Crab and samphire risotto

Ingredients 1 pint fish stock, 1 cup risotto rice, 1 white onion, 1/2 tsp dill, 1 cup brown crab meat, 1 cup white wine, 1 tbsp butter, samphire.

Serves: 2 Preparation: 30 minutes

I hate the smell of fish. I'm sorry, but I do. I know it's pretty pathetic for an otherwise adventurous food blogger to turn her nose up at such a basic food but I just cannot cope with it. I wish with my whole heart that I could because it's so good for you, so I was delighted to create this dish for my husband and son recently and it NOT stink my house out or require me to cook with Vick's Vapo Rub slathered under my nostrils. This is a winning dish if you're cooking that all important third date meal for someone. *winks*
All risottos (no matter what the ingredients) can be made in 3 simple stages. The first is called tostatura - coating the rice in fat, the second involves cooking off some alcohol and the third involves releasing the starch from the rice one ladle of stock at a time.

1) Peel and finely dice the onion, and sautee in the butter until soft (about 10 minutes).

2) Add the rice and stir through until it becomes translucent, save for a white dot in the centre. Add a good glug of white wine and continue stirring until it has cooked off, then add the first ladleful of stock.

3) Continue adding the stock to the risotto, one ladle at a time, adding the crab meat, samphire and dill with the second to last ladle of stock. Serve hot, finishing with an indulgent dash of cream if you wish. Remember, risotto should be soupy, not solid!

Orange & kiwi glazed duck

Ingredients 3 oranges, 3 kiwis, caster sugar, new potatoes, samphire, duck.

Serves: 4 Preparation: Size: 1.75kg to 2kg = 2 ¼ hours
                                          2.50kg to 3kg = 2 ¾ hours


I recently acquired a 2.5 kilo wild duck, much to the excitement of my best beloved. I had been playing with a kiwi and orange glaze for a few weeks, loving it but not happy with it for ham or chicken. Duck was the only way in my humble opinion and how right I was. This recipe takes time, but it will leave you with a crispy, delicious duck - the meat flavoured with fragrant orange steam and the ultra crispy skin glazed with orange and kiwi and melt-in-the-mouth potatoes.


1) Pierce two of the oranges all over with a knife, then stuff them in the cavity of the duck. Squeeze the juice from the remaining orange into a milk pan along with three peeled, quartered kiwi fruit and half a cup of caster sugar.


2) Bring to the boil, mashing the kiwi into the orange juice until it is the consistency of a coulis. Set aside to cool and thicken.


3) Arrange the duck in a roasting tin and score the duck liberally with a knife. Ducks have less meat and far more fat than chicken - as it heats, the fat will begin to run from the duck to cook the potatoes, but it's pointless applying the glaze at this stage as it will not flavour the meat! Blast in the oven at 200 degrees for 1 hour.


4) Remove from the oven and poke with a knife or skewer to release ever more fat and juice. Add the new potatoes, stirring them in the fat to ensure they are coated and return to the oven for 1 hour (30 minutes for a smaller duck) at 150 degrees.

5) Liberally coat the duck with the kiwi and orange glaze and return to the oven for 45 minutes at 150 degrees before carving and serving.


I served this with sauteed samphire

Sauteed spinach & samphire

Ingredients Samphire, spinach, butter

Preparation: 5 minutes

Samphire is incredible. Fresh, juicy yet almost unbearably salty it's hard to come by but well worth it if you can get hold of it. In combination with the softness and delicacy of sauteed spinach this makes a fabulous but simple side dish.

1) Melt a knob of butter in a pan and stir in the samphire and spinach until coated.

2) Stir on the hob until the spinach begins to wilt (around 4 minutes) and serve

Samphire fettuccine with champagne custard

Ingredients Samphire, 20cl champagne, 4 egg yolks, double cream, butter, 8oz pasta flour, 1 tsp olive oil, 5 eggs

Serves: 4 preparation: 15 minutes (+5 hour pasta preparation)

I adore pasta and thankfully love making it almost as much as I love to eat it - there's nothing quite like freshly made pasta, fresh from the pot. The crisp tang of champagne, the fresh, juicy and salty samphire and the creamy texture of the sauce is a luxurious combination here and for such a simple dish to make, it really does make a fantastic impression.

1) Pour 8 ounces of grade 00 flour (pasta flour), 1 teaspoon of olive oil, a good pinch of salt, 3 whole eggs and 1 egg yolk into a bowl and kneed with your hands until you have a firm dough. Wrap this in cling film and chill in the fridge for 2-5 hours.

2) Dust a worktop with pasta flour and roll out the dough into a sheet 1/3 of a centimetre thick. Cut out squares of pasta with a knife and roll these through a pasta machine (or using a rolling pin if you don't have one) until you have a thin rectangle of pasta. Slice into 1cm wide strips.

3) Pour the champagne into a pan and reduce it down on a high heat for about 5-7 minutes. Turn down the heat and quickly whisk in the egg yolks. Continue whisking until the sauce thickens and then add a splash of cream. Add the samphire along with a little butter to make the sauce glossy and leave on a low heat until the pasta is ready.

4) Drop the pasta into salted boiling water for 3-4 minutes. Once it rises to the top of the pan it's done! Strain and toss with the samphire and champagne custard.

Sauteed samphire

Ingredients Samphire, butter

Preparation: 5 minutes


Samphire is incredible. Fresh, juicy yet almost unbearably salty it's hard to come by but well worth it if you can get hold of it. "Half way down hangs one that gathers samphire... dreadful trade!" wrote Shakespeare in King Lear, explaining how dangerous it was to gather rock samphire so beware! *laughs*


1) Rinse the samphire in cold water, then pat dry. Add to a pan with a touch of butter and sautee on a low heat for about 2 minutes and serve.