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.

GOAT'S CURD AND LEMON PANCAKES

Goat's curd - a creamy, fresh and mild goats cheese that is made by straining the whey from milk - is heaven. I smooth it onto rye toasts with a sweet/savoury honey walnut pesto, or I toss it through cooled, cooked potatoes with crushed garlic and thyme for an easy potato salad.

It's easier to make than buy - though Neals Yard Dairy do a delicious unpasteurised version at about £8 a yogurt pot sized tub (not cheap but it's worth it). Better to make your own by straining wholemilk goat's yogurt through a muslin or clean dishcloth overnight, neatly tied up over a bowl, so the whey drips away, and the solids thicken.

These pancakes make for a perfect weekend breakfast, piled high on a plate and drizzled with honey. You can swap the curd for ricotta for a classic version, but the goat gives a gentle tang that makes them completely moreish when balanced with sweet fruit and sticky syrup. Makes 6-8 small, fluffy pancakes.

Goat's curd and lemon breakfast pancakes

30g unsalted butter, plus extra, melted, for brushing

3 medium free range eggs

200g goat's curd, plus extra to serve

20g caster sugar

zest of a small lemon

50g plain flour

honey, raspberries and nectarines to serve

1. Melt the butter in a pan and leave to cool. Separate the egg whites into a large scrupulously clean bowl, and the yolks into another.
2. Whisk the goat's curd, sugar, lemon zest into the egg yolks until smooth. Fold in the butter, followed by the flour.
3. Beat the whites with a clean hand whisk to stiff peaks. Stir a tablespoonful of  whisked egg whites into the yolk mix to loosen, then gently fold the rest in, using a metal spoon, being careful not to knock the air out.
4. Brush a pan with a little butter and put over a medium heat. Gently dollop 6-8 large tablespoonfuls of the mixture into the pan and fry for 2-3 minutes on each side until golden and speckled, and just cooked through.
 5. Plate up immediately, dousing the pancakes in honey and top with fresh fruit. Serve with extra curd if you like. 

BERGAMOT SORBET

Bergamots - pale fleshed, pale skinned (though some are green) and petite like a blood orange - have the most extraordinary flavour. Their juice is full of perfume and fresh, fresh citrus, and smells like a cup of the best Earl Grey tea imaginable.

Halved bergamots

Eating this sorbet was a perfect antidote to a cripplingly heavy lunch (mini pizzette with smoked provola, then sausages in red wine with parmesan polenta and pink radicchio, and more cheese after that); just tangy enough that you can get a full dose of bergamot, but not so much that your eyes start to water.

Bergamo sorbet

350g caster sugar

4 unwaxed bergamots, zested and juiced

1. Gently heat the sugar with 600ml water in a pan until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to the boil and simmer for 3 minutes then remove from the heat and stir in the bergamot zest. Allow to infuse and cool completely.
2. Stir in the juice and strain into the bowl of an ice cream machine and churn the machine until almost frozen then transfer to the freezer to set. Alternatively pour the cooled syrup into a large, shallow, freezeproof tub and freeze. Fluff up the sorbet with a fork every hour, then after 4 hours, leave to freeze. Keep it covered in the freezer for up to 3 months. 

Next time I might drizzle it in dark honey to serve, or infuse the syrup with pieces of ginger.

James Ramsden: "spectac"

[Must admit, bergamots aren't the easiest things to get you paws on but you can buy them here at Natoora. Now is when their at their best.]

LEMON TAGLIATELLI

On a day when weather is heavy, hot and bright - and after months of book writing and recipe testing - the only thing called for in my kitchen is a little light relief (and a burst of sharp citrus). Lemon tagliatelli is recipe that is understated, painless to produce and refreshingly clean tasting. A good squeeze of lemon juice and a scattering of zest, in all their simplicity, do just enough to seep into and coat long strands of taglatelli, and impart a clear, fresh and fragrant flavour. The dish needs little else, other than plump, unwaxed lemons and a few salty morsels to balance, to produce the most simple and elegant of suppers.

Lemon tagliatelli

Serves 2

Ready in 15

200g tagliatelli

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to drizzle

1 large garlic clove, crushed

2 anchovy fillets in oil, finely chopped

zest of 1 unwaxed lemon, juice of 3, plus extra zest to serve

parmesan, freshly grated, to serve

handful fresh basil leaves

Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Add the tagliatelli and boil for 8 minutes, or according to pack instructions, until al dente. Drain, reserving 2 tbsp of the pasta water, and refresh under cold water. Toss through a little olive oil to prevent the pasta sticking.
Meanwhile, heat the 2 tbsp of olive oil in a wide, deep frying pan over a medium-low heat. Add the garlic and anchovy and stir for 2 minutes until the anchovy begins to melt into the oil. Add the lemon zest and juice with the pasta water and season generously. Bring to a simmer.
Add the drained tagliatelli to the pan and toss through the lemon sauce until warmed through and completely coated in the sauce. Dish into bowls with a little more zest. Top with plenty of parmesan, a drizzle of best extra virgin olive oil and basil leaves to serve.