I never need an excuse to fire up my BBQ. I love cooking over fire and it gets me out of my tiny kitchen. I grill when it is sunny, and when it rains. I don’t mind. I just love to be out there. Over the bank holiday I gathered lots of random stuff from my fridge and cupboard and cooked it. The result was some terrific new recipes, one of which I will share now. 

Gojuchang is one of my favourite store cupboard ingredients. A fermented hot paste made from gochugaru (a wonderful Korean red pepper powder which I use a lot too), glutinous rice, fermented soy bean powder, barley malt powder and salt. So far, so mesmerising and confusing, but this is one of the most delicious things that you could have in your kitchen. Hot (but not face melting), rich and deep, I add it to many things. Korean food, of course, but also unexpected things like soups, stews and bolognese. It is perfect for BBQ marinades. 

This post is a happy sponsored collaboration with Sherry Wines UK. I have three great new recipes for you for your Bank Holiday picnic! Peach and manzanilla slushie, smoky pork rillettes & olive tapenade. Read on for details and have a great weekend. 

Well, what about this sunshine? Isn’t it gorgeous? Summer has come, and with summer my attention turns to outdoor eating and cooking. Barbecues and picnics. Cold drinks, lots of food, and your favourite people to share it with. 

Sherry Wines UK asked me to come up with some recipes for a picnic. I had to think twice. Not because I don’t love sherry, precisely because I do. What if everyone realises just how good it is and then the prices go up, as with my other favourite things? Sherry is priced excellently (some say underpriced), given the quality and the age. It is terrific value for money and very delicious. 

Yesterday was a perfect London day. 24 deg C, bright sunshine, and a lovely tease of a breeze. No humidity that my hair could sense, or my skin. Yesterday was a day that rushed in and yelled summer, and then pulled away again. It is ok, it is coming back later this week, I believe. 

A day like yesterday tickles my memory and brings me to places like Greece. Specifically the islands, I love an island, being a child of an island myself. I love being by the water, and that feeling of being carefree. A feeling I don’t think I have felt in a while and that I ache for. Memories of bright Greek salads (so good in Greece but they rarely translate outside), bowls of thick Greek yogurt with generous sploshes of local honey, moussaka with a cloud light topping of eggy bechamel. And fava, one of my favourite things to eat in Greece. 

Who doesn’t love an asparagus mimosa? I am a little egg obsessed, this is well established. In low moments, I love egg mayonnaise. It was one of the first things that I started to make myself as a teenager. Chopped onion, chopped boiled egg and mayonnaise, with salt and pepper, sometimes with tomato, always between two slices of bread. It was my thing, along with potato salad. I combined them at times (and I suggest you do too, if you never have). When I was hungry, egg mayonnaise was what I wanted. Every time. Now, when I am tired or sore or sick, I reach for egg mayo too.

Egg mayo is so much more than invalid food. It is deeply satisfying and nourishing, not just on its own or between slices of bread, it is wonderful with asparagus in an asparagus mimosa, and fun in delicious served inside a scooped out tomato. Mimosa is a simple thing, chopped boiled egg, dressed and scattered on top of asparagus is all it is. This time I elevated it with a crisp chorizo crumb, something which I suggest you bulk make, and then try not to eat it all in one go. Chorizo crumb goes with pretty much everything. Scatter some on a fried egg, serve it as a meaty pangrattato in place of parmesan, even better with.

When I was 13 I was working on an obsessive little project that had nothing to do with food. The only food I was interested in then was eclairs, lemon meringue pie, my home made toffee and taytos (Irish cheese and onion crisps, as many as I could get, however possible). This project was unrelated to all of that but I was fascinated. It was a school project about Bach, for music class. All my research was piled into a bright red binder all about the baroque period. I have loved Bach since, music keeps me sane and as with food, I am not a music snob. Some of it grabs me by the gills and I love it, from Bach to Kate Bush to The Shins. 

I have such fond memories of this dish, it is one of my clearest memories of my short trip to Tbilisi some years back. That and the wonderful flea market, everyone singing in gorgeous chorus between drinks of wine, and this one meal in a restaurant upstairs. I remember being outdoors looking at a garden. I remember the little walnut balls, divine. I remember this garlicky chicken. Crisp, rich and intense, I remember noticing how they jointed their chicken differently. Georgia is a wonderful country for food and wine, and I really must return there and explore further and for longer. 

At Market in Tbilisi

It is traditional to use a whole chicken for this, I decided to use chicken thighs. Chicken thighs are inexpensive, have great flavour, retain moisture and have plenty of skin to crisp. The flavours in this dish are rich and deep, but it is deceptively simple. The chicken is par cooked (and the skin crisped) before being covered with a garlic milk mixture which forms a beautiful crust on top as it cooks further in the oven. 

Khinkali – Georgian dumplings – another dish that I need to make and share

A perfectly good dish to start this week on! This is perfect with a salad with a sharp dressing to cut through it. 

