Festive strudel






Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4. Lay out 6 sheets of pastry on a clean tea towel, overlapping each by an inch or so, so they cover the tea towel. They should cover it completely, with just a little overhang at one of the shorter ends. Work quickly so your pastry doesn’t dry out and brush some melted butter all over it. Sprinkle over the cinnamon and 50g of the sugar then crumble over your ginger nuts to add a nice bit of crunch. Carefully layer the rest of the pastry sheets on top and brush again with butter.

Langoustines with tattie scones & dressed salad leaves





1. For the salsa, add the mango, melon and chilli to a bowl. Peel and finely grate the root ginger, place in a sieve and squeeze the juice through onto the fruit, pressing through with the back of a wooden spoon. Add the lime zest and juice and season with a little salt and pepper. Leave the mixture to sit for up to 20 minutes in order to allow all the flavours to meld together.

Amazing lamb rack




Preparing your lamb rack
Remove most of the fat from the back of the rack leaving a little bit to flavour the meat as it cooks. French-trim the bones by cutting the fat out around each bone down to the meat. Scrape the bones of all sinew and fat.

Pork belly roast




Turn oven to the highest temperature you can get it to. Using a Stanley knife score the skin down to the meat (try not to cut the meat), make the cuts very close together (go across the skin)
Put the fennel seeds and the malden sea salt

Fish cakes




Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Peel your potatoes, chop them into even sized chunks (or use the left over potatoes from your baked potatoes – scoop out the potato and discard the skin), add the potatoes to the boiling water and bring back to the boil. Rub the salmon fillet all over with a little olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper.

Christmas pud sundae




Put the cranberries, half the orange juice and all of the sugar in a small pan and bring to the boil. Let it simmer for 5 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until

Special spaghetti cake




Preheat the oven to 180°C. In a large bowl beat the double cream and

Raspberry jam




 Put the raspberries in a large pan along with the lemon juice

Beef stroganoff





1. Place the beef between 2 sheets of clingfilm and bash with a rolling pin until ½cm thick, then cut into finger-width slices. Mix the paprika, lemon zest, salt and pepper, and use to dust the beef.

The best pork chops with fresh bay salt, crackling and squashed purple potatoes





Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6. Parboil your potatoes in salted boiling water for around 15 minutes until tender, then drain. Score the pork skin, season it

Sweet cherry tomato and sausage bake




Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/gas 5. Get yourself an appropriately sized roasting tray, large enough to take the tomatoes in one snug-fitting layer. Put in all your tomatoes, the

Bloomin' easy vanilla cheesecake





As you can see, the ingredients are all pretty everyday things. However, my tip for getting the very best out of this recipe is to

Chocolate biscuits with soft chocolate centres




Grease a large baking sheet. Cream the butter and

Cool mexican bean wraps



Carrots with thyme, cumin and orange butter




Wash the thyme stalks in hot water for 20 seconds. When cool enough to handle, strip the leaves off the stalk. In a food processor, whizz the thyme leaves, the cumin seeds and orange zest together with the butter. Lay out a 30cm square piece of greaseproof paper on a work surface and scoop the butter on to the middle. Roll one edge up over the butter as if you were trying to fold the paper in half, and with your hands shape the butter into a cylinder shape as best you can. Wrap the butter up in the paper, twist the ends so the package looks like a Christmas cracker and place in the fridge to set.

Steam the carrots for 10 minutes and, once cooked, toss in a warm bowl with some slices of the thyme, cumin and orange butter.

Sweet duck legs cooked with plums and star anise




Place the duck legs in a sandwich bag with the soy sauce, five-spice, star anise, cinnamon stick and olive oil and let them marinate for a minimum of 2 hours. To really get the flavours going, you could keep this in your fridge to marinate for up to 2 days. Then get yourself a pan, casserole or high-sided roasting tray that snugly fits the duck legs. Place the chillies, plums and sugar in the bottom of the tray and then pour the marinade from the bag over the top. Mix it all up using your fingers, and place the duck legs on top.

