The riff of sweet, caramelised figs, salty white cheese, peppery leaves, and nut crunch is a classic one. And like most classics, for very good reason. This salad was so good it’s been repeated regularly this year since the figs started coming on. It’s a starring role salad – a dinner party first course, or a totally indulgent lunch, or a plate to take to a party. If you are…
Salmorejo is a cold soup but that idea doesn’t do it justice. It’s very fast and easy, and it will keep for a day or two in the fridge so you can make ahead of time (which also makes it great for a first course for summer dinner parties or barbeques). You can also blend left overs with semi-dried tomatoes to make a dip or spread.
Yes, yes, a hundred times yes from me. Nearly four years ago I found a pasta machine at a garage sale. I had been making pasta from scratch before that but rolling it out with a rolling pin, which meant that lasagna and ravioli were much more likely than spaghetti or tagliatelle. I wrote at the time that “I’m not sure at all whether it will be a stayer.” But…
There’s usually a reason why popular vegetables are popular, and ones nobody has ever heard of are ones nobody has ever heard of.
The blog is neglected, the house is neglected, the garden is neglected, but the kale keeps giving.
This time of year it’s the tomatoes sun dried in the peak of summer that are the treasure. They go in pasta and gnocchi and minestrone and on pizza. A whole handful go into ragu or bean stew. They go on crackers with feta and in tapenade for spreading on toast. And I have to admit, I have been known to eat them straight from the jar.
It’s the southern hemisphere Halloween, and I totally get it why Halloween features pumpkin lamps. Halloween is the final harvest festival, and marks the start of the season of gathering in – firewood, mulch, water, pumpkins, passata, preserves, warm clothes, books, tribe and wisdom.