I’m so impressed with my crop of swedes this year. Like the beetroot, they’re enormous! I’ve stuck with a single variety – ‘Helenor’ for the past 3 years, as, despite poor growth, it has terrific flavour. This year I’ll have a chance to make the most of it! This is a great dish with complementary…
Category: Recipe
Apple Strudel
What better way to show off your home made Filo pastry than by making a traditional Apple Strudel? Wonderful with ice cream or custard! Ingredients 80g Raisins 4 tbsp Dark Rum (or Sherry or Brandy) 850g Baking Apples, peeled, cored and chopped 1 tbsp Lemon Juice 1 tsp Mixed Spice 1 large sheet of Filo…
Leek, Potato & Blue Cheese Strudel
A savory spin on the traditional strudel. An impressive dish in it’s own right, but make it more so by making your own filo pastry! Of course, you can always by the frozen stuff from the supermarket Ingredients 100g Butter, melted 1 Red Onion, sliced 2-3 Leeks, chopped 2 cloves Garlic, crushed handful fresh Thyme…
Make your own… Filo Pastry
Filo Pastry is readily available, pre-rolled into fine sheets, generally to be found in the freezer section of your local supermarket. It’s incredible thin, which makes for a crisp pastry shell, and consequently everyone assumes it must be really difficult to make. After all, if you struggle to make shortcrust pastry without filling it full…
Beetroot & Balsamic Relish
The last of 3 Beetroot Relish recipes uses grated beetroot and a drier mixture. This provides for a more versatile pickle for use in sandwiches and the like. The Balsamic vinegar adds depth and a sweetness Fills about 3 * 1lb jars Ingredients 1kg Beetroot, cooked 1 large Red Onion 1tbsp Olive Oil 100g Golden…
Beetroot & Ginger Relish
The second of 3 Beetroot Relish recipes uses a much wetter mixture, providing more ‘zing’ from the vinegar, raw beetroot and a higher proportion of apple. The ginger provides the interest here, and is much more subtle than the chilli version! This makes for my personal favourite of all 3 recipes. Fills about 6 *…
Beetroot & Chilli Relish
The first of 3 Beetroot Relish recipes, in my quest to make this amazing vegetable last through the winter months and into next season! My beetroot relish experiment uses different combinations and proportions of ingredients and different cooking methods to try and establish the best relish recipe! This recipe uses an orange beetroot, ‘Burpees Golden’,…
Pasta e Patate con la Provola
That’s Pasta and Potatoes with Provolone. I know what you’re saying – Pasta and Potatoes? Carb over kill and totally tasteless! Well, not true. This is (my spin) on a traditional Neapolitan peasant dish, which is (obviously) quite filling but does bring out the best in these simple ingredients. When I tried this in Naples,…
Gnocchi alla Puttanesca
I came across this in a little cafe which was offering welcome shade and refreshments following a walk up Vesuvius. I had the sauce with Spaghetti, but show it here with Gnocchi. It works really well with any type if pasta, and uses the Marinara sauce as a base. Apparently no quite as ‘traditional’ as…
Pizza alla Marinara
A tomato pizza without cheese? Yes. Another traditional Neapolitan dish. Keep it simple and use fresh herbs to make the most of this wonderful sharing dish Ingredients 3ooml Marinara Sauce 2 cloves Garlic, thinly sliced 1 tsp fresh Oregano, finely chopped Drizzle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil 1 batch of Pizza dough, or a pre-prepared…
Marinara Sauce
A lot of confusion seems to surround the understanding of ‘Marinara Sauces’, especially outside of Italy. One thing’s for sure – it DOESN’T contain any fish or seafood. One commonly held school of thought is that it was a simple sauce cooked on the boats by Neapolitan mariners. This can be considered as the mother…
Pasta e Ceci
Another simple and quick pasta dish, similar to the Pasta e Patate, but this time using chickpeas. Very effective, but do not overcook! Serves 2 Cooking time – 30 minutes Ingredients 4 tbsp Olive Oil 1 clove Garlic 1 medium Onion, finely chopped 2 sprigs Rosemary 2 tins Chickpeas 1 ltr Vegetable Stock 2 tbsp…
Mississippi Mud Pie
I struggled to find a definitive recipe for Mississippi Mud Pie, so came up with this. One thing that all of the recipes I found had in common – they’re going to lead you to an early grave. Not really a dessert for anyone on a diet, or with a heart condition… Try replacing the…
American Pancakes & Gooseberry Syrup
More substantial than the ‘Bristish’ pancakes, and less messing around with all of that tossing, American Pancakes (or Scotch Pancakes? – I can’t really tell the difference – education invited!) are a quick and simple option to eat at any time of the day. On holidays in the states, I lived off these for breakfast…
Lentil Burgers
I’ve had several attempts at making good Lentil Burgers, but none have been that successful. Faced with a need for a vegetartian BBQ, I tried again. This one worked our really rather well! Serves: 4 Ingredients 200g Puy Lentils 1/2 tsp dried Mixed Herbs 2 tbsp Olive Oil 1 tsp Cumin, ground 1 tsp Coriander…
Barbecue Poltena
Polenta can be really boring, but this recipe puts an interesting spin on things. It’s a great barbecue accompaniment, and can be prepared well in advance and just finished on the BBQ or on a griddle pan Serves: 4-8 Ingredients 350g Polenta or fine/medium ground cornmeal Water 2 dried red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped…
Beetroot and Chilli Onion Lasagne
Looking for an alternative spicy vegetarian main course? Perhaps just finished experimenting with my Beetroot tortellini recipe and found that you’ve still got 3/4 of the filling left and don’t know what to do with it? Try this out as an interesting, spicy & colourful lasagne alternative… Serves 4 Ingredients Beetroot stuffing,…
Blackberry Gin
The experiment to produce a range of fresh fruit liqueurs continues with this hedgerow extravaganza! Following the same principles as the Raspberry Gin recipe, this uses blackberries picked straight from the hedgerow (or failing that, straight from the supermarket) in September, giving a great tipple ready for drinking just in time for Christmas! The full…
Chilli Sherry
Yet another tribute to Fiona and the Cottage Smallholder! This chilli sherry is an excellent addition to the kitchen – keep it handy and you’ll be splashing it into all of your dished for that last minute spicy je ne sais quoi. Use as many chillies as you dare. Keep the seeds and pith…
Chilli Jelly
This year has been great fo my chilli harvest, and in my never ending quest for interesting ways of preserving them, I fancied trying a jam or jelly. This recipe uses some of my cooking apples to create the basis for the jelly itself. Cooking apples tend to contain an abundance of pectin which, along…
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