Gnudi

SERVES 4

Note: the recipe needs to be started the day before you wish to cook the gnudi.

500g fresh ricotta 100g freshly grated Parmesan about a third of a nutmeg, grated approx. 500g semolina 100g unsalted butter about 20 sage leaves salt and freshly ground black pepper extra grated Parmesan to hand, at table

Put the ricotta, Parmesan and nutmeg into a bowl and beat together until smooth. Pour half the semolina into a shallow tray. Slightly wet the palms of your hands and briefly lay them in the semolina. Now take up a small piece of the ricotta mix (a large teaspoon, say), gently roll it into a ball about the size of a big marble and drop it into the semolina. Push the tray back and forth to fully coat the ball with semolina and continue this process until all the ricotta mixture is used up. Pour the rest of the semolina over the ricotta balls until they are well covered. Place in the fridge, covered, overnight. The next day, carefully lift out the gnudi from the semolina and put on to a large plate lined with kitchen paper. Put a large, wide pot of lightly salted water on to boil (also, have four hot plates ready to hand). Meanwhile, start to melt the butter in a deep frying pan over a very low heat and switch off the heat when it has. Once the water boils, turn it down to a simmer and slide in the gnudi. Now turn up the heat a touch and patiently wait until the gnudi float to the surface, about 45 minutes. When all have risen, carefully lift them out (they are delicate) using a slotted spoon, draining them well, and divide equally between four hot plates. Turn the heat up under the melted butter and, when it is frothing, toss in the sage leaves, gently cook them until crisp, and without the butter becoming too brown; it should, however, smell nutty and look golden. Spoon immediately over the gnudi and serve without delay. Hand extra Parmesan at table for those who want it. Me.

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Custard pancakes with rum

SERVES 2

350ml full-fat milk 4 strips of lemon zest, removed with a potato peeler, taking care that no pith remains on the zest 4 egg yolks 75g golden caster sugar 1 heaped tbsp plain flour 1 tsp vanilla extract

To make the batter, put the eggs and salt into a mixing bowl. Whisk together and then begin to introduce the flour while continuing to whisk. Once it becomes almost too difficult to work, pour in a little of the milk/ water mix to thin the batter. When it is thin enough to whisk once more, add a little more flour. Continue until both liquid and flour are used up. Whisk in the oil and put to one side for at least 30 minutes; the batter may be made up to 6 hours in advance if you want to get ahead. For the pancakes, use a 20cm frying pan (non-stick if you are a novice at pancake making) and in it melt a tiny amount of butter. Allow it to become hot and sizzling, then lazily wipe out the pan with a piece of kitchen paper but leaving a thin sheen of butter behind. Now, pour in enough batter to thinly cover the base of the pan; when it is turning golden at the edges, flip it over with a palette knife and cook the other side for about 30 seconds. Continue in this mode for subsequent pancakes; you may happily stack them together on a plate, once finished. And dont worry, they wont stick together. To make the custard filling, warm the milk in a pan with the strips of lemon zest. Once the milk is scalded (heated until it hasnt quite reached a boil), put on a lid and leave to infuse. Put the egg yolks into a bowl and whisk together with the caster sugar until

well blended and pale coloured. Add the flour and beat this in too. Now, strain the lemon-scented milk over this (dont wash the pan) and whisk all together until smooth. Add the vanilla extract and return to the pan (dont wash the bowl, either) and heat over a very low flame, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until it slowly begins to thicken. Alternate, now, between the spoon and a sturdy whisk, as the custard will soon begin to thicken dramatically; the difference between a simple egg custard and this one (essentially the thick French custard known as crme patissire) is that the addition of flour will stabilise the mixture as it cooks and, unusually, one can actually allow it to enjoy the occasional simmering blip as it thickens, without worrying about the egg scrambling. And it must eventually thicken to something resembling the consistency of a thick white sauce. Once this has been achieved, take a spatula and scrape out the custard back into the bowl. Lay a sheet of clingfilm directly over the surface of the custard (this prevents a skin forming) and allow to cool. To assemble and finish the custard pancakes, take one pancake, lay it on a work surface and then brush a little beaten egg over the top edge furthest away from you. Now place a tablespoon of the custard in the

