Prince William shares his take on a spaghetti Bolognese as celebs unveil recipes for charity

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PRINCE William has stamped his royal seal of approval on a homemade spag bol – and today he is sharing his recipe with the nation.

Wills’ take on this classic Italian dish is one of 120 recipes inside A Taste Of Home – a new cookbook by the UK’s top chefs and celebrities to mark the 40th anniversary of homelessness charity The Passage.

Prince William has shared his homemade spag bol recipe inside A Taste Of Home
100% of A Taste Of Home’s publisher’s profits go to homelessness charity The Passage

The Duke of Cambridge, who is the charity’s royal patron, said: “Having a place to call home is ­precious. All of us will have felt the strain of staying in our homes during the ­coronavirus lockdown.

“But for those without a place to call home the ­pandemic has been even more frightening.”

Here, Judy Cogan reveals six delicious ­recipes from the book ­exclusively for Sun readers.

Prince William: Spaghetti Bolognese (Serves four)

PRINCE William says: “I am the first to admit that I am not an excellent chef. The last time I was allowed into the kitchens at The Passage I made a spaghetti ­bolognese.

“What struck me the most was how sharing makes people who are experiencing homelessness feel right at home.”

Prince William with Mary Berry and volunteers
Prince William made a spaghetti bolognese when he worked at The Passage’s kitchens

YOU NEED:

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 30g butter
  • 1 large onion, finely chopped
  • 1 carrot, scrubbed and chopped
  • 2 sticks of celery, chopped
  • 350g best quality lean beef
  • 250ml dry white wine
  • 120ml milk
  • Pinch of nutmeg, freshly ground
  • 1 x 400g tin Italian chopped tomatoes
  • 1 tsp tomato purée
  • 250g spaghetti or bucatini
  • 50g Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
  • 2 tbsp freshly chopped flat-leaf parsley, salt and freshly ground black pepper

METHOD: First make the sauce. In a large saucepan, heat the oil and butter and fry the onion gently over a medium heat until just softened, then add the ­carrot and celery and cook for a couple of minutes, stirring.

Use a fork to crumble the mince and add that to the pan, stirring to mix it all together. Cook until the meat is no longer pink but do not let it brown.

Pour in the wine and continue cooking until it has evaporated. Turn down the heat and stir in the milk and nutmeg, and cook over a medium heat until the milk has evaporated.

Stir through the tomatoes and purée and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Simmer very, very gently, uncovered, for about three hours, stirring from time to time. Bring a big pot of water to the boil and add a teaspoon of salt.

Add the pasta to the water, stir well with a wooden spoon and, when al dente, drain well.

Dish up into four bowls, sprinkling with the parsley and Parmesan.

Mary Berry: Very best chocolate cake (serves four)

TV chef Mary says: “This cake is made in the food processor or mixing machine and ­therefore it’s very easy. It has a deliciously naughty icing, too!”

Mary Berry’s chocolate cake is primarily made in the food processor, making it very easy to create
One of Mary’s favourite parts of the cake is the ‘deliciously naughty icing’

YOU NEED:

For the cake:

  • 50g cocoa
  • 6 tbsp boiling water
  • 3 eggs
  • 4 tbsp milk
  • 175g self-raising flour
  • 1 level tsp baking powder
  • 100g baking spread or soft butter
  • 300g natural caster sugar

For the icing and filling:

  • 150g Bournville ­chocolate, broken into small pieces
  • 150ml pouring double cream
  • 3 tbsps apricot jam
  • A little icing sugar

METHOD: Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas mark 4.

Grease two 20cm sandwich tins and base-line with baking parchment.
First measure the cocoa and boiling water into a large bowl and mix well to make a paste.

Add the remaining cake ingredients and beat again till ­combined. This can also be made in a processor but be careful not to overwhisk.

Divide the cake mixture between the prepared tins. Bake in the preheated oven for about 25-30 minutes until well risen and shrinking away from the sides of the tin.

For the icing and ­filling, ­measure the chocolate and cream together in a bowl and sit it over a pan of simmering water for about ten ­minutes until melted, stirring from time to time. Set aside and allow to become cold and almost set.

