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Brisket’s open-grained texture, generous fattiness and deep flavour make it perfect for slow roasting, as well as boiling. Ask your butcher for the thick end of the brisket, boned and rolled, and make sure he doesn’t trim off the fat.

Serves

Serves six to eight people

Ingredients

  • 2kg piece boned, rolled beef brisket (fresh, not salted)
  • 4-5 garlic cloves, bruised
  • Good handful of thyme sprigs
  • Olive oil
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 1-1.25kg potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
  • About 400g baby onions or shallots, outer skins removed

Optional Extras

  • Baby broad beans and/or garden peas, podded and blanched for 2 minutes

Method

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6.

Put the brisket in a large roasting dish. Tuck the garlic and thyme inside and under it. Pour over two to three tablespoons of olive oil and massage into the meat, then season well.

Put the meat in the oven for 20-30 minutes, then remove it. Turn down the oven to 130C/250F/gas mark 1/2 , cover the meat with foil and return to the oven for four hours.

After this time, the beef should be very tender. Baste it with its juices, add the potatoes and onions, and toss them in the fat, then turn up the heat to 170C/325F/gas mark 3 and cook, uncovered, for a further hour.

Serve the beef in thick slices, with the potatoes, onions and a little of the rich cooking juices.

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This is a tasty noodle dish where the vegetables are flavoured with ginger, garlic and a touch of curry powder. A good vegetarian option it can also suit meat eaters if two finely sliced or shredded duck breasts are added to the mixture at the last stage of cooking with the noodles.

Serves

4 people

Ingredients

  • 250g egg noodles
  • 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
  • 1 red pepper, cored, seeded and sliced
  • 100g shitake mushrooms, wiped and sliced
  • 75g mangetout
  • 75g spring onions, sliced
  • 100g bean sprouts
  • 1/2 tsp garlic granules
  • 1 tbsp medium curry powder
  • 1/2 tsp ground ginger
  • 1/2 tsp crushed chillies
  • 1 1/2 tsp light soy sauce
  • 5 tsp Shaoxing rice wine (or dry sherry)

Methods

  1. Prepare the noodles according to the packet instructions, drain and rinse.
  2. Heat the oil in a wok or large deep frying pan. Add the pepper, mushrooms, mangetout, spring onions and beansprouts and stir-fry for 4-5 minutes.
  3. Add the garlic granules, curry powder, ginger, chillies, soy sauce, rice wine and cooked noodles. Continue to stir-fry for a further 2 minutes then serve at once.

Tip

Toasted sesame oil gives a good authentic flavour to this stir-fried dish but chilli or wok oil (where the oil is infused with garlic and ginger) can also be used.

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This is a great vegetable dish to prepare in advance and left in the fridge.  Just reheat when you want to serve it.

Good use of the induction hob, quickly cooking the green vegetables and melting the butter at the back of the ESSE.

Ingredients

  • 450g green cabbage
  • 450g spinach
  • 25g butter, melted
  • Nutmeg
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • Sunflower oil

Method

For the Spinach:

  1. Heat a large saucepan, add a little oil and all spinach.
  2. Stir and cook until the spinach collapses then remove from the pan and lay on a tray to cool down.

For the cabbage:

  1. Leave 5 leaves whole and shred the rest of the cabbage.
  2. Briefly and quickly cook the shredded cabbage until just tender and then lay on a tray to cool down.
  3. Cook the 5 whole leaves in boiling water until tender then drain well.
  4. Take a 20cm cake tin and line with cling film (if you are making this in advance) then line the tin with the whole leaves.

Now prepare the filling:

  1. Squeeze all the water out of the cooked spinach and chop it up.
  2. Mix the shredded cabbage and spinach together and add the melted butter and seasoning with a little grated nutmeg.
  3. Spoon the mixture into the lined cake tin.  Fold the overhanging leaves over the top.
  4. Cover with cling film and leave in the fridge until needed with a plate on top.

To serve:

Remove the cling film, turn the cake onto a plate.  Cut into wedges when cold and then reheat, covered with foil in the bottom right hand oven until heated through.

Recipe by Philippa Vine Bluebell Farmhouse Kitchen.

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Here is something a little more festive than the traditional nut roast for those who are vegetarian or those who choose to forgo meat over the holiday celebrations. Serve warm with seasonal vegetables or cold with a crisp mixed salad.

