Eat Like a Girl - A London Based Food Blog & Travel Blog – Always Cooking, Eating & on the Move
Eat Like a Girl - A London Based Food Blog & Travel Blog – Always Cooking, Eating & on the Move
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Cooking

Braised Gem Lettuce, Broad Beans, Peas & Ham with Quails Eggs

Braised Lettuce w Broad Beans, Peas, Ham & Quails Eggs

As I peered down at my green fingernails, I wondered if it was worth it.

Of course it was.

I love fresh broad beans and double podded (big pod and little skin removed) is the only way to go. So succulent and sweet, and with fresh peas, well, that’s summer sorted, right? Fresh peas I love too. Folk say they’re overrated and that they lose their natural sweetness a couple of hours after being picked. I love the texture and the sweetness you get with them, and there is a certain satisfaction to podding your own.

Braised Lettuce w Broad Beans, Peas, Ham & Quails Eggs

How to make it substantial? Well, braised lettuce is a perfect partner, intensified, slippery and sweet. Some shredded spring onions, and smoked ham cut into strips.

Braised Lettuce w Broad Beans, Peas, Ham & Quails Eggs

Sounds good? Well, let’s make it better by adding some perfectly boiled quails eggs. I love the precision of boiling quails eggs. Dropped into a gently boiling pan of water for exactly 2 minutes 45 seconds and cooled under running water, you will get a perfect soft quails egg every time.

Braised Lettuce w Broad Beans, Peas, Ham & Quails Eggs

This dish is healthy, tasty, looks good and takes very little time at all (podding aside). The flavours are very clean, and it’s very healthy – bacon aside. Just a little precision, and you’ll be smiling the whole way through dinner.

Braised Gem Lettuce, Broad Beans, Peas and Ham with Quails Eggs

Serves 2

Ingredients

500g fresh broad beans (in the pod)
250g fresh peas (in the pod)
2 scallions (spring onions), shredded
a couple of slices of smoked cooked ham or bacon, sliced finely
6 quails eggs
1 head baby gem lettuce, washed and seperated into leaves

Method

Double pod the broad beans by removing the outer pod, and then the little white skins from each bean. Trust me, it’s worth it. Pod the peas.

Cook the beans and peas in boiling water for a few minutes until tender and refresh under a cold tap or in ice water to stop them cooking, and to preserve that bright green colour.

Boil some water and add the eggs for 2 minutes 45 seconds exactly. Refresh under the tapo or in ice cold water to keep the yolks nice and soft (they will keep cooking otherwise). Peel when cold and half.

Fry the ham/bacon and the onions in some olive oil for a couple of minutes. If using bacon, add the onions towards the end so as not to burn them.

Add the lettuce and braise for a couple of minutes until they soften

Add the beans and peas, and when warm serve with the halved quails eggs on top.

Enjoy!

Braised Lettuce w Broad Beans, Peas, Ham & Quails Eggs

Cooking

Overnight Spiced Roast Shoulder of Lamb – for an Easy Easter Sunday Lunch

Jump straight to the Overnight Spiced Roast Shoulder of Lamb recipe.

I love good food and I love to cook, often labouring over something until it is just how I want it. Some dishes take 10 minutes, others hours. It depends on the day and my mood, how much time I have and what I fancy. It is a luxury I know, and I am often cooking just for myself. Something that I really enjoy doing and also isn’t it the ultimate in self care? I love to cook for friends too though and don’t do it anywhere near often enough.

I am a social animal and as much as I love to cook I don’t like being trapped in the kitchen when friends come round. At least not until I have one of those massive kitchens that I so desire and then we can all spend the whole night in there. For now, I have my tiny London kitchen, and if people come over to eat, I make a meal that avoids that. I like to make something that more or less cooks itself but that delivers on flavour and impresses. I always serve it family style on a big platter surrounded by vibrant sides. Porchetta, leg of lamb, pork shoulder, pork belly, that kind of thing.

