The Family Cook Book

I was at dinner last night and one of krow’s delightful and valued clients was asking for ideas for an Italian dinner party … This morning I remembered this dish, which rather amazingly hasn’t yet made it to my blog. So here it is. This recipe is absolutely brilliant. Do not be fooled by its simplicity. It is one of those magic culinary combinations that its hard to believe can taste quite so good. For me it sums up what I love about Italian cookery. Allegedly it was first discovered by Elizabeth David and published in her book Italian Food. Then the Italian chef Franco Taruschio at the Walnut Tree Inn, near Abergavenny, cooked it there. I got it from Simon Hopkinson’s ‘Roast Chicken and other recipes’ apparently he ate it at the Walnut Tree, put it on his menu at Bibendum, and then in his book and now to you. This can be prepared in advance (leave the basil leaves till the last minute though)… and even tastes good the next day. You could serve this on its own or alongside some other I

This is Skye Gyngell’s Squid with rocket and romesco but I couldn’t get squid in Waitrose on Saturday. I tried it with prawns and it seemed to work. The salad and prawns obviously go pretty well already but the addition of the unusual bready, nutty texture of the romesco and its gently spicy flavour with its Spanish notes of paprika tomatoes, garlic, almonds and olive oil lifts it from run of the mill to something a little bit special. If you don't have a pestle and mortar it would work pretty well in a blender on pulse ...adding the ingredients in the same order of course. I am also now interested in trying Moro's version of this that has Piquillo peppers in.... I also think that you could make a slightlier runnier sauce and have it with many different grilled dishes. We had it as a starter before the lamb with Harissa ...... and again the next day with some Italian sausages! btw even the not very eagle eyed will realise that this is not my pic of the sauce ... as usual I forg

We cooked this on Saturday night. I promised to put it on the blog.... so here it is Although it seems long it is very, very easy and the Harissa can be made the day before, the chickpeas well in advance of dinner, so really all you have to do is bung the lamb in and cook the broccoli... so in reality its a bit of a walk in the park. Harissa Ingredients
 1 x long, fresh red chillies
 1 x red birds eye chilli sea salt
 3 heaped tsp caraway seeds, ground
 3 heaped tsp cumin seeds, ground
 4 cloves garlic
 I jar roasted and peeled red bell pepper
 2 tsp tomato purée
 2 tsp red wine vinegar
 4 tbsp olive oil
 2 level tsp smoked paprika Method
 1. Remove the tops of the chillies, then slice in half lengthways. Lay each chilli on a chopping board, cut-side up, and gently scrape away the seeds with a teaspoon and discard 2. Blend the chillies in a food processor with a pinch of salt, half of each of the spice seeds and the garlic cloves until smooth. 3. Add the peppers, the rest of the spice