This is a lovely winter vegetable dish,  that goes well with roast meats and hams and is the perfect side-dish to counterbalance any heaviness. This is a tangier twist on the classic French recipe.

Ingredients

1 Celeriac

4 tablespoons mayonnaise

4 Tablespoons natural yoghurt

Salt and black pepper

Grainy mustard or horseradish 2-3 teaspoons

Juice of half a lemon

A glug of olive oil

Method (Ideally prepare this a few hours before serving)

Peel and remove the knobbly bits and rough skin of the celeriac and then roughly grate. This can be done in a food processor.

In a large bowl mix some of the mayonnaise and yoghurt (save some back as you do not the mixture to become too wet) and add the grated celeriac.

Then add the rest of the ingredients. Mix again. Taste and correct the seasoning. I find this dish takes a lot of seasoning but taste as you go. If you have added too much salt, then put some more lemon juice in.

Let it stand for 10 mins so it absorbs the flavours. If you feel it is too dry than add more yoghurt or oil. Serve cool.

This is a great dinner party dish or something different for Sunday lunch.  I got this recipe from my lovely sister in law Valentina, who is a true foodie.

Ingredients (serves  four)

1 pork fillet

1 French Baguette

200-300gs thinly sliced Parma ham.

Olive oil

Sage

Oregano

Black pepper

Method

Roll the pork fillet in the ground black pepper and herbs, which need to be finely chopped if using fresh ones. Once the pork is coated in herbs, place it on a plate.

Now make a layer of Parma ham slices side by side, with a slight overlap, on Clingfilm as it helps rolling. Place the pork on top of the ham and roll it up. The pork should now be in a layer of ham.

Cut your baguette to the size of the pork fillet, leaving a couple of centimetres each side. Slice the baguette length ways on one side. Remove the soft middle and drizzle in plenty of olive oil, now put the pork inside the baguette firmly and close. Pour over more olive oil.

Wrap the pork filled baguette in more ham, so each slice overlaps the last. Tie the whole thing up, as best you can with some thick string  and place in a large roasting tin with a little oil on the bottom.

Roast in a pre-heated oven, at 180C for 40-45 mins. If you buy good quality pork, it is ok if it is still a little pink in the middle.

This is a lovely fish dish with a tomato and wine sauce, lovely for the end of summer/ early autumn when fish and seafood traditional come back into season. This should serve 6 people. We served it with rice. You could have green beans on the side or like the French do have a salad after.

Ingredients:

2 tbs Olive oil

4-5 large cloves of garlic finely chopped.

5-6 large red onions very finely chopped.

1 red chili, optional.

8 Tomatoes that have been skinned* and chopped.

A selection of firm Atlantic fish and seafood. Such as Salmon, Sea Bass, Squid, Monkfish, King Prawns and Scallops. All the fish should have the skin off. Cut into chunks. Leave the Prawns and Scallops whole.

½ bottle of dry white wine.

Fish stock cube.

A large pinch of saffron.

Fresh chopped flat leaf parsley.

*to easily skin the tomatoes, cut a small cross in the bottom, place in a bowl and cover in freshly boiled water. After 1 minute remove one at a time with a spoon. They should now peel easily.

Method:

In a large and deep frying pan heat the olive oil, add the onions and sweat down on a medium heat until translucent. This can take up to 15 mins. Add the garlic and chili if using. Cook for a further 5 mins.

Add the chopped tomatoes, crumble in the stock cube and the saffron. Cook this out for 10 mins until the sauce turns from red to orange at the side.

Add the wine and simmer on a low heat for 20 mins or until the sauce thickens. Taste for seasoning.

Add the fish, cook for 5 mins.

Scatter over the flat leaf parsley and serve with the rice.

Ingredients:

2 Little Gem lettuces, sliced crosswise
1 mug of frozen peas
1 glass of dry vermouth or white wine
250g risotto rice (Arborio or Carnaroli work best)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Handful of lardons (optional)
500ml stock (chicken or vegetable)
50 g butter
Tablespoon of olive oil
Salt and pepper
Parmigiana cheese, grated

Method

Heat the pan ( a sauté pan is best) with the oil and half the butter on a medium heat, add the onions and lardons and sweat until the onion becomes translucent. Add the garlic, fry for a minute and then add the rice. Stir the rice so it becomes coated in oil, then add the vermouth/wine and stir and allow the alcohol to evaporate. You will know when this is done, as the sharp smell, that burns the nose, will go. 

Keep the stock warm in a pan over a low flame, as you do not want to add cold stock to hot rice as this would slow down the cooking. 

