Cranberry & Orange Relish

If you are having a Turkey this Christmas the chance is that there will be some Cranberry Sauce on the table.  It’s difficult to get excited about the shop bought variety, however, even if it is one of the better quality brands.  I usually find it is not worth the bother – a bit like [...]

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Christmas Chutney

I suspect this is called Christmas Chutney because of its festive red and green colours and it will go perfectly with cold cuts and cheese at tea-time on Christmas Day.  It is very spicy so if you want a less hot version then halve or even quarter the cayenne pepper.  It would benefit from the addition of some raisins [...]

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Basic Recipe: Yoghurt side dish -Tzatsiki/Cacik/Raita

Versions of this yoghurt mixture are part of the cuisine of a number of cultures, each of which has its own name: Cacik (Turkey), Tzatziki (Greece), Raita (India), Tarator (Eastern Europe) are just some.  The recipes all differ slightly and each cook would have their own version as well, but these are the mixtures I use.  [...]

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Beetroot Chutney

We used to buy a lovely beetroot chutney but it was discontinued by the supermarket.  This home made version is even much better: both sweet and spicy.  There is lots of beetroot around on the market at the moment so I made a batch to take us well into the winter.  It has to mature until [...]

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Cucumber ‘Bread & Butter’ Pickle

I am very fond of simply pickled cucumber and onion, often called ‘Bread & Butter’ Pickle, supposedly because it goes so well with Bread & Butter. There are various versions of this pickle, some of which have the addition of ginger or chilli to give a hotter flavour, but I like this straightforward and uncomplicated version. I like to make [...]

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Red Pepper Chutney

This red pepper chutney is a sweet and sour relish which can served at dinner with sausages or home-made burgers, or at lunch time with cheese or cold meat and crusty bread.  It can be made at any time of year as the ingredients are easy to find, although it is good idea to make a quantity in the Autumn when there are plenty [...]

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Spiced Damson Chutney

Out for the day in the middle of rural Oxfordshire, we pulled off the road to eat our sandwich lunch.  I spotted a tree in the hedgerow nearby with, sadly, just a few damsons left very high up but nevertheless went to investigate.  I was sure someone had beaten us to it, but when I got there I found the [...]

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