Food cooked in the oven gets on with the job itself, without us having to watch over it. No tinkering, stirring or moving it round the pan. No having to lower the heat or prod and poke. We simply put a dish in the oven and leave it to do its stuff. That is not to say a roast won't benefit from the occasional basting with its juices, or that you can ignore a rapidly browning pie, but it does allow us time to do other things while our dinner cooks.
Many of the dishes in this section take a good half hour, even an hour or longer, in the oven. They belong in this book because their preparation time is minimal and, once they are in the oven, we are free to do something else. I like the idea of fifteen minutes of hands-on cooking followed by an hour in the oven. Anything that takes a long time both to prepare and cook is excluded.
A roasting tin is an essential piece of kit for anyone with an eye on a traditional Sunday lunch but other baking dishes are important too. A shallow dish of enamel, ovenproof china or even glass is good for a layered dish of pasta or a pie, but can also be used to bake stuffed vegetables and sausages. My enamel dishes are second hand and much loved. Pottery baking dishes can become beautifully worn with time and even heatproof glass, possibly the least romantic of all cookware, has a pleasing homeliness to it. You don't need many, maybe just a nest of enamel tins of different sizes.
The most straightforward of oven dishes, the roast chicken, has its cooking time shortened here by being cut into small joints — legs and thighs mostly — and, in one case, the bird is spatchcocked. While a whole roast chicken, with butter and thyme or lemon, could possibly fit into a book of fast food, it is probably more useful to include recipes for roast chicken pieces that take half the time of a whole bird. Here you will find baked chicken with Taleggio, a stuffed breast with smoked cheese, and spicy marmalade drumsticks. There is a quick stuffed squid whose filling of beans makes you think you are eating a dish that has been cooking for hours in a slow oven.
The essence of baking or roasting is not only its simplicity and good-natured quality but also what happens to the food. Juices leak and caramelise on the pan, edges crisp, flavours concentrate. Even roasted for a short time, chicken pieces will develop a crisp, savoury skin; the filling for a stuffed chicken breast will melt appetisingly; a belly of lamb will tenderise. But there is more. Pasta in a sauce will form a golden crust, vegetables baked in cheese sauce will turn an irresistible gold, a potato will bake to bring untold comfort.
The oven is particularly good for fish, such as sea bass and red mullet with leeks. Here, the time-heavy layered dishes such as lasagne have been shortened by replacing the rag sauce with layers of herby sausage meat. There is also a series of little roasts, including lamb fillets with seasoned crumbs and satay drumsticks with beansprouts and curry paste. Food that needs little interference from us once the initial preparation is over. Dinner that almost cooks itself.
A few favourite oven dinners
Put chicken thighs in a roasting tin, mix runny honey and lime juice to taste, season with salt and pepper, then pour over the chicken. Turn skin-side up, then roast in an oven set at 200°C/Gas 6 till the skin is golden and the juices run clear. Salt generously as you eat.
Roughly chop a couple of apples, discarding the cores. Peel and roughly chop an onion. Mix the two then roast in a little oil in an oven set at 200°C/Gas 6 for 15 minutes. Season a pork tenderloin with salt, pepper and fennel seeds, then seal in a pan with hot oil. Add the pork to the roasting tin, trickle over maple syrup and roast for about 30 minutes depending on the weight, then leave to rest.
Mix 150ml oyster sauce, 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, 2 tablespoons of light muscovado sugar, half a teaspoon of chilli flakes, 2 chopped spring onions and 2 chopped garlic cloves. Put 4 chicken pieces into a baking dish, pour in the sauce and toss gently to coat. Bake at 200°C/Gas 6 for 20 minutes, baste with the sauce, then cook for another 15-20 minutes, keeping an eye on it — it burns easily. Serve with beansprouts, crisp lettuce or watercress. For 2.
potatoes, cayenne, dried chilli flakes, turmeric, cumin, garlic, spinach, banana shallots, yoghurt, coriander
Cut 800g large floury potatoes into large pieces and cook in deep, salted water for about 15 minutes, till approaching tenderness. Peel 5 banana shallots and halve them lengthways. Drain the potatoes, then put them in a bowl, add the shallots and toss with half a teaspoon of cayenne, a teaspoon of dried chilli flakes, a teaspoon of crushed garlic and a teaspoon each of ground cumin and turmeric. Add 2 teaspoons of sea salt flakes and 4 tablespoons of groundnut oil, then tip into a roasting tin and bake at 200°C/Gas 6 until crisp. Wash a couple of large handfuls of spinach. Put them in a pan over a moderate heat, cover with a lid and leave for a minute or two to wilt. Toss with the crisp potatoes and a little yoghurt and torn coriander.
Enough for 2-3. Hot, cool, crisp, soft.
In the recipe opposite, substitute about 400g chorizo for the bacon. Flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped, is pleasing to find in the stock.
Pour a kettle of boiling water over about 10g porcini and let them soak for 10 minutes. When they are soft, layer them with the potatoes. Add the juice of half a lemon and a handful of parsley to the stock. You could use the porcini soaking water for some of the stock to bring a deep, miso quality to the dish.
