I’m really fond of fougasse, southern France’s version of the focaccia. It’s fun to make and this Christmas tree version, while it departs from the traditional shaping, is a festive addition to the seasonal table. Continue reading
In the good old, bad old days, making potted ham was a way of conserving food to keep it from going off before it could be eaten. Modern refrigerators and freezers mean we don’t have the same problem, but if you have any leftover ham after Thanksgiving, Christmas or a.n.other holiday, this is a delicious way of using it up. Continue reading
If you haven’t tried quail, you’re in for a treat. If you’re an old hand, you know how good these little birds are, like tiny, tasty chickens. Here, I’ve cooked them in a classic creamy French sauce with white wine, tarragon and grapes. Continue reading
It was the kitchen I fell in love with first. I looked around at its pale maple floors, soft blue cabinets and comforting, bum-warming Aga and thought ‘one day, this kitchen will be mine’. It helped, of course, that I really fancied its owner. Continue reading
We’re all cooking under pressure these days, aren’t we? Energy and food prices are rocketing, we’re on the brink of another recession (some say we’re already in one) and the government is making a dog’s breakfast of the UK economy. Or a pig’s ear, if you prefer a different beastly metaphor. So it makes sense to cook with economy. Continue reading
If you enjoy seasonal eating this pork and pear casserole is the perfect celebration of autumn. The combination of tender meat, piquant sauce and sweet, yielding pears makes a comforting but far from ordinary meal. I made it for visiting family the other week with one eye on possible leftovers and between us we scoffed the lot. Continue reading
A lovely autumnal salad that works as a starter or a main course, this combines roasted beetroot and blackberries with walnuts and feta, dressed in a pomegranate vinaigrette. Continue reading
Compilation posts can seem a bit lazy but trust me, a lot of work has gone into the Courgette Edit. I’ve been growing and cooking courgettes for years, and as anyone who has planted summer squash knows, they are inexhaustible. No matter how many you eat or give away there is a constant supply and new recipes are always welcome. Continue reading
Ham with Cumberland sauce is a traditional British recipe dating back to Victorian times and there’s a reason for its staying power. It’s really very good. Continue reading
With food and energy prices rocketing, many of us are urgently reviewing our household budgets right now. Do we, like a magazine journalist whose column I’ve just read, splash out a gadget measuring electricity usage then run around turning off appliances at the wall? Are we all going to be sharing stone soup by the winter, cooking by candlelight? (Note to self: avoid tallow rush lights except in extremis. Too whiffy.)
I’m probably the last person who should proffer advice because I am, accordingly to my older sister and brother, notoriously feckless. It’s one of those familial reputations you can’t shake, regardless of the years. I’ve been painfully hard up in the past, the sort of broke that means you have to find the money for a court fine because you can’t afford to tax your car and you need your car to get to work to pay the bills and so on ad nauseum until you want to drive your illegal vehicle into a motorway bridge support.
But I currently have a roof over my head and I’m well fed. I’m not Jack Monroe, happily for all concerned, and nothing I say here will help those who not only lack the income to buy food but to pay the energy bills with which to cook it.
The political will needed to eradicate that sort of poverty is lacking and we’re moving swiftly in the opposite direction, with Rishi Sunak espousing Charter Cities* which will create independent fiefdoms for corporations, and Freeports which grant companies whopping tax exemptions.
It’s all supposed to boost the economy, but to whose benefit? The rich – and the Rishis – get richer and the rest of us presumably revert to serfdom while enduring the deterioration of our schools and healthcare. I feel like a Saxon oppressed by Norman barons and even they managed to come up with the Magna Carta.
This all started as an introduction to a recipe for ham and how a small joint could be made to go a long way but it got hijacked by a comment from a friend on Twitter and turned into a rant. Sorry. I’ll be back with a plate of ham next time. (I was going to say gammon but that’s apparently a perjorative term these days.). Feel free to disagree, comment or unfollow. We do still live in a democracy, after all. Unless you end up working in a Charter City.
* See here for the argument in favour of Charter Cities and a view against.