Now, add the stock to the rice, one ladle at a time. Stir it in and allow the rice to absorb it. Be patient! Continue this process until you are down to your last ladle of stock.

At this point taste the rice, if it is still too hard you can add the last ladle of stock; you can add more water if still too hard. (Risotto, like pasta should be “al dente”). Now add the peas and the sliced lettuce, stir gently so as not to break up the lettuce. 

Turn off the heat add the other half of the butter and cheese and cover. Allow it to stand so the butter and cheese melt, season to taste and serve with a crisp white wine. 

I hope you enjoy this. If you do then please visit my website for more ideas and recipes; http://www.cookwithreuben.co.uk/

In the summer you can replace peas with asparagus tips.

This is a great Spring dish, which uses some of the first vegetables of the season. Purple-sprouting broccoli is thinner and more delicate than normal broccoli and has a great flavour and a real freshness, as well as being packed with goodness. This dish is great as a starter or as a quick mid-week supper. Leave out the pancetta for a vegetarian option.

Ingredients:
300g Orecchiette
500g purple-sprouting broccoli (or any other sprouting, but not normal broccoli)
2-3 anchovy fillets
3-4 slices of pancetta or thinly sliced streaky bacon (optional), roughly sliced
1 medium sized onion finely chopped
1 clove garlic thinly sliced
A handful of cherry tomatoes cut in halves or quarters
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
1tsp Capers roughly chopped

Method

In a large pot, set your water to boil for the pasta, the water you boil pasta in should be plentiful and as salty as the Mediterranean; this allows the pasta to move freely and stops it from sticking. Cook until al-dente, so there is still some texture when you bite it, make sure not to over-cook your pasta, otherwise it will be sloppy, fall apart and you will be sneered at by all Italians.

Whilst the pasta is cooking set a large frying pan on a medium heat. Put in a good glug of olive oil, add the onions and sweat for a few minutes. Add the anchovy fillets, pancetta and garlic and turn the heat down.
Once the pancetta has started to crisp, add the capers and broccoli (which should be chopped slightly, so they can be easily forked in to the mouth). Stir everything and then throw in the cherry tomatoes. Add a pinch of salt and plenty of black pepper, turn the heat to the lowest setting and cover until the pasta is ready. The above process should take between 5 and 10 mins.

Once the pasta is ready, drain it and add to the pan with the other ingredients. Do not shake off too much water from the Orecchiette and retain half a mug of the pasta water.
Pour over 2 more glugs of olive oil and a splash of balsamic vinegar to taste (I cannot give quantities for these as everyone has different tastes. Adding the balsamic will add some sweetness and a touch of acidity). Taste and then season if you feel it needs extra. Toss everything and serve straight away.

This can also work as a warm or cold pasta dish for picnics.

For the Scotch Pancakes

This recipe makes about 14 pancakes, so a good amount for brunch with a few left over for tea later that day.

These can be kept warm in the oven before serving.

120g self-raising flour
small pinch salt
30g caster sugar
1 egg
1/4 pint milk

1. First grease your griddle/frying pan, use an oil as butter will burn, and then put on the hob to heat.

2. Sift the flour into a bowl and add the pinch of salt, and then tip in the sugar.

3. Crack the egg into the milk (best not to try doing this into the bottle), and whisk.

4. Pour the egg and milk liquid into the dry ingredients, and mix to form a smooth batter.

5. Test that the girdle is hot enough by putting a teaspoon of batter onto it. You should have a small pancake cooked in less than a minute.

6. For the main-event pancakes, use a tablespoon to drop the batter onto the girdle. I used the back of the spoon to form the dollops into more aesthetic rounds. (If the batter gets too thick, give it a mix with the spoon to loosen it up a bit)

7. Keep a beady eye on the batter. When the surface has become covered in bubbles, 2 – 3 minutes, get ready to flip it over using a palette knife or plastic flipper.

Don’t worry if the underside isn’t as coloured as you would like it to be, you can always turn the pancake over for an extra griddling.

For the bacon and apples

6 rashers back bacon (smoked or unsmoked is fine, but the thicker the better)
1 English apple (I like an apple with a bit of bite, like a Russet) cored and sliced 2-3 cm thick
Butter for frying

In a heavy bottom frying pan melt the butter until it starts to foam slightly.

Place the bacon in the frying pan and allow to colour slightly. Push the sides of the bacon down, to allow the fat to render out. Add the apple slices and then turn the bacon. Turn the apples and check the bacon is brown on both sides. The apple should be soft and almost falling apart.

Serve hot on top of the Scotch pancakes. My wife likes this drizzled with maple syrup, however, I like it a little more savoury, so a dollop of fruity brown sauce on the side is my style.