When baked, remove the cakes, turn out on to a wire rack and allow to cool ­completely. Spread the tops of each cake with apricot jam.

Sandwich the cakes with half the icing and spread the remainder on top.

Take a small ­palette knife and draw large “S” shapes to give a swirl effect – then dust with icing sugar and enjoy.

Spencer Matthews and Vogue Williams: Linguine with sea food (serves four)

REALITY TV star Spencer is married to radio presenter Vogue Williams and they have a son, ­Theodore, two, and three-month-old daughter, Gigi.

Spencer says: “When Vogue’s aunty used to make her this dish, it turned out to be either brilliant or terrible – so it was always hit and miss what you were going to get. So Vogue started making it herself to make up for all the misses.”

Spencer and Vogue’s linguine with sea food is easy to make
Vogue Williams’ aunt used to make this dish for the couple – but it either turned out brilliant or terrible

YOU NEED:

  • 2 shallots, finely chopped
  • 4 spring onions, finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 175ml dry white wine
  • 500ml homemade chicken stock
  • 400g prawns
  • 225g sun-dried tomatoes
  • 250g baby spinach leaves
  • Sea salt, ground black pepper and chilli flakes
  • 450-500g linguine pasta

METHOD: Put the ­shallots and spring onions into a deep frying pan with the olive oil over a medium heat and gently fry until soft, then add the garlic and cook for another minute, stirring.

Pour in the wine and allow to simmer for a few ­minutes, then add the stock and continue cooking to reduce the liquid completely.

Add the prawns, along with the sun-dried tomatoes and allow the prawns to cook through. Then stir through the spinach and season to taste.

Meanwhile, bring a large pan of generously salted water to the boil and cook the linguine until al dente.

Drain, then add to the frying pan with the sauce and mix before serving.

Rick Stein: Grilled sardines with a tomato, garlic, thyme dressing (serves three to four)

RESTAURATEUR Rick says: “I wrote this recipe as a result of some irritation at being given such delicacies as ­perfectly fresh sardines in the French fishing village of Port-Vendres that had been fried within an inch of their lives.

“It was almost like eating sticks. Granted, a lot of river fish are quite tasteless but not sardines. There’s no excuse there. Here’s a better way.”

Rick made this recipe after having some bad fresh sardines in Port-Vendres

The sardine dish has very few steps so can be made in a hurry

YOU NEED:

  • 12 sardines, cleaned
  • 1 tbsp olive oil

For the dressing:

  • Zest and juice of half a lemon
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • ½ large garlic clove, grated or very finely chopped
  • ¼ tsp piment d’Espelette or a pinch of chilli flakes
  • 1 medium tomato, skinned and cut into a small dice
  • 1 small shallot, finely chopped
  • 1 thyme sprig, leaves chopped
  • 1 tsp chopped flat leaf parsley
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper

METHOD: Mix the ingredients for the dressing in a small bowl and season with salt and ­pepper.

Brush the sardines all over with the oil and sprinkle them with a pinch of salt.

Grill them on a hot ­barbecue or under a hot grill for about 2-4 minutes on each side, depending on size.

Spoon the dressing over and around the ­sardines and serve with a green salad.

  • Recipe taken from Rick Stein’s Secret France (BBC Books, £26).

Stephen Fry: Spicy Asian comfort soup (serves four)

TV host Stephen says: “My Thai soup is really a ­confection from other people but it’s very adaptable. I don’t give too precise quantities here, because I go by feel, I’m afraid.

“It’s up to you how hot it ends up. Start gently – you can always add more when you taste at the end.”

