Seamus Mullen's kale salad with apple, toasted pecans and yoghurt and dill vinaigrette

I've never really 'got' kale but this delicious salad would convert anybody. AND it's healthy too!

I've added some notes about how they've adapted the recipe at Mullen's restaurant Sea Containers. Given that fresh herbs are scarce and expensive at this time of year you might also want to cut back on the number you use (apart from the dill).

Kale salad, apple, toasted pecans and yogurt and dill vinaigrette

Serves 4

1 bunch Cavalo Nero, Dinosaur kale or Tuscan kale

A handful of dandelion leaves if available

1 oz spiced, caramelized pecans*

1 apple, thinly sliced (they used Golden Delicious, apparently)

1 small serrano chile, sliced as thinly as possible

1/2 an avocado, cut into 1/2” pieces

2 oz yogurt and dill vinaigrette (see below)

a good handful of fresh herbs - Mullen recommends cilantro (coriander), basil, dill and mint. Gus, his sous chef, used chives, parsley and chervil

For the yogurt and dill vinaigrette:

1/2 cup (4 fl oz) full fat yogurt or kefir

1 clove garlic, grated

6 tbsp fresh dill

zest and juice 1 lemon

1 tbsp champagne or moscatel vinegar

1 tsp honey

1 cup (8 fl oz) extra virgin olive oil

salt

fresh ground pepper

Combine all ingredients except oil, whisk together, then drizzle in oil until emulsified.

Process

Strip the leaves off the stalks and cut the kale into a paper thin chiffonade. Combine all the ingredients, season with salt and pepper and plate in a small bowl (see above. (I suspect you need to let it rest for half an hour or so to soften as you do a slaw.) Garnish with fresh herbs and fresh cracked pepper.

* in the recipe Mullen says "toasted in brown butter, tossed in sugar, cayenne, ground coriander and sea salt" but his chef Gus says he dips the nuts in whisked egg white, rolls them in a mixture of onion and garlic powder, cayenne, curry powder, salt and turmeric then roasts them briefly at 165°C. Or use any spiced nuts recipe you like. Or buy them ready made.

What to drink: I found an Austrian grüner veltliner paired very well with this but so would an apple juice. (See my pairings for kale).

Obviously the picture at the top of the page looks more stylish but yours - and mine - will look more like the dressed salad in the bowl.

Carrot and beetroot borscht

New year tends to mean two things - frugal living and healthy eating - and this recipe my eldest daughter Jo devised when she was a student ticks both boxes. Best, of course, with organic veg if you can get hold of them.

Serves 4

3 tbsp organic sunflower or organic rapeseed oil
4 rashers of smoked streaky bacon, finely chopped
1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 medium carrots (about 175-200g), well scrubbed or peeled and grated
3 medium beetroot (about 300-350g), peeled
1 fresh tomato, skinned and roughly chopped (optional but good)
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme leaves or 1/2 tsp dried thyme
750ml vegetable stock mixed with about 1/2 tsp brown miso or, at a pinch, Marmite
a handful of beet greens, washed and shredded
salt, freshly ground black pepper and sugar or vinegar to taste

Heat 2 tbsp of the oil in a large saucepan or casserole and fry the bacon for a few minutes until the fat begins to run. Stir in the onion, turn the heat down, cover and cook for 4-5 minutes then add the remaining oil and the grated carrot, pop a lid on the pan and continue to cook over a low heat. Halve the beetroot, slice thinly then slice across into short batons. Tip the beetroot and tomato, if using, into the other vegetables, stir, add the thyme and continue to cook for another 5 minutes. Add the stock and bring to the boil then cook until the vegetables are soft (about 20 minutes). Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add a little sugar if you feel it needs it or a few drops of vinegar if you think it needs sharpening up. Add the shredded greens, cook for a couple more minutes and serve. Good with rye or sourdough bread or crispbread spread with a soft cheese like Quark or goats cheese

What to drink: Assuming you've given up booze for a few days I'd go for water or a dry-ish apple juice. Otherwise a nicely chilled pilsner would be perfect

Rabbit stifado

A robust, winey stew from Rebecca Seal's mouthwatering new book, The Islands of Greece which immediately makes you want to jump on a plane and fly off there. Top tip about cooking rabbit too.

Rebecca writes: "Stifado is a wonderful Greek stew that is always made with lots of tiny onions and sometimes with tomato; this version is rich and aromatic with spices but if you prefer a sharper flavour, add half a can of chopped tomatoes after the wine.

Rabbit can take anything from one to three hours to cook, depending on the age of the rabbit and whether it is wild or not, so, sometimes it might be best to cook it in advance and reheat it to serve. Stifado can also be made with chicken, game birds, even goat or venison, if you prefer. Serve with lemon, garlic and herb-roasted potatoes (also in the book) and a green salad with a sharp dressing, to cut through the richness."