Place the tray in a preheated oven at 170°C/325°F/gas 3 for 2 to 2½ hours until the meat falls away from the bone. Remove the star anise and cinnamon stick, then taste the sauce to see if it needs to be seasoned with a little more soy sauce. It’s now down to you how you would like to serve it. You could have it as a starter with some of the little Chinese pancakes that you can buy, or served simply with rice or noodles and the chunky, jammy plum sauce that the duck has cooked in.

Grilled fillet steak with the creamiest white beans and leeks




Sweat the leeks, thyme and garlic with a splash of olive oil and the butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan on a low heat for 20 minutes until they are soft and sweet. Turn up the heat and add the white wine. Let the wine come to the boil, then add the beans and a splash of water, so that the beans are almost covered. Allow to simmer gently for 5 to 10 minutes until the beans are lovely and creamy. Add the parsley, crème fraîche and a good glug of the extra virgin olive oil and taste for seasoning.

Heat a griddle pan until white-hot, season your steaks and pat with olive oil. Grill a 4cm/1½ inch thick steak for 2 to 3 minutes on each side for medium-rare. You can keep them on there for longer, turning as you go, until cooked to your liking. Remove from the grill on to a dish and rest for 5 minutes. Squeeze over some lemon juice and drizzle over some extra virgin olive oil. Carve the steaks into thick slices. Divide the creamy beans between your plates and place the steak on top, drizzling over some of the resting juices.

Steamed thai-style sea bass and rice





Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF/gas 6. In a food processor or liquidizer, whiz up the coriander stalks, half of the coriander leaves, the ginger, garlic, halved chillies, sesame oil, soy sauce, lime juice and zest and the coconut milk. This will give you a lovely fragrant Thai-style paste.

Cook your rice in salted, boiling water until it’s just undercooked, then drain it in a colander. Scoop it into a high-sided roasting tray. Pour your Thai paste over the rice and mix it in well, then shake it out flat. Lay the sea bass fillets on top, scatter over the sugar snap peas or mangetouts, then cover the dish tightly with tinfoil and put it in the preheated oven for around 15 minutes. Remove the foil and sprinkle over the spring onions, the sliced chilli and the other half of the coriander leaves. Divide between your plates with a wedge of lime.

Creamy rhubarb and vodka cocktail




Place the rhubarb, sugar and orange juice in a small pan and put the lid on. Simmer for a couple of minutes, then remove the lid and simmer for a few minutes more until you get a thick, compote consistency. Pour the rhubarb into a sieve over a bowl and let the liquid drip through. It’s this liquid you want (the rhubarb left in the sieve is lovely served with some custard).

Put the vodka, Galliano, cream, milk, ice cubes and 2 shots of the rhubarb liquid into a cocktail shaker and shake it about. Strain into two cocktail glasses.

Easy peasy ginger beer




First of all you need to grate your ginger on a coarse cheese grater – you can leave the skin on if you like. Put the ginger with its pulpy juice into a bowl and sprinkle in your muscovado sugar. Remove the rind from 2 of your lemons with a vegetable peeler, add to the bowl, and slightly bash and squash with something heavy like a pestle or a rolling-pin. Just do this for 10 seconds, to mix up all the flavours. Squeeze the juice from all 3 lemons and add most of it to the bowl. Pour in your fizzy water or soda water. Allow to sit for 10 minutes and then taste. You may feel that the lemons are slightly too sour, therefore add a little more sugar; if it's slightly too sweet, add a little more lemon juice. To be honest, these amounts are always a little variable so just follow your own taste. Pass the ginger beer through a coarse sieve into a large jug and add lots of ice and some sprigs of mint.

Surprise pudding




Boil the beetroots until soft, then drain and allow to cool a little. Rub the skins off then mash in a food processor or with a masher till smooth. Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4. Put the beetroot purée, ginger, egg yolks, honey and olive oil in a bowl and add the seeds from 1 vanilla pod. Whisk together, then add the baking powder, polenta, orange zest and juice, salt, allspice, cinnamon and flour. In a separate bowl beat the egg whites until stiff and fold them into the beetroot mixture.

