Mouthwatering recipes from Bake-Off host's first cookbook in 25 years (2024)

In our mouthwatering series, Prue Leith has been bringing you delicious recipes from her new cookery book — her first in 25 years.

They include dishes from her days as a Michelin-starred restaurateur and running one of Britain’s leading cookery schools. Today, in our final pullout, she shares some of her favourite recipes for entertaining...

ANDHRA FISH CURRY

Andhra curry powder is made using Kashmiri chilli powder, which comes from deep red, dried chillies with wrinkled skin. It imparts a vibrant red colour and a mild heat.

If you can’t get hold of it, use two-thirds Kashmiri chilli powder with one-third ground turmeric.

This is a tomato-based fish curry that, unusually, doesn’t use coconut milk — the distinct tastes come from the Kashmiri chilli powder, tamarind and mango, but the spices and flavourings give a subtle, layered flavour.

Serves 6

● 75g dried tamarind pulp

● 100ml sunflower oil

● 2 onions, finely chopped

● 1 tsp fenugreek seeds

● 1 tsp black mustard seeds

● ½ tsp cumin seeds

● ¼ tsp salt

● 2 garlic cloves, finely sliced

● 1 green chilli, finely sliced

● 3 tsp Andhra curry powder (or 2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder and 1 tsp ground turmeric)

● 1 mango cheek from a large, unripe mango, or 1 whole small, unripe mango

● 450g ripe tomatoes, chopped, or 1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes

● About 6 curry leaves, fresh or dried

● 140g long-grain rice

● 500g haddock fillet, skinned and cut into bite-size chunks

● 3 spring onions, chopped

● Small handful fresh coriander leaves

Start by boiling 150ml water and submerging the tamarind in it, then leave to soak for at least 15 minutes. Heat the oil in a deep saucepan or flameproof casserole over a medium heat and fry the onions, fenugreek, mustard and cumin seeds with the salt.

When the onions are soft, add the garlic, green chilli, curry powder or chilli powder and turmeric. Cook for a further minute or so.

Cut the flesh from the mango, but leave the skin on. Then slice the flesh crossways, trying to ensure that each slice has a strip of peel.

Add these slices, the tomatoes and the curry leaves to the pan and cook, covered, for ten minutes, until the tomatoes are soft.

Strain the tamarind pulp through a sieve, pressing down with the back of a spoon to get all but the seeds through. Pour the liquid into the curry.

Rinse the rice in cold water. Put it into a saucepan, pour over enough water to cover it by 2-3cm and bring to the boil. Cover and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook for roughly ten minutes without lifting the lid, until the rice is tender.

Remove from the heat and set aside, still covered, until ready to be served.

Return the curry to a simmer for a minute or two (it should be liquid, but thick), before adding the fish and cooking for four minutes.

Turn off the heat and let the haddock continue to cook gently in the curry for a few minutes while the flavour penetrates the fish.

Tip the curry into a serving dish and garnish with the spring onions and coriander. Serve with the rice.

LEITH'S ROAST DUCK

This is based on my signature dish at Leith’s restaurant when we opened in 1969. It was so popular that it stayed on the menu for 25 years, until I sold the restaurant.

At one point, I thought the 60-odd ducks we sold a week would justify me starting a duck farm — but then, did I really want a duck farm? No.

We used to roast the birds whole and the waiters would expertly carve them at the table. But, for ease and speed, I’ve adapted the recipe for duck breasts here, which also means you can cook the meat as rare as each diner prefers.

Serves 2

● 2 duck breasts

● Sea salt and cracked black pepper, to season

For the sauce

● 15g butter

● 1 celery stick, finely chopped

● 1 small onion, finely chopped

● 30g granulated sugar

● 1 tbsp white wine vinegar

● 150ml strong poultry stock

● Finely grated zest and juice of 1 orange

● 2 tsp brandy

To serve

● 45g flaked almonds, toasted

● Bunch of watercress

Heat the oven to 220c/fan 200c/gas 7. Rub the duck breasts all over with sea salt and cracked black pepper. Lay them skin-side down in a cold, heavy-based frying pan and set over a low heat. As the duck breasts cook, the fat will render and can be poured out into a bowl (to be used for roasting potatoes at a later date). After ten minutes or so, the skin should be crisp and golden. Turn over the breasts and transfer to a small, ovenproof dish or roasting tin.

