Basic Recipe: Marzipan (Almond Paste)

Marzipan is an ancient sweetmeat.  One of its major uses is as a layer under icing on a rich fruit Christmas cake and also at Easter as the top layer of a Simnel Cake.  It is also used in Stollen, a rich and fruity yeast bread eaten at Christmas, mainly in Germanic and Scandinavian countries.  It can also be [...]

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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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Basic recipe: Ragu Bolognaise

The most well known Ragu takes its name from the Italian town of Bologna.  This rich sauce can be served on a bed of cooked pasta: spaghetti, tagliatelle or one of the many shapes.  It can also be cooked as part of the layered pasta dish Lasagne al Forno (literally lasagne cooked in the oven) or spooned as a filling into [...]

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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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Basic Recipe: Pastry

There are many different types of pastry and most are suitable for use with both savoury and sweet dishes.  I plan to add the different types I use as I make them for in recipes I post on this site. 
Types of pastry in order of listing below:
Shortcrust
Orange Shortcrust (Nigella Lawson)
Cheese Pastry (Delia Smith)
Pâte Brisée (Joanne Harris’/Fran Warde)
—–
Shortcrust Pastry
Notes
Shortcrust is [...]

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Basic Recipe: Simple Tomato Sauce for Pizza

This recipe makes enough for three pizzas and can be frozen in portions for later use.  You can add a chilli with the onion for a more spicy flavour.
The recipe comes (slightly adapted) from my favourite pizza book: Step-by-step Pizzas by Wendy Lee

Tomato Sauce for Pizza
(enough for three pizzas serving 2-4 people each)
1 large onion
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1tbsp olive oil
400g tin [...]

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Basic Recipe: Pizza Bases

There are several ways of making Pizza base. The traditional base is a bread dough made with yeast but there are alternatives which can come in very useful when time is short.  In all cases the quantities given are for a base of about 25cm/10inches which feeds 2-4 people.
These recipes have come from my favourite pizza [...]

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Basic Recipe: Batter Mixture – Yorkshire Puddings

This batter mixture can be used for Yorkshire Puddings, Toad in the Hole, fritters and Clafoutis.  Double the liquid quantities for pancakes.
This is our family recipe.  I usually halve the mixture for just 3/4 people.  My father’s Yorkshire puddings, the recipe learned from his mother, rose so successfully that my mother weighed and wrote down the exact [...]

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