The Family Cook Book

More Alison Roman. Made this on Friday night as part of the cooking the fridge series. We had it with a piece of salmon we had in the freezer. I used ground turmeric and it worked really well. It worked really well with the Asian style salmon we had. (Serves 4 to 6) 1/2 cup grapeseed oil 6 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped 1-inch knob fresh turmeric, coarsely chopped, or 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric 1 teaspoon flaky sea salt, plus more for seasoning 9 Persian cucumbers, or 3 hothouse cucumbers, cut into 1-inch chunks 2 scallions or 1 spring onion, green and white parts thinly sliced 3 tablespoons distilled white vinegar, white wine vinegar, or rice wine vinegar, plus more to taste Freshly ground black pepper 1/2 cup fresh mixed herbs, such as dill and mint, tender leaves and stems or more to taste Heat the oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, swirling the pot occasionally, until the garlic is sizzling loudly and looks (and smells) deli...

After the excitement of Lisa’s birthday and the departure of the two prodigals back to the rather large Apple we were left enjoying a quiet night in on NYE (the prodigal daughter was out partying obvs) I decided to cook something from the latest addition to my creaking cookery book shelves which is Alison Roman of the New York Times’ ‘Nothing Fancy’. I have enjoyed following her recipes on the excellent NYT cookery Instagram and the book doesn’t disappoint. This recipe for garlicky broccoli and greens with hazelnuts also gave me the chance to use some of the delicious Nocciola di Bletchingdon that my brother and his wife picked and toasted themselves. Doubly good was the fact that I could use some delicious local greens too. I didn’t want to grill so I did it in a hot oven and it worked well (note. Make sure you do remove the leaves and smaller veg as the start to char as the book says) We had this with buttered salmon, also from the book, and we absolutely loved it. If thi...

I have already waxed lyrical about the Berber & Q cookery book. This is yet another example of why. This slaw will keep in the fridge for a few days so dont worry if you make a bit too much. Goes brilliantly with the saffron chicken thighs Serves 4-6 as a side Ingredients The dressing 1 tbsp maple syrup 1½ tbsp date syrup 1 tbsp pomegranate molasses 2 tbsp red wine vinegar 100ml extra virgin olive oil The slaw ½ head of red cabbage 1 tbsp salt ½ red onion, thinly sliced 1 red chilli, deseeded and finely sliced 1 beetroot, peeled and ends trimmed 1 large carrot, peeled and ends trimmed grated zest of 1 lemon small handful of picked dill leaves, plus extra to garnish 2 tbsp finely chopped flat-leaf parsley 2 tbsp finely chopped coriander 3 tbsp toasted and chopped pecans small handful of pomegranate seeds Method First, make the dressing.   Whisk the maple syrup, date syrup, pomegranate molasses and vinegar together in a bowl. Gra...

--> I love Kimchi! This recipe is for people like me. If you’re not a fan of its funky fermented goodness then stay away! I also love any kind of slaw and found this recipe online when I was looking for inspiration. One of the things I particularly like about this recipe is the brilliant but slightly counter-intuitive idea of using the pre-made Kimchi (main ingredient cabbage) to dress a cabbage salad! It makes for a really punchy, and I suspect very healthy, salad that would go brilliantly with any grilled food particularly if it has a little bit of an Asian feel to it too. Ingredients 8 spring onions ½ cup kimchi, plus 1 Tbsp. juice from jar 2 Tbsp. rice vinegar 1 Tbsp. Sriracha 2 tsp. fish sauce 2 tsp. toasted sesame oil ¼ cup vegetable oil 1 small head of Napa or Chinese leaf cabbage 1 6" piece daikon or substitute any other kind of radish, peeled, cut into matchsticks 2 cups store-bought shredded carrots salt Toasted sesame ...

The Gjelina cookbook (yes them again!) describes this as a riff on a caesar salad.  I have never eaten a Caesar salad because I have never liked the look of the cheesy dressing! Consequently this has been an absolute revelation for me. However I suspect this recipe is a bit of an improvement on the bottled Paul Newman (plus processed bag of pale croutons) variety.  All I know is that the combination of tastes, and particularly, textures made for a delicious and reasonably healthy supper. One that I will definitely be revisiting. My slight spins/cheats on the book were that  A. I tried baby gem lettuce and romaine instead of the escarole in the recipe ... on balance we decided that baby gem worked best but either will suffice ... just needs to be a robust lettuce that will hold together on the grill B. I was a bit lazy and used good quality jarred roasted and peeled peppers C. I just chucked some bits of sourdough in the oven for 10 minutes or so to create my...

This very simple dish is from another of my Xmas presents. I have always loved the Polpo cookbook for the simplicity and originality of the recipes contained within it. It looks like this book from the brilliant Russel Norman is going to be just as good. This recipe is a lovely clean and fresh salad that is perfect as a starter to a heavier main course. Ingredients   A large handful of shelled walnuts 3 celery stalks with leaves if possible 2 fennel bulbs 1 Comice pear Juice of 1 lemon Extra virgin olive oil  Flaky sea salt Black pepper 100g Parmesan  Method Pre heat oven to 180 scatter walnuts on a baking tray and roast for 6-8 minutes. Remove and set aside. Remove the leaves from the celery and wash, dry and roughly chop. Peel the celery and slice at an angle.  Trim the fennel have, core and finely slice.Now the pear,  halve core,  and finely slice lengthways. Carefully place the celery, fennel and pear in ...

Another great recipe from Josh Katz and the Berber & Q cookbook. The barbecued carrots are delicious but it is all the other elements that elevate this dish to another level. INGREDIENTS For the lime yogurt 100g full-fat natural yogurt grated zest of 1 lime, plus juice of ½ 1½ tbsp extra-virgin olive oil For the spiced nuts ½ tbsp coriander seeds ¼ tbsp fennel seeds 1 star anise ¼ tbsp ground cinnamon pinch of ground nutmeg 20g walnuts, toasted 20g almonds, toasted 5g pumpkin seeds, toasted olive oil For the carrots  3 bunches of small heritage carrots, or 6 medium carrots, peeled and halved lengthways 2 tbsp olive oil 1 tbsp finely chopped thyme leaves 2 tbsp golden raisins 1½ tbsp runny honey To garnish picked dill fronds and coriander leaves 2 spring onions, green parts only, thinly sliced 1 tsp Aleppo chilli flakes or ½ tsp dried chilli flakes extra-virgin olive oil METHOD Mix all the yogurt ingredients ...

We made these on Sunday night for a fairly impromptu dinner for four. I wanted to do some pre dinner snacks but was looking for something non bread based (ie no bruschetta or crostini) It would be fair to say that these incredibly simple wraps went down a storm.  note: This recipe's inclusion has surprised some of my most dedicated followers due to the inclusion of a recipe that features cheese. For those of you who don't know me, this is because for fifty-six years of my life I have followed a cheese free existence (not a religious observation, or allergic intolerance thing, more of a childhood hatred one)  However, I have discovered that there are a couple of cheeses that I can now eat; chiefly mozarella and Parmesan but also Manchego ... for those of you out there that have shared this abstention over the years... I'm sorry, I unreservedly apologise for my turncoat behaviour Ingredients for 20 or more wraps  • 2 aubergines • extra virgin olive oil •...