Devilled eggs

They may be retro but who doesn't secretly love a devilled egg? Here's how I make mine and some variations ...

Serves 8 as a starter

8 large eggs at room temperature

4 tbsp mayonnaise

1/4 tsp curry powder or a 1/2 tsp curry paste

1/8 tsp Worcestershire sauce

a few drops of Tabasco or a pinch of cayenne or chilli powder

2 tbsp finely snipped chives plus a few longer ones for decoration

2 Little Gem lettuces or the inner leaves of a round lettuce

Bring a small saucepan of water to the boil and carefully lower in the eggs. Bring back to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes then drain the eggs and run cold water over them. Leave until cool enough to handle.

Meanwhile separate the lettuce leaves and wash in cold water. Drain and dry.

Crack the eggs and carefully peel off the shell. Cut the eggs in half lengthways and ease the yolks into a bowl. Mash them and add the mayonnaise then season with a little curry powder or paste, a few drops of Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco or cayenne pepper and a little salt. Mix in the chopped chives.

Arrange the lettuce leaves on individual plates and arrange the halved egg whites on top. Spoon the seasoned egg yolks into the hollows in each egg white. Scatter a few longer lengths of chives over the top and serve as soon as possible. (The egg yolk mix will discolour if you leave it too long.)

There are a number of different ways of doing this depending on what you have to hand. Anything fishy works well with eggs so you could mix the yolks with a little anchovy paste, crab paté, mashed sardines or tuna or that Scandi-style salmon paste in a tube. (If you wanted to jazz it up you could top the eggs with a bit of salmon roe.) Or you could mix in some finely chopped ham and spike it up with a bit of English mustard. Good party eating too if you use smaller, medium-sized eggs

What to drink: A drier style of prosecco would work pretty well or try a Gavi di Gavi

Quick tiger prawns (shrimp) with pinot grigio, fresh tomato and basil sauce

It's always a struggle to think of something quick and delicious to make for a mid-week supper. This easy Italian-inspired recipe from my book Cooking With Wine solves the problem.

Serves 2

3 tablespoons of olive oil
200g/7oz raw fresh or frozen tiger prawns (shrimp)
1 small onion or 2 shallots, peeled and very finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, peeled and crushed
A small glass (about 100ml or half a cup) Pinot Grigio or other crisp dry white wine
4 medium sized or 2 large vine-ripened tomatoes (about 350g/12oz), peeled* and roughly chopped
6-8 basil leaves
Salt, sugar and freshly ground black pepper

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a frying pan or wok, add the prawns/shrimp and fry briefly until they turn pink. Remove them from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add the remaining oil to the pan and fry the chopped onion for a couple of minutes without browning. Add the garlic, stir then pour in the white wine and cook until it has almost evaporated. Add the tomatoes and their juice and cook for about 4-5 minutes, breaking them down with a fork or spatula to make a thick sauce.

Season to taste with salt, freshly ground black pepper and a small pinch of sugar. Roughly tear the basil leaves and stir them into the sauce. Return the prawns and any accumulated juices to the pan and heat through. Serve with rice and some peas or courgettes/zucchini.

Recommended wine match: the same wine you use to make the dish - a Pinot Grigio or other crisp dry white.

See also: Wine and seafood: the best pairings for prawns or shrimp

* to peel tomatoes make a cut in the skin with a small, sharp knife, put them in a heatproof bowl and cover with boiling water. Let them stand for a minute then drain and refresh with cold water. The skins should slip off easily.

A Caerphilly and leek toastie for St David's Day

Anyone who's lived around or visited Bristol in the last few years will know of the legendary Trethowan's Dairy toasties they used to sell* at St Nick's market. Here's the secret . . .

• 15g butter

• 1 finely chopped small leek

• 1 clove of garlic

• 1 finely chopped spring onion

• a scatter of finely chopped red onion

• 50g grated Gorwydd or other artisanal Caerphilly (use the rind too)

• 2 thin slices of sourdough (best when a couple of days old. The Trethowans used to use Tom Herbert's Shepherd's Loaf)

• a pinch or two of salt and a good grind of pepper

There are two ways of making this depending whether you've got a contact grill or not. Jess of Trethowan's Dairy suggests pre-cooking the leeks and onions:

Melt the butter in a pan over a medium heat, add the leeks and onions and soften. Take off the heat, mix in the cheese and season to taste. Grill the bread, rub over the the garlic then spread the cheese and leek mixture over each piece of toast. sandwich together.

An alternative way which keeps the veg slightly crunchier is to butter the outside of the two slices then fill them with the leek, onion and cheese mixture. Place the sandwich in a sandwich toaster, panini grill or other contact grill and cook until the cheese has melted.

I have also made them in a frying pan, browning the buttered sides of the sandwich then transferring the pan to the Aga to let the onion soften and the cheese go gooey.

* sadly they don't any more. But now you can make your own!

What to drink with a Caerphilly and leek toastie: A cider would be perfect!

For other leek pairings see here.

Apricot brandy pancakes

A simple and impressive recipe to serve for pancake day. Although apricots are obviously at their best in the summer you should be able to find imported ones from countries such as South Africa and Chile.

They tend to be a touch unripe which is where the apricot brandy comes in handy!

Serves 3-4

For the pancakes
110g plain flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 large fresh free-range eggs
275ml semi-skimmed milk
25g cooled melted butter + another 25g butter for greasing the pan and brushing the pancakes
Icing sugar

For the apricot filling
500g fresh apricots
3 heaped tbsp soft set apricot jam, preferably unsweetened
4 tbsp apricot brandy + extra to serve
Lemon juice to taste (optional)

You will also need a medium sized pancake pan

First make the batter. Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl. Make a hollow in the centre. Beat the eggs lightly with the milk then add 25g cool melted butter. Gradually pour into the flour stirring all the time and beat well with a wooden spoon. (Or make the batter in a food processor or blender) Set the batter aside for half an hour while you make the filling.

Halve and stone the apricots and cut into small chunks. Put in a saucepan with the apricot jam and apricot brandy, cover with a lid and cook until the apricots are soft but still holding their shape. Check for sweetness adding a little lemon juice if you want them sharper or a splash more apricot brandy if they need sweetening and set aside.

Beat the pancake batter again. Heat a pancake pan until hot, add a small chunk of butter and rub it round the pan with some scrunched up kitchen towel. Scoop out a small cup or ladleful of batter and tip it into the pan swirling it round quickly so the whole base of the pan is covered with batter.Cook for about 30 seconds till the edges begin to brown then flip over with a palette knife or spatula and cook the other side. Stack the pancakes on a plate as you make them interleaved with sheets of greaseproof paper so they don’t stick.

Heat the oven to 190°C/375°F/Gas 5. Butter a shallow ovenproof dish. Fill each pancake with a tablespoon of the apricot filling and roll up or fold into four. Arrange the filled pancakes in the dish and brush with the remaining melted butter. Bake for 10-15 minutes until the pancakes are hot through and the tops crispy. Sift over a little icing sugar. You could serve the pancakes with an extra splash of apricot brandy and a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Suggested match: I created these to go with an apricot or peach-flavoured beer but you could also serve a dessert wine such as a southern French muscat or a Jurançon with them.

For other wine matching suggestions read What's the best pairing for pancakes?

Image © Natasha Breen - Fotolia.com though is not of the actual recipe - just like it!