Sometimes I need to sieze the moment and make something delicious just because I see an item at the fruit and vegetable shop that screams, “Buy me!”. These baby capsicums did just that. I scraped out the core and the seeds, stuffed them with marinated feta and heaps of herbs and roasted them for about 15 minutes in a hot…
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Herby vegetable soup
This soup is one of the easiest I have ever made, and it also only takes about 20 minutes to prepare and cook. It tastes fresh and clean, and leaves a warm glow inside, the way a good soup should. The most humble vegetables – carrots, leeks and zucchini – when combined with good quality…
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Lamb burgers with good things
Saturday lunch requires something easy and tasty, as the weekend mornings are often full of busyness and household chores. These lamb burgers fit the bill at our place, and they are packed with wonderful ingredients like garlic, pine nuts, chilli and cumin. Served on turkish bread with roasted capsicum, hummus and a minty fresh greek…
Read MoreCaramelised onion tarts
Caramelised onion is a wonder food. The humble onion, when cooked slow and long to release its natural sugars transforms into a sticky, sweet and savoury taste sensation that adds incredible flavour and richness to a simple host of foods – steak, roast beef sandwiches, root vegetables and more. In this recipe I celebrate caramelised…
Read MoreRoasted pumpkin with feta, tomato and pine nuts
Pumpkin is a staple vegetable in my part of the world, used much more for savoury dishes than sweet. There are a number of varieties that I use in my cooking but my favourite is Jap or Kent pumpkin which has a yellow-orange flesh that is soft and dry and a nutty flavour with natural…
Read MoreCous cous with currants and coriander
This fresh and fruity cous cous is a winner at our place. It goes well with tagines, or as an accompaniment to grilled lamb or chicken. I also like to offer it as an alternative to potato salad at a barbeque. Miss Eleven even takes it for her school lunch. I have also recently found…
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Eggplant with crunchy parmesan and herbs
Eggplants are a favourite of mine and I find their deep, shiny colour, complex flavour and silky texture quite compelling. For two summers I have grown eggplants in my vegetable patch and they have yielded sensationally. The fruit of the variety I grow is generally long and slender, although sometimes a big, round eggplant appears.…
Read MoreRocket, apple and parmesan salad
Summer is perfect for salads and many meals I make in this season revolve around a salad. It is easy, though, to slip into boring salad mode and turn out a perfectly nice, but ho-hum garden salad, just because it’s what first comes to mind. It’s no more effort to do something with a bit…
Read MoreSmoked salmon heaven
This is almost too simple to be called a recipe – it’s really just an open sandwich celebrating the beauty of smoked salmon combined with crunchy, flavoursome dark grain bread, smooth and luscious cream cheese and salty, astringent capers. So satisfying to make and to eat and far better for your body and soul than…
Read MoreTzatziki, or, finding my inner Greek
It’s a bold thing to suggest that any recipe for tzatziki is an original and I don’t make that claim. It’s a classic sauce/accompaniment that has its origins in Greece but versions also appear in Turkish, Cypriot, and Persian cuisines. I owe what I know about making great tzatziki to both the wonderful Jamie Oliver…
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