Simon Hopkinson's Oysters Rockefeller

I've always been intrigued by Oysters Rockefeller, described by the great Simon Hopkinson as "the best hot oyster dish I know". Here's his recipe.

"Why oysters Rockefeller is quite so good lies in the perfectly chosen ingredients which marry so well with the unique taste of an oyster" Hopkinson writes. "The transformation from the natural, raw oyster (delicious in itself, of course) to the warmed oyster (never too hot) is critical. Buttery creamed spinach, tarragon, parsley, the essential pastis (Pernod, here) and softened shallot and celery. The aniseed flavours have always been key; pastis added to creamed spinach, for instance, absolutely makes that particular dish sing out loud."

SERVES 2

12 rock oysters, shucked

FOR THE ROCKEFELLER PURÉE:

250g young spinach leaves

10g parsley leaves

100g unsalted butter, softened

1 large stick of celery, peeled and chopped

1 small shallot, chopped

20ml Pernod

the leaves from 3–4 sprigs of tarragon

several shakes of Tabasco sauce

¼ tsp salt

a handful of fresh breadcrumbs

Fill a pan with water and bring to the boil. Plunge in the spinach and parsley, bring back to the boil then drain in a colander. Immediately refresh in iced water until cold. Squeeze as dry as possible between two hands until no more liquid seeps out. Set aside.

Melt 25g of the butter in a small frying pan, gently fry the celery and shallot until softened then add the Pernod, allowing it to bubble a little. Cool briefly, then scrape into the bowl of a small food processor. Add the cooked spinach and parsley, tarragon, Tabasco, salt and the remaining 75g of butter. Purée until very smooth and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 220°C/gas mark 7.

Tip off any excess juice from the opened oysters and, using a small palette knife, completely cover each oyster with a generous coating of the spinach purée. Strew a baking dish (or deep metal pan) with coarse salt, to allow the oysters to sit neatly. Distribute a fine showering of breadcrumbs over the oysters and bake in the oven on the top shelf. Cook for 8–10 minutes or until the breadcrumbs have become slightly toasted. Serve without delay.

What to drink: Not the easiest dish to match with wine. I asked Simon for his view and his suggested a white Rhone ("Fonsalette would be very special, if one can afford it." My own choice, I think, would be a brut nature style of champagne - i.e. one with no or a very low dosage or a premier cru Chablis though I'm sure a Sancerre, Pouilly Fumé or other minerally style of Sauvignon Blanc would be fine."

This recipe comes from Simon Hopkinson Cooks which is published by Ebury Press at £25. Photograph © Jason Lowe.

Celeriac, leek, chestnut and cranberry pies

If you're vegetarian - or catering for one - you expect more than the Christmas sides while everyone else tucks into the turkey. This delicious pie from Rachel Demuth of Demuths Cookery School in Bath fits the bill perfectly.

Celeriac, leek, chestnut and cranberry pies

Makes: 1 large 20cm pie or 4 individual pies using large (100ml) ramekins or 3 7.5cm/3 inch metal rings

For the pastry:

• 300g plain flour
• 150g butter (or margarine if vegan)
• 1 tsp wholegrain mustard
• A little water as needed
• Milk to glaze
• Olive oil to rub the pie tin

Filling:

• 1 leek, sliced
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1 small celeriac, peeled and cubed into 1 cm cubes
• 100g pre-cooked chestnuts
• A small glass of white wine or dry sherry
• A handful of chopped sage and thyme
• Salt and pepper to taste
• A squeeze of lemon juice
• Rapeseed oil to cook
• 4 tbsp cranberry sauce – either homemade or shop bought
• Optional extras: grated cheddar or vegetarian Parmesan cheese, cubes of Brie or Stilton, a splash of cream

1. Preheat oven to Gas mark 6/200°C

2. Put the flour and butter into a bowl (or a food processor) and rub (or whiz) until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add the mustard and stir in well, or whiz, until the mixture forms a ball. If the mixture is too dry add a little water until it comes together easily. Wrap the pastry in cling-film and leave in the fridge to chill for at least an half an hour. (This can be left overnight and will keep for 3 days in the fridge or 3 months in the freezer.)

