Whether your social distancing, self-isolating or simply spending way more time at home, there's never been a better time to brush up on those cooking skills. These strange circumstances call for comfort food recipes, sure, but equally, we're all in need of some inspiration when it comes to navigating our increasingly empty supermarkets. So, with this in mind, we called upon our favourite foodies to share the dishes you need in your repertoire right now, whether that's dinner made from store cupboard staples, a fridge raid frittata or a fail-safe bread recipe. We have, of course, got cheese and carbs well covered, but for those keen to keep on top of their nutrition, there's also a whole selection of tasty but ultra-healthy options (think vegan plant ball bowls). From Kricket's Butter Chicken to Gail's iconic cinnamon buns, these are the most deliciously reassuring recipes to try at home now.
Berners Tavern’s mac and cheese
Jason Atherton's spectacular London hotspot might be best known for its interiors, but the menu at Berners Tavern is just as worthy of your attention. Flawlessly executed modern British dishes are served up in hearty portions, with everything from Herwick lamb chops to fish and chips. The standout dish, however, has to be the Berners signature: macaroni and cheese. It's served both as a main or a side, the former with an option to add red wine-braised beef blade. Getting the ingredients for this should be straightforward; we don't know about you, but the cheese aisles in our local supermarkets remain suspiciously well stocked.
Ingredients (serves 8)
1 litre double cream
160g gruyere
160g blue cheese
160g cheddar
95g Parmesan
95g mascarpone
20g dijon mustard
2kg macaroni
Method
Bring the cream up to the boil and pour over the cheese. Return the mix to the stove and whisk or blend with a hand blender.
Mix in 2kg of cooked macaroni.
Place in serving dishes and cover with grated cheddar.
Bake until golden brown.
Pastaio’s sausage malloreddus
This recipe from Stevie Parle (chef patron of popular fresh pasta joint Pastaio) is the ultimate fall-back store cupboard meal. If you can’t find fresh Italian sausages, then add a little diced pancetta to achieve that all-important smoky flavour.
Ingredients (serves 4)
2tsp fennel seeds
1 dried chilli, crushed
1tsp dried oregano
2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
400g Italian sausages
250ml white wine
2 tomatoes, roughly chopped
500g malloreddus
A handful of rosemary, chopped
Olive oil
A handful of grated Parmesan
Method
Bash the fennel seeds, chilli and rosemary in a pestle and mortar until ground and nicely combined.
Heat a splash of oil in a heavy casserole pan, then add the garlic until it begins to colour and becomes sticky.
Add the fennel mixture, stir, then squeeze the sausage meat out of the skins and into the pan. Fry until the meat colours, breaking it up a little with a spoon as you go.
Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and cook the pasta according to the packet instructions. Drain, reserving some of the pasta water.
Stir the pasta through the sausage sauce, then add the Parmesan and a little cooking water to loosen.
Sprinkle with extra parmesan to serve.
Theo Randall’s tagliatelle with zucchini and pesto
When memories of Italian summers are fleeting, this recipe from pasta pro Theo Randall will instil a little dolce vita back into your life. Fresh tagliatelle works best, but dried options are fine, as the fresh basil pesto is the star of the show.
Ingredients (serves 2)
For the pasta
250g fresh or dried tagliatelle
2 courgettes, cut into ribbons
For the pesto
1 garlic clove, peeled
150g basil leaves
75g pine nuts
100g Parmesan cheese, grated
5tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and pepper to season
Method
First, make the pesto. In a pestle and mortar, crush the garlic with ½tsp sea salt to make a smooth paste. Add the basil leaves and pound so the leaves turn to a pulp, then add the pine nuts and crush until smooth. Add 3tbsp water and emulsify, then add the Parmesan cheese. Finally, slowly work in the olive oil.
Cook the pasta with the courgettes in a large pot of boiling salted water for 3 minutes; the pasta should retain its bite.
Meanwhile, warm half the pesto in a frying pan.
Using tongs, lift the pasta and courgettes from the water and add to the frying pan. Toss with the pesto and add 2-3tbsps of the pasta water to loosen the sauce so it coats the pasta strands.
Check the seasoning and serve with the remaining pesto on top.
