Curried cauliflower cheese filo pie

Nothing is as exciting as a new Ottolenghi cookbook but I particularly love the approach of Shelf Love on which he’s collaborated with Noor Murad and the Ottolenghi Test Kitchen team. It's the first in a series of OTK books which are designed to be easy and versatile (they recommend alternative ingredients if you don't have the ones in the recipe)

I’ve already had the chance to taste a couple of recipes friends have made but this cauliflower cheese filo pie has my name all over it. Yours too, hopefully!

Curried cauliflower cheese filo pie

Cauliflower cheese, but make it pie. This dish was once described as ‘molten-hot-cheese-lava’ and we think that’s pretty fitting for the ultimate comfort of comfort foods.

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 1 hour 45 minutes

Serves 4, generously

1 large cauliflower, trimmed and cut into bite-size florets (700g)

2 tsp mild curry powder

3 tbsp olive oil

100g unsalted butter, 50g cut into roughly 3cm cubes and 50g melted

75g plain flour

675ml whole milk

2 garlic cloves, crushed

11/2 tbsp English mustard

150g mature cheddar, roughly grated

6 sheets of good-quality filo pastry (we use feuilles de filo)

salt and black pepper

1 tbsp roughly chopped parsley, to serve

11/2 tsp lemon zest, to serve

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C fan. Line the bottom and sides of a 23cm springform cake tin with baking parchment.

2. Put the cauliflower on a large, parchment-lined baking tray and toss with the curry powder, half the oil, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper. Roast for about 20 minutes, until cooked through and lightly coloured. Set aside, and turn the oven temperature down to 170°C fan.

3. Meanwhile, make the béchamel. Put the cubed butter into a medium saucepan on a medium-high heat and, once melted, whisk in the flour and cook for 1–2 minutes – it should start to smell nutty (like popcorn). Turn the heat down to medium and slowly add the milk a little at a time, whisking continuously to prevent any lumps, until incorporated and the sauce is smooth. Cook, whisking often, for about 7 minutes, until thickened slightly. Off the heat, stir in the garlic, mustard, cheese and 1/4 teaspoon of salt until the cheese has melted.

4. Keep your filo sheets under a damp tea towel to prevent them from drying out. In a bowl, combine the melted butter and the remaining 11/2 tablespoons of oil and keep to one side.

5. Working one sheet at a time, brush the exposed side of the filo with the butter mixture and drape it into your prepared tin (buttered side up), pushing it down gently to fit. Continue in this way with the next filo sheet, brushing it with butter and then laying it over the bottom sheet, rotating it slightly so the overhang drapes over the sides at a different angle. Do this with all six sheets. (There's a really good step by step series of pictures illustrating this in the book)

6. Spoon half the béchamel into the base and top with the roasted cauliflower florets. Spoon over the remaining béchamel, then crimp up the overhang so that it creates a messy ‘scrunched-up’ border around the edges, leaving the centre of the pie exposed.

7. Brush the top of the filo border with the remaining butter mixture, then transfer the tin to a baking tray and bake for 30 minutes.

8. Using a tea towel to help you, carefully release the outer circle of the springform tin and return the pie to the oven for another 20–25 minutes, or until the sides are nicely coloured and everything is golden and bubbling. Leave to settle for 15 minutes.

9. Top the pie with the parsley and lemon zest and serve warm.

What to drink: I’d go for a crisp Italian white wine like a Falanghina with this though a not-too-fruity dry Alsace, Austrian or German riesling would work well too.

Extracted from Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Shelf Love by Noor Murad and Yotam Ottolenghi (Ebury Press, £25) All photography by Elena Heatherwick

Lemons filled with tuna cream

It may feel far from summery in the UK but one can always hope so get yourself into the mood with this lovely recipe from Eleonora Galasso's As the Romans Do.

Lemons filled with tuna cream
Limoni ripieni alla crema di tonno

Eleanora writes: In a favourable climate, lemon trees flower and bear fruit four times a year. Therefore this festive citrus dish can be found on our tables all year round. The creamy filling reminds me of the more famous Pesce Finto di Natale, but with the addition of mascarpone cheese. Italians like variations, after all, hardly ever sticking to a fixed plan. This luminous dish resonates with rural tradition, a nod to the little details that make life a marvellous journey. Bella la vita, eh?

Preparation time: 20 minutes plus chilling

Serves 4

4 large unwaxed lemons

180g (6oz) tinned tuna in olive oil, drained

2 teaspoons salted capers, rinsed

90g (3 1/4oz) mayonnaise

50g (1 3/4oz) mascarpone cheese

50g (1 3/4oz) pitted black olives

3 hard-boiled eggs, peeled

small handful of chives

small handful of dill fronds

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

pinch of salt

pinch of white pepper

pinch of chilli flakes

To garnish

1 tablespoon chopped chives

1 tablespoon chopped dill fronds

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

Halve the lemons lengthways.

Squeeze 4 tablespoons of juice out of one lemon and set this aside, then scoop out the pulp from all the lemons using a teaspoon. Remove and discard the seeds and put the lemon pulp and reserved juice in a food processor together with the rest of the ingredients. Blend together well to form a thick, creamy paste.

Use a spoon or a piping bag to fill the empty lemon halves, then scatter over the chopped herbs and dried oregano to finish. The filled lemons can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days until needed.

What to drink:
Lemon is quite hard to match with wine. I would choose something crisp and fresh but without too much of a powerful citrus flavour of its own like a Frascati, Falanghina or Greco di Tufo. Assyrtiko from Santorini would also work

This recipe comes from As the Romans Do: La Dolce Vita in a Cookbook by Eleonora Galasso, £25 Mitchell Beazley. Photograph © David Loftus