Get yourself a 25cm cake tin or cheesecake mould. Rub with butter and dust with a little flour to stop the cake sticking. You could also line it with greaseproof paper to be really sure. Pour in the mixture then bake in the preheated oven for around 35 minutes until spongy. Test whether it's ready by poking a cocktail stick into it – if it's clean when it comes out you know the cake's done. Allow to cool.

Whisk the crème fraîche with the vin santo, sugar and the seeds from the remaining vanilla pod. Taste and adjust to your liking with a bit more sugar and vin santo. Serve the cake in wedges with a big dollop of the vin santo and vanilla cream.

Bitacora’s veal with goat’s cheese




1 Mix all the ingredients for the veal together and marinate for at least 2 hours and up to 24.
2 When ready to cook, remove the veal from the marinade, reserving the marinade. Heat a non-stick saucepan on a medium-high heat, add a lug of olive oil and the veal, browning the veal on all sides. Add the reserved marinade and continue cooking for 6–8 minutes – veal should be served slightly pink on the inside. When the veal is ready, tip onto 2 serving plates, top each with a slice of goat’s cheese and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar, serve with fresh crusty bread or, even better, pa amb tomàquet.

Fantastic tomato and fennel salad with flaked barbecued fish




Mix together a good lug of extra virgin olive oil, a nice squeeze of lemon juice and a pinch of salt and pepper. Drizzle this all over the fish then pat on the chopped marjoram or oregano. Put your fillets on the hottest part of the grill (make sure your grill is really clean to prevent the fish from sticking).

If your fillets are 2cm thick, they’ll only need about 2 minutes cooking time. If the fish breaks up, don’t worry as you’ll be flaking it up later anyway. If it still has the skin on, cook it skin-side down as it’s less likely to stick. Once cooked, remove to a warm plate.

To make the salad, finely slice the tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Arrange on your plates. Finely slice your fennel bulb and dress it in a bowl with extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper then scatter over your tomatoes. Finally, spoon over your fish, flaking it as you go. Scatter over your reserved fennel tops, drizzle with the balsamic vinegar and scatter with chilli, if using, to finish.

Pizza with potatoes, mozzarella, rosemary, thyme and tomatoes




Smear the tomato sauce evenly over the pizza base. Slice the potatoes into 0.5cm/¼ inch thick slices and toss in a bowl with the rosemary, thyme, a good glug of olive oil, a small squeeze of lemon juice and a pinch of salt and pepper. Scatter them over the pizza base and put small torn-up pieces of mozzarella into the gaps. Cook until crisp and golden.

Beef stifado




1 Place beef in a large non-reactive bowl. Add marinade ingredients, cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.
2 Heat oil over medium heat in a large saucepan and sauté the onions for 5 minutes or until softened. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Sauté the beef, reserving the marinade, for about 8–10 minutes or until browned on all sides. Return onions to the saucepan, add the marinade mixture, tomatoes and tomato purée and enough water to just cover the stew. Season generously with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Bring to the boil then simmer for 1½–2 hours or until the beef is tender and the sauce has thickened. Serve with pasta and grated cheese.

Baked pears with wine and a scrumptious walnut cream




Preheat the oven to 220ºC/425ºF/gas 7. Score down the length of the vanilla pod and remove the seeds by scraping a knife down the inside of each half. Put the pears into a tight-fitting ovenproof pot or pan, add the 125g of sugar, wine, vanilla pod and seeds, and the peel and juice of 1 orange and bring to the boil. Sprinkle over half the walnuts and then put in the oven to bake. Every so often, baste the pears with the syrup they are cooking in, as this will give them a nice glaze. Cook for around 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the ripeness, until the pears are tender but still holding their shape, then remove from the oven and allow to cool while you roast the remaining walnuts on a baking tray in the oven for 5 minutes – make sure you keep an eye on them as they can quickly go from golden to black and you don’t want burnt walnuts!