Big Mamma’s la gran carbonara
Big Mamma’s Italian hotspots Gloria and Circolo Popolare are two of London’s most hyped openings from the past few years and their take on the humble carbonara has become the stuff of culinary legends. In the restaurants, it comes served in a big pecorino wheel to share, but you can whip it up at home with ingredients in your cupboard too. Comfort food at its finest.
Ingredients (serves 4)
3 whole eggs
6 egg yolks
90g grated pecorino cheese
1tsp pepper
400g spaghetti
8 slices of guanciale (cured pork cheek/jowl), finely sliced. This can easily be replaced by pancetta or bacon.
Method
In a bowl, mix the whole eggs and egg yolks with the pecorino, Parmesan and pepper. Set aside.
Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and cook the spaghetti according to the package directions, then drain, reserving the cooking water.
In the meantime, add the guanciale slices to a dry frying pan (skillet) over a medium heat and sear for 5 minutes, or until crispy. Add 1tbsp of the pasta cooking water, followed by the spaghetti.
Remove the pan from the heat. Add the egg mixture and mix briskly.
The eggs should not cook too much and the consistency of the sauce should be creamy.
Transfer to a large serving dish and serve immediately.
Bubala’s fried aubergine, with date syrup and zhoug
A simple Middle Eastern dish from Shoreditch’s Bubala, this aubergine sharing plate makes for a great snack, side or lunch, blowing your usual al desko sandwiches out the water with minimum effort.
Ingredients (serves 4)
3 cloves of garlic
3 green chillis
1 bunch of coriander
300ml rapeseed
1tbsp hawaij spice mix (this can be left out if you can't find it at the back of your cupboard)
25ml lemon juice
½ tbsp salt
2 aubergines
50ml date syrup
Method
Cut aubergine into 2cm discs and toss in a bowl with 1tbsp Maldon salt. Leave for 45 minutes until the liquid is drawn out.
While this is happening you can make your zhoug. Pulse the garlic and chilli in the blender until finely chopped.
Roughly chop the coriander and pulse and then add the oil in two batches while pulsing. You want the sauce to be combined but not fully emulsified.
Season with the spices, lemon and salt.
Rinse and squeeze out remaining moisture from the aubergine.
Heat 3 inches of vegetable oil in a pan and deep fry in batches until golden.
Transfer to serving plate and drizzle over zhoug and date syrup.
Kricket’s Old Delhi chicken
This old-school Indian recipe was originally created by Moti Mahal in Old Delhi and is similar to what we Brits have coined “butter chicken”. Pile onto pilau and save any leftovers for later – like a fine wine, the sauce will only improve over time.
Ingredients (serves 4)
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1inch pieces
1 thumb-size piece of fresh ginger, finely sliced
A handful of fresh coriander
For the marinade
300g Greek yoghurt
3tbsp mustard oil
2tbsp ginger and garlic paste
1tbsp red chilli powder
2tsp sea salt
For the sauce
1kg plum tomatoes, pureed
200ml double cream, plus extra to serve
250g unsalted butter
2 tbsp vegetable oil
4 green cardamom pods
2 black cardamom pods
4 cloves
4tbsp ginger and garlic paste
1tbsp garam masala
2tbsp red chilli powder
2 green chillis
A handful of dried fenugreek leaves
Caster sugar, to taste
Sea salt, to taste
Fresh coriander, to serve
Method
First, make the marinade. Put the yoghurt in a bowl and mix in the marinade ingredients. Add the chicken to coat in the marinade, then cover and leave in the fridge for 12 hours (or ideally overnight).
For the sauce, heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat, then add the whole spices and allow them to infuse in the oil for 30 seconds before adding the ginger and garlic paste, chilli powder and green chillis.
Turn down to a medium-low heat, then add the tomatoes. Cover and cook for 30 minutes until the sauce has reduced and the oil has separated from the tomatoes.
Remove the whole spices, then add the cream, butter, garam masala and fenugreek leaves. Season to taste with sugar and salt. Simmer.
Sear the marinated thighs in a hot pan for 15 minutes until just cooked through, then add to the sauce.
Sprinkle with fresh coriander and a drizzle of cream to serve.
