Real sherry trifle
Parsnip and smoked haddock soup
Zuppa di pastinaca con eglefino affumicato
Good smoked haddock is an art form, and it’s something that really only exists in the UK. In this soup it plays off the sweet nuttiness of the parsnips beautifully, producing a flavour combination that is unmistakably British. Tony
Serves 6
25g/1 oz butter
1 onion, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
1kg/2¼lb parsnips, finely chopped
1.8 litres/3 pints vegetable stock
300g/10 oz undyed smoked haddock
300ml/½ pint milk mixed with 300ml/½ pint water
150ml/¼ pint double cream (optional)
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Heat the butter in a large saucepan, add the onion and celery and cook for about 5 minutes, until softened. Stir in the parsnips and cook for a further 5 minutes. Pour over the stock and bring to the boil. Simmer gently for 20-25 minutes, until the parsnips are very tender.
Meanwhile, place the smoked haddock in a frying pan and pour over the milk and water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 2 minutes, then remove from the heat and leave the fish to cool in the poaching liquid.
Blitz the parsnip mixture until smooth, either with a hand-held blender or in a jug blender. Add the cream if required, then reheat gently and season to taste. Remove any skin and bones from the smoked haddock, discard the poaching liquid, and flake the fish into the soup. Ladle into warmed bowls to serve.
Tortellini in brodo
Tortellini in broth
What a great dish this is. Add just two or three tortellini and you have a lovely, light soup. Put a lot more in and you have a terrific pasta dish sauced with a soupy broth. I love this served with a big wedge of Parmigiano to grate on top.
'00’ flour is a special Italian fine flour used for making pizza and pasta. It is available at larger supermarkets and in Italian food shops. Giorgio
Serves 4
1.5 litres/2½ pints chicken stock (see page 241)
For the pasta:
250g/9 oz Italian ?O’ flour large pinch of salt
1 egg, plus a little beaten egg for brushing
3 egg yolks 1 tablespoon olive oil
For the filling:
200g/7 oz skinless, boneless chicken
breast, diced 25g/1 oz pancetta, chopped
25g/1 oz mortadella, chopped
1 tablespoon double cream
To make the pasta, sift the flour and salt into a food processor, then slowly pour in the egg and egg yolks through the feed tube, followed by the olive oil. As soon as the mixture comes together into a dough, switch off the machine. Put the dough on to a lightly floured work surface and knead for 10–15 minutes, until smooth, then wrap in clingfilm and chill for about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the torteliini filling. Put all the ingredients in a food processor and whiz to a paste. Transfer to a bowl and chill until ready to use.
Cut the pasta dough in half and flatten it slightly with a rolling pin. Pass each piece through a pasta machine on the widest setting, then fold in half and repeat, each time switching the pasta machine to a finer setting, until the pasta is about 0.5mm thick. With a 6cm/2½in pastry cutter, cut a circle from the pasta and, using your fingers, stretch it as thinly as possible. Brush the edges with a little beaten egg and place a little of the filling in the middle. Fold the pasta over the filling to make a semi-circle, press the edges together to seal, then fold the 2 corners up over the centre and squeeze together tightly. Repeat until all the pasta and filling have been used. Keep the pasta dough covered with a damp cloth while you are working, to stop it drying out.
Bring the chicken stock to the boil and drop in the torteliini. Simmer for about 4 minutes, until the torteliini are tender, then ladle into bowls and serve.
Prawn and langoustine cocktail
Cocktail di scampie e gamberoni, salsa ‘Marie Rose’
A survivor from the good old days when dining out meant prawn cocktail followed by sirloin steak followed by Black Forest gâteau. Yes, it did get a bit naff for a while, but treat it with respect, add a couple of fresh langoustines, and this classy first course will knock everybody’s socks off. If you want to add more langoustines, then go right ahead. Tony
Serves 4
1 cucumber, peeled
½ iceberg lettuce, shredded
300g/10 oz peeled cooked prawns
8 large cooked langoustines,shelled
pinch of paprika
1 lemon, quartered
For the cocktail sauce:
6 tablespoons Tony’s mayonnaise (see page 244)
2 tablespoons tomato ketchup
3-4 shakes of Tabasco sauce
1 tablespoon cognac
squeeze of lemon juice
Make the cocktail sauce by mixing together the mayonnaise, ketchup, Tabasco, cognac and lemon juice.
Run a vegetable peeler down the length of the cucumber to make long, thin
