Tacooooooooos! Not just any tacos but fried chicken tacos. And not just any fried chicken but jalapeño brined fried chicken.

It gets better. These are not just any tortillas but chicken fat tortillas with fat from last nights roast chicken. And that crumb? It is a gluten-free one that is so good, my gluten digesting friends choose it instead of regular breadcrumb or panko! It is so good and you won’t believe what it is! Continue reading

Jump straight to the Confit Duck with Damson Plums, Puy Lentils, Beetroot and Sage recipe.

Autumn didn’t just arrive with speed, it knocked the door down and forced its way in. While we are now enjoying Summers brief blast of a second wind with a whopping 29C in London today (green tomatoes everywhere rejoice!), mornings and evenings are still Autumnal here. Even today, the day started cool, and will finish so. Leaves are on the ground, windfall apples and crabapples line the paths I walk in the park, the sun sets earlier.

But, Autumn produce is here. I love the seasons. Continue reading

Lockdown marches on and takes us along with it. I hope you are doing ok and it is not proving too difficult and that Covid has not impacted your life directly. If it has, I hope you are doing ok. I have been fairly silent here, which was not my intention. But, I am back now and I have lots to share with you. Lots of this will be recipes too. 

It won’t surprise you to hear that the publication of my book, Bacon, has been impacted by Covid. The latest in a litany of hurdles but the last one. My printer was affected by the Italian lockdown but things are moving again and I will keep you updated as to when Bacon will be on sale. I am also planning on publishing an updated version of Comfort & Spice after that with a fresh design and a light rethink. But Bacon first, and I can’t wait to share it. Continue reading

Rhubarb is a vegetable, even though we treat it as a fruit. I only ever had it as stewed rhubarb with custard or rhubarb fool in childhood, and I loved it. Understanding later on that rhubarb could be a savoury ingredient was a game-changer.

If you think about it, rhubarb isn’t sweet at all. Even the gorgeous bright pink forced Yorkshire rhubarb is markedly sour. Rhubarb loves sweet though. That makes it a wonderful ingredient in terms of a play on sweet and sour in a dish. It makes lovely ketchup too. It works with most meats, I especially like it with lamb and a roast like pork belly. Continue reading

Jump straight to the Spaghetti with ‘Nduja, Prawns & Basil Recipe

Spaghetti and sunshine, sausage and prawns, chilli and tomato. Add a little basil there like a spritz of perfume on your wrist before you go out, and you have a gorgeous plate to devour.

‘Nduja? A fridge essential? (Trust me) 

Yes, of course, I could live without it, but I absolutely choose not to while I have the choice. A soft and very spicy cured and spreadable Calabrian sausage, it is brilliant just as is spread on bread, toast or crackers. Try it with eggs, mix it through a tomato sauce for a porky arrabiata, spread it on top of some white fish just before it finishes cooking with an oregano and breadcrumb top for a gorgeous spicy crispy crunch. Continue reading

Jump straight to the Piri Piri Sauce Recipe

Well, that is a LOADED title. But really this is easy, fast and no fuss and it is fabulous. You need to make it. End of.

Piri Piri is a superb sauce. It is easy to make and all you do with it is marinade the protein of your choice before cooking it. Over fire if you like, but also in the oven or fry it in the pan. Continue reading

Jump straight to the Chickpeas with Chilli, Coriander, Lemon and Red Onion recipe

Are chickpeas everyone’s favourite pulse, or just the one they are most familiar and comfortable with? Do you stock up to make the nations favourite dip, hummus? Or do you make curry, soup or add them to a salad? The chickpea is indispensable, especially now when some days, despite all the time, we require something quick and nourishing with little effort but lots of flavour. This is a plate of sunshine. 

Use tinned chickpeas, or home-cooked. Whatever you have. Take the sharp edge of the red onion by letting it sit in the lemon juice for 10 minutes before dressing the chickpeas. Use whatever herbs you have, basil, oregano, parsley would all work very well too. Lime juice would be lovely here but if you have no fresh citrus, use vinegar (any except malt vinegar which would be too harsh). Taste as you go, and enjoy the results.  Continue reading

Jump directly to the Carrot, White Bean and Cabbage Gojuchang Soup recipe.

Times like this bring into sharp relief many things. In terms of the kitchen, it has shown my chaotic pantry (cupboards!) for what they really are. Everything is chosen in the moment with little planning, and then planted to be dealt with at a later date. 

