Notes about Recipes in this book

• Apple snow

  • sharifah on December 08, 2016

    Very quick and easy to make. Much simpler than HughFearnley Whittingstall's apple snow in Fruit. Enough for 4 people; very nice, not too sweet and would make again. Needs a biscuit / shortbread to go with it though.

• Crunch-topped banana bread

  • sharifah on December 08, 2016

    I thought this cake was too 'busy' when I was mixing it; there's walnuts, chocolate, cinnamon, nutmeg...which detracts from the simple banana flavour. But again, in my search for the best banana cake...this cake would be pretty close at the top! Lovely cake! Nice, moist, not too sweet and the demerara topping with spices finishes it beautifully.

• Liz at No. 24's Chinese sausage rolls

  • Ro_ on November 01, 2020

    I made these in advance and left them unbaked in the fridge for a few hours until I was ready to bake them: this worked fine. I made a half batch, and also found that in order to use all the pastry I needed slightly more sausage mix than the quantity stated. For me there was slightly too much five spice in the sausage mix, I would reduce this next time. All that said, my family absolutely loved these and said I have to make them again.

• Irish Kate's oaty soda bread

  • Ro_ on November 20, 2019

    Best soda bread recipe I've tried yet. I used all buttermilk instead of buttermilk + regular milk (since it turned out my regular milk had gone bad) and didn't have quite enough wholemeal flour for the full quantity so made it up with extra plain flour. But I don't think either of those things mattered: this bread turned out really well and was delicious. Allegra recommends letting it cool completely before eating, but I was impatient and only gave it 45 minutes, it was still great.

• Chinesey chicken wings

  • Ro_ on September 28, 2021

    Perfect chicken wings EXCEPT I'd have liked a bit more sweetness. Next time I'd add some honey.

• Puy lentil & herb salad

  • Ro_ on August 03, 2020

    This was quite vinegary and sharp generally. Without the ricotta it would have been overwhelming. I think I'd add some honey or sugar next time, and use less vinegar and onion. The herbs were very nice.

• Flat-pack cooking the Mexican way (aka quesadillas)

  • Ro_ on October 17, 2020

    I don't know if it's my particular brand of chilli powder, but these turned out overwhelmingly spicy, to the point where you couldn't really taste anything else. A shame - next time I'd use just a tiny pinch of chilli powder instead of the teaspoon instructed.

• Perfect chicken breast with chickpea pilaf

  • Apsie on September 07, 2015

    Made this for the first time tonight. The pilaf is delicious, and a really great store cupboard staple. I substituted vegetable stock for the chicken stock as we have a mix of meat eaters and veggies in our house, and served it with the chicken for the carnivores and falafels for the veggies. Also added some steamed broccoli and a tahini yoghurt sauce. Perfect easy Monday evening dinner.

• Beetroot, salmon & couscous salad

  • joneshayley on December 02, 2017

    Made this with giant cous cous- it was delicious. I added black sesame seeds and some fried chilli flakes which complemented the flavours perfectly.

• Chateaubriand with red wine sauce

  • Ro_ on October 23, 2021

    Didn't find this that special.

• Spatchcock poussins with sweet chilli & yoghurt marinade

  • Ro_ on November 02, 2021

    I wanted to do the poussins but couldn't get them, so made with chicken legs (hence the inaccurate picture!). This marinade was so simple and so delicious, I will definitely be repeating this. The juices it gave were also amazing served over the rice. Rice and salad were perfect accompaniments.

• Poached trout with warm potato salad

  • Ro_ on July 13, 2020

    I just made the warm potato salad (without the trout) as I was intrigued by the idea of the pickled cucumbers in with the potatoes. Ultimately it was nice, but I think I prefer potato salads with a creamy dressing so I probably wouldn't repeat this. It would probably work well in the original context, with trout.

• Mushroom soup with meaning

  • Ro_ on September 30, 2019

    My go-to mushroom soup recipe, packed with flavour.

• A salad with integrity & value (not to mention a truly different kind of dressing)

  • Ro_ on September 30, 2019

    One of our favourite salad recipes, and it feels so virtuous as well since it's packed with good things. I think what makes this work so well is the creamy tangy sauce and all the different textures in the salad itself: ever so slightly crunchy brocolli, soft chickpeas, crunchy seeds, the gloopiness of the dressing...I must have made it at least 20 times and it never fails to satisfy and bring a smile.

• Ali's authentic aubergine curry

  • Ro_ on October 15, 2021

    Careful not to burn the mustard/cumin seeds, it can happen quickly. There was a lot I liked about this curry, but it wasn't my ultimate aubergine curry ever.

• Toad-in-the-hole with cidery onions

  • Ro_ on October 30, 2020

    A very nice recipe for this classic British dish. My only criticism is that I'd have liked my cidery onion sauce to be a little bit less liquid and a bit more savoury/beefy, I wonder if adding a bit of flour and perhaps using beef stock might give me what I'm looking for.

• Spaghetti & meatballs

  • Ro_ on October 02, 2021

    Nice, quick, easy spaghetti and meatballs recipe. My family loved it. I used sausages for the ground pork (squeezed them out of their cases). Will repeat.

• Salmon and leek fishcakes

  • ElianeW on November 20, 2017

    Tasty but a bit fiddly and more time-consuming than I wanted for a midweek meal.

• Roast chicken dinner (the simple way)...

  • Beth891 on February 03, 2025

    Very tasty and one to make again. I skipped the lemon and instead added some lemon chicken rub from Steenbergs. For the gravy I blitzed the onion carrot, juices, deglazed the tray and added a low salt chicken stock cube. Very tasty and full of flavour

• Wellington for Waterloo

  • joneshayley on May 03, 2015

    Amazing show off recipe, worth the time and effort, the result is spectacular. ( although I did cheat and use a ready roll sheet of pastry)

• Bonfire chilli con carne

  • joneshayley on May 03, 2015

    Nicer the next day. But not as deep in flavour as it could be.

  • Ro_ on October 05, 2021

    I made this a few hours early and let it sit, I think it benefitted. Served over nachos with cheese, sour cream and guac. Delicious.

• The richest chocolate cake in the world

  • Ro_ on September 26, 2020

    This cake isn't a looker, but it really does taste good. I liked the texture that came from the addition of whipped egg whites, and I love that all the chocolateyness in it comes from actual chocolate, instead of cocoa powder. Will make again!

• Pan-Asian dressing

  • Ro_ on February 22, 2021

    Nice dressing, and something a little unusual. Very quick and simple to make.