Category: Recipes

  • Lemon Tart

    There must be something in the air, Suddenly lemon tarts and puddings are the rage. Two delicious sounding recipes by Rachel Roddy were published in Saturday’s Guardian but I had already decided which lemon tart to make for Sunday’s dinner. Really there could be no competition when Jane Grigson writes in her Fruit Book, ‘this…

  • Pancakes

    I like pancakes stuffed with puréed apple and thick purées of plums with fromage frais. 300ml full fat milk 125g plain flour 2 eggs A generous knob of melted butter Whisk all the ingredients together – they should be the consistency of single cream – and allow to stand for at least half an hour.…

  • Madeleines

    It’s the French group this evening and the topic for discussion is food. With reference to Proust’s unforgettable experience, I have just made a batch of madeleines. I hadn’t been aware of the importance, in his memory, of the madeleine having been first dipped into a cup of tea. Dunked even! Proust’s tea would have…

  • Baked celeriac with smoked salmon and caper salsa

    One of my New Year’s resolutions is to go through various piles of recipes taken from magazines and newspapers planning to keep no more than ten recipes from any pile. One recipe that I was especially keen to try is this one taken from Yotam Ottolenghi’s Saturday Guardian column. He justly heaps praise on the…

  • Greek chicken and pepper pie

    Peppers are plentiful in the supermarkets at the moment and I am preferring this pie to richer versions using mushrooms and marscapone or onions and eggs. 5-6  chicken fillets 500 ml chicken stock 3 mixed peppers 6 plum tomatoes 1 medium sized onion,finely chopped 1-2 cloves garlic,crushed 1 tsp sumac ½ tsp paprika ½ tsp…

  • Endive with blue cheese and pickled walnuts

    Pickled walnuts are a special treat around the family with cold turkey on Boxing Day but this easy starter is my very favourite way of serving them. Measurements for the dressing can vary according to taste. Tender part of a curly endive 3 tbsp white wine vinegar 9 tbsp olive oil 1-2 tsp Dijon mustard…

  • Pumpkin, roast pepper and tomato soup

    We had invited some neighbours for lunch, forgetting that it would be Thanksgiving. Never too late to make a gesture. I will make pumpkin soup (two large pumpkins still remain from our bumper crop this year) and a cheese cake, not a New York cheesecake but a Sicilian one from the recipe in Skye Gyngell’s very…

  • Tomatoes with sumac, shallots and pine nuts

    Inspired by Yotam Ottolenghi, this recipe is for my favourite salad of the late summer and the best way I know  to use home grown tomatoes. What makes it so good is the generous use of sumac, a spice I first came across in Cyprus and bought simply because I didn’t know what it was.…

  • Coronation Chicken

  • Celery braised with onion and tomato

    This dish is as good cold as it is warm. Serve by itself as a starter or as a vegetable dish to accompany chicken. By adding cooked chick peas, it makes an excellent vegetarian dish. I use the whole head of celery but you may prefer to use only the stalks. -Susan 1 head celery,…