Rachel Allen - Entertaining at Home

Boiling the eggs for 8–9 minutes will leave the whites completely cooked but the yolks still ever so slightly soft, which is ideal for this dish.

Try to resist buying olives that come ready-pitted in jars as they have much less flavour. To pit them, just give them a bash with the flat side of a chopping-knife blade and remove the stones.

This is a wonderful, great big salad to serve as a centrepiece for a lunch with friends. Like any good salad, this one has a lovely balance of flavours and textures.

SERVES 6–8

4 large cooked chicken breasts or thighs, shredded

1 tsp chopped tarragon

3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

200g (7oz) streaky bacon rashers

½ green leafy cabbage, such as Savoy

2 green eating apples, grated

3 large carrots, peeled and grated

2 tbsp mayonnaise

Salt and ground black pepper

1 In a large bowl, mix together the chicken with the tarragon, 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the vinegar.

2 Cut the bacon rashers into 2cm (¾in) pieces. Quarter the cabbage lenthways, remove the core and finely slice the leaves.

3 Place a frying pan on a medium-high heat and pour in the remaining olive oil. Add the bacon and cook, stirring frequently, for 3–4 minutes or until the bacon is golden and crispy. Remove from the pan and drain on kitchen paper.

4 When the bacon is cooked, add it to the bowl with the chicken, followed by all the remaining ingredients. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then toss together and serve.

The Thai tradition of making a specially flavoured paste as a base for soups is a great way of dispersing flavours, but it’s also such a convenient method for entertaining, as the paste can be made beforehand and will keep for a week or two. I’ve used tiger prawns here, but you could use any prawns or chicken.

SERVES 3–4

75g (3oz) egg or rice noodles (optional)

1 × 400ml tin of coconut milk

450ml (16fl oz) chicken stock

250g (9fl oz) peeled raw tiger prawns

For the paste

1 bunch of coriander

1 lemongrass stalk (outer layer removed), roughly chopped

3 cloves of garlic, peeled

2 tbsp light soy sauce

1 tbsp fish sauce (nam pla)

2 tbsp caster sugar

½ red chilli, deseeded

To serve

½ red chilli, deseeded and sliced

Juice of 1 lime

A few splashes of fish sauce (nam pla)

1 Cook the egg or rice noodles (if using) following the instructions on the packet, then drain and rinse through with cold water. Drain again.

2 For the paste, remove the leaves from the coriander and chop 4 tablespoons of the leaves to serve. Set aside and put the stalks, together with the rest of the paste ingredients and 2 tablespoons of water, in a food processor. Whiz for 1–2 minutes or until smooth.

3 Pour into a large saucepan and cook for 1 minute on a medium heat, then add the coconut milk and stock and gently warm through for 5 minutes. Add the prawns and noodles (if using) and cook for a further 2 minutes.

4 To serve, stir in the chilli, chopped coriander leaves, lime juice and fish sauce, and pour into warmed bowls.

Thai chicken soup: Make the recipe as above, replacing the prawns with thin slices of raw chicken, adding the chicken 2 minutes before the noodles.

This has to be one of my very favourite things to eat! It’s a sort of rough pâté. Traditionally made just with pork, rillettes is now prepared with other types of meat and even fish, but the original is the best in my opinion. I usually pot it and serve it as a starter or for lunch with delicious breads from the market and some cornichons on the side. It will keep for a few months if left completely covered in the fat in a sealed jar.

MAKES 1 LITRE (1¾ PINTS)

500g (1lb 2oz) pork belly

500g (1lb 2oz) pork shoulder

200ml (7fl oz) dry white wine

6 cloves of garlic, peeled and roughly chopped

½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg

½ tsp ground black pepper, plus extra if needed

2 tsp sea salt, plus extra if needed

2 bay leaves

1 tbsp chopped thyme or rosemary leaves

Medium-sized casserole dish or ovenproof saucepan

1 Preheat the oven to 150°C (300°F), Gas mark 2.

2 Remove the rind and fat from the top of the pork and cut the flesh into 1–2cm (½–¾in) cubes. Also cut the pork shoulder into 1–2cm (½–¾in) cubes. Set the shoulder and flesh aside. Roughly chop the pork belly rind and fat into a few pieces and place in a roasting tin. Cook in the oven for ½–1 hour to render the fat, then pour the liquid into a bowl and discard (or eat!) the cooked rind. Set aside until later.

3 To make the rillettes, place all the remaining ingredients in a casserole dish or ovenproof saucepan with the meat. Place on a medium heat, stirring to mix everything together. Bring to simmering point, then cover with a lid and transfer to the oven. The rillettes need to cook for about 5 hours; all the fat on the meat should be rendered into liquid and the meat should be flaky and not at all chewy. You can break the meat up a little if you wish.

4 Taste for seasoning, then transfer to one or more sterilised preserving jars (see tip below), packing the meat down tightly and pouring over the rendered fat to just cover the meat. Allow to cool to room temperature so the fat has solidified before serving.

To sterilise jars and bottles, put them through a dishwasher cycle, boil in a large saucepan filled with water for 5 minutes or place in a preheated oven (150°C/300°F/Gas mark 2) for 10 minutes.

I adore this kind of food for casual entertaining: thick slabs of a wonderful rustic winter terrine sitting on slices of crusty white or sourdough bread and some tangy celeriac remoulade on the side. This is great to serve for lunch when having friends staying over for the weekend. If you have a mincer, the texture will be better, however, you can mince meat in a food processor by pulsing a few times to get very small pieces.

SERVES AT LEAST 6

25g (1oz) butter, plus extra for greasing

1 large onion, peeled and very finely chopped

Salt and ground black pepper

300g (11oz) boneless mixed game bird meat, minced or pulsed in a food processor

200g (7oz) minced pork (at least 20% fat)

50g (2oz) streaky bacon, minced or pulsed in a food processor

Large pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

3 juniper berries, crushed

2 tsp chopped thyme leaves

8–10 rashers of streaky bacon, rind removed

25g (1oz) shelled pistachios

2 boneless game breasts (about 200g/7oz in total), such as pheasant, pigeon, partridge or woodcock, cut into strips

Bay leaves and juniper berries, to decorate

For the celeriac remoulade

½ celeriac

250ml (9fl oz) mayonnaise

Juice of ½ lemon

2 tsp wholegrain or Dijon mustard

13 × 23cm (5 × 9in) loaf tin or casserole dish

1 Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the chopped onion with some salt and pepper, then cover with a lid and cook on a low heat for about 8–10 minutes or until the onion is softened and slightly golden. Set aside to cool.

2 Meanwhile, in a large bowl, mix together the minced meats with the nutmeg, juniper berries and the chopped thyme and season with salt and pepper. Add the cooked onions, then fry a little bit of this mixture in a hot pan and taste for seasoning.

3 Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F), Gas mark 4, and butter the loaf tin.