Big bold boar.
We’ve all done it, come back from the food shop with random things you didn’t plan on buying, only later to find yourself wondering “what was I thinking?”.
Read moreSummery orzo pasta salad
Wiping the winter cobwebs away.
As the weather starts to warm up, salads naturally put in more of a mealtime appearance. But while tasty, I’m rarely content with leaves alone, preferring to add a few grains that can bring texture, make a meal go further and keep me fuller for longer.
Read moreSunshine pickle
Little yellow courgette.
After a trip to Whole Foods yesterday I found myself in possession of a couple of pretty yellow courgettes. But what to do with them?
Read moreSpicy beef wontons
A must-have Chinese ingredient.
There used to be a little dim sum shop in my home city that I liked going to after work sometimes. I was young and too self conscious to eat on my own in restaurants, so I’d drag whoever I could get to come with me from the office and order a basket of the spicy beef dumplings and scoff them down, trying to remember to share them.
Read moreSavoury jammy toasts
A store cupboard treat.
The savoury crunchy seeds and spicy tomato jam will keep well in airtight containers for ages, ready for you to go to when you fancy adding a bit of sweet heat or savoury crunch to mealtimes.
Read moreFrangipane fingers
No baking expertise required.
What I love about making these is you don’t need to be an expert baker to make frangipane. Being moist, it’s very forgiving to work with and can be cut into dainty slices without the risk of them falling apart.
Read moreTurtle bark
Turtle bark.
Chocolate, pecans and caramel layered up together and finished with a little sprinkle of salt.
Read moreElderflower bellinis
No grown up tea party would be complete without a little bit of fizz.
Made with super thrifty tinned gooseberries, fragrant elderflower cordial and Cava, these elderflower and gooseberry bellinis are fun and fruity and take no time at all to make.
Read moreLady Grey tea scones
Tasty ideas for a grown-up tea party.
I’ve been doing some recipe development work recently and was chuffed when Morrisons got in touch and asked me to think some up for them.
Read moreMexican chicken pibil stew
I really enjoy sussing out flavours.
Picking up on ingredients in dishes when I’m out and about and figuring out what’s in them and how their tastes fit together, banking them in my head for future reference when I’m in my kitchen at home. But there are times when try as I might, I haven’t the foggiest what the flavours are that I’m tasting — like the first time I ate the Mexican pibil.
Read moreHam and herb rolls
High on protein, light on carbs.
As you can probably tell from my twitter feed and recipes, I’m not a member of the no carb crew. In fact, after reading recently that our brains can’t produce serotonin without them I tucked in to a loaf of bread with abandon and rejoiced that carbs it seems, do actually make you happy.
Read moreVeggie noodle stir fry
A julienne peeler is an ace little kitchen gadget.
Much cheaper than a spiralizer, less washing up than a food processor, and safer than oh-so-dangerous feeling mandolin. Said peeler will set you back just a few quid, and if you can’t find one in your local supermarket or kitchen shop, try eBay or Amazon. But enough of my sales pitch.
Read moreThe ultimate chicken burger
Winner winner chicken dinner.
I live in a multicultural corner of south London with jerk shops aplenty, where plantains are sold at little grocers on the high street and we have more than our fair share of chicken shops. Jamaican vibes and crispy chicken is a big thing round these parts, so I decided it was time I shared my version of crispy chicken perfection.
Read moreSmoking violets cocktail
I was out for dinner with Mathew in Soho one Friday night at one of my fave places — the Ember Yard.
We gorged on delicious plates of smoked ricotta, octopus and rich and sticky iberico presa, all licked by the smoke of the coals from which the restaurant gets its name.
Read moreHot chocolate spoons
Getting crafty at Christmas time.
I’d like to say I came up with the idea for these myself, but that’d be a big fat lie. I spied it in Sainsbury’s magazine recently and decided they were just the personal stocking filler I was looking for, ideal to make and give away to friends and family this festive season.
Read moreProper chicken stew and dumplings
Us Brits aren’t famed for our culinary treasures.
Leaf through a historical cook book and you’ll find all sorts of strange dishes (deer kidney with dates, anyone?). But there are some gems that we’ve held on to, like shepherds pie, toad in the hole, the roast dinner, and good old fashioned stew and dumplings.
Read moreSpicy turkey pasta
Fast, flexible and fail safe.
With the nights drawing in and my commute feeling ever longer, it’s more and more important to get a bank of fast and cockle warming recipes I can turn to when time in the kitchen is limited.
Read morePersian pulled lamb
Pig isn’t the only meat you can pull.
Some ingredients have magical properties, the ability to change a dish completely. Like smoked paprika, a pinch of saffron, a chunk of chocolate, a sprinkling of truffle salt or a zingy preserved lemon (or two), though obviously not all at once. That’d be dinner disaster.
Read moreProtein power salad
Protein power.
When I’ve scoffed more than my fair share of pasta or guzzled too much vino, I like getting back in to clean eating, straight living, gym attending mode. At least for a little while.
Read moreCrispy taleggio
Crispy cheese is a thing of the gods.
If you fancy making some that’s more this decade than the old fashioned fave, baked camembert, why not give these a go – wedges of taleggio in crispy sourdough breadcrumbs, finished with a little sticky balsamic. Ooosh.
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