Search


Cuba
"Cuban recipes share spices and techniques with Spanish cooking, with some Caribbean influence in spice and flavour. Food rationing,...
May 1


Olio
Olio: "A dish of many ingredients" Dictionary.com "a miscellaneous mixture" Merriam Webster Dictionary I confess I thought 'olio'...
Sep 12, 2024


Chicken, saffron, almonds - a Spanish lucky dip
"I felt a little dubious about the combination of ingredients before testing it, the red wine gives a rich colour and flavour, the...
Jun 24, 2024


Paella or 'rice and stuff'?
"Some say true paella Valenciana must be cooked outside over a fire made of orange branches, dished up with a boxwood spoon and eaten...
Jan 9, 2024


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


Carne assada or asada?
This is a guru week - a week in which I return to one of my early cooking influencers/teachers for a recipe to try out for dinner. This...
Jun 6, 2023


Trifles
"Trifle - a matter or object of little value or importance." Cambridge English Dictionary I guess I'm hoping that what I write, although...
Nov 13, 2022


Is it possible to keep it simple - and cheap?
"Simple is easy to get wrong" Neil Perry It seems that Catalonia is the flavour of this week, because here I am about to talk about a...
Oct 22, 2022


Picada - a non-Ottolenghi extra
"anyone who has tasted a dish before and after its addition will understand that picada 'seems to fill in all the holes, plug in all the...
Oct 19, 2022


Ajo blanco - I'm confused
"Despite the name of the soup, garlic is rarely the principal ingredient in ajo blanco, which I would characterise instead as an almond...
Sep 1, 2022


Crème brulée - it's really English
"For some reason, a bowl of custard isn't seen as an appropriate dessert for a grown adult – but scorch the top and give it a French name...
Dec 27, 2021


Espatlla de xai al forn/Cordero asada - Catalan roast lamb
“Dishes are passed on like Chinese whispers, ever-evolving, but never new.” Joe Trivelli – The Guardian Or in this case they don't even...
Sep 5, 2021


Random ramblings
"The infinite monkey theorem states that a monkey hitting keys at random on a typewriter keyboard for an infinite amount of time will...
Jun 3, 2021


Patatas bravas
"no one made patatas bravas at home: 'They go to bars to try them. It is a social dish.'" Barcelona bar owner It's also one of those...
May 9, 2021


Burnt Basque cheesecake
"With a caramelized top that borders on burnt and a jiggly custardy center, Basque Cheesecake is a mind-blowingly delicious combination...
Mar 14, 2021