Blog

Category: Dessert

Area: French

Ingredients:

• 8 Pears
• 100g Caster Sugar
• 100g Butter
• 2 Star Anise
• 3 Pods Cardamom
• 1 large Cinnamon
• 2 tbs Brandy
• 500g Puff Pastry

Instructions:

Core the pears, then peel as neatly as possible and halve. If you like, they can be prepared up to a day ahead and kept in the fridge, uncovered, so that they dry out.
Tip the sugar, butter, star anise, cardamom and cinnamon into an ovenproof frying pan, about 20cm wide, and place over a high heat until bubbling. Shake the pan and stir the buttery sauce until it separates and the sugar caramelises to a toffee colour.
Lay the pears in the pan, then cook in the sauce for 10-12 mins, tossing occasionally, until completely caramelised. Don’t worry about them burning – they won’t – but you want to caramelise them as much as possible. Splash in the brandy and let it flambé, then set the pears aside.
Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Roll the pastry out to the thickness of a £1 coin. Using a plate slightly larger than the top of the pan, cut out a circle, then press the edges of the circle of pastry to thin them out.
When the pears have cooled slightly, arrange them in the pan, cut side up, in a floral shape, with the pears around the edge pointing inwards. Rest the cinnamon stick on the top in the centre, with the cardamom pods scattered around.
Drape the pastry over the pears, then tuck the edges down the pan sides and under the fruit (see Gordon’s guide). Pierce the pastry a few times, then bake for 15 mins. If a lot of juice bubbles up the side of the pan, pour it off at this stage (see guide). Reduce oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4 and bake for 15 mins more until the pastry is golden. Leave the tart to stand for 10 mins, then invert it carefully onto a serving dish.

Category: Vegetarian

Area: Egyptian

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Broad Beans
• 1/3 cup Parsley
• Dash Olive Oil
• 3 Lemons
• 4 Garlic Clove
• Sprinking Cumin

Instructions:

As the cooking time varies depending on the quality and age of the beans, it is good to cook them in advance and to reheat them when you are ready to serve. Cook the drained beans in a fresh portion of unsalted water in a large saucepan with the lid on until tender, adding water to keep them covered, and salt when the beans have softened. They take 2–2 1/2 hours of gentle simmering. When the beans are soft, let the liquid reduce. It is usual to take out a ladle or two of the beans and to mash them with some of the cooking liquid, then stir this back into the beans. This is to thicken the sauce.
Serve the beans in soup bowls sprinkled with chopped parsley and accompanied by Arab bread.
Pass round the dressing ingredients for everyone to help themselves: a bottle of extra-virgin olive oil, the quartered lemons, salt and pepper, a little saucer with the crushed garlic, one with chili-pepper flakes, and one with ground cumin.
The beans are eaten gently crushed with the fork, so that they absorb the dressing.
Optional Garnishes
Peel hard-boiled eggs—1 per person—to cut up in the bowl with the beans.
Top the beans with a chopped cucumber-and-tomato salad and thinly sliced mild onions or scallions. Otherwise, pass round a good bunch of scallions and quartered tomatoes and cucumbers cut into sticks.
Serve with tahina cream sauce (page 65) or salad (page 67), with pickles and sliced onions soaked in vinegar for 30 minutes.
Another way of serving ful medames is smothered in a garlicky tomato sauce (see page 464).
In Syria and Lebanon, they eat ful medames with yogurt or feta cheese, olives, and small cucumbers.
Variations
A traditional way of thickening the sauce is to throw a handful of red lentils (1/4 cup) into the water at the start of the cooking.
In Iraq, large brown beans are used instead of the small Egyptian ones, in a dish called badkila, which is also sold for breakfast in the street.

Category: Pork

Area: American

Ingredients:

• 2 Potatoes
• 1 Red Onions
• 2 cloves Garlic
• 1 Lime
• 2 Bread
• 1 lb Pork
• Barbeque Sauce
• Hotsauce
• Tomato Ketchup
• Sugar
• Vegetable Oil
• Salt
• Pepper

Instructions:

1

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Wash and dry all produce. Cut sweet potatoes into ½-inch-thick wedges. Toss on a baking sheet with a drizzle of oil, salt, and pepper. Roast until browned and tender, 20-25 minutes.

