A Taste For… Parma Ham

Parma ham legs hanging to age

The inspector from the Istituto Parma Qualità moves quickly amongst a selection of legs of ham. He pierces each ham in at least five spots using a special horse bone needle and sniffs the needle after each puncture. The needle is quite specialist; horse bone is porous to just the right degree that it takes in ... Read more »

Picanha (Rump Cap) Steaks with Port & Stilton Cream Sauce

Ask an Argentinian or Brazilian to recommend their favourite cut of beef and there’s a good chance they’ll choose picanha. Most commonly it’s barbequed or grilled, and is a core churrascaria menu item. With it’s thick layer of fat comes lots of flavour, and it’s tender too. Yet this prized South American cut is one ... Read more »

Green Romanesco Cauliflower Cheese

A few months back, while chatting with friends, I bemoaned my lack of adventurousness, inventiveness and originality when it comes to cooking vegetables at home. One of my friends disappeared momentarily, and returned with a copy of The Farm Shop Cookbook by Christine McFadden, which she kindly gifted me. A few weeks later, I got ... Read more »

Petetree’s Cheesy Potato Bake

One one of our numerous trips to France Pete & I enjoyed some wonderful meals at a cheese and wine restaurant in Bordeaux. One getting home, Pete attempted to recreate one simple dish we ate there and this is his rather tasty result! It’s a dish we both love so we have it once every ... Read more »