Rick says: “I suppose I should have asked for this recipe from Lulu Bonneville, having enjoyed it at a lovely long lunch with her and Hugh (aka Lord Grantham). But what I love doing is taking someone’s recipe that I really like and not copying it but just paying homage with my own version. I love getting recipes from those understated but really good cooks who manage to produce something delicious and are also so organised that they are around for the glass of champagne on arrival. They just seem to magic the food up.”

Serves 6–8

Ingredients

• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 12 chicken thighs, skin on and bone in
• Juice of 1–2 lemons
• 5 garlic cloves, chopped
• Small bunch of thyme, leaves stripped from stalks
• 3 courgettes, cut into thick slices on the diagonal
• 2 fennel bulbs, trimmed and sliced
• 8 new potatoes, scrubbed and cut into thick slices
• Sea salt and black pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 220°C/Fan 200°C. Add a small amount of the oil to a large frying pan and place it over a medium-high heat. Working in batches, fry the chicken thighs for a few minutes until the skin has taken on a deep golden colour. Turn the chicken over and cook for a minute or so on the underside.

Mix the lemon juice, garlic, thyme and the rest of the olive oil in a bowl. Arrange the slices of courgette, fennel and potato in a large roasting tin and pour over two-thirds of the lemon and oil mixture. Toss to coat the vegetables and season with salt and pepper.

Arrange the chicken on top, skin-side up, and pour over the remaining lemon and oil mixture. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Bake for 35–40 minutes until the chicken skin is crisp and golden and the vegetables underneath are tender. Nice with a green salad or green beans.

Rick says: “I tried making these meatballs with minced pork but they were too dry, so I think they are much better made with good-quality sausage meat, by which I mean at least 90% pork. A lot of the brands of tomato passata with flavourings are not to my taste, but the Napolina soffritto is just tomato, garlic, onion and celery.”

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 400g premium pork sausages, skins removed and discarded
• ¾ tsp fennel seeds, coarsely ground
• ¼ tsp chilli flakes
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 250g orzo
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 60ml white wine
• 400ml soffritto passata (I like Napolina)
• 1 rosemary sprig
• Salt and black pepper

To serve:

• Parmesan, grated
• Basil leaves, torn

Method

Mix the sausage meat, fennel seeds and chilli flakes in a bowl and shape into balls about the size of cherry tomatoes.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a shallow casserole dish or a large pan with a lid and fry the meatballs until lightly browned all over. Transfer them to a plate and set aside.

Add the remaining oil to the pan, add the orzo and fry for a couple of minutes. Add the garlic and fry for a minute, then pour in the wine and bring to the boil. Add the passata and 650ml of water, season and bring to the boil again. Turn the heat down to a simmer and cook for 2–3 minutes.

Add the meatballs and rosemary, season with salt and pepper, then cover the pan with a lid and leave to simmer for about 10 minutes. Remove the lid and cook for a final couple of minutes until the pasta is done and the sauce is thickened.

Serve with plenty of freshly grated Parmesan cheese and torn basil leaves.

Rick says: “I love a fish pie but I do realise that there are a lot of processes involved, although the great thing is that when you come to serving there’s nothing to do except take it out of the oven. I’ve made this recipe as simple as possible by not having a proper béchamel sauce or mashed potato, as you would for a traditional fish pie. I made a traditional one for my family, including grandchildren, last Easter assuming everyone loved a fish pie, but that generation were not at all keen. Next Easter I’ll be serving it like this, with a puff pastry top.”

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 600ml whole milk
• 500g whiting, coley or pollock
• 300g undyed smoked haddock
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 tbsp cornflour
• 85g mature Cheddar cheese, grated
• Splash of white wine
• Large handful of parsley, chopped
• 150g peeled prawns, fresh or frozen and defrosted
• 320g ready-rolled puff pastry
• Milk or egg yolk, to glaze
• Salt and black pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C/Fan 180°C. Heat the milk in a wide pan, add the fish and poach for 3–5 minutes. Take the pan off the heat, then lift the fish out with a slotted spoon, leaving the milk in the pan. When the fish is cool enough to handle, peel off any skin and gently break the flesh into large chunks. Allow the milk to cool a little.

In a small bowl, mix together the egg yolks and cornflour to form a paste. Gradually whisk in about a ladleful of the poaching milk. Place the pan of milk over a low heat and whisk in the egg yolk mixture, then stir over a medium heat until you have a thickened creamy sauce. Stir in the grated cheese, wine and parsley, then taste and season with salt and pepper.

Add the fish, sauce and prawns to an ovenproof dish, about 20 x 30cm in size, and gently combine. Top with the pastry and brush with milk or egg yolk. Slash the pastry a couple of times to allow steam to escape and bake for 25–30 minutes until the pastry is golden and risen. Serve with peas, broccoli or green leafy vegetables.

Rick Stein’s Simple Suppers (£28, BBC Books) is out now