2

Meanwhile, halve and peel onion. Slice as thinly as possible until you have ¼ cup (½ cup for 4 servings); finely chop remaining onion. Peel and finely chop garlic. Halve lime; squeeze juice into a small bowl. Halve buns. Add 1 TBSP butter (2 TBSP for 4) to a separate small microwave-safe bowl; microwave until melted, 30 seconds. Brush onto cut sides of buns.

3

To bowl with lime juice, add sliced onion, ¼ tsp sugar (½ tsp for 4 servings), and a pinch of salt. Stir to combine; set aside to quick-pickle.

4

Heat a drizzle of oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add chopped onion and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until softened, 4-5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, 30 seconds more. Add pork and season with salt and pepper. Cook, breaking up meat into pieces, until browned and cooked through, 4-6 minutes.

5

While pork cooks, in a third small bowl, combine BBQ sauce, pickling liquid from onion, 3 TBSP ketchup (6 TBSP for 4 servings), ½ tsp sugar (1 tsp for 4), and ¼ cup water (⅓ cup for 4). Once pork is cooked through, add BBQ sauce mixture to pan. Cook, stirring, until sauce is thickened, 2-3 minutes. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

6

Meanwhile, toast buns in oven or toaster oven until golden, 3-5 minutes. Divide toasted buns between plates and fill with as much BBQ pork as you’d like. Top with pickled onion and hot sauce. Serve with sweet potato wedges on the side.

Category: Beef

Area: Thai

Ingredients:

• 85g Peanuts
• 400ml can Coconut cream
• 4 tbsp Massaman curry paste
• 600g stewing cut into strips Beef
• 450g waxy Potatoes
• 1 cut thin wedges Onion
• 4 leaves Lime
• 1 Cinnamon stick
• 1 tbsp Tamarind paste
• 1 tbsp palm or soft light Brown sugar
• 1 tbsp Fish Sauce
• 1 red deseeded and finely sliced, to serve chilli
• to serve Jasmine Rice

Instructions:

Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6, then roast the peanuts on a baking tray for 5 mins until golden brown. When cool enough to handle, roughly chop. Reduce oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4.
Heat 2 tbsp coconut cream in a large casserole dish with a lid. Add the curry paste and fry for 1 min, then stir in the beef and fry until well coated and sealed. Stir in the rest of the coconut with half a can of water, the potatoes, onion, lime leaves, cinnamon, tamarind, sugar, fish sauce and most of the peanuts. Bring to a simmer, then cover and cook for 2 hrs in the oven until the beef is tender.
Sprinkle with sliced chilli and the remaining peanuts, then serve straight from the dish with jasmine rice.

Category: Dessert

Area: British

Ingredients:

• 450ml Vegetable Oil
• 400g Plain Flour
• 2 tsp Bicarbonate Of Soda
• 550ml Sugar
• 5 Eggs
• ½ tsp Salt
• 2 tsp Cinnamon
• 500g grated Carrots
• 150g Walnuts
• 200g Cream Cheese
• 150g Caster Sugar
• 100g Butter

Instructions:

For the carrot cake, preheat the oven to 160C/325F/Gas 3. Grease and line a 26cm/10in springform cake tin.
Mix all of the ingredients for the carrot cake, except the carrots and walnuts, together in a bowl until well combined. Stir in the carrots and walnuts.
Spoon the mixture into the cake tin and bake for 1 hour 15 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and set aside to cool for 10 minutes, then carefully remove the cake from the tin and set aside to cool completely on a cooling rack.
Meanwhile, for the icing, beat the cream cheese, caster sugar and butter together in a bowl until fluffy. Spread the icing over the top of the cake with a palette knife.

Category: Chicken

Area: American

Ingredients:

• 2 Chicken Breasts
• 1 tbsp Oil
• 4 tbsp Hotsauce
• ½ Lemon Juice
• 2 Buns
• 250g Cheese
• ¼ Cabbage
• 2 tbsp Mayonnaise
• 4 tbsp Sour Cream
• 4 leaves Lettuce
• 2 Red Pepper

Instructions:

STEP 1

Put the chicken breasts between two pieces of baking parchment and use a rolling pin to gently bash them until they are approximately 1cm thick. Cut each chicken breast into two even pieces.

