Angela Hartnett recipes

This recipe is inspired by my friend Randall, he lives across the road from us and is a great baker. At university he worked at a chocolate shop and became the fount of all knowledge on all things chocolate. After being disappointed with so many cakes he came up with this one. Here's my version of it.

We cooked this dish after [my husband] Neil had been out fishing and had caught a fresh-water trout. It's the stuffing that makes this such a delicious dish; just soften onions and garlic in butter and mix it with the breadcrumbs, fresh herbs, almonds and slices of lemon. Trout is quite forgiving so you can use any mix of herbs you fancy. The stuffing would work just as well with a whole salmon or with small sea breams or seabass.
I really like cooking fish en papillote, and you could certainly use the sealed paper technique here - just cut a big sheet of baking paper to line the oven tray. Once the fish is in and drizzled with the oil, gently bring the sides together, being careful not to wrap the fish too tightly, then crimp to seal and cook as per the instructions below.

The garlic and fennel are perfect flavourings for this classic Italian recipe traditionally made up of the leftover trimmings of fresh pasta. Add a little of the pasta cooking water to give it a bit more of a sauce. Frozen peas are great to throw in at the end, though radicchio would be equally good.

I love a queen of puddings. Breadcrumbs, soaked in milk, vanilla flavoured egg, jam on top and then meringue. And when made well, it's delicious. It's also a great way to use up old bread or leftover jams, so it's basically a store cupboard essential. Don't use a sugary jam as the whole thing will then become overpoweringly sweet.

I have adapted this recipe from my mate James Ferguson. He used to cook it at the Towpath Cafe on London's Regent's Canal, where he served the mozzarella with some lovely pickled radicchio and pangrattato breadcrumbs, and it was delicious. You had the gentle softness of the cheese and the silkiness of the radicchio with a lovely toasty crunch on top. For this recipe I would always pick a buffalo mozzarella over a burrata.

The secret to a great confit garlic is to use the best olive oil and the freshest garlic. You could add thyme or rosemary and any left over will keep in the fridge. It's also great slathered on rib-eye steak or squeezed over grilled fish.

Also known as 'Basil's Christmas ham', Basil is one of our neighbours. He always says to me that food is the enemy, and that he hates to cook, but every other year or so he has a post-Christmas party where his ham is the star of the show, followed by Christmas pudding or mince pies. This is my variation on his recipe.