Raise the pulse: Yotam Ottolenghi's chickpea recipes. If ever there was a school for virtuous veg, chickpeas would be the prefects: straight-laced and stuck-in-the-70s predictable, they'd walk around the place marshalling their more colourful counterparts into order.
Or would they? It's often the quiet ones who end up surprising everyone. Vegetarian and frugal it may be, but the chickpea is one of the most versatile ingredients you could keep in your cupboards. Spuds you'll like: Yotam Ottolenghi's potato recipes. If the British Isles had an official vegetable, it would have to be the potato.
After a decade and a half of living here, I think I know just about all there is to know about spuds: how to parboil them before roasting in hot oil or goose fat; how to toss them with butter and chopped curly parsley; how to mash them with milk and butter; and how to bubble-and-squeak them the next day. Not only that, but my Irish mother-in-law Greta is forever lecturing me about the rights and wrongs of preparing "tatties". But for all the simple beauty of these time-honoured favourites, there is so much more you can do to showcase the potato's versatility and ability to take on other flavours.
My beloved Greta may well deem today's recipes as verging on the blasphemous, but they do put her favourite tuber in a fresh context. Many splendoured things: Yotam Ottolenghi's recipes for vegetable dishes to feed a crowd. Christmas is a relatively new experience for me.
I've only been celebrating it for a few years – ever since I teamed up with a "good" Catholic boy – but I already have some very clear ideas about how this thing should be done. Little marvels: Yotam Ottolenghi's lentil recipes. 10 great vegetarian recipes. Did you get the message that it's a good idea to eat less meat, for environmental reasons?
Because it's probably better for our health? Or perhaps you've been turned off the animal products because of the various problems with sourcing. The perfect picnic. Spicy chickpea eggs will liven up any picnic A couple of weeks ago, as weak sunshine dribbled through gusty clouds, I walked through a park at lunchtime.
The grass, straggly and still damp after the long winter, was none the less playing host to numerous office workers, perched awkwardly on their coats, grimly enjoying an al fresco lunch. The British don't let a little thing like weather spoil a picnic. indeed, in hot Mediterranean climates, when everyone with any sense retreats indoors for lunch, you'll often find familiar-looking families happily taking their ease in the midday sun. nothing gets between us and the tupperware, not even sunstroke – our commitment to the rug in defiance of all good sense is one of our most endearing national characteristics. How to make the perfect Victoria sponge cake. It may not be fancy or fashionable, but I would be hard pressed to think of a cake I liked better than the simple Victoria sandwich.
Coffee and walnut, or a damp, whisky-sodden fruited number might come close, but johnny-come-latelys such as the cheesecake or "death by chocolate" could never hope to compete with the quiet charms of this fete favourite. The Victoria sponge* didn't always keep such a low profile, however: once upon a time, old faithful sat proudly at the culinary cutting edge, because it took the invention of baking powder in the 1840s to make such rich, buttery cakes even possible, let alone popular.
The sweet-toothed British celebrated this truly world-changing moment with a gloriously patriotic recipe (although anyone who attempted to follow Mrs Beeton's first version would have been left rather underwhelmed by its royal seal of approval, because the original domestic goddess/canny plagiarist left out the eggs). Flour and baking powder Fat Method. How to make perfect salt and pepper squid. I still remember the thrill of my very first Chinese meal, in a restaurant in exotic St Albans back in the late eighties.
The 10 best breakfast recipes. Warm grapefruit and orange with toasted coconut An invigorating, caramelised, citrus fusion, mellowed with sweet, toasted coconut – a great start to your day.
Serves 2–3 2 large pink grapefruit3 oranges1 tbsp brown sugar15g unsalted butter, cubed75g desiccated coconut 1 Preheat the grill to high. Felicity Cloake's coconut and cardamom ice – recipe. Makes 25 squares 250ml condensed milk5 cardamom pods, crushed225g icing sugar, sifted, plus extra to dust200g desiccated coconutPink food colouring Put the condensed milk and cardamom pods into a pan and heat gently, stirring constantly, until just simmering, then set aside for 45 minutes.
Stir the icing sugar and coconut together. Remove the cardamom pods from the milk and discard, then pour the milk into the bowl and mix well – it should be dough-like in consistency. Felicity Cloake's veggie scotch eggs – recipe. A British picnic classic with the flavours of Moorish Spain, these are as delicious as the meat version.
Makes 6 8 eggs, at room temperature3 tbsp olive oil1 red onion, finely chopped4 cloves of garlic, crushed2 carrots, peeled and grated1 red pepper, deseeded and finely chopped2 x 400g tins of chickpeas, drained2 tsp sweet smoked paprika2 tsp chilli flakesSalt and pepperA splash of milk100g flour, plus extra for dusting100g dried panko breadcrumbs1 tsp cayenne pepper1.2l vegetable oil, for frying Put six eggs into a large pan of cold water, bring to the boil, then simmer for five minutes. When done, drop them into a bowl of iced water.
Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a pan and soften the onion, garlic, carrots and red pepper. Felicity Cloake's chicken, chorizo and pepper pies recipe. Makes 6 For the pastry 225g plain flour, plus extra to dustA pinch of salt1 teaspoon smoked paprika175g cold butter50ml iced waterVegetable oil, to grease1 egg, beaten with a little water and salt For the filling. How to cook the perfect lemon drizzle cake. Drizzle is not normally good news. Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. It's fair to say that the term "health nut" is unlikely ever to be applied to me, but I like to think I generally balance the books when it comes to the profit and loss of the good and the greedy. I don't obsess over food groups, or count calories, or tot up my five a day. I do, however, sometimes find myself saying, "That's probably enough cheese/ice-cream/cake for now.
Or at least until elevenses. " How to cook perfect sauteed potatoes. I was somewhat puzzled when sauteed potatoes appeared on the list of suggestions for this column. For a start, the highest form of fried potato is clearly the chip. And moreover, I had severe doubts as to whether anyone would bother to cook such sad little cubes of greasy potato at home.
Fruit/Veg. Recette de Magret de canard farci au foie gras. Sri Lankan. Hot Chile and Hot Foods.