Remove the vanilla pod from the syrup. When the walnuts are done, either whizz them in a food processor or bash them up with a pestle and mortar until you have a paste. Whip up the mascarpone with the walnut paste, the zest and juice of the other orange and enough sugar to sweeten, and serve this cream with the baked pears, the nuts, some orange peel and some of the cooking syrup.

Baked mushrooms



These mushrooms have an interesting meaty texture and gutsy flavour. Topped with Taleggio cheese and fresh herbs, it's a match made in heaven. Go on, tuck in!

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

Lay the mushrooms on a large baking tray and sprinkle with the onions, garlic and thyme.

Top the mushrooms with the slices of Taleggio. Toss together the breadcrumbs and the parsley and sprinkle over the mushrooms.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven until breadcrumbs are brown and the mushrooms are cooked through.

Meanwhile, dress the rocket with the lemon juice and some olive oil. Serve the mushrooms with the dressed rocket.

Chicken kokkinisto



1 Heat oil in a cast-iron casserole dish over medium heat and sauté onions and garlic for 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl. Dust chicken in flour and sauté for 5–7 minutes until browned. Return onions to casserole dish and season. Add tomatoes, tomato purée, herbs and spices, stir well and cook for 10 minutes. Season, add wine and vinegar, then simmer for 1 hour until chicken is tender and sauce has thickened.

Chicken chow mein




This dish makes use of a tender, juicy Asian cabbage called bok choi, which is simple to cook and really tasty. You should be able to find bok choi (also known as pak choi, Chinese white cabbage or hakusai) in your supermarket but if not, then a nice little gem lettuce or a handful or two of baby spinach would work well instead.

To prepare your stir-fry
• Put a large pan of water on to boil
• Peel and finely slice the ginger and garlic
• Finely slice the chilli
• Slice the chicken into finger-sized strips and lightly season with salt and pepper
• Cut the ends off your spring onions and finely slice
• Pick the coriander leaves and put to one side, and finely chop the coriander stalks
• Halve the bok choi lengthways
• If using the mushrooms, either tear into pieces or leave whole


To cook your stir-fry
• Preheat a wok or large frying pan on a high heat and once it’s very, very hot add a good lug of groundnut oil and swirl it around
• Stir in the chicken strips and cook for a couple of minutes, until the chicken browns slightly
• Add the ginger, garlic, chilli, coriander stalks, mushrooms (if using) and half the spring onions
• Stir-fry for 30 seconds, keeping everything moving round the wok quickly
• Add your noodles and bok choi to the boiling water and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, no longer
• Meanwhile, add the cornflour, water chestnuts and their water to the wok and give it another good shake to make sure nothing sticks to the bottom
• Remove from the heat and stir in 2 tablespoons of soy sauce
• Halve the lime, squeeze the juice of one half into the pan and mix well
• Drain the noodles and bok choi in a colander over a bowl, reserving a little of the cooking water
• Stir in the noodles and bok choi, with a little of the cooking water to loosen if necessary, and mix well
• Have a taste and season with more soy sauce if needed

To serve your stir-fry
• Use tongs to divide everything between two bowls or plates, or to lift on to one large serving platter
• Spoon any juices over the top and sprinkle with the rest of the spring onions and the coriander leaves
• Serve with lime wedges

Pan-cooked asparagus and mixed fish




Get a really large frying pan, or two smaller ones, on the heat and add a glug of olive oil. Score the skin of your fish fillets all over, about 1cm deep, and season. Put the fish fillets into the pan, skin side down, with the squid tentacles. Add the scallops. Run your knife down one side of each squid to open them out, then quickly and lightly score the inside in a criss-cross fashion. Lay them in the pan, scored side down. Add the asparagus and gently shake the pan. Cook for a few minutes, then turn everything over and cook on the other side. Sprinkle over the thyme tips.

