Recipes (my own and from reviewed recipe books), reviews of cookery books and cookery classes, food and kitchen equipment product reviews – if it’s about cooking or eating at home, it’s here!

Eastern European Summer Blueberry Soup

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Summer Blueberry Soup

Cold berry soups are a taste of childhood for many who grew up in Eastern Europe, as did Zuza Zak, author of Amber & Rye: A Baltic Food Journey. Zak’s favourite variation uses ripe blueberries, though you can use any fresh summer berries you like. This sweet “dessert soup” can be enjoyed for breakfast, as a ... Read more »

Potato Latkes with Smoked Sausage & Spinach

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Potato Latkes with Smoked Sausage & Spinach

Similar dishes of grated potatoes shaped into a pancake and fried exist right across Europe from North to South, East to West. Some, like these Eastern European latkes use egg to bind the ingredients, whereas others, such as rösti and hash-browns don’t, but the love of grated fried potato is very widespread. In this simple ... Read more »

Greta’s Gran’s Lithuanian Potatoes

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Greta’s Gran’s Potatoes with Kefir and Summer Vegetables

This delicious summer vegetable salad hails from Lithuania, and is one of those dishes where a handful of simple ingredients – potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers, spring onions, and radishes along with kefir and dill – combine into something more than the sum of their parts. The recipe is shared in recently published Baltic cookbook Amber & ... Read more »

Shiso Pickled Cucumber

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Shiso PIckled Cucumber

Shiso is one of my favourite herbs, one that I first encountered in Japanese cuisine (which is where its name comes from). In this straightforward recipe from Mark Diacono’s Herb: A Cook’s Companion cucumber is quick-pickled with shiso, vinegar, sugar and a few additional flavourings to create a light condiment or side to a wide ... Read more »

Herb by Mark Diacono

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Book cover for Herb by Mark Diacono

Herb: A Cook’s Companion by Mark Diacono is not a standard cookbook. Best described as a marvellous marriage of two genres – gardening advice and how to best enjoy herbs in your cooking – Herb is divided between salient advice on growing your own herbs (and handling store bought), and a selection of recipes that ... Read more »

One Pot Fish, Chickpea & Spinach Stew

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One pot Fish, Chickpea and Spinach Stew shown in cooking pot

This delicious One Pot Fish, Chickpea & Spinach Stew is quick and easy to make, perfect for a satisfying midweek dinner or a fast meal on a busy weekend. Featured in Alan Rosenthal’s Foolproof One-Pot: 60 Simple and Satisfying Recipes, the foundations of the recipe lie in Marcella Hazan’s famous tomato pasta sauce – Rosenthal’s ... Read more »

One Pot Ghanaian Chicken & Peanut Stew

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Ghanaian Chicken and Peanut Stew

This rich and spicy chicken and peanut stew hails from Ghana in West Africa, a country known for it’s diverse cuisine. Soups and stews such as this are popular in Ghana, often enjoyed with cornmeal and vegetables. If you’re not familiar with the flavours, imagine a cross between an East Asian peanut satay and a ... Read more »