Peel and slice a swede. Soften very thinly sliced onions in a little butter or oil. Layer alternately, adding chopped anchovies and finely chopped dill.
Peel and thinly slice a celeriac. Rub a baking dish with duck fat, then layer the celeriac with duck confit (from a can or jar) pulled off the bone, and a little chopped thyme. I like to brown the confit a little in a non-stick frying pan first, then layer it with the sliced celeriac. Bake as opposite. Celeriac can also be used in the bacon version opposite.
potatoes, smoked bacon, vegetable stock
Scrub 350g large floury potatoes then slice them thinly, about the same thickness as a pound coin. Remove the rind from 10 rashers of smoked streaky bacon and cut them into three lengthways.
In an ovenproof dish, layer the potatoes and bacon, seasoning with salt and pepper as you go. Pour in sooml vegetable stock, cover the dish with foil and bake for an hour at 200°C/Gas 6. Remove the foil and continue to cook for 15 minutes till brown.
Serve with a crisp salad of iceberg-style lettuce and peppery watercress.
For 4. Frugal, plain and simple. Peaceful starch and soothing stock with a back note of smoke.
marrow, mushrooms, basil, mozzarella, béchamel sauce, Parmesan
Set the oven at 200°C/Gas 6. Remove and discard the seeds and fibres from 750g peeled marrow, then slice into rounds about the thickness of a pound coin. Warm a little butter and oil in a shallow pan. As it starts to bubble, lower in a few of the marrow slices in a single layer and let them colour a little underneath. Turn them over and cook the other side - they should be translucent and tender. Remove them and drain on kitchen paper. Continue with the rest of the marrow slices.
While the marrow is cooking, thickly slice 300g mushrooms. When all the marrow is done, add the mushrooms to the pan, with a little more butter if necessary, season them with salt and pepper, then, as they are approaching doneness, stir in 15g basil leaves. Once they have wilted, remove the pan from the heat.
Cover the base of a large, shallow baking dish with some of the marrow and mushroom mixture. Tear a ball of mozzarella into pieces and dot them over the mushroom mixture. Spoon sooml béchamel sauce (ready-made is fine) over the surface, then add another layer of marrow, seasoning as you go. Finally, top with a generous dusting of grated Parmesan. Bake for about 40 minutes, till the sauce is bubbling, the top gently browned.
For 4-6. A delight for anyone haunted by a marrow in their veg box.
Spread pistou over the lamb instead of the mustard, and swap the cumin and caraway seeds for herbes de Provence (savory, basil, thyme, lavender). Roast as opposite. On the side: green beans.
Spread the browned lamb with wasabi paste (freshly grated from the root if at all possible) then roll it in the breadcrumbs. Roast as opposite.
Spread the warm, sealed lamb fillet with black olive tapenade, roll it in crushed pistachios and roast as opposite.
Spread a layer of harissa paste over the browned lamb, roll lightly in sesame seeds, then roast as opposite.
Spread a pork fillet with Dijon mustard and wrap in breadcrumbs the same way as the lamb opposite, but double the cooking time, basting halfway through. Eat with apple purée and a fennel and watercress salad.
lamb fillets, breadcrumbs, cumin seeds, caraway seeds, Dijon mustard
Trim a couple of lamb fillets, each weighing about 300g. Mix 50g dried breadcrumbs, a tablespoon of cumin seeds and a tablespoon of caraway seeds together and set aside. Warm a film of oil in a shallow, non-stick pan, season the lamb fillets with salt and pepper then brown them briefly in the oil.
Remove the fillets from the pan and spread them with Dijon mustard. I do this quite generously but it depends on your taste for the stuff. Then roll them in the seasoned crumbs. Trickle over a light coating of olive oil, then bake for about 10 minutes in an oven preheated to 200°C/Gas 6. Remove from the oven and leave to rest for 5-10 minutes. Slice and serve. Depending on the time of year, green beans, spinach, potato dauphinoise or new potatoes would be an appropriate accompaniment.
For 4. Rose meat. Golden crumbs.
A few thoughts
Fillet is a lean cut; be generous with the olive oil.
Use coarse, dry breadcrumbs, ideally the Japanese panko crumbs if you can find them. Scatter any leftover crumbs in the dish and serve them on the side.
Mix together a tablespoon or so of Dijon mustard, 2 crushed cloves of garlic, a couple of tablespoons of mango chutney and a tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce. Deeply slash a couple of cold cooked chicken legs, smooth the spice paste over them, then cook under an overhead grill till sizzling. Cut the meat from the bone, then stuff into soft, floury, white baps.
Make a mixture of runny honey, black treacle, grain mustard and tomato ketchup. The result should be sweet, with a back note of heat from the grain mustard. Toss the drumsticks till well coated, then bake as opposite, keeping a close eye on them. If they appear to be browning too quickly, cover them with foil.
chicken drumsticks, marmalade, grain mustard
Put 6 large chicken drumsticks on a foil-lined baking tray or in a small roasting tin. Mix 6 heaped tablespoons of marmalade with 3 tablespoons of grain mustard and a grinding of black pepper.
Spoon the seasoned marmalade over the chicken and bake for about 30 minutes in an oven set at 200°C/Gas 6, keeping an eye on them so they don't burn.
