Dad's scallops with beurre blanc

This recipe is a family favourite. When we go back to Australia for Christmas, this is always on the list of things that my sister and I ask my Dad to cook.  Despite the fact that I have known how to make it for years, there is something special about Dad making it for us at this time of year, because it has always been on the menu on Christmas Day.

Beurre blanc is one of my favourite sauces – delicious, elegant and decadent. Traditionally, beurre blanc is an emulsion in which butter is carefully whisked into a white wine reduction at a low temperature so that it doesn’t split. However, to avoid the fuss of both getting the emulsion right and then having to keep it at the correct temperature, my Dad adds a little cream, which stabilises it. The consistency is a bit different from a traditional beurre blanc, but it tastes amazing and it’s much easier.

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Sticky Toffee Pudding

Who doesn’t like sticky toffee pudding? I don’t often order dessert and when I do it is usually something light and fresh with citrus or berries, but put sticky toffee on a menu and I won’t be able to walk past it.   

I have great news for you – it may seem impressive and effortful, but it is actually incredibly easy to make. You can also make it in advance and reheat it, so it is a good choice for dinner parties.  

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Kalliope’s Vasilopita

Happy New Year all. This recipe first appeared on the Borough Market website as the final part of a 3 part series exploring lesser-known religious traditions in December from around the world.

Marianna Kolokotroni, owner of Oliveology, has kindly shared her mum’s recipe for Vasilopita or ‘St Basil’s Pie’. Her Mum, Kalliope, is from a small village on the West Coast of the Peloponnese in Greece. This is how they make Vasilopita in her village. It can vary a lot from region to region, but there it is a “simple, humble cake” with a lovely cirtusy aroma from the zest and juice of several oranges.

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Purple sprouting broccoli with burnt anchovy butter

There is one thing I will miss about winter: purple sprouting broccoli. It is one of my favourite vegetables of the season. I have been eating it tossed in a little burnt anchovy butter every other week. 

Natoora source their purple sprouting broccoli from Martin Sanders in Worcestershire. His family have been growing it for many generations. They save the seeds from the best plants, which improves the quality of the crop with each passing year. The result is a purple sprouting broccoli with tight, dense florets, tender leaves and high sugar content in the stems.

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Rhubarb crumble with vanilla custard

What is your ultimate comfort food? This is one of the questions I have asked all the people I have interviewed in the series I’m writing for Borough Market. My interviewees all come from different parts of the world, or have parents who do, so their answers differ a lot, but one thing they all share in common is that it tends to be something warming and filling.

“I don’t think you can get any better than a rhubarb crumble,” says Paul Wheeler, of Paul Wheeler’s Fresh Supplies. “If there was one comfort food, yeah that’d probably be it.” What is it that makes rhubarb crumble such a classic? Perhaps it is because the rhubarb is naturally very tart and contrasts perfectly with the sweet crumble topping and accompaniments, such as custard or vanilla ice cream.

I usually add nuts and oats to my crumble, but in this recipe I go for a shortbread topping. I think there is something elegant about rhubarb; perhaps it’s natural acidity and bright pink colour. A shortbread crumble seems to me to complement this, it seems more refined somehow.

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