This post is a happy sponsored collaboration with Yealands Family Wines. Eat Like a Girl only partners with carefully selected producers who share our values. Read more about sponsored content on Eat Like a Girl.  Read on to discover more about Yealands Family Wines, how to nab yourself one of 90 sets of 6 bottles of wine and how to make an Eat Like a Girl recipe designed to match them. 

You didn’t really need an excuse to whip out a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc today did you? But it is International Sauvignon Blanc Day so let’s make it a bit special. I have partnered with Yealands Family Wines for this post, an exploration of their wines, a lively and gorgeous recipe for you to make to go with them for Sauvignon Blanc Day, and a chance for you to win one of 90 Cellar Door Gift packs (with 6 bottles in each pack, 2 x Peter Yealands, 2 x Peter Yealands Reserve and 2 x Yealands Estate Single Vineyard).

Wonderful, right?! Let’s get started.

Eat Like a Girl is 10 today. TEN! Woah, happy birthday to you, little thing!

10 years ago, at about this time, I was sitting at my (very messy) office desk feeling overwhelmed. It was towering with notebooks and papers relating to the science publishing projects that I was working on (I studied science at degree level and then technology for my masters). I worked late, and to relax I cooked when I got home. Many evenings and weekends would be spent exploring food shops from far off lands and bringing home ingredients that I hoped google would help me understand or one of my many cookbooks which I had been hoarding for years.

(there was punctuation, I swear!)

I have always been a cook more than anything, as much as I love to eat out now. I didn’t eat out much when I first moved to London, I didn’t have much money after the bills were paid, but I did cook, and I looked at restaurant menus all the time, taking inspiration from them to my kitchen back home. I was obsessed with travel, and travelled when I could (rarely), taking inspiration from those trips back home to my kitchen also. 

Eggs for brunch! Maybe 75% of my brunches have eggs, isn’t that the way it should be?

I was caught on the hop today while scheduling work for next week when I was informed that it is a bank holiday again. Again?! When I worked in an office I would of course know this ages in advance and I would be plotting and planning, but working at home for myself where my only colleagues are inanimate (and gorgeous fragrant) tulips and the occasional neighbourhood cat, I often miss the memo these days. The days pass and follow and now it is almost May. How did that happen? Regardless, it did, and now summer is almost here.

Tulips from Amsterdam! Truly, I picked them on an organic tulip farm earlier in the week and brought them home. Gorgeous.

Chepstow was very familiar and I didn’t know why. Not far beyond Bristol and just in Wales, Chepstow is of course the home to a famous horse racing track and it is where the Grand National is. I must have seen it on the TV listings many times (I know little to nothing about horse racing, despite this I did manage to pick a winning horse before entirely at random and at 40:1 odds!).

Isn’t everything better with an egg? Most things, anyway. An egg is an instant easy sauce. That rich yolk, which must be runny, and a variety of things to go with it, some of which must be crisp and dippable. And a runny egg yolk is the perfect thing to have with some lovely saltimbocca.

One of the farmers at my local farmers market sells terrific meat. The prices are excellent, the minced meats have plenty of fat (and therefore lots of flavour and moisture) and there are always interesting cuts. He also always has veal, minced and in thin escalopes. Saltimbocca alla Romana had been on my mind, and when reminded of it via an instagram post from the wonderful Rachel Roddy, I decided that it had to be done.

Cooking from scratch is my thing. This site is a celebration of food and cooking, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I love it. I love the work, I love the flavours, I love seeing what is possible and most of all I love eating it and sharing it. I am also a big fan of doing the best you can when there is limited time available. Speedy suppers and brisk brunches. (My cookbook Comfort and Spice has a whole chapter on Speedy Suppers).

The Anatomy of a Speedy Supper

Often this means that I cook something simple, other times it means that I use one of my cupboard helpers. Flavour bombs that dress up an otherwise simple dish and give it the gift of time borrowed from earlier, when it was first made, often more time from when it was allowed to age and ferment. I love to use miso, chilli oil, gojuchang, fermented black beans, black garlic, and this evening wild garlic oil and a tube of harissa paste from a local middle eastern shop. Yes, I do often make harissa, I love its vibrancy when fresh, but the tube is ace too and well worth having on standby. (I use a Tunisian harissa paste, Hariisa du Cap Bon, available in a tube or tins).

Spring is here, the sun is shining, the pollen as always has jumped in sneakily behind. I love it when the clocks change. Every day I check the time of sunset and plan my day around the light. I love seeing that time creep forward a couple of minutes every day as we approach summer, to jump an hour is pure joy. I am like a Bisto kid on my walk home by gardens cheerful with yellow floral hedges and the occasional magnolia tree scenting the air brightly. 

