Nigel Slater’s chipolatas and bread sauce recipe

The best bits of Christmas dinner.

The recipe

Peel, then slice in half, 4 medium shallots. Set a wide, shallow pan over a medium heat, add the shallots, then let them soften and colour to a pale gold.

Place 8 plump, herby chipolata sausages among the shallots and let them colour on all sides. Lift out the sausages and keep them warm.

Pour 600ml of full cream milk into the pan, add 2 bayleaves, 4 cloves, a few sprigs of thyme (lemon thyme if you can get it) and bring almost to the boil. Lower the heat and leave to simmer for 3 minutes then stir in 150g fresh breadcrumbs, salt and coarsely ground black pepper, 1 tbsp of grain mustard and 3 tbsp of chopped parsley. Stirring regularly, let the bread sauce thicken and simmer for few minutes.

Warm a little cranberry sauce in a small pan.

Serve the sausages with the bread sauce and a spoonful of cranberry sauce. Enough for 2.

The trick

Creamy, generously seasoned bread sauce and chipolata sausages are the highlight of my Christmas dinner. But the sauce stands or falls by its seasoning. Soft, sweet onions or shallots, bay leaves, cloves and plenty of salt and pepper are to my mind essential. Be lavish with them.

The watchpoint here is to keep the sauce moving in the pan, if you don’t stir almost continuously it will stick and burn.

The twist

Bacon, streaky and smoked, is a fine addition here, bringing with it even more of the essence of a Christmas feast. Add bits of bacon, cut into stamp-sized pieces, as you are browning the sausages. The more crisply you cook the bacon the better.

Meera Sodha’s vegan recipe for parsnip and carrot mulligatawny soup

The first time I ate mulligatawny, I was being watched by a man called Rudolph who was wearing stockings. In fairness to him, he was meant to be waiting the whole dining room at the hotel Windamere in Darjeeling, but I happened to be the only diner in it and the stockings were part of his “heritage British Raj” outfit.

So that we didn’t both feel awkward, I commented on the soup he’d brought in – “Tastes like it’s 200 years old” – and he smiled, probably out of courtesy. But I meant it. This heirloom of a recipe, which outdates any written records I have for my own family, tasted as if it could have only originated from some homesick Brit wanting a taste of home, but cooked for by Indian chefs. Not quite as soul-soothing, brave and committedly Indian as a dal, say, but still warming and elegant enough to sup with a silver spoon.

Although there are a thousand variations of the mythological mulligatawny, there are some things that most agree on: that it is made using a base of India’s finest trio – onions, ginger and garlic – with vegetables, spices (usually coriander and cumin) and red lentils, to thicken.

I have stayed true to that base here, but I’ve adapted it slightly to make it more homely. I’ve left it unblended, so the end result is more dal than soup, added some autumnal British roots for heft, and thrown on some parsnip crisps, which can be made while the mulligatawny cooks to make the overall experience more “busy kitchen” than “empty dining room”.

Parsnip and carrot mulligatawny
This hits the spot that a lot of soups fail to, in that it will fill you up, but if you’re sceptical, you could eat it (as many used to) with boiled rice spooned in for good measure. If you’re happy to multitask, make the crisps while the soup simmers. And do check that your vegetable stock is vegan-friendly: some contain lactose. Serves four.

3 tbsp rapeseed oil
1 large brown onion, peeled and diced
4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
3cm ginger, peeled and grated
1 green finger chilli, very finely chopped
2 carrots (250g), peeled and cut into 1cm cubes
2 parsnips (250g), peeled and cut into 1cm cubes
1 tsp ground cumin
1 ½ tsp ground coriander
150g red lentils, washed and drained
1¼ litres vegetable stock
Salt

For the parsnip crisps
1 parsnip
1 ½ tbsp rapeseed oil

Heat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Heat the oil in a deep-sided pan over a medium flame, then fry the onion for five minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent. Add the garlic, ginger and green chilli, stir-fry for a couple of minutes, then add the carrots and parsnips, and cook for six to eight minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are sticky. Add a little water if the mixture is too dry, then add the cumin and coriander, stir for a minute, then add the drained lentils, stock and a quarter-teaspoon of salt. Stir, bring the mixture up to a boil, then turn down the heat to a whisper and simmer for 15 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. (If you’re blending the soup, now is the time to blend it, adding more water if you prefer a thinner consistency.) Season to taste.

