Charlotte Pike

Food & Drink Expert

Recipes

Kale, spinach, pomegranate and walnut salad

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Salads are not just for sunny days. In the depths of winter, a salad can be a wonderful thing; full of nourishing ingredients and vibrant flavours to ward off colds and cheer the spirits. In many ways, a good winter salad is more exciting than a summer salad. It’s an unexpected injection of flavour at this cold and dark time of year.

I love interesting salads, packed with interesting flavours and textures. A good salad is a deeply satisfying meal, and this is one of my very favourite winter salads. I adore kale and love it raw in salads. The key is carefully preparing the leaves, picking out any stalks or tough stems, and ensuring that the leaves are shredded into small pieces.

This salad is just wonderful enjoyed on its own, or with some lamb kofte or meatballs to turn it into a complete meal. It’s one I make time and time again at this time of year. I hope you love it too.

Kale, spinach, pomegranate and walnut salad

Charlotte Pike

Serves 4, generously

Ingredients

3 red onions, thinly sliced

25g butter

200g kale, stalks removed and sliced into thin strips

500g baby spinach

25g walnuts, chopped

Seeds from 1 pomegranate

1 bunch dill, chopped

¼ tsp cinnamon

2 tbsp pomegranate molasses

Juice from ½ lemon

Zest of 1 unwaxed lemon

Pinch caster sugar

Sea salt

Olive oil

 

Method

Gently fry the onions in the butter for around 15 minutes until translucent. Set aside and leave to cool.

Once the onions have cooled, combine all the ingredients together, gently tossing to ensure the leaves are evenly dressed. Add enough olive oil to lightly dress the leaves. Season to taste. Serve immediately.

Welsh Cakes

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I first tasted an excellent Welsh Cake on a trip to Cardiff around five years ago. I was visiting with my sister, and we decided to take a walk around the waterfront. We passed a tiny shop, which had just enough space for a small counter and griddle, on which a steady stream of fresh Welsh cakes were cooked and sold piping hot in paper bags. I couldn’t resist buying a few, and I can only describe them as a complete revelation. I would liken them to scones; when shop bought, they are hideous, but when cooked fresh, they are scrumptious – soft, light dough, packed with juicy sultanas and a faint spicy note, topped with a light dusting of crunchy sugar.

I’ve been meaning to make them ever since, but producing four cookbooks in quick succession has left me with less time for experimentation than I’d have liked. However, I’ve finally had time to have a play around and have come up with this recipe. It’s based on a Be Ro recipe which must be 30 years old at a guess, but I’ve adjusted the quantities and flavourings to make it even more delicious. I do hope you enjoy them, too. They’re ever so easy to make, and would be really fun to make with children, too.

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Welsh cakes

Makes around 20

Ingredients

500g self-raising flour, plus extra for the work surface

100g caster sugar, plus extra for sprinkling

1 generous pinch sea salt

1 tsp mixed spice

250g salted butter

150g sultanas

1 large egg, beaten

3 tbsp whole milk

Method

Place the flour, sugar, salt and spices into a large mixing bowl and stir well to evenly distribute the flavourings amongst the flour. Add the sultanas and stir again.

Next, whisk the egg and milk together, and pour into the dry ingredients. Gently stir to form a stiff dough.

Lightly dust the work surface with flour and turn out the dough. Roll it in flour to cover all surfaces and roll out to just under 1cm thick. Taking a 5-6cm round cutter, stamp out discs of dough. Bring the remaining dough into a ball and roll again, using a little more flour if you need it.

Once all your dough is used, place a large non-stick frying pan onto a medium heat to warm. Your pan needs to be hot, but not smoking, or too hot even, as the Welsh cakes will burn too quickly. Place the discs into a dry pan and cook for around 3-4 minutes on each side until they are a medium brown colour. Transfer to a wire rack to cool before eating. They keep well for 3-4 days, stored in an airtight container.

 

Lemon Butter Biscuits

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Being the busy bunny that I am, I frequently receive visitors at home or pop to see friends and family. A home baked treat is always well received, and for me, it always must be homemade.

You see, it’s not about projecting images of being a domestic goddess – that I do not claim (or have any desire) to be. Cooking, for me is something I do for pleasure, especially baking. But I also fundamentally believe in using the very best ingredients I can find, which I believe taste better and are better for our planet, environment and health. It’s worth remembering just how much better these are for you than shop-biscuits, which are packed full of synthetic ingredients. Biscuits are hardly health food, but at least you know exactly what’s in them, and it’s all natural.

That’s why I’m such a fan of these simple lemon butter biscuits. They’re so easy to make and keep very well in an airtight container. I’ll make a batch and keep them stashed for any visits, and they’ll always disappear quickly. I think there’s something especially enticing about home baked biscuit, as they can be bought two-a-penny, so many people don’t think to make them.

But these, made from good quality butter, British flour, Organic lemons, local free-range eggs and fair trade sugar represent everything I think baking should be about: making delicious treats from superb quality ingredients. Then, it’s nothing but a pleasure for everyone involved.

N.B. The ratio of ingredients in these biscuits is the simple foundation for any butter biscuit recipe. Lemon is a lovely flavour to use here, but feel free to play.

Lemon Butter Biscuits 

Makes around 12-16, depending on size

Ingredients 

100g caster sugar

130g butter

Pinch salt

Finely grated zest of two unwaxed lemons

1 large egg, beaten

200g plain flour

Method 

Place the sugar, butter, salt and lemon zest together into a bowl. Beat together well until light and fluffy. Add the beaten egg and mix well. Sift in the flour and mix to form a stiff dough.

Bring the dough together to form a flat-ish disc. Wrap in cling film and chill for 20-20 minutes until firm. Forming a disc, rather than a ball, will help your dough to chill evenly throughout.

When the dough is firm and chilled, preheat the oven to 180C Fan. Line two baking trays with non-stick baking paper and set aside.

Pinch of pieces of dough and roll into balls, about 1” in circumference. Flatten and place well spread out on the baking trays. Bake for around 12 minutes until crisp and lightly browned around the edges. Allow to cool fully on a wire rack before eating.