‘Weather is our biggest problem. And supermarkets.’ Nick Cunard spends a day with ice cream van man Mr Whirly, aka Ron Sutherland of Chard in Somerset

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A tasty, filling and quick lunch or supper

Tasty burgers and herby couscous make a delicious, substantial quick lunch or supper. Serves four.

For the burgers
500g minced lamb
1 small onion, peeled and grated
3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 tsp ground sumac (optional)
½-1 tsp chilli flakes, depending on how hot you want them
½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp flaky sea salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp olive oil

For the minty yoghurt dressing
180g thick Greek yoghurt
1 tsp dried mint
1 good pinch salt

For the couscous
250g large-grain couscous
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
Zest of 1½ lemons
2 spring onions, white and pale green part only, trimmed and finely chopped
½ cucumber, cut into small dice
200g cherry tomatoes, halved
1 small handful parsley leaves, finely chopped
1 small handful coriander

leaves, finely chopped
10-12 mint leaves, finely chopped
1 tsp ground sumac (optional)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a large bowl, and using your hands, mix together all the ingredients for the burgers. Set aside for 10 minutes, to let the flavours to develop, while you prepare the dressing and couscous.

In a small bowl, mix together the ingredients for the minty yoghurt.

Cook the couscous according to the instructions on the packet. While it’s cooking, break off a walnut-sized piece of the burger mixture and fry it in a little oil until cooked. Taste and, if necessary, adjust the seasoning of the remaining raw burger mixture, then form into four 2cm-thick patties.

Warm the oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Fry the burgers for four minutes on one side, flip over and cook for two to three minutes on the other side – this will cook them medium-rare.

Drain the couscous. Add the olive oil, lemon juice and zest, and fluff with a fork. Stir in the remaining salad ingredients. Serve with the burgers and dollops of yoghurt.

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s new book Veg: River Cottage Everyday, is published by Bloomsbury in October at £25. To pre-order a copy for £18 (including UK mainland p&p), go to guardian.co.uk/bookshop, or call 0330 333 6846.

Fiona Beckett’s drink match Lamb and cabernet sauvignon is always a good combo, but when the meat is spiced up as it is here, it’s best to choose a bold, blackcurranty style, such as Claro Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 from Chile’s Central Valley (£5.48, Asda; 13% abv), that will be able to stand up to the strong flavours.

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A rich, moreish Iraqi-inspired combination of aubergine, egg, bread and all manner of other tasty goodies

Iraqi immigrants to Israel in the early 1950s brought with them the fascinating combination of fried aubergine and hard-boiled egg stuffed into fresh pitta (along with plenty of other big-flavoured ingredients). It sounds weird, but it’s one of the most exciting street foods you could wish to come across. This is a plated version. Zhoug is a wonderful Yemenite green chilli sauce, but to save time, a good commercial savoury chilli sauce will do. Other traditional elements are a sharp mango pickle and a good hummus, so add them, too, if you fancy. Serves four.

2 large aubergines
About 300ml sunflower oil
4 slices rustic white bread, toasted

4 free-range eggs, hard-boiled and cut into 1cm-thick slices
Salt and black pepper

For the tahini sauce
100g tahini paste
80ml water
20ml lemon juice
1 small garlic clove, crushed

For the salad
2 ripe tomatoes, cut into 1cm dice
2 mini cucumbers, cut into 1cm dice
2 spring onions, thinly sliced
1½ tbsp chopped parsley
2 tsp lemon juice
1½ tbsp olive oil

For the zhoug
35g coriander
20g parsley
2 green chillies
½ tsp ground cumin
¼ tsp ground cardamom
⅛ tsp sugar
¼ tsp salt
2 garlic cloves, crushed
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp water

Using a vegetable peeler, peel off strips of aubergine skin from top to bottom, so they end up like a zebra, with alternating black-and-white stripes. Cut both aubergines widthways into 2.5cm-thick slices.

