ANDREW PERN of the The Star Inn The City in York suggest three light recipes perfect for lunch or snacking

WHILE winter warmers are nice at this time of year, sometimes the occasion calls a lighter option, such as lunch for the ‘ladies who’.

The good thing with the lighter, simpler options, is that you might even squeeze in an extra dish and as I wouldn’t want to cheat you, I have three recipes for you this month.

The first is an update on the Seventies classic, prawn cocktail, (which we serve at our The Star Inn The City in York) while the second is nursery food at its best – even better served in a Humpty Dumpty egg cup but with proper grown-up crab sandwich soldiers to dunk in!

The third would be a nice snack, starter or savoury. Byland Blue is one of the nicest cheeses Judy Bell makes at the Shepherd’s Purse Dairy at Newsham Grange near Thirsk. With deep-flavoured York Ham, peppery Pickering watercress, chutney and figs, it’s like a posh Ploughman’s.


Posh prawn cocktail

Serves four

Ingredients

180g hot-smoked salmon, cut into wedges

300g cooked peeled prawns dressed in Marie Rose sauce

Soft herb salad leaves including chervil

For the pea purée:

200g frozen peas

40ml double cream

40g butter

5g mint, chopped

Seasoning

For the Bloody Mary dressing: (alternatively, use ready-made Bloody Mary sorbet)

1tbsp tomato purée

25ml vodka

A few drops of Tabasco

To garnish:

Sprigs of dill

A little Avruga caviar

Method:

First make the purée by bringing the cream to the boil and dropping in the butter and stirring until combined. Cook the peas until tender and drain well. Cool slightly and purée in a food processor until smooth. Add to the cream mixture with the fresh mint, check seasoning. Hold at room temperature.

To make the Bloody Mary dressing, combine the tomato purée, vodka and Tabasco, adjusting quantities to taste.

Place some of the purée into the bottom of a Martini glass or similar, then add a mixture of different coloured and textured soft salad leaves and arrange the prawns on the top with 3 salmon wedges per glass. Drizzle the Bloody Mary dressing over the top (or add a swirl of Bloody Mary sorbet, if using) with a little Avruga caviar and dill for garnish.


Soft-boiled Reggie’s duck egg with a toasted white crab ‘sandwich’

Serves: two

Ingredients

100g unsalted butter

5g mace blade, ground

50g brown shrimp, peeled

5g dill, chopped

2 slices brown bread

50g white crab meat

Zest of half a lime

10g cucumber, finely diced

2 tbsp mayonnaise

2 duck eggs

A sprinkling of celery salt

Seasoning

Method

First make the crab sandwich, by adding the lime zest and cucumber to the crab meat and binding together with the mayonnaise. Toast the bread and cut to rectangular shapes. Season the crab mixture to taste.

Add the mace blade and butter to a pan and clarify, add the shrimps at the last minute along with the dill.

Drop the duck eggs into boiling water and cook low to simmer for approximately eight minutes. Remove from the water and serve with the sandwich, shrimp butter and celery salt.

 

Salad of air-dried York Ham with figs and Byland Blue and spiced quince chutney

(Serves one)

Ingredients

3 slices of York Ham (or similar cured)

½ fresh fig (cut into thirds)

3 small wedges of Byland Blue

3 teaspoons of quince chutney

1 teaspoon vinaigrette

Salt and pepper

Watercress (1/2 bunch)

A few 1cm dice croutons

Garnish herbs

For the spiced quince chutney:

2kg quince (peel & dice approx 1cm)

1 teaspoon of ground mixed spice

1 glass port

1 litre red wine vinegar

1 bunch thyme

750g demerara sugar

Method: Place ingredients into a suitable sized thick-bottomed pan, reduce down to coating consistency and leave to cool. Use as required.

For the salad: Arrange three slices of air-dried ham at triangular interludes on the plate. In between these, put Byland Blue, spoon a little chutney around. Dress the watercress, season, then add the croutons, mix gently, then place into the centre of the ham and cheese. Serve immediately.