My ongoing love for all things Mexican never abates. While I love authentic Mexican food, equally I adore the trashy American Tex-Mex version of it. Watching ‘Boyhood’ last year, there was a scene at the end where the boy in question and his girlfriend go for midnight ‘queso’ in Austin, Texas which is apparently an…
Archives for October 2015
10 things to eat and drink in Cretan cuisine
Former leprosy colony Spinalonga overlooked by the Blue Palace hotel where I stayed The best Greek cuisine, most Greeks will agree, come from the island of Crete. In ancient times Crete was the centre of the ancient Minoan culture, the earliest known advanced civilisation in Europe. (Astrological note: in world astrology, each great year lasts 2000…
Mexican adventures and a recipe for Chipotle en adobo
Chipotle en adobo is one of my go-to ingredients for an authentic Mexican flavour in my cooking. But it’s also good for anything else you fancy… in lasagne, on toast, in baked beans, in salsa. I absolutely love Mexican food, I think it is vastly underrated as a cuisine. What we call Mexican is mostly…
BBC’s The Restaurant
In 2009, I applied for BBC’s programme The Restaurant. This is the story of how it went. I fill out the form in about two minutes. What are you prepared to do to win? the form says. Nothing, I retort. It’s that kind of thinking that got us all into this mess in the first…
How to use squash and pumpkins plus Munchkin Pumpkin Blue Cheese Soufflé recipe
When I spoke to my mum about this piece she said ‘I never use squash or pumpkins, aren’t they a bit like marrow?‘ Which just goes to show that the whole idea of using squash and pumpkins in recipes are a fairly recent import from the USA. Pumpkins don’t have a reputation for good eating…
Salted caramel apple crepe recipe (gluten free)
Salted caramel apple crepe recipe (gluten free) Makes four depending on the size of your pan. This recipe was inspired by this summer’s visit to L’ile de Ré near La Rochelle in France. For years I’ve been buying their squidgy tan coloured squares of salted caramels sold in bags, which uses the famous fleur de…
Dakos recipe, an easy Cretan rusk salad
This cucina povera recipe from the Greek island of Crete, home of some of best ingredients in Greece, couldn’t be easier. I use the Italian term ‘cucina povera’ ‘poverty cooking’ because there is an equivalent in Puglia, a dish called variously Frise, Frisa or Frisella. I was shown this dish by executive chef Alexis Lefkaditis…