Category: home cooking

I roasted a half leg of lamb after first cutting slits in it to insert slices of garlic and rubbing it with large crystals of sea salt. I gave it 25 minutes per half kilo plus another 15, making 1 hour & 15 minutes to have it pink. I...

Left over from the previous night’s barbecue were 3 skewers of prawn and vegetables and a rasher of bacon. The shortcrust pastry was made from 4 oz of plain flour, a heaped spoon of oat bran and 2 oz of goose fat. It was lined with cheddar cheese, then...

My friend Sam makes sourdough bread from scratch, even preparing his own natural yeast using wholegrain rye flour and water over several days, skimming off some and replenishing with fresh rye flour and water. This creates a ‘starter’ and contains bacteria and a little alcohol, which give the bread...

It was a bold idea, but it didn’t quite work.  I made shortcrust pastry and lined it with feta cheese for a change.  Then came thick slices of chorizo, plus chopped onions and some creamed spinach. Egg and milk, of course, and seasoning, and 40 minutes in a 170...

It is among my favourite roasts because it comes out so sweet.  I score the outside and insert slices of garlic.  Then I brush with sunflower oil and rub rosemary onto the outside, and finally crystals of salt from Blokhus in Denmark.  My cooking time in a 160 fan...

It’s not the most difficult dish.  Chicken pieces about half an inch square, seared on the stove top in oil.  Then add chopped onions, red and green peppers, plus peas, sweetcorn and mushrooms in a half pint of chicken stock from an Oxo cube.  Add chopped garlic, cayenne pepper...

I made a frittata to share at lunch with my guest, a pescatarian. So no meat or poultry, but there were king prawns, plus pre-par-cooked potatoes, green peppers, onions, tomatoes & courgettes. I whipped up four and a half eggs with two spoons of creme fraiche, two of Greek-style...

I made salmon Wellington, aka saumon en croute, using puff pastry, and spreading green pesto over the salmon before I wrapped it up and brushed the pastry with egg. I actually found how to do it by looking up a 2006 post from this food blog.  I cut it...

The pork pie was Melton Mowbray, and other protein included ham, cheese and a boiled egg.  The salad included iceberg lettuce, pomodoro tomatoes, green olives and new potatoes.  Some light mayonnaise went on the lettuce, with mango chutney for the pork pie, and mustard for the ham.  Very nice...

It’s actually saumon en croute, but I make it with a novel twist.  I put the raw salmon, skin removed, onto the puff pastry rectangles, then I put a layer of pesto on top before folding and sealing the pastry.  I brush with beaten egg and bake for 15...