As Elizabeth David says, this is ‘an excellent little dish, which makes a course on its own’*. However, the quality of the carrots is important. 400g young carrots, scraped and each cut in half lengthwaysOlive oilA few tablespoons of long grain riceSalt2 tbsp dried mint or 3 tbsp fresh mint, finely chopped (or finely chopped…

This recipe comes from Yasmin Khan’s Zaitoun and is seriously good. She gives it the adjective ‘comforting’ and it is, full of flavours I love. YK’s recipe is vegan but I am happy to use chicken stock which gives a deeper flavour. Perpetual spinach seeds, sown in mid August, were already showing by early September.…

Last year, just when we had finished our turnip tops, I found a delightful recipe for orecchiette with turnip tops and mussels in Antonio Carluccico’s book Pasta. Any recipe that includes mussels certainly wins favour even if we did have to wait nearly a year to taste. This dish also works well using broccoli. Don’t…

When I came to check out these muffins that a friend raved about, it seems they were invented by Jamie Oliver. Thank you Jamie! A whole load of other websites have variations – so nothing new here. Muffins are back! Bored with our usual breakfasts and lunches, muffins seemed a good idea. I have now…

A present of bread flour set me off on the path to make Swedish buns. The recipe for my first attempt was too ‘eggy’ and Carin, my Swedish exchange from my teenage years, agreed. They should be less rich but dark as the cinnamon and sugar caramelize on top. For the bun dough: 100g unsalted…

I have become a convert to za’atar since discovering the Zaytoun brand which was established as ‘a social enterprise and community interest company’ to establish a UK market for Palestinian artisanal produce. The flavour of the West Bank thyme is magic. This recipe was inspired by Yasmin Khan. Her book, Zaitoun, is one that I…

These biscuits are Scandinavian inspired and great to serve with drinks. The pastry is a bit like a puff pastry but the aim is to make the biscuits light but not too risen. To make 36 biscuits 600g plain flour400g butter, chopped10g salt1 egg, beaten2 tbsp poppy seeds1 tbsp sesame seeds50g Cheddar (or similar) cheese,…

An allotment neighbour has just given me a large handful of coriander. Good to be able to put it to immediate use. As Monisha Bharadwaj writes, ‘Green coriander chutney is the ubiquitous dipping sauce in India’. Quick, easy and delicious. Try it with onion bhajias, samosa or cold chicken. Nearly every Indian cookery writer will…

There must be endless versions of this dish but common to all are white poppy seeds, mustard seeds and chillies. The poppy seeds act as a thickener and mustard gives the distinctive flavour. I am very aware that what I am making is an Anglicized version of a much loved Bengali dish. The original idea…

This meal provoked debate. The motion was ‘A Spanish Omelette is not a Simple Meal’. However, both sides agreed it tasted really good. Discussion about whether or not a Spanish omelette should contain onion is probably centuries old and, by now, can be quietly left to individual taste and preference. Also left to individual choice…