While every one else I know was waiting for a bird bird to grace the Christmas table, I was preparing a very Spanish Xmas dish: Cocido de Navidad; or Putxero, if you speak Valencian/ Catalan. Cocido (Madrileño) is a complex stew of a variety of meats and chickpeas, popular on Sundays and feast days, started…
The fire is on and there is a Polish Kapuśniak with Buraczki on the table – all is well. I still remember the cold winters in the UK, when it used to be part of Europe – seems so long ago now – and I remember the joy in discovering a polish café near Ravenscourt…
These are strange times indeed! I’ve never been the kind of person who happily cooks through a repertoire of dozen or so of favourite dishes, I like to travel, I like variety. During the first lockdown, with time on my side, I found an Afghan red bean curry recipe, tweaked it and served it with…
Homity pie, or Devon pie for Devonians, is a traditional potato and leek open pie that gained popularity with the Land Girls during the rationing of the Second World War. During the vegetarian revolution of the Sixties, it became a firm favourite on the menu of the veggie pioneers, Cranks. Traditionally served on its own…
Home Cured Olives As summer draws to a close – somewhere towards the end of September (2019) – the olive harvest begins. This year, to save me from tears, I decided to buy a 5kg sack of olive and prepare them myself. My fresh olive guy in Mercado Central said that if I brined them…