This is the most divine curry recipe by Sydney based O Tama Carey who has a fantastic Sri Lankan restaurant in Darlinghurst called Lankan Filling Station. The curry is worth the four hours that it takes to slow cook in the oven. The flavours are divine and the pork belly melts in the mouth. This recipe is in Tama’s cookbook Lanka Food which I highly recommend.
Read moreFlourless Orange & Almond Cake
I found this fantastic recipe on bakeplaysmile.com. It is a really yummy cake and so simple to make. You can prepare the oranges the day before as that is the time consuming part.
Read moreFennel-spiced Semolina Cake with Yoghurt
I found this fantastic cake recipe in a recent Gourmet Traveller Bread & Baking magazine. It is a real triumph so I’ve added it to my blog which has all my favourite tried & tested recipes.
Read moreDutch Apple Cake
This recipe is a tried and tested favourite of mine. It originally came from the UK Times Cookbook which I bought years ago. It’s so quick and easy and absolutely delicious. You can eat it any time of the day including breakfast!
Read moreOctopus Salad
This is one of my favourite salads and it was my Sicilian mother-in-law who taught me how to make it.
Read moreChickpea, leek and fennel soup
I love making soups and this is one of my favourites. It’s from the book Polpo which as many of you will know is a chain of five Venetian small-plate restaurants in London including one in Brighton. The word “polpo” means octopus in Italian. In the forward of the recipe book, Russell Norman explains why he named his restaurants Polpo.
Read moreThe best chocolate cake recipe!
This is Nigella Lawson’s Chocolate Olive Oil cake from her book Nigellissima. It is the best chocolate cake recipe I’ve ever tasted and one that I make frequently as it’s always a huge hit with friends and family. I’m not a fan of chocolate cakes or desserts but I love this one especially as it’s dairy and gluten free.
Read moreThai vegetable curry (suitable for vegans)
This is a staple of mine as it’s a healthy vegan dish. I serve it on its own with a cabbage salad with fennel seeds or with brown Basmati rice. It can be made in large quantities and kept in the fridge or freezer. I make this recipe up as I go along so apologies for the somewhat vague quantities!!
Read moreTomato & Red Lentil Soup (suitable for vegans)
This sensational tomato soup never ceases to impress when I serve it to guests; they think that you have spent ages preparing it ! Without the topping it’s a vegan soup but you may be able to source a vegan soft cream cheese as a substitute.
Read moreGobi Dal (cauliflower dal) - suitable for vegans
I cut out this recipe from Olive magazine quite a few years ago. It only served 2 so I have always doubled the recipe. It is one of the tastiest cauliflower recipes.
Read moreHealthy Green Soup (suitable for vegans)
This soup is healthy, low fat and suitable for vegans. It’s my absolute favourite soup! The recipe was given to me by my artist friend, Roz Berkeley-Hill. She is one half of talented artist duo, Tipperley Hill. It has an Indian influence in the flavours from Roz’s father’s Indian heritage.
Read moreMelanzane alla Parmigiana
This is my version of the recipe and is how my Sicilian mother-in-law used to make it. It’s simple and yet very tasty. No breadcrumbs, mozzarella or other ingredients, just aubergines, basil, parmigiano and a tomato sauce. In Sicily its an antipasto not a main course so I always eat it with fresh crusty bread.
Don’t eat it directly from the oven as it’s too hot to appreciate the flavours. Wait until it is luke warm or even room temperature.
I always make more of both the aubergine slices and the sauce than I need for this dish so that I have some left over to use with pasta. There is nothing better than a plate of spaghetti with the tomato sauce and slices of fried aubergine on top and a sprinkle of parmigiano.
Read moreLamb Marinated in Yoghurt with Warm Barley Salad
Try this staple recipe of mine. It is always a huge hit with guests.
Read morePistachio and Pink Grapefruit Cake
Hi Everyone, here's a fantastic cake recipe from a recent weekend newspaper's magazine - simple to make and it has no dairy or gluten so very healthy. However that doesn't compromise the flavour because it is absolutely gorgeous and the cake will last for a week as it has a syrup drizzled over it.
