Pinch Perfect

Delia Smith’s blackcurrant ice cream is fresh blackcurrant pulp folded into a sugar syrup and softly whipped double cream, then frozen in a polythene box. It serves 6 to 8, needs no ice cream maker, and takes about 6 hours to set. Smith writes in Delia’s Complete Cookery Course that blackcurrants “make the very nicest …

Delia Smith’s smoked fish creams are individual baked mousses of blended smoked haddock, eggs and double cream, lined with smoked salmon slices. They bake at 190°C (375°F/Gas 5) for 30 minutes, serve 8 as a starter, and need overnight chilling before baking. Smith calls these “a delicious first course for a special occasion” in Delia’s …

Delia Smith’s pork with apples and Calvados is two thick chops browned in a frying pan, flambéed with apple brandy, then simmered in dry cider. Caramelised Cox’s apple and crème fraîche finish the dish. It serves 2 and takes about 35 minutes. Smith writes in The Delia Collection: Pork that Calvados “seems to have within …

Delia Smith’s liver casserole is sliced lambs’ liver layered with onions, carrots, new potatoes and tomatoes, baked in herbed stock at 180°C (350°F/Gas 4). It takes 1½ hours, serves 6, and works as a complete one-pot summer supper. Smith calls this “a recipe for summer when English lambs’ liver is plentiful,” which tells you the …

Delia Smith’s Italian baked fish is cod topped with a thick tomato, mushroom and caper sauce, finished with black olives. It bakes at 190°C (Gas 5) for 25 minutes, serves 4, and takes under an hour from start to plate. The recipe comes from Delia’s Complete Cookery Course, where she notes her personal preference: “my …

Delia Smith’s Greek lamb baked with lemon and garlic is neck fillet slow-cooked in a foil parcel at 150°C (Gas 2) for 3 hours. It uses just four ingredients: lamb, lemons, garlic and parsley. It serves 4 with almost no hands-on work. The recipe comes from Delia’s How to Cheat at Cooking (2008). Her headnote …

Delia Smith’s rigatoni with roasted vegetables is a pasta gratin with aubergine, courgettes, peppers, tomatoes, olives, capers and a Parmesan cheese sauce. The vegetables roast at your oven’s highest setting for 30 to 40 minutes, then the gratin bakes at 200°C (400°F) for just 6 minutes. This comes from Delia’s Complete How to Cook, her …

Delia Smith’s shepherd’s pie is a lamb mince bake topped with potato discs, sliced leeks and melted Cheddar. It bakes at 200°C (400°F) for 35 to 40 minutes. Carrot, swede, thyme and a pinch of cinnamon give the filling a warmth most versions miss. This recipe comes from Delia’s How to Cheat at Cooking (2008), …

Delia Smith’s baked lamb with rosemary is a leg of lamb wrapped in foil and baked at 190°C (Gas 5) for 2 hours. It’s uncovered for 30 minutes to brown. It serves 6 with a cold redcurrant and mint sauce and white wine gravy. The recipe comes from Delia’s Summer Collection (1993), where she explains …

Delia Smith’s luxuriant vegetable pie is a shortcrust case filled with steamed fennel, leeks, broccoli and broad beans in a watercress sauce. It bakes at 200°C (Gas 6) for 40 minutes, serves 6 at 720 calories, with extra sauce alongside. The recipe comes from Delia’s Happy Christmas, and she designed it specifically for vegetarians who …