You’re in social isolation and opportunities for shopping might be limited. But you have a well-stocked store-cupboard and freezer and it’s still possible to get most food if you look in the right places.
This easy dish provides a whole meal in one pot, cooking in a low oven for up to two hours while you get on with something else. Note, for now, that once we can properly invite guests, it’s the perfect dish for entertaining as it will look after itself happily in a...
Way back in the distant past, I was the producer of Madhur Jaffrey’s Indian Cookery – the first time Indian food had had a proper airing on British TV and I also commissioned and edited the book that accompanied the series. I tested every recipe in that book. My copy...
Silky ribbons of tagliatelle embrace a pretty-with-pink seafood sauce here, made with half one of those handy packs of frozen mixed raw seafood and a fresh juicy salmon fillet. A few cauliflower florets give some additional texture and flavour. Thaw the seafood first:...
Those ready-cooked pouches of rice are a godsend. I always have a few in my cupboard, ready to microwave in two minutes when time or energy are short. I’ve been slow to realise that they also make a great improvised risotto and the more they are at the cheapie...
You can buy ready mixed versions of this spice mix easily enough, but will you have it on hand when you need it for pizza toppings, pasta sauces, grilled steaks, barbecue mixes – and many more? It’s so easy to make your own. Just mix the dried herbs and spices and...
What do you feed veggies at a festive event? They will shudder at the meat options and sometimes will self sacrificingly say they will be happy with ‘just the trimmings’. This leaves everyone feeling uneasy. The usual solution is to make a nut roast, fine if you like...
These quickly pickled red onions couldn’t be more different from the dense crunchiness of the traditional pickled onion. They will be ready to eat in a few hours but will also keep for weeks in the fridge. They are a great accompaniment to any hot or cold dish where a...
Those big meaty Portobello mushrooms lend themselves so well to a quickly assembled light supper. The secret is to balance moist with drier ingredients and then to bake them in a hot oven. I was alerted to this type of recipe by my friend and colleague Carolann...
As a naïve young student in Bristol I came from a Welsh household where the word ‘pasta’ had never been spoken, let alone cooked. What a joy it was to discover the world of Italian cooking in a family-run restaurant in Park St, cheap enough for a student on a grant to...
All day, while latched to my computer on Zoom calls, I could smell the delicious aroma of my lamb korma, simmering away in the slow cooker (if you don’t have one it cooks in the oven just as well). Korma is a gentle curry from North India, often made with nuts and...
How I hated sprouts as a child and how I wish my Mum had known this brilliant and simple way of cooking them as it takes away all bitterness, replacing it with a sweet, nutty, moreish flavour. My friend Leni served sprouts this way when she gave me supper a few days...
This is a wonderful way to use up stale bread, cheese that is past its best or that half bag of spinach in the fridge that looks as if it might go watery at any moment. What it produces is a delicious, puffy, soufflé like dish that only needs a simple salad to make a...