For the parsnip crisps, top, tail and peel the parsnip, then use a vegetable peeler to shave off the flesh in long, thin strips. Lay these on an oven tray and coat with the oil (use your hands), then season, arrange the strips side by side on the tray and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until pale gold and crisp.

To serve, ladle the soup into bowls and top each portion with a generous handful of the parsnip crisps.

One-pot orzo with beetroot, thyme and orange recipe

You can use any colour of beetroot you like here – I adore the deep magenta or the red ones, but yellow and pink work well too. Vegans can leave out the feta.

Serves 4
4 large beetroots, peeled and grated (prepared weight around 500g)
300g orzo pasta
A small bunch of thyme
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil, plus more for finishing
Zest of 1 small orange or clementine
100g feta cheese
4 handfuls rocket or other peppery leaves

1 Put the grated beetroots, pasta and picked thyme into the pan with the salt, 2 tbsp oil and 850ml water. Put the pan on a high heat, cover with a lid and bring to the boil. Simmer for 10 minutes, or until the pasta has cooked and the water has been absorbed. Stir regularly to prevent the pasta from catching on the bottom of the pan.

2 Spoon on to warm plates and finish with some orange zest, peppery leaves, a crumbling of feta and a good drizzle of olive oil.

Rachel Roddy’s recipe for mushroom and herb tagliatelle

My brother was more or less the age my son is now – six – when my friend and I fed him mushroom soup. As eight-year-old foragers, we had found a cluster of mushrooms under a tree in the wild untended bit at the bottom of the garden. Seeing no red cap or alarming spots, we deemed them edible and picked them. We had also found a handful of blackberries and something suitably herby, so we put all three in warm water, stirred, then fed our soup to Ben behind the sofa. Ben went yellow and cried for mum, who asked us calmly what we had done while her eyes gave away her pure and absolute panic.

It turned out they were only mildly nauseating, and Ben was fine. The adults, though, were not. So traumatised were they that they didn’t even shout. Instead, we were given the most earnest talking to. Did we know how serious this was? Had we any idea what could have happened? I did. Despite our sibling rivalry, I did not want to murder my younger brother; a crime sure to make the front of the local paper. We were made to promise we would never pick mushrooms again. As yet, I haven’t.

I know a man who does, though. At this time of year, as autumn seeps slowly into the air and I celebrate my birthday, I hope to get a call from a friend telling me her dad has been on one of his quiet and determined hunts in the chestnut woods just outside Rome. The Boletus edulis, or porcini, arrive wrapped in a cloth, their swollen stems like fat babies’ legs, their caps the colour of ruddy chestnuts. The flesh is quite unique – thick and nutty with a rich, almost custard-like quality about it, which is why they are so good when fried or grilled. Porcini dry beautifully, and make superb wild gifts preserved and stored in packets ready to be soaked back to life, and give flavour and moral support to meals or cultivated mushrooms.

Despite the sofa incident, I am very fond of mushroom soup, especially the Jane Grigson/Elizabeth David recipe, also mushroom risotto and anchovy, and mushroom eggs. For all these recipes, I use cultivated mushrooms, bolstering with wild when I can, either fresh or from a packet. A favourite way to prepare mushrooms, though, both wild and tame, is to fry them in a mixture of olive oil and butter, along with garlic and plenty of finely chopped herbs. It is a straightforward way, but one that seems to bring out the flavour and texture of mushrooms most beautifully. It is a dish for the whole year, but autumn is when it seems most appropriate, as cooking slows down, and the olive oil rich dishes of the summer demand a little butter. Or in this case, a lot of butter! Mushrooms take and give: soaking up fat, but then giving back in the form of intensely flavoured gravy, which you can reduce. Mushrooms prepared this way are delicious on toast, but also stirred through pasta for an extremely satisfying and tasty supper dish.

The ideal pasta for these mushrooms is pappardelle – wide ribbons of fresh egg pasta that cook into an almost fabric-like silkiness and so wrap themselves around pieces of mushroom while collecting buttery sauce and flecks of herbs. Alternatively, tagliatelle works well, too. In either case, homemade – I use 100g of flour and one egg per person – or dried pasta both work.

