Nigel Slater’s chipolata and cranberry batter pudding recipe

The recipe

Make a batter by beating together 2 large eggs and 300ml of full fat milk. Beat in a little salt and 125g of plain flour. Don’t worry about any small lumps. Pull the leaves from 5 sprigs of thyme and stir them into the batter then leave it to rest for 20 minutes. Set the oven at 220C/gas mark 8. Evenly brown 350g of cocktail chipolatas in a little oil or bacon fat. When they are done, add 2 tbsp of marmalade and 100g of fresh or frozen cranberries to the pan and toss the sausages in it to coat them evenly. Pour the fat, together with 3 tbsp of groundnut oil or dripping into a 22cm round metal dish or similar baking tin, add the marmalade-coated sausages and place in the oven to get hot. When the oil and sausages are really hot, add the batter and return to the oven immediately. Bake for 12-15 minutes until the batter is golden and puffed around the edges. Serve immediately. Enough for 2.

The trick

Like its sister recipe the Yorkshire pudding, this one needs really hot fat if it is to achieve any sort of lightness. Let the oil and sausages get as hot as you dare, the oil may shimmer, even smoke a little, before you add the batter in one swoosh. If a thin layer of batter firms up immediately on contact with the hot fat, then the pudding should rise well.

The twist

Pieces of pancetta or smoked bacon are good here, as is black pudding, either instead of or in addition to the sausages. If cranberries are unavailable, try small cubes of sharp apple instead.

Green winter salad recipes

Crisp, green and light, this leaf salad could be served after the pie below. I have kept it raw and simple, but you could also add salted almonds, a little goat’s or sheep’s cheese, or maybe some crisply fried bacon or pancetta.

Serves 4-6
brussels sprouts 200g
watercress 100g
little gem lettuce 1
young kale 2 large handfuls
young chard leaves a small bunch
avocado 1
sprouted seeds such as radish, beetroot or amaranth a handful

For the dressing
natural yogurt 6 tbsp
olive oil 6 tbsp
basil leaves 10g

Trim the base of each brussels sprout, remove the leaves layer by layer as far as you can. Cut the hearts in half and put them and the leaves in a large bowl.

Wash the watercress, remove the toughest stems and add the leaves and thin stalks to the sprouts. Halve the little gem lettuce lengthways, then trim the stalk and separate the leaves. Finely shred the kale leaves. Toss together the brussels sprouts, watercress, lettuce and kale and the young chard leaves.

Make the dressing: mix the natural yogurt and olive oil together with a small whisk or fork, then add the basil leaves, finely shredded, and season with salt and ground black pepper. Halve, stone and peel the avocado then cut the flesh into thick slices.

Transfer the leaves to a salad bowl, tuck the slices of avocado gently among the leaves, add any sprouting seeds you may like, then trickle over the dressing and toss gently before serving.

Linguine with smoked mussels, lemon and capers

This dish plays with textures and taste, from the crunchy, garlicky crumbs to the smoky mussels and sharp lemon. Serves four to six.

200g smoked mussels (drained weight)
The zest and juice of ½ lemon
2 tbsp capers in brine, drained
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
200g dark sourdough bread (choose one with a good crust)
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 large clove garlic, peeled and crushed
1 handful picked flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
400g linguine

In a bowl, combine the mussels, lemon juice and zest, and capers, season and put to one side.

Whizz the bread in a food processor for a few minutes, until you have a mixture of fine and chunky crumbs. Toss these in two tablespoons of oil, to coat, then season generously.

Heat a frying pan on a medium-high flame, then tip in the breadcrumbs and fry, tossing or stirring regularly, for seven to 10 minutes, until golden and crisp. Add the garlic after three or four minutes, so it fries a little and loses its raw flavour. Once the crumbs are golden, turn off the heat and stir in the parsley.

Bring a large pan of salted water to a boil and cook the linguine until al dente. Drain, then toss with the remaining glug of oil, the mussels, lemon, capers and a good grind of pepper. Serve at once topped with the toasted breadcrumbs.

Coconut puddings with peanuts and lime recipe

800ml coconut milk (ie, 2 tins)
50g caster sugar
1 vanilla pod, slit lengthways and seeds scraped out
Shaved zest of 2 limes, plus 20ml lime juice
Flaked sea salt
6.5g sachet vege-gel (a vegetarian setting agent that’s widely available in the baking section of supermarkets – Dr Oetker is just one brand to look out for)
30g dark muscovado sugar
½ ripe mango, peeled and sliced into thin, 2mm x 5cm-long strips
2 tbsp salted and roasted peanuts, finely chopped

Put the coconut milk in a medium saucepan with the sugar, vanilla pod and seeds, lime zest and an eighth of a teaspoon of salt. Gently warm for 10 minutes, until the milk is steaming and aromatic and the sugar has dissolved, then turn off the heat and leave to infuse for 10 minutes.

Strain the milk through a fine sieve, squeezing as much liquid from the aromatics as possible. Return the milk to the pan and put on a medium heat. Add the vege-gel and cook for three minutes, whisking continuously, until the vege-gel has dissolved and the milk has thickened slightly. Take off the heat and stir in a tablespoon of lime juice, then divide between six ramekins (or bowls or glasses of a similar size and capacity) and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Put the muscovado sugar in a small saucepan with two tablespoons of water, bring to a boil, then leave to bubble for 30-60 seconds, until the sugar has melted and the syrup has thickened. Take off the heat, stir in the remaining teaspoon of lime juice and leave to cool – you should end up with two tablespoons of pourable syrup.

To serve, top each pudding with a slice or two of mango, drizzle on a teaspoon of syrup and finish by scattering over a teaspoon of peanuts.

Prawns, tomato pesto recipes

Abandon all thought of knives and forks here. These prawns, tossed in a paste of pine kernels, basil and tomato, are there to be torn apart, shells sucked and cracked, still hot from the griddle. You’ll get in a delicious mess.

Serves 2

pine kernels 4 tbsp
cherry tomatoes 150g
olive oil 100ml
basil 40g
prawns 10 large, raw, shell on

Toast the pine kernels in a dry pan till golden, shaking the pan regularly so they do not burn. Tip the pine kernels into an electric blender with the tomatoes, olive oil and basil leaves and a little salt then process to a rough, thickish paste.

Warm a griddle pan over a moderately high heat. Wash and dry the prawns, salt them lightly and grill for three or four minutes on each side. Remove them from the grill, then, while they are still sizzling hot, fold them through the pine kernel dressing and place on a serving plate.

Eat the prawns with your fingers, sucking at their shells as you peel them.