Claudia Roden and her grandson cook duck for dinner — with recipes

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Claudia Roden published A Book of Middle Eastern Food in 1968. Many, many cookbooks later (“I think it was at most 20”) she is currently testing recipes for a new collection. She has lived in her house in Hampstead for 52 years. Her grandson Cesar Roden is the founder of Ice Kitchen, which makes frozen cooking pastes. The two have been sharing meals since he was born and, increasingly, cooking together.

Claudia I came from a big family in Egypt. One of my aunts had 18 children. Now, family is what means the most to me and we get together whenever there is a reason, which is almost all of the time. Someone’s always about to go somewhere or come back from somewhere. It’s dinner, rather than lunch, because everyone is working. When the grandchildren were young, our tradition was every Sunday.

Cesar I was a very fussy child until I was about 13. I used to come here and only eat pasta and sweetcorn. For years, I missed out. Then I ate a courgette on holiday with a friend’s family and, suddenly, I wanted to try everything. It shows that if you have a fussy kid, it’s not the end of the world. Then, in my twenties, I was a bit off the rails and food helped me come back on the rails. And it made Claudia and me closer.

Claudia There is a point with the grandchildren when they stop wanting to come — they’re teenagers — but then they start wanting to come again, and I love having them. Now, I’m amazed by Cesar’s taste. I’m always testing recipes every time I cook, and it’s best to test on family or close friends because they’ll be honest with you. I have one friend, a professor, who would say things at dinner like, “Claudia, there’s too much liquid in that!” and people who were new to the table would be horrified that someone was complaining. I had to explain, in this house you’re meant to tell.

Cesar Claudia normally distributes the recipes for a book among the family for us to test at home as well. There are a few trusted testers. Me and Auntie Anna are very precise.

Claudia When I’m cooking, I don’t think you have to be terribly precise, it just has to taste good. Luckily, I’ve got sticklers like him.

Cesar I test stuff on Claudia too. I brought my Ice Kitchen colleagues here a few weeks ago because we’re developing a tagine paste, and I brought my scales with me that measure to 0.00-something grams. Because when you scale up, that really matters.

Claudia The first time he came here with his super-precise measuring stuff I said, “What’s the point of a paste?” But then when I ate the dish I was amazed. He has the same values as me — he’s freezing things so the ingredients can be fresh. But it takes away my job. My job is to give a recipe from beginning to end.

Cesar Claudia likes to keep things simple.

Leeks with almond tarator sauce

For the tarator sauce

1. Make the sauce at least an hour in advance. In a small serving bowl, put the ground almonds, garlic, lemon (start with 2 tablespoons and add more to taste), sugar, a little salt, water and olive oil and beat with a fork until you have a smooth, creamy texture.

2. Trim the root ends of the leeks and the tips of the hard, green leaves and remove any dry outer leaves. Wash them in running water and make sure you remove any earth trapped between the leaves (making a slit in the top half helps), then cut them into 4cm pieces.

3. Throw them into boiling salted water, bring to the boil again and simmer over a low heat for 10-15 minutes or until very tender, then drain. Turn the leeks on a serving dish in a mixture of oil, dill and a little salt to coat them all over. Serve them at room temperature accompanied by the sauce.

Beetroots with tahini yoghurt

Try to find beetroots that are the same size, as the cooking time depends on it.

1. Remove stems and leaves and wash the beetroots. Put them in a pan with plenty of water, bring to a boil, then simmer until tender — small ones could take 30 minutes, large ones up to 1½ hours. A pointed knife should slide in easily.

2. Peel them when cool enough to handle and cut them into wedges or half-moon slices.

3. Beat the tahini and the garlic into the yoghurt and spread the mixture on a wide serving dish. Arrange the beetroot pieces on top.

4. Beat the lemon juice with the oil, add salt and pepper and spoon over the beetroot. Serve sprinkled with the mint.

Roast duck legs with prunes

1. Preheat the oven to 160C fan.

2. Put the duck legs in a large roasting pan or baking dish, skin-side up, and prick them all over with a pointed knife to let the fat under the skin run out as they cook.

3. In a little bowl, mix the oil with the cinnamon, salt (the duck needs a good amount — for Cesar and me, it’s two teaspoons) and pepper, and rub some of this on each of the duck legs. Roast in the oven for 80 minutes.

4. Put the prunes in a small pan with enough water to cover and simmer, with a lid on, over a low heat for 10 minutes or until they are soft, adding water to keep them covered. Remove the lid and cook for about five minutes to let the liquid reduce by half. There should still be a good amount so that you have a little sauce left when they are cooked again with the duck.

5. Take the duck legs out of the oven, transfer them to a dish or bowl and pour out the fat. (Discard, or keep, if you like, for roasting potatoes another time.) Return the duck legs to the roasting pan or baking dish. Pour the prunes with their cooking liquid in spaces around the legs. (If there is no space, spread the prunes with their juice at the bottom and arrange the legs on top.)

6. Mix the pomegranate molasses and lemon juice and spoon some over each duck leg (it’s OK if much of it runs off). Then return the dish to the oven for about 20 minutes or until the duck meat is very tender when you cut in with a pointed knife. It will be dark brown, crunchy and sticky on the outside

7. Serve the duck legs and prunes with a little of the sauce accompanied by the mashed potatoes.

Herby creamy mashed potatoes

1. Put the potatoes in a pan with cold water to cover. Bring to the boil, then simmer, covered, over a low heat for about 15-20 minutes until a pointed knife slides in easily. Drain well and return them to the pan. Dry them out for a moment over a very low heat.

2. Mash vigorously with a masher, adding the butter. Then pour the milk in gradually, adding salt and mashing until you have a soft creamy consistency.

3. Stir in the herbs and serve hot.

Stewed rhubarb with custard

For the custard

1. Wash the stalks and discard any leaves. If they are not tender and you see any fibrous strings, peel them off before cutting them into 2cm pieces.

2. Put the pieces in a pan, and sprinkle on the sugar and a splash of water. Cook over a very low heat with the lid on for five minutes, turning the pieces over once, until the rhubarb is soft but still holds its shape. (Overcooking will make it mushy but that is OK too.)

3. For the custard, bring the milk to the boil with the vanilla extract in a heavy-bottomed pan and turn off the heat.

4. In a large bowl beat the egg yolks with the sugar to a light pale cream with a whisk or electric hand beater, then beat in the cornflour.

5. Gradually pour in the milk, whisking vigorously until well blended. Then pour the mixture back into the pan. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon or spatula over a very low heat until the custard thickens. If any lumps form at the start, they will disappear as you work the cream vigorously. Chill in the refrigerator covered with clingfilm.

6. Serve the custard cold topped with the cold rhubarb and its sauce.

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