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BBQ, Christmas, Cooking

Smoked Garlic Potato Dauphinoise with Cavolo Nero and Bacon

As my Big Green Egg cools down, I like to take advantage of the residual heat. It is great for hot smoking things like tomatoes and garlic which you can store in the fridge for later uses. Chunky slices of tomatoes become jammy, and garlic with some butter and olive oil to encourage it, becomes a sticky nutty brown, not unlike Korean black garlic (which is essentially cooked slowly over a low heat for a long time). You can do a speedier version as your Big Green Egg heats up also, it will be more of a roasted version, but it is still very good. 

Potato dauphinoise is wonderfully indulgent and a perfect Christmas side. I remember my first proper bite of dauphinoise in a French restaurant in Cork. I couldn’t believe how could it was. Crisp and caramel brown on top, gentle underneath, sliced potatoes shuffled into position, yielding to the fork, each forkful a perfect bite.  

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BBQ, Cooking, Pork

Suckling Pig Mini Porchetta with Cranberry and Orange

I am a little obsessed with good crackling and crisp skin generally. One of the best things that I have ever eaten might surprise you. It was in Barbados, I had asked the staff at my hotel what their favourite thing to eat was and they had replied, oh you wouldn’t like it. I knew that I probably would and so I pressed on. They laughed and refused to divulge. They had done with guests before who returned horrified and full of moans. To my surprise and delight eventually they gave in and replied, barbecue pig tails. Say what?! I have never had a pig tail, save slippery in a soup in Antigua (the flavour was great, the texture a bit more challenging for me). I had never had pig tail off the barbecue.

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Cooking, Pasta, Soup

Pumpkin & Kale Autumn Minestre (Soup!)

Right, where were we? November! That is right. As I look out of my window it is sunny with a sharp blue sky, a light wind is teasing the leaves, bot h golden brown and stubbornly green. Regardless of how unseasonally nice it is, November is still all about fires (if you are lucky enough to have one, I don’t, but I have my Big Green Egg), cheese toasties (so many variations) and soups, stews and rich ragus with supple slicks of fresh pasta. I always love a pop of fire within too in the form of sparks of chilli or a smear of chilli oil. I can’t bear anything flat, I need some brightness. 

I tend to turn to Italian soups right now, specifically minestre, a chunky soup with vegetables, pasta or rice, and beans often. You will have heard of minestrone (a version of, which must have a thickening vegetable in it), and one of my favourites, pasta e fagiole. I turn often to pasta e patate too (pasta with potatoes, stay with me, it is awesome) and a version that I like to make with pumpkin. The basis of these are a good stock and a good pasta. I like to go off piste and Irish-ise it with a lick of cream too. Off piste can be a happy place, I like to go there. 

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BBQ, Cooking, Travelling, UK

Cooking with Fire at Lime Wood & BBQ Porcini Rib of Beef

There is a tired and jaded notion that cooking over fire is the preserve of the male, and that women are neither interested in or inclined to BBQ, preferring instead to be at the stove indoors. This is nonsense, of course. There are people who love to cook, indoors and out, and it is in no way gender specific. Why are people so obsessed with gender when it comes to cooking, anyway? We all eat, it is the one thing that unites us, and so many of us love to cook too. Why be divisive?*

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BBQ, Cooking

BBQ Picanha with Lemon Verbena and Mint Chimmichurri

This recipe is the fourth in a series of four that I developed in partnership with the Big Green Egg who sponsored this post. (Read more about sponsored content on Eat Like a Girl). Previously in this series: BBQ Teriyaki Pig Cheeks, Miso Pork Aubergine and BBQ Clams with Gojuchang and Sake. 

One of my friends, a fellow food writer and blogger (Luiz of The London Foodie and author of the wonderful book Nikkei) presented me with a little cool bag for my birthday. I peeked in side and shrieked, thrilled to discover that he had gifted me Uruguyan picanha, a cut of beef which we would call rump cap, undervalued and misunderstood here but valued all over South America. With good cause. It is a perfect BBQ cut.

