RECOMMENDATIONS

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  Mince pie baked Alaska

  If you think you don't like mince pies, try Matthew Fort's jazzed up version

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  Lentils with goats' cheese

  Ben Tish’s moreish vegetarian dish owes its complex flavours to the rich goats’ cheese, nutty broccoli and addition of seasonal wild garlic

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  Belly of pork and beans

  Slow cooking yields a melting pot of tender pork and flavoursome home-baked beans in this hearty recipe from Tamasin Day-Lewis

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  Razor clams and scallops in whiskey butter sauce

  Fresh shellfish is an ideal match for the rich, whiskey and citrus-infused sauce in this recipe by Matt Tebbutt

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  Valerian hot chocolate

  James Wong’s simple drink calms anxiety and promotes sleep at the end of a stressful day, by mixing in soothing herbs with dark chocolate

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  Escarole and smoked mozzarella pie

  Gennaro Contaldo cooks a gutsy pie with a relative of the endive; also eaten cold, it’s an ideal dish for sunny outdoor snacking

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  Light fig tarts with yogurt soured cream

  These are simply some sliced fresh figs baked on puff pastry rounds, then glazed and served with what Rick Stein calls yogurt soured cream.

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  Huevos rancheros

  Eggs are sunny-side-up in Tom Parker Bowles’ version of this famous Mexican breakfast dish

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  Canal floddies

  A crispy sun-dried tomato and potato cake served with a poached egg perched on top from The Vegetarian Society

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  White chocolate, almond and raspberry cake with raspberry frosting and white chocolate drizzle

  This mixture can also be made as cup cakes - it will make eight - bake for half the time then ice as for the cake.