If you are lucky enough to know how to forage, collect as many edible varieties as you can. Alternatively, buy a selection of cultivated mushrooms – button, chestnut, oyster – and bolster with a packet of dried porcini. In their recipe for mushroom pasta, Oretta Zanini De Vita and Maureen B Fant note the herbs should remind you of being lost in the woods, and suggest a mixture of parsley, thyme and oregano, which do indeed seem like somewhere wild and bosky rising up out of the pan. They also describe mushrooming in autumn in Italy, the quiet clamber on inhospitable slopes, the torn skin and clothing that arise from getting the best specimens. I like these words around a recipe, they remind me of my own childhood adventure – however misguided – and make me wonder if this is the year I might try mushroom hunting again.

Pasta with mushrooms and herbs
Serves 4
25g dried porcini
800g mushrooms, mixed varieties, wild or cultivated
4 tbsp olive oil
120g butter
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
Salt and black pepper
Parsley, oregano and thyme, finely chopped
450g dried long pasta (ideally pappardelle or tagliatelle)
Parmesan, grated

1 Soak the porcini in warm water for 30 minutes, then drain, reserving the liquid. Clean the other mushrooms by brushing away any mud and then wiping the cap and stem with a damp cloth. Cut all the cleaned mushrooms into slices; not too thin. Put a large pan of well-salted water on to boil in preparation for cooking the pasta.

2 In a large frying pan, heat the oil and butter. Once the butter is foaming gently, add the garlic and fry for a few minutes. Add the porcini and cook for another minute to combine the flavours. Add the fresh mushrooms. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5–6 minutes, or until the mushrooms have released their water and are tender and glistening. Add a little of the porcini liquid and let it all bubble for another minute to reduce, then sprinkle with the herbs.

3 Meanwhile, cook the pasta until al dente. Drain and toss with the mushrooms. Divide between bowls and serve, passing around grated cheese for those who want it.

Tuna, tomato and olives spaghetti recipes you'll ever need

Buy olives with the stone in and crush them, so that the bitterness from the stone is released into the flesh, before pitting them. I suggest finishing the pasta with some chopped fresh mint leaves, but you could use parsley, oregano or marjoram, whichever you have, but no cheese with fish, please.

Heat 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in a sauté pan, add 2 finely chopped cloves of garlic, a teaspoon of chopped chilli and a tin of chopped tomatoes, bring to the boil, then turn down to a simmer for 10 minutes.

Cook 500g of spaghetti in plenty of boiling salted water.

Just before it is ready, add 2 x 200g tins of drained tuna and a small handful of good black olives to the tomato sauce, then taste and season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Drain the pasta, reserving the cooking water, and toss with the sauce and a spoonful of the cooking water. Scatter some chopped fresh mint leaves over the top, and serve.

Toasted brioche, baked gooseberries

My local delicatessen often has wedges of peel-studded panettone cut into thick slices on the counter. Sweet, vanilla-scented breads I buy to eat with coffee, mid-morning, or to toast and spread with mascarpone to eat as I work. All summer I have been using panettone, lightly toasted, to soak up the syrup from baked apricots or cherries. This week it is the turn of brioche, toasted in a similar manner, but piled with gooseberries that I had baked with a little mild honey and mint leaves.

Serves 2
gooseberries 250g
honey 2 heaped tbsp
mint leaves 6
brioche or panettone 125g

Set the oven at 200C/gas mark 6.

Top and tail the gooseberries, then put them in a shallow baking dish. Spoon in the honey, crush and scatter over the mint leaves and add 3 tablespoons of water. Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, maybe less if your gooseberries are ripe, till the honey has melted and the berries are starting to burst.

Slice the brioche or panettone thickly, then toast lightly on both sides. Spoon the hot, soft gooseberries and their juice over the toasted bread, removing the mint leaves as you go.

Sorrel ice-cream with strawberries and meringue recipe

If you don’t have an ice-cream machine, freeze the mixture in a shallow plastic container with a lid, stirring it two or three times over the course of eight hours, to give it a smooth texture. For ease, I’ve suggested buying in meringues, but you’ll have egg whites left over from the ice-cream, so make your own if you’re so inclined. Serves six.

200ml full-fat milk
200ml double cream
1 vanilla pod, split open lengthways and seeds scraped out
4 egg yolks
65g caster sugar
Salt
250g sorrel leaves, roughly chopped
3 tbsp honey
2 lemons; finely grate the zest of 1, then squeeze both to get 60ml juice
400g strawberries, stalks removed and cut into ½ cm-thick slices
40g shop-bought or homemade meringues
10g mint leaves, shredded

Put the milk, cream, vanilla seeds and scraped-out pod in a medium saucepan, and warm gently on a medium heat for about five minutes, until steaming. Turn off the heat and leave to infuse for 20 minutes.

