Pasta with anchovies, broccoli and stilton

I know this isn't too dissimilar to the orecchiette with anchovies and broccoli that I posted last July (was it really that long ago?). You can blame Nigel Slater for that - I have a sneaking suspicion both recipes were inspired by his latest book, Tender.

Makes enough for three. You'll need:

1 medium-sized head of broccoli (this would be even nicer with purple sprouting)
a 150ml or so of creme fraiche
4 anchovy fillets
1 onion, sliced
enough pasta for three (that's about 6-7 handfuls in our house)
a slosh of olive oil
a chunk of stilton, crumbled

Sling the pasta in a pan of boiling water, and cook until al dente. In the meantime, chop the broccoli into small florets, and steam for 3-4 minutes.

In a frying pan, gently cook the onion in the olive oil, until it turns translucent. Add the anchovy fillets, and stir to break them up (they'll almost dissolve in the oil). Add the creme fraiche, and simmer for few minutes. Sling in the stilton (dolcelatte would be even better here, I suspect), and let it melt - if the sauce becomes a little thick, then dilute with a little hot water.

Tip in the broccoli and the drained pasta, and toss everything together. Season with lots of black pepper.

Orecchiette with anchovies and broccoli

We ate this for tea, after a hard day playing in the garden - you made cat tunnels out of the hedge clippings, and dragged branches around for Rustle to chase.

Makes enough for three. You'll need:

300g broccoli, chopped into small pieces
4-6 anchovies
a very good slug of olive oil
a clove of garlic, finely chopped
orecchiette (they look like tiny hats or ears. I suspect shells would also do well)

Put the broccoli into a pan with some boiling water, bring to the boil, and simmer for 5-7 minutes until it's soft. Drain, and keep the water (you might as well cook the pasta in it too).

Sling the olive oil and anchovies into a large frying pan and apply some heat - the anchovies will start to disintegrate. Swish them round - don't let them burn - and then add the garlic. Cook for another 3-4 minutes until the garlic's softened and flavoured the oil, and then tip in the broccoli. This needs to cook for 10 minutes or so, but (a) keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn (b) be prepared to add a little more olive oil now and again and (c) remember to break up the broccoli with a spatula as you stir it.

While all this is going on, cook your pasta in the broccoli water. Drain, and tip the pasta in with the broccoli/garlic/anchovy mixture.

Season well with black pepper (the anchovies are so salty you're unlikely to need salt), and then decant into some bowls. It's lovely when topped with lots of grated parmesan, and some chilli flakes.

Celeriac salad

You had a hectic time at the nursery Christmas party this afternoon (complete with a visit from Santa). So tea was nice calming food - a roast chicken, some potato wedges brushed with olive oil and baked in the oven, a spinachy salad, and the experimental celeriac salad.

I adapted this from a Jamie Oliver recipe - he includes vinegar and olive oil as well.

You'll need:

a celeriac
a heaped teaspoon of capers, finely chopped
a couple of large gherkins, chopped
two anchovies, finely chopped
a teaspoon dijon mustard
a couple of tablespoons of Greek yoghurt
a large teaspoon of mayonnaise
black pepper

First of all, peel your celeriac. Ours came out of the vegetable box, so it was fairly muddy, and sprayed soil all over the kitchen as I was trying to peel it. Oops.

Once all the skin has gone, keep peeling - you want lots of longish ribbons of celeriac. Ignore the fluffy bit in the middle - it can go on the compost heap.

Plonk the celeriac in a bowl, and add the gherkins, anchovies and capers. Mix. Swearing when you drop the capers on the floor is optional.

Mix together the yoghurt, mustard and mayonnaise in a small bowl, season with lots of black pepper, and then sling over the celeriac. Give it all a good stir, until everything is coated.

Pissaladière

I first made this when we were away in France this summer, mainly because we needed to use up lots of onions before we left. We ate it on the train, somewhere between Bordeaux and Lille - the ticket inspector looked very jealous as he walked past.

Essentially pissaladière is a flat, open tart with lots of onions, anchovies and olives. I've tried making it with shortcrust pastry but it's a bit rich - a doughier option is what you're after. This scone-type base comes from your Grandma - it's also the base of her fishy pizza, which you'll get the recipe for at some point.

This makes enough for four people.

For the base you'll need: (I'm sorry it's all in ounces, but I can't bake as well in metric...)

8oz self-raising flour
a pinch of salt
a teaspoon of baking powder
2oz butter
4fl oz milk

Mix the flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl. Rub in the butter, and add the milk, until it forms a stiff, firm dough. Roll it out - this should be enough for an A4-sized baking tray.

(Don't forget to either line the baking tray with a silicon sheet, or brush with a little oil first - otherwise the base will probably stick).

For the topping you'll need:

lots of onions - at least 5 or 6 medium ones
a little garlic - a clove or two
a tin of anchovies (you'll probably use half)
some black olives

Slice the onions and garlic, and fry in some olive oil over a low heat for 20 minutes or so, until they're translucent and slightly gooey. Bung on top of the base. Criss cross the top with the anchovies in whatever design takes your fancy. Stud the top with the olives.

Bake in the oven around 180 degrees C for about 20-30 minutes. Keep an eye on it - you don't want the onion to burn.

UPDATE, June '10: It's also good made with puff pastry - see the picture at the top.