Passionfruit, banana and ginger trifle

If you’re looking for a dessert to serve in lieu of Christmas pudding, can I throw this recipe into the mix? It’s a Scottish-Australian fusion incorporating green ginger wine, passionfruit, ginger marmalade, and many other good things suitable for Christmas in the northern or southern hemisphere. I’ve already served it at a trifle-off (oh yes!) and our office Christmas lunch, and chances are it’ll be making an appearance on Christmas day, too. It could equally play the centrepiece of a decadent afternoon tea, or dessert at a lunch or dinner party, summer or winter.

This recipe owes its structure (including its cut corners) to Delia’s Summer Trifle with Raspberries (or Strawberries) – one of the best, and easiest, trifle recipes ever. The flavours are based on my favourite breakfast combo of passionfruit, banana, Rachel’s Organic Greek style ginger yogurt, and Dorset Cereals marmalade granola (now sadly discontinued). I also owe inspiration to Nigella’s Ginger Passionfruit Trifle, but I’d like to think I’ve pushed the concept a bit further than her five-ingredient version – I’ve never quite understood why she didn’t go the whole hog with this one!

If you make this in individual dishes, do measure out the green ginger wine – 20ml per person. In smaller dishes you can get away with minimal fridge time following assembly. One large trifle does need time in the fridge to coalesce before serving.

Pretty photograph to follow once I have a nice glass trifle bowl that shows up the layers!

Serves 6

6 trifle sponges (the little ones measuring roughly 2 x 5 x 8cm)
¼ cup ginger marmalade (I used Claire Macdonald’s Isle of Skye label)
½ cup green ginger wine (I used Crabbie’s)
175g (peeled weight) ripe but firm bananas (about 2 medium bananas)
pulp of 4 large passionfruit (to yield about 175g)
250g mascarpone
500ml good-quality ready-made fresh custard (in the UK, try Waitrose, Sainsbury’s or M&S)
4 globes stem ginger in syrup
1 tbs syrup from the ginger
toasted flaked almonds, to decorate

You will also need a 1.75L trifle bowl, or 6 x 300ml individual glass dishes.

Split the trifle sponges in half lengthwise with a small serrated knife, so you have two thin flat pieces from each. Spread one side with marmalade and put back together to form sandwiches. Cut each one into 3 pieces and place in the bottom of the trifle bowl. Prick with a skewer or point of a sharp knife, and drizzle the green ginger wine evenly over all.

Thinly slice the bananas and scatter evenly over the trifle sponges, pressing down a little into any gaps. Spoon the passionfruit pulp evenly over the banana.

Place the mascarpone in a large mixing bowl and loosen slightly with a spatula. Gradually whisk in the custard until smooth. Finely grate the stem ginger (a fine Microplane grater, or similar, is best for this) and add to the custard mix with the tablespoon of ginger syrup. Whisk until well combined.

Pour the custard evenly over all, and sprinkle the top liberally with toasted flaked almonds. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least several hours before serving – ideally overnight for one large trifle. When serving, make sure that everyone gets a bit of all the layers, including the boozy sponge at the bottom!

Blue cheese, butternut and red onion tart

An easy vegetarian supper for two after an autumn day’s hillwalking.

1/4 butternut squash
3 small red onions, thinly sliced
1 tbs dark brown sugar
3/4 tbs sherry vinegar
2 handfuls rocket
60g Stilton cheese
200g all-butter puff pastry
olive oil
butter
sea salt and black pepper

Preheat the oven to 220C.

Wipe the skin of the butternut squash, leaving it on, then slice the butternut into 1/4-inch-thick slices. (Half-moon shapes are good, but it will depend on which part of the squash you’re using). Place on an oiled baking tray, brush with more olive oil, and sprinkle with sea salt and black pepper. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until just tender. Remove from the oven and set aside, keeping the oven on.

Meanwhile, heat a large knob of butter and a lug of olive oil over medium heat in a medium-sized saucepan. Add the onions and fry for about 5 minutes, until slightly softened but not coloured. Add the sugar, sherry vinegar and a pinch of salt, and cook for a further 30 minutes or so over low heat, stirring occasionally, until completely soft and sticky. Taste before removing from the heat, and adjust the flavour with more salt or sugar if required.

Roll out the pastry on a floured surface to a rectangle roughly 20×30 centimetres. Place on a piece of baking parchment on a baking tray. Trim the edges with a sharp knife to help the rise, and score a border 1 centimetre inside the edge all the way round.

Spread the onion on the pastry, leaving the border clear. Top with the slices of butternut squash. Brush the border of the pastry with water mixed with a few drops of olive oil. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until the border is a dark golden brown.

Remove from the oven and top with the rocket, then crumble over the Stilton. Drizzle with olive oil and grind over plenty of black pepper before serving.

Super-easy, super-fluffy, ricotta and olive frittata

This frittata is extremely easy to make, emerges from the oven puffed up like a soufflé, and is great for feeding a crowd with minimum fuss. It’s very high in protein, and will keep happily in the fridge for several days if you’re looking for something to make in advance for work-day breakfasts. You can substitute the filling/topping with whatever you fancy – sliced tomatoes or halved cherry tomatoes work well, as do other antipasti. If you don’t need quite so many servings, just halve the amounts, use a 20x30cm baking dish, and reduce the cooking time to about 25 minutes.

Serves 8 at breakfast, lunch or dinner, or many more as party food

12 medium eggs
500g ricotta
a handful each of good quality green and black olives, pitted and halved (small ones can be pitted and left whole)
salt and black pepper

You will also need a 30x40cm baking dish, lined (base and sides) with baking paper. (No need to grease.)

Preheat the oven to 190C. Place the eggs and ricotta in a large mixing bowl with plenty of ground pepper and a small pinch of salt. (The olives are already salty.) Whisk until well combined. The batter won’t be completely free of lumps, but the eggs and ricotta should be well amalgamated and as smooth as possible. Pour into the lined baking dish and scatter with the olives. Bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes. The frittata should be puffed up and just firm in the centre – it will only be very lightly golden in places, if at all. Allow to cool in the baking dish for at least 10 minutes, then lift out onto a flat surface using the baking paper to assist. Slice into slabs or fingers and peel carefully away from the baking paper. Serve warm or at room temperature. For a party, serve with tomato chutney or relish for dipping; for lunch, with salad and bread.