Heat the sunflower oil in a wide pan. Carefully – the oil spits – fry the aubergine in batches until nice and dark, turning once, for six to eight minutes; add oil if needed as you cook the batches. When done, the aubergine should be completely tender in the centre. Remove from the pan, leave to drain on kitchen paper, then sprinkle with salt.

To make the zhoug, put all the ingredients in a food processor and blitz to a smooth paste. For the tahini sauce, put the tahini paste, water, lemon juice, garlic and a pinch of salt in a bowl. Mix well, and add a little more water, if needed, so its consistency is slightly runnier than honey. Make the salad by mixing the tomato, cucumber, spring onion, parsley, lemon juice and olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste.

To serve, place a slice of bread on each plate. Spoon a tablespoon of tahini sauce over each, then arrange overlapping slices of aubergine on top. Drizzle over some more tahini, without completely covering the aubergines. Season each egg slice, and lay on top of the aubergine. Drizzle more tahini on top and spoon over as much zhoug as you like – be careful, it’s hot! Serve the salad on the side; spoon a little on top of each sabih, too, if you like. Store any leftover zhoug in a sealed container in the fridge – it will keep for a week at least.

Yotam Ottolenghi is chef/patron of Ottolenghi and Nopi in London.

Fiona Beckett’s drink match This is not a dish that would traditionally be drunk with alcohol, so I’d stick to a soft drink such as pomegranate juice or the interesting new Crone’s Apple & Sour Cherry Juice (£3.60, Vintage Roots).

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Here’s something to get your claws into on a sunny day

You can make this with brown crab, but it’s worth searching out spider. Cook and pick the crab yourself, or get a fishmonger to do it; ask for the shells, too, as they’re great for serving it in, though individual gratin dishes, or one big one, will do. Serves four.

Olive oil
100g finely chopped leek, white part only
1 clove garlic, peeled and finely crushed
10 cherry tomatoes, quartered
80g brown spider crab meat
A pinch of saffron
1 small dried birds’ eye chilli
A splash of brandy
A splash of dry sherry
25ml double cream
150g white spider crab meat
1 tbsp chopped tarragon
Salt and pepper
1 handful fine breadcrumbs
1 tsp finely chopped parsley
1-2 small knobs butter

Heat two tablespoons of oil in a pan, add the leek, garlic and tomato, and cook for a minute or two. Stir in the brown meat, saffron and chilli, add the brandy and burn off the alcohol. Repeat with the sherry, then add the cream. Stir in the white meat, cook for a couple of minutes to combine the flavours, then add the tarragon and season to taste. Spoon into cleaned crab shells or gratin dish(es), sprinkle with breadcrumbs and parsley, dot with butter and grill until bubbling and golden. Serve with a wedge of lemon, crusty rustic bread and a summery salad.

Mitch Tonks is chef/co-patron of The Seahorse and Rockfish, both in Dartmouth, and Rockfish Grill in Bristol. His book, Fish: The Complete Fish and Seafood Companion, is published by Pavilion at £25 To order a copy for £20 (including UK mainland p&p), go to guardian.co.uk/bookshop. His follow-up book will be published next year.

Fiona Beckett’s drink match This rich dish needs a full-bodied white: try the lush Asda Extra Special Adelaide Hills Chardonnay 2009 (13% abv), made by Petaluma and brilliantly well priced at £8.67.

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A gently spiced first course to get your meal off with a bang

Tawa jhinga is a type of griddle cooking carried out on a flat iron disc; it’s known as tak-a-tak in northern India and Pakistan.

