The New English Kitchen: Changing the Way You Shop, Cook and Eat

6 heaped tablespoons fresh breadcrumbs

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

24 large mussels or 40 clams, cleaned (see here (#litres_trial_promo))

sea salt

Pound together the butter, parsley, breadcrumbs and garlic and work in a pinch of salt.

Put the mussels or clams in a large pan, then cover and place over a fairly high heat for 2–3 minutes, until they open. Allow to cool. Remove the top half of each shell, leaving the mussel or clam in the other half. Spread a little stuffing into each (1/2–1 teaspoonful, depending on the size of the shell). Arrange on ovenproof plates – individual ones are best – and place under a hot grill. If you do not have a grill, preheat the oven to 240°C/475°F/Gas Mark 9. Cook until the breadcrumbs are singed and the butter bubbling.

kitchen note

If you have any leftover steamed mussels, cockles or clams, you can fill them with the breadcrumb stuffing and store them in the freezer if there is no immediate use for them. Even a few make an unusually good snack to have with drinks. Grill or bake as above.

soaked bread

I love recipes with soaked bread. It’s funny but I could never stomach puddings or any dish made with soaked grains but sopping wet bread is in a realm of its own. Why else would just about everyone love bread and butter pudding? Bread dishes usually look a total mess but no one minds. The following recipes are for both fresh and stale bread.

breadcrumb salad

Another bread salad, this time one that uses breadcrumbs from sourdough or ciabatta bread. It is lovely and soggy, with oil, peppers, tomatoes and herbs. You can tailor-make it to your taste. Some prefer to leave out the garlic so you can really taste the quality of the olive oil. Serve it for dinner and most will think they are being given a plate of cold porridge but will come round after the first mouthful.

Italians call this dish panzanella, and the restaurant of the same name in Northcote Road (a wonderful market street in Battersea) gave me its approximate method, which I reproduce here. The restaurant uses Puglian bread but any rustic-style sourdough bread will work.

Serves 4

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day-old ciabatta or sourdough loaf

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

1 garlic clove, finely chopped (optional)

1 carrot, finely grated

6 sprigs of parsley, chopped

salt and freshly ground black pepper

To serve:

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fresh red chilli, chopped, or a strip of sweet red pepper,

chopped

halved cherry tomatoes

small black olives

Tear up the bread, put it in a food processor and whiz to rough crumbs. Put them in a bowl, cover with cold water and leave for 5 minutes. Pour the breadcrumbs into a sieve and, using a ladle, press down to squeeze out all the water. Return the breadcrumbs to the bowl. They won’t look too appetising but once you add the oil and vinegar, have a taste. Add the other ingredients, stirring them in well. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Scatter the chopped chilli, halved cherry tomatoes and olives on top.

sourdough bread, wine and onion soup

This is much, much nicer than French onion soup. Instead of one large croûton with cheese in each bowl, the bread is layered, club-sandwich style, with the cheese and baked separately. The hot soup is then ladled over the top.

Serves 4

5 tablespoons olive oil

1.4kg/3lb pink or white onions, sliced

a large pinch of dried thyme

175 ml/6 fl oz red wine

1.2 litres/2 pints well-flavoured beef stock

4 large slices of sourdough bread

1 garlic clove, lightly crushed but left whole

4 heaped tablespoons grated hard cheese (see Kitchen

Note overleaf)

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat 3 tablespoons of the oil in a large pan and add the onions, thyme and some salt. Cook over a very, very low heat for about 45 minutes, until pale gold, soft and sweet tasting. Add the wine, deglazing or scraping any cooking bits from the base of the pan with a wooden spatula. Add the beef stock and bring to simmering point. Taste for seasoning and add salt if necessary. Grind over a little black pepper.

Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/Gas Mark 5. Rub each slice of bread with the garlic, brush with the remaining oil and cut into quarters. Place 4 pieces of bread in a baking dish. Spoon a dessertspoonful of the cooked onions on to each, followed by a teaspoon of grated cheese, then place another piece of bread on top and repeat, continuing until you have used up all the bread and have 4 multi-layered croûtons. Bake them in the oven for about 15 minutes, until the tops are golden and bubbling.

Put a croûton in each serving bowl. Bring the soup back to boiling point if you have set it to one side. Ladle the onion broth over the croûtons and serve immediately.

kitchen note

I recommend using a hard sheep’s milk, Pecorino-style cheese, such as Lord of the Hundreds or Somerset Rambler, for the croûtons. You could also use a traditional farmhouse Cheddar or other cow’s milk cheese, hard or crumbly. See here (#litres_trial_promo) for information on cooking with British and Irish cheeses.

summer pudding

This moulded pudding made from dry white bread and a mixture of lightly stewed berries doesn’t require an exact recipe. You will need enough fruit to fill the pudding basin you wish to use, plus a little over. You could use a traditional pudding basin, a soufflé dish or any shallow dish. I sometimes make summer pudding in large plastic containers for children’s meals, serving helpings from them as and when needed. Raspberries, blackberries, tayberries, red and blackcurrants are all suitable for the filling – it’s best to use a mixture, but the pectin-rich raspberries are pretty much essential. You can use strawberries, but they tend to disintegrate wastefully when cooked.

Simply stew the fruit gently until the juices run and add enough sugar to remove any sourness. Line the pudding basin with slices of day-old white bread, pour in the compote and cover with a ‘lid’ of sliced bread, then a saucer small enough to fit inside the basin. Put a weight on top – a can of tomatoes will do – and leave in the fridge overnight.