I’m not a fan of bread and butter pudding, though I’ve warmed to it somewhat over the years. (As a child, I considered it a personal insult when mum served it for dessert.)
And I’ve never seen the point of panettone – that overrated, inevitably stale and dry-as-dust, identity crisis of a cake-bread, whose packaging is the best thing going for it.
But bring the two together in the form of panettone pudding, and it really is a case of two wrongs making a right… Continue reading
With its bright, contrasting colours, and pomegranate seeds twinkling like little gems, winter slaw is a pretty salad.
I can find pomegranate seeds annoying. The amount of fibrous pit you grind through to release the juicy flesh detracts from my eating enjoyment.
But those pits are of no consequence in this crunchy riot of texture and flavour. Continue reading
This celeriac and dill soup has a wonderful nutty taste and velvety texture.
I usually stir through a splash of cream at the end, which gives it an added richness, but it’s perfectly nice without it.
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Witches’ fingers are another standard item on our annual Halloween supper – along with the pumpkin soup with coconut milk, roasted pumpkin seeds and bloodsucking jellies.
I always steam a big heap of green beans to provide a nod in the direction of healthy eating (though I expect Adam and I end up eating most of them).
The original recipe is from Delicious magazine.
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I’ve seen recipes for meringue roulades over the years, but assumed they were well beyond my baking abilities. My efforts to produce a passable Swiss roll were hardly confidence building.
But finding myself with a quantity of egg whites that needed using, I decided to give it a go.
In the excitement of last year’s Great British Bake-off, I rashly committed to baking all of the signature bakes.
Each week, I watched with growing dread to see what overambitious baking project I’d have to tackle next. I was fine with the drizzle cake, iced biscuits and Yorkshire pudding, and managed to turn out a passable chocolate babka.
But the thought of making Danish pastries from scratch stopped me in my tracks for months.
However, I’m nothing if not an “completer-finisher” (eventually)… Since the show ended, I’ve gone on to make lemon meringue pie and Swiss roll. And at long last… pork, chicken and cranberry pie.
Strictly speaking, I seem to recall the brief was individual meat pies, but it seemed simpler to make one large pie instead.
Kimchi and cheese probably seems an odd combination to most people.
Even today, I doubt the average Korean family eats much cheese, and kimchi is hardly a store cupboard staple in Britain (though it certainly is in this British home).
But in this global world, these two unlikely ingredients have met and fallen in love. Kimcheeze anyone? Sorry…
In an attempt to raise the tone, I quote the famous gastronome Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin:
The discovery of a new dish does more for the happiness of the human race than the discovery of a star.
Hot cross buns – once an Easter-time treat – are available in the shops all year round.
I suppose it’s old-fashioned of me, but I prefer foods keep to their allotted place in the culinary calendar. Something special to enjoy at a particular time of the year – I don’t want mince pies in May, or hot cross buns in August.
The supermarket was selling four hot cross buns for less than a pound this week, so why go to the trouble of making them at home?
With its croutons and shavings of Parmesan, this simple salad is reminiscent of a Caesar, but the fennel takes it somewhere new.
It’s a much fresher affair, and one of my favourite lunches when I’m working from home.
I keep the dressing to a minimum so as not to overwhelm the tender salad leaves. Continue reading
Root vegetable crumble is one of my favourite things to make in the winter. While both girls are affronted by the very concept of a savoury crumble, I love it.
When divided into six ramekins, portions are definitely on the starter/lunch size. When I make root vegetable crumble for dinner, I serve it with lots of steamed vegetables or a big green salad. I’ve also made it in a shallow casserole dish. Continue reading
This roast squash and chickpea salad with tahini dressing is becoming a favourite winter lunch around ours.
It’s lovely served with the squash still warm from the oven, and keeps well in the fridge. I bring it back to room temperature before serving, and freshen up the seasoning. Continue reading
It took a few tries before I got the knack of making a Swiss roll, and could tick the next item on the Great British Bake-off signature bake list.
A few things I learned the hard way:
The fourth one worked like a charm…;-) Continue reading
We usually observe the Italian tradition of eating lentils on New Year’s Day. Because of their resemblance to coins, lentils are thought to symbolise good fortune and prosperity. Worth a shot…;-)
Most often, I make Puy lentils simmered with carrots, onion and celery until soft, which I serve with sausages cooked under the grill. But sometimes I make lentil soup.
This lentil squash soup with turmeric is very different to my usual lemony red lentil soup. The addition of squash both softens and fortifies the slightly grainy texture of the lentils. Continue reading
This healthy, Christmas-y (not so often you use those two adjectives to describe a dish) romanesco apple pecan salad makes a refreshing change from turkey soup and turkey sandwiches at this point in the festivities.
And aside from steaming the romanesco, it takes only minutes to put together – another point in its favour.
I serve the dressing on the side – once it is mixed through the salad, the romanesco florets are less delightfully tree-like. If romanesco isn’t available, broccoli works too. Continue reading
I’ve had a large tin of mango pulp taking up precious space in the pantry cupboard for ages now. It’s been so long, I can no longer remember my reason for purchasing it. I’m thinking maybe cocktails…?