For 2-3. Sweet, spicy, succulent.
For a change
For a warmer (but far from hot) version, add a pinch of dried chilli flakes to the marmalade mix, or alittle finely chopped shallot or onion. Score the chicken all over with a knife, then massage and spread the marmalade down into the slashes.
In a food processor or by hand, mix 75g butter, a handful of fresh, coarse breadcrumbs, 2 finely chopped shallots, 2 cloves of garlic and a small handful of chopped parsley. Partially cook a couple of oiled, boned chicken thighs or breasts under an overhead, moderately hot grill. As the meat approaches readiness, spread the breadcrumb paste over it and continue grilling, basting occasionally, till golden.
Blitz a few rashers of pancetta or bacon in a food processor, then mix with soft, fresh breadcrumbs, melted butter and a little Dijon mustard to bind. Spread over the chicken breasts and cook under a moderately hot grill.
chicken breasts, pancetta, spring onions, smoked cheese
Slice deeply into the long edge of 2 plump chicken breasts to give a large pocket in each one. Chop 100g pancetta into small dice. Fry till crisp in a shallow pan, add 2 chopped spring onions and continue cocking till the fat is golden, then tip into a bowl. Mix in 100g cubed smoked cheese, then season with salt and black pepper.
Stuff the filling into the chicken breasts and seal with a wooden skewer or two. Bake in an oven set at 180°C/Gas 4 for 25-30 minutes, till golden. Remove the skewers and serve.
For 2. Golden chicken. Smoky, molten cheese.
Place a layer of sliced waxy potatoes in a roasting tin. Toss them with olive oil, shreds of bacon and a little chopped rosemary. Place a cleaned whole sea bass on top, rub with oil and rosemary and bake as opposite.
Cut a couple of aubergines into small cubes of about 1cm or so. Toss them in plenty of olive oil, salt and chopped thyme. Place in a roasting tin and bake for about 30 minutes at 180°C/Gas 4, tossing occasionally so they cook evenly. When they are golden and thoroughly soft, place a cleaned and prepared whole fish (red or grey mullet, whole sardines) on top, then trickle generously with olive oil, the juice of half a lemon and plenty of salt and pepper. Bake till the flesh of the fish is firm. The exact time will depend on the weight and variety of your fish, but allow about 20-40 minutes. Serve with extra oil and lemon.
red mullet, fennel, leeks, parsley, lemon
Set the oven at 180°C/Gas 4. Halve and trim 150g young fennel. If you are using a plump, older bulb, then shred it finely. Trim 150g young leeks, leaving them whole if they are thin and small; if not, halve them lengthways. Toss the vegetables with 4 tablespoons of olive oil. Throw in a little chopped parsley and the juice of a lemon. Tip the mixture into a roasting tin. Place 2 red mullet, prepared and trimmed, on top of the vegetables. Brush them with oil from the tin, then bake for 20 minutes or so.
For 2. Bright leeks, sweet fish.
tomatoes, anchovies, white bread, basil, coriander, parsley, spring onions
Set the oven at 180°C/Gas 4. Put 4 tablespoons of olive oil into a deep frying pan set over a moderate heat. Slice 6 spring onions and add them to the pan. Halve 1kg tomatoes horizontally and add them to the pan toa. Cover with a lid and cook for 5 minutes or so, till the tomatoes have softened but are still holding their shape. Add a chopped tomato to the pan with a handful of basil and coriander leaves, a grinding of black pepper and a very little salt, then turn off the heat.
Blitz 60g white bread in a food processor till you have soft, coarse crumbs, then add a handful of parsley, 5 anchovies and a little black pepper and process again briefly. Transfer the tomatoes and their cooking juices to an ovenproof dish or tin, scatter the crumb crust over them and bake for 30 minutes, until the tomatoes are sizzling and the crust is deep gold.
For 4. Provence!
Rub chicken drumsticks with butter, salt and pepper and roast them. When brown and almost ready, toss in a mixture of toasted sesame oil and mirin, scatter over a few sesame seeds and continue roasting.
Stir a little sherry vinegar into freshly squeezed orange juice, add a little melted butter, then pour over chicken thighs or a spatchcocked chicken. Tuck the empty orange shells underneath and roast as opposite.
chicken, rocket, couscous, lemon, young garlic, chicken stock, thyme
Set the oven at 200°C/Gas 6. Place a medium-sized chicken on a chopping board and using a heavy, sharp knife cut through the backbone and open the chicken out flat. (If you don't fancy doing this yourself, you can ask the butcher to do it.) Place the chicken, skin-side up, in a roasting tin. In a small bowl or jar, mix 4 tablespoons of olive cil and the juice of a lemon (keep the empty shells). Season with salt and pepper, then add the leaves from 3 or 4 thyme sprigs. Spoon or pour the oil mixture over the chicken then add a further 8 or so thyme sprigs. Cut a head of young garlic in half and tuck the halves in around the meat, together with the empty lemon shells.
Roast the chicken for no longer than 45 minutes, by which time the skin should be golden brown and the juices should run clear when pierced with a skewer in the thickest part of the flesh.