centre of the pancake, roll up the pancake halfway to cover it, then tuck in the sides and finish rolling up to seal; it will resemble a plump spring roll. Make three more of these. Note: do not roll them too tightly. Melt a little butter in a non-stick frying pan large enough to easily accommodate four custard pancakes, and allow it to gently heat. Now lay in the pancakes, sealed-side down, and leave to sizzle quietly for about 30 seconds. Using a palette knife, deftly flip them over. Sprinkle with a tiny amount of sugar, then flip them over once more. Sprinkle with more sugar on this buttery side, then flip over again. Repeat this process once more; the time taken should be about 5 minutes, during which time the pancakes will have puffed and swelled somewhat (the reason for not rolling up the pancakes too tightly) and become lightly crusted with sugar. Remove the pancakes to a warmed serving dish. Add a touch more sugar to the pan, now over a slightly higher heat, together with a scrap of butter. Let them sizzle a bit, then add two healthy glugs of rum and let the mixture bubble and amalgamate into what resembles a modicum of butterscotch sauce. Quickly pour this over the pancakes and serve

Note: this recipe makes more than enough for two servings (as much as six, in fact) but it is impractical to make less.

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Roast duck stuffed with potato, spring onions and sage

600650g potatoes (Maris Piper, preferably), well scrubbed but unpeeled a thick slice of soft butter 50g trimmed spring onions, chopped 45 sprigs of sage, leaves chopped 1 x 2kg oven-ready Aylesbury duck, with giblets 1 level tbsp plain flour 100ml Amontillado sherry 400ml duck (or chicken) stock salt and freshly ground white pepper

Preheat the oven to 220C/gas mark 7. Put the potatoes in a steamer and cook until only just tender; still a little bit firm in the centre is about right here. Remove from the steamer and leave to cool until you can handle them but they are still warm. Peel off the skins and then roughly mash in a wide pan with a manual masher; they need to be a bit lumpy. Stir in the butter, spring onions and sage, then lightly season and leave to cool. Once cool, pack the potatoes inside the ducks cavity until completely full; while the duck is roasting, some of the potato will ooze out of the duck, browning as it so does, but this will possibly be the best bit! Place the duck on a rack inside a deep roasting tin, breast-side uppermost and slide into the oven. Roast for 20 minutes, then remove and pour off any rendered fat into a bowl. Roast for a further 20 minutes and repeat the process. During this second 20 minutes, roughly chop up the giblets. Once the second lot of fat has been decanted, tip the chopped giblets into the roasting tin and replace the duck above them. Now, turn the oven down to 190C/ gas mark 5 and continue roasting the duck for a further 3040 minutes, or until the skin is crisp and some of the potato has oozed out into the tin. Carefully lift the

duck from the tin on its rack and place on another clean oven tray, taking care to put any bits of escaped potato with it, too. Tip out all remaining fat into the bowl, bar a couple of tablespoons or so, while also taking care to leave the giblet bits behind. Allow the duck to rest on top of the stove, loosely covered in foil. Leave the oven on. Put the giblet roasting tin directly over a low heat and stir in the flour. Allow to become browned with the giblets and fat about 5 minutes then pour in the sherry and stock and stir in. As it lightly thickens, make sure that you also scrape up any bits of giblet clinging to the tin. Allow to simmer quietly for about 20 minutes then strain through a fine sieve into a clean saucepan. Discard the exhausted giblets. Pop the duck gravy on to a very low flame and allow to bubble quietly; as any scum or fat comes to the surface, remove it with a spoon. Now, carefully remove the legs and breasts from the ducks carcass using a sharp knife, keeping it close to the carcass as you work. Return these to the roasting tin. Now scoop out all the potato from inside the carcass into a non-stick frying pan. Place this on a medium heat and spread out the potato with a spatula. Slowly begin to fry the potato

mixture, while also turning it over and around in the pan; think bubble and squeak. While this is going on, cook the sprouts (see overleaf ) and also return the duck joints to the top of the oven and reheat for about 10 minutes, or until the duck skin has become nice and crisp; you may flash them under a moderate grill, if you like, to aid final crisping. Once the potato has become golden brown all over, slide on to a hot plate. Finally present the duck joints on a heated platter and hand the potato, gravy, apple sauce and sprouts at table.

