Dolmades

Ingredients :
1 tablespoon olive oil
100g/4oz minced beef
2 tablespoons pine nuts
1 onion, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh coriander leaves
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon tomato purée
8 preserved vine leaves
salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the tomato sauce:
150ml/5fl oz passata
150ml/5fl oz beef stock
2 teaspoons caster sugar

How to make
- To make the filling, heat the oil in a pan over a medium heat. Add the minced beef, pine nuts and onion. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes until the meat has browned and sealed.
- Stir in the fresh coriander, cumin and tomato purée. Cook for a further 3 minutes, then season well with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- Rinse the vine leaves, and lay them shiny side down on a work surface. Put some of the filling in the centre of each leaf, and fold the stalk end over the filling. Roll up each parcel towards the tip of the leaf, and put in
a lightly greased flameproof casserole dish, seam side down.
- To make the tomato sauce, mix together the passata, stock and sugar, and pour over the vine leaves, making sure that each one is covered. Cover the casserole, and cook over a medium heat for a few minutes.
Reduce the heat, and cook gently for a further 30 minutes. Serve hot.

Pâté en croûte

Ingredients :
450g/1lb streaky bacon rashers
250g/9oz chicken livers, cleaned and finely minced
1 onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 tablespoons fresh white breadcrumbs
3 tablespoons sherry
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
200g/7oz ready-made puff pastry
1 egg, beaten
freshly ground black pepper

How to make
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas mark 4.
- Set aside 6 rashers of the bacon to line the pâté tin. Remove and discard the rinds from the remaining bacon rashers, and chop finely.
- Mix the rindless rashers with the chicken liver in a large bowl. Stir in the onion, garlic, breadcrumbs, sherry, nutmeg and black pepper to taste.
- Stretch the remaining rashers of bacon across the bottom and sides of a 1.1kg/2lb loaf tin, reserving 2 for the top. Spoon in the pâté mixture, and place 2 rashers on top.
- Cover with foil, and stand the pâté tin in a shallow roasting tin half-filled with hot water. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes until the pâté has shrunk away from the sides of the tin.
- Remove the pâté tin from the hot water, and pour off the excess fat. Leave to stand for 15 minutes.
- Increase the oven temperature to 200°C/400°F/Gas mark 6.
- Roll out the pastry thinly. Turn the pâté out of its tin, and brush with some of the beaten egg. Cover with the pastry, using the beaten egg to seal the edges and to brush the outside of the pastry case.
- Carefully place on an oiled baking sheet, and cook in the oven for a further 30 minutes until the pastry is golden brown. Remove from the oven, and allow to cool before serving.

Pork & liver pâté

Ingredients :
350g/12oz streaky bacon rashers
225g/8oz pork shoulder, roughly chopped
225g/8oz pork sausagemeat
225g/8oz pig’s liver, chopped
1 small onion
2 garlic cloves
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
3 tablespoons marsala
salt and ground black pepper

How to make
- Preheat the oven to 170°C/325°F/Gas mark 3.
- Grease a 450g/1lb loaf tin. Line with the bacon rashers, reserving a few for the top.
- Put the pork shoulder in a food processor and chop until fine. Add the remaining ingredients, and blend for 30 seconds until smooth.
- Add the mixture to the loaf tin, smooth the top and cover with the reserved bacon rashers. Cover with foil.
- Put the loaf tin in a larger baking tray half-filled with boiling water. Carefully transfer to the oven, and bake for 11⁄2 hours or until firm. Remove from the oven and take off the foil. Cover the pâté with greaseproof paper, and set a heavy weight on top such as a plate. Chill overnight in the refrigerator. Serve in slices at room temperature.

Smoked mackerel pâté

Ingredients :
1 smoked mackerel fillet, skinned
50g/2oz cottage cheese
60ml/21?2 fl oz sour cream
1⁄2 teaspoon dried fennel
1⁄2 teaspoon dried dill
juice of 1 lemon
salt and freshly ground black pepper
freshly grated nutmeg

How to make
- Purée the mackerel in a food processor or blender.
- Add the cottage cheese, sour cream, lemon juice, fennel and dill. Continue blending until smooth, stirring occasionally.
- Spoon the mixture into a bowl. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste.
- Divide the mixture among four individual pots or dishes, cover and chill for 24 hours.

Crab pâté

Ingredients :
275g/10oz canned cream of mushroom soup
1 tablespoon powdered gelatine
100g/4oz mayonnaise
225g/8oz cream cheese, softened
350g/12oz cooked crabmeat
1 small onion, finely chopped
100g/4oz celery, finely chopped
1⁄2 teaspoon dried dill

How to make
- Heat the soup in a medium heavy saucepan over a low heat. Remove from the heat.
- In a small bowl, dissolve the gelatine in 3 tablespoons cold water. Add to the soup, stirring well until completely combined. Add the remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly.
- Spoon into an oiled 1.2-litre/2pt mould, and chill until firm.

Chicken liver pâté

Ingredients :
450g/1lb chicken livers
50g/2oz butter
1 teaspoon brandy
2 eggs, hard-boiled
1 onion, roughly chopped

How to make
- Clean the livers thoroughly. Fry in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat with the butter and brandy.
- In a blender or food processor, purée the livers, eggs, onion and any cooking juices in the pan. Transfer the mixture to a serving dish. Cover with foil, then put a weight such as a plate on top. Chill overnight.
- Serve at room temperature.

Chicken saltimbocca

Ingredients :
3 skinless chicken breast fillets, halved lengthways
6 thin slices boiled ham
6 slices Emmenthal cheese
1 tomato, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon crushed dried sage
75g/3oz fine dried breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
50g/2oz butter, melted

How to make
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/ 350°F/Gas mark 4.
- Put the chicken fillets, bottom side up, between two pieces of cling film. Working out from the centre, pound each piece lightly with a meat mallet. Remove the cling film. Put a ham slice, a cheese slice and a few tomato slices on each piece.
- Sprinkle each fillet lightly with the sage, and roll up Swiss-roll style. Press to seal well.
- Combine the breadcrumbs, Parmesan and parsley. Dip the chicken in the butter, then roll in the breadcrumbs. Bake in a lightly oiled dish for 40–45 minutes.