Remove the roasting tin from the oven and put the chicken on a warm plate, covered with foil, to rest. Tip sooml chicken stock into the roasting tin and gently scrape at the roasting sediment left in the tin, letting it dissolve in the stock, then tip in 250g couscous, spread fairly evenly, cover the tin tightly with foil or a cloth and leave to swell for 10 minutes.
Wash 100g rocket leaves then mix them into the couscous with a fork, loosening the grains as you fold the leaves in. Add a little salt and pepper as you think fit and perhaps a little lemon juice to taste. Cut the chicken into pieces and serve with the rocket couscous.
For 4. Couscous plumped up with the roasting juices and pan crustings. No flavours go to waste.
Drain a can of cannellini beans, tip them into a pan and add a little butter and olive oil. Warm them over a moderate heat. Open a can of good-quality sardines in olive oil, break them up into large pieces, then fold them into the beans. Add a seasoning of salt, pepper and a little red wine vinegar. Hardly a gourmet feast, but worth a thought when you're hungry and perhaps a little the worse for wear.
Heat the contents of a can or jar of lentils in a generous amount of olive oil, adding a crushed clove of garlic, some salt and pepper, a few leaves of thyme and maybe a bay leaf or two. Simmer gently, stirring regularly. In a shallow pan, fry half a dozen scallops, or a piece of cod, in foaming butter. Toss in a handful of chopped parsley, add a splash of red wine vinegar and serve with the lentils.
sea bass, flageolet beans, tarragon, soft butter, lemon
Mash 150g soft butter with a good handful of chopped tarragon leaves and a tablespoon of lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
Set the oven at 200°C/Gas 6. Season a large sea bass or 2 smaller ones inside and out. Tuck half the tarragon butter inside the belly cavity, then lightly seal it closed by threading a wooden skewer or cocktail stick through it. Place the fish in a roasting tin.
Drain and rinse two 400g cans of flageolet beans. Surround the fish with the flageolets and dot the remaining tarragon butter over the beans. Wrap a piece of foil loosely over the top, then bake for about 40 minutes, depending on the size of your fish. For the last 15 minutes of cooking, spoon or brush some of the buttery juices over the fish and return it to the oven without the foil. Break the fish into 4 pieces to serve and spoon over the beans and juice.
For 4. Silky fish, soft beans.
chicken drumsticks, peanut butter, Thai red curry paste, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, tamarind paste, sugar, beansprouts
Set the oven at 200°C/Gas 6. Put 250g crunchy peanut butter in a mixing bowl with 2 tablespoons of Thai red curry paste, 2 tablespoons of rice wine vinegar, 2 tablespoons of sesame oil, 2 tablespoons of tamarind paste, 3 tablespoons of golden caster sugar and 400ml water. Stir well then pour over 8 large chicken drumsticks and bake for about 45 minutes. Remove the drumsticks to a warm plate, toss 150g beansprouts through the sauce left in the tin and serve with the drumsticks.
For 4. Nutty. Spicy. Delicious fingers to lick.
squid, judién or butter beans, tomatoes, garlic, rosemary, dry sherry
Peel and finely slice 4 garlic cloves, then fry in a thin layer of olive oil in a deep frying pan till very lightly coloured. Cut 8 tomatoes into roughly 8 pieces each, then add to the garlic, together with the chopped leaves from a bushy sprig of rosemary. Cook for 6 or 7 minutes, till the mixture is soft, fragrant and quite juicy. Season with salt and black pepper.
Drain 650g judién beans or butter beans of any bottling or canning liquor, rinsing them in a colander if you wish, then stir them gently into the tomato mixture and continue cooking, over a moderate heat, for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat. Set the oven at 200°C/Gas 6.
Check 4 prepared medium squid, making sure that they are thoroughly clean and the transparent quills have been removed from the body sacs and discarded. Set aside the tentacles. Using a tablespoon, stuff the squid bodies with as much of the filling as you can, laying them down slightly apart in a roasting tin or large baking dish. Spoon any excess filling into the roasting tin.
Pour 300ml dry sherry around the squid, add a couple more rosemary sprigs to the tin and bake for 20-25 minutes, occasionally basting the squid with the sherry. Halfway through cooking, tuck the reserved tentacles around the squid bodies.
Serve the squid and tentacles in shallow bowls or on deep plates, spooning the thin juices around them as you go.
For 4. Heartwarming, glowing red and white, with garlic and tomato.
lamb belly, rosemary, yellow mustard seeds, garlic salt, celery seeds, thyme
Set the oven at 170°C/Gas 3. Lay a belly of lamb, weighing about 700g, out flat, fat-side up, then score with a knife at 1.cm intervals. Mix together 4 tablespoons of chopped rosemary, 3 tablespoons of yellow mustard seeds, 2 tablespoons of garlic salt, 3 tablespoons of celery seeds and the leaves from 6 small sprigs of thyme, then rub this mix into the lamb. Trickle with olive oil so the surface is nicely moist, then roast for 114 hours. Briefly rest the meat, then serve in thick slices.
For 4. Savoury, juicy. Frugal and aromatic.
A few thoughts
Roast potatoes; very creamy and soft mashed potato; steamed spinach; a handful of rocket dressed with lemon juice.