IMG_2190EDIT 

Chimmichurri is a perfect steak accompaniment. From Argentina, and fitting for this South American cut of beef, they usually serve it using dry herbs, I prefer the liveliness and texture of fresh. I also wanted this to be super summery, and looked at my new kitchen garden, particularly my gorgeous aromatic window sill, fragrant of bergamot, lemonbalm and lemon verbena. I chose lemon verbena and mint as the stars with some parsley to tone it down. I also add some Aleppo pepper, another gorgeous food gift from my friend Ailbhe. Adjust the quantities below to your taste, or if you prefer to go traditional, substitute oregano for the lemon verbena and mint. Really traditional means using dried herbs, but I much prefer the bright flavour and gentle texture of fresh. 

IMG_2193EDIT

Picanha is a great value cut and goes far. It is tender and flavourful, it is quite lean too with the fat coating on top. The fat protects it as it cooks and gives it terrific flavour. Fat is flavour, let’s stop demonising it. 

If you are celebrating father’s day this weekend, this is perfect for your family lunch. Enjoy!

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BBQ Picanha with Lemon Verbena and Mint Chimmichurri
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BBQ Picanha with Lemon Verbena and Mint Chimmichurri

Ingredients

  • 1 x picanha / rump cap (mine was about 2.5kg)
  • sea salt
  • a handful each of lemon verbena, mint and flat leaf parsley leaves
  • 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 banana shallot, finely chopped
  • 1 heaped tsp of Aleppo pepper / pul biber (or a mild chilli of your choice)
  • 4 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

  • Remove your picanha from the fridge an hour before you want to cook it.
  • Set up your BBQ / Big Green Egg for indirect heat at 150 deg C.
  • Salt your picanha 10 minutes before putting it on the grill.
  • Grill gently for 80 - 90 minutes until a thermometer placed in the center of the thickest part of the meat reads 52 deg C for rare, 63 deg C for medium rare and 71 deg C for medium. I like it rare.
  • Remove and rest for 5 minutes.
  • While your picanha is grilling prepare your chimmichurri: chop the herbs finely just before you use them so that they are at their best (keep them in water before this, as you would flowers!). Add to the vinegar, garlic and shallot and stir thoroughly. Add the oil, whisking with a fork as you do. Season with sea salt to taste. Leave it sit for about 10 minutes before serving.
  • Serve the picanha sliced with some chimmichurri on top.
  • Enjoy!
  • 4.14
    http://eatlikeagirl.com/bbq-picanha-with-lemon-verbena-chimmichurri/
    Copyright: Eat Like a Girl

    BBQ, Cooking

    BBQ Miso Pork Aubergine

    This recipe is the third in a series of four that I developed in partnership with the Big Green Egg who sponsored this post. (Read more about sponsored content on Eat Like a Girl). Previously in this series: BBQ Teriyaki Pig Cheeks and BBQ Clams with Gojuchang and Sake. 

    Well this is a cracker. Aubergine is a vegetable that loves smoke, and loves meat too. The deep sweet rumble of miso blends in seamlessly, and chilli gives everything a lift. Because everything does need a lift, every now and then. 

    IMG_0148EDIT

    This is deceptively simple. The deep flavours come from the fermented miso, the whole thing start to finish cooks in less than an hour. Miso is a great store cupboard ingredient, for quick miso soups and great marinades. Miso makes a great steak marinade with a little mirin, sake and rice vinegar to loosen it out ant balance it. Some chilli too for me, because I can’t resist it. Mix it with butter and a little citrus (yuzu if you can get it, if not some lemon or lime) and rub a chicken with it before sticking it on the grill.

    I start this dish with an onion, as most good dishes start. It gives lovely sweetness and texture. Onions, like most simple everyday things, are deeply underrated. 

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    BBQ Miso Pork Aubergine
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    2 ratings

    BBQ Miso Pork Aubergine

    Ingredients

    • 2 aubergines, sliced in half vertically
    • 300g minced pork (preferably minced pork belly or shoulder, supermarket minced meat does not have enough fat and can be dry)
    • 2 tbsp white miso (or miso of your choice)
    • 1 tbsp gojucharu (Korean red pepper flakes) or 1 tsp chilli flakes (less as they are hotter)
    • 1 onion, peeled finely diced
    • light oil for frying and for the aubergine, I used rapeseed
    • sea salt