Eran Tibi’s Yemeni pancake
“This is my take on an Israeli-inspired fry-up,” says the head chef at Bala Baya, Bankside’s brilliant Tel Aviv-inspired restaurant and bar. “I’d have this anytime I want to indulge in a cosy weekend breakfast or brunch – it’s perfect. The combination of flavours is just incredible, and fried puff pastry in the morning is sometimes, if not always, needed.”
Ingredients (serves 2)
For the pancakes
Shop bought puff pastry, preferably dairy-free, rolled into 5mm thickness and cut into 2 circles roughly 20cm in diameter
3 eggs
For the chilli and cardamom salsa
2 ripe tomatoes
2 cloves of garlic
2 green chillies
½tsp of ground cardamom or 3 cardamom pods crushed
For the green tahini cream
100g Tahini
1 lemon
100ml cold water
Handful of parsley
Method
Put on a saucepan of water and bring to the boil, put the eggs in for 9 minutes exactly and rinse with cold water immediately, peel, halve them and set aside.
In a food processor or blender, place the cardamom, garlic, chilli and coriander and blitz as fine as you can, then drop the tomatoes in and emulsify with the mixture. Add dash of olive oil and salt and pepper to taste, whizz it one more time and set aside in bowl.
In a blender, blitz parsley as fine as you can, add the water and pour over tahini in a bowl. Finish with a squeeze of lemon, salt and pepper.
Prepare your favourite side salad, we like to use chunky vegetables like tomatoes, fennel and herb.
Put pastry in a suitable sized frying pan with 50g vegetable oil, fry on moderate heat until golden brown then flip on other side and add oil if necessary. Lower heat then flip it once more to make sure layers are all cooked through.
Plating: Pile your side salad in the middle of the plate, place a big dollop of the salsa and tahini on the side of your plate. Lean the pancake on either side of the salad and put three halves of the hard-boiled egg on the bottom side of the pancake. Finish with a sprinkle of salt and pepper to taste.
Tip: You can easily wrap it like a burrito if you want it on the go. Or get messy with your hands (our favourite way) or serve as above for the posh version.
Sami Tamimi and Tara Wigley’s musaqa’a
Falastin is the companion volume to the ground-breaking, multi-award-winning Jerusalem by the cowriters of Ottolenghi: The Cookbook, Jerusalem and Simple. Similar in style to the Greek dish moussaka, it’s hearty, healthy and works well as a veggie main or served as a side.
Ingredients (serves 4)
5 medium aubergines
120ml olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
6 garlic cloves, crushed
1tsp chilli flakes
1tsp cumin
1/2tsp ground cinnamon
1 ½tsp tomato purée
2 green peppers, deseeded and cut into chunks
1 x 400g tin of chickpeas
1 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
1 ½tsp caster sugar
15g coriander, roughly chopped
4 plum tomatoes, trimmed and sliced
Salt and black pepper to season
Method
Preheat the oven to 220C fan.
Use a vegetable peeler to peel away strips of aubergine skin from top to bottom. Cut widthways into round slices, 2cm thick, and place in a large bowl. Mix well with 75ml of oil, 1 teaspoon of salt and plenty of black pepper and spread out on two large parchment-lined baking trays. Roast for about 30 minutes or until completely softened and lightly browned. Remove from the oven and set aside.
Reduce the oven temperature to 180C.
While the aubergines are roasting, make the sauce. Put 2 tablespoons of oil into a large sauté pan and place on a medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook for about 7 minutes, until softened and lightly browned. Add the garlic, chilli, cumin, cinnamon and tomato puree and cook for another minute, or until fragrant.
Add the peppers, chickpeas, tinned tomatoes, sugar, 200ml of water, 11⁄4 teaspoons of salt and a good grind of black pepper. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for 18 minutes, or until the peppers have cooked through. Stir in the coriander and remove from the heat.
Spread out half the plum tomatoes and half the roasted aubergines on the base of a large baking dish, about 20 x 30cm. Top with the chickpea mixture, then layer with the remaining tomatoes and aubergines. Drizzle with the remaining tablespoon of oil, then cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
Remove the foil and bake for another 20 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbling and the tomatoes have completely softened. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for about 20 minutes.
Top with the remaining coriander and serve either warm or at room temperature.
Extracted from Falastin: A Cookbook by Sami Tamimi and Tara Wigley (Ebury Press, £27). Photography by Jenny Zarins.