Like a pork belly, a breast of lamb has plenty of fat to keep it juicy as it cooks. it needs a generous amount of seasoning,
An alternative spice rub
Make the rub with 3 tablespoons of smoked paprika, 3 tablespoons of cumin seeds and 2 tablespoons of garlic salt. Massage into the scored lamb belly, then trickle with oil and roast as opposite.
Peel and thinly slice onions and cook in butter over alow to moderate heat until they are soft and bronze. They should be tender enough to crush between finger and thumb. Stir in grated Parmesan, black pepper and a few capers. Spread over the pastry as opposite, roll and bake.
Mash smoked mackerel with a fork, fastidiously removing any fine bones, season with pepper and lemon juice, and maybe a caper or two, then mix to a soft but not sloppy paste with a little créme fraiche. Spread over the rectangle of pastry, roll and bake.
sausages, puff pastry, fennel seeds, egg
Set the oven at 200°C/Gas 6. Lightly flour a pastry board or work surface, then roll out 375g all-butter puff pastry to a rectangle about 30cm x 20cm.
Remove the skins from 400g breakfast sausages (slice the skin from one end to the other then peel away from the sausage meat). Spread the sausage meat over the pastry, leaving a small border around the edges. Scatter over 2 tablespoons of fennel seeds. Brush the edges with a little beaten egg.
With the long edge facing you, roll the short sides of the pastry, both left and right, until the rolls meet in the middle. Brush with more beaten egg and press the rolls lightly together. Cut into 8-10 finger- thick slices. Place these flat on a baking sheet and brush lightly with more egg. Bake for 10-15 minutes, till puffed and golden.
Makes 8-10. Viennoiserie for carnivores.
Lightly brown 6 decent butcher's sausages in a little fat or oil in a heavy pan. Push them to one side and cook 2 peeled and quartered onions, broken into layers, on the other side of the pan. Keep the pieces of onion quite large. Once they are deep gold and caramelised, sprinkle over a generous dusting of flour and allow to brown very lightly. Pour in 250ml rich stock, bring to the boil, season, then simmer for 20 minutes. To make the mash, peel 2 or 3 large potatoes, cut them into large pieces and boil in lightly salted water or steam them till tender enough to mash. Add a thick slice of butter and beat till light and fluffy. Serve with the sausages and onion gravy.
sausages, potatoes, tomatoes, shallots, stock, double cream, butter
Set the oven at 180°C/Gas 4. Peel 2 banana shallots or small onions, quarter them lengthways, then put them in a roasting tin with 6 first-class butcher's sausages. Cut 2 beefsteak tomatoes or large vine-ripened tomatoes into quarters and add to the tin with 4 tablespoons of olive oil. Bake for an hour, until nicely browned.
Cut 2 large potatoes into 6 pieces each, without peeling, then boil them in deep, salted water till tender. Remove the roasting tin from the oven, place on the hob and pour in sooml beef or chicken stock. Leave to simmer, stirring regularly.
Drain the potatoes and return them to the pan. Add 50g butter and mash with a potato masher. Beat in 4 tablespoons of double cream with a wooden spoon and season carefully. Leave on a low heat, stirring regularly.
Mash up the tomatoes in the gravy with a fork, stirring to dissolve any roasted pan juices into the sauce. Serve the sausages and gravy over the creamy mash.
For 2. Bolstering food for a cold night.
A few thoughts
Cooking sausages slowly will stop them splitting and will allow a good sticky coat to develop on their skins.
Once the sausages are browned you can let them finish cooking in the stock.
After crushing the potatoes with a potato masher, beat them with a wooden spoon to incorporate some air and make them light and fluffy.
Stir a little grain or smooth Dijon mustard into the gravy at the end.
Use Madeira or dry Marsala in place of some of the stock.
Add a couple of sage leaves to the gravy.
Mushrooms, quartered and fried in a little butter, then stirred into the gravy, would be something to consider, as would a little grated horseradish.
baking potatoes, cauliflower, milk, bay leaves, Parmesan
Prick 4 large floury potatoes with a fork or skewer to stop them bursting in the oven, then bake at 200°C/Gas 6 for 50 minutes to an hour, till the skin is crisp.
Break a small cauliflower into large florets, put them into a saucepan with 750ml milk and a couple of bay leaves and bring to the boil. Salt lightly, lower the heat and simmer till tender. Remove the cauliflower and set aside.
Slice the tops off the potatoes and discard. Scoop out the potato flesh, leaving a sturdy shell of potato skin. Mash the potato flesh with a fork, then stir it into the milk with 150g grated Parmesan cheese. Season generously, stirring well. Return the cauliflower to the sauce, then pile the mixture into the hollowed-out potato shells, scatter with more grated Parmesan and return to the oven for 15 minutes or so, till the filling is thoroughly hot and the top is pale gold.
For 4. Nannying, frugal. Utter bliss.
baking potatoes, chorizo, Manchego
Rinse 2 large floury baking potatoes, salt them all over, pierce them here and there with a fork then bake at 200°C/Gas 6 for about 45 minutes till lightly crisp and cooked right through to the centre.
