

Changing the form, but retaining the spirit
“When I opened up my first restaurant it was never to cook Greek food the way most people had seen it.” Peter Conistis The dish at left...
Jan 17, 2024


A postscript on first recipes
As a self-taught cook, I learned through cookbooks and love them dearly. There's an evolution to learning to cook this way and choosing...
Oct 18, 2023


Hot sauce - or is it a bath?
"it is a dish which essentially needs the accompaniment of plenty of strong coarse red wine, such as the local Barbera. It is also...
Oct 17, 2023


Venice leeks and what's for dinner tonight?
"Perhaps no one ever gets to know Venice as much as they remember her, recall her from an episode in some other dream." Marlena de Blasi...
Oct 1, 2023


Cabbage, potatoes, Portugal, soup - basic
"I have written this book to introduce Portuguese dishes to cooks in this country, rather than to tell them what to eat in Portugal." ...
Sep 19, 2023


Classic - apple pie
"Good apple pies are a considerable part of our domestic happiness." Jane Austen The first thing to say is that this is a first recipe...
Sep 10, 2023


Coconut rice - so many ways
"Truly fluffy coconut rice eluded me for years. I felt like I tried every variation possible, but when I lifted the lid, I’d stare at...
Jul 27, 2023


An oldie but a goodie
"There was this woman tossing French omelettes, splashing eggs about the place, brandishing big knives, panting heavily as she careened...
Jul 11, 2023


First
"Presentation of the first course is of especial importance; owing to its place in the menu it should give a favourable impression both...
Jun 12, 2023


Old things
"Whether we grow herbs, eat them, or take them as medicine, they carry us, if we stop to think about them, far back into history."...
May 26, 2023


Noodle politics
“The message I received along with my journey in my quest to discover the identity of the noodle was that no one culture ‘owns’ a...
May 17, 2023


Beginnings
“Meat is used. You prepare water. You add fine-grained salt, dried barley cakes, onion, Persian shallot, and milk. You crush and add leek...
Apr 27, 2023


Psarasoupa me avgolemono
"Avgolemono is just so important to Greeks. But maybe it's even more important to Greeks who've left Greece." Simon Gloftis I haven't...
Apr 2, 2023


German food - is it really that bad?
"During the last 50 years that nation has changed more than any other in Western Europe. Yet it has remained German, because everything...
Feb 27, 2023


First recipe, first book
"The only way to eat superb Indian food, with a guarantee of variety, quality and freshness of ingredients, is to learn to cook it for...
Jan 2, 2023


Not much to say about asparagus soup
"It sort of goes against the grain to turn the most beautiful of vegetables into a soup." Simon Hopkinson My next first recipe has been...
Dec 18, 2022


One soup or four?
"Our primary purpose in this book is to teach you how to cook, so that you will understand the fundamental techniques and gradually be...
Nov 9, 2022


Genteel sandwiches on the lawn
"Everything tastes better outdoors." Claudia Roden It's such a beautiful day - you can almost imagine that summer is actually on its...
Nov 7, 2022


How we discovered Middle Eastern Food
"It is the fruit of nostalgic longing for, and delighted savouring of, food that was the constant joy of life in a world so different...
Oct 24, 2022


Good things = kippers
"Eat with horseradish sauce, good bread and a poached egg - if you fancy - and tease every last morsel from the spine bones and head. ...
Sep 27, 2022

