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.

BEETROOT DAL SOUP

Oh, hello you. It's been a while.

Time to bring in the New Year with some spice and some warmth. 

We're doing a whole month of it. Every night for the month of January my dear one and I are cooking Feel Good Food. Spicy broths, Asian salads, punchy curries and argy bhaji.  So, set the table, pull on your stocking socks, and tuck into a whole lotta love.

For this recipe: Start with a dal, change your mind and end with a soup.

BEETROOT DAL SOUP

SERVES 6

250g red lentils, rinsed

3 tbsp sunflower oil

1 tbsp cumin seeds

1 onion, finely chopped

2 whole red chillies, sliced down the side

2cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and thinly cut into matchsticks

3 garlic cloves, finely sliced

1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes

1 tsp ground turmeric

1 tsp garam masala

1 tsp ground coriander

4 cooked beetroot, quartered

400ml good quality vegetable stock

natural yoghurt, to serve

handful chopped fresh coriander leaves, to serve

Cover the lentils with approximately 1 litre of water and bring to the boil, skimming any froth that comes to the top with a spoon. Cover the pan with a lid, turn down the heat, and simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring regularly, until the lentils are tender. When cooked, remove the pan from the heat and drain if necessary. Stir and set aside to cool. 

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a pan over a medium heat, then gently fry the cumin seeds until they are fragrant. Add the onion, ginger and whole chillies and fry until golden and slightly softened. Add the garlic and fry for another 30 seconds.

Pour in the chopped tomatoes, 100ml water with the ground spices and stir. Season. Bring to a gentle simmer and leave to cook, with the lid on, for 20 minutes. 

Stir in the lentils and transfer to a blender. Add the quartered beetroot and whiz until smooth. Slowly pour in the stock, pulsing the blender until you reach a thick soup consistency. You may not want to use all of the stock or you may want more depending on how you like it. 

If you're feeling fancy, push the soup through a sieve for extra smoothness. If not, give it a good old stir, season and garnish with a dollop of yoghurt and chopped coriander. 

If you've got leftovers, the soup will keep for a week in the fridge in a (preferably) sterilised container, or freeze it for up to 6 months.

A VEGGIE SUPPER

RAINBOW CHARD AND MUSHROOMS 

SERVES 2

1 head of chard

1 tbsp olive oil

1 red onion, finely sliced

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 medium red chilli, finely chopped, plus extra to garnish

4 field mushrooms

100g good quality mozzarella

handful mint leaves

Separate the chard leaves from the stalks. Bring a pan of lightly salted water to the boil and drop in the chard leaves for 2 minutes until wilted. Drain, refresh under cold water and, after squeezing out excess water, set aside. 

Heat the olive oil in a frying pan or wok and add the onion. Fry on a low-medium heat for 5 minutes until just soft. Add the chard stalks and continue to fry for another 5 minutes. Then, add the garlic and chilli. Cook for 1 minute more, then season well with salt and pepper. 

Preheat the grill to high. Lay the mushrooms on a baking sheet, top with torn mozzarella, drizzle over a little olive oil and season generously. Place the sheet under the grill and cook for 5 minutes until the mozzarella is bubbling and golden and the mushrooms have softened. 

Meanwhile, reheat the chard stalks and onions and stir through the chard leaves. Tear the mint leaves and, reserving a few for a garnish, mix through the chard.

Remove the mushrooms from the grill and serve on top of the chard mixture with the remaining mint leaves and a little more chopped chilli, if you like.

SUMMER SAUSAGES

I spent a very wet Saturday stomping around Broadway market, sheltering under green-striped tarpaulins, standing nose to nose with the marketeers. I scooped up two old cushions, a greedy burger form Lucky Chip, two corn on the cob and a couple of peculiarly shaped courgettes. Despite the sodden shoes and soggy mop, it was quite a perfect day. 

This sausage dish is a great cheerer on a wet day and needs very few ingredients to give a great supper. Get bonne saucisse, a bunch o' cherry tomatoes, strange courgettes and an onion. And that's pretty much it. I love it. 

SUMMER SAUSAGES

serves 4

1 tbsp olive oil

8 pork sausages

1 large echalion shallot, sliced

3 garlic cloves, crushed 

20 cherry tomatoes

2 courgettes (custard white are fun)

1 tbsp passata

50ml water

salt and pepper

handful sweet basil, torn

Heat up the olive oil in a large, deep frying pan over a medium heat. When hot, add the sausages and cook for 10 minutes with a lid on, turning occasionally to brown evenly.

Chop the sausages with a wooden spoon and add the onion and garlic. When the onion has softened, throw in the tomatoes. Cook for 5 minutes and add the courgettes. Season and stir.

Now add the passata and the water and simmer for 5 minutes. When the sauce has reduced, tear up the basil and stir through. Serve with a well-dressed salad and a hunk of bread for mopping. Dead cosy like.