italian broad bean salad with anchovies

I bought a big bag of frozen broad beans from a Middle Eastern grocers and was wondering what to make with them, then I remembered an old Italian recipe for a broad bean salad with an anchovy dressing. I’ve adapted it slightly to suit my tastes and make it easy and added lemon and basil instead of vinegar and marjoram and it tastes really fresh even though it’s all store cupboard. It’s perfect as a side dish with a main meal or I serve it on scorched toast.

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celeriac remoulade with fresh mackerel

I have been meaning to put this recipe on the blog for ages, it’s just so delicious because the combination of the flavours of the mustardy, lemony dressing cuts through the oiliness of the mackerel and just tastes great. The celeriac remoulade recipe is from The Ivy cookbook and I added some chopped chives. It’s a really delicious lower carb meal or delicious with roasted sourdough if you prefer and mackerel is not only packed with omega3 oils which are really good for you but it’s also budget friendly.

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easy chocolate fondant torte

this cake looks more like a tart without the pastry than a cake, but because it’s so rich and chocolatey it’s perfect. It’s really fondanty and crisp on the outside. You can also make a dairy free and/or a gluten free version too if you prefer. It’s delicious with red berries and vanilla ice cream or with whatever you prefer and it’s all from store cupboard ingredients.

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dark chocolate pannacotta

This self saucing recipe is a dairy free take on Black Forest gateau which is a favourite pudding of mine. It’s really silky smooth, rich and chocolatey and is great on its own or with whipped cream if you are not dairy free or with dairy free vanilla ice cream. The decorations are optional, or you can customise it with whatever you fancy like fresh berries.

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vanilla pannacotta

This dairy free recipe for pannacotta is really silky and creamy and it has the delicious flavours of lemon zest and bourbon vanilla. It’s easier to make than you think and you can make it the day before and store it in the fridge till you want to serve it. Perfect as a refreshing light pudding at the end of a heavy meal. You can serve it on its own with my cranberry sauce or with fresh berries or whatever you fancy.

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overnight gravadlax

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.

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pistachio amaretti

These Italian amaretti biscuits are traditionally very crunchy on the outside and chewy and a bit marzipany in the middle. They are really easy to make and are gluten and dairy free. I love adore pistachios and I serve them with coffee at the end of a meal instead of making a dessert, or after dessert. They are dense and rich and you only need a couple. Perfect at Christmas and you can give them as gifts in little bags tied with a ribbon.

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pho

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.

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clementine amaretti

These clementine amaretti biscuits are traditionally very crunchy on the outside and chewy and a bit marzipany in the middle. They are really easy to make and are gluten and dairy free. They are perfect at Christmas for your guests or as gifts in little bags tied with a ribbon. I serve them with coffee at the end of a meal instead of making a dessert, or after dessert.

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