Pistachio and Pink Grapefruit Cake
It makes a 20cm cake
150g shelled unsalted pistachios
1 and a half pink grapefurits
200g golden caster sugar
50g polenta
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
Pinch of salt
4 eggs
200g extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons honey (I use Australian Orange Blossom honey)
10g shelled salted pistachios (about 20) roughly chopped to decorate
1. Grease a 20cm loose-bottomed cake tin and line the base of it
2. Whizz the unsalted pistachios in a food processor until fairly finely ground.
3. Finely grate the zest of the grapefruits (I actually grate 2 grapefruits) and add this and the sugart to the processor, whizz briefly to combine then stir in the polenta, baking powder, cardamom and a pinch of salt
4. Whisk together the eggs and oil and stir these into the dry ingredients. Scrape into the tin
5. Put in to the oven and turn it to 180C (200C non-fan) - you don't need to preheat the oven for this cake!! Bake for 40-50 minutes, until set on the top.
6. Towards the end of the cooking time, juice the half grapefruit and heat this together with the honey in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer and take off the heat. Put the cake, still in its tin, on a plate with a rim and pour over the syrup, a little at a time, adding more once each lot has been absorbed. Leave to cool, then turn out and sprinkle with the chopped salted pistachios.
It is delicious served with half fat creme fraiche and even as a dessert.
Cardamom, pistachio & marmalade drizzle loaf
Hi everyone. It's ages since I posted a recipe and that's because I've been so lazy with trying new recipes in the last six months. However today I decided it was time to bake a cake and use a recipe that I've been wanting to try for ages because the ingredients really appealed to me - pistachios (my fave!), cardamom (another fave!) and marmalade. And of course the drizzle on the top I can never resist.
It's a BBC Good Food recipe and here it is. I highly recommend you make it as one of the most appealing things about it is that you throw everything in a bowl and mix it up. I can't be doing with those recipes that state you must cream the butter and sugar, then add the eggs and then the dry ingredients. With our busy lives and fast pace of life there's no time for that!!
Cardamom, pistachio & marmalade drizzle loaf
Serves 10 -12; prep time 10 minutes (yeah!!); Cook 1hr - 1hr 15min
Ingredients
Seeds from 8 cardamom pods
200g shelled pistachios
150g soft butter, in pieces plus extra for greasing
125g golden caster suga
3 large eggs
100g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp. of your favourite marmalade (I used my LA sister's as she makes the best)
2 tsp orange blossom water
FOR THE DRIZZLE
2 tbsp. marmalade (see above)
Juice of one lemon
50g caster sugar
1 tsp orange flower water
1. Heat over to 170C/150C fan/gas 3 and prepare a 19 x 7cm loaf tin - butter the inside and line the base with non-stick baking paper, or use a non-stick loaf liner
2. Crush the cardamom seeds in a pestle & mortar. Whizz half the pistachios in a processor or blender until very finely chopped.
3. Using an electric hand whisk (or an electric mixer), beat together the butter, sugar, eggs, flour, baking powder, marmalade, orange blossom water, crushed cardamom seeds, chopped pistachios and a pinch of salt in a bowl until combined. Roughly chop the rest of the pistachios and stir them into the cake mix.
4. Tip the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 1hr to 1hr 15mins, covering the top of the loaf with foil halfway through to prevent it over-browning.
5. For the drizzle, gently heat the marmalade, then combine with the other ingredients in a bowl and spoon on top of the warm loaf. Leave to cool in the tin then remove from the tin, cut into slices and eat it !!
Vanilla almond chia pudding
If you like tapioca-like puddings, you will love this. This is one of the easiest, healthiest and most delicious puddings (or breakfasts) and it's based on Chia seeds.
Read moreChicken, spinach & lentil coconut curry
Try your hand at this delicious curry that will delight your guests.
Read moreHealthy and yummy breakfast!
I just have to share this little gem of a recipe with you. It is one of the healthiest and yummiest breakfast/snacks ever and great for a hangover!! It's high in healthy vegetable protein and fat. And absolutely delicious.
Read moreMocha chocolate refrigerator cake
This mocha refrigerator cake is absolute divine and a must-try for your next dinner party.
Read moreOne of my favourite chicken recipes - Poulet à l’Estragon
This is one of my favourite chicken recipes. It's quick and easy and full of flavour. The faint aniseed flavour of tarragon intensifies the flavour of the chicken, making it both fresh tasting and very savoury.
Read more
