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Recipes for the enthusiastic home cook
Spanish Lamb Stew is inspired by a dish I ate many years ago in central Spain. With chunks of tender meat and soft peppers in a garlic and paprika scented broth, close my eyes and I’m almost back there. My version includes chickpeas to stretch …Read more
Prawn Cocktail is a classic and rightly so. Tender, juicy prawns in a lightly spicy, creamy Marie Rose sauce atop fresh salad. While you can buy bottles of the sauce, making your own takes just a few minutes. All you need are mayo, ketchup and …Read more
Spicy Roasted Parsnip Soup is warming in both senses of the word. A steaming bowlful is just what’s needed on chilly days, plus its spice will bring a warming tingle to your taste buds! Roasting the parsnips first, with a generous amount of my special spice …Read more
Winter Soup, comforting, nourishing and delicious, is one of the delights of the season. So here I’ve brought together my absolute favourite warming soups. Whether you want spicy lentil, creamy bean or chicken, chunky veg or elegant broth, meaty or entirely plant-based, you’ll find the …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
Cheese, Smoky Bacon & Spring Onion Scones take the classic cheese scone to a new level. Light and fluffy, they have a generous amount of cheese plus nuggets of smoky bacon and savoury spring onion flavour. Eat warm with butter as a snack, for afternoon …Read more
Flaky Cheese Crackers are a melt-in-the-mouth snack and are perfect as a nibble with drinks. Layers of light, cheesy pastry are created by a simple technique of folding grated cheese into rolled out, buttery dough. Cut into whatever shapes you like, brush with beaten egg and …Read more
Creamy Bean & Pancetta Soup, despite its name, doesn’t contain any cream. Instead, its smooth creaminess comes from pureed cannellini beans and a little potato simmered in stock and milk. Adding great depth of flavour are pancetta (or smoked bacon) along with onion, celery, garlic and …Read more
Mincemeat Christmas Tree is a stunning looking but deceptively simple tear and share bread. With fruity mincemeat between layers of lightly sweet, buttery dough, it’s a great alternative to mince pies. Made using my overnight, no-knead bread method it’s really simple too. Bake in just 15 …Read more
Stirato is a rustic, Italian-style baguette whose name means ‘stretched’. Made with just bread flour, salt, fast-acting yeast and water, it has a crispy crust and open crumb. With this easy, no-knead recipe you’ll get great-tasting bread for very little effort. Just mix up the dough the …Read more
Quick Pickled Cucumber is an easy pickle that’s ready to eat in a few hours. You can flavour the light pickling liquor however you please. Here I’ve used fresh dill and mustard seeds for one jar and warmly spicy Aleppo pepper in the other. Without …Read more
Potted Cheese is an easy, no-cook, traditional British cheese spread that’s perfect on crackers, biscuits, crusty bread or toast. Cheese and butter are simply combined with your choice of herbs and spices plus a touch of booze. You can make it with a single cheese such …Read more
Chocolate Coconut Crunch is an easy, egg-free bake with a biscuity chocolate-coconut base and rich, melted chocolate topping. With simple ingredients, it can be put together in ten to fifteen minutes. Just melt some butter then stir in flour, cocoa powder, desiccated coconut, sugar and …Read more
Fig & Fennel Sourdough is lightly sweet and spicy. Made with my easy overnight, no-knead method it’s great for both beginners and experienced bakers. I love it sliced and spread with butter, toasted or not. With no added sugar, I think its semi sweet flavour …Read more
Moroccan Spiced Baked Stuffed Squash, filled with spicy tomato sauce and chickpeas, finished with a drizzle of tahini sauce, makes a sensational vegetarian or plant-based main course. A Moroccan-inspired mix of cumin, paprika, ginger, turmeric, cinnamon and chilli gives a warm, mild heat. To make …Read more
Fruit & Seed Flapjacks fit the bill whether you’re looking for a healthier sweet treat or an energising snack. The slow-release energy of oats is combined with apple and bananas, your choice of dried fruit and seeds, plus tahini or nut butter. Many flapjacks have …Read more
Lentil & Walnut Loaf is an easy, tasty, and nutritious vegetarian bake. Tinned lentils speed up the prep so you can get this herby, chewy loaf in the oven in around twenty minutes. Bake for an hour and serve hot with roast potatoes and veggies, or …Read more
Goat Chilli, with chunks of tender meat and black beans in a rich, spicy sauce, makes a great change from the usual beef. So easy to put together, you can simmer the chilli-spiked stew either on top of the stove or in the oven. Thick …Read more
Nasturtium Capers, with their piquant flavour, are an easy homemade alternative to capers. In fact, they’re not related to capers at all. They’re simply the pickled seeds of a colourful and common garden plant. Look among the leaves when your nasturtium plants have flowered, and you’ll …Read more
Mushroom, Cheese & Bacon Oat Bake (and its veggie incarnation with nuts instead of bacon) is a tasty, easy and economical dish. Which I think makes it perfect for weeknight dinners. Meeting a challenge set by Totally Locally, I was able to source all the …Read more
Cream of Chicken Soup is richly indulgent. Perfect for a tasty, comforting lunch, impressive enough to serve as a special occasion starter. But you might be surprised to learn that it contains relatively little cream. Its wonderful flavour and silky texture is thanks largely to …Read more
Baked Banana Sponge Pudding is old fashioned comfort food that everyone will love. Except, unlike the sponge puddings of old, this one doesn’t need to be steamed for hours and hours. This simple but delicious baked pudding needs just forty-five minutes in the oven. For very little …Read more
Minced Beef and Onion Pie is classic comfort food. But with everyday ingredients it’s so easy to make too. Onions, a clove of garlic and minced beef are browned in a little olive oil and butter then simmered in beef stock. Topped with a simple …Read more
Spinach Dal is a nutritious, economical and tasty soup or curry inspired by Indian dal palak. Based on yellow split peas, with whole and ground spices, a little tomato plus lots of fresh spinach, I think it’s a wonderfully vibrant mix. In a final flourish, cumin …Read more
Do you have a glut of homegrown tomatoes to use up? Or maybe you’re looking for recipes for those market, veg box, and shop-bought tomatoes? In this post you’ll find a dozen of my favourite ways to use tomatoes. I only have a few pots …Read more