chocolate soufflé with dulce de leche

So when it comes to your palate, what category would you class yourself in?? Are you like my mum was: a die hard dessert lover, turning to that section of the menu before even giving a passing thought to your main course option?? Or are you more of a savoury lover?? Someone who never has space for dessert until someone suggests finishing things off with a wee bit of cheese?? Read the rest of this entry »

bbq chorizo with slow roasted tomatoes & braised lentils
Until recently, I’d forgotten about a game that my ex-husband and I used to play. Over the 11-odd years that we were together, we shared countless pleasurable meals across five continents, and as you can imagine came to know each other’s food preferences and peccadillos intimately. During this time we developed a kind of restaurant game where we’d both peruse the menu and then try and guess what the other was going to order. Read the rest of this entry »

Ok so it’s not secret that I’m a big spice fan and love dabbling with them, but my friends, I do have a confession to make. Until a couple of weeks ago, I didn’t grind my own spices. Shocking that someone like me who has read countless times just how flavourful and amazing freshly ground spices can be has never bothered to actually try it out for herself…. I know…I know…Herbie would not be proud. Read the rest of this entry »

roasted roma tomatoes 

I’m not sure if I mentioned it, but recently I acquired a couple of new cookbook gems via a generous birthday gift voucher from my good mates Craig & Juanita. (thanks guys… I feel very special) One was the second cookbook from Sam & Sam Clarke of Moro restaurant in London which recently featured in these pages with my adaptation of their beautifully balanced harissa. The other was from an Aussie expat living in London and cooking up a storm at the Petersham Nursery restaurant; Skye Gyngell with her evocatively titled ‘A year in my kitchen.’ Read the rest of this entry »