In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar and a pinch of salt, then pour in about two tablespoons of the milk mixture. Stir, then add the remaining milk mixture bit by bit, whisking continuously, until combined. Once all the milk has been added, quickly rinse out the saucepan, then pour the mixture back in, making sure you scrape in all the vanilla seeds.

Cook the custard on a medium heat for eight to nine minutes, stirring constantly, until it thickens and coats the back of a wooden spoon (keep an eye on the heat because you don’t want the custard to boil, or it might split). Strain the custard into a medium-size bowl (remove the vanilla pod, rinse clean and reserve for further use). Stir in 150g sorrel, cover with cling-film, making sure the film touches the surface of the custard, to prevent a skin forming, then leave to cool.

When the custard has cooled, add the honey, lemon zest and remaining sorrel, then blend until completely smooth. Transfer the mix to an ice-cream machine and churn for about 40 minutes (timings will depend on your machine), until frozen and creamy, then transfer to a plastic container with a lid, and freeze.

About 20 minutes before serving, transfer the ice-cream to the fridge, to give it time to soften slightly. Toss the strawberries in the lemon juice and leave to macerate for five minutes. Using a scoop, spoon two ice-cream balls per portion into individual bowls. Break the meringue nests into small chunks and divide them between the bowls. Top with the strawberries and mint, and serve at once.

Asparagus pilau, mint butter recipes

If you make the butter in advance, remove it from the fridge a good half hour before using. It should be soft and fluffy.

Serves 2-3
broad beans a couple of handfuls
asparagus 18 spears
For the pilaf:
white basmati rice 120g
butter 50g
bay leaves 3
green cardamom pods 6
black peppercorns 6
cinnamon 1 stick
cloves 2 or 3
cumin seeds a pinch
thyme a couple of sprigs
For the herb butter:
mint leaves 8 large
parsley a small handful
spring onions 2
butter 125g, soft

Cook the beans in deep, lightly salted, boiling water for three or four minutes. Drain and pop the largest of the beans from their skins. Any very small beans can be left as they are. Trim the asparagus, removing any tough ends then cut the spears into short lengths. Boil or steam for five or six minutes until just tender.

Wash the rice three times in a bowl of warm water. This will prevent it sticking together. Melt the butter in a saucepan over a moderate heat, add the bay leaves, the cardamom pods lightly crushed, peppercorns, cinnamon stick, cloves, cumin seeds and thyme. Stir the spices and herbs around in the butter for a minute or two, then, as soon as they are warm and fragrant, drain the rice and add it to the pan. Stir the rice to coat it with the butter then pour in enough water to cover and leave 2cm of water above the rice.

Season with salt, turn down the heat so the water simmers and cover tightly with a lid. After seven minutes fold in the drained asparagus and the broad beans. Replace the lid and cook for a further five minutes. Remove from the heat, leave the lid in place and set aside for three minutes.

Put the mint leaves on top of one another, roll tightly, then shred finely

Make the butter by putting the mint leaves on top of one another, roll tightly, then shred finely. Remove the parsley leaves from their stems and finely chop. Discard the roots and darkest green shoots of the spring onions and finely chop.

Cream the butter until it is soft and fluffy. Season with coarsely ground black pepper and sea salt. Fold in the mint, parsley and spring onions.

Lift the lid from the rice, stir with a fork to separate the grains, then fold in the herb butter. Alternatively, divide the rice between the plates, place a spoonful of the herb butter on top and fold it in so the grains are coated.

Family tacos repieces

In my experience, the most successful family meals are when there are lots of things in the middle of the table for little hands to reach and grab for – the more colour the better. The salsa in this recipe is quite spicy and is intended to add some punch for the more adventurous palate, so I suggest splitting the salsa into spicy and non-spicy, so everyone is happy.

Serves 2 adults and 2 kids
For the flatbreads
400g white spelt flour (you could use plain flour too)
1 tbsp baking powder
½ tsp flaky salt
350g natural yoghurt

For the slaw
½ spring cabbage
8 radishes
1 apple
1 carrot
Juice and zest of 1 lime
100ml natural yoghurt
Flaky sea salt

For the salsa (optional)
2 big handfuls cherry tomatoes
½ bunch spring onions, finely sliced
1 red chilli (optional)
1 tsp chipotle paste, or to taste

For the filling
2 tbsp olive oil
½ bunch spring onions, finely sliced
1 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp ground coriander
½ tsp ground cinnamon
2 x 400g tins cannellini beans, drained
A bunch of coriander, to finish (optional)

1 First, make the flatbread dough. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl, then stir in the natural yoghurt. Mix well until everything has come together into a ball, then get in there with one hand and knead until you’ve got a smooth and slightly tacky dough. If it feels like it is at all dry (this will depend on your flour), you can add up to 50ml of cold water, a little bit at a time, until the dough comes together nicely. Cover with a clean tea towel, then set to one side until you’re ready to cook the flatbreads.

