‘I always think that canapés should box slightly above their weight – in other words, they need to be vividly flavoured to succeed. Here, the combination of crisp brioche, salty feta, pickled walnuts, figs, honey and thyme is just that. If you like, there’s a recipe for pickling your own green walnuts on page 275 of Rick Stein’s Christmas. You can also make this with slices of goat’s cheese from a log instead of the whipped feta.’
My reason for including this recipe in the book is that apart from the fact that it’s the first dish I ever ate at a Chinese restaurant – in Peterborough, in 1964 as it happens – it’s also a world classic but is so often ruined by tasteless crab and gloopy cornflour.
I’m inordinately fond of pot-roasting meat, particularly when it is a slightly less than tender cut, like brisket.
I wrote this recipe for a Greek-style filo pie after going to Mary Quicke’s farm and dairy near Exeter.
Liqueur-soaked slices of Madeira cake, custard and whipped cream are layered with fresh clementines in this simple, light trifle. Perfect for a show-stopping Christmas dessert.
A delicious and healthy stir-fry dish from Rick Stein at Home.
What appeals to me about this salad is the combination of lightly poached chicken, bean sprouts, spring onions and herbs with roasted chopped nuts and sesame seeds, and the slightly gloopy fish sauce, lime juice and chilli dressing.
There is, I have to confess, no need to put the vodka in the blackberry compote that accompanies these, but it does add to the sense of occasion.
Rick Stein's French fig and frangipane tarts feature a buttery shortcrust pastry case filled with sweet almond and verdant fig.
A crisp, toasted sourdough sandwich put together quickly with a little béchamel.
A case of shortcrust pastry with plenty of leeks sweated down in butter then bound with an egg and cream mixture and baked. Delicious.
These lovely aubergine rolls are from Rick Stein's The Road to Mexico.
