This is one of those iron fist, velvet glove kind of dishes. I can still remember my first SE Asian salad. Innocently taking my first crunchy bite, wondering where the lettuce was and thinking that the ground nuts were a … Continued
salad
Baked butternut squash, figs and cheese
You know what I like about this dish? It’s the contrasts, the surprises you get when you take a mouthful. Like the way the squash dissolves into a sweet caramel mush in your mouth, whereas the fig is slightly crunchy, … Continued
A quick and spicy rice noodle salad
You know that feeling where you just can’t really be bothered? Don’t want to spend ages cooking, don’t want to go out, want something tasty to pick you up after a long and hard day? This is a dish for … Continued
A feast for your Valentine: the #formanslovecookoff challenge and a chance to win some goodies
Valentine’s day. It’s fast approaching and whatever you think of it, and whatever that significant other (or object of unrequited desire) might say or do – or be overheard muttering – it’s not an opportunity any budding Romeo or Juliet … Continued
Pear stilton and hazelnut salad
A salad may not be the first thing that comes to mind when gloweringly grey skies close in and rain starts plopping down. But bear with me here, because this salad is no wishy-washy, lighter-than-light, sunny day food. No sir. … Continued
A summer tomato, broadbean and feta salad
Summer time is salad time. Which is great because I’m not getting home till quite late at the moment and all I’m craving after a long hot walk home is something fresh and light to eat on our small balcony. … Continued
Almond, Medjool date and ewe’s cheese salad
You know when deserts bloom for a day when infrequent rains sweep majestically over the sands every few years? Green shoots explode out of the arid ground, flowers unfurling to the storm clouds. You’ve seen the BBC nature programmes too? … Continued
Green bean, mangetout & hazelnut salad
I don’t care if spring has chilled down to the level of a Greenland glacier, it’s still sunny. And so, in the great British tradition, I am determined to forge ahead as though I’m in a temperate paradise. So it’s … Continued
Simple and seasonal English asparagus
Simplicity. Reducing a thing back to its essence. It’s something that’s at the heart of many beautiful things and successul ideas. Google and Apple, Jamon Iberico and sashimi, pizza and kebabs. All very simple. When you pare something right back, … Continued
Spicy, piquant and sweet roast quail, basmati rice and Japanese salad
Having read Fernandez & Leluu’s mouth watering recipe for roast chicken, I was determined to recreate it for last night’s dinner. Accordingly I assembled all the ingredients and fished out of the freezer some drumsticks and wings left over from … Continued