An Elizabeth David  version of everlasting syllabub

• One small glass or 4oz, of white wine or sherry;
• 2 tablespoons of brandy;
• one lemon;
• 2oz of sugar;
• ½ pint of double cream; and,
• nutmeg.

The day before the syllabub is to be made, put the thinly pared rind of the lemon and the juice in a bowl with the wine and brandy and leave overnight. Next day, strain the wine and lemon mixture into a large and deep bowl.

Add the sugar and stir until it has dissolved. Pour in the cream slowly, stirring all the time. Grate in a little nutmeg.

Now whisk the mixture until it thickens and will hold a soft peak on the whisk. The process may take 5 minutes, it may take as long as 15. It depends on the cream, the temperature and the method of whisking.

When the cream is ready, spoon it into glasses, which should be of very small capacity (2 to 2½ oz) but filled to overflowing. Once in the glasses the cream will not spoil nor sink nor separate. A tiny sprig of rosemary or a little twist of lemon peel can be stuck into each little filled glass. Keep the syllabubs in a cool place – not in the refrigerator – until you are ready to serve them.

They can be made at least two days before they are needed. The quantities given will fill 10 small syllabub or custard cups or sherry glasses and will be enough for four to six people.

With its searing chilli, ginger and garlic enveloped by a blanket of noodles and coconut soup, I think laksa is a wonderful antidote to colds and cold weather. I urge any swede-dodgers to think twice about today’s recipe: its buttery earthiness, alongside the caramelised shallots, adds a sweet and smoky magic.

Laksa

Prep 12 min
Cooking 45 min
Serves 4
6 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
3cm ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
4 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
2½ tsp ground cumin
2 lemongrass stalks, bases only, roughly chopped
30g fresh coriander, leaves and stalks
6 banana shallots, peeled and halved
1 litre vegetable stock (suitable for vegans)
Rapeseed oil
1 x 400ml tin coconut milk
1½ tsp salt
1½ tsp sugar
800g root or comfort vegetable eg. potato, butternut quash, swede (ie, about ¾ of a large one), peeled
150g rice vermicelli noodles
2 limes, cut into 4 wedges each

Heat the oven to 200C/390F/gas mark 6 and line two large baking trays with foil.

To make the laksa paste, put the garlic, ginger, chilli powder, ground cumin, lemongrass, coriander stalks and two shallots into a blender with 150ml stock, and whizz to a paste.

Heat two tablespoons of oil in a deep-sided pot on a low flame and, once hot, scrape the paste into the pot. Cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring regularly so it doesn’t catch, then slowly add the coconut milk until it’s well mixed in. Add the remaining stock, the salt and the sugar, and simmer for 20 minutes until rich and flavourful. Season to taste, then take off the heat.

While the soup is cooking, halve the root vegetable, say swede, cut it into 1cm-thick slices, then arrange on one of the lined trays. Separate the remaining shallots into “petals” by halving them and removing the individual segments, and put these on the second lined tray. Lightly drizzle oil over both vegetables, toss with your hands so they’re well coated, and sprinkle with a little salt. Roast the shallots for 20 minutes and the root vegetable for 30, until cooked and caramelised.

Cook the noodles in boiling water as per the packet instructions (usually two to three minutes), then drain and rinse under cold water.

To serve, reheat the soup on a medium heat, if need be. Distribute the noodles between four bowls and ladle on the hot soup. Put the hot swede and caramelised shallots on top and sprinkle with coriander leaves. Squeeze a wedge of lime over each serving, and serve with more lime on the side.

I do like fresh bread, but sometimes you just don’t have the time or the energy, and that’s when soda bread comes into it’s own.

Pumpkin, linseed, sunflower or hemp seeds make for an interesting texture. Linseeds should be crushed to make the most of their plentiful omega-3 fats, but I use them just for their nutty taste and silky texture.

Makes 1 x 500g loaf
wholemeal flour 225g
plain flour 225g
bicarbonate of soda 1 tsp
sea salt ½ tsp
caster sugar 1 tsp
golden linseeds 2 tbsp
sunflower seeds 2 tbsp
hemp seeds 2 tbsp
buttermilk 350ml

Set the oven at 220C/gas mark 8. Place a heavy casserole, about 22cm in diameter, together with its lid, in the oven to heat up.

Sieve the flours, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a large bowl. Stir in the caster sugar. Add the linseeds, sunflower and hemp seeds and fold evenly through the flour. Pour in the buttermilk and mix thoroughly to a slightly sticky dough.

Dust a pastry board or the work surface generously with flour. Working fairly quickly, pat the dough into a round large enough to fit snugly into the casserole. Remove the hot pan from the oven, dust it generously with flour, which will prevent the loaf from sticking, then lower the dough into the casserole. Cover with a lid, then return to the oven and bake for 25 minutes.

Remove the dish from the oven and leave to rest for 10 minutes before freeing the loaf and placing on a rack to cool.

I have a friend coming to supper with her family, which includes a son who has been diagnosed with coeliac disease. They also keep kosher, which for a vegetarian household is nothing to worry about.

We’re not going to mix meat and milk accidentally and if they’re willing to eat at our house, the lack of involvement of a Jewish hand in the cooking process is not going to worry them too much, or can easily be assuaged by them helping transport the food to the table.

But being coeliac and unable to eat gluten from wheat products does cause some issues.

Obviously bread and bread products are out of the running, along with pasta and pastry and that makes a meal centre piece a bit harder to achieve. You could go with something like a risotto (rice is fine) or even a rice filled aubergine loaf and it’s something we’ve given them before.

I’ve decided to go with a table of curries and related dishes, with rice as an accompaniment and some convenient poppadums that turn out to be gluten free. I’m not going to bother with naan bread etc because gluten free substitutes are rarely as good as you’d like.

But I’m not going to be too didactic about it. There is a surprising overlap between Indian dishes and Arab or even S American dishes when it comes to spice. I’ll have to be a bit careful about the latter because a couple of people around the table have incredibly bland palates. The trick will probably be to include a reasonable numbers of side dishes or relishes.

• Aloo Papri Chaat – using something gluten free and snack like for the texture on top*
• Vegetable Jalfrezi with paneer cheese**
• Spinach with Coconut – part of the continuing and seemingly endless campaign to use up the desiccated coconut**
• Dhal – probably with red split lentils**
• Chilli Roast Butternut Squash with lentils**
• Cucumber salad*
• Mango Chutney*
• Yoghurt Raita*
• Curry Puffs – based on a Brazilian Cheese puff recipe made with tapioca (potato) flour
• Basmati rice

& I’m going to think about either minted pineapple for desert or a carrot halva**.

Making so many separate dishes means a fair bit of work, but a lot can be done in advance, or substantially in advance*

A couple will just need warming through last minute**

And the rice plus curry puffs will need to be made fresh, though the rice is forgiving enough.

It’s a plan.