New cook book from Tart London

"This burger feels fresh and different - and it's on the healthy side, as far as burgers go," say Lucy Carr-Ellison and Jemima Jones, of food company Tart London. "You could make it even lighter by ditching the bun, keeping the onions raw and enjoying it as a salad - perfect in the summer straight off the barbecue.

"We do love the whole fun of a burger, though, using your hands to eat and generally making a bit of a mess! We like to mince our own meat, as it has a better texture and flavour. Do try to get hold of the chipotle in adobo sauce, too; it really takes the burger to a whole new level. You can buy it from big supermarkets or online."

(Makes about 10)

700g chicken (minced or not; use a mixture of breast and thigh)

10 spring onions, finely chopped

4tbsp finely grated Parmesan

75g peeled and grated fresh ginger

4 cloves garlic, crushed

Large bunch of coriander, stalks and leaves chopped

1.5tbsp rice wine vinegar

3tbsp toasted sesame oil

1.5tbsp soy sauce

2 limes, zest and juice

groundnut oil (or other flavourless oil), for frying

For the pickled cucumbers:

2tbsp rice wine vinegar

1tsp caster sugar

1/2 cucumber

1tsp toasted sesame seeds

1 red chilli, sliced

For the maple-chipotle mayonnaise:

6tbsp mayonnaise

5 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (or 1tsp smoked paprika and 1tsp harissa)

1 lime, zest and juice

1tsp maple syrup

Salt and pepper

To serve:

Burger buns (we like to toast them a little)

2 Little Gem lettuces, leaves separated

2 plum tomatoes, cut into 1cm slices

2 red onions, sliced into thin half-moons and fried until crisp

Method:

1. First make the pickled cucumber. Mix the vinegar and the sugar together until it dissolves. Using a vegetable peeler, shave the cucumber lengthways, working all the way round but stopping when you get to the seeds. Pour the vinegar mixture over the cucumber strips and toss; set aside. When you are ready to serve, lightly toast the sesame seeds and scatter over the cucumber along with the chilli.

2. Make the mayo: put the mayonnaise in a blender with the chipotle peppers, lime zest and juice and maple syrup and season.

3. If you are using minced chicken then simply place in a bowl. If not, roughly chop up your chicken meat, removing any gristle, and pop into a food possessor. Pulse until it is just minced - you do not want to form a paste. Add the rest of the burger ingredients to the minced chicken, season with salt and pepper and combine. Using your hands, shape into about 10 burgers and place on a plate, then flatten slightly with your hand (you don't want them too thick as they must cook fully all the way through, unlike traditional beef burgers).

4. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add the chicken burgers and cook, in batches, for four minutes each side - they should be well seared. Remove from the pan and drain on kitchen paper (we would always check one by cutting in half to make sure they are fully cooked - do not serve pink).

5. Serve in toasted buns with lettuce, tomatoes, crispy onions, a generous dollop of the smoky mayo and the pickled cucumber on the side.

• A Love Of Eating: Recipes From Tart London by Lucy Carr-Ellison and Jemima Jones, photography by Laura Edwards, is published by Square Peg, priced £25. Available now.

Saffron roasted peppers and tomatoes, crispy chickpeas and labneh (serves 6-8 as a side)

4 red peppers, halved and deseeded

Large handful of small mixed tomatoes (approx 20)

Few sprigs of thyme

1tbsp harissa

Large pinch of saffron threads

2 cloves garlic, sliced into thin chips

4tbsp olive oil, plus a glug for frying

1tbsp balsamic vinegar

1tbsp soft brown sugar

1/2 x 400g tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed (120g drained weight)

2tbsp buckwheat

Small bunch of coriander, finely chopped

Sea salt and pepper

For the labneh:

1kg natural yoghurt

1tsp sea salt

For the spicy nuts:

4tbsp olive oil

1tsp fennel seeds

1tsp nigella seeds

2tsp coriander seeds, crushed

1tsp cumin seeds

2tsp roughly chopped pine nuts

2tsp chopped hazelnuts

1tsp chilli flakes

First make the labneh. Line a deep bowl with a double layer of cheesecloth (or a clean dishcloth). Stir the yoghurt and salt together and place in the centre of the cloth. Pull the corners of the cloth up to make a ball and tie closed tightly with string. Suspend over a bowl to collect the liquid (a cupboard handle works well) or set in a sieve over a bowl. If the weather is hot, do this in the fridge. Let this hang while you get on with the rest of the recipe (or overnight if you have time).

Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas 4 and line a baking tray with baking paper. Place the peppers and tomatoes on the lined tray and scatter with the thyme sprigs. In a small bowl, mix together the harissa, saffron, garlic, olive oil and balsamic vinegar and season well. Drizzle this over the peppers and tomatoes, mixing in with your hands. Finally, sprinkle the sugar over the top and roast in the oven for 45 minutes.

Heat a good glug of olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. When hot, add the drained chickpeas and buckwheat with a good sprinkle of sea salt and fry for about five minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden and crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.

Now for the spicy nuts. Heat the olive oil in a small frying pan over a medium heat and add all the spices, chopped nuts and chilli flakes. Sizzle for three to five minutes until the spices have crisped. Remove from the heat and set aside.

When the peppers and tomatoes are out of the oven and cool enough to handle, peel the skins off the peppers and place the flesh in a mortar and pestle with the juices collected in the tray. Pound together to form a coarse, loose paste.

Serve by dolloping the labneh on to a large plate. Spoon the peppers over, then dot the tomatoes about sporadically, followed by the crisped chickpeas and buckwheat, then the spicy nuts (with all the delicious oil). Finish with a scattering of chopped coriander.

White chocolate, cardamom and raspberry tart (serves 12)

“This is one of our best desserts - it might even be Jemima’s favourite,” say Lucy Carr-Ellison and Jemima Jones of Tart London. “It is exactly what you want in a dessert, with a crunchy nutty base, luxurious creamy centre and a tart lift from the raspberry. “White chocolate and cardamom are a match made in heaven, we are always pairing them - try making white chocolate and cardamom ice cream, it’s divine.”

200g pecans

200g hazelnuts

175g unsalted butter, melted

2 pinches of sea salt

250g mascarpone

100ml double cream

300g good-quality white chocolate

1tsp vanilla extract

1tsp ground cardamom

250g raspberries

Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas 4. Spread both the pecans and hazelnuts out on a baking tray and roast for about 15 minutes until nicely golden. Remove and set aside to cool.

Place half the nuts in a food possessor and blitz to a fine powder, then put into a bowl. Blitz the rest of the nuts to a rough crumb, then mix with the powdered nuts. Add the melted butter and a pinch of sea salt and stir to combine. Tip the mixture into a 23cm loose-bottomed tart tin and press firmly up the sides and into the bottom of the tin. You want the base to be crunchy and quite thin, rather than a thick crust. Chill in the fridge while you get on with the filling.

Put the mascarpone, double cream, white chocolate, vanilla and cardamom into a pan and warm over a low heat, stirring all the time to let the chocolate melt, then add a pinch of salt and remove from the heat.

Pour the chocolate mixture into the base. Return to the fridge and leave to set for about one hour.

Put the raspberries into a sieve suspended over a bowl. Use a spoon to press the raspberries through the sieve, leaving the seeds behind in the sieve. Once done, take the nearly-set tart out of the fridge and use a teaspoon to dot blobs of the raspberry puree over the tart. Turn the teaspoon over and drag the dots a little to create a pretty, swirled effect.

Return to the fridge for another two hours to set completely.