You’re the one in control of the pan, so if something looks cooked, take it out and keep it warm. Don’t watch things burn! When the fish has crispy skin, the scallops are golden brown with caramelized edges and the squid has curled up and is nicely chargrilled, remove the pan from the heat. Put the squid on a chopping board and roughly slice it into pieces at an angle, then return to the pan. Lay the fish fillets on each plate. Toss the asparagus, scallops and squid with half the chilli, a good drizzle of good-quality extra virgin olive oil and the lemon juice. Lightly season and mix together. Divide on top of the plated fish. Sprinkle with the rest of the chopped chilli and the fennel tops, and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.

Broad bean and crispy pancetta salad with a pea pecorino and mint dressing



Bring a pot to the boil, half-filled with water, but with no salt as this makes broad beans and peas toughen. Add your garlic and allow the water to boil for a couple of minutes before adding the broad beans. Cook for around 3 to 5 minutes, depending on how young the beans are. Simply taste one to check. If you feel the skins are a little tough, which they can be sometimes, let them cool a little and then you can peel them very quickly by pinching and squeezing the bean out. Throw the skins away, and keep the garlic clove to one side. Place your pancetta on a baking tray, with the almonds spread out next to it. Place in a hot oven at 250°C/475°F/gas 9 − keeping an eye on the almonds to make sure they don't colour too much. You should be able to crisp up the pancetta at the same time as toasting the almonds, but simply remove one or the other if it is getting too far ahead.

To make the dressing, put your raw podded peas and the soft, boiled garlic clove into a pestle and mortar or a Magimix and bash or blitz until smooth. Add the cheese and most of the mint and stir or pulse to make a smooth paste. You want to turn this into a thick dressing, so add the olive oil and 4 to 5 tablespoons of lemon juice, to your preference. Season to taste − it should have an amazing flavour of sweet peas, twangy lemon, fragrant mint and a softness and roundness from the cheese. A balance is good, but you should also trust your own personal judgement. I generally like mine to be a bit more lemony, to cut through the smokiness of the pancetta.

Mix the dressing with the broad beans and sprinkle this over four plates. Crumble the pancetta over, followed by a sprinkling of the almonds, which can be crushed or bashed up a little. Tear a little mint over the top with a little shaved Parmesan if you like.

Cheese and onion salad with creamy herb dressing





Have a go at this recipe, even if you think you don’t particularly like onions in salads, as they’re quite mild. You can use sweet red onions instead of shallots if you like. And feel free to use any interesting mixed salad leaves.

Place the shallots in a small bowl with a generous pinch of salt and pour over just enough white wine vinegar to cover. You’ll pour away the excess salt and vinegar once the onions are pickled, so don’t worry if you think it’s a bit much! Scrunch everything together with your hands and leave to marinate for at least 10 minutes.

To make the dressing, mix 4 tablespoons of olive oil with the crème fraîche and the red wine vinegar. Whisk everything together and season to taste.

Squeeze the shallots hard with your hands and drain. Place the salad leaves on a plate. From a height, sprinkle over the shallots and the crumbled Roquefort. Scatter over the crumbled walnuts – it’s really nice if they’re still a bit warm from being toasted. I like to drizzle over the dressing at the table. Finish by throwing over some torn-up chive or allium flowers, if you have them.

Blackberry tart





First you will need to grease a 28cm/11 inch loose-bottomed tart tin with a little butter. To make your pastry, cream together the butter, icing sugar and salt and rub in the flour, vanilla seeds, lemon zest and egg yolks – you can do all this by hand or in a food processor. When the mixture looks like coarse breadcrumbs, add the cold milk or water. Pat and gently work the mixture together until you have a ball of dough, then flour it lightly. Don’t work the pastry too much, otherwise it will become elastic and chewy, not flaky and short as you want it to be. Wrap the dough in cling film and place in the fridge for at least an hour. Remove it from the fridge, roll it out and line your tart tin. Place in the freezer for an hour. Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4 and bake the pastry case for around 12 minutes or until lightly golden.

To make the filling, split the vanilla pod in half lengthways and scrape out the seeds by running a knife along the inside of each half. Put the mascarpone, cream, vanilla seeds, sugar and grappa into a large bowl and whip until shiny. Have a taste – you should have an intensely rich, fluffy and lightly sweetened cream with a fresh hint of grappa. If you can’t get grappa, you can do it without, or add a swig of vin santo instead.

