RECIPES & WINE Delicious

In the KITCHEN

These hotcakes are similar to an American-style pancake - wonderfully thick and fluffy with a lovely, light texture when cooked on the Aga. Serve a stack of these with the cardamom-scented blueberry syrup for an indulgent January brunch...!

BLUEBERRY, LEMON & RICOTTA HOTCAKES

Preparation Time: 15 minutes. Cooking Time: 20 minutes. Serves two. Ingredients: 250g ricotta cheese, 90g self-raising flour, 50g caster sugar, three large free range eggs, separated , 2 lemons, zest, 2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened, 2 tbsp extra thick half fat cream. For the syrup: 150g blueberries, 3 tbsp maple syrup, 4 cardamom pods, cracked open, ½ tsp vanilla extract

For the syrup, put ½ the blueberries in a small saucepan with the maple syrup, cardamom and vanilla. Bring to the boil, then turn down to simmer gently for 3-4 minutes until the berries have just burst. Take off the heat, stir in the remaining blueberries and set aside to cool.

For the hotcakes, put the ricotta, flour, sugar, egg yolks, lemon together with a wooden spoon. In a separate bowl, using electric beaters, whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks, then fold into the ricotta mixture. Heat a large frying pan over a medium heat with 1 tbsp butter. Fry 3 hotcakes at a time (it makes 6 in total), using 2 dessert spoonfuls of the mixture per hotcake, and frying for about 3 minutes on each side.

Repeat with the remaining 1 tbsp butter and hotcake mixture. Serve with the blueberry syrup (discard the cardamom pods) zest and a pinch of salt to a large mixing bowl and beat

and a dollop of cream.

For a breakfast option, serve these pancakes with yogurt instead of cream. They also work well with orange zest instead of lemon.

Glenlivet comes of age with 18 year old Speyside malt... 18 years in the making, Glenlivet is happy to lose the moody teenager and gain a well adjusted and mature single malt Speyside... Over the course of 18 years Glenlivet’s Master Distiller, Alan Winchester, utilises first and second-fill American oak (for tropical fruitiness) and ex-sherry oak (for spicy complexity). The result is a single malt that is complex, elegant and balanced. Taste profile includes a ripe citrus flavour with a bite of winter spice and a nose of fruit and toffee. Gold colour and an apricot nose. £115 / 70cl / 43% ABV.

The Wine Cellar

Wine of the Month

Blue Aurora English Blueberry Dusk Wine, Oundle, Northants 2020 £17.95 / 37.5cl / 10.5% ABV

Blue Aurora is purely and simply made from 100% English blueberries, hand picked from Lutton Farm in Northamptonshire. The blueberries are pressed and fermented to create this beautiful medium dry wine which is crisp and deliciously fruity. Blue Aurora is purely and simply made from 100% English blueberries, hand picked in Oundle. The wine is produced by Lutton farm; a family run farm just outside the picturesque town by the Long family. Call 01832 273300 for stockists or buy direct at www.blueaurora wine.co.uk.

RAISE A GLASS TO THE END OF 2020 AND LOOK FORWARD TO A BETTER 2021... THIS MONTH WE’VE FESTIVE FIZZ, A DELICIOUS WINE FOR DUSK AND A NO-ALCOHOL OPTION...

FORGET YOUR TROUBLES WITH BUBBLES: Let’s all drink to the end of a rotten 2020!

Alcohol-Free Ale for Designated Drivers

1. Bubbles on a budget from Laurent Perrier here, as delicate citrus and floral notes are prevalent over a lovely fine mousse of bubbles... and at £30, it’s a bargain! £30 / 75cl / 12% ABV.

2. Ordinarily we’d reserve some quite ‘Anglo Saxon’ language for the kind of monster who puts ice in Champagne, but Ice Imperial is the first – and only – Champagne designed to be consumed over ice... an unusual prospect! £49.99 / 75cl / 12% ABV.

3. And our showstopper? It’s a Bollinger, but not just any Bollinger. RD stands for Récemment Dégorgé, a sort of special edition aged on lees. £190 / 75cl / 12% ABV. If you’re the designated driver, You can still raise a glass to 2021 with an alcohol-free tipple. Ordinarily these taste ghastly but Brewdog’s option has the taste of a really good bitter with lovely hoppiness and a nice citrus taste but none of the alcohol, meaning you can drive home in safety. The name, incidentally, is a snarky response to complaints that the company’s high ABV encouraged irresponsible drinking... but there’s nothing irresponsible about this! £4 / 3 x 330ml

n Our featured wines are available from the best local independent wine merchants, supermarkets and online, prices are RRP and may vary from those stated.