A Mother's Day Meal

For some of us, Mother’s Day might not necessarily be a happy occasion; instead it may be a source of anxiety and sadness. Perhaps your mother is no longer here, perhaps it is a reminder of your troubled relationship with her or your own children, or it might also trigger painful memories of the missed opportunity to become a mother. This year, we are all faced with an unprecedentedly complex situation this Mother’s Day. However, I hope we can use this difficult time to finally focus on the one Mother we all have - our Planet. Oddly, the virus is bringing positive change for the environment and I hope we can find some gratitude within ourselves as we acknowledge this. Despite the current hardships we are all united in our experience of it and the importance of sharing a meal together has never been more poignant. I hope this mother’s day you will be able to gather around the table with your loved ones. 

Here are some ideas for a meal that I have put together for you using recipes from my cookbook Salt & Time. 

photo by Lizzie Mayson for Salt and Time cookbook

RYE CROSTINI

A more elegant take on a classic Russian welcome snack, these crostini taste as good as they look. Welcoming someone to your home with bread and salt is a very old Slavic tradition that survives into the present-day language. While no-one greets their guests with a large chunk of bread and a small bowl of salt anymore, saying that some one gave your a ‘bread and salt’ welcome means you were treated very generously by your hosts. These recipes are inspired by the old Russian tradition, cobbling some of the classic flavour combinations such as rye bread, butter, dill, beetroot and spring onion, while throwing in a few unorthodox flavours too. Feel free to experiment with these, swapping various ingredients around or inventing your very own Russian-style rye crostini.

Serves 4 - 8

A handful of red seedless grapes 

1 small chilli 

100ml of red wine vinegar 

50ml of water 

2 tsp brown sugar 

pinch of Maldon salt 

2 medium red beetroots

1 tbsp of olive oil 

200g of cottage cheese or curd

1 lemon, juiced and zested 

A small bunch of tarragon, leaves only 

4 slices of dark rye or Borodinksy bread 

Start by making the pickled grapes. To make the brine mix together in a small bowl 100ml of vinegar with 50ml water, juice and zest of 1/2 lemon (reserve the rest for the cottage cheese), a small chilli cut in half, 2 tsp of sugar and a pinch of salt. 

Cut each grape in half and add to the bowl. Give it a stir, cover with cling film and put into the fridge to pickle while you get busy with the rest.

To roast the beets, simply brush them with a bit of olive oil and give them a sprinkle of salt. Cover with tin foil and roast in a pre-heated oven at 200C for 40 mins or until they can be pierced easily but still retain a bit of a crunch. 

To peel the beets simply pinch the skin, which should come off easily. Cut each beetroot into medium wedges (roughly 8 per beetroot), dress with a bit of olive oil and salt and set aside. 

To make the tvorog you will need to finely chop the tarragon leaves, mix them together with the cottage cheese, add the zest and juice of the remaining 1/2 lemon, and season with salt. Give it a good mix and taste to adjust the seasoning. 

To assemble the crostini, grill the rye bread in a toaster or in a hot dry pan. Cut in 8 slices if serving as canapés or leave 4 slices to serve as a starter. Top each slice with a heaped table spoon of the cottage cheese mixture, followed with a wedge of beetroot and one or two slices of pickled grapes. Decorate with a leaf of tarragon and a few crystals of Maldon salt. 

photo by Lizzie Mayson for Salt and Time cookbook

PAN FRIED COD WITH MARINATED VEGETABLES 

Another staple of Soviet cuisine, this dish tastes a lot better than it looks. I have always been a fan of cod smothered in lightly pickled sofrito of carrots, onions and peppers, however, its rather sloppy appearance never made me want to serve this dish at a dinner party. And then one evening, on a lovely dinner date with my partner in Cape Town, I hit a culinary jackpot when the most gorgeous plate of cod and carrot cooked three ways landed on my table. There it was, the good old Soviet ‘fish under a marinade’ only as if it has undergone a much-needed makeover. I could not wait to get back to my London kitchen to test this new version! The final result left me very pleased: I could finally share my favourite ‘ugly’ dish in a new rather dashing guise. 

Serves 4 as a starter or 2 as a main 

For marinated vegetables

125ml of apple cider vinegar 

70ml of water

2 tbsp of caster sugar 

1 tbsp of salt 

1 small garlic clove, minced 

2 carrots 

1/2 red pepper 

1/4 white onion 

For the vegetable puree 

1 onion 

1 red pepper

1 carrots 

2 tbsp of sunflower oil

1 pinch of salt 

2 tbsp of tomato puree 

4 tbsp of water 

2 tbsp of chopped dill 

1 tsp of white wine vinegar 

2 medium or 4 small fillets of cod 

1 tbsp of sunflower oil

Maldon salt to taste 

First, lets pickle the vegetables. To make the marinade mix apple cider vinegar, water, sugar, salt and garlic in a large bowl. Give it a good whisk with a fork to dilute the garlic a little. Peel and ribbon the carrots, thinly slice the onion and red pepper and place all vegetables in the bowl with the pickling mix. Leave in the fridge for 30 minutes to an hour. 

Next, we will make the vegetable puree upon which our crispy fried cod will rest. Roughly chop the onion and pepper, grate the carrot and fry in 2 tbsp of sunflower oil with a pinch of salt for 5 minutes. Add the tomato puree, water and chopped dill, and fry for further 5 minutes. Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary. 

Transfer into a food processor and blend with a tsp of vinegar until a smooth puree is created. 

Set aside and keep warm.

Finally, pan fry the cod to perfection. Heat up a tbsp of oil in a non-stick frying pan, and when the oil is very hot but not smoking, add the cod fillets skin down. Season with salt and fry without disturbing for 5 minutes. Carefully turn the fillet over and fry for another 2-3 minutes. You will see how the flesh will change its colour from translucent to solid white. Season the crispy skin with more Maldon salt and transfer to a paper towel, while you prepare the plate.

To dish up - add 2 tbsp of vegetable puree in the middle of the plate, proudly place the perfect cod on top and decorate with a handful of marinated vegetables. Make sure you drain the excess pickling juice before adding them to the plate. Drizzle with some sunflower oil and drop a few springs of dill to add a touch of green. 

photo by Lizzie Mayson for Salt and Time cookbook

For dessert why not treat yourself to a box of home-made cookies which can also be used as an edible gift! Find the recipe here.