The Pie Room

In separate pans, boil the diced swede and the potatoes until tender and easily pierced with the tip of a sharp knife. The swede and potatoes will have different cooking times: I cook the swede for 25 minutes and the potatoes for 15 minutes. Drain both the swede and potato well and combine in a single pan.

Add the butter, milk, thyme, salt and pepper to the pan and then roughly mash with a potato masher or a fork. Do not overwork the clapshot as it is nicer to eat when it retains a little texture.

Place all the ingredients in a large pan with a lid. Bring the liquid to the boil then reduce the heat to a simmer and put a lid on the pan. Cook the cabbage for 1½ hours, stirring every 20–30 minutes. After 1½ hours, take the lid off the pan and cook until the liquid has evaporated.

Duck hash is a versatile number: it can be served on the side as part of a roast, on its own as a main course with some vegetables and a little mustard sauce, or even topped with poached or fried eggs. The secret to its golden colour is the removal of the moisture from the potatoes, so make sure you really squeeze well at that stage.

Preheat the oven to 160°C fan/180°C/gas mark 4. Take a small heavy-based pan with a lid in which the duck legs fit neatly, cover the base of the pan with a circle of parchment paper and put the duck fat on top. Place the pan in the preheated oven for 5 minutes to melt the fat and then carefully lay the duck legs in the pan. Lay another circle of parchment paper on top to cover the duck and place the lid on top.

Place the pan back in the oven and cook the duck legs for 1½ hours. Carefully remove the lid and check that the meat is soft and tender. If it still has a little resistance and doesn’t fall away from the bone, put the duck back in the oven to cook for a further 20 minutes and then check again. Once the meat is ready, transfer the duck legs to a plate to cool. Set aside the pan with the rendered duck fat to use later (any duck fat left over can be used for roasting potatoes or vegetables and kept in the refrigerator for up to one month). Increase the oven temperature to 180°C fan/200°C/gas mark 6.

Using the large holes on a box grater, grate the potatoes into a bowl. Add the table salt to the grated potato and mix well. Transfer the potato to a sieve and sit it above the bowl. Allow any liquid to drain from the potatoes for 10 minutes. Using a clean dish towel, take a small handful of the potato mixture and squeeze to remove any remaining moisture. Repeat with the rest of the potato mixture.

In a separate bowl, combine the potato with 150g of the melted duck fat and mix well. Add the rosemary and season with lots of freshly ground black pepper.

Once cooled, remove all the meat from the duck legs, discarding the bones and skin. Without breaking it down too much, distribute the duck meat through the potato. Divide the hash mixture into eight equal piles on a tray.

Place a frying pan over a medium heat and heat up a large tablespoon of the remaining duck fat. Carefully lower three of the hash piles into the hot fat and gently pat each one down with a spatula, but don’t squash them down too much or they will become too dense. Cook the hash for about 3 minutes on each side. The potato should be golden brown; if not cook for another minute or so on each side. Return the cooked hash to the tray and repeat with the other hash piles. Put the tray in the preheated oven for 10 minutes before serving.

Either the night before or on the morning of the meal, prepare the potatoes. Trim an edge off one long side of each potato so they sit steadily on the chopping board. About 1cm up from the flat edge, poke a long skewer lengthways into a potato all the way through to the other side. The skewer acts as a guide for evenly cutting the potato. First, slice straight across the middle of the potato and then make more cuts along to both ends, each 3mm apart and on a slight angle away from the centre cut, slicing all the way down to the skewer each time. This will allow the potato to open up as it cooks. Remove the skewer and repeat with the rest of the potatoes.

Put the prepared potatoes into a large container and place under cold running water for 5 minutes. Next, fill the container to the brim with water and place in the refrigerator until needed.

Remove the container from the refrigerator and drain the potatoes well. Take a roasting tray that is large enough to fit all the potatoes, add the oil and butter to the tray and place in the preheated oven for a few minutes until melted. Carefully lower the potatoes into the tray, flat side down, being careful not to splash yourself with the hot fat. Return the tray to the oven and roast the potatoes for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, baste the potatoes well, sprinkle the salt over evenly and roast them for a further 15 minutes. Baste the potatoes again, this time adding the rosemary, thyme and garlic, and roast for a further 15 minutes. Baste the potatoes for a final time, before transferring to a serving dish.

Place the potatoes in a pan and cover with water. Bring to the boil over a high heat and cook for 15–20 minutes or until tender.

Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the onions and sauté, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Add the diced carrots to the pan with the butter and 1 tablespoon of water, then cook for a further 5 minutes. Lastly, add the sliced cabbage and 1 tablespoon of water and cook for a further 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Line a plate with paper towels and transfer the vegetables onto the plate to cool.

When the potatoes are tender, place them in a colander and allow to drain well. Return the potatoes to the pan and mash well with a potato masher. Add the cooled vegetables, rosemary, salt and a good few twists of freshly ground black pepper and combine well.

Once the mixture has cooled, divide it equally into six portions and shape into patties. Dust the tops and bottoms of each ‘bubble’ with a little of the flour.

Preheat the oven to 180°C fan/200°C/gas mark 6 and line a baking tray with parchment paper.

Wipe clean the frying pan, place over a high heat and add the remaining vegetable oil. Cooking them in batches so as not to overcrowd the pan, carefully slide three bubbles into the oil and shallow fry for 2 minutes on each side until they have a golden crust. Transfer the fried bubbles to the tray. Cook the remaining bubbles in the same way.