2 Now, make the coleslaw. Slice the spring cabbage and radishes really finely, then combine them in a large mixing bowl. Shred the apple and carrot using the coarse side of a box grater, then add them to the bowl of cabbage and radishes along with the lime zest, half of its juice and a pinch of salt. Add the natural yoghurt. Stir really well until everything is evenly coated, then set aside.

3 Next, make the salsa. Cut the cherry tomatoes into quarters, and slice the spring onions. Add these to a little bowl, squeeze over the juice from the other half of the lime (left over from making the coleslaw). Divide the tomato mixture in half, then reserve one portion for the kids. Finely slice the red chilli and add this to the adult salsa bowl along with the chipotle paste and a little pinch of salt.

4 For the filling, heat the oil in a large pan and add the spring onions. Cook until they are soft and a little coloured, then add the spices. Stir until you can really smell their aroma, then tip in the beans, crushing them a little with your spatula as you stir. Add a pinch of salt, and a splash of water if the beans seem at all dry. Keep the filling warm while you cook the flatbreads.

5 When you’re ready to eat, prepare your flatbread rolling station, as close to the stove as safely possible. Sprinkle the worktop with flour, then tip out your dough. Divide the dough in two, then divide the first half into six pieces. Heat a large nonstick frying pan until it’s very hot, then roll out the first piece of dough until it’s very thin and about 20cm across. Carefully lift it into the pan and cook for around a minute on each side, or until it’s lightly coloured and the surface is littered with bubbles. Repeat with the remaining five small pieces of dough, then divide the second half into six pieces and repeat with those.

6 Serve everything in bowls on the table for people to help themselves. Keep the warm flatbreads wrapped in a tea towel to help them retain their heat, arrange alongside the beans, slaw, salsa and a bowl of coriander leaves for a final sprinkling.

Pork and preserved vegetable stir-fry recipes

The inspiration for this dish came from Garry’s love of the savoury, crunchy preserved vegetable topping that’s sprinkled on top of noodle soup. He’s essentially converted that topping into the star turn of a main course dish. These preserved vegetables are not the easiest ingredient to find, granted, but that’s a perfect excuse for a trip to Chinatown (or for an online shop). I used the Fish Well brand’s preserved mustard greens; feel free to experiment with other preserved vegetables. You can buy sprouted mung beans from healthfood shops and some supermarkets, but they’re also very easy to sprout at home: soak about 100g mung beans in water overnight, drain, then leave for two days in a bowl covered with a clean tea towel. Rinse them once or twice a day, adding a little water, and they’ll sprout before too long. Make more than you need for this, because they’re lovely sprinkled over all kinds of salads. Serves four with some sticky rice.

20g cornflour
2 tsp premium dark soy sauce
40ml light soy sauce (Kikkoman, ideally)
500g pork loin fillet, cut into 3-4mm-thick slices
320g Chinese preserved mustard greens or other preserved vegetables (see introduction)
75ml sunflower oil
2 red chillies, deseeded, cut in half lengthways and then into 2cm pieces
6 large garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
6 spring onions, cut into 2cm pieces
200g sprouting mung beans

In a medium bowl, combine the cornflour, dark soy sauce and two teaspoons of the light soy sauce, to make a thin paste. Toss the pork in the paste, making sure it’s covered all over, then leave to marinate for at least 30 minutes. (After marinating, separate the pork slices, because they may have clumped together.)

Wash the preserved vegetables in cold water, drain and set aside.

Heat two tablespoons of oil in a wok or large frying pan on a high flame. Once the oil is very hot, add the pork, spreading out the pieces so they don’t overlap, and leave to fry for 30 seconds. Turn over the pork, again making sure the slices don’t overlap, and fry for another 30 seconds, until golden-brown. Transfer the pork to a plate, wipe clean the pan and return to a high heat.

