Key Lime Pie

This was the dessert I raved about at Blackfoot in Exmouth market the other day and which I was thrilled to see was in their consultant chef Allegra McEvedy's terrific new book Big Table, Busy Kitchen. I know we're not supposed to be eating puds in January but make an exception for this one.

Allegra writes: "I conducted some fairly extensive research on this American classic to determine what actually defines a key lime pie, and came to the conclusion that really, it can be anything limey, which in any Yank’s book, we most certainly are. Think of this version as a roughly non-cheesy cheesecake, with a top that’s ballsy with lime zest and lighter than angel farts, anchored down by a ginger nutty base.

Will make 8–10 people very happy

120g digestive biscuits

120g ginger nuts

80g butter, melted

3 eggs, separated

zest and juice of 5 limes (see footnote*)

1 x 400ml tin condensed milk

½ tsp cream of tartar

60g caster sugar

Preheat the oven to 160°C/fan 140ºC/Gas 3 and butter a 20cm springform tin that’s about 7cm deep.

Bust up your biscuits until fairly well ground, either in a food processor or the old-fashioned way (by bashing them in a bag with a rolling pin). Tip into a bowl and stir in the melted butter, then dump into the tin and use the backs of your curled-up fingers to press it down and make sure it’s well compacted. Stick it in the fridge to firm up.

Meanwhile, put the egg yolks in a mixing bowl and whisk with the lime zest, lime juice and condensed milk to just combine.

Either in another bowl using an electric hand whisk, or in an upright mixer, or by hand, whisk the whites until they start to go frothy. Doing it the old fashioned way with muscle is weirdly satisfying and only takes (me) about 4 minutes. Stir the cream of tartar into the sugar, and gradually add to the whites while they’re still moving until you have a bowlful of stiff meringue. Fold the whites into the limey mix in two batches, then pour this on to your base.

Pop the tin on a baking tray, put in the oven straightaway and bake for about 25–35 minutes, until it’s just set – firm around the outside with the faintest of wobbles in the middle.

Leave to cool completely – the pie is best served totally chilled, so once it’s cooled to room temperature, stick it in the fridge for an hour at least. The top will crack a little as it contracts, but that’s never bothered me, or anyone else that’s ever been wowed by it. The longer you leave it, the limier it gets.

* The only imponderable in the recipe. How juicy are your limes? My guess is that Allegra will use good ones so you'd be looking at 2 tbsp juice per lime so 10 tbsp in all. Use untreated limes if you can get hold of them otherwise scrub them before you zest them. FB

What to drink: With an airy pie like this I'd go for a Moscato d'Asti

Big Table, Busy Kitchen by Allegra McEvedy (Quercus) is out now and is available for £15 from www.quercusbooks.co.uk. Photograph © Chris Terry.

Blue cheese and preserved plums

A lovely serving suggestion from Trine Hahnemann's inviting book Scandinavian Christmas. The preserved plums couldn't be simpler.

Trine says: "The perfect end to a lovely meal. You simply have to drink port with it! Choose plums with sweetness and tender flesh."

Serves 8

For the preserved plums

500g plums

1 vanilla pod

200g caster sugar

50ml dark rum

To serve

250g Danish Blue, or any blue cheese (I would serve them with Stilton FB)

rye wafers (see picture)

Rinse and halve the plums and remove their stones. Divide them between sterilised jars.

Divide the vanilla pod lengthways and scrape out the seeds.

Mix 500ml of water, the sugar, vanilla seeds and pod in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat, then add the rum and pour over the plums. Each jar must be filled to the top. Seal the jars immediately.

The plums will be best after four or five days. (Stored in the fridge or a dark, cool place, they will keep for two or three months.) Before you serve them, bring them to room temperature.

Place the cheese on a platter with a jar of preserved plums and provide plenty of rye wafers. Serve with port. (I would choose a Late Bottled Vintage port with this)

This recipe comes from Scandinavian Christmas by Trine Hahnemann, published by Quadrille Publishing. RRP £16.99 Photography by Lars Ranek

Beetroot latkes: the perfect recipe for Thanksgivukkah

The idea of Thanksgivukkah - a once-in-a-lifetime simultaneous celebration of Thanksgiving and Hanukkah - has really caught on. Caterer Elly Curshen of Bristol's Pear Café comes up with her perfect starter.

Elly writes: "This year, the first day of Hanukkah and the American holiday of Thanksgiving fall on the same day.

Because the Gregorian and Jewish calendars are worked out in different ways, and have slightly different average year lengths, over time they drift out of sync with each other. Thanksgiving Day will not fall entirely within the eight days of Hanukkah again in any of our lifetimes (It has been calculated that, if the Jewish calendar is not revised, Thursday, November 28 will not fall during Hanukkah again for another 77,798 years!).

Both these holidays are basically incredibly food-centred so for a once in a lifetime event, what do you serve?

North American/Thanksgiving favourites such as pumpkin, cranberries, sweet potatoes and turkey can happily appear on Thanksgivukkah menus alongside the Hanukkah essentials.

