We’re in the middle of a mini heatwave as I write so I’m offering you two different, quick, summer-into-autumn recipes. One means turning the oven on briefly, the other doesn’t. They both feature St Jude, a lovely, lactic, soft cheese made here in Suffolk. Other cheeses are, of course, available. 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.
Less a recipe, more a fridge and cupboard raid, but a godsend when you want a summery supper with minimum effort. If it’s still raining where you are, put a woolly on and pretend you’re at the British seaside. A flask of stewed tea helps the illusion but a glass of wine would probably be preferable. 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’ve been leafing through a lot of cookery books this week, trying to find something to act as an antidote to the large-scale carnivorous feasting of Christmas. I wanted barely cooked vegetables, spice, and citrus. This Malaysian noodle dish hits the sweet spot. Continue reading
I have a guilty secret. I am a vocal supporter of local produce and local producers but I often buy Alaskan salmon. The reason? Most of the salmon available to me is farmed, it’s flabby, fatty and pallid and I find it unappetising. Continue reading
Sometimes you come home, look in the fridge and think ‘I just can’t be bothered, let’s get a takeaway’. Or in my case, with no restaurants willing to deliver to the Suffolk outback, settle for beans on toast. Reader, this could be our salvation. Continue reading
This is one of the quickest, lightest and freshest suppers going … get it while you can because blood oranges have such a short season. Continue reading
I keep reading articles exhorting me to move meat to the status of a relish and to make vegetables the star of my meals. That’s not a bad solution for people who don’t want to give up meat altogether but are cognisant of the arguments against its production and consumption. While it’s unlikely I’ll ever become a vegetarian (bacon!), let alone a vegan (cheese!), I do try to keep a healthy balance. Continue reading
Spatchcocking poultry is one of those things that many cooks avoid because they think it’s difficult, but it’s actually very easy. All you’re doing is removing the backbone so the bird can be flattened out for speedy roasting. It means you can have supper on the table remarkably quickly.
I’ve used poussins here, baby chickens which will cook in about three-quarters of an hour Continue reading