Punnets of apricots can often be good value. My usual way of cooking apricots is to poach them, halved, in a syrup with a dash of brandy and a few blanched apricot kernels But when you find perfect apricots, this way of poaching them whole is delicious. Make a syrup by first boiling and then…

Sometimes the simplest meals can give the greatest pleasure. I am a great fan of hard boiled eggs but the dressing is crucial. This recipe was inspired by Simon Hopkinson. Perfect for today’s supper as we have a healthy crop of lettuce and chives brought on by the weekend’s rain. As with all simple recipes,…

Polenta chips go well with white fish or tuna. On Madeira wedges of polenta are served with tuna but I prefer thick chips which were on many menus in Provence. 225ml milk 1 clove garlic, crushed 75g instant polenta 25g Parmesan cheese, finely grated 1tbsp rosemary leaves, finely chopped 2 tbsp olive oil Salt and…

Richard Olney’s Simple French Food is a great book in which to browse. By chance I came across this recipe which is both simple and different. It is made with dried figs but I look forward to making it with what could be our best fig harvest in years. If not to be made in…

It is always good to sort through piles of cuttings and old magazines, mostly kept for recipe ideas or book revues. I am always surprised by the recipes that end up being the most tempting. Pictures of colourful salads with slivers of radish or dotted with pomegranate seeds are everywhere. Then I found this recipe…

It is so satisfying to have a great meal of home grown vegetables. Artichokes with broad beans is possibly my favourite meze dish. The fiddly part is preparing the artichokes. I tend to be wasteful, not trying too hard to get all the flesh from around the ‘choke’. 7-8 artichokes 500g broad beans Olive oil…

It’s the AGM of the local residents’ association and finger food is required. Time to challenge the neighbours’ taste buds. I had never cooked with kasha before. It is roasted buckwheat and used in Russian and Polish cooking. Buckwheat in its raw state is basically a gruel. I remember gruel from children’s books with stories…

This recipe is pure Elizabeth David and, as she writes, (this tart) ‘makes a truly lovely first course’. I cooked it for the French group’s Summer Party. For the pastry use, 200g flour, 100g chilled butter, the yolk of one egg, chilled water and a pinch of salt. Proceed as for the quiche pastry on…

We had full-cream milk, cream and eggs in the fridge and a crème caramel was perfect for serving with stewed apricots. I hadn’t made a crème caramel for ages. It is worth practising from time to time to be sure of getting the oven temperature, quantity and consistency of the milk just right; too hot…

What better roast on a hot summer’s day than Tarragon Chicken! As Richard Olney writes in Simple French Food, ‘tarragon is quarrelsome in the company of bitter herbs and, but for its role among fines herbes, is best used alone’. And never use too much. My recipe is based on the one in Elizabeth David’s…