According to my grandma Angela, for a traditional Hanukkah dinner latkes [think of them as Jewish hash browns!] and doughnuts are a must. Anything else is up to you'. Basically the Jewish festival of lights calls for fried stuff. Suits me.

Due to it being such a rare occasion, celebrating Thanksgivukkah is a chance to create new 'classics' - there's no right or wrong here. Doughnuts with a spiced pumpkin filling? Sweet potato latkes with apple sauce? Turkey with challah stuffing? YES to all of it!

Here are a couple of ideas if you fancy celebrating. Any excuse for fried things and booze, in my opinion.

Beetroot latkes with horseradish sour cream, smoked salmon, red onion and rocket

Makes 12 canapé-sized latkes, or 6 bigger starter-sized ones.

Peel and grate a largish raw beetroot and a largish raw potato using a food processor or by hand.

Squeeze out as much liquid as possible. When you think you're done, squeeze the rest out. You want the mixture as dry as possible.

Put into a large bowl and add salt, pepper, one beaten egg and enough cornflour so that you have a stiffish mixture. About half a cup as a guide.

Leave for 10 to 20 minutes and then using a spoon, dollop piles of the mixture into hot oil, 1cm deep. You can make them mini, canapé sized or larger - don't go bigger than the size of your palm though or they won't cook through.

Flatten them down in the pan and flip over when well browned. Cook on both sides then drain on kitchen roll. Serve hot, topped with horseradish flavoured sour cream, smoked salmon, very finely sliced red onion and a bit of rocket.

Variations:

* Use sweet potato instead of the beetroot/potato mix. This won't need to be squeezed as much as it is naturally a lot drier. Add some very finely diced red onion to tone down the sweetness and season very well with salt and black pepper.

* Try topping with apple sauce (chopped Bramley apple, a little water, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, a little sugar, slowly cooked down over a low heat) and sour cream.

And how about making doughnuts and dusting them with granulated sugar and the traditional pumpkin pie spice blend (cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and allspice) while still hot? My friend Sig (aka Signe Johansen of Scandilicious) has a great recipe. Just make up your own spiced sugar mix to taste.

What to drink with the latkes: Fried stuff calls for chilled fino sherry in Elly's and my book but I know that's not to everyone's taste. A sparkling wine like cava or prosecco or even champagne would be great as would a crisp Sauvignon Blanc or the Barkan Fusion White 2012, a zesty blend of Sauvignon, Colombard and Chardonnay from Israel (£9.49 Marks & Spencer) FB

Pumpkin (or butternut squash) muffins for Hallowe'en

"Hallowe'en's always a great excuse to let your imagination run riot and to make some spectacularly spooky food" says cookery writer Signe Johansen.

"I recall once going to a Canadian friend's Hallowe'en party where we were blindfolded, then asked to put our hands into a bowl of cold, glibbery goo which was meant to be brains. The goo was in fact gummi bears floating around in apple juice, but the effect was terrifying for an eight-year old, and I still find the darker element of Hallowe'en creepy. Have no fear though: this recipe, which I've adapted from one in Jamie Oliver's 'Jamie at Home' book, won't freak anyone out.

I used less sugar than Jamie (200g instead of 350g), and, as you can see, went wild with the food colouring. These are essentially spice muffins and whilst the butternut squash adds a nice texture and moistness to the muffin mixture, you could of course use grated carrot or leftover pumpkin from carving your Hallowe'en lantern."

For the muffins
450g butternut squash, grated or blitzed in a food processor (I used about half of a 1kg squash)
300g plain flour
200g light brown soft sugar
3 medium eggs
100ml sour cream
100g melted butter
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp mixed spice
1/4 tsp salt

For the icing
180ml sour cream
3-4 tbsp sifted icing sugar (depends how sweet you like your icing)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp yellow food colouring
1/2 tsp red food colouring

You will also need a standard 12 hole muffin tins and some muffin cases or squares of baking parchment

Preheat the oven to 190°C. Line the holes in the muffin tins with cases or with scrunched up baking parchment for a more rustic look.

In a large bowl, sieve all the dry ingredients (including the sugar as it's quite lumpy).

In a smaller bow, break up the eggs with a fork, then add the sour cream.

Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients, and then add all the liquid ingredients, stirring with a large spoon a few times before adding the grated butternut squash. If the mixture is very thick, add a few tablespoons of milk or water to loosen it. (You want the mixture to be of dropping consistency.)

Using a tablespoon or ice cream scoop, spoon the mixture into the muffin cases then place the tin on the upper-middle shelf of the oven as soon as possible - the raising agents are activated upon contact with liquid, so don't go off and have a cup of tea before putting the muffins into the oven! Bake for about 30-40 minutes, until the muffins are golden brown, feel firm to the touch and a skewer inserted comes out clean.

While the muffins are baking, make the icing: simply place the sour cream in a small bowl, add the sifted icing sugar and the vanilla, and finally enough of the two food colourings to get a good shade of orange Refrigerate this while you're waiting for the muffins to finish baking.

Once the muffins are cooked let them cool before decorating with the icing and whatever ghoulish decorations you have.

You can find details of Sig's latest cookery classes and Scandi brunches and suppers on her blog Scandilicious.