COMFORT AND JOY

Oyster and seafood pie with samphire (pictured above)

Serves 4-6

140g unsalted butter
2 heaped tbsp plain flour
600ml double cream
350ml champagne 
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
500g salmon, boneless and skinless, cut into chunks
400g smoked haddock, boneless and skinless, cut into chunks
1kg cooked lobster, shelled and cut into chunks 
8 oysters, shucked 
350g raw king prawns, shelled and deveined 
100g samphire 
1kg white potatoes, peeled and coarsely grated 
3 egg yolks 
200g frozen peas

Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/ gas mark 7.

Put 75g of the butter into a saucepan and heat until melted, then add the flour and cook for 2 minutes until thickened and light golden-brown.

Add the cream gradually, whisking all the time, and cook until thickened and smooth. Pour the champagne in a steady stream into the sauce, still whisking all the time, until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, then season to taste with salt and pepper.

Place the salmon, smoked haddock, lobster, oysters, prawns and samphire in a large ovenproof dish. Pour the sauce over the top to coat everything.

Put the grated potato into a clean tea towel and squeeze all the liquid from it. Place in a bowl. Melt 50g of the remaining butter in a saucepan, then mix with the potato and egg yolks and plenty of salt and black pepper.

Sprinkle over the top of the fish, then place on a baking sheet in the oven and bake for 30 minutes until golden and hot through.

Bring a pan of salted water to the boil, add the peas and cook for 2-3 minutes until tender. Drain and return to the pan, add the remaining butter and season to taste. Serve with the fish pie.

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Scotch egg with homemade Vegetable crisps

Serves 4


6 medium eggs
400g Lincolnshire sausages, skin discarded 
50g plain flour, seasoned salt and freshly ground black pepper 
100g fresh breadcrumbs
1 large sweet potato, peeled and finely sliced on a mandolin
2 medium potatoes, peeled and finely sliced on a mandolin 
2 raw beetroots, finely sliced on a mandolin
2 carrots, cut into fine slices with a peeler 
1 jar of piccalilli, to serve

Heat a deep-fat fryer to 160C/320F.

Put 4 eggs into a pan of boiling water and simmer for 5 minutes until soft-boiled. Drain and place in a bowl of iced water for 10 minutes until cold. Crack the shells, then peel.

Crack the remaining 2 eggs into a bowl and beat lightly. Divide the sausage meat into four equal portions and wrap each piece around a soft-boiled egg, pressing gently but firmly to ensure the meat covers the egg completely. Roll first in the seasoned flour, then in the beaten egg and finally in the breadcrumbs. Set aside in the fridge for 30 minutes to chill, then reshape slightly to ensure the meat clings tightly around the egg.

Drop them into the fat fryer and cook for 7-8 minutes until golden and the meat is cooked through. Drain on kitchen paper and set aside while you cook the crisps.

Drop the sliced vegetables into the fryer in batches and cook for 2-3 minutes until cooked through and golden. Drain on kitchen paper and season with salt and pepper.

Cut the Scotch eggs in half and serve with piccalilli and the vegetable crisps.

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Lemon posset with figs, strawberries and Gran’s shortbreads

Serves 4-6


For the posset
600ml double cream
150g caster sugar 
2 large lemons, zested and juiced 
8 strawberries
2 figs, cut into wedges 
Tiny mint sprigs to garnish

For the shortbread
175g plain flour
90g icing sugar
60g ground almonds 
25g cornflour
250g unsalted butter, cubed 
200g strawberry jam

First make the posset. Bring the cream and sugar to the boil in a saucepan, then remove from the heat and whisk in the lemon zest and juice. Whisk well, then pour into serving bowls and place in the fridge to set for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4.

To make the shortbread, mix the plain flour, icing sugar, ground almonds and cornflour together in a bowl. Rub the butter into the flour until it forms a breadcrumb-like texture, then pull together lightly to form a soft dough.

Divide the dough into small balls and press into a 24-hole silicone bun tin or fairy cake tin. Bake for 10-12 minutes until they are a light golden colour. The shortbread mix makes more than you need for this recipe, but keeps well in an airtight tin.

While the shortbreads are baking, put the jam into a saucepan with 50ml of water and bring to the boil. Simmer for a few minutes until it has a thick syrup texture.

Remove the shortbreads from the oven and carefully make a small dent in the centre of each one with your finger, to create a hollow to put the strawberry jam. Spoon the warm jam into the dent and set aside to cool on a wire rack, still in the tin.

Take the posset out of the fridge and decorate with the strawberries and figs. Garnish with mint sprigs and serve with the shortbread.

More Home Comforts, by James Martin, is published by Quadrille, priced £20.