    Instructions

  • Fire up the BBQ and bring it to a stable 150 deg C (smouldering coals, nice heat).
  • Put a teaspoon of oil on the cut side of each aubergine and quickly rub it in. Aubergines are like sponges so it is important to be swift.
  • Put the aubergines cut side down on the grill and leave them to cook while you prepare the filling.
  • Sauté the diced onion in a tablespoon of oil over a medium heat until soft. It should take about 5 minutes.
  • Add the minced pork and cook through. Add the miso and the chilli, and a little water if it looks too dry (if there is enough fat in the pork this shouldn't be an issue).
  • When the aubergines are nice and becoming dark brown on the flesh side, remove them from the grill. Gently scoop out most of the flesh without tearing the aubergine. Combine the flesh with the miso pork and put inside the aubergine shells. Season to taste with sea salt.
  • Place back on the BBQ for another ten minutes. Eat hot.
  • Enjoy!
  • 4.14
    http://eatlikeagirl.com/bbq-miso-pork-aubergine/
    Copyright: Eat Like a Girl

    BBQ, Cooking

    BBQ Clams with Gojuchang and Sake

    This recipe is the second in a series of 4 that I developed in partnership with the Big Green Egg who sponsored this post. (Read more about sponsored content on Eat Like a Girl). Previously in this series: BBQ Teriyaki Pig Cheeks. 

    It is a bank holiday weekend and the sun is shining, I bet most of you had your barbecues out. I sparked up my Big Green Egg this evening as I do often now, and I used it to do something a little different. I wanted something quick and fresh and spicy, and I wanted it to be a little smoky too. I had some wonderful clams, bought explicitly for the purpose. Perfect little clams that I had soaked in a few changes of water just to make sure that they had relinquished all their grit. 

    When you think of the BBQ, you probably think of kebabs, burgers and steak, beer can chicken, meat in marinades, low and slow cooking so that the meat falls off the bone. But cooking over fire doesn’t need to be just like this, there is so much pleasure in cooking in cast iron over an intense flame. For this purpose I wheeled out my small cast iron frying pan. 

    I love clams in sake, it is a combination that works so well, the dry sake combining with the clam brine. With the smoke I wanted some spice, and I reached for my pot of gojuchang (Korean red pepper paste), a favourite cupboard ingredient, deeply flavoured and hot. A little does a lot, and the flavour it lends hints at much longer cooking. A little brightness to finish with some finely chopped spring onion, and some coriander would be lovely too if you had that.

    Enjoy and have a wonderful Bank Holiday! (And if you are in Ireland, line this up for your bank holiday next weekend!).   

     

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    BBQ Clams with Gojuchang and Sake
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    3 ratings

    BBQ Clams with Gojuchang and Sake

    Ingredients

      per person
    • 400g clams
    • 1 tbsp gojuchange
    • 150ml sake
    • 2 spring onions (scallions), chopped fine
    • light cooking oil
    • sea salt (if needed)

    Instructions

  • Fire up your BBQ (I brought my Big Green Egg to 240 deg C).
  • Put a seasoned cast iron pan in the BBQ / egg and add a tablespoon of oil. After a minute or so add the gojuchang, stir it round and then close the lid of your egg / BBQ.
  • Add the drained clams and stir through giving all the clams a good coating of the gojuchang.
  • Add the sake and stir through.
  • Close the lid of your egg / BBQ and check a few minutes later to see if all the clams have opened, stir through again. Close the lid if they haven't and check again a few minutes later.
  • You likely won't need seasoning, but check just in case.
  • Sprinkle with spring onion and eat immediately, mopping up the juices with lovely crusty bread.
  • 4.14
    http://eatlikeagirl.com/big-green-egg-recipe-bbq-clams-with-gojuchang-and-sake/
    Copyright: Eat Like a Girl

    BBQ, Cooking, Pork

    BBQ Teriyaki Pork Cheeks

    This recipe is the first in a series of 4 that I developed in partnership with the Big Green Egg who sponsored this post. (Read more about sponsored content on Eat Like a Girl). 

