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
It’s an odd time of the year here, nearly-but-not-quite-spring. The daffs are opening in the garden and the sun has been making some cautious appearances, but it’s still a bit chilly and misty out there.
I’m not ready to fully embrace salads, even ones with hot bacon, but I want lighter, fresher food. This recipe was inspired by my sister-in-law Sarah, who was reminiscing about an Iranian dish she once ate, sharp with sour grapes and fragrant with herbs. Continue reading
There are just five ingredients in this recipe and you can cook it standing on your head (yoga students only) but the finished dish has savoury depth and burnishes beautifully. Continue reading
Dearly as I love a burnished, crisp-skinned roast chicken, for value for money you can’t beat poaching the bird. There’s so much to love. Continue reading
Pic: Catherine Grassin Hart
If you follow me on social media you’ll know that I’m finally getting my long-promised cookery school off the ground, hurrah! Planning the courses is enormously satisfying. So is testing them on my long-suffering friends and guinea pigs (see left: I’m not telling you what we were laughing about).
Writing legal requirements like terms and conditions and privacy and cookies policies is less exhilarating. They’re now in the hands of a solicitor for what he rather hilariously and all too aptly calls a sanity check.
I know, I know, Chicken Kiev is stuffed with garlic butter. Recipe purists, before you corner me and beat me over the head with a copy of the Cordon Bleu Cookbook, please allow me to explain. Continue reading
There’s something pathetically froggy about spatchcocked poussins but my word, they taste good and they cook a lot faster, staying deliciously juicy. They make a fabulous supper and a very good dinner party dish. Minimum effort, maximum flavour. Continue reading
I got home from a night out with the girls recently to find my husband had lit the fire. In June. So here’s a recipe for those summer evenings when you don’t want to eat anything too autumnal/wintry in flavour but it’s chilly enough to need a jumper. Continue reading
Picture: Till Niermann
Supposedly, triumphant Roman emperors and/or generals had a slave riding behind them at victory parades, whispering in their ears words to the effect of ‘remember you are mortal’ or ‘glory passes’. History suggests most were deaf to the hints. Continue reading
Less Scandi noir, more Scandi blonde, the flavours in this dish are subtle but delicious and the buttermilk bath helps keep the chicken juicy. It’s as good cold as it is hot, if you have any leftovers. Continue reading