SMOKED MACKEREL KEDGEREE

This takes no time at all to whip up and makes the perfect breakfast for Christmas day. Change the mackerel for kippers, if you're anything like my Dad, or throw in trimmings of last night's smoked salmon.

Smoked mackerel kedgeree

Serves 2

2 free-range eggs

good drizzle olive oil

knob of butter

1/2 banana shallot, sliced

1 clove garlic, chopped

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp turmeric

250g cooked basmati rice

handful spinach leaves, washed and roughly sliced

150g smoked mackerel fillets, skin removed

handful dill leaves, roughly chopped

lemon wedges to serve

 
1. Bring a pan of water to the boil and cook the eggs for 5 minutes until soft boiled. Drain and rinse under cold water before peeling and slicing in half.
2. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil and the butter in a frying pan and fry the shallot for a few minutes until just softened. Add the garlic, cumin, cayenne and turmeric and fry for a further 2 minutes.
3. Stir in the rice until coated in the spices and hot through. Add the spinach and fry until wilted then flake in the mackerel and stir in the dill. Season and squeeze in lemon juice to taste. Serve with the soft-boiled eggs.

ROAST CHICKEN

There's no fuss with this recipe just simple, amazing flavour. Sage, lemon, butter, garlic. Oh, and a cracking gravy.

My nostrils are tickling. Let's have some chicken. 

MY FAVOURITE ROAST CHICKEN

serves 4-6

30g butter, softened

2 cloves garlic

1.5kg free-range chicken, giblets removed, room temperature

6 sage leaves

1/2 lemon

olive oil, for drizzling

1/2 tsp plain flour 

100ml white wine

200ml chicken stock or hot water

Preheat the oven to 200C/fan180C/gas 6. 

Mix the butter with the garlic in a bowl and season. Place the chicken on a roasting tray and loosen the skin from the neck. Gently push your fingers up and under the skin, taking care not to tear it. Slide up the softened butter and massage the skin to spread the butter across the breast. Then, slide the sage leave so that they sit flattened between the butter and flesh. When the skin crisps, the sage leaves will to. Tuck the skin under the bird.

Press the lemon into the chicken cavity. Drizzle the bird with olive oil and season with sea salt flakes. 

Put the chicken in the oven and roast at the high oven temperature for 10 minutes. Turn the oven down to 180C/fan160C/gas 4, roasting for a further 50 minutes until the juices from the chicken run clear.
Transfer the chook to a large board. Leave the chicken to rest, loosely covered with foil, while you make the gravy.

Pour the juices from the roasting tin into a small pan with the flour. Whisk the juices so the flour is soaked up, then add the wine. Turn up the heat and boil for 2 minutes before adding the stock/water. Simmer for 5 minutes, strain and serve. Perfect with mashed potato and buttery carrots. 

CHICORY BAKED EGGS

CHICORY BAKED EGGS

SERVES 2 

as a starter, Sunday supper, or brunch

knob butter for greasing

1tbsp olive oil

1 head red chicory, sliced

1/2 garlic clove, crushed

1 tsp thyme leaves

60g soft crumbly cheese -I used Munster

2 medium free-range eggs

Preheat the oven to 200C/fan180C/gas 6. Butter 2 x 10cm ramekins.

Heat the olive oil in a small saucepan over a medium heat. Fry the chicory for 3 minutes until wilted, then add the garlic. Stir through and keep on the heat for another minute. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Distribute the chicory between the 2 ramekins and top with the crumbled cheese. Crack an egg on each and place in the oven for 5-7 minutes until the white of the egg has hardened and the cheese is bubbling. Remove from the oven and serve.

JOLLY GOOD MESS

It's a hot summer’s day, deckchairs are out, everyone is sporting the latest trilby, and grandfather’s binos are fixed on the riveting game on the green. Two teams of strapping, young, well-brought up boys are all adorned in starched whites and spotless knee-pads. After the last innings, an afternoon tea is served, in the pavilion, of cucumber sandwiches and scones...

...Yet, amidst the impressive neatness and stiff upper lips, Eton MESS sits pride of place. A towering castle of meringue, upon strawberries, upon cream. Rather a triumphant piece, yes, but surely not for here? A schoolboy prank, perhaps..?

Of course, there are those who would serve a neat little mound of whipped cream, with carefully cut meringue, and equally sliced strawberries. But where is the fun in that? One thing is for certain, my take on Eton Mess can in no way be described as tidy and conservative.

Unlike a game of cricket (though some might argue otherwise), this summer pud has no rules. You can make it any way you like and it will still taste the way it should. All you need is a few vital ingredients: a bat, a ball and some players...

