Whenever I eat in a Turkish restaurant, I resolve not to stuff myself with Turkish bread and dips leaving no room for my main course. And invariably fail…
The bread is fresh, warm and pillowy soft, the dips so creamy, garlicky, and moreish, it’s almost impossible to resist.
Asparagus with wasabi mayonnaise is a really nice, simple summer appetiser.
It contains so few ingredients – and is so straightforward to make – that it’s more of an idea than an actual recipe. Continue reading
…Japan who achieved great heights with their fluffy pancakes!
England was lucky to be in Group H. Their Cornish pasties progressed to the knockout round with an 8.5 (where they were neatly dispatched by Colombia’s arepas con camarones y hogao), while Spain’s delicious churros with chocolate sauce failed to make the cut in Group B.
As ever, the four of us rated each dish or meal out of ten, which I then averaged. If I cooked more than one dish from a particular country, I averaged all the dishes into one score. This worked against Serbia, who failed to qualify when their pljeskavíca were dragged under by the less-popular krompir salata.
I like to think that the judges’ palettes are becoming more refined. Of the nine countries represented by something sweet, only six made it through the qualifying round.
Where two countries tied in the group stage, I used WordPress likes as a penalty shoot-out. (This allowed Colombia to place ahead of Japan in Group H), though they were later trounced by Iceland’s crepe-style pancakes in the semi-finals.
In the end, it was the battle of the pancakes. And what a match it was… Tied on scores, I then looked at social media, comments and downloads.
I was about to award the prize to Iceland, when the equivalent of VAR intervened. “The Japanese fluffy pancakes are just more impressive, mum,” my younger daughter said. So Japan it is (sorry Iceland!).
Colombia had to settle for third this time. Still impressive but not matching the triumphant barras de límon of 2014.
Portugal’s salame de chocolate is a little bit of kitchen fun.
A rich chocolately mixture studded with biscuits and nuts, shaped into a sausage and rolled in powdered sugar to resemble one of those dry-cured salamis. Continue reading
Moqueca de camarão is my kind of dish.
Simple, delicious, light, flavourful, every ingredient singing in harmony.
I’m so pleased I’ve discovered it, and expect we’ll be eating it regularly all year round.
I’ve gone for Cornish pasties to represent England in this year’s World Cup cook-off.
Yes, it’s a shameless crowd-pleaser, but I suspect that England needs all the help it can get – both in the kitchen and on the pitch.
Strictly speaking, if it’s not made in Cornwall, it’s not a Cornish pasty.
But if I’d made these in Penzance instead of London, I think they might pass muster. Continue reading
Fainá is a thick pancake (or flatbread) made of chickpea flour – and not much else.
It’s baked in a pizza pan in a hot oven, emerging crispy on the outside with an eggy-creamy interior.
Apparently, Uruguayans like to top their pizza slices with a wedge of fainá.
Continue reading
