These three vegetable dishes are easy to prepare and while they are great on their own they also nicely complement grilled, baked or barbecued meats, poultry and fish. They are healthy, colourful, hi-viz even, and taste as good as they look ....
FENNEL AND BLOOD ORANGE SALAD
WARM BEETROOT AND SEED SALAD
KRISTMAS KOURABIETHES
ARMADILLO POTATOES WITH OREGANO SALT
VEGETABLE SIMPLICITY
A GRAND FINALE
THE MAIN EVENT
A generously laden Christmas table needs a main event, a dish or two around which all others are planned, and here we have two suggestions which will make very handsome additions to your festive feasting. The first is a whole fish which is perfect for feeding a crowd. The second is a butterflied, pork neck which is first marinated then stuffed and rolled ....
STUFFED PORK ROLL, SOUVLAKI STYLE
POACHED PRAWNS WITH KOHLRABI REMOULADE
ENTREE CHRISTMAS DAY
Two of our trio have been to Greece this year and we’ve noticed an ever so subtle leaning to the flavours of that region sneaking into our Christmas menu. Dill, marinated feta, oregano, figs, nuts, dried beans and the like have all made an appearance in our recipes but in a deliciously understated way ...
PREPARING FOR PARTY TIME
In the run-up to the festive season, or anytime really, I feel quite satisfied with myself if I have a little hoard of good things to eat on hand for whoever might drop in, and these classic Italian biscuits are close to perfect because they accompany a lovely glass of sweet wine just as easily as a cup of tea ....
IT'S TIME TO GET TOGETHER
Yes, we're all doing it. Wanting to catch up with everyone before Christmas as if there’ll never be another chance! It makes a crazy time even more crazy but we wouldn’t have it any other way.
We love the idea of catching up over drinks with a few delicious bites, no matter whether it is a huge festive affair with all the friends and neighbours dropping in or something more intimate. Either way, we’ve got you covered.
STICKY RICE CAKES
IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS
Here we go again, turning our thoughts towards Christmas.
It’s only four weeks till D Day, or rather C Day, so getting ourselves prepared is not such a bad idea. In the next four weeks we’ll be posting lots of ideas for your Christmas meals, in fact we have so many we’ll be posting twice as often as usual but just in case you’re a real Scout and would like to be prepared NOW, we’re here to help ....
RHUBARB, RHUBARB, RHUBARB
Funny how one thing leads to another. I recently needed only a couple of stalks of rhubarb, to pickle, to top some delicious sticky rice cakes for a pre-dinner nibble. As our rhubarb pickle loses its vibrant colour after a week or two, I only pickle what I need. What to do with the rest? A bit of poaching with some star anise, orange juice and zest produced a cup full of delicious pulpy sweet rhubarb.
What to do with that ...
LIGHT, GREEN AND NICE
PICKLED RHUBARB
Our Pickled Rhubarb is a very versatile condiment to have on hand in the fridge. We've served it with duck breasts for Christmas, topped sticky rice cakes with it for a pre dinner nibble, tossed it through salads, served it with cheese, cured meats even on a stick of celery. It's vibrant colour starts to fade after a couple of weeks so eat it up quickly or eat it pale pink.
SWEET NONYA
Nonya cuisine is probably the world’s first true fusion food. It really is a fusion of cultures using Malay, Indonesian, Thai and Chinese flavours and spices and is also well known for a wide variety of delicious and sometimes unusual (to me) traditional cakes and sweets. I went crazy for their delicate Pineapple Tarts ...
SINGAPORE KAREN'S SINGAPORE NOODLES
I love Singapore and not just for the noodles. A very old friend and her husband have been living and working there for ten years and we love to visit. They live in Tiong Bahru an old, historic part of Singapore which has lately become a very trendy part of the city. There is a wonderful Chinese wet market there full of a vast variety of the freshest produce. It’s hot and noisy, bustling and busy and I love it ....