May 28
A pile of mash, so loose and silky it is on the verge of becoming a puree. The season’s asparagus, grilled and glistening with olive oil. The bright notes of lemon zest.
A treat today, but something I could happily eat all sunmer long. By the way, I use Maris Pipers for this very soft mash, but a waxy-fleshed potato such as Charlotte would be good too; unorthodox, but capable of giving an even smoother, more velvety mash.
Up next, in this month’s Coming of Age theme, an extract from Bee Wilson’s First Bite. We are not born knowing what to eat; we each have to figure it out for ourselves. From childhood onwards, we learn how big a portion is and how sweet is too sweet. We learn to love broccoli – or not. But how does this happen? What are the origins of taste? And once we acquire our food habits, can we ever change them for the better? In this chapter, Bee tackles memory, and how our food memories hold emotional force year after year. Read more…
As your till receipts will testify, the cost of food has climbed alarmingly of late. And it looks as if higher bills are here to stay, not just for years, but for decades. A series of global factors – climate change, a growing world population, shortage of oil, market speculation and a weak pound – are combining to drive up the price of food. The underlying trend is that food prices will continue to rise in real terms for the next 30 years. So we have moved into a period when food become a much more significant item in the household budget. Read more…
‘Dahl. Daal. Dal. Spicy stuff made using lentils. The charming lady at the Indian High Commission assured us it’s ‘dal’. Our local curry house (The Kathmandu) reckon it’s ‘daal’. Our Aslam is adamant you spell it ‘dahl’. Who’s right? We have no idea.’
‘We serve many variations on this salad throughout the year and we always receive requests for it. Sometimes early in the squash season, the flesh tends to be a little dry. Darren, our tour guide, suggested roasting the squash with oiled sliced onions and it seemed to work. Maybe the onions prevented the squash drying out, or perhaps we just used a little more oil!’
Ingredients | Serves 6 as a side dish
1 butternut squash Read more…
Mother’s Aubergines‘This remarkable aubergine gratin was my introduction to a Greek, or rather Cretan, chef, Adonis Babelakis, whose stories of his mother’s ingenious cooking inspired me to write a book about women’s contribution to cooking. Babelakis serves it every day in his taverna, in Elounda, Crete. It was his mother’s way to cook aubergines, and he credits her in naming the dish. Read more…
A deliciously sumptuous tart from A Love for Food: Recipes and Notes For Cooking and Eating Well, the cookbook from the artisanal chefs at Daylesford Farm. Made using seasonal produce, this tart is perfect for fresh spring days.