I have several kinds of rice (from Taiwan rice to black rice with lots of different white rice in between), lots of fermented bits and bobs (I have 2 tubs of my favourite Korean pepper paste and a catering size bag of Korean pepper flakes), and many many random things that I have brought back from my various travels. There is more hot sauce than I could get through in any reasonable length of time and lots of chillies, but I am running super low on basic spice. A little interrogation shows clearly what you eat regularly and what you think you should. I am most definitely an Irish woman who travels and loves big flavour (which of course you already knew). Continue reading

Stew conjures images of dark early evenings and a need for warmth. Maybe I need another name for this as it is bright and sings of summer days or longer spring evenings.

I have done many variations of this stew over the years and with Summer descending quickly upon us (20C and sunny in London today!), it seems a perfect time to make and share it again. It is perfection with a glass of rosé right now.  Continue reading

Mash hash has become a regular feature of my week. In order to make weekday meals speedier, I bulk cook some things in advance when I have time, like potatoes.

I cook up a batch, I usually boil them, sometimes roast, and then I use them throughout the week. I peel them and cut them in slices before frying them for a speedy hash with eggs. I fry the skins to make crispy potato skins which may become the centre of a dish or a lovely crisp garnish. I make potato cakes, gnocchi, croquettes. All of these things are speedy once your potatoes are already cooked. Recently, I have become a little obsessed with Mash Hash.
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Tofu! Now some of you are going to read that and think, WHAT?! TOFU?! Yes, tofu. Why? It is horribly underrated and completely delicious. Once you get the real thing. Tofu is thought of as a vegetarian or vegan ingredient, and yes it is, but in Asia it is as common to see it in a dish with meat, as not. See my recipe for Kimchi Jjigae (Korean Kimchi, Pork & Tofu Stew) for a very tasty example of this.

Tofu is also a fast food. The fastest, it is already good to go. It soaks up flavours and loves contrasting textures. I love it in a crispy fritter for brunch as much as I do in a stew. I love proper silken tofu, fresh from fridges of Asian food shops (especially Japanese). Silken is a joy, the very good stuff has the texture of custard. All of it is sublime when fried, and I have fried tofu every which way. A firm – nay, wobbly – favourite is Agedashi Tofu. 

Agedashi Tofu – Fried Tofu with Dashi!

A Japanese delight of a dish, age-dashi means fry-dashi and that is what this is, fried tofu with a seasoned dashi broth. Seasoned with soy and mirin (you can use sake too). It is naturally gluten free, usually using potato starch or corn starch. I love to use potato starch for this, it confers a stretchy crispness which is perfect with the wobbly tofu underneath. I sometimes mix the potato starch with rice flour, and of course you can just use rice flour too which will give a lovely crisp coating. Continue reading

Hake is a beauty of a fish that is so underappreciated. We love it in Ireland, the Spanish love it too. In a way, I am glad that it isn’t hugely popular here as it makes it quite affordable. That big piece of hake in the photo came in at under £5 in an excellent but expensive London fishmonger. It flakes gently and has a beautiful light flavour. It works very well with big things like chorizo but it also plays well with gentler things like these summery beans.
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I know everything should start with an onion, or so the saying goes. Most of my cooking does. But not always. Sometimes just garlic will do and occasionally not at all. When I made this dish I started with minced beef not sure of what I would add next. The final result was a tasty speedy supper that required little work or preparation. I call that a winner!  Continue reading

The more that I cook, the more I desire simplicity. Fresh bright flavours delivered without fuss and with speed. Food that is healthy and bright. 

There was a time when I would devote much of my evening to delivering the meal that I would eat, often too late. Increasingly my cooking becomes simpler, fitted into tighter timeframes. I desire food that is fast and that delivers on flavour and that will sustain me too. Food that is healthy and balanced and that changes day to day. This way I always enjoy it, and my nutritional intake is varied too.

I generally cook for one but I usually cook enough for two meals each time. Borrowing time from the night before for the next day. Leftovers are terrific and the second iteration will usually have a twist so that it is different. This didn’t. I loved it so much the first time I kept it the same. 

Coconut and Coriander Prawns with Pumpkin – a speedy delicious and nutritious meal

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Jump straight to the Braised Haricot Beans with Chorizo and Cavolo Nero recipe.

It is never too soon for another bean recipe. This recipe has braised, chorizo and cavolo nero in the title too, so let’s get stuck in!

Chorizo and kale are the best of friends and I cook them a lot together. Cavolo Nero is just a glamorous kale complete with Italian accent. I make a chorizo and kale carbonara too which you should definitely check out as you are here. Added to braised beans, this makes for a super gorgeous comforting dish that eats so well on its own. You can also add some protein, I recommend a nice piece of roast chicken or pork, or a chunky white fish like turbot. Continue reading

Jump straight to the Warm Winter White Bean Salad with Black Pudding, Sage and Radicchio recipe. 

