Rose Prince - The New English Table - 200 Recipes from the Queen of Thrifty, Inventive Cooking

To serve, mix the cream with the lemon zest. Just before you eat, reheat the soup gently, then serve straight away with a spoonful of the lemon cream, or yoghurt, in every bowl.

Romanesco Salad

I sometimes see this pointy, pale-green vegetable in local greengrocer’s shops and farmers’ markets. Although it is a relative of the cauliflower, it is known as Romanesco broccoli, and has a delicate flavour somewhere between cauliflower and broccoli. It is delicious served raw, for dipping into sauces, and when cooked it needs very little treatment at all except a drizzle of olive oil and lemon juice and parings of a hard cow’s or ewe’s milk cheese. Cut into quarters, then steam it for about 8 minutes. Test the stalk with the point of a knife – you do not want it too soft or the flower head will turn to mush. Much better that there is a firm stalk. Slice into big chunks, then serve in bowls with the oil, lemon, salt and cheese.

BUCKWHEAT

Kasha Salad

Buckwheat Pancakes

Herrings in Buckwheat Groats

My first encounter with buckwheat came in the form of a plate of blini, the Russian pancakes eaten with caviar or smoked fish. My step-grandfather was a Russian émigré, who adored them but liked them thick and heavy. My mother then found an authentic recipe in the Time-Life Russian cookbook – it was a revelation. Light, airy yeast pancakes with a taste of wholesome grain. Spoonfuls of melted butter, smoked fish and dollops of soured cream went on top; this was richness and earthiness combined. So you see, I am a fan of this brown flour with its dark flecks, but then recently I found kasha, the whole grains of buckwheat. They are shaped like a spearhead and are pale green. They need a short boil, then a wash to remove the starch. Added to salads or eaten hot with a dressing of oil, butter and fresh dill, they are exciting and totally different.

Buckwheat is not a wheat at all, but the grains from a flowering plant dating back thousands of years. It can, though, be used to make bread (with other flours) and noodles, notably soba noodles.

Buying buckwheat

Wholefood stores usually stock buckwheat flour, and often the groats as well. Organic buckwheat is available from Infinity Foods of Brighton. For stockists, contact them on www.infinityfoods.co.uk; tel: 01273 424060.

Kasha Salad

Kasha is whole buckwheat grains, sometimes sold as buckwheat groats. It has a green tinge and a fresh vegetable flavour, and cooks conveniently in a very short time. This simple salad has a gentle, grassy flavour. It is lovely with cold chicken, smoked fish or soft-boiled peeled eggs (bring eggs and cold water to the boil and cook for 4 minutes, cool in cold water, then peel)

Serves 4

2 garlic cloves, peeled

a pinch of dried thyme

200g/7oz buckwheat groats

1 ripe avocado

juice of 1 lemon

6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

a small bunch of dill, roughly chopped

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Put the garlic cloves, thyme and buckwheat in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to the boil, turn down to a simmer and cook for about 15–20 minutes, until the buckwheat is tender but not a mush. Drain and rinse quickly in cold water to remove any foamy starch. Leave to drain for a few minutes; it should not be wet.

Peel, stone and dice the avocado. Put it in a salad bowl and dress with the lemon juice, then add the olive oil, buckwheat, dill and seasoning and toss quickly. Do not make this salad too far in advance or the avocado will discolour.

Buckwheat Pancakes

These are my English blini, adapted from the Russian recipe of my childhood made in an English kitchen. Earthy but light, thanks to the use of both whipped egg whites and yeast, they should be drizzled with melted butter and eaten with smoked fish (see the Cured Mackerel), chopped dill and soured cream. Freshly ground black pepper is a must. They could also be eaten with Bacon and Applesor perhaps a little thin slice of dry-cured beef, in which case serve with chopped spring onions and a little melted butter.

Serves 4–6

125g/4½oz brown buckwheat flour

250g/9oz fine white flour (if you want gluten-free pancakes, you could use rice flour)

½ teaspoon fine sea salt

30g/1oz fresh yeast

1 teaspoon caster sugar

450ml/¾ pint lukewarm milk

3 eggs, separated

2½ tablespoons soured cream

2½ tablespoons melted butter, plus extra for brushing

To serve:

smoked fish of any sort

fried mushrooms

chopped dill

300ml/½ pint soured cream

175g/6oz butter, melted

Put the flours in a bowl with the salt and leave in a warm place. Mix the yeast with the sugar until it breaks down to a paste, then add the milk. Leave for about half an hour, until the yeast is activated and a foam forms on the top. Make a well in the centre of the flours and pour in the yeast mixture, beating as you go. When you have a smooth batter, leave the mixture to rise for about 1½ hours, covered with a tea towel, until doubled in size.

Beat in the egg yolks and fold in the soured cream and melted butter. Leave in a warm place for 20 minutes. Whisk the egg whites until they form stiff peaks, then very carefully fold them into the bubbly pancake mixture. You do not want to break down the bubbles made by the yeast.

Heat a flat griddle or pancake pan and brush with a little melted butter; it should be hot but not smoking. Drop a tablespoonful of the mixture on to the pan and cook until bubbles rise to the surface and pop. Flip the pancake over and cook until puffed. Do not allow the pancake to burn – keep the heat steady. You should be able to cook 3 pancakes at a time in an average-sized pan. Keep the pancakes warm in a bowl lined with a tea towel, or eat them as you go, with any of the accompaniments listed above, finishing with chopped dill, a dollop of soured cream and a little melted butter drizzled on top.

Herrings in Buckwheat Groats

Herring fillets rolled in eggs and buckwheat, then shallow-fried and eaten with a good, piquant sauce. It is essential to buy very fresh herring. Herring roes are also good prepared like this.

Serves 4

200g/7oz buckwheat groats

4 large or 8 small herring fillets

1-2 eggs, lightly beaten

sunflower oil

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the sauce:

2 egg yolks

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

300ml/½ pint light olive or sunflower oil

lemon juice, to taste

3 hardboiled egg whites, chopped (see Kitchen Note below)

1 tablespoon capers, rinsed, squeezed and chopped

5 cornichons (baby gherkins), chopped

1 shallot, finely chopped

leaves from 1 sprig of parsley, chopped

leaves from 2 sprigs of tarragon, chopped

leaves from 2 sprigs of chervil, chopped (if available)

First make the sauce. Put the egg yolks in a bowl with the mustard, then gradually whisk in the oil bit by bit until you have a thick emulsion. Add the remaining sauce ingredients, taste and add a pinch of fine sea salt if necessary. Set to one side.

Season the groats with salt and pepper. Dip the herring fillets in the beaten egg, then roll them in the buckwheat groats. Pour enough oil into a heavy-bottomed frying pan to cover the base well. Heat the oil and fry the herrings over a medium to high heat for about 2 minutes on each side, until the groats are golden and the fish is firm. Eat hot, with the sauce.

	Kitchen note
Grate the hardboiled egg yolks over the braised chicory, to make a richer dish.

BUFFALO MILK