You’re sick of festive fare and, with more holidays looming, you’re going to need some culinary inspiration.
Fear not, here are some gorgeous recipes that have no connection whatsoever with Christmas or New Year.
PRAWN AND PINK GRAPEFRUIT SALAD
1kg medium-sized raw prawns with their heads on
250-300g small, tasty salad leaves such as land cress, rocket, pea shoots, etc
3-4 pink grapefruits, peeled and segmented and any juice reserved
2 tablespoons sea salt
For the dressing:
The juice from the grapefruit
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
6-7 tablespoons rapeseed oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 Bring a pan of water to the boil, large enough to accommodate the prawns. Add a couple of tablespoons of sea salt. Cook the prawns for 2-3 minutes, then drain and leave to cool. Remove the heads and peel the tails and put them in the freezer for a soup.
2 Put the grapefruit juice in a pan and simmer it until you have about a tablespoon left, then pour it into a mixing bowl with the vinegar and mustard, and gradually whisk in the oil and season to taste.
3 To serve, arrange the leaves on plates with the prawns and pink grapefruit and spoon the dressing over. Serves eight. - Mark Hix
LAMB WITH PRUNES AND MOROCCAN SPICES
2 boned, medium-sized legs of lamb
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon cumin
4 cardamom pods
2 tablespoons olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 red onions, peeled and diced
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
2-3 cm of peeled fresh root ginger
2 red chillies, chopped, seeds left in
1 tbsp tamarind water or lime juice
5 litres chicken stock or water
800g chopped Italian tomatoes
2 sticks of cinnamon
A generous bunch of coriander
100ml tamari or soy sauce
75ml maple syrup
200g prunes, stones removed
1 Slice the meat into 5cm cubes, removing most of the fat as you work. Put the spices into a small frying pan and place over a gentle heat until they pop - it is important that they do not burn, as they will become bitter. Remove from the heat and grind well in a pestle and mortar.
2 Place the oil into a pan, season the meat well with salt and pepper all over, and brown well in batches. As each batch browns, remove and set aside while you brown the next batch.
3 Once all the meat has browned, add the onion, garlic, ginger, chillies and spice mix. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until the onions are soft. At this point, add the tamarind water or lime juice, turn up the heat slightly and add the stock or water and the chopped tomatoes. Add the cinnamon sticks and return the meat to the pan.
4 Turn the heat to low, place a lid on the pan and cook for two hours. It is important that the meat is very tender and succulent - this will only be achieved by slow cooking.
5 Chop the coriander, including the root and stems, and add to the pan along with the soy sauce or tamari, maple syrup and prunes. Cook for another 15 minutes. Adjust the seasoning to taste and serve. Serves six. - Skye Gyngell
FILLET OF BEEF WITH BORLOTTI BEANS ANCHOVY AND TARRAGON BUTTER
200g dried borlotti beans, soaked in water for 12 hours
1 bunch of sage
1 head of garlic, sliced in half horizontally
20 little tomatoes, pierced with a small knife so they ooze juice into the cooking liquid
2 dried chillies, left whole
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tabspoon red-wine vinegar
Enough water just to cover the beans
1 Drain the beans and place in a baking tray. Add the sage, garlic, tomatoes, chillies, oil and vinegar and cover with the water. Set your oven to 180C, cover the baking tray tightly with foil and place on the middle shelf.
2 Cook for an hour, or until the beans are really tender. Remove from the oven and keep in a warm place.
For the butter:
1 good-sized bunch of tarragon, leaves only
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped finely
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
3 good-quality anchovies
100g unsalted butter, softened
Freshly ground black pepper
1 Chop the tarragon finely and put in a bowl. Add the garlic and mustard.
2 Chop the anchovies very finely and add.
3 Cut the butter into cubes and add. Now beat together thoroughly to combine.
For the beef:
200g fillet per person
A generous pinch of sea salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 Place a large pan over a high flame. Season the meat very generously - it is important to use sea salt.
2 Once the pan is hot, add the fillet and cook for five minutes on one side before turning and cooking for the same length of time on the underside. The fillet should have formed a delicious crust on the outside.
3 Remove from the pan and wrap in foil. Set aside in a warm place for 20 minutes, then slice into thin pieces. Reheat the borlotti and spoon into bowls, lay the beef on top and spoon over the butter.
4 Serve as soon as the butter has melted. Serves six.
MEATBALLS WITH YELLOW POLENTA
½kg minced pork
½kg minced veal
75g soft white breadcrumbs
1 dried red chilli, crumbled
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
Small bunch of thyme, leaves only
75g freshly grated Parmesan
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the sauce
3 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 red onion, peeled and finely chopped
½ dried red chilli, crumbled
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
3 fresh bay leaves
1 bunch of sage
200ml full-bodied red wine
2 jars of good-quality Italian tomatoes
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 Place the meatball ingredients together in a large bowl and mix very well. The easiest and most thorough way of doing this is with your hands. Once the mixture is well combined, roll into 18 generous-sized balls and set aside while you make the sauce.
2 Place a large, heavy-based pan on top of the stove, turn the heat to medium and add the olive oil. Once the oil is warm, add the onion, chilli and garlic, turn the heat down slightly and cook for 10 minutes; the onion should be soft and translucent.
3 Add the bay leaves, sage and a good pinch of salt and cook for a further five minutes, then add the wine and return the heat to medium.
4 Allow the wine to bubble for a minute, then add the tomatoes, place a lid on the pan and cook for half-an-hour, by which time the sauce should have reduced a little to be rich and dark.
5 Season with a good pinch of salt and a little black pepper and add the meatballs. Return the lid and cook for 20 minutes, then serve.
DEVIL’S FOOD CAKE
Serves 10
For the cake:
50g best-quality cocoa powder, sifted
100g dark muscovado sugar
250ml boiling water
125g soft unsalted butter, plus some for greasing
150g castor sugar
225g plain flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs
For the frosting
125ml water
30g dark muscovado sugar
175g unsalted butter, cubed
300g best-quality dark chocolate, minimum 70 percent cocoa solids, finely chopped
Kitchen kit
2 x 20cm sandwich tins
1 Preheat the oven to 180C. Line the bottoms of both sandwich tins with baking parchment and butter the sides.
2 Put the cocoa and 100g dark muscovado sugar into a bowl with a bit of space to spare, and pour in the boiling water. Whisk to mix.
3 Cream the butter and castor sugar together, beating well until pale and fluffy
4 While this is going on, stir the flour, baking powder and bicarb together in another bowl, and set aside for a moment.
5 Dribble the vanilla extract into the creamed butter and sugar - mixing all the while - then drop in one egg, quickly followed by a scoop of flour mixture, then the second egg.
6 Keep mixing and incorporate the rest of the dried ingredients for the cake, then finally mix and fold in the cocoa mixture, scraping its bowl well with a spatula.
7 Divide this batter between the two prepared tins and put in the oven for about 30 minutes, or until a cake-tester comes out clean. Take the tins out and leave on a wire rack for 5-10 minutes, before turning the cakes out to cool.
8 As soon as the cakes are in the oven, get started on your frosting: put the water, 30g dark muscovado sugar and 175g butter in a pan over a low heat to melt. When this begins to bubble, take off the heat and add the chopped chocolate, swirling the pan so that all the chocolate is hit with heat, then leave for a minute to melt before whisking till smooth and glossy.
9 Leave for about an hour, whisking now and again. Set one of the cooled cakes, with its top side down, on a cake stand or plate, and spread with about a third of the frosting, then top that with the second cake, regular way up, and spread the remaining frosting over the top and sides - Nigella Lawson