In a food processor, coarsely blitz 250g cooking chorizo, then place in a shallow, non-stick pan and fry till sizzling and lightly browned. Slice the top from each potato then scrape out the flesh into the chorizo pan, setting the empty potato shells aside. Continue cooking till the potato colours a little — no seasoning is required.
Chop 100g Manchego cheese and add to the potato and chorizo, then stuff the mixture back into the empty potato shells, grate a further 25g Manchego and scatter over the potatoes, then bake for 10-15 minutes.
For 2. A big, bold baked potato for a cold night.
Boil a bundle of asparagus and drain, then slice each stalk into 3 or 4 pieces. Cut 4 rashers of bacon or pancetta into short strips and fry them in a shallow pan until crisp. Toss the cooked asparagus into the pan, scatter over some grated Parmesan and, just as the cheese starts to melt, divide between 2 plates.
Mix together 2 tablespoons of dark soy sauce, 2 tablespoons of mirin, a pinch of sugar and a little salt. Fry a bunch of slim asparagus spears in a little oil in a wok till tender. Add a finely sliced clove of garlic.
When it has turned golden, add the dressing, bubble briefly and serve.
asparagus, lasagne sheets, béchamel sauce, Parmesan
Set the oven at 180°C/Gas 4. Trim 12 asparagus spears. Cook 4 fresh lasagne sheets, measuring roughly 20cm x 10cm, in plenty of boiling water for 5 minutes, then drain and brush with a little olive oil.
Place a sheet of lasagne on the work surface, put 3 raw asparagus spears on it, then roll up loosely. Continue with the others, placing them snugly in a baking dish as you go. Pour over 500ml béchamel sauce (ready-made is fine for this), nicely seasoned.
Bake for 30 minutes, then scatter 50g grated Parmesan cheese over the top and return to the oven for 10 minutes, till the sauce is bubbling and the Parmesan is lightly coloured.
For 2. Rich. Needs a crisp salad at its side.
Split chorizo sausages in half lengthways, score their cut sides, then grill till soft and sizzling. Split a bun open for each sausage, spread with mayonnaise and tuck the hot chorizo in together with some crisp salad leaves, such as iceberg lettuce, and watercress.
Peel and roughly chop a couple of sweet potatoes. Toss with a peeled and roughly chopped onion and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Roast in an oven set at 200°C/Gas 6 for about 30-35 minutes, then add 4 chorizo sausages, cut into fat coins, and toss well. Return to the oven for 15-20 minutes till all is brown and sizzling. Serve with a bowl of mayonnaise.
chorizo, new potatoes, shallots, young carrots
Put 200g new potatoes into boiling water and cook until tender, drain and slice into thick coins. Set the oven at 180°C/Gas 4.
Split 4 chorizo cooking sausages in half, score them on their cut sides, then place them in a roasting tin with a couple of large banana shallots, peeled and halved, their layers separated. Add the cooked potatoes, and 150g small, young carrots, thinly sliced. Trickle with a little oil then bake for 20 minutes, till sizzling.
For 2. Smoky, sweet and piquant.
Soften a couple of onions in melted butter over a moderate heat, add leftover chicken meat (or turkey at Christmas), including all the brown meat from under the carcass and the jelly from the roasting tin. Add fresh thyme leaves or tarragon, double cream or creme fraiche and plenty of seasoning. Layer between sheets of cooked pasta as in the recipe opposite. Finish with grated Parmesan and bake.
sausages, dried lasagne, cherry tomatoes, large tomatoes, Dijon mustard, double cream, Parmesan
Split open 750g plump, tasty butcher's sausages and peel off their skins, then put the sausage meat into a bowl. Rub a little olive oil on the bottom of a small baking dish. Add sheets of dried lasagne, broken into pieces to make them fit roughly into the dish. Roughly chop 350g cherry tomatoes, and distribute half of them over the lasagne. Cover with half of the sausage meat and then another layer of lasagne. Add the remaining half of the tomatoes then another layer of lasagne and the last of the sausage meat. Slice 2 large tomatoes and put them on top.
Stir a tablespoon of Dijon mustard into 250ml double cream, season lightly, then pour over the top. Cover with grated Parmesan.
Bake in an oven set at 200°C/Gas 6 for 45 minutes.
For 4. Rich, luscious and filling. A dish to keep out the cold.
Soak a handful of dried porcini in warm water for 10 minutes till they have plumped up. Fold the porcini into the cream and pasta, instead of, or as well as, the bacon.
Slice small chestnut mushrooms and fry them in a little butter and oil till they are golden and slightly sticky. Season with thyme leaves, salt and pepper. Use them in the recipe opposite instead of the pancetta. Add a little parsley too, not too finely chopped; it goes well with the mushrooms.
spaghetti, streaky bacon, garlic, double cream, vegetable stock, Parmesan
Cook 500g spaghetti or bucatini in fiercely boiling water till al dente.
Drain, cool in a colander under running water, then set aside. Cut 12 rashers of smoked streaky bacon or thinly sliced pancetta into finger-thick pieces. Peel and thinly slice 4 cloves of garlic and cook with the bacon in a shallow, non-stick pan till the bacon is crisp.
