Almonds are native to the Middle East, from Syria and Turkey and the regions towards Pakistan. Spread by human settlement along the shores of the Mediterranean into northern Africa and southern Europe, it is a prominent part of the food culture of both the Middle East and Europe – think tagines, marzipan, macarons and amaretti, and used in both sweet and savoury dishes.…
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‘Puttanesca.’ It’s an Italian sauce for pasta. All we need to do is sauté olives, capers, anchovies, garlic, chopped parsley, and tomatoes together in a pot, and prepare spaghetti to go with it.” Klaus Baudelaire When my children were younger we read Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, relishing every page, enthralled by the Baudelaire…
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I am a late comer to goat’s cheese, having been scarred by my first experience, which was an intensely smelly, fiercely flavoured french variety. However, I have been educating my palate to milder versions and now love a subtle, creamy, ash covered chevre. Mushrooms pair beautifully with it, as the cheese seems to enhance their…
Read MoreMy family fell in love with sweet potato wedges long before they became a cafe staple, principally because roast sweet potatoes were also a family favourite. I wanted something that was a little more healthy, and these oven baked wedges were perfect. They only use a little bit of olive oil, are seasoned with salt…
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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.…
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Simple food 