The other day, it occurred to me that it would lend itself nicely to making mango ice cream. To my surprise, none of the recipes I found used tinned mango, so I decided to go it alone.
I kept things simple – just mango pulp, double cream, lime juice, salt and Malibu liqueur (another thing that’s been taking up valuable shelf space for the last ten years.)
On my work-from-home days, I often make a big bowl of steamed vegetables with cheese for lunch.
The idea for this dish came from some two-week, healthy-eating regime we followed years ago. Each day, you were presented with two choices of lunch – and whenever steamed vegetables with cheese was an option, I chose the other one.
Until the day I didn’t… and discovered that steamed vegetables with cheese is an immensely satisfying bowl of food. I’ve eaten it regularly ever since, with whatever vegetables are in season or on hand.
When I was a little girl, my dad cooked a roast dinner every Sunday. Gradually, he stopped – maybe roasts got too expensive, or family schedules too complicated, I don’t know. But I do remember years where Sunday night meant The Wonderful World of Walt Disney, roast beef, and bath-before-bed.
We were a meat-and-four-veg family – typically potatoes, beans, corn and carrots, but sometimes squash, peas, beets, broccoli, spinach or chard featured instead. Whatever the vegetable, it was always boiled or steamed.
But I couldn’t have cared less about roast meat or boiled veg – for me, that dinner was all about the Yorkshire pudding. Never mind that dad’s Yorkshire puddings were often the size and density of hockey pucks – they were utterly delicious, and capable of holding a generous splash of gravy.
While I now know that airy puff is what you’re aiming for with Yorkshire puddings, I retain a fondness for the dense little numbers of my childhood. (I’ve noticed many recipes call for twice the number of eggs dad used, which would no doubt make a difference to the rise.) Continue reading
We ate this chorizo-leek phyllo tart a few times over the summer. I’d cook it early in the day – tarts and quiches benefit from having enough time to cool and rest – and we’d eat for dinner with a green salad.
I’ve experimented with adding goat’s cheese, sundried tomatoes, and sliced olives, but didn’t feel the tart was improved by it.
The chorizo provides ample flavour, and without cheese, the cream and eggs bake to a silky, custard-like consistency.
Sometimes simple is best. Continue reading
The Great British Bake-off is back! Returning from a week in Girona a couple of days ago, we didn’t even unpack our suitcases before sitting down to watch the first episode. We have our priorities straight around here…;-)
“You are going to bake along with them again, aren’t you mum? You could do the technical challenges this time…” (While the thought of attempting my own Jaffa cakes is tempting, I plan to stick with signature bakes for another season.)
So, first up, drizzle cake…
Lemon drizzle is the undisputed champion of the drizzle cake world – a sweet-tart, sticky-soft, tea-time treat you’d have to go some way to improve upon. But having already written about my mum’s lemon bread, I decided to make a grapefruit drizzle cake instead.
This lovely, slightly damp and sticky ginger cake is fast becoming a staple in our house. I love how the sharp lemon icing cuts the sweetness of the sponge.
The cake keeps really well, and is even more delicious the following day. It could well be even better the day after that, but we’ve never had one last long enough to find out…;-)
The original recipe is from the BBC Good Food website. Continue reading
Cutting back an unruly rosemary bush that was over-reaching itself in the garden has left me with an abundance of fresh rosemary. Besides incorporating it into our last few meals, I made a bottle of rosemary syrup to drizzle over apple-based desserts, and use to glaze my next rosemary loaf cake.
I then got the idea of making a rosemary-based cocktail… An internet search turned up this rosemary gimlet on David Lebowitz’s website.
Having tried it his way, I decided that I prefer mine with a higher proportion of lime juice and rosemary syrup to gin. That way you can have two…;-) Continue reading
Lemon gems (or fried egg biscuits, as they are known round here), are delightfully crumbly-yet-crisp, tart little morsels of loveliness. Plus they look so cute! Continue reading
Chicken tikka masala is one of Britain’s favourite dishes. Believed to be a local adaptation of India’s butter chicken, chicken tikka masala is such a part of the British culinary fabric, it goes by the acronym CTM.
Usually eaten in restaurants, or as a takeaway, I had never actually made chicken tikka masala myself. Continue reading
Before moving to the UK, I’d never eaten summer pudding. I was dead impressed the first time my mother-in-law served one up for dessert.
As she’s a very accomplished cook, I assumed summer puddings required patisserie skills I’d never possess. Turns out she’s a canny cook as well – and summer pudding couldn’t be easier to make. Continue reading
Indian beans on toast is the happy result of one of those “what can I possibly make for dinner?” evenings. The kind where you’re that close to admitting defeat and ordering pizza.
But then you notice a couple of tins of cannellini beans you’d bought to have with the chicken breasts you forgot you’d already eaten, and decide that the onion with the shoots emerging from the top is still usable, and remember there are a few slices of sourdough bread in the freezer.
