Game changer alert.
Every once in a while a really simply recipe does the rounds that gets even nay-sayers to love an ingredient they usually avoid.
Pea, lemon and ricotta griddle cakes with roasted red pepper yogurt
Fancy something ‘green’? These griddle cakes should hit the spot.
If like me you sometimes find it difficult to squeeze in all the vegetables we’re supposed to eat in a day, then this recipe is for you.
Rustic soup of roasted tomato, chunky smoked bacon and red lentil
Several flavours signify the coming of autumn for me.
Smoked meats and fish, jewel like roots, woody mushrooms, sticky and dark red wines, flaky pastry, game meats and poultry. I’m looking forward to getting my teeth stuck into all of them, and on this grizzly bank holiday Monday with a big chill in the air and leaves falling from the trees outside our house (yes already, can you believe it), I knew it was time to put on a cardi and get hearty in the kitchen.
Quiche Lorraine from Hôtel Les Rochers
I couldn’t come back from Les Rochers without blogging a dish that I love to eat when there.
There are many delicious things served in the restaurant (I’ll be posting an entry about this weekends noshing adventures in the Pyrénées this week) but my favourite of my dads dishes are the plump and aromatic moules marinière, the generously portioned, vanilla specked, thick and smooth crème brûlée, the robust and comforting Poulet Basque which I blogged recently, and last but not least this lovely quiche Lorriane.
Courgette and ricotta griddle cakes with homemade tzatziki
Money and its management has never been my strong point.
But this last few months I’ve been much more strict with my spending, especially when it comes to food (as you might imagine I’ve the propensity to go a little overboard).
Crab and mint stuffed black pepper ravioli in lemon butter
I’ve been on a bit of a ravioli making mission recently.
I’ve always loved the little parcels of delight but as I often find shop the bought versions disappointing I tend to prefer making my own.
BBQ concertina squid with lemon and garlic dressing
Without wishing to make too much of a big claim, BBQ squid is magical.
I love squid in many guises. Deep-fried in a crispy coating, stuffed and gently poached or quickly pan fried, but something happens when the marble-like white flesh hits the coals that’s untouchable by any of these other cooking methods.
Serrano ham, gorgonzola and fig tart
A tasty little tart that’s as impressive as it is simple.
I’ve served this as a starter when friends are over for dinner, had it as a weekend lunch with a chilled glass of the pink stuff, and rustled it up after work for a mid week supper.
Homemade baked beans spiked with Kraken rum
Beans on toast, one of life’s simple food pleasures. And as much as I’m not averse to opening a tin from time to time, it doesn’t really satisfy my need to create.
Chicken, pecorino and sesame nuggets with Bloody Mary dip
Sexed-up chicken nuggets had been whirring around in my head for a while.
And on browsing Tastespotting I came across just the jolt of inspiration I needed, a cracking recipe and great photo from Sabrina at Inside The Bag.
Homemade pesto and eating ideas
Sunshine in a pot that’s good for more than just partnering pasta.
Dollop it onto crostinis topped with roasted vegetables, spoon it over chicken mayonnaise on toasted onion bagels, run it through cold cooked rice studded with black olives, sweetcorn and prawns, or use it in place of ketchup on BBQ charred lamb burgers.
Ham hock and minted broad bean crostini with wholegrain mustard dressing
If you follow me on Twitter you’ll probably know that I recently moved house.
I didn’t get very far (just five minutes down the road from the last place) but with this new location comes a totally new high street to explore, that of West Didsbury.
Rosé veal osso buco with Milanese risotto and gremolata
A big dish for a big weekend.
Moving house is a royal ball ache, and to reward the scraped arms and legs, rough hands, fatigue, splinters (and to mark our arrival at our new abode) I wanted to cook something special. Well, that and we no longer have a freezer and I simply couldn’t let the cross cut veal shanks go to waste.
Globe courgettes stuffed with giant cous cous, feta and sun-dried tomatoes
A simple and rustic dish, good as a side or lunchtime main.
The last time I posted a recipe using the spherical courgette they weren’t readily available (I snuck mine in from France) but this time I acquired them far more easily, at good old Sainsburys.
Chorizo stuffed leg of venison with tomato, lemon and white bean stew
Right place, right time.
On Saturday following an excellent lunch at the Mark Addy, a riverside pub in Manchester that really is gastro, my friend Jon introduced me to the exec head chef Rob Brown. A lovely man who looks like he’d be entirely at home in a medieval banquet.
Pan-fried cod on tarragon puy lentils and wilted spring greens
We’re lucky enough to have an excellent fish mongers at the end of our road, and yesterday when I spied the chunky cod fillets in the window I knew I needed to create a dish around them.
Steak, Guinness and black pudding pie
It’s the end of national pie week, and on account of that, Mathew’s love for all things pastry topped and next week being host to St. Patricks day, I decided to revisit and tweak a recipe I’d put on the blog a while ago.
Italian style roast chicken
Spring chicken.
A fitting dish for the first post of March, the month where I stop hiding under a blanket and eating hearty comfort food and get excited about the days drawing out, milder weather, blue skies and all the glorious seasonal vegetables that are just around the corner.
Dark ale cottage pie with vintage cheddar mash top
What makes a good pie?
In my world a good pie has few aires and graces. It should be robust, bold, bubbly - a bit overflowy in fact (is there anyone that doesn’t love the scorched, chewy filling from the edge of the dish? Surely not).
Smoky rosé veal goulash with caraway seeds and dill dumplings
If you want hairs on your chest, this is the dish for you.
Ideal for chilly weather and hungry guests. It may not have the finesse required for a dinner party, but for a boozy Sunday lunch with family and friends it’s perfect — providing just the right amount of comfort and being rather easy to pull off and impress with.
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