YES, CHEF!

Cook like a pro in your home kitchen with the help of a few of our favourite restaurant recipes

Get cheffy with four of our favourite restaurant recipes

Oregano chicken

1 HOUR 15 MINUTES + OVERNIGHT INFUSION

SERVES 4 | EASY | GF

This classic dish is from Casa do Frango, an Algarvian restaurant specialising in piri-piri chicken, with two branches in London. On our visits previously, we loved the cocktails with Portuguese twists (think tawny port in a punchy old fashioned), selection of petiscos (small plates) served in terracotta dishes and, of course, the star of the show, the chicken. It’s prepared in a reverse-spatchcock style – opened down the front rather than the back – simply seasoned with salt and, at the restaurants, cooked over wood charcoal. As it cooks, it’s turned frequently, and is triple-glazed, so every piece is generously coated. Serve it with rice and montanheira salad, if you like. While the branches are currently closed, Londoners can order their fix via Deliveroo – and this support means that they are able to give free takeaway meals to NHS workers. The team are also working with The Passage charity, supplying 30 meals, three times a week, to an 81-bed hostel on the same road as the Casa do Frango offices are based. Follow @casadofrango_london for updates.

OREGANO CHICKEN

sunflower oil 125ml

garlic 1 large clove

lemon juice 1 tsp

dried oregano 1 tsp

chicken 1 small (about 1.3kg)

cooked rice to serve (optional)

MONTANHEIRA SALAD

green peppers 2 small baby cucumbers 8 or large cucumber 1, peeled and diced

tomatoes 2, diced

white onions 2, diced

dried oregano 4 tsp

extra-virgin olive oil 60ml

white wine vinegar 40ml

• To make an oregano glaze, put the oil, garlic, lemon juice and oregano in a small food processor, season with salt, then blitz until smooth. Transfer the glaze to a bowl, cover and set aside to infuse for 24 hours.

• Reverse spatchcock the chicken by cutting down the front of the breast using kitchen scissors or a sharp knife. Turn the chicken over, breast-side down, and press firmly so it flattens out, then dislocate the thigh joints and cut through the wing joints so that they lie flat. Make a deep cut in each of the drumsticks and thighs.

• Heat a barbecue until hot. Season the chicken generously with sea salt then grill, turning frequently, for 45 minutes until the skin is browned but not charred and the internal temperature reaches 75C. (Alternatively, brown the chicken in a heavy pan or griddle with a little oil then transfer to a 200C/fan 180C/gas 6 oven for 1 hour to finish cooking).

• Meanwhile, make the salad. Heat the grill to hot. Grill the peppers, turning frequently, until blistered and softened. Transfer to a bowl and cover, then set aside to cool for 5 minutes. Remove and discard the skins, then cut the peppers into 1cm chunks.

• Mix together the grilled peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, onions and half of the oregano. Drizzle over the oil and vinegar, and toss to combine. Season well, then sprinkle over the remaining oregano to serve.

• Once cooked, remove the chicken from the heat and brush over most of the oregano glaze, then set aside to rest for 5 minutes.

• Cut the chicken in half, then cut each half into five pieces. Brush the chicken with some of the remaining oregano glaze. Serve with the salad and some rice, if you like, with any remaining oregano glaze drizzled over the top.

PER SERVING 811 KCALS | FAT 66G

SATURATES 11G | CARBS 9G | SUGARS 8G

FIBRE 4G | PROTEIN 42G | SALT 0.3G

Ricotta and herb gnudi with sage brown butter 50 MINUTES + CHILLING | SERVES 6 | EASY | V

If you love Italian food, then Lina Stores may very well already be on your radar.

Its original deli has been a firm favourite in London’s Soho since 1944, later opening a restaurant in 2019 a short walk away, quickly followed with another in King’s Cross. While the restaurants are closed, the deli is now available to shop online, with its famous fresh pasta up for grabs. Its website also has a donation page, to provide free food for Londoners in need, with more than £21,000 already raised in a few weeks – follow @linastores for updates. Large spinach leaves are best for this recipe. You could use frozen spinach but you’ll need to make sure all the excess liquid is pressed out.

spinach 500g, stalks trimmed

ricotta 500g (needs to be dry, so strain overnight if it’s wet)

egg yolks 75g (approximately 5 yolks)

dried breadcrumbs 75g

plain flour 50g

nutmeg a grating

Grana Padano or other Italian hard cheese 125g, finely grated, plus extra for the sauce and to serve

butter 50g

sage a small bunch, leaves picked

• Pour boiling water over the spinach, then leave to cool a little before squeezing out any excess water. Chop finely, drain and squeeze out any excess water again.

