12 quails’ eggs
600 g/1¼ lbs. good-quality pork sausages
1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
1 tablespoon finely chopped thyme (optional)
1 egg yolk, beaten, plus 1 whole egg
1 tablespoon plain/all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons/1¼ cups milk
75 g/1¼ cups fine breadcrumbs
sunflower oil, for deep-frying
sea salt and ground black pepper, to season
Makes 12
Bring a saucepan of water to a boil and gently lower in the quails’ eggs. Boil for 100 seconds, then plunge the boiled eggs immediately into cold water to stop additional cooking. Once cold, one at a time, roll each egg gently along a work surface with the flat of your palm until the shell is all crackled, then peel away the shell. Set the peeled eggs aside until needed.
Remove the skins from the sausages and discard and put the sausage meat in a large mixing bowl with the parsley, thyme, if using, and egg yolk. Season with salt and pepper and stir to combine. Divide the mixture into 12 equal portions.
Now get three shallow bowls ready, the first holding the plain/all-purpose flour seasoned with salt and pepper, the next with a whole egg beaten with the milk and the last bowl filled with the breadcrumbs.
Take a portion of sausage meat and make a patty with it in your palm. Place a quail’s egg in the centre and gently mould the sausage meat around it before rolling it into a ball between your palms. Repeat with the rest of the sausage meat and quails’ eggs. Roll each Scotch egg firstly in seasoned flour, then dip it in the egg wash before coating it in the breadcrumbs.
Pour the oil for deep-frying into a large pan and bring up to smoking hot temperature (around 180°C/350°F) or until a small piece of bread brown in 60 seconds. Fry a few eggs at a time for about 4 minutes until they are golden brown all over. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels to soak up any excess oil and let cool before serving.
GRILLED HALLOUMI WITH JALAPEÑO RELISH
450 g/1 lb. halloumi
3 tablespoons olive oil
grated zest and juice of 2 limes
Jalapeño Relish (see below)
cracked black pepper, for sprinkling
extra limes, for squeezing
JALAPEÑO RELISH (makes 475 ml/2 cups)
4 jalapeño chillies/chiles
3 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for oiling
1 red and 1 white onion, thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon lime pickle
2 tablespoons tequila
3 tablespoons honey
60 ml/¼ cup white wine vinegar
sea salt flakes, to season
still-warm sterilized glass jars with airtight lids
Serves 6
Begin with the halloumi. Slice the cheese into 5-mm/¼-inch pieces. Place a cast-iron pan over medium heat and add the olive oil. Add the halloumi and sauté on each side for 2 minutes.
Add a little lime zest and juice to the pan for each batch. The halloumi will cook quickly, so don’t let it brown too much. Transfer the cheese to a warm serving platter until needed.
To make the relish, place a lightly oiled large cast-iron pan over high heat until smoking. Add the jalapeños, lower the heat slightly and cook until the skins are charred and blistered. Remove from the pan and set aside to cool.
Add the oil, sliced onions and garlic to the pan and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt to taste. Add the lime pickle.
Roughly chop the jalapeños and add to the pan with the tequila, honey and vinegar. Cook for an additional 10 minutes until the onions are golden and soft.
To serve, place a teaspoon of relish on top of each piece of cheese. Sprinkle with black pepper and an extra squeeze of lime.
500 g/1 lb. 2 oz. even-sized waxy potatoes
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
grated zest of ½ lemon
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons chopped chives
2 tablespoons chopped mint leaves
3 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to season
Serves 4
Cook the potatoes in salted boiling water until tender; drain.
Return the potatoes to the pan. Use a masher to roughly crush them. Add the olive oil and lemon zest and juice and season with the salt and pepper, mixing well. Add the chives, mint and parsley and mix in. Serve warm or at room temperature.
100 g/scant 1 cup fusilli pasta
4 tablespoons/¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
75 g/½ cup fresh or frozen peas
a small handful of mangetout/snowpeas, trimmed
½ courgette/zucchini, trimmed
a small handful of rocket/arugula
50 g/⅓ cup pistachios
2 tablespoons chopped mint leaves
½ small garlic clove, crushed
juice of ½ lemon
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to season
a sterilized 1-litre/quart Kilner/Mason jar
Makes 1 jar
Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the package until al dente. Drain well and immediately refresh under cold water. Drain again and dry well. Combine with a little of the olive oil.
Blanch the peas in lightly salted boiling water for 1 minute. Drain and refresh under cold water and drain again. Shake dry.
Thinly shred the mangetout/snowpeas and use a spiralizer (or grater) to spiralize or shred the courgette/zucchini.