Serves

4 people

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, crushed
  • 200g chestnut mushrooms, wiped and roughly chopped
  • 100g canned peeled chestnuts
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 4 sheets filo pastry
  • 15g butter, melted
  • 150g Red Leicester cheese, grated
  • 300g jar red pimientos, drained and trimmed
  • 1 tsp sesame seeds

Method

  1. Preheat the oven if necessary to 200°C/Fan 180°C/Esse Dial Guide HOT. (Aim for the dial reading to be in the middle of HOT).
  2. Heat the oil in a pan, add the onion, garlic and mushrooms, mixing well. Cover and cook gently for 5 minutes. Uncover, increase the heat and cook until the juices from the mushrooms have evaporated.
  3. Transfer to a food processor, add the chestnuts and seasoning to taste and blend until you have a chunky pâté type consistency.
  4. Lay a sheet of filo pastry on a clean surface, brush with little melted butter. Top with another sheet and repeat until you have a stack of 4 sheets. Spread the chestnut mixture over the top to
    within 2.5cm of the edge. Top with the cheese and red pimiento. Starting from one end, roll up like a Swiss roll to enclose the filling and place on a baking tray. Brush with any remaining butter and sprinkle with the sesame seeds.
  5. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the pastry is crisp and golden. Serve warm cut into slices.

Get Ahead!

The strudel can be prepared up to 24 hours ahead of cooking. Cover and chill in the refrigerator until required. Uncover and bake from chilled for 25-30 minutes until crisp and golden.

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A sweet, sticky glaze of quince paste and sherry perfectly complements the flavours of this traditional Christmas gammon. It’s delicious both hot and cold.

Serves

8 people

Ingredients

  • 2.5kg smoked gammon joint
  • 1 litre pressed apple juice
  • 30-35 whole cloves
  • 100ml fino sherry
  • 155g pot quince paste (I used Cano’s Membrillo pure Spanish quince paste)

Method

  1. Preheat the oven if necessary to180°C/Fan 160°C/Esse Dial Guide MODERATE. (Aim for the dial reading to be at the top end of MODERATE or very low end of HOT).
  2. Place the gammon in a large pan. Add the apple juice and enough cold water to cover. Bring to the boil, cover then simmer for 1 hour.
  3. Drain the gammon and allow to cool slightly. Remove any string,then, with a sharp knife, carefully cut away the rind, leaving the layer of fat intact. Score the fat with a diamond pattern and stud the centre of each with a clove. Place on a rack in a roasting tin, cover with foil and roast for 45 minutes.
  4. Meanwhile, place the sherry and quince paste in a small pan and gentle heat until melted. Simmer for 23 minutes. Spoon about half of the glaze over the gammon. Pour a little water into the base of the roasting tin to prevent the juices from burning, recover then roast for another 2025 minutes.
  5. Uncover the gammon, brush with more glaze and roast, uncovered,until golden. Allow to stand for 10 minutes before carving to serve hot.

Tip

Any remaining glaze can be brushed over chicken breasts or pork chops before grilling or baking.

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Everyone has their favourite turkey and stuffing recipe… sometimes handed down the family over generations. This is a new take on an old favourite, instead of the usual sausage meat and chestnut stuffing it has a modern and lighter couscous one.

Serves

6 people (with leftovers)

Ingredients

  • 150g dried couscous
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 150g courgette, coarsely grated
  • 1 tbsp chopped fresh sage
  • 50g soft dried apricots, finely chopped or dried cranberries
  • 25g toasted flaked almonds
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 6 thin slices lean bacon, halved
  • 5kg whole turkey
  • 2 oranges, cut into wedges
  • 300ml dry white wine or turkey stock
  • bay leaves, to garnish (optional)

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 190°C/Fan170°C/Esse Dial Guide HOT. (Aim for the dial reading to beat the low end of HOT)
  2. Put the couscous in a bowl and add sufficient boiling water to cover by 1cm. Leave to stand for 10 minutes then fluff with a fork. Add the garlic, onion, courgette,sage, apricots or cranberries, almonds and salt and pepper to taste. Spoon into small bun tins lined with the bacon.
  3. Place the orange wedges inside the turkey and place in a roasting tin. Pour in the wine or stock and cover with foil. Roast for 3 1/2 hours, removing the foil for the final 20-30 minutes to brown the skin. Allow to rest, covered with foil, for up to 1 hour before serving.
  4. Cook the stuffing in the oven during this time for 20-30 minutes.
  5. Make a gravy in the usual way with any skimmed pan juices. Serve the turkey garnished with bay leaves if liked and with the stuffing, gravy and chosen vegetables.

