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Deep into autumn now, I’m regularly craving rich, meaty stews and braises for dinner. As the evenings get chillier, tasty, tender meat served with the delicious sauce it was cooked in is exactly the type of hearty food I’m after. In this post I share …Read more
Sausage Plate Pie is easy, economical, and so tasty! With sausage meat and softened onions flavoured with a few dried seasonings baked in a simple shortcrust pastry, this homely pie makes a comforting, filling meal. Great served with mashed potatoes, vegetables and gravy, or chips …Read more
Ham, Olive & Cheese Quick Bread is inspired by French cake salé or savoury cake. Easy but delicious, it’s made with self-raising flour and eggs so there’s no kneading and no proofing. Just mix up the ingredients and bake. With a moist and soft, cake-like texture, …Read more
Quick Dumpling Soup, based on frozen gyoza and inspired by East and Southeast Asian flavours, can be made in fifteen to twenty minutes. With store cupboard ingredients like soy sauce, rice vinegar, and chilli oil, a handful of aromatics (garlic, ginger, spring onion) plus your …Read more
Egg and Ham Pies are perfect as a snack, part of a salad meal, or for your lunch boxes, picnics, parties and buffets. Individual cold pies of crisp shortcrust pastry are filled with ham (you could swap in cooked bacon), sweetish onion, and fresh parsley, all …Read more
Chickpea, Chorizo & Kale Soup, simple but hearty and delicious, is inspired by the cocidos and caldos of central and northern Spain. Smoked paprika intensifies the chorizo flavour of a garlicky broth that’s subtly spiced with cumin and chilli. Add in chickpeas, potatoes, kale, or …Read more
Bean & Pulse Soups are great winter warmers that can be tasty, nutritious and comforting. Whether you’re looking for something chunky and hearty like minestrone or more delicate like simple lentil soup, you’ll find lots to enjoy in this round-up featuring some of my favourite …Read more
Ham & Cheese Puff Pastries are warm pockets of flaky, buttery pastry, filled with a deliciously savoury filling of cooked ham and cheese flavoured with mustard, a little onion, plus fresh herbs. I love larger ones as a main meal with salad or veggies. But they’re …Read more
Minestrone Soup is a tasty and hearty one pot meal. Packed with vegetables and beans plus pasta, you can adapt the ingredients according to the seasons and whatever you have in your fridge and cupboards. This winter version includes carrots, potatoes, kale (you can swap …Read more
Sausage, Sage & Onion Cheese Scones just might be the ultimate savoury scone. Inspired by the flavours of sausage stuffing, there’s temptingly browned sausage meat, softly sauteed red onion plus a subtle herbiness. Put those in a classic cheese scone with a generous amount of …Read more
Lentil & Bacon Soup is a nutritious, simple yet tasty soup that’s perfect for chilly days. Made with quick cooking split red lentils, plus smoked bacon and vegetables, everyday ingredients are transformed into something hearty, comforting and delicious. SPLIT RED LENTILS I’ll bet …Read more
Pork Braised in Cider with Apples is a delicious, rich, comforting dish that’s perfect for the cooler months. Pork rib eye steaks (or you can substitute pig cheeks) become beautifully tender cooked in cider and chicken stock. Along with onions, garlic and sage, apples add …Read more
Sausage Oat Dog Treats are a crunchy snack with a meaty aroma your pooch will love. A small amount of good quality pork sausage meat is combined with healthy oats, wholemeal flour, breath-freshening parsley plus a little yogurt and/or water. Baked until crispy, the biscuity …Read more
Sausage Salad is a great way to serve up a favourite ingredient in the warmer months. In this easy recipe, a simple base of lettuce, tomatoes and cucumber is made extra special with lightly roasted slices of apple and red onion. They’re joined by just-warm …Read more
Cheese & Bacon Loaf is a quick bread made with self-raising flour and eggs rather than yeast. That means no kneading, no proving, and minimal hands-on time. Just mix and bake. Soft, fluffy and cheesy inside, studded with little pieces of smoky bacon, the outer …Read more
Chicken, Ham and Leek Pasties make a hearty meal either on their own or with potatoes and greens. For the filling in these delicious pasties, I’ve combined leftover roast chicken plus chunky ham in a lightly creamy sauce with leeks and a touch of garlic …Read more
Cassoulet is a rich and filling, slow-cooked bean and meat stew from the southwest of France. In my take on the classic, cooking time is reduced by using tinned instead of dried beans. But with sausages, bacon, duck legs, vegetables, garlic, and herbs, it’s still …Read more
Mince recipes are some of the most useful to have in your repertoire. Whether it’s minced beef, veal, pork, lamb, mutton, chicken, or turkey, minced or ground meats are so versatile. Often quicker to cook than meals using large cuts of meat, in many mince …Read more
Haslet is an old fashioned but much-loved English pork meatloaf flavoured with sage and onion. It’s usually served cold in sandwiches, with pickles, or salad. Great fried until golden brown and eaten as part of a cooked breakfast too. These days, it’s less common to …Read more
Pork Kebabs: minced pork flavoured with toasted fennel seeds, garlic, orange zest, and oregano. Eat these juicy full flavoured kebabs, inspired by the flavours of Greece, in a flatbread, with a tahini-yogurt sauce, salad, plus grains, flatbread or cauliflower ‘couscous’. Based on a recipe by …Read more
Pea & Pancetta Pasta is ideal when you need a filling and tasty meal in double-quick time. In fact, this recipe is so fast you’ll need to put the pasta on to cook before you start on the simple sauce which is inspired by Rome’s …Read more
This Picnic Pie will look so impressive when you unwrap and cut into it at your outdoor feast. With its glazed shortcrust pastry and richly savoury filling of sausage meat, apples and onions, it’s bound to be the star of the show. But what your …Read more
Italian Pork Meatloaf is my take on polpettone which means ‘big meatball’. With herbs, garlic, fennel seeds, lemon and Parmesan, this easy recipe combines classic meatball flavours with a sliceable loaf that’s great hot or cold. I’ve used all pork mince, but you can replace half …Read more
Quick Pea & Bacon Soup, using convenient frozen peas, can be on the table in less than thirty minutes. Beautifully green in colour, with hints of smoky bacon and garlic, each bowl will provide at least two of your daily veg portions. Great as a …Read more
Glazed Gammon, with its glossy, sweet yet tangy exterior and tender meat within, is a real showstopper. But it’s surprisingly easy to make at home and good to eat hot or cold. The gammon joint is first cooked by gentle simmering and then the skin discarded. …Read more