Category Archives: The Cook Shelf

Fuchsia Dunlop’s red-braised pork recipe

Possibly one of the most embarrassing conversations I ever had was about Chinese food at a Society of Authors‘ ‘young’ (i.e. under 40…) drinks party. I was talking to someone I had just met and bitching about how Time Out‘s … Continue reading

Posted in Every Grain of Rice, One pot, Pork recipes | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

HFW’s Mexican chorizo: a dream storecupboard ingredient

Once upon a time chorizo came cured and in slices. It was something you had on toast for a tapa and struggled to pronounce. Then, a few years ago, a new form of chorizo appeared on our shores: a cooking … Continue reading

Posted in One pot, RIver Cottage Everyday, Storecupboard essentials, Tips you won't want to live without, Wheat-free | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Nigella’s chestnut and pancetta salad with kale

I am not one for defending celebs, nor do I care what they get up to in their private lives, but the current media circus around Nigella Lawson, and the fact that she has taken drugs is quite something. Especially … Continue reading

Posted in greens recipes, How to Eat | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Polpo’s runner beans with Pecorino and red onion

Runner beans in my world have, until now, always meant two things: a stringy challenge that is like eating dental floss and a constant reminder of my grandparents’ incredible green-fingeredness. Not a summer went by when we didn’t either eat … Continue reading

Posted in Green veg recipes, Polpo, Summer recipes, Vegetarian recipes, Wheat-free | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Unbelievable herb salad with butter and almond dressing

There is a great thrill, to me at least, in discovering not so much a recipe as a tip. So when I recently learnt that the best way to peel ginger was by using a teaspoon (thanks Debora) I was … Continue reading

Posted in One pot, Ottolenghi The Cookbook, Salad recipes, Vegetarian recipes | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

In praise of craft…the joys of baking with a master

Yesterday I took my godson/nephew Matt for his long-overdue, ‘well-done-on-your-exam-results’ present: a class on bread-making at The Bertinet Kitchen Cookery School. Bread, or rather the baking of it, has become a bit of an obsession of mine and, having met Richard Bertinet at Port … Continue reading

Posted in Bread recipes, Dough | Tagged , , , , | 12 Comments

Bad Seed bread

My mission to bake better and easier bread continues apace and this week I found a magic ingredient. Many moons ago, when I was younger and idiotically naïve, I worked in a bar in Paris, which is probably the most … Continue reading

Posted in Bread recipes, Dough | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Savoy cabbage and Parmesan soup

There is a moment, about now, when the earth starts to wake up and smell, not in a too-many-dogs-not-enough-flowers way but more in a, well, earthy sort of way. I absolutely love it. I crave light more than warmth so … Continue reading

Posted in Green veg recipes, Ideas for leftovers, One pot, Plenty, Soup recipes, Yotam Ottolenghi | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Turning cabbage into chou: helping you love your greens

Cabbage. Now what does that word conjure up? A soggy, smelly, unappetising vegetable? Or the trendiest green in the winter food wardrobe? I used to be in the former camp, having been raised on overcooked white cabbage at home and … Continue reading

Posted in Green veg recipes, Richard Corrigan, The Clatter of Forks and Spoons, Winter vegetables | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Cold remedy 2: Nigel Slater’s aromatic rice

The ideal response to the end of a cold is a Vietnamese soup like this, a Thai one like this or a curry like this. However, since I didn’t have the ingredients for any of those in my cupboards, I was … Continue reading

Posted in Appetite, One pot, rice recipes, Spicy recipes | Tagged , , | Leave a comment