• Put the spinach in a mixing bowl with the ricotta, egg yolks, breadcrumbs, flour, a grating of nutmeg, a pinch of salt and the cheese. Mix well.

• Scoop up 24 equal-sized lumps of the mixture, using an ice-cream scoop if you have one, and shape each one into a log by rolling it between your hands. Lay each piece on a baking sheet, then chill for 30 minutes or until needed.

• Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Lower the gnudi into the water, turn down to a simmer and cook for 3-4 minutes (do this in batches if you need to).

• Meanwhile, heat the butter in a large frying pan until it turns golden and smells nutty, then add the sage, frying until crisp. Drain the gnudi well, then tip into the pan with the sage, along with a good grating of cheese. Swirl everything together, in batches if it’s easier. Arrange four gnudi on each serving plate and finish off with more of the sauce and grated cheese on top.

PER SERVING 406 KCALS | FAT 27G

SATURATES 15G | CARBS 18G | SUGARS 2G

FIBRE 1G | PROTEIN 22G | SALT 0.9G

Limoncello spritz 5 MINUTES | SERVES 1 | EASY

It wouldn’t be a taste of Italy without an aperitivo. This is a great idea, also from Lina Stores, for using up back-of-the-drinkscupboard holiday booze. Add extra flavour by infusing your limoncello with thyme sprigs.

• Fill a wine glass with ice, add 3 tbsp limoncello (infused with thyme, if you like) and top up with 4 tbsp prosecco followed by 2 tbsp soda or sparkling water. Stir and add a thyme sprig to serve.

Burnt cheesecake 1 HOUR + COOLING | SERVES 6 | EASY

After making a name for himself at celebrity hangout Kitty Fishers, Welsh chef Tomos Parry opened San Sebastián-inspired Brat in Shoreditch in 2018 to much acclaim. Named after the much-ordered and Insta-famous wood-fire roasted brat (the slang for turbot), the restaurant and Tomos were key in igniting the trend for cooking over fire. You could order anything from blistered, pillowy flatbreads topped with curls of salty anchovies, to sweet langoustines barely licked by the flames, and slices of burnished Cornish moorland beef chop lined up like dominoes. This baked cheesecake is a signature of the area and Brat, and has no biscuit or pastry base.

The restaurant temporarily transformed into the Brat Farm, Grill and Wine Shop back in March, supplying vegetable boxes from its suppliers in Cambridge, native day-boat seafood, groceries and rare-breed meat from Cornwall, alongside daily dishes and wine to take away. Now the team are working with Hospitality for Heroes to cook meals (such as traditional Welsh dish, lobscows) for key workers in the NHS. You can buy gift vouchers or support Brat’s suppliers, many of whom are offering home delivery (including Philip Warren Butchers and Flourish Produce). Follow @bratrestaurant for updates.

soft cheese 360g

golden caster sugar 160g

orange 1/4, zested

eggs 4 double cream 225ml

plain flour 20g

TO SERVE

grilled seasonal fruit crème fraîche

• Heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Whisk the soft cheese, sugar and zest until light and glossy. Whisk in the eggs, one at a time. Gently whisk in the cream, then slowly sift in the flour and mix thoroughly.

• Line a 23-25cm cast-iron frying pan (or a heavy-duty cake tin) with a large sheet of baking paper so it sticks up above the edges. Pour in the mixture and bake for 30 minutes, then rotate and cook for a further 15 minutes. The aim is for the cheesecake to rise like a soufflé and caramelise and to almost (but not completely) burn on the top.

• Once the cheesecake is out of the oven, leave to cool for 1 hour (it will sink a bit). Slice and serve with grilled seasonal fruit, such as rhubarb, and a dollop of crème fraîche on the side.

PER SERVING 504 KCALS | FAT 38G

SATURATES 23G | CARBS 32G | SUGARS 29G

FIBRE 0G | PROTEIN 9G | SALT 0.6G