Rory O’Connell’s roast peaches or nectarines with almond praline cream
This is a very simple recipe that will reward you greatly as long as the fruit you choose is ripe. It may seem strange to make a warm dish to serve during the warmer months of July and August when these fruits are in season, but this is a dreamy dish and when served with the chilled praline cream it is perfect. I don’t serve the fruit straight from the oven, but allow it to cool slightly – if you serve the fruit roasting hot, you don’t get the full flavour that it has to offer.
Peaches and nectarines should be perfectly ripe for this dish. Look out for unblemished fruit with a strong aroma. A ripe peach will smell of peach and will hold the print of the head of your thumb if gently pressed. This should only be performed if you are in doubt about the ripeness of the fruit.
Serves 8
peaches or nectarines 8
butter 25g
runny honey 2 tbsp
lemon juice 2 tbsp
For the almond praline cream
almond praline 2 tbsp, coarsely crushed
regular, double or whipping cream 300ml, softly whipped
Preheat the oven to 220C/gas mark 7.
Halve the fruit and remove the stones. Place the fruit, cut side up in a tightly fitting ovenproof dish. Melt the butter and stir in the honey and lemon juice. Spoon over the fruit and place in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes, or until the fruit is tender. A thin metal skewer should pierce the fruit with no resistance.
Fold the praline into the cream, making sure not to mix it too much otherwise the cream may over-whip and become grainy. Chill until needed.
Once the fruit is cooked, allow it to cool for 10 minutes or so before serving. Pass around the praline cream separately, and be sure to serve some of the cooking juices with the fruit.
From Master It by Rory O’Connell (Fourth Estate, £20)
Jeremy Lee’s coupe dänemark
This classic belongs to the chapter of ice-cream puddings known collectively as coupes. The most famous and the most vulgar is the almighty knickerbocker glory. Coupe dänemark is a more elegant and plus simple affair. I first served this when working as an apprentice chef and it has featured on most pudding menus I have served since. Needless to say, the better the ice-cream and the better the chocolate, the better the coupe.
For each person
double cream 1 espresso cup
chopped bitter chocolate 1 espresso cup
vanilla ice-cream 2 scoops
chopped roasted almonds 1 heaped soup-spoon
Boil the double cream in a pan, then take off the heat, tumble in the bitter chocolate and stir until smooth. Then pour this over the ice-cream in a dish and strew with almonds.
Jeremy Lee is chef-proprietor at Quo Vadis, London W1
Yotam Ottolenghi’s honey and yogurt set cheesecake
No ovens, no bain-marie, no cracks: this is the simplest of cheesecakes. You can make this up to two days ahead of serving, if you like, topping with the honey and thyme just before serving. It will keep in the fridge but the base will soften with time.
Serves 8
Greek-style yogurt 500g
Hobnobs 200g
unsalted butter 60g, melted
picked thyme leaves 1½ tbsp
full-fat cream cheese 400g
icing sugar 40g, sifted
lemon 1, finely grate the zest to get 1 tsp
white chocolate 150g, broken into 1-2cm pieces
honey 60g
Line a 23cm springform cake tin with parchment paper; set aside.
Line a sieve with a clean tea towel and set above a bowl. Spoon in the yogurt, then draw up the sides of the tea towel. Squeeze the yogurt into a ball, pressing out as much liquid as you can. You want to end up with about 340g of thickened yogurt. Set aside until required. The liquid can be thrown away.
Place the Hobnobs in a clean plastic bag and crush them finely with a rolling pin. Mix with the butter and 1 tablespoon of the thyme and spoon into the cake tin, pressing it down to form an even layer. Set aside in the fridge.
Whisk together the cream cheese, strained yogurt, icing sugar and lemon zest until smooth and combined: this can be done in a free-standing mixer or using a hand-held mixer.
Next melt the chocolate. This needs to be done over a pan of barely simmering water, in a heatproof bowl which sits over the pan with the base well clear of the water. Stir the chocolate frequently for 2-3 minutes, taking care not to get any moisture into the chocolate as this will cause it to seize. Spoon the melted chocolate into the cream cheese mixture and whisk until combined.