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Champagne cocktail
5 white sugar cubes 15 drops Angostura bitters, 3 per sugar cube 56 ice cubes per glass (almost the most important part of the drink) 100ml triple sec (or Cointreau, if you like it), 20ml per glass 100ml decent cognac (Remy Martin or Courvoisier, say), 20ml per glass 1 bottle of champagne, 150ml per glass 5 thin slices of orange

1 B OT T L E O F C H A M PAG N E W I L L M A K E 5 C O C K TA I L S

Take five roomy stemmed glasses; a finely made large tulip-shaped red wine glass might be appropriate here. Pop a sugar cube into each glass and shake the drops of Angostura over each one. Divide the ice between the glasses and pour over the triple sec and cognac. Now pour in the champagne. Carefully does it; be skimpy with the initial pour, then return to the first glass and top each one up until the champagne is evenly distributed. Slide a slice of orange into each glass and then stir with a long thin spoon to distribute all the components. Drink with great joy!

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Chicken Pie
700750g chicken thighs, with bone 1 large onion, peeled and quartered 1 large carrot, peeled and sliced 2 sticks of celery, sliced 75ml white wine 1 chicken stock cube 1 bay leaf 25g butter 2 large leeks, trimmed of almost all green parts, thickly sliced, then washed 150g medium white mushrooms, sliced 1 tbsp plain flour 2 tbsp chopped parsley plenty of freshly ground white pepper 100ml double cream
F O R T H E PA S T R Y:

SERVES 4

Note: you will need a deep loose-bottomed tart tin approx. 20 x 4cm
Preheat the oven to 200C/gas mark 6. Also, place a flat baking sheet on the middle shelf. Rinse out the emptied broth pot and in it melt the butter. Add the leeks and mushrooms together and gently fry them until lightly coloured. Shake the flour over them and stir around for a few minutes until the flour has been cooked a little. Now, slowly add the reduced hot stock, stirring all the time, until it begins to thicken. Allow to simmer for 15 20 minutes until smooth and the sauce is glossy looking. Check for salt (it should be seasoned enough from the stock cube) and stir in the parsley, plenty of pepper and, finally, the cream. Pour over the chicken meat and carefully mix together. Leave to cool completely. Remove the pastry from the fridge and, laterally, cut a slice of about one third off the full size, which will be for the lid of the pie. Roll out the remaining two thirds to a thickness of about 3mm. Grease the tart tin and fit in the pastry base, allowing the edge to slightly stand proud from the rim. Generously prick the base of the pastry with a fork, then roll the remaining pastry to the same thickness. Fill the pie with the cooled filling and then brush the edges with the egg/milk mixture. Lay over the lid. Press the pastry well down on the filling (this helps the pie to cook more evenly), then firmly press the overhanging pastry edges together. Take a small, sharp knife and trim off the excess pastry to achieve a neat finish. Brush the surface with more of the egg/milk wash and mark the pastry rim with the tines of a fork; if you wish you may also score the surface of the pastry with the back of a small knife to create a lattice effect. Make two small holes in the centre of the pie to allow steam to escape, then slide the pie on to the baking sheet and cook for 25 minutes. Now, turn the temperature down to 180C/gas mark 4 and continue cooking for a further 3040 minutes or so. If the pie is browning too much towards the end of the cooking time, loosely cover with a sheet of foil. Once the pie is a perfect golden brown, allow to rest for about 10 minutes before serving with the delicious carrots and peas (see recipe overleaf ).

75g cold unsalted butter, cubed 75g cold lard, cubed, plus a little extra for greasing the tart tin 250g plain flour large pinch of salt iced water, to mix 1 egg, beaten and mixed with a little milk, to glaze

To make the pastry, place the butter and lard in a bowl with the flour and salt or place all four in the bowl of a food processor. Gently rub the fat into the flour using fingertips until the texture resembles very coarse breadcrumbs or pulse to a breadcrumb-like texture then transfer to a clean bowl. Add 23 tablespoonfuls of the iced water and stir together with a knife. Once the mixture begins to come together, tip out on to a work surface and gently knead until well blended. Form into a thick disk and put it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, to rest and firm up. Put the chicken thighs into a roomy pot and add the onion, carrot, celery, wine, stock cube and bay. Just cover with cold water and place over a moderate heat. Bring up to a simmer and skim off any scum that rises to the surface. Cook very gently for about 40 minutes, continuing to skim if necessary. Lift out the thighs using a slotted spoon, while flicking off any clinging bits of vegetable, then put on to a plate to cool for a few minutes before removing the skin and discarding it. Now, strain the broth through a fine sieve into a large, clean saucepan and discard the debris. Allow the broth to settle for a few minutes, then remove any surface fat with kitchen paper. Place over a moderate heat again and reduce by about half its volume (more scum will be generated, so remove it as and when). Using your fingers, break up the chicken thigh meat into small pieces, throw away the bones and put the meat into a bowl.

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