The Family Cook Book

The subtitle to Alison Roman’s book Nothing fancy is ‘Unfussy food for having people over’- the simple honesty of that phrase, both describes perfectly the recipes contained in this lovely book but at the same time belies the clever twists contained in many of them. From the recipes that I have tried so far they all seem to have a clever layering of tastes and textures without any laborious or difficult techniques. We had this the other night with the ‘garlicky Broccoli and greens with hazelnut and coriander’ and it was bloody delicious and incredibly unfussy. You can also follow Alison on instagram or at the NYT food site The recipe ingredients 1kg piece of salmon (I always keep skin on) 1 lemon sliced thin 1/2 red onion, sliced thin Maldon salt and pepper 6 tbsp of butter (you could use a little less) 4 tbsp olive oil  2 tbsp capers small bunch of fresh dill toasted sesame seeds (optional) Method Preheat oven to 165C. Lay ...

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...

Ottolenghi at his best! This is one of those recipes where it’s simplicity belies it’s beauty.  The combination of the texture of the grilled grapes, the sweet and sharp sherry vinegar dressing and the creamy Burrata is really delicious.  It also looks fabulous, a perfect easy but impressive starter. If you can’t get hold of burrata, use buffalo mozzarella instead which will hold together a bit more. This is enough to serve six as a generous first course, or as a light lunch with some crusty bread to mop up the dressing. Ingredients 300g seedless red grapes 2 tbsp valdespino (or other top-quality sherry) vinegar 3 tbsp olive oil 1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed 1½ tsp soft dark brown sugar 1½ tsp fennel seeds, toasted and lightly crushed Flaky sea salt and black pepper 12 18cm-long wooden skewers  3 balls burrata (or buffalo mozzarella; 600g net weight) 6 small sprigs red or green basil, to serve Method Put the grapes in a medium...

There are three of us 50/60 somethings sitting around our desk at work. We were having a conversation about healthy eating and the current debate regarding Bacon/sausage intake. We then taked about what we ate last night ... it was all disgustingly healthy. One of our younger colleagues remarked that this wouldn't have been a conversation you would have overheard in an advertising agency 20 years ago. We agreed wholeheartedly. However I had this Ottolenghi (yes him again) recipe last night and it was unbelievably delicious AND cheap AND local the holy bloody trifecta of food worthiness. Come on!!! Roasted Whole Cauliflower with Green Tahini Sauce 1 large cauliflower with its leaves intact 45g unsalted butter, softened to room temperature 2 Tblspn olive oil wedges of lemon, to serve coarse sea salt Using a pair of scissors, lightly trim the leaves at the top of the cauliflower, so that about 5cm of the cauliflower’s head is exposed. Green Tahini Sauce 80g tahini 3 Tbls...

Who doesn’t love sweet potato fries? Many years of going to Vermont have given us a preference to these over your bog standard Maccie D's variety. The addition of a touch of Middle Eastern flavour and the polenta crust make these a real easy crowd pleaser. The oven bake also makes them even healthier. Recipe from Ottolenghi Simple by Yotam Ottolenghi Ingredients -About 5 Sweet Potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/2” thick fries -1 tbs Sweet Smoke Paprika -1/2 tsp cayenne -3 Garlic cloves, crushed -3 tbs Polenta -3 tbs Olive Oil -Flaked Sea Salt -1 tbs Sumac Method Preheat oven to 200c  Mix the sweet potatoes in a large bowl with the paprika, cayenne, garlic, polenta, oil and 1 tsp flaked salt.   Once combined, tip the sweet potatoes and all the oil, onto a large parchment lined baking sheet and roast for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring gently once or twice, until the potatoes are cooked, crisp and golden brown.   Remove from the ove...

Ottolenghi‘s book Simple is the gift that keeps giving. This recipe is genius! I love tabbouleh and I also love cauliflower, this makes for a really cheap, tasty and healthy salad to accompany grilled meat or fish. Lisa added some cucumber and tomatoes, chopped small to add a bit of substance which worked very well. This will definitely become a firm favourite ... whilst we can still afford cauliflowers that is.  Ingredients 1 large cauliflower (800g) 75ml lemon juice (from around 3 lemons) 7 spring onions, finely chopped 50g parsley, roughly chopped 25g dill, roughly chopped 20g mint, roughly chopped 1 tsp ground allspice 3 tbsp olive oil 100g pomegranate seeds  Salt and black pepper Method 1. Chop the cauliflower roughly the put into a food processor with it’s largest grating attachment in place or just with the usual steel chopping blade. Blitz until the cauliflower looks like cooked bulgar wheat and should weigh about 700g.  2. Place...

Seems like this has been a weekend of Ottolenghi recipes from his excellent book ‘Simple’. We had a lovely Sunday BBQ lunch featuring these lamb patties, cauliflower tabbouleh and sweet potato fries from Simple plus Josh Katz’s Saffron chicken and Moro chickpea salad. The interesting thing about the patties is the use of blitzed rocket, pistachios and onion. The recipe Ingredients For the sumac yoghurt 250g Greek-style yogurt 1 tablespoon sumac 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 tablespoon lemon juice For the lamb and pistachio patties 90g shelled pistachios 50g rocket 1 1/2 onions, quartered 2 large garlic cloves peeled 800g ground lamb 3 tablespoons olive oil Salt and black pepper 1 Tsp ground cumin (my addition) Preparation Prep time: 15 min + Cook time: 15 min Mix together all the ingredients for the sumac yogurt sauce and keep in the fridge until needed. To make the patties, put the pistachios into the bowl of a food processor. Blitz for a ...