Place the rocket/arugula, pistachios, mint, garlic, salt and pepper and half the remaining olive oil in a food processor and blend until smooth. Combine the remaining oil with the lemon juice and season to taste.
Next, arrange the pasta, vegetables and half the pesto in layers in the Kilner/Mason jar. Pour in the lemon dressing, cover the top with a circle of parchment paper and seal the jar. Chill in the fridge until required.
Note: This recipe makes twice the quantity of pesto needed, so use half and store the rest in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
2 beet(root)s, peeled and sliced
2 parsnips, peeled and cut into batons
1 red onion, skin on, cut into wedges
½ small celeriac/celery root, peeled and cut into small chunks
2 tablespoons olive oil
2–3 teaspoons honey
1 tablespoon thyme leaves
1 cooking chorizo sausage (about 55 g/2 oz.), cubed (optional)
a big of handful rocket/arugula leaves
75 g/2½ oz. goats’ cheese, crumbled
1–2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
a handful of parsley, roughly chopped
sea salt and ground black pepper, to season
Serves 2–4
Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F) Gas 6.
Put the vegetables in a baking pan, drizzle with the olive oil and honey, season and sprinkle over the thyme leaves. Toss to coat the vegetables, put the pan in the oven and roast for 30–35 minutes until the vegetables are golden and caramelized. Remove from the oven, toss again in the hot oil in the pan, then let cool.
In a small frying pan/skillet, dry-fry the cubes of chorizo sausage until lightly browned around the edges. Let cool.
Transfer the cooled vegetables to a large mixing bowl, making sure you discard the outer layer or two of red onion skin as you go. Add the chorizo and a little of the leftover chorizo oil. Toss in the rocket/arugula leaves, goats’ cheese and balsamic vinegar. Season and then garnish with a generous sprinkling of the parsley.
12 pork sausages of your choice
12 long sprigs of fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon olive oil
chunks of baguette, to serve
French mustard, to serve (optional)
a barbecue/grill
a metal or wooden skewer
Serves 6
Take a sausage and spear it lengthways with the skewer. Remove the skewer and slowly thread a rosemary branch through where the hole has been made. If the rosemary breaks do not worry, just thread the rest of the sprig into the sausage from the other side.
Repeat this process with the rest of the sausages and rosemary sprigs, then brush them with olive oil. Place the sausages on a hot barbecue/grill and cook for 10–15 minutes, turning occasionally to brown on all sides.
Serve the sausages in a torn baguette with some good French mustard, if liked, or simply hot off the barbecue.
CAKE
110 g/1 stick unsalted butter, softened
175 g/¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons caster/granulated sugar
175 g/1⅓ cups self-raising/rising flour, sifted
1 teaspoon baking powder
a pinch of salt
2 UK large/US extra-large eggs
4 tablespoons/½ cup full-fat/whole milk
finely grated zest of 2 lemons
TOPPING
100 g/½ cup caster/granulated sugar
juice of 2 lemons
a 900-g/2-lb. loaf pan lined with parchment paper
Serves 8–10
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) Gas 4.
Put all the cake ingredients except the lemon zest into a large mixing bowl and, using an electric hand mixer, thoroughly combine until the mixture is creamy and has a dropping consistency. Fold through the lemon zest and pour the cake batter into the prepared loaf pan. Level the top with a palette knife and bake for 30–35 minutes or until an inserted skewer comes out clean.
In the meantime, stir the sugar and lemon juice together in a jug/pitcher to make the drizzle topping. Once the cake has baked, remove it from the oven and stab it all over with a skewer to create lots of fine holes for the syrup to soak through. Pour the lemon syrup over the hot cake and let the cake cool completely in its pan on top of a wire rack before turning out.
ice cubes
50 ml/1¾ fl. oz. Pimm’s No 1 Cup
dash of elderflower cordial
sliced strawberries, orange, lemon and cucumber
well-chilled Prosecco or other dry sparkling wine, to top up
a mint sprig
Makes 1
Fill a collins glass with ice cubes and add the Pimm’s, elderflower cordial and sliced fruit. Stir well, then half-fill with Prosecco. Stir gently, then top up with Prosecco. Lightly crush the mint sprig and drop it in the top. Serve.
Note: If serving lots of people, make a jug/pitcher of this ahead of time, which helps extract more flavour from the fruit, adding the ice, Prosecco and mint just before serving. For a 2-litre/quart jug/pitcher, use 750 ml/25 fl. oz. Prosecco, 400 ml/14 fl. oz. Pimm’s and 50 ml/1¾ fl. oz. elderflower cordial.
