Darina Allen: The meals in minutes I will be making until the new year
Stocking your store cupboard is the key to easy living between now and new year.
Today, I’m thinking about what to rustle up for the unexpected guests who pop by from time to time over Christmas — or, these days, people we meet up with outdoors. A well-stocked pantry is of course the key:
My brilliant standbys are smoked Irish salmon, tuna, sardines, artisan farmhouse cheeses, pickles and relishes, and frozen and fresh pasta.
Arborio rice for a spontaneous risotto, chicken liver p â te to slather on pan-grilled bread, water biscuits, pistachios, pizza bases, charcuterie, chorizo, nduja, cooked ham, eggs, of course, a large pot of natural Jersey yoghurt, and some raw local honey and cream.
A bag of meringues and a pot of ‘delicious over everything’ — a mixture of mildly boozy dried fruit and nuts that keeps for months in your fridge, awesome to scatter over ice-cream, meringues, crêpes, yoghurt, rice pudding…
A few winter vegetable soups, frozen in two-person containers are another of my ‘go to’ standbys... They defrost in a few minutes and can be jazzed up with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, a sprinkling of seeds and a few fresh herbs.
Freeze a few slices of fresh natural sourdough, great to toast or pan grill, as a base for all manner of tasty toppings. Who doesn’t love a toastie perked up with some spicy mustard?
My other top tip is to weigh up the dry ingredients for white soda bread, crumpets, pancakes and popovers minus the raising agent which can be added with the liquid at a moment’s notice.
Teeny weeny scones take 7 or 8 minutes to cook in a hot oven and you can be tossing crumpets and pancakes on the pan within minutes. Then coarsely chop a few nuts, whip out a jar of that salted caramel sauce, maybe slice a banana and pile them on top for a little spontaneous feast.
I’d also have a few really quick pasta sauces up your sleeve. Frozen pasta, or for that matter any fettuccini, cooks in minutes and who doesn’t love pasta. I’m never without a couple of pots of fresh or frozen tomato fondue. It’s one of my ‘great convertibles’, a sauce for pasta or chicken breast, a filling for an omelette, topping for pizza…
Little tartlets or vol-au-vents made with all-butter puff pastry also merit a place in the pantry. I love to fill tartlets with a blob of goat cheese, a few rounds of kumquat compote and a peppery rocket leaf — Christmassy and delicious. A fat prawn and a dollop of dill mayo is also delicious. A few retro mushroom vol-au-vents will also disappear in no time so have a pot of mushroom ‘a la crème in your fridge or freezer. Another great convertible and a delicious sauce to slather over steak or lamb chop or burgers. Even simpler but equally delicious, Mushrooms on Toast anyone?
I adore sardines on toast or waffles with a big dollop of mayo or horseradish cream but ever since my trip to Portugal I’ve been making a super quick sardine p â t é — just whizz up the sardines with some soft butter, a little mustard and some chopped parsley or dill if you have it.
All made in minutes: just a few suggestions so you’ll be relaxed and prepared doesn’t matter who or how many unexpected visitors you need to welcome. Chill out, pour yourself a glass of fizz. Have fun and enjoy.
David Tanis’s Pasta Cacio e Pepe
This delicious version of Cacio e Pepe, one of my all-time favourite pasta dishes comes from one of my all-time favourite cooks David Tanis
Servings
2Cooking Time
12 minsTotal Time
12 minsCourse
MainIngredients
225g linguine
2 tbsp butter
½ tsp coarse ground black pepper
175g pecorino
Method
Cook the linguine extra al dente (this is crucial) in well-salted water.
Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat and add the black pepper.
Drain the pasta and add to the pan, along with 110ml (4fl oz) of pasta water and a good pinch of salt. Stir constantly, keeping the liquid at a rapid simmer; the pasta will begin to wilt in the sauce and absorb liquid. Cook for about 2 minutes, stirring, until most of the liquid has been absorbed.
Turn off the heat,add the grated pecorino, and stir until the pasta is coated with the creamy sauce. Adjust the seasoning to taste. Enjoy immediately...
Delicious over everything
This spiced fruit relish keeps for months and is, as the title says, delicious over everything. It will even perk up porridge, rice and is gorgeous over ice cream, panna cotta, pancakes or crumpets. Try it with cold ham
Cooking Time
5 minsTotal Time
5 minsCourse
SideIngredients
50g (2oz) yellow raisins
50g (2oz) muscatel raisins
50g (2oz) currants
50g (2oz) dried apricots, sliced into pieces
50ml (2fl oz) port and 50ml (2fl oz) of sherry
25g (1oz) almonds, peeled and split
150g (5oz) sugar
150ml (5fl oz) water
1 Ceylon cinnamon stick
1 star anise
4 cardamom pods
25g (1oz) candied peel, chopped
Method
Cover the dried fruit with warm port and sherry. Allow to soak and plump up overnight. Add the split almonds.
Put the sugar and water into a saucepan, add the cinnamon, star anise and cracked cardamom pods. Bring to the boil and simmer for 3-4 minutes or until the syrup thickens. Add the soaked fruit to the syrup with the chopped candied peel. Bubble for 2 or 3 minutes.
Fill into sterilised glass jars, cover with a screw cap. Keeps for 6 months or more.
Kumquat Compôte
A gem of a recipe, this compôte can be served as a dessert or as an accompaniment to roast duck, goose or glazed ham. Also delicious with goat’s cheese or yoghurt
Servings
6Preparation Time
5 minsCooking Time
5 minsTotal Time
10 minsCourse
SideIngredients
235g (8 1/2 oz) kumquats
200ml (7fl oz) water
110g (4oz) sugar
Method
Slice the kumquats thinly into four or five round slices depending on size. Remove the seeds.
Put the kumquats into a saucepan with the water and sugar and let them cook very gently, covered, for half an hour or until tender. If they accidentally overcook or become too dry, add a little water and bring back to the boil for one minute — they should be crystallised but slightly juicy.
Serve warm or cold. This compote keeps for weeks in the fridge.
Creamy mushroom sauce
This creamy mushroom sauce is a ‘must have’ in your fridge. It’s a brilliant sauce for a juicy steak, chicken breast or piece of grilled fish or toss it into a vegetable gratin — I particularly love it with leek and potato
Servings
4Preparation Time
5 minsCooking Time
15 minsTotal Time
20 minsCourse
SideIngredients
15-25g (1/2-1oz) butter
75g (3oz) onion, finely chopped
225g (8oz) mushrooms, sliced (flats have best flavour)
110ml (4fl oz) cream
1 teaspoon freshly-chopped parsley
½ tablespoon freshly-chopped chives (optional)
a squeeze of lemon juice
Salt and pepper
Roux:
110g (4oz) butter
110g (4oz) flour
Method
First make the roux. Melt the butter and cook the flour in it for 2 minutes on a low heat, stirring occasionally. Use as required. Roux can be stored in a cool place and used as required or it can be made up on the spot if preferred. It will keep at least a fortnight in a refrigerator.
Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan until it foams. Add the chopped onions, cover and sweat on a gentle heat for 5-10 minutes or until quite soft but not coloured. Meanwhile cook the sliced mushrooms in a little butter, in a hot frying pan in batches if necessary.
Season each batch with salt, freshly ground pepper and a tiny squeeze of lemon juice. Add the mushrooms to the onions in the saucepan, then add the cream and allow to bubble for a few minutes. Thicken with a little roux to a light coating consistency. Taste and correct the seasoning and add parsley and chives if used.
Hot Tips
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