A traditional Sicilian recipe for pasta with the amazing flavours of fennel, anchovies, saffron, wine, pine nuts and lemon with crunchy bread crumbs on top. I searched high and low for fresh sardines but my fishmonger said they were out of season, so I used good quality tinned ones in olive oil and they are absolutely fine. I make mine with spaghetti Nero but any long pasta works.
Continue reading
This slaw is refreshing and perky and has lots of crunchy veg and creamy avocado. You can serve it on its own or with sashimi or sushi, sushi rice, or a tin of crab, or boiled eggs or roasted salmon.
Continue reading
This Portuguese smokey seafood stew is cooked all in one pot, so after you have prepped the ingredients, it’s only a matter of adding them in stages to the pot. It’s got potatoes and a delicious tomato and wine broth with saffron. I use defrosted frozen seafood for my recipe, except the mussels, which can be left out, but fresh seafood is great, obv, and you can add any mixture of seafood you fancy. Traditionally it’s served with roasted garlic bread, or rice.
Continue reading
This recipe is more of a review, I found it on Epicurious and it’s a recipe for the Busaba Eat Thai squid which is one of their best dishes and everyone loves it so I wanted to try and make it myself. It’s really delicious and what really makes it is the sauce. It’s brilliant with Thai sticky rice and some stir fried pak-choi. The pickled peppercorns are optional if you can’t be arsed, but I love them and made a big batch to use on other recipes, like my curries.
Continue reading
Gravadlax is really easy to make and much much cheaper than buying it ready made. This recipe is adapted from a recipe in Esquire Magazine that I found online.
It’s brilliant if you want the gravadlax that or the next day. Instead of putting the salmon into dry ingredients, you make a sweet brine first and place it in that and it does its job much faster, and more efficiently. I have included my favourite recipe for the dill sauce too if you fancy making that too, or it’s fine with a squeeze of lemon and it’s great on canapés with pink pickled onions, capers or on rye bread with sliced boiled eggs and any of my pickled vegetables on the blog.
My friends served this the other day at their house, and I loved it so much I had to do it for the blog. You can basically customise it to suit you once you have made the broth and it looks impressive at a dinner party served up in a big bowl with all the fresh herbs on top. My version is vegan but you can add eggs or fish if you prefer. You can also add veg from the fridge that you want to use up too. It’s absolutely delicious and perfect if you have a cold as it’s got all the healing ingredients, like chilli, garlic and ginger and broth.
This onion tart is based on the French Pissaladière tart from Nice that is made with pizza dough. It’s delicious for dinner with a crispy green salad. You can put more or less of the onion mixture on depending on your taste. The Niçoise like a lot of onion, I like it both ways…btw if you press on pizza dough below it will take you straight through to the dough recipe.
This traditional Italian recipe for spaghetti with broccoli is deceptively delicious. It’s got a great combination of flavours with saffron, onions and wine. There is also a sweetness from the currants which makes it taste all the more delicious. Its got really typical Italian flavours and is normally made with Bucatini. I think it’s perfect for a dinner party or dinner date, (you can halve the ingredients) just serve it with a salad and a glass of wine. Job done.
This salad is very simple and takes moments to prepare…it’s got all the classic Italian flavours of fresh lemon, parsley, olive oil and balsamic vinegar with tender octopus, which I buy ready cooked from my Spanish deli in Portobello Road or my local fish monger in Primrose Hill but you can also use the jars of it in olive oil that some supermarkets and delis stock. It’s a perfect starter to a pescatarian dinner, or just as a light supper with crusty bread to mop up the dressing.
I have recently discovered Asian smashed cucumber salads and I’m hooked. It’s the combination of the cucumber with a creamy sesame dressing with coriander and ginger which is fantastic. I paired the salad with prawns fried in chilli and coconut oil and garnished it all with sesame seeds, fresh coriander and crispy onions… perfect for a summer dinner or date night, or in the winter when you miss the summer like me.
