Chicken Gumbo

Gumbo is a dish from the southern states of the USA, in particular Louisiana. When I first started to collect recipes I pasted or copied them into a file and about twenty years ago I wrote down a recipe for Chicken Gumbo featured on the BBC Food & Drink programme, which I made not long after.   It can also be made with seafood, [...]

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Lime & Basil Baked Salmon Parcels

This way of cooking salmon was simple with a beautiful citrus flavour and was perfect for lunch on a warm late Summer Sunday.  The fish was placed on a bed of tomatoes in a greaseproof parcel, topped with a knob of flavoured butter and a slice of lime before being baked in the oven.  As well as using lime as a garnish, I squeezed lime juice over the [...]

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Basic Recipe: Tortilla Omelette – with Bacon, Mushroom & Spinach

Last year on holiday in the French Basque country the Spanish influence was clearly visible on the menus and in the supermarkets.  One of these was the Tortilla, sometimes called a Spanish Omelette – a Spanish word being used just over the border.  In Italy the word used for this type of dish is Frittata.  The French word is, [...]

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Salmon Risotto with Cucumber & Fennel

This is a very simple and creamy risotto and the cooked cucumber is a revelation! The recipe breaks the normal rules of risotto making as you can add all the liquid together rather than the usual rule of adding it gradually.  If you want an extra special dish then you could use Carnaroli rice, but I think [...]

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Chickpea Couscous Salad

This is one of my favourite ingredient combinations for couscous.  It makes a good accompaniment for meat at a main meal but it could equally well be served as a light vegetarian lunch.  It is best when dressed with the oils and lemon while warm to allow the flavours to develop and is lovely served slightly warm as well, [...]

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Tuna & Bean Salad

This speedy Italian style salad can be put together in minutes using tinned tuna and, for speed, tinned beans. I used black-eye beans but haricot or cannellini beans could be substituted.  A good mayonnaise, home made if available, could be used as an alternative to the olive oil and lemon juice dressing but the beans should be [...]

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Eggs Flamenco

The family felt that this had an ‘All day breakfast’ feel to it and it certainly would not be out of place as a ‘brunch’ meal as well as being a tasty and not to heavy main meal.  It was listed in the book as a substantial snack, but I served it as a light supper dish on [...]

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Chicken with Orange & Mint

I usually do not like the combination of meat and fruit together, but I broke my own rule for this as it didn’t seem as if it would be too sweet. I was proved right.  The recipe was very simple to cook and absolutely delicious.  The chicken was beautifully tender in a buttery orangey sauce with the hint of mint [...]

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Creamy Pasta with Bacon & Courgettes

Ever since I removed this recipe from a magazine it has proved to be one of our most popular family pasta dishes. I have lost count of the number of times I have made it, or variations of it, including on holiday last year in France. It is truly quick and easy - as the family know, [...]

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Shrikhand with Strawberries

I was delighted to hear about Shrikhand, a delicious and very simple Indian dessert, in a recent repeated episode of the Hairy Bikers Ride Again, a television cookery series I missed first time around. Shrikand is one of the main desserts of Gujerati cuisine. I always find these programmes worth watching, being part travelogue and part food, all delivered with the [...]

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