Recipes for success

SAUSAGE AND LENTIL TRAYBAKE

Serves 2-3 (double or triple amounts for larger parties)

3 small onions

6 good-quality sausages (we used Toulouse)

2 x 250g pouch cooked Puy lentils

3tbsp red wine vinegar

3tbsp maple syrup

Heat oven to 200C.

Method

Quarter the onions, leaving the root intact so they don’t fall apart during cooking.

Heat a griddle pan to high. Griddle the onions to char them, then remove and set aside. Repeat with the sausages – you don’t need to cook them through at this point, just brown them.

Tip the lentils into a roasting tin and add any juices from the griddle pan, the vinegar and some seasoning, then toss together. Arrange the onion wedges and sausages on top.

Brush the sausages and onions with the maple syrup, and season the onions Cook for 20 minutes, then serve.

PEAR PARKIN PUDDING WITH CUSTARD

Serves 8

200g porridge oats

200g self-raising flour

2tsp ground ginger

1/2tsp salt

175g treacle

140g butter, plus extra for the dish and for dotting over

140g light muscovado sugar, plus a bit more for sprinkling

2 balls stem ginger from a jar, chopped, plus some of the syrup to serve

1 large egg

150ml milk

4 ripe pears, peeled, stalks cut off, cored and halved

Custard, to serve

Method

Heat your oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3.

Butter a 30 x 20cm baking dish. Mix the first four ingredients in a bowl.

Melt the treacle, butter and sugar together in a large saucepan, then stir in the dry ingredients, half of the chopped ginger, the egg and milk to make batter.

Spoon into the baking dish, then sit the pear halves in the batter. Dot more butter over each pear half and sprinkle with a little more sugar. Bake for one hour.

To serve, scatter the rest of the ginger over the fruit, then drizzle all over with syrup. Serve with custard.