Baked apples

Ingredients

6 Bramley cooking apples
50g chopped dates
50g sultanas
50g raisins
25g chopped almonds or hazelnuts
Grated zest and juice of 1 orange
75g soft brown sugar
1 level teaspoon ground mace or mixed spice
40g butter
150ml (1⁄4 pint) sweet sherry or Madeira

Method

Preheat oven to 180°C, 350°F, gas mark 4. Wash and core apples.
Score skin around the middle of each apple to prevent it bursting during baking and stand close together in a well-buttered ovenproof dish.
Mix the chopped dates, sultanas, raisins and nuts with the orange rind and juice. Pack the centres of the apples with this mixture. Top with a knob of butter.
Pour the sherry or Madeira around the apples and bake in the centre of the oven for 45 minutes, basting occasionally.
Serve hot or warm with pouring cream.

Baked goat's cheese tartlet with pickled cucumber

• Serves: 4
• Preparation time: 20 minutes
• Cooking time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 350g goat's cheese
• 100ml double cream
• A few chopped chives
• 200ml cider
• Rocket leaves
• 80g peas
• Olive oil
• 50g broad beans
• Half a cucumber
• 100ml cider vinegar
• 12 Spears of English asparagus
• 4 Sheets filo pastry

Method

• Roll out the filo pastry, folding to create a circular shape, bake for 3 minutes at 200c until golden.
• Soften the goats cheese adding 100ml double cream and fold a few chopped chives through the mixture. Season.
• Spoon mixture onto tart case and bake for 3-4 minutes at 200c.
• Slice cucumber thinly and cover in cider vinegar 100ml sprinkle with salt, put to one side.
• Break the woody tips off of the asparagus. Add asparagus, broad beans and peas to a pot of boiling water to boil for 30 seconds.
• Remove from heat and drain off water.
• Remove tartlets from the oven.
• Add boiled vegetables to rocket or other mixed leaf salad.
• For the dressing pour over 1 tbsp of olive oil, season, add cider vinegar, cider and mix the vegetables and leaves to coat in dressing.

To serve, cross over the lightly boiled asparagus, add sprinkling of the salad. Place the tart on top of the salad garnish and then delicately place pickled cucumber slices around the outside of the plate for an acidic element to the dish.

Beef burger with parsnip chips

• Serves: 4
• Preparation time: 20 minutes
• Cooking time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 800g fillet/sirloin of beef
• 1 x red onion
• 1 egg yolk
• Parsley
• Orange rind or a squeeze of lemon
• A little flour
• Thyme leaves
• Cayenne pepper
• Seasoning
• 2 parsnips
• 4 eggs for poaching

Method

Cut the beef, dice into half cm or less. Squeeze a lemon on to the beef. Season
Adding half a finely chopped red onion, the chopped parsley and a few thyme leaves and the egg yolk, a little cayenne pepper. Mix thoroughly. Add a little flour, mould into burgers.
Colour off with some butter in a pan, turn initially to stop them sticking.
Drain the fat and cook in an oven at 190c for 3-4 mins.

Spinning a pan of boiling water with 50ml of white wine vinegar (Good tip, the vinegar helps the egg hold better plus use really fresh eggs, this is why you should use free range farm shop eggs), cracking the egg into the tornado. Allow to poach for 2-3 minutes and remove using a slotted spoon. Poach one egg per person.

Peel a parsnip and cut into very fine slices, brush with melted butter, sprinkle with sugar and season and roast in an oven for 3-4 minutes at 190c.
To assemble the plate, add the beef burgers, place the poached eggs on top. Dress with watercress, splashed with a little sherry vinegar or olive oil and randomly spread the chips around. season.