Put the drained pasta in a mixing bowl with 400ml double cream, 200ml vegetable stock, the bacon and garlic, then season with salt and black pepper. Toss everything together then transfer to a baking dish. Scatter the surface with a good handful of grated Parmesan and bake at 180°C/Gas 4 for about 30 minutes till the surface is lightly golden.
For 4. A savoury tangle.
Warm a thin film of oil in a roasting dish, season a pork tenderloin with salt and pepper, then brown it on all sides in the oil. Roast as opposite till the inside is just cooked, then leave to rest. Meanwhile, make a dipping sauce from a mixture of soy sauce, sugar, rice vinegar, finely hashed chillies and a little ponzu sauce. A few beanshoots would be fun here too. Slice the pork thickly and dunk each piece in the sauce.
spare rib chops, blood orange, oyster sauce, dark soy sauce, sugar, chilli sauce, garlic, oranges, radishes
Set the oven at 180°C/Gas 4. Mix 2 tablespoons of oyster sauce, a tablespoon of dark soy sauce, a tablespoon of caster sugar and a tablespoon of chilli sauce. Stir in 2 crushed cloves of garlic and the finely grated zest of a blood orange. Place 300g spare rib chops in the marinade and leave for as long as you can before roasting — an hour if you have it; 5 minutes if not.
Place the pork on a wire rack over a roasting tin, mixing the marinade with 300ml water in the bottom of the roasting tin. Put in the oven and leave to cook for 25-30 minutes, until sticky. Remove the chops from the oven and let them rest briefly, then remove from the tin.
Place the roasting tin over a moderate heat, squeeze in the juice of a blood orange, then bring to the boil and let the mixture reduce to a thick, glossy sauce. Thinly slice 2 oranges and slice or halve 6 radishes. Slice the ribs and serve with the oranges and radishes.
For 2. Sweet, aromatic, sticky pork. Glowing oranges.
Soak the porcini in 250ml water. Peel and thinly slice 2 medium onions, and soften in butter. Add 2 tablespoons of plain flour, cook for a few minutes then pour in 250ml vegetable stock and the porcini soaking water, then add 150ml Marsala. Simmer for 15-20 minutes over a low heat, then add a couple of pinches of sugar, plus salt and pepper. Serve with the toad.
Toss a layer of sliced aubergines in a generous amount of olive oil, with chopped thyme, a little dried mint if you have it, and a couple of crushed cloves of garlic. Bake until all is sizzling and soft, then add a block of feta, crumbled into large pieces, and toss gently. Pour in the batter opposite and bake as opposite.
banana shallots, dried porcini, Caerphilly, eggs, plain flour, milk, grain mustard, groundnut oil, Parmesan
Peel and halve 6 banana shallots. Cook them in a shallow pan, starting with the flat side down, in a little butter and oil over a moderate heat. Leave for about 20 minutes, turning, and letting them soften till deep golden brown and sticky.
Cut 165g Caerphilly cheese into cubes. Soak 15g porcini in cold water for 10 minutes, then drain. Make a batter, by whisking together 2 eggs, 150ml milk and 150ml water, 125g plain flour, 1 tablespoon of grain mustard and a little salt and pepper.
Pour a thin layer of groundnut oil into a shallow roasting tin, about 30cm x 24cm, then warm in an oven set at 220°C/Gas 7 till the oil starts to smoke. Add the sticky onions, the drained porcini and Caerphilly, then quickly pour on the batter. Add a handful of grated Parmesan and bake for 25 minutes or so, till risen.
For 4. Utterly savoury. Gorgeous.
potatoes, Gorgonzola cheese, smoked streaky bacon, dried chilli flakes, smoked paprika, double cream
Scrub 1kg medium-sized floury potatoes but don’t peel them. Cut each in half lengthways, then into thick wedges, 3 or 4 to each half. Cook in boiling salted water for 15 minutes, until they are approaching tenderness. Drain and tip into a roasting tin. Set the oven at 200°C/Gas 6.
Cook 8 smoked streaky bacon rashers in a shallow pan with a little oil till very crisp. Tip into a food processor, add a tablespoon of dried chilli flakes, 4 tablespoons of groundnut oil and a tablespoon of smoked paprika and blitz till the mixture resembles very fine crumbs.
Tip the crurnbs over the potato wedges and toss gently to coat. Bake for an hour or so, till the wedges are crisp and sizzling.
To make the sauce, warm 250ml double cream in a small non-stick saucepan, add 150g cubed or crumbled Gorgonzola cheese and stir gently till the cheese has melted. Trickle the warm sauce over the wedges or serve as a dip.
For 4. Lively, scrunchy, homely and fun.
potatoes, parsnip, carrots, onion, rosemary, pumpkin seeds
Set the oven at 200°C/Gas 6. Shave 250g potatoes, a large parsnip and 2 large carrots with a vegetable peeler. Peel and finely slice an onion into rings. Toss the potatoes, parsnips and onion in a large mixing bowl with a heaped tablespoon of rosemary leaves, 5 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of pumpkin seeds, then tip on to a baking sheet. Spread out into a shallow layer. Bake for 20 minutes, till tender and lightly crisp on the edges. For z. A light main course. A side dish for any grilled meat.
