A Table Full of Love from Sky McAlpine

A Table Full of Love from Skye McAlpine

We dive into Skye McAlpine’s new book that celebrates the love of food. Perfect recipes for a happy Bank Holidays with friends and family

27th April 2023

We have sat down with our new favourite recipe book A Table Full of Love by Skye McAlpine to pick out some of our favourite dishes. This is a book about love – the different kinds of love that permeate and underpin our world, that make life richer, more complex, at times more painful, often happier; the kinds of love that ultimately make life worth living.

Split into five categories; Comfort, Seduce, Nourish, Spoil, Cocoon, A Table Full of Love is organised by mood and by sentiment. There is also a very handy menu section that pairs many of the recipes together such as ‘A soul-soothing supper after a long day’ or ‘When you’re too tired to cook and everyone is being picky’ to name a few.

Not only are the recipes a warm embrace for the heart and soul, but the book is bursting with beautiful photos. The best recipe books are for browings and being ispired by, as well as for picking up when you need to cook soomething, and this is exactly that.

A Table Full of Love by Sky McAlpine is available to buy here.
£26.00 // Hardback // 20.3 x 25.4 x 4.7cm // colour illustrations, 320 pages // published 2 Feb. 2023 // Bloomsbury Publishi

Comfort: Beetroot, Walnut and Gorgonzola Tart

HANDS ON TIME: 10 minutes
HANDS OFF TIME: 35 minutes in the oven
SERVES 4-6

320g sheets of ready-rolled all-butter shortcrust pastry
300g cooked beetroot
150g Gorgonzola cheese
Handful of walnut pieces
1 tbsp olive oil
Sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/Gas 4.
Drape the pastry over a 22.5cm tart tin with a removable base. Press the pastry into the tin’s nooks and crannies and trim away any excess around the top. Pierce the bottom of the tart all over with a fork, then cover with baking parchment, fill with baking beans and set in the oven to blind-bake for about 20 minutes until the pastry is lightly golden at the edges. Remove the baking parchment and the beans and set the tin back in the oven to bake for a further 5 minutes until the pastry at the base feels dry to the touch.
Slice the beetroot into round 3-5mm thick and arrange the slices in the pastry case in a single layer, slightly overlapping. Crumble over the Gorgonzola and walnuts, drizzle over the olive oil and seaon with a little salt and pepper . Bake in the oven for 10 minutes, until the cheese is completely melted and the edges of the tart are golden. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Seduce: Pork Tenderloin with Peaches and Fennel

HANDS ON TIME: 20 minutes
HANDS OFF TIME: 1 hour, or up overnight to marinate; 15-20 minutes in the oven
SERVES 2

2 tbsp runny honey
2tsp Dijon mustard
3tbsp olive oil
300g pork tenderloin
2tsp fennel seeds, crushed
2 peaches, halved
sea salt flakes

Combine the honey, mustard and 1 tbsp olive oil together in a small bowl and whisk together with a fork. Spoon the honey mixture over the tenderloin and rub it all over. Rub in the fennel seeds and a dash of salt. Wrap and leave to marinate in the fridge for at least an hour, or overnight if you can.
Heat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/Gas 6.
Heat the remaining 2 tbsp olive oil in a large pan with an ovenproof handle over high heat. Sear the pork on all sides until golden brown, add the peaches to the pan, then set in the oven for 15-20 minutes until a meat thermometer registers at 63-65°C.
Let rest for 5-10 minutes, then slice the tenderloin and serve with the peaches.

Nourish: Saffron and Raspberry Panettone 'Trifle'

HANDS ON TIME: 25 minutes
SERVES 8-10

600g panettone
100ml water
30ml Marsals
190g caster sugar
1 tsp saffron strands
4 egg yolks
750g mascarpone, at room temperature
150ml double cream
400g raspberries

Slice the panettone into 2-3cm-thick pieces and set to one side.
In a small saucepan, combine the measured water with the Marsala and 70g of the sugar. Set over a medium heat and bring to a gentle boil. Once the sugar has dissolved and the liquid is bubbling, take the pan off the heat and set to one side.
Grind the saffron and a pinch more of the sugar together with a mortar and pestle to make a dark powder, the colour of scorched earth. Spoon 2 tbsp still-warm Marsala syrup into a small bowl or cup, then add the powdered saffron and let sit for a few minutes to infuse the syrup with the flavour of the spice.
Now combine the yolks and remaining sugar in a mixing bowl and whisk until light and fluffy: you want the eggs to almost double in volume and turn a light, lemony shade of yellow. Add the mascarpone and whisk in until well combined and smooth. Lastly, add the cream and the saffron-infused syrup and whip until combined.
Cover the base of a trifle dish with slices of panettone, then drizzle over one-third of the Marsala syrup to soak into the soft cake. Now, spoon over one-third of the mascarpone cream and sprinkle over one-third of the raspberries. Repeat with a second and third layer of panettone, syrup, mascarpone cream and raspberries.
Depending on the size and shape of your dish, you may want to create more layers (if the dish is deep) or go for just 2 layers (if it’s shallow and wide).
Chill in the fridge until you’re ready to serve.

Spoil: Pistachio Butter

HANDS ON TIME: 10 minutes
MAKES 4 x 220ml jars

570g unsalted, roasted shelled pistachios
300g white chocolate, coarsely chopped
90g caster sugar
50ml sunflower oil

Sterilise 4 × 220ml jars while you get on with making the Pistachio Butter. Heat the oven to 160°C/140°C fan/ Gas 3. Wash the jars in hot, soapy water and set to dry in the oven for 10-15 minutes.
Combine all the ingredients in a food processor and blitz for 5-7 minutes until smooth and creamy; it should be the texture of soft butter. Pause every now and then and use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides before blitzing again.
Spoon the Pistachio Butter into the sterilised jars: sealed, they will keep happily in the fridge for up to 1 month.

Cocoon: Black Rice, Roasted Garlic and Green Olive Salad

HANDS ON TIME: 15 minutes
HANDS OFF TIME: 45 minutes while the rice bubbles away on the hob and the garlic roasts in the oven
SERVES 1

1 garlic bulb
2-3 tbsp olive oil
75g black Venus rice
Small handful of pitted green olives
Halved leaves from a small bunch of parsley
Chopped sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/Gas 4. First roast your garlic: slice the top off the bulb and sit it on a sheet of foil, drizzle over 1 tbsp olive oil, season generously with salt and pepper, then wrap the garlic up in the foil and set in the oven to roast for 45 minutes, until tender.
Meanwhile, cook the rice: using a medium saucepan, tip in the rice and a generous pinch of salt and cover with roughly 1.5 litres cold water: the ratio of rice to water matters little, but there should be plenty of water in the pan, as if you were cooking pasta. Set over a high heat and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and let it bubble away gently for 30-35 minutes, until the rice is tender and chewy. Strain the rice in a colander, dress with
1-2 tbsp olive oil and set aside.
Allow the garlic to cool a little, then peel the skins off each clove and add to the rice.
Add the olives and parsley, then toss together. Season to taste with a little more salt and pepper, if you like, and eat at room temperature.