Spread the cream cheese mixture over the biscuit base evenly, then refrigerate for at least 2 hours, until set.
When ready to serve, warm the honey in a small saucepan with the remaining ½ tablespoon of thyme leaves until thin and runny. Remove from the heat and drizzle over the cheesecake.
Release the cheesecake from the tin, divide into 8 slices and serve.
From Simple by Yotam Ottolenghi (Ebury Press, £25)
Anna Jones’s five summer ice lollies
As a little girl I loved only one ice lolly. I didn’t choose the run-of-the-mill orange or the ice-cream van favourites apple cider or cola, or even the fancy twisted one from the corner shop. For me it was always the Mini Milk – vanilla, chocolate or strawberry, I didn’t mind – I just loved its cooling, calming milky sweetness. These are some more grown-up versions, though the vanilla and the strawberry go down very well with little people too. I use 75ml moulds here.
I tend to use a creamy oat milk, good organic whole milk or a homemade nut milk here, and for the ones with yogurt I use good Greek or coconut yogurt. Low-fat milk and yogurt will not work here. You could use shop-bought nut milks but I have found that the lollies end up a little icy, as ready-made nut milks aren’t as creamy as homemade versions.
Each recipe makes 8 x 75ml or 6 x 100ml lollies
For the simple vanilla
milk 300ml
yogurt 300ml
runny honey 3 tbsp, or maple syrup
vanilla paste 1 tbsp
For the coffee and maple
milk 300ml
yogurt 300ml
espresso 4 shots, or 60ml strong coffee
maple syrup 3 tbsp
For the matcha and honey
milk 300ml
yogurt 300ml
matcha powder 1 tbsp
runny honey 3 tbsp
For the mango, cardamom and vanilla
milk 300ml
ripe mango 1, peeled and roughly chopped
ground cardamom ½ tsp
vanilla paste 1 tsp
coconut sugar 2 tbsp
For the strawberry
milk 300ml
strawberries 300g, washed, hulled and roughly chopped
vanilla paste 1 tsp
unrefined cane sugar 2 tbsp
For each ice lolly recipe, blitz all of the ingredients in a blender (or use a stick blender) and taste it. Remember that things don’t taste as strong when they are very cold, so if your mixture tastes perfect pre-freezing you may like to add a little more flavour or sweetness so that this remains the case when they’re frozen. Pour into your ice-lolly moulds and freeze for a minimum of 4 hours.
From The Modern Cook’s Year by Anna Jones (Fourth Estate, £26)
Simon Hopkinson’s blueberry crumble
I do not understand the modern taste for raw blueberries. I grew up in the north of England with their close cousin the whimberry, which only really gives up its copious juices and glorious scent when cooked with sugar. Likewise, a blueberry crumble is a thing of beauty, with the deepest purple bubble of juice coming up and around the crusting edge.
Serves 4
unsalted butter 100g, cold, cubed
golden caster sugar 75g, plus 1 tbsp, and extra for sprinkling
plain flour 175g
salt a pinch
blueberries 500g
lemon juice of ½
unsalted butter 25g, cold, sliced thin
Heat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4. Put the cubed butter, caster sugar, flour and salt in a big bowl, and rub with the tips of the fingers until the mixture is a sandy texture rubbled with randomly sized tiny bits of butter. Put to one side.
Tip the blueberries into an oval, ovenproof dish, add 1 tablespoon of sugar and the lemon juice, and stir. Gently press the fruit down into an even-ish layer – don’t leave many gaps, otherwise the crumble will trickle down into the fruit. Dot with the sliced butter, then dot spoonfuls of crumble mix on top, allowing each one to settle before adding the next: the surface should resemble lumpy little sand dunes. Evenly sprinkle with sugar and bake for 40 minutes, until pale golden and crisp. Eat lukewarm – the correct temperature for all crumble – and serve with very cold double cream.
The new edition of Simon Hopkinson’s The Vegetarian Option (Quadrille, £12.99) is out now
