Grilled leeks and spring onions with dolcelatte and pickled onions recipe

This is an intense starter with sweet, sour and oniony tones. A slice of good bread alongside is almost mandatory. The three main elements – the leeks and spring onions, the cheesy cream and the pickled onions – can all be made a few hours ahead of time (the cream needs refrigerating, mind) and put together at the last minute.

Prep 5 min
Cooking 25-30 min
Serves 4

½ red onion (about 60g), peeled and very finely sliced (use a mandoline if you have one)
1½ tbsp sherry vinegar
2 tsp caster sugar
½ tsp mustard seeds
½ tsp coriander seeds
⅛ tsp black peppercorns, roughly crushed
¼ tsp pink peppercorns
½ red chilli, deseeded and finely sliced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 leeks, trimmed, cut in half lengthways and then into 6cm-long pieces (450g net weight)
60ml olive oil
1 bunch spring onions, trimmed, cut in half lengthways and then into 6cm-long pieces (75g net weight)
60g mascarpone
30g dolcelatte (or gorgonzola dolce)
1½ tbsp double cream
5g chives, cut into 2cm lengths

Put the first eight ingredients in a small bowl with an eighth of a teaspoon of salt. Thoroughly massage the onions in the mixture, then leave to pickle for at least an hour.

Heat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6. Lay the leeks cut side up on a 25cm x 35cm oven tray and season with a quarter-teaspoon of salt and plenty of black pepper. Drizzle over two and a half tablespoons each of the oil and of cold water, and roast for 15 minutes, until the leeks are beginning to soften and blacken around the edges. Scatter the spring onions over the leeks, add a pinch of salt and half a tablespoon of oil, and return to the oven for eight minutes. Turn the oven grill to its highest setting, then grill the vegetables for four minutes until they are charred and soft, but not burned. Leave to cool.

In a small bowl, whisk the mascarpone, dolcelatte, cream, a pinch of salt and a good grind of pepper until combined and smooth.

Once the leeks and spring onions are cool, use a fish slice to slide them on to a serving platter (so keeping the leeks cut side up). Drop dollops of the cheese-and-cream mixture haphazardly all over the vegetables.

Combine the chives with the remaining tablespoon of oil, then dribble all over the top of the vegetables and cheese. Spoon on the pickled onions (including their pickling liquid and aromatics), and serve at room temperature.

Liam Charles’ recipe for messy Eton traybake

It took me a while to like Eton mess – that classic combination of cream, berries and meringue. But as soon as the penny dropped, I started to think of other ways you might possibly put it together. So check this out. Trust me, it’s not that messy – it’s full of all those great summer ingredients, but all levelled up.
The messy Eton traybake

Leave the traybake to cool completely before spreading on the Eton cream, then grate on the white chocolate as if it were cheese.

Prep 30 min
Cook 50 min
Serves 12

200g unsalted butter
115g golden caster sugar
110g light brown sugar
225g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
3 large eggs
3 tbsp whole milk
150g vanilla yoghurt
1 tsp almond extract
300g raspberries

For the Eton cream
400ml double cream
4 tbsp icing sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract
100g raspberries, halved
200g strawberries, hulled and quartered
6 meringue nests, roughly crushed
50g white chocolate, chilled

Heat the oven to 180C (160C fan)/350F/gas 4 and grease and line a 20cm x 30cm baking tray with baking paper. Combine the butter and both sugars and beat until light and fluffy. In a separate bowl, sift the flour and baking powder, and in another bowl, mix the eggs and milk. Add this to the butter mixture and combine well, then slowly add the flour and mix again. Spoon into the tin, level the top and bake for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the yoghurt and almond extract, then, when ready, take the cake out of the oven, and quickly spoon the yoghurt over the cake. Scatter over the raspberries and pop the cake back in the oven for another 20 minutes, until a metal skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tray for 15 minutes, then remove from the tin and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the Eton cream, whip together the cream, icing sugar and vanilla until soft peaks form, then fold in half the raspberries and strawberries. Roughly spread the cream over the surface of the cooled cake, then top with the remaining fruit and the crushed meringue. Grate over the white chocolate, as if it were cheese, and cut the traybake into squares to serve.

Liam Charles’ recipe for Spider-Man cheesecake

Spider-Man is one of my favourite superheroes. To celebrate the release of the latest film, Spider-Man: Far From Home, I’ve created the spidey slicer.

Think New York-style cheesecake in the colour scheme of Spider-Man’s cool new suit – with some marshmallow webbing thrown in for good measure.

Prep 30 min
Chill 4 hr+
Cook 55 min
Serves 14

300g Oreos
100g unsalted butter, melted

For the filling
900g full-fat cream cheese
200g golden caster sugar
2 tbsp plain flour
2 tbsp cocoa powder
100ml soured cream
100ml buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract
50ml red food colouring
4 large eggs

For the webbing
100g white marshmallows

Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6 and line a 20cm x 30cm rectangular tin with baking paper. Smash up the biscuits using a food processor or by double bagging sandwich bags and crushing the biscuits with a rolling pin.

In a bowl, mix the melted butter with the biscuits, press into the base of the tin and bake for 12 minutes. Set aside while you crack on with the filling; drop the oven temperature to 150C (130C fan)/300F/gas 2.

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and caster sugar with an electric or stand mixer until smooth. Sieve the flour and cocoa powder into a separate bowl, add the cream, buttermilk, vanilla extract and red food colouring, then stir until smooth.

Add the red mixture to the cream cheese and mix on a low speed, adding the eggs one by one. Pour the filling over the biscuit base and bake for 40 minutes – the cheesecake should have a wobble in the middle when it’s ready.

Turn the oven off and leave the cheesecake in there to cool for one hour. Pull the door ajar and leave for a further hour, then remove from the oven and leave to reach room temperature. Transfer to the fridge to chill for at least two hours.

Melt the marshmallows in a heatproof bowl in the microwave in 30-second bursts, stirring occasionally. Take the cheesecake out of the fridge and carefully remove it from the tray.

When the marshmallow has cooled, it’s time to create the webbing. Put two fingers together, dip them in the cooled, melted marshmallow, remove them from the bowl, stretch them apart and wrap the “webbing” around the cheesecake. Slice into squares and serve.