Stephen’s Asian soup can be adjusted to your ideal spice level

Stephen says the soup is a ‘confection from other people’

YOU NEED:

  • 1 stalk of lemongrass chestnut mushrooms
  • 2 peppers, green, orange, yellow or red
  • 1 x 400ml tin coconut milk
  • Vegetable stock
  • 1 packet laksa noodles
  • Fish sauce/ponzu/soy sauce
  • ½ lime, juiced
  • Handful crushed peanuts or chopped coriander
  • For the spice mix:
  • 2 tsp paprika (smoked or unsmoked – it’s up to you)
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • 1 tsp ground turmeric
  • ½ tsp ground ginger (or grate in a thumb of peeled fresh ginger if you have some)
  • ½ tsp ground cumin
  • ½ tsp mustard powder
  • Pinch of cayenne pepper
  • 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • A pinch or more of dried red chilli flakes – or deseed and thinly slice 2 fresh red chillies

METHOD: Bash the lemongrass. Fry it in vegetable oil with some sliced chestnut mushrooms and sliced ­peppers in a deep frying pan, wok or saucepan for about 2½ to 3 minutes. Mix the spices in roughly the quantities shown and add to the mushroom and pepper.

Pour in a tin of coconut milk and about ⅔ of a mugful of vegetable stock and simmer for 5 or 6 minutes.

Drop in a pack of laksa noodles (make sure they’re covered by the liquid – they won’t take more than 3½ minutes to soften usually).

Now taste, and according to how you respond, stir in some fish sauce or soy sauce, along with a squeeze of lime juice, and seasoning (probably not much needed).

At this stage you can add more chilli if you don’t think it’s hot enough. If it’s flakes, let them get absorbed for a minute before plating up.

Add more vegetable stock if the soup seems too thick.

You can sprinkle over crushed peanuts or chopped coriander (not me, I loathe fresh coriander), and don’t forget to remove the lemongrass. Enjoy.

Nadiya Hussain: Baked cheesecake (serves nine)

BAKE OFF winner Nadiya says: “A simple baked cheesecake is one of my favourite desserts. It can sit in the fridge and be enjoyed over the course of a week. But sometimes I feel short-changed by the base.

“So here I’ve baked a cheesecake without any base at all, and instead topped it with honey-salted caramel and a chocolatey tiffin mixture. It’s essentially a flipped-over version of the classic, but in my opinion all the best cakes are a little back to front.”

Nadiya’s baked cheesecake contains honey-salted caramel and a chocolate tiffin mixture
Nadiya says the best cakes are a ‘little back to front’

YOU NEED:

For the cheesecake:

  • Butter, for greasing
  • 900g full-fat cream cheese
  • 200g caster sugar
  • 150ml soured cream
  • 3 tbsp plain flour
  • 3 medium eggs, beaten
  • 2 tsps vanilla bean paste
  • For the honey-salted caramel:
  • 50g butter
  • 170g set honey
  • 300ml double cream
  • ½ tsp salt

For the tiffin crumble:

  • 150g digestive biscuits, roughly crushed (try putting them in a zip-lock bag and bashing with a rolling pin)
  • 75g unsalted butter, melted
  • 30g demerara sugar
  • 50g dark chocolate chips or chunks
  • 50g toasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped

METHOD: Preheat the oven to 160C/140C fan/gas mark 3.
Grease the base of a 20cm round tin (not loose-bottomed, imagine the leakage!) and line it with baking paper.

Put all the cheesecake ingredients in a large bowl and mix, just for a minute or so, until well combined. You don’t want to mix for too long and incorporate any air.

Pour the mixture into the lined tin, tap it on the worktop to release any trapped air, then level the surface.

Bake on the lower shelf of the oven for one hour. Once the hour is up, open the oven door and wedge a wooden spoon in the door to keep it just open and let out the heat slowly. Turn the oven off but don’t remove the cheesecake until the oven is completely cold – only then put the cheesecake into the fridge to chill overnight.

The next day, make the honey-salted caramel. Melt the butter in a small pan over a medium heat. Add the honey and cook over a medium-high heat for ten minutes, until the caramel is a golden brown.

Pour in the cream, give it a mix and allow it to just come up to the boil. Take off the heat and stir in the salt. Set aside. To make the tiffin crumble, empty the roughly crushed biscuits into a bowl and pour over the melted butter.
Leave to cool for ten minutes, then add the sugar, chocolate and hazelnuts.

Turn out the cheesecake on to a serving plate or platter. Loosely pile the tiffin mixture on top of the cheesecake.

Reheat the caramel and pour over the cheesecake.

  • Recipe from Nadiya’s Family Favourites (Michael Joseph, £22)

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