Cut a handful of new potatoes in half lengthways. Heat a little olive oil in a large pan, add 4 seasoned chicken pieces and the potatoes and cook until brown and lightly crisp. Add a couple of chopped garlic cloves and colour lightly, then add a handful of soaked dried porcini mushrooms and a little chopped rosemary. Pour in a small glass of dry Marsala and simzer, partially covered with a lid, for about 20 minutes, till the chicken is cocked through. For 2.
chicken breasts, Taleggio cheese, Parma ham, sage
Set the oven at 180°C/Gas 4. Slice 2 large chicken breasts in half horizontally. Arrange the slices snugly on a lightly oiled baking sheet and season with salt and black pepper. Thickly slice 80g Taleggio cheese and place on the chicken pieces. Take 4 thin slices of Parma ham and wrap one around each piece of chicken, tucking a couple of sage leaves into each.
Bake for 10-15 minutes, till the cheese has started to flow and the chicken is cooked through. Lift carefully from the baking sheet with a fish slice to serve.
For 4. A riff. And a good one.
Pot-roasting is a very simple method: a chicken, or some chicken pieces (or even a pheasant or guinea fowl), a few chopped onions or leeks, some woody herbs, a few pieces of potato maybe, and some form of liquid — cider works well, as does white vermouth. Seasoning, some garlic perhaps, and then a tight lid. Into the oven for an hour or two whilst you do something else. A good-natured way of cooking.
chicken thighs, new potatoes, salted almonds, fino sherry, chervil
Set the oven at 200°C/Gas 6. Season 4 large chicken thighs, then brown them as evenly as you can in a little oil in a casserole set over a moderate heat. Slice 200g new potatoes into thick coins and add them to the pan, letting them colour lightly. Drop in 80g salted almonds, allow them to brown until they are a deep gold colour, then pour in 100ml fino sherry. Leave to bubble for a few seconds to burn off the alcohol, then add 100ml water, cover with a tightly-fitting lid and roast for 25 minutes. Remove the lid, add a small handful of chervil and serve.
For 2. Deep flavours from a cheap cut. Salty almonds, dry, pale sherry.
pork belly, sausage meat, pistachios, figs
You will need a piece of pork belly, about 2kg in weight, boned and with its skin scored. Put the pork belly skin-side up on a chopping board and cut it into 6 equal pieces, then slice each piece in half horizontally.
Put 500g good butcher’s sausage meat in a mixing bowl. Roughly chop 100g shelled pistachios and add them to the sausage meat, then chop 4 figs and stir them in. Season thoroughly with salt and pepper, then spread the mixture over the bottom halves of the meat and place them snugly in a roasting tin. Place the reserved halves on top, press firmly then roast for 20 minutes at 200°C/Gas 6.
Turn the oven down to 160°C/Gas 3, add a further 6 figs, cut in half, and continue cooking for 1 hour till all is soft and succulent.
For 6. Rich, sweet and fruity. A roast for an autumn day.
Finely chop an onion, a stick of celery, a small leek and a carrot then soften in a tablespoon or two of olive oil over a moderate heat. They shouldn't be allowed to colour. Add a couple of cloves of crushed garlic, then a chopped courgette. Pour in a litre of vegetable stock, add a couple of bay leaves, then add two drained 400g cans of chickpeas and leave to simmer for about 30 minutes.
Blitz a handful of basil leaves with about 50g grated Parmesan and a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. When the vegetables are tender, serve the soup in shallow bowls and stir in the basil and Parmesan paste at the table.
Roughly chop an onion and let it soften in olive oil over a moderate heat. Add a couple of finely sliced garlic cloves, a finely chopped chilli and 2 teaspoons of garam masala. Continue cooking for a couple of minutes, then introduce a 400g can of chopped tomatoes and a 400g can of chickpeas. Pour in about 300ml vegetable stock and leave to simmer, with a seasoning of salt and pepper, for about 20 minutes till rich and thick.
Wash two large handfuls of spinach, shred into wide ribbons, then stir into the chickpea mixture. Once the spinach has wilted, serve in deep bowls with pieces of crusty bread.
chickpeas, cannellini or pinto beans, paprika, garam masala, dried chilli flakes, chives, parsley, yoghurt, clementine, mint, watercress
Spread a 400g can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed, on to a baking sheet and dust with a teaspoon of paprika and a teaspoon of garam masala. Bake at 180°C/Gas 4 till hot, lightly crisp and fragrant — about 10 minutes. Set aside.
Drain and rinse a second 400g can of chickpeas and a 400g can of cannellini or pinto beans, then using a potato masher, crush both to a coarse purée, Stir in a pinch of dried chilli flakes, a tablespoon of chopped chives and a tablespoon of chopped parsley, a grinding of salt and pepper, then the toasted chickpeas.
Form the mixture into 8 balls. Lightly oil a baking sheet or line it with baking parchment, place the balls on top, then brush them with a little oil. Bake at 200°C/Gas 6 for 20 minutes until crisp outside.
Make a quick sauce by stirring the zest of a clementine or small orange and a tablespoon of chopped mint into 200ml yoghurt. Serve in a bowl with the chickpea balls and watercress.
For 4. Crisp cakes, soft inside. Earthy and homely.