Poor chicken licken.
Labelled the choice of the unadventurous restaurant diner it can often be overlooked as a ‘serious’ meat, but this familiar and safe protein can be made exciting.
Read morePancetta and vintage cheddar béchamel pastry turnovers
Hangover management.
Despite my strict no drinking on a school night rule, sometimes getting squiffy is unavoidable. And fairly recently following a boozy one in London with colleagues and clients, I found myself feeling a little peaky at Euston the next day.
Read moreCarne cocida — shredded Basque beef cheek
Favourite places, new discoveries.
Earlier this year Team Food assembled in the beautiful Basque capital of San Sebastián. Those of you that read regularly will know this is one of my favourite cities, and I love nothing more than a long weekend away sampling its delights (see picture reels below as evidence).
Read moreFresh rocket and walnut pesto with taglierini pasta and sausage and fennel sauce
Pesto is a great kitchen staple, whether homemade or from a jar.
It adds a dash of Italian sunshine to all it touches and is an easy and fast way to inject flavour into mealtimes.
Read moreSous vide coq au vin
The daddy of old school chicken dishes.
Coq au vin is simple, homely and hearty, great for lazy rainy days and boozy Sunday afternoons with friends. And the homemade article beats the shop bought variety by a country mile, whether sous vide or conventionally cooked.
Read morePortabella mushrooms with romesco sauce, fresh pesto and goat’s cheese
Too much of a good thing.
It can be all too easy to get stuck in a dinnertime rut. The same old favourite dishes cropping up time and again – if you’re not careful you can love them to the point of extinction. No popular meal should have to suffer this fate.
Read moreBBQ herby and fresh Greek chicken kebabs
Flavour transportation.
Last year I visited Greece for the first time, and down by Fiscardo harbour in Kefalonia, night after night I managed to scoff many delicious local ingredients. It’s there I discovered my addiction for proper homemade tzatziki, how amazingly grassy Greek extra virgin olive oil can be, and the joy that is real, locally made feta cheese. Between that, the weather and the landscape it’s a wonder I made it home.
Read moreSun-dried tomato sous vide lamb shoulder with a warm giant cous cous salad
Summer in a bowl.
You can make many a tasty meal from this thrifty cut. Lamb shoulder is traditionally reserved for the slow cooker, casserole pot or a slow oven roast, where after several hours cooking the meat falls apart beautifully, thereby lending itself to wintery meals and comfort food.
Read moreBlack pizza with pepper purée, goat’s cheese and crab
Aaah, black. In my eyes, the finest colour.
Jeans, jewellery and cars are all better in the inky dark cloak that is black. I love how it can be glamorous, serious and dramatic, in fashion I like how easy it is to wear (I especially like how it tries to make me look thinner), but I’ve never really been drawn to black food – until now.
Read moreSous vide chicken with English mustard and broad beans
Ringing the changes.
I first cooked this a few years ago after a summer visit to Cornwall to stay with our friends Amie and James. The combination of tender chicken, sweet and firm broad beans and peppery creamy mustard sauce are perfectly English and deliciously light, just the dinner ticket as our little island begins to thaw and thoughts of spring and summer start to appear.
Read more72 hour sous vide beef bourguignon
A dish of majesty.
Bouguignon for me is the king of casseroles. Meltingly tender beef gently cooked in a marinade of smoked bacon lardons, shallots, mushrooms, carrots, bouquet garni and Burgundy wine. It is rich. It is intense. It is comforting. It is utterly delicious. And best of all? It is easy peasy.
Read morePan-fried pollock with homemade gnocchi and Calabrian nduja
Restaurant recreation.
When I return to Nottingham I often schedule in a (boozy) lunch with my good friend Zoe. For a few hours our pursuit is gassing and gossiping over food and (invariably) fizz, and recently we’ve come to frequent a particular restaurant that does a cracking dish of cod on Calabrian sausage.
Smoked haddock chowder with red pepper and smoked cheese swirl bread
It’s almost laughable how poor I am at baking.
Its scientific nature doesn’t come naturally to me, but it wasn’t always this way. As a teenager I had a Saturday job in an opticians and every weekend I’d take in my baked creations to share with the girls, who were like the naughty older sisters I never had.
Read moreFour gluten free dips with seeded spelt flatbreads
A pretty and tasty way to get your 5 a day…
Especially useful during work when it’s easy to fall into the naughty snack trap.
Smoked eel croquettes
Mini pork, fennel and Parmesan meatballs
The diet can wait.
As if the return to work, traffic jams and rainy grey skies aren’t enough to contend with, following hearty Christmas and new year celebrations we make ourselves suffer further by insisting on a new year detox, smaller and healthier meals, increased gym attendance and the locking of the biscuit/cake/chocolate tin.
Minestrone of squash, red pepper and conchigliette with basil oil
Cucina povera at its best.
This classic Italian soup is filling, healthy, affordable and wonderfully delicious.
Mini chicken kievs filled with pea, basil and crème fraîche pesto
When I was little, I spent a lot of time at my grandma and grandpas house.
I have memories of summer holidays and weekends filled not just with adventures and great times, but eating the kinds of foods that kids love and my parents wouldn’t have at home.
Spinach, pea and puy lentil soup with chives and Stilton cream
Soup season is upon us.
And in my book there’s no easier way to cram in your five a day at the same time as getting a big dose of comfort, than with a humble soup.
Fabada, a Spanish one pot dish of chorizo, morcilla and butter beans
It was an offer I couldn’t refuse – create a cucina povera dish in exchange for disco-by-post.
Wrighty (food lover and member of the disco spinning Soul Buggin’ collective along with Beane Noodler, aka Kebab Knight of the Realm) said this creation didn’t need to be Italian of origin, just something rooted in history as a tasty and economical dish.