food
food
side dish January 22, 2022
Smoky eggplant with yoghurt, tahini and seeds
I have a love-hate relationship with eggplants. We had an auspicious start, years of deliciousness, until we hit a rocky patch, in no small part due to me. And, although it’s smooth sailing once again, the memory of that fractious period refuses to...
dinner January 15, 2022
Entertaining can be so much more enjoyable if all the work is done in the preparation stage, rather than when your guests are present and having fun and you are stuck in the kitchen. Or, worse, when they are all crowded around you, giving you a...
food January 8, 2022
Grilled quail with dried tomato and betel leaves
When it comes to the snack department it’s fairly common to serve them on crackers or croutons. Think parfait or cheese or the classic kabana and pickled onion. While this is classic for a reason it tends to render the vessel as just that. Or step...
dinner December 18, 2021
Debate rages around whether pineapple should be a pizza topping. The idea of this tropical fruit paired with ham makes some people recoil in horror. Yet pork and pineapple seem to have a long and proud association. Think sweet and sour pork in the...
drinks December 11, 2021
I love a cocktail. I love the glasses, I love the ritual of making them, I love aperitivo hour and I love nothing more than sitting at a bar drinking them while eating snacks. My go-to is a dirty martini, the murkier the better, although if there is...
dinner December 4, 2021
Avocados have a history far beyond being mashed on toast. I was recently schooled in the varieties and applications at an avocado orchard connected to Tintenbar Distillery by the owner Rob Walsh, who is a distiller and farmer. Tasting the difference...
food November 27, 2021
Plump, ripe, fresh-picked berries, still warm with the heat of the sun, are true summer bliss. These fruits have a delicate nature, and are small and vulnerable, needing to be handled with care. I don’t think there are any berries I don’t like,...
baking November 20, 2021
I have been making shortbread as a Christmas gift for many years now. I have no recollection of where this particular recipe came from, but I have always enjoyed the fact it is not too sweet and has a lovely firm crunch to the biscuit. On many...
food November 13, 2021
Îles flottantes (floating islands)
A good meringue is cooking sorcery. To those who have watched a soufflé go from a fluffy success in the oven to a deflated plate of sadness when served, I offer my sympathy. To achieve perfection in cooking, we sometimes need to cheat. The addition...
dinner November 6, 2021
Spring sourdough spaetzle with peas and things
Apologies, but this recipe does come conditionally: you will need a spaetzle maker; a little obscure, I know, but relatively easy to find and inexpensive. I bought mine on a trip to Italy prior to ever actually having made them. It was autumn, up...
food October 30, 2021
Imagine a recipe you can master and then trot out in three different guises as we head back into the world of cooking for visitors at home. This may even become your new best friend as you embark on pre-Christmas entertaining. Such is the magic of...