And with the last tin of tomatoes from the garage, you produce something that – while far from dinner party fare – is pretty tasty, if you do say so yourself.
Fish pie is a comforting dish, and one many British people associate with childhood. I can’t recall ever eating one before moving to the UK, but unlike Marmite or Jaffa cakes, you don’t have to grow up eating fish pie to enjoy it.
Making a good fish pie does require care and attention. There are several steps – and several pans – involved. I’ve streamlined my version over the years, arriving at a fish pie recipe where the final result justifies the effort.
This sweet potato and carrot soup comes together in no time, making a great choice for weekday dinner. The sweet potato gives it a silky smoothness that contrasts beautifully with the crunchy seeds. Continue reading
January can feel long and bleak and dreary. But the arrival of Seville oranges in the shops is a little spot of sunshine because it means I can make this year’s batch of marmalade.
Homemade marmalade on toast with a hot cup of tea takes some beating. Quintessentially British, both marmalade and tea are symbols of Britain’s colonial past – one through trade with Spain and the other due to colonising India. The history of the empire casts a long shadow over British cuisine – and we all eat better for it…
I was pleasantly surprised by these iced filled buns, which are like homemade, fresh and delicious jam doughnuts. Or sweet hamburgers. Needless to say, the girls adored them.
As I’m not keen on strawberry jam, I opted to fill mine with raspberry instead. It’s not the most photogenic of jams, appearing dark and gelatinous in the photos.
With these filled iced buns I complete my Great British Bake-off signature bake challenge – better late than never. Continue reading
Smoked mackerel and beetroot salad is the kind of food I crave after December’s indulgences. Healthy without being “too healthy”, this winning combination of colours, textures and tastes feeds the eye before it feeds the rest of you.
The sharpness of the pickled beetroot contrasts beautifully with the mackerel’s oily richness, set off by the fiery horseradish dressing. I heaped forkfuls of it onto Ryvita crackers, and crunched away happily – feeling all Nordic – while catching up on the latest series of The Bridge. Continue reading
There’s been a hiatus in the Great British Bake-off project, but the girls were never going to let me get away without making the double chocolate tart.
Chocolate pastry is new to me. My go-to pastry recipes have little or no sugar, and I wasn’t confident that would be enough to balance the bitterness of the cocoa. The pastry recipe I followed starts by creaming the butter and sugar, which resulted in a biscuity-crisp crust. Continue reading
My heart sank when the Great British Bake-off contestants were set the task of making a raised game pie.
According to BBC Good Food (where I found this Paul Hollywood recipe), “a game pie always makes a spectacular centre piece and… is amazingly straightforward to make – especially if you buy mixed game meat ready-prepared from a good butcher.”
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The Great British Bake-off has returned to our tellies, and the family is following along enthusiastically. Inspired by the contestants’ efforts in the tent each week, I’ve signed up to complete each week’s signature bake. Baking and desserts are not my forte, so this will be a stretch for me. First up, Madeira cake… Continue reading
Kedgeree is one of my all-time favourite meals. While the British consider kedgeree a breakfast dish, we usually eat this delicious concoction of smoked fish, rice, eggs and curry as a weekday supper with a good dollop of mango chutney. Continue reading
In Canada a flapjack is another name for a pancake. Here in the UK, it’s a sort of baked oat square. Similar to a granola bar, a good flapjack is chewy and dense and sweet with golden syrup.
The first flapjack I tasted was not good – in fact, it was a huge disappointment. While it looked tempting enough in the sandwich shop with its generous coating of chocolate, it tasted of nothing but cheap oil and sugar, compacted itself into my molars and left a coating of grease on the roof of my mouth. I didn’t finish it – or buy another flapjack for a good ten years. Continue reading
Rhubarb crumble ice cream is an inspired idea – tart rhubarb, silky sweet cream, nuggets of cakey crumble. It’s not the most visually seductive of ice creams, at least when made with the chunky green stalks of rhubarb from my garden patch. None of that delicate pink forced rhubarb for us.
Frangipane is such a beautiful word, conjuring up images of sugar and spice, flowers and French patisserie. These tasty little numbers with their moreish almond filling, tart slick of raspberry jam and flaky crisp pastry are as delicious to eat as the name suggests.
May is the start of strawberry season in the UK, and strawberries are going to feature large around here in the weeks ahead: strawberries on our cereal and in our smoothies, strawberry tops in our water, strawberry shortcake, strawberry ice cream, and Eton mess. Continue reading
These pear and ginger oat puddings are a cross between a fruit crumble and a flapjack. They are quick to assemble, take only fifteen minutes to cook, and are so light and healthy tasting that I’m tempted to make them for breakfast. Continue reading
In spite of the watercress, this is a hearty, wintery sort pea soup. Not as rib sticking as the split pea soup I grew up eating in Canada, but very different to the chilled pea and mint soup we eat all summer.
Even after blending, I find that the soup still has a certain amount of texture. I like it that way, but if you’d prefer it smoother, you can always push the puréed soup through a sieve before serving. Continue reading
Ten More Bites 