Get Ahead!

The stuffing can be used to stuff the neck cavity of the turkey if preferred but must be cold before doing so. Check the turkey is cooked sufficiently by piercing the thickest part of the thigh with a skewer – the juices that run out should be clear with no traces of pink.

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Fiery from the chilli; sour from the tangy tamarind; and naturally sweet from the delicious Pink Lady apples… this is a Chinese New dish to tickle the taste buds. Try and choose a stir-fry vegetable mix that has lots of different colours and flavours, or make up your own selection. Serve with steamed rice instead of noodles if you prefer.

Serves

4 people

Ingredients

  • 100g dried egg noodles
  • 100g Tenderstem broccoli
  • 2 tbsp groundnut oil
  • 1 Pink Lady apple, cored and sliced into strips
  • 200g raw peeled king prawns
  • 3 tsp tamarind paste
  • 1 red chilli, finely sliced
  • 260g pack fresh stir-fry vegetables (or your own mix)
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil
  • 1/2 tsp Thai fish sauce

Method

  1. Cook the noodles according to the packet instructions, drain, rinse and keep warm. Meanwhile, cut the florets off the broccoli and finely slice the stems and set aside.
  2. Heat half of the groundnut oil in a wok or large frying pan. Add the apple slices and stir-fry for 3 minutes or until lightly browned. Transfer to a plate. Add the prawns and 2 tsp of the tamarind paste and cook for 2-3 minutes until almost cooked. Remove the prawns and keep with the apples.
  3. Add the remaining groundnut oil to the pan and stir-fry the chilli, stir-fry vegetables and broccoli for 4 minutes.
  4. Finally, return the prawns and apples to the pan and stir in the soy sauce, sesame oil, fish sauce and remaining tamarind. Cook for 1-2 minutes then serve with the noodles.

Tip

Make up your own stir-fry mixture by combining ingredients like sliced dwarf corn, chopped spring onions, strips of red and yellow pepper, discs of crunchy water chestnuts or julienne of bamboo shoots for a colourful vegetable medley.

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Christmas and holiday eating doesn’t just have to be about turkey and ham. This might be the time to splash out on a special British beef top rump roast. In this recipe the beef is marinated before cooking with garlic and thyme then roasted with slices of butternut squash.

Serves

4-6 people

Ingredients

  • 4 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
  • 2 shallots, peeled and sliced
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 850g British beef top rump roast
  • 700g sliced butternut squash

Method

  1. Mix the garlic, thyme, shallots, olive oil and seasoning to taste in a dish. Add the beef, cover and chill for 1 1/2 – 2 hours or overnight, turning twice.
  2. Preheat the oven if necessary to 200°C/Fan 180°C/Esse Dial Guide HOT. (Aim for the dial reading to be in the middle of HOT).
  3. Remove the beef from the marinade. Add the squash to the leftover marinade and toss to coat. Heat a roasting tin on the hob over a high heat and brown the beef quickly on all sides. Transfer to the oven and roast according to how you like your beef cooked (see ROASTING GUIDELINE below) Cook for the calculated time, adding the squash for the last 30 minutes. (This may mean that the squash is cooked from the beginning for a rare piece of beef).
  4. Cover with foil and rest for10 minutes before carving

Roasting Guideline

Allow 20 minutes per 500g for rare beef; 25 minutes per 500g for medium beef; and 30 minutes per 500g for well done beef.

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Philippa Vine cooked a Kelly Bronze turkey: “it is very simple – I put it into the top oven of ESSE at 190C/ESSE dial reading low end of HOT until cooked – as it depends on the size of the bird!”

Ingredients

  • 1 large onion, finely chopped
  • 4 rashers of smoked streaky bacon, finely chopped
  • 3 sticks of celery, finely chopped
  • Small bunch of herbs, such as sage, thyme and parsley, finely chopped
  • 10 dried apricots, chopped
  • 110g cooked chestnuts, chopped
  • 150g wholemeal breadcrumbs
  • Olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Method

  1. Fry the bacon, onions & celery in a little olive oil until soft and just starting to colour.
  2. Then add the herbs, chestnuts, apricots and breadcrumbs.  Mix well and add seasoning to taste.  For a more “set” stuffing, mix a little beaten egg.
  3. Put into a baking dish and cook in the bottom oven at 180C/ESSE dial reading very low end of HOT for 20 minutes or until just starting to brown.

