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CORNBREAD WITH GOAT’S CHEESE AND HONEY BUTTER

(Serves four)

For the cornbread:

100ml whole milk

240ml buttermilk

3 eggs

165g sweetcorn kernels (frozen and defrosted or fresh from a cob)

100g plain flour

180g fine polenta

30g soft brown sugar

1tsp fine salt 1tbsp baking powder

80g butter

3 spring onions, halved and finely sliced

For the goat’s cheese:

250g soft goat’s cheese

75ml whole milk

25ml olive oil

Salt and pepper

For the chipotle honey butter:

125g butter

35g chipotle in adobo, chopped (available from www.souschef.co.uk, Amazon and Waitrose)

50g honey

Generous squeeze of lime juice

Salt

To serve: Butter, to fry, 4 eggs Large handful of rocket dressed with oil and lime juice TO make the cornbread, preheat the oven to 180C/Gas mark 4 and butter a 900g loaf tin. Blend together the milk, buttermilk, eggs and 100g of sweetcorn. Put the flour, polenta, sugar, salt and baking powder into a large bowl and whisk well to combine. Melt the butter in a pan and add to the dry ingredients, along with the egg mixture, spring onions and remaining sweetcorn. Mix briefly to bring everything together. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 45 minutes. Allow to cool in the tin for 30 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack. While the cornbread is baking, blitz the goat’s cheese, milk and olive oil with a blender, seasoning with salt and pepper. It should be light and fluffy.

For the chipotle honey butter, melt the butter in a pan, add the chipotle and honey and whisk together. Season with the lime juice and salt to taste. Cut the bread into slices the thickness of two £1 coins and fry in a little butter to warm through. Fry the eggs until crisp. Serve the bread with one to two heaped tablespoons of goats’ cheese, a handful of dressed rocket, a fried egg and drizzle of honey butter.

THAI GREEN SEA BASS WITH GALANGAL, LEMON GRASS AND COCONUT

(Serves six)

For the fish:

1 whole sea bass

A few lime leaves (optional)

A few slices of lime (optional)

100ml water, fish or vegetable stock

Lime wedges, to serve

Coconut rice, to serve

Steamed pak choi, to serve

1tbsp sesame oil, toasted

For the Thai paste:

2 star anise Half a cinnamon stick

1tbsp black peppercorn

Thumb-sized piece of fresh galangal, peeled and sliced (available from Sainsbury’s)

Thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced

4 garlic cloves, bashed to remove the skin

3 banana shallots, chopped

3 lemon grass sticks, chopped, outer layer set aside

6-8 bird’s eye chillies

2tbsp fish sauce

Juice of 2-3 limes

2tbsp demerara sugar

Large bunch of coriander, leaves and stalks chopped separately

1 x 400ml can of coconut milk

Salt

FIRST make the Thai paste: Grind the spices and put in a food processor with the galangal, ginger, garlic, shallots, lemon grass (reserving the outer layers), fish sauce, lime juice and sugar. Blitz to a rough paste. Add the chopped coriander stalks and coconut milk to the paste with half a teaspoon of salt and blitz again until combined. Taste the paste and add more chillies (when the paste is baked, the chilli heat will reduce dramatically). Preheat the oven to 200C/ Gas mark 6. Lay out the bass in a deep roasting tin, large enough to fit it comfortably. Make a few slashes in both sides of the body and cover with enough paste inside and out so it is well coated. Stuff the inside cavity with the lime leaves, lemon grass outer layers and slices of lime if using. Mix the rest of the paste with the water or stock and pour into the tin. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a thin metal skewer can slide easily all the way into the thickest part of the fish. Scatter with chopped coriander leaves and serve with lime wedges, coconut rice and some steamed pak choi laced with one tablespoon of toasted sesame oil.

UNBELIEVABLY DARK AND DELICIOUS CHOCOLATE CAKE

(Makes one large cake)

For the cake:

380g butter, plus extra for the tins

380g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), chopped

380g caster sugar

2 small pinches ground cinnamon

Several large pinches of salt

200g plain flour

6 eggs, beaten

For the topping:

4 Mars bars

100ml whole milk

3 tbsp golden syrup

90g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), chopped

500ml double cream

3 Flakes, chopped into 2cm lengths

2 packets of Rolos

1 large packet of Peanut M&Ms (optional)

Edible glitter

PREHEAT the oven to 190C/Gas Mark 5 and butter and line the base of two 20cm non-stick cake tins.

Melt the butter in a medium pan over a low heat; once melted, stir in the chocolate. When the mixture becomes smooth velvet, add the sugar, cinnamon and salt. Stir until the sugar has dissolved, then slowly sift in the flour, stirring to combine. Beat the eggs into the chocolate mixture a little at a time until fully incorporated. Pour into the prepared tins and bake for 30-40 minutes until the outside is dark and delicious. Leave to cool in the tins for 15 minutes.

Chop up the Mars Bars and melt with the milk, syrup, dark chocolate and 50ml of the double cream. Whip the rest of the cream until it just holds its shape. Sandwich the cooked cakes together with the whipped cream and pour over the Mars Bar sauce. Scatter the various chocolates and the glitter on top.