STEP 2

If you're using a frying pan, heat two frying pans over medium-high heat, with one of them containing oil. Fry the chicken in the oiled pan for 3-4 mins on each side until they are cooked through. Season the chicken, reduce the heat, drizzle in the chilli sauce and half of the lemon juice, and cook for an additional 1-2 mins until the sauce is reduced. Remove the chicken from the heat.

STEP 3

If you're using an air-fryer, preheat it to 180C for 4 mins. Add the chicken to the air-fryer and cook for 12 mins. Drizzle over the chilli sauce and half the lemon juice and cook for an additional 1-2 mins until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce is reduced. Remove the chicken and keep it warm.
STEP 4

While the chicken is cooking, toast the buns in the dry frying pan for 30 seconds. Transfer them to a plate. If you're using an air fryer, put the buns in the air fryer for 1-2 mins until they are warm. Increase the air fryer temperature to 200C. Add the halloumi to the air fryer basket and cook for 10 mins, turning halfway through, until it's golden. Toss the cabbage with the mayo and the remaining lemon juice.

STEP 5

Spoon the hummus (or dip of your choice) into the toasted buns, then top with the rocket, chilli chicken, halloumi, and peppers. Drizzle with a little more chilli sauce, spoon over the cabbage, season with black pepper, and top with the bun lids. Serve with any extra cabbage on the side or a green salad.

Category: Seafood

Area: Italian

Ingredients:

• 200 g mozzarella balls
• 250 g baby plum tomatoes
• 1 bunch fresh basil
• 350 g farfalle
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 40 g Green Olives
• 200 g tuna
• to taste salt
• to taste pepper

Instructions:

Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil
Add the pasta, stir once and cook for about 10 minutes or as directed on the packet.
Meanwhile, wash the tomatoes and cut into quarters. Slice the olives. Wash the basil.
Put the tomatoes into a salad bowl and tear the basil leaves over them. Add a tablespoon of olive oil and mix.
When the pasta is ready, drain into a colander and run cold water over it to cool it quickly.
Toss the pasta into the salad bowl with the tomatoes and basil.
Add the sliced olives, drained mozzarella balls, and chunks of tuna. Mix well and let the salad rest for at least half an hour to allow the flavours to mingle.
Sprinkle the pasta with a generous grind of black pepper and drizzle with the remaining olive oil just before serving.

Category: Breakfast

Area: Indian

Ingredients:

• 2 Bread
• 2 Egg
• 0.5 Salt

Instructions:

Make and enjoy

Category: Miscellaneous

Area: Italian

Ingredients:

• 4 meaty shanks Veal
• ½ cup Flour
• 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
• 3 tablespoons Butter
• 1 medium chopped into ½-inch pieces Onion
• 1 chopped into ½-inch pieces Carrots
• 1 chopped into ½-inch pieces Celery
• 1 bulb chopped into ½-inch pieces Fennel
• 3 cloves Garlic
• 2 strips Orange Zest
• 1 ½ teaspoons Marjoram
• 1 Bay Leaf
• 1 cup Dry White Wine
• ½ cup Chicken Stock
• 1 cup chopped with juice Tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons chopped Parsley
• 1 teaspoon minced Garlic
• 1 teaspoon grated Lemon Zest

Instructions:

