

Stay for Supper by Xanthe Ross (Quadrille, £25)