Wild By Tart's spring green risotto
Cooking duo Jemima Jones and Lucy Carr-Ellison made a name for themselves as some of the hottest caterers in London before opening their own gloriously beautiful restaurant in Victoria last year. The 9,000 square foot space is draped in greenery and fairy lights, with a laid-back atmosphere and a perfectly executed menu of deliciously satisfying dishes, from harissa lamb pizettes to crispy squid with togarashi spice. It's all about big flavours and seasonal ingredients, with this spring green risotto providing a perfect preview.
Ingredients (serves 4)
1 white onion, finely diced
1 celery stick, finely sliced
2 garlic gloves, finely chopped
2 bay leaves
200g risotto rice
200ml white wine
2 tbsp butter
50g grated parmesan
1 litre chicken stock or veg
500g fresh peas
Big bunch basil, roughly chopped
Small bunch mint, leaves
Small bunch parsley, leaves
1 tsp mustard
4 slices Parma ham (optional)
200g ricotta
½ garlic
1 lemon, zested and juice
Heat your chicken stock and add the herbs – parsley, mint and basil (half basil, the other half for serving) and peas. Heat for no more then 3-5 minutes. You don’t want to overcook your peas. Take off the heat and take out half of the peas and keep aside to use later. Whiz the stock with everything in it in a blender, with the mustard (optional).
Over a medium heat, heat a little olive oil and 1 tbsp of butter in a pot. Add your chopped onions, celery, garlic and bay and stir. Sauté for around 5 minutes until translucent. Add your rice and keep stirring for a good few minutes, until the rice has infused in the flavour and gone translucent. Then pour your wine in and let it cook off. Keep stirring.
Turn the heat down. Keep stirring and ladling your green stock in, slowly.
Fry your Parma ham so it's nice and crispy and keep to one side on kitchen towel.
Lightly beat your ricotta with the crushed garlic, lemon zest and juice. Season.
We like to keep this risotto loose, a bit more on the soupy side. So loosen if needed with an extra ladle of water. Then stir in the rest of the butter, parmesan and reserved peas.
Serve with a dollop of ricotta, a crispy piece of Parma ham and scatter with roughly chopped basil. Would also be pretty with pea shoots on the top.
Melissa Hemsley’s fridge-raid fritatta
The beauty of this frittata from Melissa Hemsley is that anything goes. Let whatever you have left in your fridge take the lead; broccoli works particularly well, as does cauliflower, mushrooms and cabbage, but this easily adaptable recipe is a surefire way to up your veggie intake and minimise waste at the same time.
Ingredients (serves 4)
1 large head of broccoli, florets evenly chopped and stem finely chopped
1 small onion, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2tbsp butter
10 eggs
2 large handfuls of grated cheese (cheddar, feta and goats’ cheese all work well)
Sea salt and black pepper
Optional extras
A handful of chopped fresh basil, parsley, chives or celery leaves
Chilli flakes, to taste
2 handfuls of wild garlic, chopped (when in season)
Grab a medium-sized, deep-sized frying pan and steam the broccoli for 2 minutes in about 4tbsp of water, lid on, until almost tender and just turned bright green. Drain any excess liquid and set aside.
Pop the pan back on the heat and gently fry the onion and garlic in butter for 2 minutes.
Meanwhile, whisk the eggs, add salt, pepper and cheese, plus any of the herbs, chilli flakes or wild garlic, if using.
Preheat the grill to high. Add the broccoli back to the pan to coat in the garlic butter, then add the egg mix, stirring so that the broccoli and onions are evenly distributed. Let the bottom ad sides cook and start to set over a medium heat for 5 minutes.
Pop the frittata under the grill for a further 5 minutes until golden on top and just cooked through, (give the pan a wobble to check). Cool for 10 minutes then dig in.
Extracted from Eat Green by Melissa Hemsley (Ebury Press, £22). Photography by Philippa Langley.