ESPECIALLY MESSY ETON MESS:
Serves one Etonian cricket team of 11 players.
(Double the quantities if good sports)

Ingredients:
750g whipping cream (double cream is fine but produces a heavier whip)
4 punnets/ 1kg of British strawberries.
1 vanilla pod
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 heaped tbsp caster sugar

750g small meringues:
750g egg whites
750g caster sugar
750g icing sugar

MERINGUES: Preheat the oven to a low temperature of 110C – you don’t want ‘em to burn.. Whip the egg white with an electric whisk, (by hand is fine if you want to increase the size of your biceps), until soft peaks appear. Then add the caster sugar. Continue beating for about five minutes, then add the icing sugar. Beat slowly for five more minutes. With a metal spoon, place small equal sized dollops (size doesn’t really matter for this recipe, it just looks more satisfying) on to a nonstick baking sheet. Why not make one giant meringue for the top of the mess? Bake for two hours, or until the meringues are crunchy and dry. You want the meringues to be white for this recipe, so make sure they do not start to brown. Leave to cool on a rack.

THE MESS: With an electric whisk (seriously, I would) whip up the cream until stiff and fluffy. Gently scrape the vanilla pod of its seeds and add to the cream.
Hull and quarter all the strawberries. Take a third of them and mash in a separate bowl until juicy, but still visibly chunky. Add the balsamic and sugar and marinate a while. Now fold into the cream, a little at a time. If the consistency becomes too wet, hold back on the mixture.
Crush the meringues, bar 11 into the cream. Best to leave slightly crunchy otherwise it just turns to sugar. The bittier the better.
Tower the rest of the meringues on top and sprinkle the remaining strawberries.

You now have a mountain of messy, summer scrumptiousity. Almost good enough to dive into...But if you’re wearing cricket whites I suggest you refrain, as strawberry juice is a toughie to remove and mother won’t be best pleased. Eat with spoons, forks, cricket caps or fingers. Anything goes old chap…

A SPOONFUL OF SCONE.

There are many many things about the summer months that I look forward to. BBQs, all day beaching, french cricket, greedy picnics, late orange sunsets and early morning sunrise.

Bizarrely, the best things about summer all seem to begin with the letter F:

Festivals (yes, I have just splashed out on my 5th Bestival ticket...ouch),
Fetes ( Brook Green on the Isle of Wight holds a delightful get-together with steam train rides, willow hut weaving, fresh strawbs and Irish jigs),
Feet (BARE is best),
and rather essentially: FOOD.



Just last week, I was lucky enough to indulge in my first cream tea of the summer. When I say indulge, I mean it...

Two large scones, a pot of tea, a larger than life dollop of
clotted cream,
fresh strawberries and delicious jam.

Sounds rather like something out of Mary Poppins...

It was all so twee being presented with pretty cakes and colourful pottery, that the celestial sounds of birdsong and the tinkle tinkle feet of Morris dancers drowned out the vicious grumbles blasting out from the over-stuffed stomach below. Only until the second to last sip of tea did I realise that getting off my seat might become a bit of an issue.


On the roll home, luckily all downhill, I thought to myself, perhaps I shouldn't have given in to such a large scone? With one round cream and jam filled loveliness sat in front of you, it is so easy to gobble it in one go, rather than taking your time over lots of little bites...


I know it is awful to say but maybe they would be easier to digest if just a fraction smaller?

SACRILEGE, I hear you cry?

Well, I certainly found it difficult to finish scone number one, let alone start on numero dos. But, truthfully, who wants just one scone? We would feel so much lighter if we were to eat the same amount but in smaller portions, non? And with the same amount of dough you can get more for your money. Bite-sized deliciousness, and endless fun spreading layer after layer of cream then jam then strawberry. Into the mouth they go, with no effort at all!

Here goes...

ALL PURPOSE SMALL SCONES ( the normal recipe for large but with 3cm scone cutter)

200g/8oz self raising flour
1/2 level teaspoon salt
50g/2oz butter
125ml/1/4 pint milk
Extra milk for brushing.

1. Sift flour and salt into bowl
2. Rub in butter finely
3. Add milk all at once. Mix to soft , but not sticky, dough with knife
4.Turn onto lightly flowered bowl. Knead quickly until smooth
5. Roll out to about 1cm/1/2 in thick.
6. Cut into around 20 rounds with 2cm biscuit cutter (serrated edge)
7. Transfer to butter baking tray and brush the tops with milk
8. Bake towards top of hot oven (230 degrees C/ 450 degrees F/ Gas mark 8) for 7 mins (or until well risen and golden brown)
9. Cool on wire rack.
10. Gobble. Share if you must.

Serve with delicious strawberry jam - for homemade recipes try Jo Pratt's version - but for laziness you can't beat Bonne Maman, bursting with fruit and with such beautiful packaging (Watch this space for blog on jam recipes soon!). Clotted cream is best but you can whip up some double cream which is just as satisfying, and more fluffy if that's your kind of cream tea. Fresh strawberries are at their best at the moment, and a scone without these is no scone at all.

A pot of tea and dainty little tea cups (egg cups if you want to carry on down the miniature route) and a cliche red gingham table cloth will do the trick.




Afterwards, why not take a dip in the river to cool off from the summer heatwave? Spiffing!