Once the pastry has cooled, get yourself a spatula and add the sweetened cream to the pastry case. Smear it all round so it’s reasonably level, then cover it with the berries – place them lightly on the cream, no need to push them in. If you want to be a bit more generous than this, feel free, and if you want to mix your berries you can do this too. Next, in a small pan, melt down a couple of tablespoons of jam with 3 or 4 tablespoons of water. Stir until it becomes a light syrup, then, using a clean pastry brush, lightly dip and dab the fruit with the jam.

Sprinkle with the baby mint leaves before eating. Great served either as one large tart or as small individual ones. Lovely with your afternoon tea. Either serve straight away or place in the fridge until you’re ready to eat it.

Blackberry and apple pie




First, make your pastry dough, wrap it in clingfilm and rest it in the fridge for at least half an hour. Then preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4. Put the butter and sugar into a saucepan and, when the butter has melted, add the apples, stem ginger and a tablespoon of the ginger syrup. Slowly cook for 15 minutes with a lid on, then add the blackberries, stir and cook for 5 more minutes with the lid off.

Meanwhile, remove your pastry from the fridge. Dust your work surface with flour, cut the pastry in half and, using a floured rolling pin, roll one of the pieces out until it’s just under 1cm thick. (Rolling the dough between two layers of greaseproof paper will also stop it sticking to your rolling pin.) Butter a shallow 26cm pie dish and line with the pastry, trimming off any excess round the edges using a sharp knife.

Tip the cooled apples and blackberries into a sieve, reserving all the juices, then put the fruit into the lined pie dish so you have a mound in the middle. Spoon over half the reserved juices. Brush the edge of the pastry with beaten egg. Roll out the second piece of pastry, just as you did the first, and lay it over the top of the pie. Trim the edges as before and crimp them together with your fingers. Brush the top of the pie with the rest of the beaten egg, sprinkle generously with sugar and the cinnamon, and make a couple of slashes in the top of the pastry.

Place the pie on a baking tray and then put it directly on the bottom of the preheated oven for 55 to 60 minutes, until golden brown and crisp. To serve, slice the pie into portions and serve with a generous dollop of custard.

Asparagus, mint and lemon risotto




Stage 1: Bring the stock to a simmer in a saucepan. Put the olive oil and butter in a separate large pan, add the onion and celery and cook very gently for about 15 minutes, without colouring, until soft. Add the rice (it will sizzle) and turn up the heat. Don't let the rice or veg catch on the bottom of the pan, so keep it moving.

Stage 2: Quickly pour in the vermouth or wine. You will smell the alcohol immediately, so keep stirring all the time until it has evaporated, leaving the rice with a lovely perfume.

Stage 3: Add the stock to the rice a ladle at a time, stirring and waiting until it has been fully absorbed before adding the next. Turn the heat down to low so the rice doesn't cook too quickly, otherwise the outside of each grain will be stodgy and the inside hard and nutty (you don't want to cook it too slowly either, or it will turn into rice pudding!) and continue to add ladlefuls of stock until it has all be absorbed. This should take about 14 to 15 minutes and give you rice that is beginning to soften but is still a little al dente. Put to one side.

Now put a large saucepan on a medium to high heat and pour in half the stock, followed by all your risotto base and the finely sliced asparagus stalks and the tips. Stirring all the time, gently bring to the boil, then turn the heat down and simmer until almost all the stock has been absorbed. Add the rest of the stock a ladleful at a time until the rice and asparagus are cooked. You might not need all your stock. Be careful not to overcook the rice - check it throughout cooking to make sure it's a pleasure to eat. It should hold its shape but be soft, creamy and oozy, and the overall texture should be slightly looser than you think you want it.

Turn off the heat, beat in your butter and Parmesan, mint, almost all the lemon zest and all the juice. Check the seasoning and add salt and pepper if needed. Put a lid on the pan and leave the risotto to rest for a minute. Serve with a drizzle of olive oil, a scattering of lemon zest and a block of Parmesan on the table.

