Cold Beet Soup (Polish ‘Chlodnik’)
What to eat on a hot summer’s day? I can’t think of anything better and more refreshing than this chilled Polish beet soup (‘chlodnik). First of all, this Polish classic is incredibly simple to make and very forgiving. You just can’t get it wrong. Because it’s chilled, you don’t have to serve it immediately which makes…
Chocolate madeleines with hazelnuts and orange marmalade
I love the traditional madeleines, with their vibrant golden colour. They are good any time, anywhere and I have to say they are very hard to beat. However, when I came across a recipe for madeleines that combines chocolate, hazelnuts and my favourite Seville orange marmalade, I knew I had to give it a go.
Classic Seville Orange Marmalade with Cinnamon
I made my first Seville orange marmalade almost 8 years ago. It was the second week after our son was born and we had just brought him home after a few days in the neonatal unit. Despite no sleep and the stresses of being a first time mum I remember finding the whole process very…
Rosehip Vodka
One of my favourite ingredients to forage are the rosehips of the wild dog-rose bush. They grow in abundance all around where we are and they have an excellent flavour. As with sloes, they say that rosehips should traditionally be harvested after the first frost but you never know when frost is going to hit,…
POLISH YOUNG CABBAGE STEW (BIGOS) WITH FRESH DILL AND PANCETTA
Remember that soggy and green pulp that they served at school for lunch? I do. It’s like that scene from the ‘Horrid Henry’ movie when Greasy Greta (Jo Brand) is pushing a trolley of the most unappetising looking bubbling vegetable stew in the school canteen. I’m sure we all had some sort of unpleasant experience with cabbage at…
PISTACHIO, ALMOND AND DARK CHOCOLATE CAKE
The plan was to make a cardamom, pistachio and marmalade drizzle loaf from Sarah Randell’s book “Marmalade: A bittersweet cookbook.” I had my very precious pot of homemade Seville orange marmalade next to me, ready to be used. I immediately fell in love with the picture of the cake which looked so appetising. Besides, anything…
CINNAMON, CARDAMON AND PECAN BUNS
If I were to name just one food that stands out from my childhood it would be all sorts of sweet buns and rolls that my mum was making for us. Years and years later, I have to say I still have a bit of a soft spot for these pillowy buns. I associate them…
APPLE AND MIXED BERRIES MINI PIES
Going through the freezer late last night, I realized I hardly used the berries that I’d meticulously frozen at the end of summer. Too good and precious to be wasted, I decided to put them to good use! With the abundance of fruit and all sorts of berries and currants, pie makes for a perfect…
Salted Caramel, Apple and Pecan Cake
A new recent addition at Gail’s, my local artisanal bakery, has recently caught my attention. A sea salt caramel banana and pecan cake. I know! It tastes like a delicious piece of spiced banana bread but with a salty caramel difference and topped with sticky and crunchy pecans. I had to try my own version,…
Plum and ricotta cake with warming spices
This fluffy, tender, cardamon and cinnamon-scented cake is a great way of using abundance of fresh and juicy plums when in season. Plus, it tastes fantastic. What more do you want? I love the warm, bold and floral aroma of freshly ground cardamon but if you’re not a big cardamon fan, just leave it out…
Irresistibly delicious tomato and ricotta tart
There is no substitute for a ripe, sweet, juicy summer tomato, the one that’s still warm from the sun and when the season is over it’s over. This summer’s scorching sun has been just what the tomatoes needed. I’ve never had such wonderfully sweet tomatoes before! When tomatoes are at their most delicious, I think…
Rhubarb and almond cake
When a cake combines beauty, simplicity and taste, all with only a few ingredients, it is the best you could want from home baking. This cake is incredibly delicious and is one of my best-loved desserts. Not only because it’s very tasty, but because it’s easy to make and versatile – you can use whichever…
Bordeaux, France – beautiful vineyards, amazing wines and luscious countryside.
Château Clarke (the southern part of the Médoc within the Listrac-Médoc appellation)
Warming tomato and chickpea soup with chorizo and peppers
I wouldn’t call it a cleansing soup, but there is something incredibly comforting and healing about this deep red pot of sausagey soup – it seems to make all worries disappear. Simple as it is, I think this is one of the best flavour combinations in the world. The tomatoes and peppers offer sweetness and…
Wild garlic focaccia bread
For me, the best focaccia is always the simplest one, topped with flaky sea salt and extra virgin olive oil. However, this variation made with wild garlic is a delicious meal in itself. Don’t be tempted to add too many herbs to it – simplicity always pays off.
Wild garlic and basil pesto
I’ve been swept away on an aromatic love affair with wild garlic in the last few weeks. Starting from mid March this wild uncultivated food, also known as bear’s garlic or ramsons, explodes onto restaurants’ menus across the country, with chefs holding the location of their special ingredient close to their chests. The plant, however,…
Blood Orange and Olive Oil Cake
“I am beginning to learn that it is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all.” – Laura Ingalls Wilder This cake will make you smile and will bring a ray of sunshine to your kitchen. It’s a lovely and moist cake and its beauty lies in its simplicity and…
The powerhouse soup
It may look unassuming but this small plant with delicate leaves and wonderfully peppery flavour is a real powerhouse. Gram for gram, watercress contains more calcium than milk, as much vitamin C as oranges and more folate than bananas. It’s high in vitamin K and for people like myself with low iron levels, it has…
Salted chocolate chip cookies with black tahini
The recipe for these famous salted chocolate chip tahini cookies is adapted from Modern Israeli Cooking by Danielle Oron. These cookies are chewy, soft in the middle, perfectly flavored, with that slightly nutty and beautiful taste of tahini. My advice is don’t put it in the queue; don’t save it on that to-cook-one-day list, just…
Medicine in a cup, a.k.a. the most delicious and healthy tomato soup
This is the most delicious and healthy tomato soup you’ll ever have. A nutritious powerhouse that you’re going to fall in love with. Garlic, ginger, turmeric, nutrient loaded pumpkin seeds and amazing coriander – need I say any more? Here’s a simple, speedy soup to bring all of that health-giving goodness direct to your spoon…