Cavolo nero flowers

The birds in my garden are back. They wake me way too early, I forgive them for that knowing that they are cheerfully hunting down and chomping on snails and slugs. I make them fat balls with lard and nuts and seeds. They are my most important visitors and I want to keep them happy. I watch them through my window while I work, and see them rescue shreds of old plants from last year which they use to build their nests. I left them there because I never moved them, mainly, and also because I heard they were good for cocooning butterflies to latch on to. I like them too. Bees come for the gorgeous bright yellow cavolo nero flowers. I will plant more borage for them, and also some clover and other plants that will make them sleepy with happiness. 

Happy St Patrick’s Day! Or Paddy’s Day, but never Patty’s Day, ok? And no mention of leprechauns, because, you know, groan. Can I just say that Lucky Charms are and American cereal and that it has nothing to do with us!

We don’t dye things green in Ireland, rivers or beer or foodstuff generally, but that is not to say that we don’t celebrate. We do, it is an important day. And I still do even now in London. It is even more important for me now, to plug in to my Irishness and catch up with my Irish friends. To have a laugh and to sing a song. To celebrate Irish food and culture. 

St Patrick’s Day in the Ireland of my Youth

As an Irish food writer in London I have a responsibility to guide you to the best and most authentic Irish eating experiences in the capital. There will be Irish menus everywhere but where are the best contemporary ones that accurately reflect that emerald isle of ours? Don’t worry, I’ve got your back! 

Bentley’s Oyster Bar & Grill 

One of my favourite London spots, Richard Corrigan’s Bentley’s Oyster Bar & Grill is a perfect place to go on Paddy’s Day.  There is their annual Feast of St Patrick’s lunch, which is held tomorrow with live music, proper Irish stew and the unofficial Irish national dish, bacon and cabbage. But it is sold out, so if you don’t have tickets for that make a note to get them early next year, and head to Bentley’s anyway to the bar or restaurant for their menu packed with Irish produce including oysters from Carlingford and Galway and terrific grilled sirloin of Irish heritage beef. 

11 – 15 Swallow St, London W1B 4DG
bentleys.org

Picture 

 Foraging in general is a joy. Free food, incredibly fresh, often difficult to source otherwise. I was at home last week and used it as an opportunity to stock up on gorgeous wild garlic.

My trip home was last minute. I was invited to speak at Facebook in Dublin for International Women’s Day and I jumped at the chance to immerse myself in company and to spend a little time at home. I was quite curious about facebook, too. I wanted to plug in and opt out, just for a little bit. It was a wonderful day in the end, I left inspired and hopeful, and reminded that community is so important, and that this is difficult for someone who spends lots of time working at home alone. 

Speaking at Facebook on International Women’s Day

Hey, it is PI day! What? Pie week and now pi day? Pi Day is a day to celebrate maths (and maths in nature and in food is a beautiful thing, so I am all over that). It is also a perfect day to share another pie recipe. (And yes, pi is that number 3.14159265). 

As with pi not being an actual pie, this is not just any other pie. (Bear with me). This pie is gorgeous. Every recipe I share with you here has to be worth it, something that brings a ray of sunshine to your table and cheers your day. It has to be something that I loved and this is particularly deserving.

When is a pie not a pie? And why do people get so mad about it? Surely pastry meeting another gorgeous thing can only be celebrated, but no, people feel very strongly about this. Pie fascism is real. 

Which brings me on to pie rage. People aren’t happy with people not encasing a pie filling in pastry and calling it a PIE. But folks, it is, and even if you feel it isn’t, feel free to surround this gorgeous chicken curry filling with pastry. I made this pie two ways, entirely enclosed in shortcrust pastry top and bottom, and with a puff pastry top, no bottom. I prefer the puff pastry lid.

I took enormous pleasure dunking lots of bread in my soup when I was a child. In advance of eating it, lots of bread, sometimes killing the soup in the process. I occasionally ended up with a disappointing bowl of flavoured soggy bread. Castilian garlic soup is the perfect soup for people who love to dunk bread in their soup. It is perfectly balanced, the bread has absorbed the flavours and then yielded to everything, this soup is the ultimate bowl of comfort. One of, at any rate. 

I first had this soup at Botin in Madrid, Spain. A prelude to my meal of roast suckling pig, which is what I had come to try. Garlic soup though? Lets give that a bash too. What arrived was a bowl of soup rich with bread, stringy egg and a punchy broth. I loved it, and I have had it many times since. 

Where to Eat in Madrid: Roast Suckling Pig at Botín

Simplicity and time often make the best dishes. I had a couple of pork chops to use up and I wanted to do something tasty with them. 

The chops were from the shoulder and were marbled beautifully. I knew that the meat would be gorgeous slow cooked, and that they would also be perfect cooked on a skewer. A long marinade would make them tender and the fat would make them moist and delicious. I wanted spice and colour.

I settled on this simple dish. I have a fierce hot paprika from Budapest which when combined with lemon and yogurt made a perfect simple dish for lunch today. A writing day that demanded all of my time and energy (yes, that bacon book! Nearly finished. I will write a book on the writing of it some day).