Asparagus frittata




Preheat the oven to 180C/gas 4. Beat eggs with a little sea salt and black pepper. Heat oil and butter in a 19cm oven-proof frying pan or cast-iron dish over a medium heat and sauté asparagus for 5 minutes. Add eggs, cook for 3 minutes then bake for 15–20 minutes until golden and fluffy. Serve hot or cold, with a drizzle of hot sauce.

Cod potato and spring onion stew




In an appropriately sized large pan, slowly fry your onion and leek with around 5 tablespoons of olive oil for 5 minutes until soft and tender. With a teaspoon, remove and discard the fluffy tasteless core from the courgettes and grate the rest into the pan. Chop the potatoes into rough 2cm/1 inch dice and add to the pan. Give everything a good stir and then add the anchovies. Turn the heat up and add the white wine. Allow to cook down by half before adding your milk and stock. Bring to the boil and simmer for half an hour until the potatoes are tender. At this point add your cod and simmer for a further 15 minutes until the flesh flakes away − feel free to stir and break up the fish, but it's quite nice to leave some big chunks as well. Season carefully to taste. Divide between your bowls, and serve with a small handful of parsley and spring onion dressed with a little olive oil and lemon juice.

Try this: Sprinkle a little orange zest over the parsley and spring onion. It really works with the cod.

Citrus seared tuna with crispy noodles, herbs and chilli




Squeeze the grapefruit juice and pour into a sandwich bag with the fish sauce. Add the piece of tuna. Tie up the bag, squeezing out most of the air so the tuna is completely covered in the juice. Leave for 40 minutes, after which time the outside of the tuna will be pale and ‘cooked’. Now carefully pour the grapefruit juice from the bag into a bowl, dry off the tuna and put to one side.

For the dressing, mix the sesame oil, olive oil and chillies into the grapefruit juice. Use as much chilli as you like, and season to taste. Tear off a good handful of coriander and mint from the bunches and put to one side to use for garnish later. Finely chop the remaining herbs and really pat these around the tuna to encrust it. Wrap in clingfilm and place in the fridge until needed.

Boil the noodles for 1 minute until they are slightly flexible, drain and allow to steam dry and cool. Add a little olive oil to a hot non-stick pan, add your noodles and leave them until they are nice and crisp on one side. Now flip them over and do the same on the other side – it doesn't matter if some stick to the pan, just scrape them up and turn them over. Divide the crispy noodles between 4 plates. Slice your tuna up about 0.5cm/¼ inch thick – in Japan it's a sign of generosity to have nice thick slices of tuna, but I like them a little thinner as they are more delicate in the mouth.

Place the tuna on the noodles, sprinkle over the torn-up herbs that you put to one side earlier, sprinkle with the spring onions and then drizzle a couple of spoonfuls of the dressing over the tuna. Before your eyes you will see the cut sides of the slices of fish begin to change colour and ‘cook’. Serve straight away.

Elvis burger with chopped salad and pickled gherkin




Parmesan cheese may seem a little unusual in this recipe, but it really gives the burgers a great flavour – give it a bash.

Grind up the red chilli in a pestle and mortar, and mix it in a bowl with the onion, tarragon, egg, breadcrumbs, mustard, Parmesan, nutmeg and beef. Shape into four patties and refrigerate for half an hour or so to give them a chance to firm up slightly.

When you're ready to cook the burgers, get a frying or griddle pan nice and hot. Brush the pan with a little oil, season the burgers generously with salt and pepper, and cook them for 10 minutes, turning them carefully every minute or so, until they're nice and pink and juicy, or longer if you like them well done. Make sure they don't break up as you turn them.

Meanwhile, roughly chop the lettuce, tomato and cucumber, mix together and set aside. Once the burgers are cooked, split the rolls into two and toast them quickly on the griddle or in a toaster. Sandwich the cooked 'Elvis' burger between the toasted rolls and serve them on individual plates with the gherkins and some of the chopped salad (add a little extra virgin olive oil or dressing if you like) on the side.