An early summer afternoon in the kitchen and the sun is beaming through the skylights. An hour to two of gentle cooking without the ticking clock of making dinner. An afternoon in which I put together savoury biscuits as fragile as frost on a windowpane, and rolls of filo pastry so thin you could see their contents of asparagus and feta hiding within. This is cooking just for the joy of it. The biscuits are mostly cheese and butter, held together with a little flour and egg, their filling lightly beaten cream cheese and soft-leaved herbs. They can carry a little warmth, too, in the form of ground Aleppo pepper or, should you prefer, smoked paprika. If you don’t want to sandwich them, custard-cream style, then the biscuits are good on their own, served with drinks. The asparagus is wrapped in buttered filo scattered with thyme leaves and a crumbling of feta. This time, I made them large enough to demand a knife and fork, but you could cut the spears in half and make smaller ones, more tightly rolled, to bring out before dinner. Either way, you will need a plate or an outstretched palm, to catch the crumbs of the buttery pastry that shatters as you eat. I am not given to fiddly cooking, yet this was a summer’s afternoon of quiet pleasure. Handling the cheese biscuits carefully, spooning on a little filling, then tenderly pressing a second biscuit on top – a step apart from the quick supper that was to follow. Cooking need not always be about getting something on the table. Sometimes, cooking can be just for the love of it, a treat to yourself and, of course, others. Asparagus and feta rolls To keep the pastry crisp, place a baking sheet in the oven to warm when you switch the oven on. Place the tray of asparagus rolls on top of the hot tray. Use 1 to 3 spears of asparagus for each roll, depending on the thickness of your spears. Makes 8, serves 4. Ready in less than 1 hour butter 70g filo pastry 2 sheets asparagus 8-24 spears, depending on their thickness feta cheese 300g thyme leaves 2 tbsp, chopped parmesan 8 tbsp, finely grated Preheat the oven to 200C/gas mark 6. Place a spare baking sheet in the oven to warm. Soften the butter in a small saucepan. Cut each sheet of filo into quarters. Trim the asparagus. Brush each of the filo rectangles with the melted butter – be generous – then crumble over 2 tbsp of the feta and the thyme leaves. Sprinkle each with a scant tbsp of the grated parmesan, reserving a little to scatter over at the end. Place 1 to 3 thick spears of asparagus, depending on thickness, on a pastry piece, positioning them almost at the edge of the long side nearest you, then roll up in the pastry. Place the roll, join-side down, on the parchment-lined baking sheet, then continue with the remaining pastry and asparagus. Brush each one with a little more of the butter and dust with a little more parmesan. Bake in the preheated oven for about 12 minutes until crisp and golden. Eat warm, while the pastry is still crisp and flaky. Cream cheese and herb biscuits The most fragile of biscuits, these need to be handled carefully and eaten within an hour or so of being filled. Whether you fill them or not, they are best eaten on the day they are made. You can leave them rough edged or, for a neater finish, use a cookie cutter on them as soon as they come from the oven. The trimmings left behind are something to scatter over a dish of pasta. Makes 24. Ready in 1 hour plain flour 125g butter 125g, cold parmesan 125g, finely grated egg yolks 2, lightly beaten Aleppo pepper or paprika a generous pinch For the filling: full-fat cream cheese 250g dill, chives and tarragon leaves 1 tbsp each, finely chopped To finish: chives, garlic flowers or a pinch of Aleppo pepper Line a baking sheet with baking parchment. Preheat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4. If you have a spare baking sheet, put one in the oven to warm. Put the plain flour, butter and a grinding or two of black pepper into the bowl of a food processor and reduce to the texture of soft, fresh breadcrumbs. (I rather enjoy doing this by hand, rubbing the flour and butter to velvety crumbs with fingers and thumbs.) Mix in the finely grated parmesan – and it must be finely grated otherwise your biscuits will fall apart – then, using a fork, mix in the egg yolks and Aleppo pepper. Bring the dough together with lightly floured hands to form a ball, cut in half, then roll each one into a fat cylinder about 5cm in diameter. Slice each roll of dough into rounds, about 0.5cm thick (you should get about 12 from each roll), then place the biscuits on the parchment-lined baking sheet leaving a little space around each one. Bake for 10 minutes in the oven on top of the hot baking sheet – they should be a rich golden colour – then leave to settle for 5 minutes before carefully transferring to a cooling rack, using a palette knife. (If you pick them up with your fingers they will probably crumble.) To make the filling, scoop the cream cheese into a mixing bowl, then stir in the chopped herbs and mix well. When the biscuits are cool, set half of them aside. Turn one half of them over then place 2 heaped teaspoons of filling on to each one. Lightly press one of the reserved biscuits on top of each one and transfer to a serving plate or board. If you wish, place a tuft of chive or garlic flowers on top, or the merest pinch of Aleppo pepper.