Miss Dahl’s Voluptuous Delights. Sophie Dahl

I look at it. On long summer days, the doors to this kitchen are thrown open, while a few lazy, non-stinging bees mosey by. Children stir. When it rains, there is room in this kitchen for reading and a spoon finding its way into the cake mix. Serious cups of tea are drunk here; idle gossip occurs, balance and humour prevail. It’s the kitchen of my grandparents’, but with some Bowie thrown in. It is lingering breakfasts, it is friends with babies on their knees, it is goodbye on a Sunday with the promise of more. This kitchen is where life occurs; jumbled, messy and delicious.

       There is room in this kitchen for a spoon finding its way into the cake mix

      It is lovely.

Autumn breakfasts

       Poached eggs on portobello mushrooms with goat’s cheese

       SERVES 2

      2 generously sized portobello mushrooms

      Salt and pepper

      Olive oil

      2 thick rounds of soft goat’s cheese

      2 eggs

      1 teaspoon of white vinegar (for poaching)

      1 sprig of fresh tarragon

      I make this when I’m a bit breaded out, but hungry. Portobello mushrooms have a satisfying meatiness about them that sates without the heaviness of a full English.

      

      Preheat the grill. Wash the mushrooms and remove the stalks, season with salt and pepper and give them a glug of olive oil; a spoonful should do. Crumble the goat’s cheese.

      

      Pop the mushrooms stalk-side up under the grill for about 5 minutes. While they are searing away, poach the eggs in a pan of gently boiling water (a teaspoon of white vinegar should stop them separating).

      

      You can do one of two things with the goat’s cheese: you can add it on top of the mushrooms when you put them under the grill, so it browns; or you can put it on just after they come out.

      

      You should poach the eggs for about 3 minutes if you want them soft in the middle (5 if you want them stern and unyielding). Drain them, put them on top of your crumbly goat’s cheese/mushroom mix, scatter some chopped tarragon on the top, grind on a bit of pepper, and voilà!

       Rice pudding cereal with pear purée

       SERVES 2

      375ml/1¹/₂ cups of the milk of your choice—I’d use semi-skimmed or soya

      100g/¹/₂ a cup of basmati rice

      2 cardamom pods, lightly crushed

      1 stick of cinnamon

      Honey or maple syrup, to taste

      crème fraîche (optional)

       For the compote

      2 pears

      60ml/¹/₄ of a cup of apple juice

      1 teaspoon of cinnamon extract

      There is a theme to my cooking that tends towards baby food. This is a perfect example.

      

      In a heavy-bottomed pan, bring the milk and rice to the boil. Add the cardamom pods and cinnamon stick. Take the heat down to its lowest flame, or use a heat diffuser, cover the rice, and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

      

      While this is cooking, peel and core the pears and chop into slices. Bring the apple juice to the boil; add the pears and cinnamon extract. Cook until the pears are tender, 5 minutes or so, adding more juice if needed. Remove from the heat and transfer to a blender, or purée them with a hand-held blender.

      

      Fluff the rice and put into a bowl. Pour the compote on top with a drizzle of honey or maple syrup and, if it’s a particularly grim morning, stick in a spoonful of crème fraîche.

       Omelette with caramelized red onion and Red Leicester

       SERVES 1

      ¹/₂ a small red onion

      Olive oil

      2 eggs

      Salt and pepper

      50g/2oz of Red Leicester cheese (any good, sharp, hard cheddar like Monterey Jack will do as an alternative)

      I cry like a baby when I chop onions. A few years ago I found a brilliant device from Williams Sonoma online which does all the work for you. You simply peel the onion, put it in the top of the contraption, pop the lid on and turn the handle. Voilà, diced onions without tears.

      Roughly chop the onion. On a low flame, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a non-stick frying pan. I use a small fat pan as I like my omelettes tidy and plump. Gently fry the onion, letting the edges brown but making sure the middle stays softly purple. This should take about 5 minutes. When it looks to your liking, take it out and reserve on the side. Remove any crispy bits from the pan.

      

      Beat the eggs and season. On a low heat again, heat a scant bit of olive oil in your frying pan and add the eggs. Let them settle for 30 seconds. Either grate or break the cheese up into rough chunks and put it in the setting omelette. As it melts, pour in your onions and gently fold the omelette in half with a spatula. Depending on how done you like your omelette to be, you can then fry the other side. I like mine very slightly oozing.

      

      Delicious with a dollop of mustard! (And if you are my pernickety brother, Ned, without the onions!)

       Tawny granola

       SERVES 4-6

      Oil for greasing

      200g/2 cups of rolled oats

      70g/¹/₂ a cup of pumpkin seeds

      50g/¹/₂ a cup of flaked almonds

      50g/¹/₂ a cup of desiccated coconut

      2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

      160g/¹/₂ a cup of agave syrup or honey

      2 tablespoons of apple juice

      1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon

      1 teaspoon of ground allspice

      1 pinch of