Veggie Tray Bake with Chickpeas & Tahini Dressing

Tray bakes are very popular at the moment and as winter draws in, throwing a few veggies into a large tray and roasting them in the oven can produce a quick, easy and comforting supper. I often roast vegetables but usually a close-to-ratatouille mix with onions, peppers, courgettes, tomatoes and sometimes, though not always, aubergine. […]

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Pasta with Cauliflower, Saffron, Chilli, Pine Nuts & Raisins

This is an adaptation of a Rick Stein recipe in his Long Weekends book. I’m particularly attached to this book (and the accompanying DVD of the TV series) at the moment, not only for its great and reliable recipes, but its subject: Long Weekends. Pre-Lockdown I’d become well practised at making the most of a […]

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Griddled Tuna with Mango Salsa (2)

This is the second version of a favourite family dish – hence the (2) in the title. The original version was one of my first ever posts on the blog back in 2011. I used to often make the dish, partly because I liked it so much and it’s really simple, especially for a midweek […]

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Soufflé Omelette with Spinach, Parmesan & Chives

There was a touch of routine in this evening’s supper for I almost always have an omelette on Tuesday evenings. The reason for this is that it’s my book club night and I have to eat early and don’t want to eat anything heavy before I go out. So an omelette is perfect. We meet […]

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Tomato & Goats’ Cheese Tart

Travelling to beautiful places like Nice, as I did last weekend, where there’s the most wonderful food to be enjoyed, just has to be an inspiration once you’re back home in your own kitchen.  I thus decided to cook a Niçois meal for the family this evening. Tarte à la Tomate, along with pissaladière (onion […]

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Bulgur with Tomato, Aubergine & Preserved Lemon Yoghurt

This is an Ottolenghi recipe from his book, Simple. Ottolenghi + Simple are not two words I’d normally put together. His recipes often contain very long lists of ingredients and are quite complicated. However, I was completely addicted to his Jerusalem book when it first came out in 2012 and cooked from it endlessly. Some […]

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A Winter Risotto

I love risotto, as will be evident to any regular reader of these pages. I make a risotto at least once a week, ingredients to a large extent depending on the season. One of the great things about risotto is that it doesn’t have a season – you can make it with pretty much anything […]

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Easy Suppers for Hot Summer Nights

Even a dedicated foodie who loves cooking finds the prospect of standing in a hot kitchen cooking a meal too much to contemplate when the temperature is touching 30C in London. The question of supper can only be – What’s the most simple, but delicious, thing I can prepare for supper? Of course some people […]

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Chestnut Trofie with Pancetta, Mushrooms & Radicchio

It may seem a strange and rather wintry dish for a day when the temperature has soared into the late 20s and everyone is seeking shade and a place to cool down. On the face of it chestnuts conjure up thoughts of Christmas and burning log fires. But to a certain extent, everyday suppers tend […]

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Yellow Split Pea & Bacon Soup

I’m still bathing in some of the glow of having spent a weekend in beautiful Amsterdam recently and that was my inspiration for this soup I made for lunch today. It’s become a ritual that when I arrive in the city, usually late morning, I check into my hotel, leave my bag, and head straight to […]

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