Preparation time: 3 hours 20 minutes – most of which is passive
Cooking time: 5 minutes
Skill level: Easy

Ingredients

• cottage cheese – 650g
• egg yolks – 2
• 1 egg
• plain flour – 70g
• salt

Drain the cheese for 2 hours before using. Wrap in a muslin or a tea towel and hang it up to drip. Or place in a colander with a weight on top.

When dry, rub the cheese through a sieve. Mix in the egg yolks. Beat the whole egg and add to the mix. Salt to taste. Beat until thoroughly blended then shape into rolls about 5cm in diameter. Chill for an hour.

Cut into slices about 2.5cm thick, dust them with flour and fry in butter. Drain on paper and serve with a bowl of soured cream. Or with a bit of salad. Depending on how much you like soured cream/how Russian you are.

Verdict: Utterly morish.

Drink: Strong coffee with hot UHT and French sugar lumps, Spanish style.

Entertainment: Jon Holmes reading out our suggestions for stories linked to Blue Peter.

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Skill level: easy

Ingredients

• fresh beetroot – peeled and diced – 475g
• 1 carrot – diced
• 1 onion – finely chopped
• 1 potato – diced
• 2 cloves of garlic – crushed
• vegetable stock (should really be chicken) – 850 ml
• sugar – 1tbsp
• s & p

To finish off:

• soured cream
• fresh dill

Heat the oil in a large pan, add the onion, carrot, potato and garlic and cook on a low heat until softened – about 15 minutes.

A good stash of beets

Add the beetroot and sugar and cook for a further 5 minutes.

Add the stock, bring to the boil and simmer for an hour.

Blitz with a hand blender.

Serve with a large blob of soured cream and a generous scattering of dill.

Verdict: Well it’s borsch, innit. Can’t go wrong. The soured cream and (generous amounts of) dill are essential though.

Drink: Nipped around the corner for a pint or two of Star.

Entertainment: Season 4 of The Wire is being rationed to one episode each Sunday evening. We are now on episode 48 ‘A New Day’ – “You play in dirt, you get dirty” – McNulty.

And so to bread.

Preparation time: 20 minutes (plus 2 hours rising time)
Cooking time: 25 minutes
Skill level: Medium

Ingredients

• rye flour – 200g
• strong white flour – 150g
• strong wholemeal flour – 150g
• powdered milk – 2tbsp
• cocoa powder – 1tbsp
• salt – 1tsp
• fast action dried yeast – 2 tsp
• sunflower oil – 2tbsp
• molasses sugar – 3tbsp
• golden ale – 275ml

Put the assorted flours along with the milk powder, cocoa, salt and yeast in a large bowl. Add the oil and sugar. Warm through the ale and gradually stir into the flour to make a soft dough.

Knead on a lightly floured surface until you have a smooth, elastic dough – about 10 minutes. Put it back in the bowl and cover with oiled clingfilm. Leave to rise in a warm place for 1 1/2 hours or until doubled in size. If you have an airing cupboard that would be ideal as it really does need some good warmth to get it going.

Once in its large state, tip again onto the lightly floured surface and give it a good kneading. Shape into a ball and place on a greased baking sheet. Make a criss cross cut with a sharp knife and cover with the clingfilm, leaving for another 30 minutes until half as big again.

Bake in a pre-heated oven 200C/gas mark 6, for 25 minutes, or until a good brown colour.

Take out of oven. Ogle. Cool. Eat

‘Remember the price of bread!’

Verdict: Well it bears little relation to the dense black bread from the old country, but it is utterly delicious as you can taste the ale flavour which adds a totally new dimension, in a very good way. Works brilliantly with just butter or as the basis of a simple sandwich. You’ll want to taste the bread so don’t overwhelm your sandwich with too many other ingredients.

Drink: tea/water

Entertainment: Standing in the kitchen listening to Stephen Merchant and pals (the Steve Show) talking nonsense on a Sunday afternoon.