Sophie Dahl’s seasonal treats

The delightful Miss Dahl reveals presents three simple recipes

  • Spelt French toast with smashed berries
  • Lentil salad with a mustard dressing
  • Watercress and Gruyere souffle
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Breakfast
Spelt French toast with smashed berries

Serves 4
day-old spelt loaf, 4 eggs plus 1 egg yolk, 125ml milk, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 2 tbsp agave syrup or brown sugar, pinch of salt, 1 tbsp butter
For the fruit topping
2 generous handfuls each blackberries and blueberries, 1 tbsp water, 3 tbsp agave syrup or honey, 4 heaped tbsp Greek yoghurt

  1. Put the berries in a saucepan with the water and agave or honey. Bring to the boil and simmer for a few minutes, or until they begin to split into a big jammy autumnal mess.
  2. Slice the stale loaf into toast-sized pieces. In a mixing bowl, beat together 
the eggs and egg yolk with the milk, vanilla, agave or sugar and the pinch of salt. When well incorporated, pour this mixture into a shallow baking dish.
  3. Start putting the bread in it, making sure it’s fully dunked. You need to let 
the bread sit in this eggy bath for at least 20 minutes, so it can really soak it up. If the bread needs help, prick it with a fork to help the egg mixture permeate.
  4. Take a big griddle pan or large heavy-bottomed frying pan and melt the butter. Put the egg-soaked bread in, in batches if needs be. Cook it for about 4 minutes on each side, until the bread is bronzed on the outside and soft on the inside.
  5. Serve on warmed plates, with the smashed berries and yoghurt on top.

Light lunch
Lentil salad with a mustard dressing

Serves 4
225g Puy lentils, 2 celery sticks, chopped in fine rounds, handful cherry tomatoes finely chopped, 150g feta cheese crumbled, small handful fresh mint, chopped
For the dressing
4 tbsp olive or rapeseed oil, 1 tsp white wine vinegar, 2 tsp Dijon mustard, 1 shallot peeled and finely chopped, salt and pepper

  1. Place the lentils in a pan and add just enough water to cover. Simmer over 
a low heat for 20 minutes, then drain.
  2. In a serving bowl, mix the lentils with the celery, tomatoes and feta.
  3. Make the dressing by whisking all the ingredients together, adjusting according to taste. Dress the salad and then toss with the mint.

Starter
Watercress and Gruyere souffle

Serves 6
2 tbsp unsalted butter plus softened butter to coat the ramekins, 230g grated Gruyère, 1 small bunch or 50g watercress with tough stalks removed, 30g plain or all-purpose flour, 300ml semi-skimmed milk, 6 eggs separated, salt and pepper, pinch of nutmeg

  1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/gas 6. Grease six 250ml ramekins with the softened butter and then coat with 30g of the cheese. Place the ramekins on a baking tray and chill in the fridge.
  2. Blanch the watercress quickly in a pan of boiling water, remove immediately and plunge into ice water, and then squeeze all of the water out. Stick it in the blender and purée or chop very finely, then leave it on the side.
  3. Melt the rest of the butter in a pan over a low heat and add the flour to make a roux, stirring continuously for about a minute.
  4. Gently add the milk, bit by bit, still stirring constantly. Let the sauce bubble for a minute or two and add the remaining cheese. Continue stirring until all the cheese has melted. Remove from the heat and leave to cool for a few minutes, then stir in the egg yolks and season, adding at this point the puréed watercress and a pinch of nutmeg.
  5. In a separate very clean bowl, whisk the egg whites and a pinch of salt until they form stiff peaks. Fold half of this mix gently into the cheese watercress roux until combined, taking care not to overly mix as you want to keep it airy. Repeat this with the other half of the egg whites.
  6. Divide the mixture evenly into the ramekins and level the tops with a spatula. Run the tip of your thumb around the inside of each dish to make a gap between the soufflé and the dish, which will help it to rise.
  7. Place the dishes on the baking tray and bake for at least 15 minutes, possibly more. DON’T open the oven to check – resist the urge, however great, or they will collapse. When they are golden and majestic, serve immediately and, if they should collapse, you must not. Laugh instead.
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