2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp ajwain seeds (they’re from the lovage family)
1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 green chilli, finely chopped
1 tsp grated ginger
3 medium tomatoes, chopped
12 large head-on prawns, deveined but shell left on
¼ tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp coriander powder
½ tsp turmeric powder
Salt (optional)
¼ tsp fenugreek leaf powder
¼ tsp garam masala
1 tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves
Mixed cress, to garnish

Heat the oil in a pan, add the ajwain seeds and, when they begin to sizzle, add the onion, chilli and ginger, and sauté until the onion is translucent. Add three-quarters of the tomatoes and cook until reduced to a nice, saucy consistency. Add the prawns, cook until they curl up, then add the powdered chilli, coriander and turmeric, plus a little salt, if using. Cook until prawns are done, stir in the remaining tomatoes, fenugreek and garam masala, and sauté for a minute or two more. Serve sprinkled with coriander and garnished with cress. Serve with chapati.

Atul Kochhar is chef/patron of Benares in London.

Fiona Beckett’s drink match Aromatic wines such as Argentina’s torrontés work really well with gently spiced dishes: try the Alma Andina Torrontés Sauvignon Blanc 2010 (£7.49 as part of a half-case, Laithwaites; 13.5% abv).

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A light starter to kick off a summer’s meal

Yes, our asparagus season is over (sob!), but even with imported stuff, this is a lovely starter. Serves four.

2 bunches asparagus
Sea salt and black pepper
100ml olive oil, plus a bit extra
25ml red-wine vinegar
½ tsp Dijon mustard
100g goat’s cheese, crumbled
100g fresh peas, blanched
Fresh mint (chop it at the last minute, otherwise it’ll go black)
Grated zest of ½ lemon
1 handful mixed salad leaves
1 tsp pine nuts, toasted

Cut the woody ends off the asparagus spears, season and rub with a little olive oil. Heat a ridged griddle pan (a normal cast-iron frying pan will do, if need be) and griddle the asparagus for three minutes. Transfer to a bowl, add the oil, vinegar and mustard, and mix. Add the remaining ingredients and mix gently, so as not to bruise the leaves. Serve on a large plate, so everyone can help themselves.

Angela Hartnett is chef/patron of Murano, London W1. Her new book, A Taste Of Home, is published by Ebury at £25. To order a copy for £18.49, go to guardian.co.uk/ bookshop, or call 0330 333 6846.

Fiona Beckett’s drink match This dish is a shoo-in for sauvignon blanc, but try a lightly oaked one for a change, such as the gentle, aromatic Domaine Rives-Blanques Sauvageon 2009 Pays d’Oc (£12.25, Leon Stolarski; £12.99, Cambridge Wine Merchants; 13.5% abv).

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A herby, citrussy filling works wonders on this seasonal fish dish

Ask your fishmonger to prepare the fish for you, if need be. Serves four.

4 500g-600g whole black bream, heads removed, butterflied and pin-boned

Sea salt and black pepper
8 large basil leaves
½ bunch coriander, leaves picked and chopped
Olive oil
16 large new potatoes, cooked
Juice of ½ lemon

Season the fish inside and out with sea salt. Divide the herbs between the cavity of each fish, then fold the fish up into its original shape, secure with a wooden skewer and season all over. Heat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6. Place the fish in an oven-proof dish, drizzle with oil and bake for 20 minutes, until the skin is crisp and the flesh cooked through.

Meanwhile, cut the fennel into quarters. Heat some oil in a large frying pan, lightly colour the fennel for a few minutes, then place in the oven alongside the fish for 15 minutes.

While the fish and fennel finish cooking, cut the potatoes in half, fry in more oil until crisp, and drain.

Remove the fish from the oven and place on warmed plates. Divide the potatoes and fennel between the plates. Squeeze lemon into the fish juices, spoon over the fish and serve.

Mark Sargeant is chef/patron of Rocksalt and The Smokehouse, both in Folkestone. His book, My Kind Of Cooking, is published in October by Quercus at £20. To pre-order a copy for £16 (including UK mainland p&p), go toguardian.co.uk/bookshop

Fiona Beckett’s drink match Vermentino is particularly sympathetic to both herbs and seafood. Try the 2010 Domaine de Torraccia Blanc from Yapp Brothers (£12.75; 12% abv), a lovely pure, minerally organic white from Corsica.

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