Good Vibes cookbook: recipes from ricotta hotcakes to sweet and sticky chicken thighs

Jane and Myles Lamberth’s debut book is a myriad of influences from around the world, inspired by their never-ending search for the perfect wave and their home of the west coast of Ireland

There is no better way to start the day than with fluffy pancakes and fresh blueberry compote

Ricotta hotcakes

Light and fluffy, with a slight tang from the ricotta cheese, these are a great alternative to standard pancakes.

Makes about 15-20

For the batter

250g ricotta cheese 
125ml milk 
2 large eggs, separated 
100g plain flour 
1tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
Vegetable or nut oil for frying

Easy blueberry compote

300g blueberries
1tbsp caster sugar

To garnish

5 mint leaves, chopped
Thick Greek yoghurt
Honey to drizzle

First make the compote by squashing the blueberries with a fork, adding the sugar half way through. Allow to marinate for five minutes, while you cook the pancakes. Grab a nice, deep bowl and mix together the ricotta, milk and egg yolks.

In another bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff. (You can do this by hand to get your morning exercise.) Back in the ricotta bowl, add the flour, baking powder and salt. Mix gently until combined. Fold the beaten egg whites into the ricotta mix.

Try to keep as much air in the mixture as possible – don’t over mix. Heat a large frying pan, and with some paper towel smear a drop of oil all over the pan. Be careful not to burn yourself. Repeat this oil wipedown between batches of pancakes. Drop in about three large spoons of batter at a time – they should spread out to the size of a beer coaster.

Cook for about one and a half minutes, until the underside is golden and there are lots of bubbles on the top side. Flip quickly with a spatula, cook for another minute and flip again for even, quick cooking. To serve, pile up three pancakes and top with a big blob of yoghurt, a flick of fresh blueberry compote and chopped mint. Then drizzle the expensive, market-bought, hipster-made honey on top.

Open rye New York style sandwich

Nothing is better than putting in the time and effort to make a really good sandwich. The trick here is getting that bacon extra crispy and the eggs perfectly gooey.

Serves 2

4 slices of awesome rye bread, toasted
4 eggs
4-6 slices of streaky bacon
½ avocado
1tbsp sour cream or yoghurt
Dash of Tabasco sauce or a pinch of cayenne
Salt and pepper
Squeeze of lemon
Sprigs of frisée lettuce

I have chosen bitter frisée lettuce to cut through the richness of this dish; alternatively you could use bitter endive or go hipster with foraged dandelion leaves.

Heat the oven on high. Line a baking tray with baking parchment and spread out your bacon nice and flat. Line another piece of parchment on top of your bacon and lay down some sort of weight on top (eg a baking tray of similar size or clean brick).

Bake at 200C for 15-20 minutes. By baking the bacon between two sheets of parchment paper, the end result will be perfectly flat, crispy brown bacon. You can also fry the bacon with a weight on top.

Bring a small pot of water to the boil. Drop in the eggs for four minutes. Remove the eggs and rinse under cold water to prevent any further cooking.

In a small bowl, smash up the peeled eggs with a fork. You want the runny yolk to almost form a mayonnaise. Season with salt and pepper. For the avocado dressing, blend together the avocado and sour cream with a dash of Tabasco, squeeze of lemon and a pinch of salt.

Butter up your toasted rye bread and pour on your smashed eggs with a twist of the black stuff. Top with frisée lettuce and balance shards of crispy bacon on top. Drizzle avocado dressing all around.

Sweet, sticky chicken thighs on peanut rice noodles

I love this dish and I’m not the only one. I served it to a friend and ever since he keeps asking me for more “chicken crack”. So be warned, this is seriously addictive chicken.

Serves 2-4

6 chicken thighs
Splash of oil
1 packet rice noodles
2tbsp peanuts, chopped
1tsp sesame oil
1tbsp sesame seeds
4 spring onions, chopped, to serve
1tbsp sweet chilli sauce
1 lime, to serve
Coriander, to serve
 

For the marinade

4tbsp sweet chilli sauce
4tbsp light soy sauce
2 limes, juiced
2tbsp honey
Thumb of ginger
3 cloves garlic
1 or 2 red chillies
Splash sesame oil or peanut oil

Blend the marinade ingredients together and pour over the chicken thighs. Allow to marinate for a few hours, giving them a gentle stir to ensure they are evenly covered. Once the chicken has been well marinated, grab a nice thick pan, add a splash of oil and sear the chicken to give it some colour on both sides.

Transfer to a preheated oven at 200C and bake for 15-25 minutes, depending on the size of the thighs. Baste the chicken halfway through the cooking process. Cook the noodles according to packet instructions, then toss in a little sesame oil and add the sesame seeds, chopped peanuts and sweet chill sauce.

Serve with fresh coriander, chilli and lime wedges and top with chopped spring onions.

Good Vibes Cookbook: Tasty, super healthy recipes by Jane and Myles Lamberth is out now £17.99 form bookshops and surfgirlbeachboutique.com