Serves 4

olive oil to cook

1 whole rabbit, skinned and jointed, without offal

15 small onions

6 garlic cloves

1 tablespoon tomato purée (paste)

250 ml (8½ fl oz/1 cup) red wine

1 teaspoon red wine vinegar

1 bay leaf

3 cm (1¼ in) cinnamon stick

leaves from ½ sprig of rosemary, finely chopped

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

salt

Preheat the oven to 160ºC (325°F/Gas 3).

In a large ovenproof pan with a lid, warm 1 tablespoon of olive oil over a high heat. Place half the rabbit pieces into the pan and brown thoroughly, then remove from the pan and set aside. Do the same with the other half. Add the onions and garlic and fry for 3 minutes, stirring, just long enough for them to get a little colour.

Add the tomato purée and cook for 2 minutes, stirring again. Add the red wine and deglaze the pan: let the wine bubble and stir, scraping up any burnt on bits from the base and sides. Add the vinegar, bay leaf, cinnamon stick and rosemary, stir, then return the meat to the pan.

Add 500 ml (17 fl oz/2¼ cups) of hot water and the pepper, plus a generous grinding of salt. Bring to the boil, cover and place in the oven. Cook for 1 hour, then check to see if the meat is becoming tender; if not, return to the oven for 30 minutes. Continue to check every 30 minutes until the meat is falling off the bones; this may take as long as 3 hours.

When the meat is tender, remove the pan from the oven. Take the meat out of the pan and set aside. Remove and discard the cinnamon. Place the pan over a medium heat and reduce the liquid left in the pan until thickened and saucy (this may not need to be done if the meat has been in the oven for a very long time).

What to drink: As Rebecca does the drinks slot for Channel 4's Sunday Brunch I asked her for her recommendations with this dish. She suggested the 2008 Little Ark 'dry red', and the Emery Estate Zacosta Amorgiano, also 2008 from Rhodes but says she doesn't think they're available in the UK. Or any robust Greek red - try the 'Red on Black' Agiorgitiko from Marks & Spencer. (Southern Italian reds, I think, would work well too FB)

Recipe extracted from The Islands of Greece by Rebecca Seal (Hardie Grant, £25.00) Photography © Steven Joyce

Signe Johansen’s Oatmeal Waffles

If ever a bit of hygge was needed it’s this week so what better way to cheer yourself up than to bunker down with a few delicious Norwegian style waffles from my friend Signe Johansen’s lovely new book How to Hygge.

Sig writes: Who doesn’t love a waffle? In the Nordic countries they’re traditionally made in heart-shaped irons that not only look pretty but are also ideal for sharing.

An update on the classic sour cream and vanilla waffles you find in Norway these have a nutty flavour thanks to the light toasting of oats before you blend them into a finer oatmeal. They make an excellent mid-afternoon fika too.

Serves 4-6

150g porridge oats

350g refined spelt flour (or use a sprouted version if you want a nuttier, wholegrain flavour)

1 tsp baking powder

100g caster sugar

1/2 tsp sea salt

150g butter, melted, plus extra for greasing

100ml water

250g crème fraîche or sour cream

200ml oat milk (or whole milk)

4 medium eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 170°C/gas 3. Spread the oats on a baking tray or in an ovenproof dish and put in the oven for 10 minutes or until the oats start to smell nutty and turn a slightly darker colour. Remove and allow to cool for a few minutes before placing half in a blender and blitzing to make a fine oat flour.

Next sift the dry ingredients including the oat flour into a large mixing bowl. Stir in the toasted oats. Make a well in the middle and add the liquid ingredients. Using a large whisk stir well until you have a thick batter - it should take a couple of seconds to drop from the whisk.

Set the batter aside for at least 30 minutes to allow the starch cells in the flour to swell. This will help thicken the batter and produce better waffles. Spread a little butter over both the top and bottom of your waffle iron and heat, following the manufacturer’s instructions.

Once it’s hot place a ladleful of batter in the iron before closing. The waffles will look golden brown and crisp when they’re ready. Flick them out of the iron with a palate knife and serve with a topping of your choice. (In the picture Sig is spooning over a red Fruits of the Forest compote, the recipe for which is also in the book but I’m not going to give it to you to encourage you to go out and buy it. Which you should anyway!)

Tip: If you’re not cooking the waffles at a table with your family and friends, preheat the oven to low so that you can keep them warm until you’re ready to serve everyone.

Extracted from How to Hygge: the Secrets of Nordic Living £14.99 Bluebird Books Photograph © Keiko Oikawa