 

Here is Philippa’s recipe for her roast potatoes, always a hit in the ESSE!

“King Edward potatoes are my favourite as they are really floury and soak up the olive oil or dripping well!  Second choice would be Maris Piper.”

Method

  1. Part boil the potatoes in plenty of salted water and drain well.
  2. Add a little olive oil or dripping in a roasting tray and put in the top oven at 200C (vent open)/ESSE dial reading middle of HOT and heat for 5 minutes until the oil and tray is very hot. Then add the potatoes.
  3. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Roast until crisp and golden turning them over occasionally.

Recipes by by Philippa Vine, Bluebell Farmhouse Kitchen.

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Hogget/Lamb with flatbread, avocado butter, chill & lemon dressing.

For the flatbread

Ingredients

  • 400g Self raising flour
  • 350-400g Yoghurt
  • 1 tsp bicarbonate
  • Salt

Method

Mix all the above… roll out and cook in a hot dry pan.

For the avocado butter

Ingredients

  • 1 avocado
  • 20g soft salted butter
  • 1 lime
  • 1 tsp chopped parsley
  • 1 tsp chopped dill

For the lamb

Ingredients

  • 1 neck fillet of lamb finely diced
  • Black pepper
  • 1 tsp Allspice
  • Pinch of cinnamon
  • Grated nutmeg
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 tablespoon chopped mint
  • 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
  • Salt & olive oil

Method

Mix all the ingredients together and marinade for 30 minutes. Sauté the marinated lamb in a pan and keep pink. Remove and rest.

For the chilli lemon dressing

Ingredients

  • 1 diced green chilli
  • Handful of chopped parsley
  • 2 lemon juiced
  • 2 crushed garlic cloves
  • 2 tablespoons White wine vinegar
  • Handful of toasted Pine nuts to garnish

Method

Mix all, taste and season.

To serve spoon the avocado butter onto a plate, add the lamb, spoon over the lemon sauce and scatter with the pine nuts. Flatbread on the side.

Recipe presented by Matt Tebbutt using the 990 EL at Humble by Nature

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Butternut Squash & Chickpea Curry cooked the ESSE way.

Serves

4 people

Ingredients

  • 1 butternut squash, peeled and cut into chunks
  • 1 x 400g tin of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 2 onions, thinly sliced
  • 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
  • 1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped (optional)
  • 1 knob of root ginger, grated
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 2 teaspoons ground coriander
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
  • 400ml passata
  • 300ml vegetable stock
  • A handful of fresh coriander, roughly chopped
  • 2 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Method

In a roasting tray tip in the butternut squash and onions, then mix in the olive oil, garlic, ginger, spices, salt and pepper.  Cook in the top oven of the ESSE with the vent open at 200C / ESSE dial reading middle of HOT.  Roast for 25 minutes.

Then stir in the passata, stock and chickpeas.  Return to the oven for a further 15 minutes.  Taste and add more seasoning then scatter over the fresh coriander.  Serve with flat bread and rice.

Suggested serving with flatbreads cooked on the ESSE hotplate.

Recipe created by Philippa Vine of Bluebell Farmhouse Kitchen.

Presented by Dan Blewitt on an ESSE Bakeheart at Humble by Nature.

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Ingredients

  • 540g strong white flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 28g fresh yeast
  • 1 teaspoon honey or sugar
  • 150ml lukewarm milk
  • 200ml lukewarm water
  • 2 tablespoon olive oil for brushing during cooking

Method

  1. Have the flour warming at the back of the ESSE before starting bread make as it speeds us the rising process.
  2. Dissolve the yeast in the warm water and milk mixed together with the honey.
  3. Add this yeast mixture to the flour and mix with a table knife.
  4. Turn it out on to your work surface and knead to a smooth dough
  5. Put the dough back in the mixing bowl, cover with a clean cloth and place at the back of the ESSE, left hand side.
  6. When it has just about doubled in bulk, knead until smooth and elastic, won’t take long, just a minute or two.
  7. Divide the dough into 8 pieces and roll them in circles on a floured worktop. When smooth place the balls on a tray and cover with clingfilm. Leave for 20 minutes until puffed and risen.
  8. Gently stretch into a thin oval, use a rolling pin if you prefer.
  9. Cook each flatbread directly on the right-hand hotplate set to 200C / Dial reading 12 o clock with the lid closed. Cook each side until air bubbles appear and it browns underneath. Turn it and cook the other side and browns lightly on the underneath. Turn and cook the other side. Brush the surface with olive oil and cook a little more. Allow to cool wrapped in a cloth.