    This is the first in a series of recipe posts that I developed for the Big Green Egg. The iconic ceramic BBQ is a terrific piece of kit that I have really enjoyed working with at home. It The Big Green Egg has a domed lid which makes it an all weather BBQ but also allows very precise temperature control (combined with air valves at the top and at the bottom). The enamel coating ensures that it doesn’t rust and it is ready to use within 15 minutes of sparking up. I thought that I would go through a lot of charcoal but it is surprisingly efficient for such a big beast. 

    There is such satisfaction in cooking over fire. The smells and flavours of smoke permeate the food and the results vary hugely depending whether you cook over a flame or smouldering coals. I like to use flame for steaks and then stick something on low and slow to cook gently. Something like wings, ribs or these pig cheeks. 

    A hugely underrated and terrific value cut of meat, pig cheeks are a dream to cook on the BBQ. They have a deep porky flavour and firm texture, and they are often cooked so that they yield and fall apart, functioning as a glamorous pulled pork. I don’t know why people don’t stop them before this, I love them cooked until before this point, still firm but rich and moist, and glorious coated in a dark glaze as I have here. 

    Pig cheeks BBQ very well when marinaded overnight in a soy based teriyaki marinade which functions not just in terms of flavour, but also as a brine. After an hour of gentle cooking the cheeks are tender and moist, and full of flavour. A gorgeous bite. Glazed with a reduction of the marinade cooked on the hob once the cheeks hit the fire. Like this with a slaw, or in a Japanese style taco with sweet Japanese mayonnaise, some sriracha, some sesame seeds and fresh coriander. 

    Enjoy! And do share what you think of them, and any ideas that you have for BBQ season. 

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    BBQ Teriyaki PIg Cheeks
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    2 ratings

    Prep Time: 10 minutes

    Cook Time: 1 hour

    serves 2

    BBQ Teriyaki PIg Cheeks

    Ingredients

    • 500g pig cheeks, trimmed (they are sold like this normally, if not ask your butcher to do it)
    • 120ml soy sauce
    • 120ml sake or dry sherry
    • 60ml rice vinegar (or another light vinegar)
    • 4 tbsp honey
    • 2 tbsp gojuchang (Korean chilli paste) or some coarsely chopped fresh chilli - optional, I like a little heat

    Instructions

  • Combine everything except the pig cheeks in a zip loc bag or the container in which you will marinade the pig cheeks.
  • Add the pig cheeks and mix well. Leave to marinade in the fridge overnight, or for as long as possible, at least 2 hours.
  • Fire up your BBQ / Big Green Egg. Once the charcoal starts to smoulder, bring the temperature to a stable 150 deg C (the BGE has a temperature gauge which makes this easy).
  • Remove the cheeks from the marinade and put on the grill. Turn occasionally. After an hour they will be done.
  • While the cheeks are cooking, reduce the leftover marinade by half on the hob to use as a sauce / glaze.
  • Eat as they are - so good! - with the reduced marinade. These work really well as a Japanese taco as specified in the post above.
  • Enjoy!
  • Notes

    Prep time is only 10 minutes, but try and budget for an overnight marinade also. You will get much better results.

    4.14
    http://eatlikeagirl.com/bbq-teriyaki-pig-cheeks-pork-recipe/
    Copyright: Eat Like a Girl

     

    Sponsored

    Christmas Gifts from Craved – Curators of British Craft Food

    This post was sponsored by Craved – I am already a big fan and I am delighted to work with them. I never recommend anything I don’t love, sponsored or not. Craved offers the best in artisanal produce delivered to your door and packaged beautifully (and responsibly). 

    Eat Like a Girl Reader Offer: Get 20% off your Christmas order with the code CRAVEDLIKEAGIRL.

    Craved gather together the best of the UK food and drink scene (and beyond) and gather them into expertly designed themed hampers and gifts which make the perfect gift for your loved ones (or yourself!). 

    Artisanal Christmas Hampers and Food Gifts

    Craved sent me the Craft Christmas Taster to try. It arrives in a handsome Craved wooden crate with a hinged lid. Everything is packed carefully in straw (all of their packaging is 100% recyclable), and glass items are wrapped further in corrugated cardboard. There are lots of gorgeous treats inside, listed below. The gorgeous tub of Bouef Bourguignon crisps, part potato crisps and part jerky, were the first to be devoured. Rillettes next with that lovely bottle fermented cider. It is a perk of the job that I get to taste everything, and there is nothing in there that I wouldn’t cheerfully buy again. YUM!

