Slow Cooker Beef Joint in Pedro Ximinez and Red Wine (Two Ways)

Slow Cooker Beef Joint in Pedro Ximinez and Red Wine

A joint of beef cooked slowly in a braising liquid of beef stock, red wine and Pedro Ximinez sherry with whole shallots, sliced onions and carrots makes a perfect winter warmer and also fits the bill whenever you’re seeking comfort. This recipe can be served two ways: cook the beef joint until it’s tender but ... Read more »

Chetna Makan’s Paneer Do Pyaza

Paneer Do Pyaza

I am a huge fan of paneer, it being an ingredient I grew up with and have always loved; the fresh Indian cheese is a regular choice for vegetarian nights in our house. This Paneer Do Pyaza recipe is from Chetna’s Indian Feasts by Chetna Makan and features onions and shallots alongside the paneer. Read ... Read more »

Budget Supermarket Pasta

Budget Supermarket Pasta

In Van Life Cookbook authors Danny Jack and Hailee Kukura share a collection of recipes designed to be cooked and enjoyed in the small kitchen spaces of campervans and caravans, or in the great outdoors. They are also budget conscious, and eat a predominantly vegetarian diet. This Budget Supermarket Pasta recipe includes anchovies and cheese, ... Read more »

Menemen: Turkish One-Pan Eggs

Menemen Turkish One-Pan Eggs

Although it’s commonly served for breakfast, Menemen – aka Turkish Eggs – is also excellent as a quick lunch or light evening meal. This one-pan recipe comes from the ‘Van Life Cookbook: Resourceful recipes for life on the road: from small spaces to the great outdoors’ by Danny Jack and Hailee Kukura. This recipe is ... Read more »

Turkish Ezme

Ezme Salad

For many years, ezme has been one of my favourite side dishes when visiting the many Turkish restaurants of North London. A simple cold dish of chopped tomatoes, onions, cucumbers and red peppers with lots of parsley and mint, ezme is the perfect foil to kebabs such as adana kofte, chicken and lamb cis, and ... Read more »

BBQ Piri Piri Chicken Thighs with Tomato and Onion Salad

Piri Pri Chicken Thighs with Tomato and Onion Salad

In the era of Nando’s – the ubiquitous South African restaurant chain specialising in peri-peri chicken – this fiery chicken recipe has become a favourite across the UK. It’s a dish born of European colonisation and global trade. The Portuguese traded chillies and many other products from the Americas to Europe, and across their colonies ... Read more »

Pork Shoulder Vindaloo

Pork Shoulder Vindaloo

This is a classic pork vindaloo from Eleanor Ford’s The Nutmeg Trail and she describes it as “an assertive, almost pickle-sour braise“. Made from pork shoulder, this recipe brings together ingredients and ideas from three continents. Its roots are in a Portuguese pickled pork dish called carne de vinho e alhos, which melded with the ... Read more »

Dad’s Tibetan Rice

Dad's Tibetan Rice

This recipe for Tibetan Rice, from Taste Tibet: Family Recipes from the Himalayas by Julie Kleeman and Yeshi Jampa, is a speciality of Yeshi’s older father, a dish he makes for lunch every Tibetan New Year. Unlike barley – which grows well in the high mountain climate of the Tibetan plateau – rice must be ... Read more »

Avocado, Mushroom and Tomato Pilaf | Harem Pilav

Harem pilav (avocado, wine and mushroom pilau)

It’s likely this Avocado, Mushroom and Tomato Pilaf recipe from Arto der Haroutunian’s cookbook, Vegetarian Dishes of the Middle East carries influences from French colonialism in the region, given the use of white wine in the recipe. There’s a pleasingly retro vibe to the suggested presentation, and it’s a straightforward recipe for a midweek meal. ... Read more »