Menemen, Ottolenghi and cultural appropriation
"something hot with eggs on it" Itamar Srulovich For Ottolenghi fans the 3rd of this month was a big day - the publication of his next book - this time with long-time colleague in the OTK (Ottolenghi Test Kitchen) Verena Lochmuller - Simple Too. For me the big day was yesterday when the book arrived here. I realise that this is not necessarily a big thing for any of you, but for me it certainly is. And this is the first recipe in the first section Breakfast/Brunch - Meneme
5 days ago
Gremolata - to reduce into grains
"you can't have a fancy food blog without a recipe that has something topped with gremolata." Culinary Lore Or reduce into a few words, and even fewer recipes. It's curious is it not, how some foodstuffs, which are so vital to a particular cuisine, have so little to say about them? Gremolata is fundamental to Italian cooking - particularly in Milan from where it seems to have originated. Well nobody knows really. Suffice to say that one writer - Danny Palumbo on The Take
6 days ago
Sweet and sour pork
"its fame has spread worldwide for the very simple reason that it hits all the right notes, wherever you are. Savoury and crunchy, sweet and tangy: it’s addictive stuff. Treat with caution." Felicity Cloake Sweet and sour pork may well have been the first Chinese food that you ate. I think it was mine anyway - although I suppose it could also have been lemon chicken, chow mein or chop suey. And it probably wasn't all that good but as my Felicity Cloake quote at the top of
Sep 5
Some Charmaine classics
"I love cooking but I'm bored stiff by the idea of preparing the same kind of food day in, day out. For me, and I hope for you, the excitement of cooking is to be found in creating new dishes, playing variations of old and familiar ones, and in trying recipes from other countries." Which just about sums up my attitude to cooking too. Particularly the boredom of same old, same old, which was a bit of a thing when my sons were teenagers and I was working. Partly because of t
Sep 3
Boring - but it's Neil Perry!
Neil Perry is one of Australia's earlier celebrity chefs I guess. I don't know whether he still cooks in an actual restaurant or just manages his restaurant and business empire. But he is indeed much admired. However, somehow or other I have never really encountered him through books. Maybe he just doesn't put himself out there like Jamie Oliver, Curtis Stone and the rest. Maybe he just stuck to being a restaurant chef writing the occasional cookbook - and indeed he has
Sep 2
Veal on a skewer - old-fashioned
Lucky dip time - and I'm sitting here wondering where to start. I spent a little time wondering which recipe to choose - there were six on a double page spread of veal recipes, but then I noticed that there was a photograph of one of them, on a different page, so I decided to go with that - Spiedini di vitello alla Romana. And here it is photographed in a way that somehow looks old-fashioned. But what is it that makes it look old-fashioned? Maybe it's the faint yellowish c
Sep 1