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!
It’s interesting how one book can expose a huge gap in my food knowledge that I didn’t know I had. Amber & Rye is subtitled “A Baltic Food Journey – Estonia · Latvia · Lithuania”, and to my chagrin, I opened it with no idea at all what to expect. Zuza Zak helpfully prefaces the
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Using lemon thyme in place of regular thyme in this simple, rustic Lemon Thyme & Leek Tart is a fantastic idea that lifts it from delicious to genius level! The recipe is from Mark Diacono’s Herb: A Cook’s Companion and is a perfect example of how judicious use of the right herbs makes all the
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Beef braised in ale is a true comfort dish: warming, filling. nourishing and delicious, it’s the clichéd ‘hug in a bowl‘ that is always welcome. This recipe from Mark Diacono’s Herb: A Cook’s Companion combines beef cheeks – my favourite cut of beef for braising – with ale and beef stock to create a classic
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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
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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 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 show
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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
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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
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Alan Rosenthal is a chef, food writer and cookery teacher who has been cooking stews and one-pot meals at farmers’ markets across London since 2008. Foolproof One-Pot is Rosenthal’s third book following the success of “Stewed!” and “Ultimate One-Pot Dishes”. The book contains ‘60 simple and satisfying recipes’ that can all be cooked in a
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Courgettes (zucchini) baked in a cheese sauce (kousa bi gebna) may sound like a very basic dish and yet this recipe was the surprise winner of all the food we cooked when reviewing Ghillie Başan’s The Lebanese Cookbook. Described as a typical family dish, it consists of sliced courgettes baked in cheesy egg mixture reminiscent
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Palestinian Upside-Down Rice, Lamb & Aubergine (Maklubeh Bajinjan) is an impressive dish to serve – a turned-out-from-the-dish dome of rice and lamb wrapped in slices of silky aubergine – and a delight of really simple flavours that adds up to far more than the sum of its ingredients. The recipe is from Ghillie Başan’s The
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