This month’s recipes
February 2026 M T W T F S S 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
Category Archives: The Cook Shelf
Perfect steamed rice
Once upon a time I was quite good at cooking rice. I never even thought about the process, it seemed so simple: in a pan with some cold water, bring to the boil, cook for ten minutes, check every so … Continue reading
Roasted lamb shanks with mash: the antidote to cold windy days
Shank, I have just discovered, is another name for shin and for some reason, at least in the UK, it is a term that is only used for lamb and no other meat. A few years ago this lost bit … Continue reading
Posted in Appetite, Lamb recipes, One pot
Tagged good for friends, lamb recipes, lamb shanks recipe, Nigel Slater, winter roasts
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Comfort blanket: chestnut and pear soup
It is officially cold. And there are two or three things I do when the mercury drops so far: first, I put a blanket on the bed, second I think about turning on the heating but resist it as long … Continue reading
Vietnamese salad recipe
The good news, at least as far as I’m concerned, is that the bug is starting to lose its grip. The bad news is so is the good weather. Blue sky has given way to grey clouds, a drop of … Continue reading
The Cook Shelf: Bill Granger’s Everyday Asian
You may, erm, already know that I’m a fan of Bill Granger. But you may not know, unless like me you are a bit of an addict, that he has a new book out. I have been desperate to get … Continue reading
Posted in Bill's Everyday Asian
Tagged Asian cookery, Bill Granger, Quadrille, Telegraph
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Modern Pantry part two: thit heo kho or Vietnamese pork
There I was, only yesterday, saying how I thought that The Modern Pantry Cookbook was, despite first impressions, full of wonderful ideas and here I am today cooking one of them. I grant you that I chose this recipe because … Continue reading
Posted in One pot, Pork recipes, The Modern Pantry Cookbook
Tagged Modern Pantry, pork recipes, thit heo keo
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The Modern Pantry Cookbook
I wasn’t going to review this book. My first impression was of a truly beautiful and inspiring newcomer that I needed to get my hands on. However, my second, once hands were on, was that this was a book that … Continue reading
Posted in The Cook Shelf
Tagged Anna Hansen, Fergus Henderson, Peter Gordon, The Modern Pantry, The Providores
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Riverford’s butternut squash and sage risotto
I recently had dinner with a friend who declared that she could never cook risotto properly. And, as we discussed the different methods at the table two more of us disagreed on the timings involved, on the reason for the … Continue reading
Canteen’s Welsh rarebit
The flip-flops had their revenge. Having called them ignominious yesterday my only pair, a sort of open-air trainer with a good solid sole that is ideal for negotiating London’s pavements and platforms, gave up on me tonight. There I was … Continue reading
Ottolenghi’s ‘double’ couscous salad
Couscous is something I have always loved, ever since I first tried it in France as a teenager. Along with gazpacho, a vaguely original attempt at the whole shebang (veg, meat, harissa and semoule) was one of the first things … Continue reading
WTF Do I Eat Tonight? 