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.
April 25
I need something to quell my avocado-toast habit. That moment when I take an avocado, skin, stone and smash it, stir in a little olive oil, coriander and salt, then slather it on toasted sourdough. Nothing wrong with that, other than the regularity with which it replaces lunch or even dinner.
I need something less soft and green, something with a heart, soul and balls. So today, I toast a thin slice of sourdough over which I pour olive oil, then add ‘nduja, the spreadable, spiced Italian sausage available from supermarkets and Italian grocery shops. Put it back under the grill, I then calm its chilli heat down with a thick slice of soft, chalky white goat’s curd.
For Christmas lunch: Goodwill pie and sticky cider gravy with warm red cabbage and golden raisinsAll the roasting can be done while you get on with the leeks and greens. If you’re pushed for time or just want an extra hour in bed on Christmas morn, then a good-quality shop-bought shortcrust will work just fine.
‘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…
If you’re anything like us, the recipe book is the first port of call before we even think about stepping into the kitchen. Nigel Slater, Riverford, Rose Prince, Locatelli; you name it, we’ve cooked from it. Sometimes, though, we haven’t always got time to find the perfect recipe, gather ingredients, pour a glass of wine and start cooking only to realise that we’ve forgotten to buy a vital ingredient and all the shops are closed. So, the ever-delightful Anna Jones, author of the gorgeous A Modern Way to Eat, has agreed to compose 6 personalised recipes from reader submissions. All you need to do is tweet us your requests! Read more…
Giorgio Locatelli’s ‘Made in Sicily’ was launched in spectacular style last night at Giorgio’s restaurant Locanda Locatelli with Kate Winslet, Gwen Stefani, Nigella Lawson and Antonio Carluccio all out to celebrate with us.
As you’d expect at the launch of Sicilian cookbook at a a Michelin starred restaurant, the food was incredible.
We ate seafood arancini (rice balls), spaghetti with cuttlefish ink, calamari fritti; and for dessert cannoli with orange marmalade and pistachio ice cream and palline di bucce d’arancia (orange zest balls, but it just sounds better in Italian!).