Apollonia Poilâne's croque mademoiselle
“You’ve likely heard of croque monsieur, a grilled ham and cheese sandwich topped with bechamel sauce, and croque madame, the same sandwich with an egg on top,” says Apollonia Poilâne. “Croque mademoiselle is a lighter, more contemporary variation, with a vegetable filling in lieu of – or in addition to – the traditional ham. I make mine with sauteed courgette and caramelised onions flavoured with a bit of mustard and thyme. Instead of a heavy bechamel, the bread gets a light coating of cheese. I like to serve it topped with an egg, but you can go with just the sandwich on its own.”
Ingredients (makes two sandwiches)
1 ½ tbsp (22ml) extra-virgin olive oil, or as needed
1 small onion, thinly sliced
Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ medium courgette, trimmed and sliced lengthwise into ⅓-inch (0.8 cm)-thick slices
4 slices of sandwich bread (my preferred is black pepper pain de mie)
2 tsp (5g) whole-grain mustard
1 ½ tsp (1g) finely chopped fresh thyme or 2 pinches of dried thyme
4 thin slices good-quality cured ham, such as jambon de Bayonne or prosciutto (optional)
2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
2 tbsp (18g) freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano
2 fried eggs (optional)
Method
In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until very soft and caramelised, 20 to 25 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. With a slotted spoon, transfer the onion to a plate; do not wipe out the pan.
Add the courgette slices to the pan in a single layer (if there isn’t enough oil left from the onion, add a little more) and cook until golden on the first side, 3 to 4 minutes. Flip and cook the other side until golden and tender, 3 to 4 minutes more. Transfer the courgette to the plate with the onion and set aside. Wipe out the skillet.
Spread one side of 2 slices of the bread with 1 tsp of the mustard each and sprinkle with the thyme. Divide the onion evenly between the bread slices and top with the courgette slices and 2 slices each of ham, if using. Finish with the remaining bread slices.
Heat the skillet over medium-low heat. Brush one side of each sandwich with some of the melted butter and place the sandwiches butter side down in the skillet. Cook, adjusting the heat as necessary, until golden on the first side, about 1 minute.
Brush the unbuttered side with the remaining melted butter, flip the sandwiches and top each with 1 tbsp of the cheese; it should melt in the time it takes to brown the second side, about 2 minutes.
Top each sandwich with a fried egg, if you like, and serve hot.
Taken from Apollonia Poilâne's debut cookbook, Poilâne: The Secrets Of The World-Famous Bread Bakery. poilane.com
Avobar’s Moroccan plant balls bowl
Adapted from one of the most popular dishes at Covent Garden’s health-food restaurant Avobar, this hearty plant-based bowl – inspired by flavours from the Middle Eastern flavours – is packed with antioxidants (thank you, sweet potato). Plus, it uses the simplest of fresh ingredients and a couple of store cupboard staples.
Ingredients (serves 2)
500g sweet potatoes
½ avocado
6g mixed spices
100g kale
100g spinach
100g baby gem lettuce
Pinch of fresh mint
Drizzle of olive oil for dressing
Method
Bake the whole sweet potatoes in a preheated oven at 180C for 45minutes to 1 hour until completely cooked depending upon the size of the sweet potatoes.
Deskin the sweet potatoes in a mixing bowl and add some mixed herbs (cumin, coriander, cinnamon) and mix well.
Make small balls of the plant ball mix, heat a sauté pan on medium heat, add coconut oil and cook the plant balls from all the sides. Serve warm.
Mix kale, spinach, baby gem, half of diced avocado, chopped mint and mix all ingredients together and put in a salad bowl.
Add olive oil and mix well.
Add half an avocado and plant balls on top of the salad and serve.
Casa Do Frango’s Montanheira salad
It’s easy to get stuck into a routine of eating stogy carbs when indoors, but if you’re after something a bit lighter, then this summery salad recipe from Borough Market’s Portuguese spot Casa Do Frango should do the trick. The best part? It calls for less than ten ingredients. You’re welcome.
Ingredients (serves one)
50g baby cucumber, peeled and cut in a 1cm dice.
50g Italian vine tomato, cut in a 1cm dice.
50g white skinned onion, peeled and cut in a 1cm dice.
50g green peppers, skin and seeds removed and cut in a 1cm dice.
1-2g dry oregano
20ml white wine vinegar
30ml extra virgin olive oil
Maldon salt
Black pepper
Method
Prepare vegetables as per above instructions.
Mix vegetables, half the oregano oil and vinegar.
Taste and season.
