Lipsmacking Tamarind Ketchup

Tamarind Ketchup

My family call this sauce imli (tamarind) chutney. The word chutney comes from the Hindi chaatni which describes a tangy condiment that makes you lick your lips at it’s flavour! Although the verb chaatna means to lick I think lipsmacking is a better translation.. I refer to it as a ketchup or sauce because I’ve ... Read more »

Thornton’s Factory Tour

A few weeks back I was invited to attend a factory tour and visit to the Thorntons factory and head office, up in Derbyshire. Not a huge fan of their more established product ranges, I am open minded – they have a (relatively) new head of development who I know is keen to add ranges ... Read more »

Catch of the Day at Billingsgate Fish Market

“I have to get up at WHAT time?!?!” “4.30 am” “What?! Whyyyyyyyyyyy?” “Because the course starts at 6.30 with registration at 6.15” And so, we witness a time of day we’ve not seen for quite a while, especially since we’ve been on our extended holiday sabbatical. But we have good reason: We’re attending Billingsgate Seafood ... Read more »

Cuisinier Gascon: Braised Ox Cheek Bordelaise

Cuisinier Gascon: Meals from a Gascon Chef by Pascal Aussignac

I’ve been desperate to cook some of the delectably tempting recipes in Cuisinier Gascon by Pascal Aussignac since I got my mitts on it just before leaving for the Falklands. It’s a really, really beautiful book, full of mouth-watering recipes and beautiful images, not just of some of the dishes but also of life in ... Read more »

Hot, Sweet, Sour, Tangy Lemon Pickle!

Sweet and Spicy Lemon Pickle

Lemons in India are different – they’re lemony (well, duh!) but rounder with much thinner skins than the ones we see most commonly in the UK. Indians in the UK sometimes choose to use limes in place of Indian lemons when cooking, although my mum recommends against this as lime skins are much tougher than ... Read more »

Racing to Racine!

Two Mondays in a row now, I have visited Racine for lunch. “What’s the rush?”, you might ask… “You’ve never been before and now twice in the space of 8 days? What’s the big deal?” Well, I’ll tell you. The first visit came on the back of the recent food debate, yes, yes, the one ... Read more »

Déjeuner a L’Oranger!

So far during our 3 month sabbatical we’ve enjoyed weekday lunches at Hawksmoor, Bob Bob Ricard, and Launceston Place. These were before our trip to the Falklands. We carried on as soon as we got back, through late February and March, though I’m a bit late posting the reviews! The L’Oranger lunch menu offers a ... Read more »

Hot Chilli & Ginger Pickle!

Hot Chilli & Ginger Pickle

The two chilli and ginger pickles I made for the stall I did at Covent Garden Real Food Market last year proved popular, so I made more for friends. This is adapted from recipes on Mamta’s Kitchen, our family recipe site. ... Read more »

The Silver Spoon Pasta Book

The Silver Spoon Pasta book by Phaidon is a monster of a cookery book! With over 50 shapes of pasta and 360 individual recipes it’s a real tome of reference for traditional Italian pasta recipes. And just like so many of our friends, we find pasta a wonderfully delicious, yet quick and simple, option for ... Read more »

Cook like a wahaca – cooking with Tommi Miers

One of the prizes donated to the Blaggers Banquet that most excited me was the one-off cookery class by Thomasina Miers, Masterchef 2005 winner and founder of Wahaca mexican street food restaurants. Tommi doesn’t normally offer small, personal cookery classes like this so I was very pleased indeed to bag one of the coveted 8 ... Read more »