Place the tray in the preheated oven and bake the bubbles for 10 minutes to make sure they are thoroughly hot inside.

Peel the potatoes and cut them into quarters. Rinse in a medium-sized saucepan under cold water for 1 minute to remove some of the starch, then just cover with water. Add 1 teaspoon of salt, place over a high heat and bring to the boil.

Reduce to a simmer and cook until a knife easily slips into the centre of each potato (roughly 15 minutes). Strain in a colander and allow to steam off for a few minutes. Tip back into the saucepan and either break the potatoes down with a potato ricer (my preferred method) or a masher.

Put the pan over a low heat, add the butter and mix until well incorporated. Finish with plenty of black pepper and a touch of salt if it needs it.

Using a mandoline, very carefully slice the celeriac quarters into 3mm slices. Arrange the slices into small stacks and slice into thin matchsticks.

Without peeling them and avoiding their cores, slice the apples on the mandoline to the same thickness as the celeriac. Likewise, cut the apple slices into thin matchsticks.

Combine the mayonnaise, mustards, vinegar and parsley in a bowl and mix well. Fold the celeriac and apple matchsticks through the mayonnaise mixture and then season with the salt and a little freshly ground black pepper. Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding a little more salt, if necessary.

How do you improve on a simple baked potato? I’ve always felt that the best part is the crispy skin and the deep, savoury flavour that it takes on with a long bake, so we haven’t changed that here. Instead, we’ve altered the mixture inside, adding a decadent topping to make this a really beautiful family dish. I serve this either as part of a feast or as a simple main dish with sliced ripe tomatoes dressed simply with olive oil and salt.

Place the potatoes on a baking tray, prick their tops a couple of times with a fork and then rub them all over with the vegetable oil. Place the tray in the centre of the preheated oven and bake for 1 hour or until the potatoes are soft when pierced with the tip of a knife.

Meanwhile, prepare the rarebit mixture. In a bowl, combine the beaten eggs, milk, flour, grated cheese, breadcrumbs, mustard, wine and Worcestershire sauce and mix well with a fork. Add the cayenne pepper and salt. Put the bowl in the refrigerator and chill the rarebit mixture while the potatoes finish baking.

When the potatoes are ready, allow them to cool for 5 minutes. Using a clean dish towel to protect your hands, turn the potatoes on their sides and cut off the flattest edge with a serrated knife to reveal the insides. Leaving just enough so the potatoes hold their structure, scoop out three-quarters of the insides into a bowl. Using a fork, mash the potato with the butter and cheese and season to taste. Refill the potato shells with the potato mixture.

Remove the rarebit mixture from the refrigerator and spread it across the tops of the baked potatoes. Return the tray to the oven and bake the potatoes for a further 15 minutes until the rarebit mixture is golden brown.

Trim the tops off the runner beans and, using a vegetable peeler, shave a thin strip from both sides of each bean. Cut into 2.5cm diamond shapes. Cut the stalks off the green beans.

Place a bowl of iced water next to the stove. Bring a large pan of water to the boil with the mint stalks. Season with salt until the water is as salty as the sea. Add both types of bean to the pan and boil for 2½ minutes. Remove from the heat, drain the beans and mint stalks and then plunge them into the iced water and leave until cold. Drain again until the beans are dry, discarding the mint stalks.

Mix together the vinegar, mustard and olive oil to make a dressing, then toss the beans in the dressing. Season the beans with a little freshly ground black pepper and sea salt. Finally, finely slice the mint leaves and toss into the salad and serve.

30g gluten-free plain flour, plus extra for dusting (gluten-free flour results in a crispier fritter, but regular plain flour can also be used)

Squeeze as much moisture as possible from the sweetcorn. Place three-quarters of the sweetcorn in a food processor with the chickpeas and pulse to a rough paste. Transfer the sweetcorn paste to a bowl and then fold through the remaining sweetcorn kernels, spring onions, flour, paprika, cumin and salt.

Weigh the fritter mixture into 50g portions. Roughly roll each portion into a ball, place on a tray and chill in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 190°C fan/210°C/gas mark 6½ and line a baking tray with parchment paper.

Once the fritter mixture is chilled, remove the tray from the refrigerator and shape the balls into patties. Dust the tops and bottoms of each fritter with a little of the flour.

Place a frying pan over a medium heat and add the vegetable oil. Cooking them in batches so as not to overcrowd the pan, carefully slide five fritters into the oil and shallow fry for 2 minutes on each side until they have a golden crust. Transfer the fried fritters to the parchment-lined baking tray. Cook the remaining fritters in the same way.

Place the tray in the preheated oven and bake the fritters for 10 minutes to make sure they are thoroughly hot inside.

Clockwise from top left:

Rarebit Baked Potato, Slow-Roasted Carrots & Cumin, Sweetcorn & Chickpea Fritters, Celeriac & Apple Remoulade and Minted Bean Salad

Preheat the oven to 180°C fan/200°C/gas mark 6 and line a small roasting tray with aluminium foil.

Wash the carrots well but leave them unpeeled. Trim the tops and split them in half lengthways.

Place a large frying pan over a medium heat. Warm the vegetable oil in the pan, add the halved carrots, flat side down and four at a time, and fry until well coloured.

Transfer the carrots to the foil-lined tray, brush them with the butter and sprinkle with the salt and cumin seeds. Lightly crush the garlic cloves and nestle them in between the carrots. Place the tray in the preheated oven and roast the carrots for 25 minutes.

Slow-Roasted Carrots & Cumin