Top with the remaining oregano.
Bread Ahead’s overnight white bread
A simple overnight white loaf from Borough Market’s British baking experts, this will keep you preoccupied at home (and to stop you from having to brave the shops!). Trust us, it’s worth making for the aroma alone.
Day 1: ferment
Ingredients
80g strong white bread flour
2g fine sea salt
2g fresh yeast (this can be replaced with 1g dry yeast)
50g cold water
Method
Place the flour and salt in a bowl and combine.
In another bowl, add the yeast to the water, then mix until dissolved.
Make a well in the centre of the flour and pour in the liquid. Mix together.
Cover and leave at room temperature for 2 hours then place in the fridge for 12-24 hours.
Day 2
Ingredients
370g strong white bread flour
6g salt
Ferment mixture (as above)
4g fresh yeast (or 2g dry)
230g cold water
Method
Place the flour and salt in a bowl and combine.
In another bowl, add the ferment and yeast to the water and mix.
Make a well in the centre of the flour and pour in the liquid. Gently bring the dough together.
Once the dough starts coming together, take it out of the bowl and place it on your work surface. Don’t add any flour.
With the heel of your hand, push the dough into the table and stretch and tear for about 8 minutes. Your dough will become nice and elasticated and have a velvety feel.
Form your dough into a round and place it back in the bowl. Cover and leave for 1-2 hours at room temperature.
You now need to take your dough out of the bowl. This will gently knock back your dough releasing some of the gas that has built up and encouraging the remainder of the yeast to start working a bit faster.
Pre-shape your dough into a loose round shape, then cover and leave to rest for a good 10 minutes.
Get your proving basket/tin ready. If you’re using a basket dust it heavily with flour; if you’re using a tin, lightly oil it.
Shape your dough as desired and place it into the proving basket/tin. Cover and leave to prove at room temperature for 1-2 hours. You can tell when your bread is ready by gently pushing your finger into the dough. If it springs back nicely it’s ready, but if it leaves an indent it isn’t.
Place a baking stone (or overturned tray) into the oven and preheat it to 250C/fan 230C/gas mark 9 or as hot as your oven will go.
If you proved your bread in a basket, dust a baker’s peel (or an overturned tray) tray with semolina or flour and upturn the proving basket on the centre of the tray. Then, with a razor or a sharp serrated knife, score your bread. If you proved your bread in a tin, you can score it down the middle or just leave it as is. If you proved your bread in a basket, slide it from the peel to the baking stone in the oven; otherwise, if you baked in a tin, place the tin on one of the racks in the oven. Spritz all around the oven chamber with a water spray.
Bake your loaf for a good 30 minutes, turning once. When it’s ready, your bread should have a nice golden crust and a hollow sound when you tap the bottom. If you had your bread in a tin it will take an extra 5 minutes to bake. Allow to cool and enjoy!
Caravan’s jalapeño cornbread
Renowned for its sharing plates and cocktails, Caravan has been keeping hungry London diners happy for almost a decade. One of its signature dishes, this jalapeño cornbread is bound to keep you happy at home as well, not least because the recipe makes a whole loaf on which you’ll be able to nibble for days.
Ingredients (makes one loaf, with ten slices)
For the cornbread
400ml milk
2 large eggs
60g butter, melted
150g sweetcorn kernals
2 spring onions, chopped
30 jalapeño peppers, chopped
150g instant polenta
80g strong white bread flour
1tbsp baking powder
1tbsp caster sugar
½tsp salt
For the chipotle butter
250g butter, softened
Pinch of salt
½tsp chipotle, minced
Juice of ½ of a lime
½ cup chopped coriander
To garnish
Lime wedges
Spring onions, chopped
Coriander, picked
Method
Preheat oven to 200C.
In a medium bowl, mix together the milk, eggs, butter, corn, spring onions and jalapeño peppers.
In a separate medium bowl, mix together the polenta, bread flour, baking powder, caster sugar and salt.
Combine the two bowls together and immediately pour into a lined loaf tin and place immediately into the oven. Bake for 30 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let cook for 4 minutes before turning the bread out of the tin onto a cooling rack.
Once the loaf is cool, trim off the ends of the cornbread, and slice the remainder of the loaf into 10 equal slices.
