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Recipes for the enthusiastic home cook
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
Fruit Tea Loaf is a traditional sweet treat that’s adaptable to whatever dried fruit you have and whichever spices and flavourings you like. It contains no added fat (other than a little in the egg) but is delicious spread with butter. Perfect with a cuppa or …Read more
Apple Butter is a traditional and concentrated fruity preserve which doesn’t actually contain butter. Apples, along with water, sugar and spices, are cooked into a thick puree until they become caramelised and jam-like. For a bittersweet flavour, I include cider, but you could just use water …Read more
Panzanella is a simple but delicious Italian salad of tomatoes, bread, and onions. Wonderfully refreshing, it’s dressed with extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar and basil. My version includes multicoloured tomatoes plus red onion, cucumber, celery, and a little garlic. I like the salad …Read more
Cheese & Walnut Loaf is a savoury tea bread that uses self raising flour and eggs rather than yeast. Easily put together and into the oven in about ten minutes, this tasty quick bread has a soft and moist cake-like crumb plus a slightly crispy outside …Read more
Potted Ham is a delicious, easy way to use up cooked ham. But I think it’s so good I often buy a ham hock specially to make it. Whichever ham you include, spread on toast or crusty bread with a few pickles on the side, …Read more
Semi-Dried Tomatoes in Oil are a lovely way to preserve and enjoy either homegrown or bought tomatoes. Dried in the oven for around one and a half hours, they have the intense flavour of sun-dried tomatoes but retain much of their juiciness. Stored in the …Read more
Walnut & Pumpkin Seed Scottish Oatcakes are rustic, wholesome savoury biscuits or crackers. Perfect with cheese, pâté, nut butters, or to eat alongside soups, they’re incredibly easy to make and will keep for a month. The main ingredient is oats: make your own oatmeal by whizzing …Read more
Aubergine & Beetroot Moutabal (or baba ganoush) looks beautiful and tastes both smoky and sweet, earthy and mildly spicy. But this Middle Eastern inspired dip or spread with tahini, garlic, lemon and cumin is very easy to make. A whole aubergine is charred under the …Read more
Quick Flatbreads are easy to make and so versatile that every home cook should have this recipe! With no yeast, there’s no kneading and no waiting for the dough to rise. Just fifteen minutes’ rest and you’re ready to go. But, unlike many no-yeast quick flatbreads, …Read more
Scandi-Style Smoked Fish Salad is an easy, colourful main course salad. You can include any smoked fish you like in this Scandinavian/Nordic-inspired dish. I’ve used pan-fried, lightly smoked salmon fillets, but regular smoked salmon, smoked trout or smoked mackerel will all work well. Potatoes, beetroot …Read more
Fruit and Spice Bun Ring, with currants, cinnamon, and a maple syrup glaze, looks impressive. But, as I’ll show you in this post, the pull-apart bun ring is easily made AND baked in little more than half an hour. It’s so quick because, unlike most …Read more
Hot & Spicy Courgette Chutney is a great way to use up homegrown courgettes or marrow. Inspired by Indian flavours, the hot, sweet and sour preserve pairs wonderfully with curries, pakora, yogurt and poppadoms as well as cheese and biscuits. Even if you don’t have …Read more
Pinchos Morunos are wonderful little kebabs of spicy pork. Literally meaning ‘Moorish Skewers’, they’re an easy addition to a tapas spread. Or eat them as a main course with salad plus bread or potatoes. Quick-cooking pork tenderloin is marinated with garlic, smoked paprika, chilli flakes, …Read more
Tuna & Potato Salad with an Italian twist: capers, olives, garlic, lemon and optional anchovies. Full of gutsy flavour, plus filling ingredients like potatoes and hard-boiled eggs, you’ll find this a tasty and satisfying salad. Enjoy on its own or as one of several dishes, …Read more
Lamb Kofte Kebabs always feel like a treat to me. Juicy minced meat with a touch of onion, garlic, herbs and spices, served with good bread, salad and garlicky yogurt, never fails to please. Cooked in a griddle pan, under the grill or on a …Read more
Overnight Oats with Gooseberry Compote makes a great summer breakfast or even dessert. Ripe, seasonal gooseberries are cooked with sugar until thick and soft. Layered between cool, creamy oats with optional chia seeds and yogurt, you’ll be racing out of bed to eat this! To …Read more
Cucumber & Sesame Noodle Salad is quick, easy, refreshing and utterly delicious. Especially good during hot weather, the only cooking required is your choice of noodles. I’ve used egg noodles, but rice, soba or your own favourite will work too. The noodles are tossed with shreds …Read more
Cheesy Scottish Oatcakes are easy to make with simple ingredients. But they’re wickedly good! Based on a traditional savoury biscuit or cracker, the addition of cheese takes them to another level. You can eat the cheesy oatcakes as part of a cheeseboard, with pates or …Read more
Roasted Carrot and Chickpea Salad with Mint Pesto is one of my current favourite dishes. Aromatic cumin seeds, fruity and warm Aleppo pepper plus refreshing mint, transform earthy root veg and pulses into a great summer salad. The Mint Pesto that’s the star of the …Read more
Turkish Eggs with Chickpeas and Flatbread is my idea of heaven on a plate. Chewy, satisfying bread topped with minty, garlicky yogurt, a runny poached egg plus nutty chickpeas in a cloak of spicy butter. I’ve flavoured the yogurt with vibrant homemade Mint Pesto but, …Read more
Mint Pesto is a lively condiment that takes little more than ten minutes to make. Without the cheese included in the classic Italian basil version, vibrant Mint Pesto is hugely versatile. All you need are: almonds (or substitute your favourite nuts), garlic, a lemon, salt, …Read more