A scotch egg, a scone, a sorbet and a sgroppino: nothing says Mother’s Day tea like a mix of dishes that, when paired, seem slightly incongruous, yet are all made with so much love. Focus on one of today’s offerings, or go all out with all three. Extra marks for anyone who can get them all on a tray and presented to a still-snoozing Mum by lunchtime – or maybe teatime – tomorrow. Ready, steady, go!
Blood orange sgroppino (pictured top)
This beautiful Venetian cocktail, in keeping with all great Italian finds, is simple and immeasurably delicious, and will make any celebration feel that much more special. I recommend making double the amount of sorbet, because it makes for a tasty treat at any time. You can find liquid glucose in the baking section of most supermarkets.
Prep 5 min
Cook 5 min
Freeze 24 hr+
Serves 4
For the sorbet
120ml liquid glucose
260g caster sugar
80ml sweet red vermouth – I used Martini Rosso
560ml fresh blood orange juice (ie, from about 10 blood oranges), or regular fresh orange juice
2 tbsp lemon juice
For the sgroppino
1 tsp sumac (optional)
½ tsp flaked salt (optional)
1-2 limes, cut into wedges (optional)
360ml prosecco (ie, about ½ bottle)
First make the sorbet. Put the glucose, sugar and 270ml water in a small saucepan,and bring to a boil. Take off the heat, leave to cool, then whisk in the vermouth, orange and lemon juice. Pour into a suitable container, seal and freeze for 12 hours, or overnight, until frozen solid.
Take the resulting ice block out of its container and, using a rolling pin, carefully break it into small, roughly 5cm pieces. Put these in a food processor and blitz until all the ice crystals have broken up and the mix looks a bit like a thick fruit smoothie. Return to the container and freeze again for two to three hours: the resulting sorbet should be soft and easily scoopable.
An hour ahead of serving, put four champagne glasses in the fridge or freezer to chill.
Mix the sumac and salt, if using, on a small plate. Rub a lime wedge, if using, all around the rim of each chilled glass, then dip and rotate the tops of each glasses in the sumac mixture, to coat the rim a little.
To assemble the sgroppino, put 720g (or about eight scoops) of sorbet in a blender with the prosecco and blitz for 10 seconds, until thick but not slushy. Pour into the chilled glasses, to fill them all by three-quarters, quickly top each one with another half-scoop of sorbet, squeeze over some lime juice, if using, and serve immediately.
Scones with rhubarb and ginger compote
The sweet, savoury and tart compote is the star here, but if time is short or you don’t have any rhubarb, the smell of the freshly baked scones alone will be a winner in any Mother’s Day scenario.
Prep 10 min
Steep 10 min+
Cook 1 hr
Makes 8
For the compote
200g forced (or regular) rhubarb, trimmed and cut into 3cm pieces
10g ginger, peeled, roughly sliced into 4 pieces
3 cardamom pods, lightly bashed open
½ lemon
100g caster sugar
2 vanilla pods, split open lengthways, or ½ tsp vanilla extract
For the scones
250g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
70g fridge-cold unsalted butter, diced
Fine sea salt
155g fridge-cold liquid kefir or buttermilk, plus 1 tbsp extra
40g runny honey
150g clotted cream
Put all the compote ingredients in a small saucepan and leave to macerate for at least 10 minutes (and up to two hours). Add two tablespoons of water to the pan, then bring the mix up to a simmer on a medium-low heat – this should take about 12 minutes, in which time the rhubarb should soften but retain its shape. As soon as the liquid starts to simmer, strain it through a small sieve set over a heatproof bowl, then pick out the ginger, cardamom, lemon and vanilla pods, and put them back in the pan with all the strained liquid. Boil for two minutes, until reduced by half. Transfer the rhubarb pieces to a bowl, then strain the reduced liquid over the top and remove and discard the ginger, cardamom, lemon and vanilla. Refrigerate the compote until needed.
