A sneak peek at Sally Clarke’s forthcoming book, with three winter recipes to try
By Sally Clarke
Winter slaw with red cabbage, parsnip and pomegranate
Serves 4
Lovely additions to this salad could be a few chopped nuts of your choice, a little finely sliced spring onion, or shredded kale leaves. Serve just by itself as a light lunch or supper dish, with fresh goat cheese and wafers on the side perhaps – or it makes a great accompaniment to a Sunday roast – belly of pork, chicken or even game.
Ingredients:
• ½ small red cabbage, white centre removed
• 1 small bulb fennel
• 2 sticks celery
• 1 medium parsnip, peeled
• 2 apples, such as Russet or Cox
• 1 lemon, juice
• 1 tbsp dried cranberries or sultanas
• 1 tbsp pumpkin seeds
• 1 small pomegranate
• 1 bunch watercress, washed, large stems removed
For the dressing:
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp honey
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp sour cream
Method:
Slice the cabbage as fine as possible and place in a bowl. Slice the fennel across into rings as thin as possible. Slice the celery slicks finely, on the angle.
Peel the parsnip into ribbons with a vegetable peeler. Grate the apples on a wide grater, including the skin.
Mix all these ingredients with the cabbage, lemon juice and a little sea salt and freshly ground pepper until well combined. Add the cranberries or sultanas and the pumpkin seeds.
Whisk the dressing ingredients together with some salt and pepper until smooth and pour all over the vegetables. Mix well so that the salad ingredients are thoroughly coated. If necessary, you can leave the salad tightly covered in the fridge for up to a few hours.
Cut the pomegranate in half around the equator. Holding each half over a bowl, knock the shell with a rolling pin so that the seeds drop out into the bowl. Remove the white membrane, if any, and keep the juices with the seeds on one side, covered.
Just before serving, toss the salad again, then tip out onto a flat dish. Garnish with the watercress leaves and scatter the pomegranate seeds and juice over the top.
A new book of recipes by Sally Clarke is due to be published in early 2021.
Baked onion soup with Gruyère toasts
Serves 4
This is such a rich and filling dish, especially if a deeply flavoured meat stock has been used, that very little is needed either before or after it. Perhaps a lovely selection of raw vegetable crudités beforehand or a crisp bitter leaf salad with or after would be all that is needed. Either way, a bottle of full-bodied red wine is the perfect accompaniment.
Ingredients:
• 6 medium-large onions (approximately 750g)
• 90g butter
• 6 bay leaves
• 1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary or thyme
• ¼ bottle good red wine
• 1 litre good stock – beef, chicken or vegetable
• ½ baguette or sourdough loaf
• Olive oil, for drizzling
• 250g Gruyère cheese
Method:
Peel the onions, then slice them as finely as possible.
Melt the butter in a large heavy-based pan over a medium to high heat, then add the onions little by little, stirring them well so that the slices become coated in the butter as they start to cook.
Once the onions are all in, add the bay leaves and the chopped herbs. Cook, stirring from time to time, so that the onions brown evenly and do not get caught at the bottom of the pan. After 15-20 minutes, the onion juices will start to flow and the volume of onions will have reduced by at least 50 per cent.
When the onion slices are all a lovely chestnut brown, add the red wine and season with sea salt and pepper. Stir everything well together, making sure that the soup is evenly coloured throughout and the the texture of the onion is very soft.
Add the stock and stir again to mix well, bring to the boil, then simmer for up to 30 minutes or until the flavour and the smell is pleasing.
Before serving, heat the oven to 180°C/fan oven 160°C/mark 4.
Slice the bread into evenly sized pieces (ideally 2 per person) and grate the Gruyère.
Lay the bread on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and bake in the oven for 3-4 minutes or until golden on one side. Remove from the oven.
Pour the warm onion soup into an ovenproof serving bowl and place the toasts, un-toasted sides up, over the top, slightly overlapping each other. Scatter the toasts with the grated cheese and place the dish in the oven to bake for 10-15 minutes, until the cheese has melted and the toasts are crisp at the edges.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Store in an airtight tin for up to five days.
To serve, scoop into warm serving bowls and then ladle the juices in over the top. Each guest should have an equal quantity of sliced onions, juice and toasts.
A new book of recipes by Sally Clarke is due to be published in early 2021.
Fish Cakes
We have been making fabulous fishcakes in our Production Kitchen for many years and our shops on Kensington Church Street and Westbourne Grove cannot get enough of them. Serve with homemade mayonnaise or tartare sauce, or even ketchup if you must.
Ingredients:
• 350g large potatoes, washed, peeled and cut into large even-sized chunks
• 2 bay leaves
• 450g fish fillets, such as cod, haddock, hake or salmon, or a mixture of 2 or 3
• 2tbsp chopped herbs, such as dill, parsley, chives or celery leaf
• ½ lemon, grated zest
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tbsp double cream (optional)
• 4 tbsp plain flour
• 6-8 tbsp dried breadcrumbs
• 4 tbsp vegetable oil
• 50g butter
Method:
Cook the potatoes with the bay leaves in a saucepan of boiling salted water. When the potatoes are tender, strain and keep on one side, retaining the water. Using a potato masher, mash the potatoes until fluffy and lump-free, then set aside.
Remove any bones from the fish using tweezers, then place the fillets in a medium-sized pan. Cover with the warm potato water and cook gently over a medium heat for 5-10 minutes or until the fish flakes easily apart with a fork. Drain and leave to cool, discarding the liquid.
Place the mashed potato and fish in a bowl and mix together with a fork, breaking up the fish until evenly distributed. Season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper and add the herbs, lemon zest, 1 lightly beaten egg and the cream (if using).
Taste the mixture for seasoning, then shape by hand into 4 smooth even-sized patties, approximately 2.5cm thick. These may now be left, covered, in the fridge for up to 3 days.
When you are ready to fry the fish cakes, prepare 3 bowls: 4tbsp flour, seasoned generously with salt and pepper; 1 large egg whisked with a splash of cold water; and 6-8tbsp dried breadcrumbs.
First roll the fish cakes in the flour, knocking off the excess. Lay them one by one on a clean work surface. Next, using one hand only, dip the fish cakes, one by one into the egg, rolling them carefully around, coating the surfaces and allowing the excess egg to drip back into the bowl. Place the coated fishcakes on a large plate. With clean, dry hands, dip the wet fish cakes into the breadcrumbs, pressing the crumbs gently into the egg. Reshape as necessary, making them smooth and even in thickness.
In a heavy-based frying pan, heat the oil and butter until foaming. Fry the fish cakes until golden and crisp on one side, flip over carefully with a fish slice or palette knife and fry on the other side until golden. Cook through for up to 5 minutes on each side and drain on kitchen paper. Keep warm in a low oven and serve, ideally within 30 minutes.
A new book of recipes by Sally Clarke is due to be published in early 2021.
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