Thailand is a magical place.
I’ve many great memories from my visits there over the last 10 years. Of course I love the sunshine, white beaches and crazy but laid back vibe, but it’s the food that holds the biggest draw.
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 moreSous vide chuck and marrow burgers on brioche buns with special sauce
I’ll level with you, burgers aren’t really my bag.
Whether the post club straight out the kebab shop variety, the posh restaurant gourmet try hard kind, or the super stacked sort that come with a whole host of misogynistic sides. Yep, the Americana-hamburgerology mega trend of the last couple of years has kind of passed me by.
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 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 moreSous vide crispy skinned pork belly
All good things come to those who wait.
The sous vide is teaching me something that no one else has managed before. No, it isn’t punctuation or maths, this new found skill is patience. And using my new Polyscience sous vide kit from SousVideTools.com requires bags of it – it’s been a case of learn some or be disappointed with dinner. And when dinner doesn’t go to plan I turn into a pain in the ass. And no one (least of all poor Mathew) wants that.
Sous vide Thai chicken wraps with peanut satay and zingy carrot noodles
This last fortnight has been filled with culinary experimentation.
The arrival of our sous vide kit from SousVideTools.com has brought with it much excitement mixed with a little bit of fear. It’s a scientific way of cooking but my brain doesn’t work in a particularly scientific way, so I’ve been venturing into unfamiliar territory where my kitchen instincts have all but left me. With my hob and oven I know what’s what – how long things take and at what temperature, but with the sous vide it’s a totally new ball game.
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.
Fast Pho
The taste of Vietnam in no time at all.
Heady, fragrant, aromatic and cleansing. Pho is one of my top noodles dishes of all time. There are a couple of ways you can make it; as a labour of love or a quick hit – both ways yield excellent results.
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.
Oriental pork ‘ragu’ and noodles
A little labour, a lot of love.
There are some evenings I’m happy to spend hours in the kitchen preparing and cooking meals, and then there are times I want to put in minimal effort but still get maximum results. This is one of the dishes I can turn to for just that.
Tex-Mex shredded chicken tacos with green pepper and avocado
Poor little green pepper.
The least popular of the colourful capsicums, which in our house can often found languishing at the back of the fridge looking a bit wrinkled.
Read moreChinese chicken wings, thighs and drumsticks
When I was little, we always had a box of Chinese chicken wings in the fridge.
Our house was full of foods from all over the world. I remember the pantry being stocked not with crisps, biscuits and treats like my friends homes were, but things like vine leaves, yellow bean paste, kimchi, black rice and smoked mussels. It didn’t make quick snacks very easy, but thanks to my dad meals were delicious, inventive and adventurous. I always felt very lucky on the food front.
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.
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.
Vietnamese BBQ pork kebabs with nuoc cham dipping sauce
These little pork kebabs are a BBQ must.
Cheap to make, incredibly juicy, full of asian flavour and very easy to put together. Make more of them than you think you’ll need - I promise you they’ll all be scoffed.
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.
Chilled somen noodle salad with ginger and miso BBQ chicken
God bless Weber. Our summer may seem short lived and sporadic but this piece of kit really makes the most of it.
We got ours on recommendation from our good friends Jon and Eva, Jon’s a BBQ aficionado and if Weber’s his choice then it’s good enough for me.
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