    All of these items are new to me, and I spend my time trying to find new and exciting things in the world of food and drink, so I am impressed. It is a joy and would make a superb gift.  

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    Cooking, Dairy Free, Seafood, Speedy Supper, Summer

    Monkfish Cheeks with Tomato and Chorizo Ragu

    Jump straight to the Monkfish Cheeks with Tomato and Chorizo Ragu Recipe.

    Feeling cheeky once more. Whenever my fishmonger has monkfish cheeks I have to buy them, they are so good. As with cod cheeks (which I blogged about in my most recent post) they are tender and ready to go. No chopping, just as they are. They are wonderful fried in a tempura batter with a garlic aioli to dip in. They are sublime in a curry. They cook fast making them perfect for weekday evenings and hot summers where you don’t want to be over the stove. With delicate white fish like this there is much that you can do.

    An instant ragu might seem like a pointless, maybe even impossible thing. A great ragu takes time after all, but bear with me. I use the term ragu in the loose sense of the word. I am not saying even for a second that there is such a thing as an instant Italian ragu. I have so much respect for that sauce and I have shared beautiful authentic versions of ragu that Italians were kind enough to share with me. What this sauce has is the depth of flavour and fruitiness that I recognise in ragu and we get there in a super speedy way. It coats pasta beautifully for a speedy supper, and here it gives gorgeous monkfish cheeks a steady sleepy rumble. It is much subtler than you think, my friend didn’t realise there was chorizo in there, he just asked WHAT was in THAT lovely sauce, (and in that way). 

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    Cooking, Seafood, Summer

    Miso and Sesame Tuna Tartare

    Jump straight to the Miso and Sesame Tuna Tartare recipe.

    There are two things key in this recipe for me, no, three. My love for deep flavours and all things fermented; the arrival of summer, the sun and a desire for fast, fresh and light things to eat and my long running obsession with edible flowers (coupled with my growing them in my little kitchen garden). 

    That is a lot for just one plate, maybe, but a plate like this makes me so happy. I went to the fishmongers this morning and gathered a few things, sashimi grade tuna being one, and the thing that I went for in the first place. You see the idea of this recipe has been floating around my head for at least a week, and when I woke up this morning I knew I had to make it. 

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    Australia, Travelling

    Travelling Australia from South to North: Adelaide Dispatches

    This article is written in partnership with Travelbag who I travelled to Australia with, from the bottom (Kangaroo Island) to the top (Darwin) by plane, train and automobile. This view of Australia is very much through my lens, supported by the Travelbag range of tours and products.

    My first trip to Australia was 11 years ago on holiday with friends. Predictably, to Sydney, and I loved every minute. I was curious but as a professional contrarian I had avoided the year in Australia which most Irish people tend to do at some point. I never even planned to go to Australia, it seemed too close to home even though it is so far away. A friend moved there and another friend was keen to go so I decided I would try it. Australia proved to be surprising and exciting, and I have now been back 4 times. Each time I have experienced something completely different. 

    Australia is a place that I have developed a deep affection for. The lifestyle is gorgeous, people are very friendly, and there is a very laid back air there and a general joie de vivre. It is a fun place to visit. The food and drink scene is vibrant, Australians know and love their food and have high expectations of every eatery who usually deliver. 

    Australia is enormous and there is so much to explore, on this trip I went to two new areas as I travelled from the southern tip to the north: South Australia and the Northern Territory stopping in the red centre on the way from Kangaroo Island to Darwin via Adelaide. It was an excellent trip and I am excited to share my stories and experiences from there.  

    Adelaide – Capital of South Australia

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    Cooking, Soup

    Life Assuring Hot and Sour Soup

    Jump straight to the hot and sour soup recipe.