Pour any fat out of the frying pan and discard. Wipe the pan clean, add the butter and return it to the heat. Once the butter is hot, fry the celery and onion for four to five minutes, stirring, until softened. Set aside.

Meanwhile, put the sugar and vinegar into a small, clean saucepan. Dissolve the sugar over a low heat, then boil until it caramelises: it should cook to a good, deep brown, with large, slow bubbles. Pour in the stock — this will hiss and splutter, so take care. Stir until the caramel lumps disappear. Add the softened celery and onion, followed by the orange zest and juice and the brandy. Spoon the sauce around the duck breasts and roast in the hot oven for six to seven minutes. Remove from the oven, cut into slices and serve with a scattering of almonds and some watercress.

LAMB STEAKS CATALAN WITH GREMOLATA

Barbecue paradise, for me, consists of garlicky, slightly charred lamb steaks: heady with rosemary, sizzling on the outside and pink in the middle.

But you can cook them on a really hot griddle or teppanyaki, or in a heavy frying pan.

Get your butcher to cut the steaks from the heavy end of the leg, straight across the grain of the meat, either in round steaks with the bone in the middle, or half steaks without the bone.

The main thing is that they should be at least half an inch thick.

Serves 4

● 3 garlic cloves, crushed

● 3 sprigs rosemary, leaves picked and finely chopped

● 3 tbsp olive oil

● Salt and pepper, to season

● 4 lamb steaks on the bone, about 1.5cm thick

● Vegetable oil, for greasing

For the gremolata

● 2 tbsp flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped

● Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon

● 2 fat garlic cloves, crushed

● 2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for greasing

● ½ tsp salt

● ½ tsp black pepper

Mix the garlic, rosemary and olive oil in a bowl, season with salt and pepper and add the lamb steaks. Cover the meat well and leave to marinate overnight, or for at least an hour, in the fridge.

Meanwhile, make the gremolata by simply combining the ingredients.

Next, dip a screw of kitchen paper in oil and use to grease a griddle pan or heavy frying pan. Get this really hot, then add the lamb steaks, along with any marinade that sticks to them. Griddle the steaks for three to four minutes without moving them (shifting them around spoils the griddle marks, while constantly lifting them to peer at the undersides allows them to cool and prevents them browning).

When the tops of the steaks begin to look moist because the juices are being forced up through the meat, turn them over to grill the other side for a few minutes.

If you want medium-rare meat, the steak should feel firm, but not rigid, when pressed with a finger or tongs.

Remove from the heat and allow to rest for a few minutes. Serve with the gremolata.

PRUE SAYS: If the lamb steaks are nice and thick and cut evenly, three to four minutes per side should give you a medium-rare steak. Allow three minutes per side for rare, and six for well done.

If well-done steaks are getting too brown, move them to the edge of the barbecue or lower the heat under the pan for the final minute or two on each side.

SQUASH TATIN WITH HARISSA BUTTER

If you like American pumpkin pie, you’ll love this. It’s a savoury dish that’s a bit sweet, but spicy, too, and huge fun to make.

Serves 6

● 1 butternut squash (about 800g), peeled and cut into 2-3cm (1in) rounds

● 1 tbsp coriander seeds

● 1 tbsp thyme leaves

● 3 tbsp olive oil

● Salt and pepper, to season

● 40g salted butter

● 1 tbsp maple syrup

● 1 tsp cumin seeds

● 2 tsp harissa paste

● 500g all-butter puff pastry

● Small handful of mint leaves, to serve

Heat the oven to 220c/fan 200c/ gas 7. Put the butternut squash in a large roasting tin, seeds and all.