Suggested serving with butternut squash curry.

Recipe designed by Philippa Vine of Bluebell Farmhouse Kitchen.
Presented by Dan Blewitt on an ESSE Bakeheart at Humble by Nature.

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Seared monkfish loin fillet with peas, broad beans, lemongrass butter sauce and watercress

For the fish

Ingredients

  • Two 300-400g monkfish loin fillets

Method

Remove any remaining sinew from the fillets and pat dry. Set your hotplate dial at 200°C / 12 o clock then, with the hob cover open, sear the fillets quickly on all sides on the hotplate to seal. After searing, bring the hob cover down and leave the fillets to ‘steam and sizzle’ on the hob for a further 4 – 5 minutes, turning once halfway through the cooking.

Remove from griddle and wrap in foil to keep warm until ready to plate up.

For the sauce and vegetables

Ingredients

  • 200g Fresh Peas
  • 200g young broad beans (frozen otherwise)
  • 1 bag of spinach or rainbow chard
  • 50 ml fish or chicken stock
  • 15g butter
  • 1 bag of watercress
  • 1 stalk of lemongrass, diced small
  • 2 diced shallots
  • 100ml white wine
  • 1 tsp white wine vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons double cream
  • 100g diced butter

Method

  1. To make the sauce, cook the shallots & lemongrass in the wine to soften for 5 minutes add the vinegar and reduce to almost nothing.
  2. Stir in the cream, bring to the boil and swirl in the butter. Season and strain. Keep warm.
  3. Remove the monkfish from the foil, cut into chunky slices and arrange these on the plate.
  4. Spoon over some peas and beans heated in butter and a little stock
  5. Finally spoon over the lemongrass butter sauce. Garnish with small watercress leaves.

Recipe presented by Matt Tebbutt cooked on the 990 EL at Humble by Nature

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This is not a true sour dough as we do not have the time but it does contain some sour “leaven” which is the fermentation culture made ready for bread making. This will give extra depth to the dough, and heighten the flavour considerably, as well as helping to moisten the end result.

Starter

To make sour dough there are three distinct requirements. Firstly you need a starter, this is then fed regularly to keep the wild yeasts inside it alive. A starter can be made simply by mixing flour and water in even quantities and leaving it in a tub at room temperature to begin to ferment as the local wild yeasts start to take effect. Alternatively you can acquire an active starter from someone else who already has some.

Ferment or Leven

The ferment or leaven stage is the preparatory step to making bread. Basically it is a 50/50 mixture of water and flour with some added starter – the starter seeds the fermentation into the new mixture and because of all the available food for the yeasts it ferments rapidly.

Dough

The dough phase is achieved by adding enough flour, salt and water to the highly active leaven to get a nice wet dough to form. This is then kneaded in the usual way, by hand or by machine to make a dough. This is then proved, shaped, proved again and finally baked.

Kit – Mixing bowl, dough scraper, scales, proving tray and blade.

Ingredients

  • 250g leaven
  • 500g strong flour
  • 250g water
  • 12g salt

Method

Make the dough and allow it to rise – this could take 3 or 4 hours or longer depending on temperature and how active your leaven is.

Know it back and shape into a loaf shape or two smaller ones, placing it in a proving basket to support its shape whilst it rises again.

Once fully proved – very delicate and aerated, at least doubled in size – bake in a very hot oven with the ESSE oven steam vent closed for around 28 minutes. Oven temperature around 200 degrees c (ESSE cooker dial guide to be at the low end of HOT).