Heat the oven to 300 degrees.
Dredging the shanks: pour the flour into a shallow dish (a pie plate works nicely). Season the veal shanks on all sides with salt and pepper. One at a time, roll the shanks around in the flour coat, and shake and pat the shank to remove any excuses flour. Discard the remaining flour.
Browning the shanks: put the oil and 1 tablespoon of the butter in a wide Dutch oven or heavy braising pot (6 to 7 quart) and heat over medium-high heat. When the butter has melted and the oil is shimmering, lower the shanks into the pot, flat side down; if the shanks won’t fit without touching one another, do this in batches. Brown the shanks, turning once with tongs, until both flat sides are well caramelized, about 5 minutes per side. If the butter-oil mixture starts to burn, lower the heat just a bit. Transfer the shanks to a large platter or tray and set aside.
The aromatics: pour off and discard the fat from the pot. Wipe out any burnt bits with a damp paper towel, being careful not to remove any delicious little caramelized bits. Ad the remaining 2 tablespoons butter to the pot and melt it over medium heat. When the butter has stopped foaming, add the onion, carrot, celery, and fennel. Season with salt and pepper, stir, and cook the vegetables until they begin to soften but do not brown, about 6 minutes. Stir in the garlic, orange zest, marjoram, and bay leaf, and stew for another minute or two.
The braising liquid: add the wine, increase the heat to high, and bring to a boil. Boil, stirring occasionally, to reduce the wine by about half, 5 minutes. Add the stock and tomatoes, with their juice, and boil again to reduce the liquid to about 1 cup total, about 10 minutes.
The braise: Place the shanks in the pot so that they are sitting with the exposed bone facing up, and pour over any juices that accumulated as they sat. Cover with parchment paper, pressing down so the parchment nearly touches the veal and the edges hang over the sides of the pot by about an inch. Cover tightly with the lid, and slide into the lower part of the oven to braise at a gentle simmer. Check the pot after the first 15 minutes, and if the liquid is simmering too aggressively, lower the oven heat by 10 or 15 degrees. Continue braising, turning the shanks and spooning some pan juices over the top after the first 40 minutes, until the meat is completely tender and pulling away from the bone, about 2 hours.
The gremolata: While the shanks are braising, stir together the garlic, parsley, and lemon zest in a small bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside in a cool place (or the refrigerator, if your kitchen is very warm.)
The finish: When the veal is fork-tender and falling away from the bone, remove the lid and sprinkle over half of the gremolata. Return the veal to the oven, uncovered, for another 15 minutes to caramelize it some.
Using a slotted spatula or spoon, carefully lift the shanks from the braising liquid, doing your best to keep them intact. The shanks will be very tender and threatening to fall into pieces, and the marrow will be wobbly inside the bones, so this can be a bit tricky. But if they do break apart, don’t worry, the flavor won’t suffer at all. Arrange the shanks on a serving platter or other large plate, without stacking, and cover with foil to keep warm.
Finishing the sauce: Set the braising pot on top of the stove and evaluate the sauce: if there is a visible layer of fat floating on the surface, use a large spoon to skim it off and discard it. Taste the sauce for concentration of flavor. If it tastes a bit weak or flat, bring it to a boil over high heat, and boil to reduce the volume and intensify the flavor for 5 to 10 minutes. Taste again for salt and pepper. If the sauce wants more zip, stir in a teaspoon or two of the remaining gremolata.
Portioning the veal shanks: if the shanks are reasonably sized, serve one per person. If the shanks are gargantuan or you’re dealing with modest appetites, pull apart the larger shanks, separating them at their natural seams, and serve smaller amounts. Be sure to give the marrow bones to whomever prizes them most.
Serving: Arrange the veal shanks on warm dinner plates accompanied by the risotto, if serving. Just before carrying the plates to the table, sprinkle on the remaining gremolata and then spoon over a generous amount of sauce – the contact with the hot liquid will aromatize the gremolata and perk up everyone’s appetite with the whiff of garlic and lemon.

Category: Dessert

Area: American

Ingredients:

• 100g Flour
• 2 large Eggs
• 300ml Milk
• 1 tbls Sunflower Oil
• to serve Sugar
• to serve Raspberries
• to serve Blueberries

Instructions:

Put the flour, eggs, milk, 1 tbsp oil and a pinch of salt into a bowl or large jug, then whisk to a smooth batter. Set aside for 30 mins to rest if you have time, or start cooking straight away.
Set a medium frying pan or crêpe pan over a medium heat and carefully wipe it with some oiled kitchen paper. When hot, cook your pancakes for 1 min on each side until golden, keeping them warm in a low oven as you go.
Serve with lemon wedges and sugar, or your favourite filling. Once cold, you can layer the pancakes between baking parchment, then wrap in cling film and freeze for up to 2 months.