3. Split the pastry into the number of pies you want to make and then take about 2/3 of each ball to make the pie case - the rest is for making the lid. Roll out the larger ball of pastry out to a thickness of 2mm with a rolling pin. Rub the inside of the ramekins or rings with olive oil and push the pastry gently into the dish so that it goes into all of the edges and hangs over the top. Trim off the overhang to 1cm below the top of the ramekin (the pastry will shrink when cooking). You will be left with extra pastry for topping the pies later. Wrap this in cling-film so it doesn’t dry out.

4. Bake the pastry cases blind (without their filling) for 10 minutes – if you have some you can use baking beans on a piece of greaseproof paper. Remove the beans and paper and return to the oven for 5 minutes-the pastry should look dry; if it is wet return it to the oven for a further 5 minutes.

For the filling:

1. Heat a large saucepan and 2 tbsp of rapeseed or vegetable oil. Add the leeks and gently cook, with the lid on, for 10 minutes, checking that the leeks aren’t colouring as you cook.

2. Add the garlic and celeriac and raise the temperature. Fry the celeriac until it is starting to turn golden around the edges. Add the chestnuts, wine and herbs and stir well. If you want to add a splash of cream and/or cheese add it now.

3. Cook for 10 minutes or until the celeriac is just cooked. You may need to add a splash of water or wine to stop it from drying out. Taste and add salt, pepper, lemon juice and more herbs to your taste

To assemble the pies:

1. Carefully divide the filling mixture between the pastry cases (any leftovers are great to serve as a side dish or keep to eat the next day) make a hole in the middle of the filling and fill with a spoonful of cranberry sauce, then push the celeriac filling over the top of the cranberry.

2. Brush the top edge of the pastry with olive oil. Roll out the remaining pastry and place over the top of the ramekins. Press the edges securely and press a fork around the edges to seal.

3. Using a sharp knife trim off the cooked overhang and the uncooked pastry top neatly.

4. If you like you can decorate the pies with shapes such as stars, holly or whatever cutters you have or shapes you can cut with a knife. Stick these on with a little water and glaze the top of the pie with soya milk.

5. Bake for 15 minutes until the top of the pies are golden (or for 45 mins at 180° if you're making a single large pie). If you want to freeze or reheat the pies don’t overcook them at this stage, if you are eating them straight away bake for a further 5 minutes or a little longer for a whole pie. Allow to cool slightly and then carefully turn out the pies.

What to drink: Fortunately you can pair much the same type of wine with this pie as others in the family may be drinking with the turkey: a creamy chardonnay or a Rhône or Rhône-style blend of syrah, grenache and mourvèdre would both work well

Demuths is the centre of Bath at 6 Terrace Walk, BA1 1LN. Tel: +44 (0)1225 427938

Fridge-raid tortilla sandwiches

You might think that as tortilla generally has carbs of its own it doesn’t need to be stuffed between two slices of bread. Wrong! The Spanish do it so why shouldn’t the rest of us? Particularly if you have leftovers to use up.

This was based on some amazingly fragrant peppers we bought in the market at Arles a couple of days ago (for 99 cents a kilo!). Add some fried onion, a few slices of chorizo and some eggs and you’ve got a great filling to stuff into a baguette or roll. Or even a pitta bread. Perfect student food for those who have just gone up to uni for the first time.

You can vary it endlessly depending on what’s in the fridge although I’d say that onion - and, some would say, potato - was essential. Ham or bacon instead of chorizo, a bit of crumbled up feta, some chopped herbs - feel free. Just make it a bit thinner than you would a normal tortilla.

Serves 2-3 - or 1 if you’re utterly starving (leftovers will keep in the fridge till the next day)

4 tbsp olive oil + extra for drizzling

1 large mild sweet onion, peeled and thinly sliced

2 green peppers - preferably like these small tasty ones on the right - de-seeded and sliced. (You can find them in middle-eastern and Turkish greengrocers)

About 50-75g sliced chorizo

4 large eggs, lightly beaten and seasoned with salt and pepper

a baguette or ciabatta loaf

Heat a medium-to-large frying pan over a moderate heat, add 3 tbsp oil and start frying the onion. As it softens add the sliced peppers and chorizo and fry until the veg start to brown (about 5 minutes).