Set aside.
To make the chipotle butter, mix all the ingredients together. Serve while the butter is still soft.
To serve, heat a dash of oil in a large frying pan on medium-high heat.
Carefully place the slices of cornbread in the pan and fry until the bottom is golden brown.
Flip the slices and fry again until the both sides are golden brown.
Repeat this process until all the cornbread slices have been browned.
Place the browned cornbread on a plate and top with a generous dollop of the chipotle butter.
Garnish with some coriander leaves, wedges of lime, and some sliced spring onions.
Jessie Ware’s triple-threat brownies
Fans of Table Manners – the award-winning podcast hosted by Jessie Ware and her mother, Lennie – will need no introduction to triple-threat brownies. Loved by the likes of Ed Sheeran, these indulgent chocolatey treats can be adapted to whatever you have in the cupboards: broken-up Oreos, Creme Eggs, marshmallows… you name it, it’ll be a smash hit.
Ingredients
200g unsalted butter, cubed
200g dark chocolate, chopped
3 large eggs
275g caster sugar
90g plain flour
50g cocao powder
250-300g ingredients of your choice to add to the mix (white, dark, or milk chocolate, chocolate biscuits) chopped
Method
Preheat the oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Line a 23cm square baking tin with baking parchment.
Put the butter and chocolate into a heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water and leave until they start to melt. Stir regularly, taking care not to burn the chocolate. Once completely melted, remove from the heat and leave to cool a little.
In a large bowl, using an electric whisk on high power, beat the eggs and sugar together until pale and almost double in volume. Add the cooled chocolate and butter mix and gently combine, using a figure-of-eight motion to fold the two mixtures into one together.
Sift the flour and cocoa powder together and then fold into the chocolate and egg mixture. Again, fold gently using a figure-of-eight motion until all is combined. It will appear dusty at first, but be patient and it will come together. Take care not to overdo the mixing: as soon as you cannot see any dusty flour mix, you are there.
Now add your extra ingredients and gently fold in, reserving a few to scatter over the top if you like. Transfer the mixture to the lined baking tin, levelling it out and pressing any reserved ingredients into the top of the mixture. Bake for around 35 minutes. The top should be just firm, but the middle should be slightly undercooked and gooey: it will continue to cook in the tin once removed from the oven. Leave the tin on a wire rack to cool before cutting into squares.
Gail’s cinnamon buns
In the 15 years since Gail’s opened its first bakery on London’s Hampstead High Street, the hot cross buns have become the stuff of sweet-treat legend. Now, head pasty chef Roz Bado is sharing the recipe so that you can create these little delights at home.
Ingredients (makes 12 buns)
For the dough
35g fresh yeast
170ml cold water
300g plain flour
640g strong white bread flour
95g butter, at room temperature
70g caster sugar
20g fine sea salt
300ml milk
For laminating the dough
400g butter, chilled
Filling ingredients
170g light muscovado sugar
85g caster sugar
2tbsp ground cinnamon
100g butter, melted
For the topping
120g caster sugar
½tsp ground cinnamon
Method
To make the dough, mix the yeast, water and 150g of the plain flour with a wooden spoon in the bowl of a stand mixer to create a thick paste. Sift over the remaining 150g plain flour in a thick layer and leave to sit for 15-20 minutes, until you can see the flour beginning to crack as the yeast works underneath it. Add the strong flour, butter, sugar, salt and milk and knead on a slow speed using the dough hook for 5 minutes, until you have a soft but not completely smooth dough.
Tip the dough out of the bowl onto a clean surface and knead by hand for a few more minutes, forming it into a ball. Lightly flour a rolling pin and press the dough out into a rectangle measuring 20cm x 30cm x 5cm. Transfer it onto a baking sheet lined with non-stick baking paper, wrap it well in cling film and freeze for 30 minutes.
While the dough chills, take the butter for laminating the dough out of the fridge and leave it to warm up for 15 minutes. Put it into a sandwich bag or between two pieces of plastic film and press it down to create a rectangle of butter, about 15cm x 20cm and 1.5cm thick. Chill until the dough is ready.
