Jamie Oliver’s perfect puds for taste of Yorkshire with a twist

I can’t lie: this dish has become one of my new favourite things. Each mouthful is an outrageously delicious bit of heaven that anyone sensible won’t be able to resist. The contrast of hot crispy soft Yorkshire pudding and cold creamy smoky trout with a good hit of horseradish is unbelievable. You can put the creamy smoked fish in one big serving bowl if you like, but I think it’s quite sweet to make up a few individual servings in little teacups. Around May and June you’ll start to see flowering chives around, and those are beautiful for decorating the top of the potted fish if you’re out to impress. This is dead quick, so easy and absolutely perfect for a starter – just whack it right in the middle of the table so everyone can help themselves. Your guests will be fighting over it, I promise.

Serves 6 to 8

For the creamy smoked fish: 125g cream cheese, 2-3 heaped teaspoons jarred horseradish, 1 lemon, a small bunch of fresh chives, finely chopped, sea salt and ground pepper, 125g hot-smoked trout, skin removed, rapeseed oil. For the Yorkies (makes 16 baby Yorkies) vegetable oil, 2 large free-range eggs, 100g plain flour, 100ml milk, lemon wedges, to serve

Put the cream cheese into a mixing bowl with the horseradish, the zest of 1 lemon and the juice from half, and mix together. Mix in most of the chopped chives, then have a taste and add a pinch of salt and pepper. It’s very important that this mixture has a bolshie attitude – it should be hot, smoky, salty, so add more horseradish or lemon juice if needed. Flake in the trout, removing any skin and bones, then use a spatula to fold the mixture together gently so you have smaller bits and nice chunks. Decant into a single nice serving dish or several little bowls or cups, then drizzle over a little rapeseed oil and sprinkle over a few more chopped chives.

Cover with clingfilm and put into the fridge to get nice and cold. When you’re nearly ready to eat, preheat the oven to full whack (about 240°C/475°F/gas 9) while you make your Yorkshire pudding batter. Get yourself a mini muffin tin (you can buy these easily online or in cooks’ shops) and pour a little thimble of vegetable oil into the 16 compartments of the tin, so you have a thin layer covering the bottom of each. Pop the tray on to the top shelf in the hot oven for around 10 to 15 minutes, so the oil get so hot that it smokes. While you’re doing that, aggressively beat the eggs, flour, milk and a pinch of salt and pepper together, either by hand or in a food processor, until light and smooth. Transfer the mixture into a jug. Carefully take the tray out of the oven and quickly and confidently pour the batter into the hot tin so it nearly fills each well. Return the tray to the top shelf of the oven to cook for around 10 to 12 minutes, or until the Yorkies are puffed up and golden. Whatever you do, don’t open the oven door! Get your cold cups and bowls of potted fish out of the fridge and serve on a board with those sizzling hot little Yorkies and some lemon wedges.

Guinness Lamb Shank

People absolutely love lamb shanks. You cook them until they’re just falling apart and they develop the most amazing flavours. This recipe is all about investing in dark sticky sauce and tender meat. We’re spoiled for choice when it comes to interesting ales, and adding a good dark ale or even Guinness to the onions creates the most brilliant depth of flavour. The sauce here makes enough for 10 lamb shanks, so if you want to make this recipe serve more people, just plop a few more shanks into the pan and top up with a little more stock if need be. Whatever you do, do NOT skip the mint oil or spring onions. It’s like switching on a light, and just that simple little touch makes the whole dish sing.

Serves 6

3 red onions, peeled, olive oil, sea salt and ground pepper, 2 handfuls of raisins, 3 heaped tablespoons, thick-cut marmalade, 1 heaped tablespoon, tomato ketchup, 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, plus extra for serving, 200ml Guinness or smooth dark ale, 6 lamb shanks, roughly 350g each, 8 sprigs of fresh rosemary, 1 litre organic chicken stock. To serve: a small bunch of fresh, mint leaves, a few tablespoons rapeseed or olive oil, 2 spring onions, trimmed, cider vinegar

Finely chop the onions and put them into a really large casserole-type pan (roughly 26cm indiameter and 12cm deep), with a lug of olive oil and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Cook over a medium to high heat, stirring as you go, until the onions start to caramelize. Add the raisins and marmalade, then add the ketchup, Worcestershire sauce and booze. Give it all a good stir, then leave to gently simmer. Put the lamb shanks into a large frying pan (roughly 30cm wide) on a medium to high heat with a drizzle of olive oil – you can cook them in batches if needed. Turn them every few minutes; once they have some good colour, pick in the rosemary leaves and move them around in the pan to get crispy, but don’t let them burn. Use tongs to move the shanks into the pan of onions, then pour in all their juices and the crispy rosemary. Add the stock, put the lid on, turn down the heat and leave to blip away slowly for around 3 hours, or until the meat falls off the bone easily. Try to turn the shanks halfway through so they cook evenly. When the lamb shanks are ready, carefully move them to a platter, making sure the meat stays intact. Whiz or liquidize the gravy with a stick blender until smooth, then allow to reduce down and thicken. Bash most of the mint leaves in a pestle and mortar with a good pinch of salt and the olive or rapeseed oil, then take to the table. Finely slice up the spring onions and toss on a plate with the remaining fresh mint leaves, a drizzle of cider vinegar and a pinch of salt. Add a little splash of cider vinegar and a few more splashes of Worcestershire sauce to the sauce, then ladle it all over the lamb shank and pour the rest into a jug for people to help themselves. Scatter the vinegary spring onions and a few fresh mint leaves all over the top, drizzle the mint oil all around the shanks, and serve with lovely potato and celeriac mash.