The Family Cook Book

This recipe is one of my favourite ones from Julius Roberts’ fantastic book The Farm Table . It takes a bit of time to prep but is very simple to cook and is a sure fire winner. I can promise you that you will get compliments a plenty if you try it. Here’s the recipe I often find myself yearning for a bowl of healing chicken soup. We make quite a few versions at home and it’s rare there’s not a pot of broth bubbling on the stove. Sometimes I boil a whole chicken with a load of veg, then strip off the meat and throw it back into the broth with a dollop of aïoli. Mum makes a great soup of blended chicken with a ton of tarragon, wonderfully nourishing to combat the lurgy. But here we have a much-loved classic, with the addition of these divine meatballs, which are zingy with lemon and rich with ricotta. They have the most delicate texture and are light and juicy as can be. Ingredients: For the meatballs: 6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, minced or ground by the butch...

The New York Times cooking app is a must for any keen cook.Its a mine of great ideas from really good contributors populated with simple recipes covering the widest range of cookery styles and cuisines. This recipe is from Hetty Lui McKinnon and is a really good simple salad with a Mexican vibe. We had it with a quinoa salad and ground meat skewers. Here is the recipe and Hetty’s intro Charred corn is a bankable foundation for a simple and satiating summer meal. Just a few minutes in a hot pan will turn the kernels from starchy to sweet, while delivering smoky notes. A light dusting of ground cumin and smoked paprika reinforces these scorched flavors. In a loose nod to esquites, this salad is dressed with a simplified version of Mexican crema, tangy from the lime and spiked with garlic. If you like, add some heat with some sliced jalapeños or a sprinkle of crushed red pepper.  Serves: 4 persons INGREDIENTS 1 cup sour cream Zest and juice of 1 lime (about 2 tablespoons juice) 1garli...

 I made this Skye Gyngell recipe the other day for our great friends Peter and Suzy who are visiting for our son’s wedding. It’s  from her book A year in my kitchen. I had forgotten how stress free it is to put together because many of the elements can be prepped ahead of the game. This is the perfect salad for a hot day/evening where you want to serve something interesting without breaking a sweat. Serves 4 Ingredients 800g piece fillet of beef sea salt and freshly ground pepper 1 tbsp olive oil 600g little new potatoes 300g fine green beans, topped but not tailed grated zest and juice of 1/2 lemon 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil handful of mixed salad leaves 1 tbsp freshly grated parmesan Slow roasted tomatoes 6 good quality small plum tomatoes like pomp de mori  10g/2 tsp caster sugar 10g/2 tsp sea salt 10g/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper Roasted red onions 5 medium red onions, peeled 100g caster sugar seal salt and freshly ground black pepper 200g balsamic ...

This recipe is a banger. There are tons of versions but this one is yet again by Julius Roberts. Once you have done the onions it is a doddle to make. The combo of the soft sweet onions and the salty anchovy/olive combo make it a perfect pre dinner snack but it also makes a lovely light lunch when paired with a salad.   Ingredients 3tbs olive Oil 50g butter 10 brown or Spanish onions, finely sliced (note: if the onions are large I think you could easily manage with 8) Handful fresh thyme leaves, plus extra to serve 1 sheet ready-rolled all butter puff pastry 3 tins anchovy fillets 160g drained pitted black olives 1 egg  Method Heat the oil and butter in a very large frying pan over a medium heat until bubbling. Add the sliced onions with a generous pinch of salt and cook for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until completely softened and caramelised - do NOT let them burn! You will start off with a humongous pile but fear not they will, with patience, come down to a manage...

This recipe is from Skye McAlpine’ s very user friendly book ‘ A table with friends’  It’s  so easy that it almost seems a bit of a liberty calling it a recipe but therein lies its genius. It’s  a brilliantly simple combination that anyone could come up with … but you didn’t and Skye did! This recipe is for six people but just change the number of mozzarellas you use to suit your requirements. In the book Skye says’ You can pair mozzarella successfully with most things, though I find that celery, with its distinctive mineral flavour, works particularly well with the salty black olives here, while the pine nuts add an unexpectedly creamy note.McAlpine notes, adding that the success of the dish hinges on the quality of the cheese.’ ‘Buffalo mozzarella, if you can get your hands on it, is my favourite; it’s lighter and a little tangier than mozzarella made from cow’s milk.’ Ingredients 12 black olives, pitted 6–8 anchovies 25g pine nuts 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1–2 cele...

Yotam Ottolenghi is one of my favourite cookery book chefs. He’s a great chef but he’s at the very top of the Premier League of recipe creators and cook book producers. He makes interesting dishes that you really want to cook and yet makes them so accessible and easy to do. This is a great starter that is perfect for sharing. In the introduction to this recipe he says ‘one of the beauties of this dish lies in the exciting contrast between the hot, juicy tomatoes and fridge-cold yoghurt, so make sure the tomatoes are straight out of the oven and the yoghurt is straight out of the fridge. The heat of the tomatoes will make the cold yoghurt melt, invitingly, so plenty of crusty sourdough or focaccia to mop it all up with is a must alongside.’ Ingredients 350 g cherry tomatoes 3 tbsp olive oil ¾ tsp cumin seeds ½ tsp light brown sugar 3 garlic cloves , peeled and finely sliced 3 sprigs thyme 3 sprigs fresh oregano 1 lemon – zest of one half shaved off in 3 wide strips, the other half grat...