Bean salad conjures images of sad tins and limp mixed beans presented to vegetarians after a last minute panic before a dinner party. Yes, I was a vegetarian once! A long time ago. Beans that have lived too long in saccharine sweet syrupy and salty water. Beans that once had flavour but that is now mainly erased. Beans too soft to be interesting.

Yes. Beans? They can be so much better.

The thing with beans is once you try them cooked from dried or take the time to cook them yourself, you spot immediately that there is a world of difference. It is also an incredibly frugal way to cook. A 500g packet of dried beans can cost as little as £1 and it will feed you for a week. Of course you won’t want to eat beans for a whole week, they would quickly lose their lustre. They freeze so well though, and I freeze them in 250g portions, the approximate equivalent of a tin. 

But they take so long! Nah. Soak them overnight even if strictly speaking you don’t need to, or are told you don’t. It takes no effort and it saves on cooking time and improves on texture. Importantly it makes them more digestible and massively reduces any gaseous effects. Most small beans will cook in half an hour. Larger, in 45 minutes. Easy. 

Which beans? Any and all. The ever present chickpea, adopted by so many cultures. As happy in an Italian soup bowl and a Spanish stew as in a Middle Eastern hummus. Butter beans! Small plump luscious ones from Greece and once twice the size from Spain called Judion de la Granja. Spain in particular has an enormous love for beans and sells them from enormous sacks in markets. Yes, Italy does too, but in Italy the selection is more focussed. I find new beans in Spain all the time.  Continue reading

Jump straight to the 15 Minute Lemongrass Prawn Patties recipe

Frozen raw prawns are a freezer staple for me. They defrost quickly, cook in minutes and are super versatile. I love them in a curry (my Goan prawn curry is one of my most popular recipes, still, after 11 years on the site). They are fantastic with noodles (like these spicy peanut butter noodles). Brilliant in a soup (this prawn tom yum kung recipe from my trip to Bangkok is gorgeous)and who doesn’t love a laksa? (Prawn Laksa recipe right here!). I love them in a meatball (prawn and chorizo meatballs in broth, anyone?). Cook them whole, mince them, put them on a stick and grill them. There are endless possibilities with the humble prawn (which some of you North American friends which may call shrimp) and they are wonderful in these speedy and bright lemongrass prawn patties. 

15 Minute Lemongrass Prawn Patties

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Jump straight to the recipe – Beef and Chorizo Meatballs, Egg, Basil – Your Perfect Brunch for One

Cooking for one should not be sad or viewed as such. It is the ultimate in self care. Quiet time as the day begins, and something gorgeous to eat at the end. You are looking after yourself and making yourself something good to eat, how can anyone view that as sad? Food is not just social, it is nourishing, and that is what we should focus on. Nourishing ourselves, mind, body and soul.

Cooking for One is a Joy and the Ultimate in Self Care 

Of course, I love to cook for others too but I live in a small London flat with a small kitchen and no communal dining table. Typical (I think!) for many of us urban dwellers. When I see my friends we eat elsewhere. (I look forward to a time in my life when I can gather them around my kitchen table and serve big platters of food designed for sharing). For now, I cook often for one, and sometimes when my flatmate is around, for two. Mostly for one though.

I cook for myself mostly it in an efficient way. I will prepare something that will work in different ways in different meals. This beef and chorizo meatball mix was also a patty, it could be a kebab. It can be a dumpling in soup (by adding more breadcrumbs), it can be filling in a dumpling (leave the breadcrumbs out, add loads of shredded cabbage). Versatility is key, I don’t want to eat the same thing every day. 

Brunch for One – Beef and Chorizo Meatballs in Tomato Sauce with a Gorgeous Egg

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Jump straight to the Squid Stuffed with Beef & Chorizo Recipe. 

I started this post in JULY but life has been so hectic, and it is only now starting to slow down. There has been travel to Ireland, work travel to Austria and then a non-stop return to London. But lots of recipes in the wings and THAT bacon book. Soon soon soon! For now lets talk about squid stuffed with beef and chorizo. 

Land and Sea, Surf and Turf. However you spin this, it is delicious. And it is easy too. I originally made this at a vegan BBQ, and no, I wasn’t trolling them. I have a few vegan friends and I am embracing of all good food, however you label it. And you know how much I love tofu. However, I had permission to cook meat and fish as all except one ate fish, and half ate meat. So I had the meat and fish section. Continue reading

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).  Continue reading