Heat the oven to 220C (200C fan)/425F/gas 7. Put the flour, baking powder, bicarb, butter and half a teaspoon of salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to form coarse breadcrumbs (if you don’t have a processor, use your hands to rub the butter into the flour). Transfer to a large bowl and make a well in the centre.
Mix the kefir and honey, then pour this into the well. Using a butter knife, mix the kefir into the flour until everything comes together into a shaggy mass, then tip out on to a clean work surface. Fold the dough over itself six times, folding any dry bits back into the mix until they are mostly incorporated – you don’t want to overwork it; the dough should be slightly tacky and shaggy. Shape the dough into a 5cm-thick round, then use a 5cm round cookie cutter to stamp out six scones. Roll out the dough offcuts to 5cm thick, then cut out two more scones, so you now have eight in total.
Arrange the scones on a lined baking tray, brush the tops with the extra tablespoon of kefir, then bake for 13 minutes, until golden. Transfer to a rack and leave to cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.
To serve, cut each scone in half and put a generous spoon of clotted cream on the base. With the back of the spoon, make a small well in the middle of the cream, then put a spoonful of the rhubarb compote on top. Drizzle over some more of the rhubarb juice and serve.
Nothing beats a homemade scotch egg (or at least nothing says, “Look how much effort I’ve put into saying I love you!” more). The Levantine lamb mix in this one is wonderfully versatile, so by all means make extra and turn them into meatballs (for you and/or your mum). If you can’t find fine bulgur, use instant couscous. I like to serve these with tahini sauce, but feel free to swap that out for some yoghurt or your favourite hot sauce instead.
Prep 30 min
Cook 10 min
Serves 4
40g fine bulgur (see recipe intro)
5 large fridge-cold eggs
200g lamb mince (15-20% fat, ideally)
½ small onion, peeled and finely chopped (70g)
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
10g chopped parsley
½ tsp ground allspice
½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 lemon, zest finely grated, to get 1 tsp, then juiced, to get 2 tbsp
Fine sea salt
40g plain flour
50g panko breadcrumbs
500ml vegetable oil, for deep-frying
50g tahini
½ tsp aleppo chilli
Put the bulgur in a heatproof bowl, pour over 70ml boiling water, cover with a plate and leave to steam undisturbed for 20 minutes, until the bulgur is cooked.
Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil, then lower in four of the eggs and boil on a medium-high heat for seven minutes. Drain, then immediately plunge into cold water, to stop the eggs cooking any further, then peel carefully and set aside.
Meanwhile, put the lamb, onion, half the crushed garlic, parsley, allspice, cinnamon and lemon zest in a food processor with three-quarters of a teaspoon of salt, and mix for a minute until well combined.
Break the remaining egg into a small bowl and whisk. Mix the flour and a quarter-teaspoon of salt into a second small bowl. Mix the breadcrumbs and cooked bulgur in a third small bowl.
To build the scotch eggs, divide the lamb mix into four equal portions and put each one between two sheets of greaseproof paper. Using your hands, press down on each portion of lamb mix, working it into a 10cm-wide x just under ½cm-thick circle. Peel off the top layer of paper from one lamb circle and put a peeled egg in the centre. Draw up the sides of the paper under the lamb mix, so it envelops the egg, then smooth out any gaps and set aside. Repeat with the remaining lamb circles and eggs.
Next, working with one egg at a time, roll it first in the flour, then dip in the egg mix and finally roll in the panko mix, to coat all over. Repeat with the remaining eggs.
Put the oil in a medium saucepan on a medium heat. The oil is ready for frying when it registers 175C on a thermometer (or when a pinch of panko sizzles and starts to colour immediately). Carefully lower in two eggs and fry for three to four minutes, turning them once halfway with a slotted spoon, until golden brown all over. Transfer to a plate lined with kitchen paper, and repeat with the remaining scotch eggs.
For the tahini sauce, whisk the tahini, lemon juice, remaining crushed garlic, three tablespoons of water and an eighth of a teaspoon of salt in a small bowl until smooth.
Cut each egg in half, season the insides with a pinch each of salt and aleppo chilli, and serve warm with the tahini sauce on the side for dunking.