Add the eggs, cook for a minute then lift the edges of the tortilla to let any uncooked egg run to the bottom of the pan. Leave for 3-4 minutes or so then invert a large plate over the pan and tip the tortilla onto the plate. Add another tbsp of oil, slide the tortilla back into the pan, cook for another minute then turn off the heat. Leave for 8-10 minutes if you can bear it then cut into thick strips and tuck into a split baguette or a couple of rolls. Drizzle over a little extra olive oil or a dollop of aioli. A few fresh basil leaves wouldn't go amiss either.

What to drink: Well probably anything you've got to hand but a glass of Spanish or southern French red would hit the spot nicely

For more recipe inspiration buy my Ultimate Student Cookbook here.

Buckwheat galettes with spinach béchamel

Although you can find any kind of recipe online these days nothing beats a beautiful cookbook and the new Fern Verrow book by Herefordshire farmers Jane Scotter and Harry Astley is one you're definitely going to want to own.

This recipe comes from the spring section and it's good to be reminded what a delicious meal pancakes can make.

Scotter and Astley write: The nutty taste of buckwheat flour is key for these traditional French savoury pancakes. There are many different fillings, but we particularly like this one.

Serves 4

125g buckwheat flour

50g plain flour

a pinch of sea salt

1 egg

175ml milk

175ml water

25g butter, melted

For the spinach béchamel

500g spinach, tough stalks

removed

500ml milk

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 bay leaf

a little grated nutmeg

40g butter

40g plain flour

150ml double cream

100g Comté or Gruyère cheese,

grated

sea salt and black pepper

Put the buckwheat flour, plain flour and salt into a mixing bowl and make a well in the centre. Break the egg into the well and whisk while you slowly add the milk and water. Keep whisking out any lumps as you gradually draw all the flour into the liquid. When the batter is smooth, stir in the melted butter. If you can, allow the batter to sit in the fridge for half an hour before you cook the galettes.

Meanwhile, prepare the spinach béchamel. Bring some salted water to the boil in the largest pan you have. When it is boiling rapidly, immerse the spinach in it for 30 seconds, using a pair of tongs to dunk the leaves so that they all soften. Drain the spinach through a colander and run some cold water over it until it is cool enough to handle. Squeeze out as much of the moisture as you can, then chop it up and set aside.

Put the milk, onion, bay leaf and nutmeg into a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat and leave to infuse for 20 minutes or so. Then, in another saucepan, melt the butter and stir in the flour to make a roux. Cook the roux over a gentle heat for a minute or two, stirring with a wooden spoon, until it starts to brown and smell nutty, then gradually strain the infused milk into it, whisking until the sauce thickens. Simmer for a few minutes, then add the cream and simmer for a minute or two longer.

Remove from the heat and stir in half the grated cheese plus the chopped spinach. Season to taste and set aside.

Next cook the galettes. Heat a 20cm frying pan or pancake pan over a medium heat and use a wad of paper towel to rub a little butter around it. Ladle in about 2 tablespoons of the batter, quickly lifting and tilting the pan to spread the batter evenly. Once the underside of the galette is brown, flip it over and cook for a minute or so longer, then transfer to a plate. Repeat the process, adjusting the heat and the cooking time until you find a good rhythm.

You can pile the galettes on top of each other as they’re done; they will not stick. You should have 8–10 galettes altogether.

Heat the oven to 190°C/Gas Mark 5 and lightly butter a baking tray. Place a heaped tablespoon of the spinach béchamel in the centre of each galette and spread it out a little. Fold the galette in half and then in half again, so you end up with a triangle. Arrange the parcels snugly on the baking tray, add any remaining filling and sprinkle the remaining grated cheese on top. Bake for 10–15 minutes, until thoroughly heated through. Serve with a green salad.

What to drink: I prefer white wines to red with spinach and would probably go for a Chablis or a dry Italian white such as a Gavi

From Fern Verrow: a year of recipes from a farm and its kitchen by Jane Scotter and Harry Astley. Photography by Tess Traeger. Published by Quadrille at £25. You can buy their produce from the Spa Terminus in Bermondsey every Saturday. For more information visit fernverrow.com