Is salt bad for you? I visit the salt basins of La Baleine in the south of France to find out more.
Food
Cherry ice cream recipe
Although you can use any cherry, sweet or sour, for this recipe, I used Picota cherries for this gelato ice cream recipe. Hurry! The Picota season finishes in about ten days. Since discovering Picota, I find most other cherries a bit disappointing. Here in France, I’m eating the local Bigarreau cherry which has all the…
Oxford Food Symposium 2019
I’ve been wanting to attend the Oxford Food Symposium for the last decade, since several symposiasts came to my supper club just prior to the 2009 conference. The idea of several days in an Oxford university student digs, learning about food history, anthropology, politics, nutrition and general geekery feels like a heaven-sent opportunity. The only…
Picota cherry season in Spain plus a recipe for cherry gazpacho
The Picota cherry comes from the Jerté valley, in Extremadura, Spain after being introduced by Arab farmers in the 14th century. Earlier this year I went to visit the valley in a cloud of snowy blossom. Last week I visited the trees while in fruit, drooping with ‘red diamonds’ as they are called locally. The…
An interview with Felicity Cloake
As the author of the weekly Guardian column ‘How to make the perfect…’ Felicity Cloake, at a mere 36 years old, is fast reaching national treasure status. Fair-skinned with laughing eyes, originally from Hertfordshire, she lives in North London on the Caledonian Rd. With the publication of her latest book ‘One more croissant for the…
Summer in the Alps, Val Gardena plus recipe for apple fritters
I’m usually more of a beach person in the summer. But having visited the Dolomites in southern Italy only a couple of weeks ago, I was keen to visit the northern end of the range up up towards the Alps. This area, Val Gardena, is one of the most beautiful Alpine areas (unlike the grim…
Slow food on a Staffordshire canal
I follow the A5 north from Staples Corner in London to reach the Shropshire Union Canal, a watery spinal cord up the centre of England from Birmingham to the Staffordshire potteries. From there I rent a narrowboat, from Countrywide Cruisers in the pretty village of Brewood (pronounced brood). This canal trip, lasting a week, is…
Naples
The streets smell of marzipan and sewage. The men have names like Fortunata and Pompeo. The old ladies wear cotton aprons and stare out of doorways. They all look like my nan. Nobody has a spin dryer. Or are Neopolitans paid by the tourist board to hang their drying laundry out on the street? I…
Discover Basilicata in Southern Italy
Basilicata, formerly known as Lucania, persists as one of the lesser known Italian regions. For the visitor, this is an advantage: it’s cheaper, there are less tourists, the people are friendlier. You have everything in this region: mountains, countryside, historic cities, archeological sites, palazzos, forests, two coasts – the white sandy beach facing the Ionian…
Apple blossom tart recipe
I did two versions of this. Both looked and tasted great, but the cinnamon apple blossom was spectacular, like a healthy cinnamon roll. Ideally you will possess a mandolin. If you don’t, please buy one. It will make you look like a pro in the kitchen in so many ways; from finely cut slices of…