    This soup won’t solve all of your problems, but it will come pretty close. On a day that requires it, this soup will warm you up from your toes to your fingertips. Especially on a gorgeous snow day like this. The rich gorgeous stock, the sparkle of white pepper, the marinaded pork, smoked tofu, sweet pops of tomato and shiitakes. Those slivers of egg. It will fight the cold, be it physical or mental. People, you need this hot and sour soup in your repertoire.

    Every soup is only as good as its stock and the stock I made for this is special. If you don’t have time to make it, substitute it with the best chicken stock you can find. The flavour and the goodness is in the broth. I like to make it with a combination of chicken wings and pork ribs, but honestly, whatever you have to hand or like. Broth from a ham hock will do a mighty job here too (and isn’t it ham hock season?! Deep joy). 

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    Canada, Travelling

    Quebec Dispatches: Where to Eat & Drink in Quebec City

    This is the second post in a series of dispatches from my recent trip to Quebec City and surrounds. The first was my two day trip to Charlevoix, specifically Baie St Paul. Today, I am focussing on my best eats and drinks in Quebec City itself. Enjoy! 

    Quebec is a city that is dear to my heart, there is something a little magical about it. The architecture is beautiful, a walk around Quebec City feels part fairytale, especially as you ascend the ancient funicular to the old town below. Steep pitched zinc roofs top chateau like houses, painted red, blue or proud in silver, sometimes copper turned green with age and the rain. It is just the right size, big enough to have lots of options and small enough to walk around. Quebec City has music, art and a vibrant Bohemian culture. There is also an excellent food and wine culture here.

    Quebec City has a proud francophone heritage, and the food is certainly influenced by this but not defined solely by it. Quebec is the largest producer of maple syrup in the world, and even though summers are short and it can get very cold, there is a new culture of wine making there with respected winemakers setting up. I have heard excellent things about natural wine maker Pinard et Filles which I suggest you seek out (and let me know how it is!).

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    London, London Hotels

    London Staycation: The Zetter Hotel in Clerkenwell

    I travel a lot but I never go on holiday. This is a balance that I am keen to reset, downtime is so important to reset a frazzled brain. Travel for work is wonderful but it is always work. From first light to when I switch off the lamp at my bedside, I am on. Looking for every photo opportunity, taking notes, looking for that little something different that maybe others don’t see. Every meal is an analysis, for quality, for difference. Every flavour good or bad, is a string of adjectives, a story possibility. Of course I enjoy it, but switching off is a joy and it is all too rare. At times it feels impossible.  

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    Cooking, Curry, Lunch, Vegetarian

    Lemon and Coconut Tadka Dal

    Jump straight to Lemon and Coconut Tadka Dal recipe

    Dal is a favourite of mine, I have blogged about it more than once. Sometimes as a whole meal with egg (you know I love them), often with tadka (a perky mixture of spice and aromatics), always a cheerful sunshine yellow (although I am partial to a black spiced dal makhani too swirled with a little cream and I will share more on that soon). 

    This dal is cheerful and elegant with lemon and coconut. It is one to make in a big pot for friends for a summer weekend lunch, or one to make and store in the fridge for comfort, or in the freezer for a later date. I must have had four bowls of this. I don’t bother soaking the dal, which means it takes longer to cook it, but it will still be done in 40 minutes. And it just cooks away, right? It needs little attention. 

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    BBQ, Cooking, Korean

    Gojuchang and Parmesan Beef Burgers

    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. 

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    Breakfast, Brunch, Cooking, Eggs, Korean

    How to Make Kimchi Pancakes (Kimchijeon)

    Some mornings need a slice of joy, many recently. For me, that is almost always related to an egg, and frequently some spice. All eggs require something to dip in their glorious yolk and disrupt it. Is there any better sauce than a runny egg? And any simpler one? 

    I love Korean flavours and I always have kimchi in my fridge. Usually homemade but sometimes shop bought (you can buy it in any Asian food store and most delis). Many experimental ones. Kimchi is kimchi is kimchi. Kimchi is glorious. (For those of you yet to discover it, it is chilli fermented cabbage with a variety of things, usually garlic, ginger , spring onions, something sweet like Asian pear or carrot, and lots of wonderful Korean red pepper, gochugaru). 

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