Heat another three tablespoons of oil in the pan and, once very hot, stir-fry the chilli and garlic for 30 seconds. Add the spring onions, stir-fry for a minute, then add the preserved vegetables and stir-fry for another two minutes. Return the pork to the pan, add the final two tablespoons of light soy sauce, and stir-fry for three minutes. Take off the heat, stir in the sprouting beans and serve at once.

Pork and preserved vegetable stir-fry

The inspiration for this dish came from Garry’s love of the savoury, crunchy preserved vegetable topping that’s sprinkled on top of noodle soup. He’s essentially converted that topping into the star turn of a main course dish. These preserved vegetables are not the easiest ingredient to find, granted, but that’s a perfect excuse for a trip to Chinatown (or for an online shop). I used the Fish Well brand’s preserved mustard greens; feel free to experiment with other preserved vegetables. You can buy sprouted mung beans from healthfood shops and some supermarkets, but they’re also very easy to sprout at home: soak about 100g mung beans in water overnight, drain, then leave for two days in a bowl covered with a clean tea towel. Rinse them once or twice a day, adding a little water, and they’ll sprout before too long. Make more than you need for this, because they’re lovely sprinkled over all kinds of salads. Serves four with some sticky rice.

20g cornflour
2 tsp premium dark soy sauce
40ml light soy sauce (Kikkoman, ideally)
500g pork loin fillet, cut into 3-4mm-thick slices
320g Chinese preserved mustard greens or other preserved vegetables (see introduction)
75ml sunflower oil
2 red chillies, deseeded, cut in half lengthways and then into 2cm pieces
6 large garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
6 spring onions, cut into 2cm pieces
200g sprouting mung beans

In a medium bowl, combine the cornflour, dark soy sauce and two teaspoons of the light soy sauce, to make a thin paste. Toss the pork in the paste, making sure it’s covered all over, then leave to marinate for at least 30 minutes. (After marinating, separate the pork slices, because they may have clumped together.)

Wash the preserved vegetables in cold water, drain and set aside.

Heat two tablespoons of oil in a wok or large frying pan on a high flame. Once the oil is very hot, add the pork, spreading out the pieces so they don’t overlap, and leave to fry for 30 seconds. Turn over the pork, again making sure the slices don’t overlap, and fry for another 30 seconds, until golden-brown. Transfer the pork to a plate, wipe clean the pan and return to a high heat.

Heat another three tablespoons of oil in the pan and, once very hot, stir-fry the chilli and garlic for 30 seconds. Add the spring onions, stir-fry for a minute, then add the preserved vegetables and stir-fry for another two minutes. Return the pork to the pan, add the final two tablespoons of light soy sauce, and stir-fry for three minutes. Take off the heat, stir in the sprouting beans and serve at once.

Nigel Slater’s vegetable rice recipe

The recipe

Rinse 200g of brown basmati rice in warm water and drain. Put the rice into a small, deep saucepan, pour in enough water to cover by a couple of centimetres, then add 8 whole black peppercorns, 2 bay leaves and a couple of cloves. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat so the water simmers and cover with a tight-fitting lid. Leave to cook for about 10 minutes, till the water has evaporated and small holes have appeared on the surface of the rice. Set aside, covered with the lid, for 5 minutes.

Slice 2 large leeks into pieces about the size of a wine cork, then wash them thoroughly under cold water. Melt 40g of butter over a moderate heat, add the leeks and 4 tbsp of water and cook over a lowish heat for 10 minutes, taking care they soften but do not colour.

Peel and very thinly slice a large clove of smoked garlic. Wash and finely shred a large handful of kale. In a frying pan, sizzle the kale in a little butter, add the sliced garlic and cook for a couple of minutes until bright and tender.

Boil 2 eggs till they are as you like them, then carefully remove their shells. Check the rice, then run a fork through it to separate the grains and stir in 1 tsp of garam masala. Toss together the rice, kale, garlic, leeks and their butter, then divide between 2 plates. Top with the peeled eggs. Serves 2.
The trick

Rinsing the rice 2 or 3 times or until the water runs clear will prevent the grains from sticking together. To keep the leeks from browning, add a disc of greaseproof paper on top of the leeks, butter and water, then cover with a lid, so they steam rather than fry.
The twist

You could comfortably use this recipe for leftovers, such as roast meat, torn into large shreds, or pieces of cooked salmon or smoked mackerel. You could also warm crème fraîche in a saucepan, then spoon it over the hot, spiced rice as you eat.