I wouldn’t have thought of combining beetroot and celery, but thumbing through Elizabeth David’s French Provincial Cooking I was intrigued by her description of this “admirable winter salad”. Continue reading
Tag Archives: walnuts
Endive, pear, walnut and blue cheese salad
19 Dec
This is one of my favourite winter salads, especially at this time of year.
Fresh and light without being worthy, endive, pear, walnut and blue cheese salad is nice counterpoint to the the rich food we’ve been indulging in.
It’s also delicious, with each ingredient bringing something to the party. Continue reading
Winter slaw with poppy seed dressing
15 Jan
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
Waldorf salad
28 Aug
I first learned of the existence of Waldorf salad from Fawlty Towers. Like Basil, I had no idea what it was:
Customer: “Could you make me a Waldorf salad?”
Basil: “Waldorf salad. I think we’re just out of Waldorfs.”
But by the end of the episode – unlike Basil – I was pretty clear on how to make one:
Customer: “No! No cheese! It’s celery, apples, walnuts, grapes!”
Basil: “Right!”
Customer: “In mayonnaise!”
Basil: “Right!”
Nanaimo bars
26 May
Nanaimo bars are a national institution in Canada. I’d always assumed these delicious bars of nutty, creamy, chocolatey goodness were first in Nanaimo (a town on Vancouver Island) – and research bears this out.
Loved across the country, there was even a knockout round in the first season of MasterChef Canada where competitors had to make desserts inspired by Nanaimo bars. Continue reading
Cherry slice
5 Dec
This tray of cherry slice officially opens the Christmas baking season in our house. Each year, I bake a number of the treats my mum and my sister-in-law always made. Cherry slice, butterscotch fudge, date squares, Nanaimo bars, shortbread and fruit cake are the definites – Christmas wouldn’t feel the same without them.
But that pair didn’t stop there… Continue reading
Pantzarosalata
11 Jul
This puréed beetroot salad is another recipe from Madhur Jaffrey’s World Vegetarian cookbook that I’ve been making for years. We eat it with blini, and with oatcakes as an appetizer before our Burns Night haggis. Continue reading
Chicken fessenjoon with rice
16 Jun
Tonight’s dinner comes from Iran – chicken fessenjoon (chicken cooked in a pomegranate-walnut sauce) – served over steamed rice. While I was seeking out dried golden plums at the Persian grocers, I picked up some dried limes as well. I broke a couple up in the mortar before steeping in boiling water to make a delicious lime tea. This recipe is from the Food 52 website (with minor adjustments). Continue reading
Ten More Bites 