Add the coriander seeds, thyme and 2 tbsp of the oil, then mix well. Spread out evenly and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 25 minutes, turning half way through.

Meanwhile, put the remaining olive oil, along with the butter, maple syrup and cumin seeds, in a 24cm ovenproof frying pan over a medium heat.

Heat, swirling until bubbling, for about a minute, then remove from the heat and add the harissa paste.

Arrange the roasted squash slices flat on the base of the frying pan, on top of the mixture. Use all the slices, adding a second layer if needed. Allow to cool slightly.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry until it is about 4mm thick and large enough to cover the frying pan. Using the rolling pin to pick up the pastry, carefully drape it over the squash, letting the edges overhang the sides of the pan. Trim off the excess pastry with scissors, leaving about 1cm all the way round, to allow for ‘shrinking’ as it cooks.

Tuck the overhanging pastry down between the squash and the frying pan. Make a few slits in the pastry to allow steam to escape. Bake for 30 minutes, until brown, then leave to cool for ten minutes.

Place a lipped serving plate upside down over the pastry then, using oven gloves, carefully flip the whole thing over. Remove the pan, replacing any escaped slices of squash if needed. Scatter with the mint leaves and serve.

PRUE SAYS: If you want to use ready-rolled puff pastry, you will need two boxes for this. It needs to be a little colder than room temperature when you roll it, but not too rigid. Place one sheet on top of the other, then roll out.

If the butternut squash is too juicy, it may not caramelise. You could cheat by heating a tablespoon of sugar with a splash of lemon juice or vinegar, swirling over a high heat, until you have a bubbling caramel, which you can then pour over the finished tart.

HOT APRICOT AND BLOOD ORANGE SOUFFLE

This is a feather-light, modern take on the rich, old-fashioned cream and egg-laden soufflé.

It is just as delicious, but contains no cream.

Makes 4-6 soufflés

● 120g dried apricots, soaked for 2 hours in 200ml water

● 20g butter, plus extra for greasing

● 30g caster sugar

● 20g plain flour

● 100ml blood orange juice

● Finely grated zest of 1 blood orange

● 3 medium egg whites

● Icing sugar, for dusting

● Orange Baci di Dama biscuits with rosemary, to serve (see below)

Heat the oven to 200c/fan 180c/ gas 6 and put a baking sheet on the middle shelf to heat.

Tip the soaked apricots and their soaking water into a saucepan and poach, covered, over a low heat, until tender (about 20 minutes).

Spoon out the apricots and put them into a liquidiser with 1 tbsp of their poaching liquor. Blend until smooth.

Lightly grease four 200ml, or six 150ml, ramekins with butter and dust with caster sugar. Melt the butter in a small saucepan, add the flour and cook for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and add the orange juice and zest. Mix well, before adding the apricot purée. Return to a medium heat and simmer for two to three minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

In a large bowl, whisk the egg whites until they will hold their shape. Add the caster sugar and whisk again, until stiff.

Tip all the apricot mix into the egg-white bowl. Gently fold together the two mixtures, then spoon into the ramekins, filling them almost to the top. Run your finger around the inside top edge of each ramekin to give the cooked soufflés a ‘top hat’ appearance.

Bake in the oven, on the hot baking sheet, for 12-14 minutes. Test by giving one of the ramekins a slight shake.

If the soufflé wobbles alarmingly, it needs further cooking. If it wobbles only slightly, it’s ready.

Dust with icing sugar and serve immediately with the Baci di Dama biscuits.

ORANGE BACI DI DAMA BISCUITS WITH ROSEMARY

These melt-in-the-mouth ‘lady’s kisses’ are irresistible. They can be made with other flavours, but I think orange and rosemary is a great combination.

