Chicken Pot Pie Galette – The KRCW Good Food Pie Contest Winner

Pies have never really been my thing. I’m sure this makes me un-American, and now that I’m living in the UK — another pie-obsessed nation — it probably makes me un-British as wellness. It’s not the pies themselves, I think it’s the pastry. Although something made with flour and butter should, by its very nature, be high on my list of likes. I really don’t understand it. All of that aside, I decided to make a pie. And if you’re going to make a pie, you may as well make an award-winning pie, right? A pie that beat out 400 other sweet and savory pies in seven categories. I mean, if you’re going to do something, you may as well do it right.

Meatless Monday: White Bean Puree with Caramelized Endive and Balsamic Onions

A few months ago I bought Diana Henry’s A Change of Appetite on a whim; I saw a tweet from Leite’s Culinaria about this white bean purée piled high with beautiful purple radicchio and red onions and it looked good enough that I went straight onto Amazon and bought the cookbook. I have not been disappointed.

Leftover Roast Chicken Curry

I know there haven’t been many recipe posts in the last few months, but I promise the time hasn’t been misspent! I’ve recently started a supper club in Folkestone which is super exciting for me and has taken up quite a bit of time. But I will definitely try to share recipes more frequently because, at the end of the day, that’s what this blog is all about!

Meatless Monday: Green Tomato and Melon Salad with Cumin Vinaigrette

 

 

So this salad is just, like, incredible. Believe me, I needed convincing too because melon is at the top of my ‘don’t like’ list. Melon and cucumber are the two foods that I have not grown to like as I’ve reached adulthood. But somehow, in some magical, mysterious way, the honey dew in this recipe works. Maybe it’s the punchy cilantro or the fiery kick of jalapeño drawing the attention away from the paltry, watery sweetness of the melon. Or maybe it’s the tartness of the unripe green tomatoes that just seems to create such a harmonious bowl of food.

Pan-fried Salmon with Marinated Beets, Asparagus and Horseradish Cream

If you’re like me, you look at every opportunity to cook for other people as an opportunity to create, experiment and just generally flex your culinary muscles. Not necessarily to show off, although I will admit to the odd twinge of pride when things work out how I hoped, but just because the thrill of creating – and then devouring – something new is almost as exciting as getting to share it with people you love. Knowing me as he does, my husband usually prefaces announcements of expected guests with, ‘Just keep it casual. Make something simple. Don’t go overboard.’. But sometimes keeping it simple is exactly what you need to do to create a masterpiece.

Meatless Monday: Grilled Halloumi and Mango Salad

6-hour Confit Shoulder of Lamb with Salsa Verde and Roasted Rosemary Beets

Yes, this takes 6 hours. Yes, you will need arm extensions to read the ingredients list. Yes, there are a few steps involved. BUT, I promise this will be the best shoulder of lamb you have ever had. Confit sounds indulgent, and maybe it is a bit, but what it should really say to you is: low, slow, and meltingly tender. No matter what it is you’re confiting, it will be caressed for hours in a luxurious and moisturizing layer of, well, fat. But it will emerge with ignorable fattiness and with an incredible silkiness that can only come from this method of cooking.

Meatless Monday: Clean out the fridge casserole

https://flic.kr/p/4zJ9yb

I know that the title of this post may not immediately drive you wild. In fact, the idea of sad, limp vegetables, mold and food just generally past its prime will be enough to put most people off. However, with all the waste there is in the world I think it’s important to make people aware of how transformative cooking can be for a bunch of sad old vegetables.

Meatless Monday: Hot and Sour Soup

There are some recipes that we just naturally leave to the experts. You know, those dishes you order every time you go out for a certain type of cuisine, but you would never attempt to make at home? Hot and sour soup was one of those for me. I just always assumed it was full of exotic ingredients and made with time honored techniques, nothing I could even think about making in my own western kitchen. Boy, was I wrong!

Smoked Mackerel Pâté

Mackerel gets a bad rap. Mackerel, herring, sardines, they’re all cheap and bit on the fishy side even when fresh, so they’re not at the top of most people’s list. We’re all given the impression from celebrity chefs that mackerel is a less popular, more sustainable fish than, say, cod or sea bass and is therefore a better choice for the dinner table. The differences between mackerel and sea bass are pretty obvious, not least the price, but back in 2013 there was a scare when mackerel all of a sudden sunk into the danger zone. Just after all of us started getting on the band wagon, we were suddenly supposed to cut back on this oily, omega-3 filled fish and all its inherent goodness before we lose it forever. Now it’s confusingly listed as 2-4 on the sustainable scale depending on how and where it’s caught. Good grief.