Roll the chilled dough into a long rectangle, 15cm x 60cm. Lay it in front of you on the largest surface you have, short edges at the side and long edges at the top and bottom. Press the chilled butter over the right side of the rectangle, then fold the left half on top of it, as if closing a book. Press the dough out with the rolling pin, working away from you, front to back only, not side to side – the direction you roll in is absolutely crucial. Create a rectangle that’s 1cm thick and 1 metre long. One long side should be the folded edge, sealed up; the other should be open.
Mentally draw two lines across the long rectangle stretched out in front of you, dividing it into thirds. Fold the bottom third up, then the top third down over that, rather like folding a letter. Transfer the folded dough back to the baking sheet, wrap in cling film and freeze for another 30 minutes.
Remove from the freezer, unwrap, and sit the dough in front of you exactly as it was before, like a folded letter, then give it a quarter turn so that the long edges are at the sides and the short edges at the top and bottom. Roll it out again a rectangle 1 cm thick and 1 metre long. Mentally draw a line half way up the dough, then fold the bottom edge up to meet the centre line, and do the same with the top edge. Finally, fold the entire top half of the dough back down over itself. Return to the baking sheet, wrap and freeze for 30 minutes more.
Butter 12 large muffin cup tray, greasing the flat surface between the cups as well as the cups themselves.
Next, make the filling: mix together the muscovado sugar, caster sugar and cinnamon until combined and set aside.
On the most spacious kitchen surface you have, roll the chilled croissant dough out to a 30cm x 80cm rectangle, 1-2cm thick. Lay it out in front of you so that the short edges are at the sides.
Use a pastry brush to brush the dough with melted butter, leaving a 4cm-wide border along the top long edges. Sprinkle the filling all over the melted butter and pat it down so that it begins to dissolve into it.
Starting from the long edge closest to you, roll the dough up tightly, like a Swiss roll. Turn it so that it’s sitting on its seam. With a sharp, non-serrated knife, slice the log of dough into 12 equal buns. Take each bun and tug the loose end of the rolled dough out to stretch it very slightly, then tuck it under one of the cut ends of the bun to seal it up – this creates a base for them to sit on. Sit them in the buttered muffin cup tray.
Leave for 2 hours to prove, the best place to prove the buns is in a completely cold oven. Put them on the centre shelf, along with a small bowl of hot water on the floor of the oven, and shut the door until risen and springy to the touch. Remove from the oven along with the bowl of water. Preheat the oven to 200C/gas mark 6.
Place the buns in the oven and immediately reduce the temperature to 180C/gas mark 4. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until completely puffed and mushroomed over the edges of the muffin cups. They should be a dark, golden brown.
Remove from the oven and leave them for 5 minutes, then lift them and sit them slightly askew in their tins to cool further, so that the base of each bun isn’t touching the base of the muffin cup. This allows them to cool without sticking to the cups as the sugar solidifies.
Making the topping by mixing the sugar and cinnamon in a large, shallow dish and when the buns are completely cooled, roll them gently in the topping to coat them in even more sugary, cinnamon goodness. Eat as soon as possible.
Social Pantry’s vegan French toast
The Social Pantry’s cafés in Ealing, Peckham and Battersea have become brunch hotspots over the past few years, so if you’re looking to soup up your breakfast this weekend, then its vegan French toast is the recipe for you. Plus, this is the perfect opportunity make use of any bread that’s starting to go stale. You know what they say: waste not, want not.
Ingredients (serves 4)
200g ripe banana
1tsp of cinnamon (or to taste)
300ml Coconut Milk
20g cornflower
60ml pure maple syrup
8 slices of your favourite bread
Oil for frying
To serve
Seasonal berry compote
Fresh fruit
Coconut yoghurt
Something crunchy – we used a nut brittle, but you could substitute in your favourite granola or toasted seeds
Method
Preheat oven to 160C.
Blitz all French Toast ingredients, apart from bread and oil, in a food processor until smooth.
Soak the bread in the mixture, turning over when fully soaked in.
Bake the toast in the oven for 5-10minutes, to firm toast up.
Heat the oil in a pan and fry until golden brown on each side.
Enjoy with a dollop of compote, coconut yoghurt and a sprinkle of something crunchy.
The best healthy food delivery services in the UK
Five London bars offering drinks delivery. Cheers!
The best fine-dining food deliveries to eat well during self-isolation