Tim Maddam’s Top Sourdough Tips

  • Invest the time – it takes between eight and 12 hours to make a good sourdough from scratch. Proving takes four times as long as for a yeast-risen dough
  • Feed your starter or ‘leaven’ regularly – especially if it’s been in the fridge for a while. This is the best way to adjust the sourness to your individual taste
  • The wetter the better – a wet dough mix may be harder to handle, but it will make a better loaf
  • Watch the dough – not the clock. The dough will tell you when it’s ready to bake – it’s just a matter of practice
  • Don’t scrimp on the salt – otherwise your bread will taste bland
  • Respect the dough – handle it gently – take care not to knock the air out of it
  • Use semolina to minimise sticky ‘dough fingers’ without drying out the mixture
  • Make sure the oven is up to temperature well before the bread goes in – between 180˚C and 200˚C (aim for the ESSE cooker dial guide to be at the low end of HOT) – depending on the finish you want
  • Introduce steam to your oven. Close the ESSE oven steam vent.

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Wild garlic is only available in the spring. You can substitute with flavouring it with some chopped rosemary and 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

Ingredients

  • 250g strong white bread flour
  • 150ml warm water
  • 15g fresh yeast
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon honey2 tab
  • lespoons olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons of chopped wild garlic leaves

Method

  1. Preheat ESSE to 200C/ESSE dial guide HOT, aim for the dial reading to be in the middle of HOT (ESSE oven steam vent closed).
  2. Place your flour in a large mixing bowl and add the salt, olive oil and wild garlic if using.
  3. Dissolve the yeast in the warm water with the honey.
  4. Add the yeast mix to the flour and mix with a table knife. Add a little more water if it is too dry or some flour if it is too wet.
  5. Turn it out onto your work surface and knead to a smooth dough.
  6. Put the dough back into the mixing bowl and place a clean cloth over the bowl. Put the bowl at the back of the ESSE on the left hand side.
  7. When it has doubled in bulk, knead until smooth and elastic.
  8. Roll out to a shape that you like and place it on an oiled baking sheet. Put back next to the ESSE to prove again until it has doubled in bulk.
  9. Then place direct on the bottom of top ESSE oven and bake until golden brown all over, approximately 15 – 20 minutes, depending on the shape of your loaf.

Happy cooking on your ESSE.

Baking tip for bread making

Gently warm your bread flour at the back of the ESSE, before you start to make the dough. (Speeds up the proving process)
I love to use fresh yeast, better results.
Cover the bread dough for first proving using a plastic shower cap, it fits perfectly over your bowl.
Let your bread dough prove at the back of the ESSE cooker, left hand side.
Bake your loaf on the base of the ESSE, top oven 200C with the vent CLOSED which keeps all the steam in, perfect for cooking the perfect loaf.
Happy baking in your ESSE.

Recipe by Philippa Vine of Bluebell Farmhouse Kitchen.

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If you’re cooking this dish in the summer when fresh broad beans are available, blanch some and toss them into the pan at the last moment. Sweet little fresh peas are another delicious addition. You could also substitute black pudding for the chorizo. Add 6 torn sage leaves to the pan with the scallops to bring out the flavour of the sausage.

Serves

Serves 4 as a starter, 2 as a main course

Ingredients

  • 12 large, hand-dived scallops
  • Olive oil
  • 250g fairly hot cooking chorizo, cut into 1–2cm thick slices
  • 1 teaspoon fennel seeds (optional)
  • Few bay leaves (optional)
  • A squeeze of lemon juice
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Optional Extras

  • Baby broad beans and/or garden peas, podded and blanched for 2 minutes

Open the scallops if they are still in the shell. If the corals are plump and bright orange, leave them attached to the main muscle.

Pat the scallops dry with kitchen paper and set aside.

Heat a large, heavy-based frying pan over the hotter plate, add a little olive oil, then throw in the chorizo and, if you like, a sprinkling of fennel seeds and a few bay leaves. Fry for 3–4 minutes, stirring all the while, as the chorizo releases its salty, spicy fat.

Move the chorizo to one side of the pan. Check that the pan is still really hot, then add the scallops. Leave for about 45 seconds to 1 minute, then carefully turn them over. After another scant minute, using a sharp shake of the pan – or a light stir with a spatula – toss the chorizo and scallops together with all that lovely, flavoursome fat. (This is the moment to add the optional broad beans and/or peas.) Cook for just another minute, tossing and shaking regularly.

Add a twist of pepper, a little bit of salt (the chorizo is already pretty salty) and a few drops of lemon juice, then divide the mixture between warmed plates and serve straight away, with bread and a green salad – for which the oil from the pan, with a few more drops of lemon juice, will make a sublime dressing.

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