Makes 20

● 100g butter, softened

● 100g caster sugar

● 100g ground almonds

● 100g plain flour

● Finely grated zest of 1 orange

● ½ tbsp rosemary, finely chopped

● 20 apricot kernels (see Prue’s tip, right) or 10 almonds, halved

Heat the oven to 180c/fan 160c/ gas 4. Beat together the butter and sugar until smooth and light, either by hand or machine. Add the ground almonds, flour, orange zest and rosemary and work the mixture until it forms a stiff dough. Shape into 20 small balls, then arrange on baking sheets, leaving a 3-4cm gap between each one. Press an apricot kernel or almond half in the centre of each ball and bake for ten minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

PRUE SAYS: These are delicious served with coffee or ice cream — anywhere you can ration them to one or two per person. Put them in a biscuit tin and they’ll be gone by morning.

Apricot kernels — like tiny, powerfully fragrant almonds — can be bought online, but they are much cheaper from an organic food shop.

Please note that the Food Standards Agency advises us not to eat too many of them as they can be toxic — another good reason to avoid eating more than a couple of these biscuits at a time!

PLUM CLAFOUTIS

I ate my first clafoutis in France in the Sixties, when I was working as an au pair. It was made with damsons we’d picked off the tree growing behind the village church. I still think that damsons make the best clafoutis. Now, as a septuagenarian, I’m lucky enough to have a damson tree in my garden. Every year, it gives me buckets and buckets of fruit. Why doesn’t anyone sell them commercially? It’s crazy.

If you can make a Yorkshire pudding, you can make this heavenly plum pud. If you can get hold of damsons, so much the better, but cherries, greengages, peaches and apricots are all delicious, too.

Serves 4-6

For the pudding

● 1 tsp vanilla extract

● 150ml milk

● 100ml double cream

● 4 medium eggs

● 100g caster sugar

● 30g plain flour

● Pinch of salt

● 20g butter

● 1 tbsp soft brown sugar

● 6 large plums, or 400g damsons

● 1 ½ tsp ground allspice

To serve

● Icing sugar

● Single cream (optional)

HEAT the oven to 180c/fan 160c/gas 4. Blend together the vanilla extract, milk, double cream, eggs, caster sugar, flour and salt in a liquidiser, then leave for the flour to swell in the liquid for 20 minutes or so.

Meanwhile, spread the butter in a shallow, wide, 1.25-litre baking dish. Sprinkle in the brown sugar. Halve and stone the plums or damsons, then spread them evenly in the dish. Dust over the allspice, then roast for ten minutes. Remove from the oven and immediately pour over the batter. Bake in the centre of the oven for 35 minutes. The clafoutis should be risen and brown. Dust with icing sugar and serve at once, with cream if you like.

PRUE SAYS: For an even more amazing clafoutis, add a glug of brandy to the plums before baking. Or, instead of fresh fruit, use a jar of cherries marinated in kirsch or ready- to-eat dried apricots with a slug of amaretto liqueur.

PRUE'S TRICKS & TIPS

Avocados

Rinse avocado chunks or slices under cold water to stop them browning — better than oil or lemon juice.

Bright greens

If pre-cooking green veg or blanching them for the freezer, cool them under cold water to keep the colour. Microwave or stir-fry to reheat.

Carrot ribbons

Use a peeler to turn peeled carrots into ribbons.

Frilly cucumbers

For frilly cucumber slices, score down the length of the cucumber with a fork, piercing the skin with the tips of the fork. Do this all round the cucumber, then slice.

Poaching eggs

If you struggle with the whirlpool method of poaching eggs, try using a wide, deep frying pan of simmering, salted water with a teaspoon of white vinegar in it.

Slip the eggs in, side by side, and gently shake the pan by moving the handle from side to side to stop them catching on the bottom.

They will come out flatter and less impressive than professionally poached eggs, but they’ll taste just the same. For rounder eggs, use a small, deep wok.

Lemon wedges

Here’s how to cut the perfect lemon wedge that doesn’t slip out of your fingers as you squeeze it, drop pips on your food, or squirt your neighbour in the eye.

First, cut the lemon lengthways into six or eight wedges.

Cut both ends squarely off each wedge. Then cut along the thin edge of each to remove the pith and allow you to flick out the seeds.