It’s about this time last year that an Italian friend and then-colleague returned from his Christmas holiday. He had been visiting family in Sicily and brought me back a little jar of pesto. It was green and had all the hallmarks of a regular basil pesto, but it was in fact made from pistachios. I … Continue reading Pistachio Pesto
Summer = strawberries, especially with Wimbledon coming up, and there's nothing quite like locally grown British strawberries. I don't remember ever going strawberry picking before, so after hearing that a couple of friends had been, and seeing photos on Instagram, I figured why not! It's a great way to get outdoors, engage in a local … Continue reading Strawberry Picking in Berkshire and Homemade Jam
This time of year always sees a rush of Instagram and blog posts about bluebells and wild garlic. You know what - until I actually started looking for wild garlic I had no idea just how abundant it is! As soon as I could identify it's long thick leaves and spidery white flowers I started … Continue reading Wild Garlic: finding and using it
Ignoring the last couple of days, the weather has definitely started to get warmer recently and it's really starting to feel like Spring. Mark and I even had lunch outside in the garden at the weekend! This warmer weather always makes me think of being on holiday and I've been thinking a lot recently about … Continue reading Seeni Sambol: Sri Lankan Sweet Onion Chutney
I first properly discovered labneh at Jose Andres's Eastern Mediterranean restaurant, Zaytinya, in DC. It's simply strained yoghurt but it's silky smooth and luxuriously thick. It's so easy to make labneh at home with just some muslin, a bowl, and a sieve. I followed the suggestions in this post by Noha from Matters of the … Continue reading Homemade Labneh
I am generally a pretty big fan of pickles and pickling things like my Quick Pickled Vegetables and Feta and Pickled Vegetable Salad so it's no surprise that this pickled fennel recipe is close to my heart and one that I make a lot. Here's the thing...I actually don't like fresh fennel all that much, but I love it … Continue reading Pickled Fennel
When I think about some of my favourite meals, I'm always drawn to big sharing feasts with a variety of dishes. Mezze, tapas, dim sum, and barbecue are some that immediately spring to mind. I think it's primarily because I don't have to decide on one thing and can have lots of options. I've always … Continue reading Sumac roast cauliflower with hazelnut dukkah and harissa yoghurt
