• Susan8 on October 02, 2021

  This is a brilliant book. The Ragu recipe is the best I've tried.

• Susan8 on October 02, 2021

  This book is brilliant. The Ragu recipe is simply the best I've tried.

Notes about Recipes in this book

• Trout with roasted hazelnut butter

  • wester on October 01, 2014

    The hazelnut butter was excellent, and it probably would work on other fish or even chicken.

• Mackerel steamed with slivers of fennel

  • wester on May 17, 2012

    I only made the fennel part of this recipe and combined it with the roast mackerel of page 68 of the same book (I don't have a steam pan that holds four mackerel), and rice. The combination was good. It was a nice way to make fennel, although I'm not sure you need to steam it if you're not steaming the mackerel as well - you might as well add a splash of water and put it directly on the fire.

• Roast mackerel with smoked mackerel mash

  • wester on May 17, 2012

    I only made the roast mackerel of this recipe and combined it with the fennel on page 65 of the same book (I didn't have enough potatoes at hand to make the full recipe), and rice. The combination was good, although some good bread (instead of the rice) to mop up the lovely pan juices would be even better. The fish was lovely and moist, and easy to make. A good basic technique.

• John Dory with red pepper, tomato and basil spaghetti

  • wester on May 17, 2012

    Good robust vegetable sauce, but I felt the fish didn't add much. I grilled not just the tomatoes but the other vegetables as well - 10-15 minutes on their own and another 10-15 with the tomatoes added.

• Roasted duck with red wine blackberries

  • Thermomixit on September 01, 2025

    This is such a good recipe if you want to impress! Not only is it extremely easy to prepare, with very few ingredients, but it tastes delicious. Once the duck was roasted, I poured off the duck fat in the pan and added the duck juices to the sauce - it gave it a really good depth of flavour. I served it with fine green beans and roasted, crushed potatoes, but a cauliflower purée would also work well.

• Roast pork with orange honey sauce

  • wester on March 01, 2018

    I just made the sauce, with chicken drippings instead of pork, and served it with roast chicken. My husband and son really liked it, my daughter thought it was too sweet.

• Grilled gammon with pear mayonnaise and a chicory salad

  • Pamsy on May 04, 2024

    Used radicchio and rocket, nice colourful combination on the plate. This was an easy dish to prep and slightly different with the pear mayonnaise. Really enjoyable.

• Steak au poivre burger

  • Thermomixit on March 28, 2024

    This is an absolute winner! A delicious take on the standard burger.

• Baked potatoes with sour cream, chives and bacon

  • lifeisadance5 on March 01, 2014

    Page 278

• Celeriac fries

  • wester on October 02, 2012

    The first time I made these as written, and they were good though not spectacular. The second time I kept them in the oven for about twice as long as the recipe says, turning them over halfway. Much better, soft and crusty. Easy to make and a nice alternative to chips.

• Spicy cauliflower

  • wester on June 25, 2012

    This is pretty much how I always make cauliflower - panfried with spices. The precooking of the cauliflower is not really necessary if the flowerets are small enough.

• Gorgonzola, Parma ham and rocket sauce

  • wester on September 18, 2012

    This really is a posh variation of pasta with spinach, blue cheese and bacon, and while it is a nice enough variation, it does not quite justify the higher expense.

• Pasta with chicken, sage and onion butter

  • wester on January 04, 2013

    Nice, classic flavors.

• Vanilla pear and peach salad

  • wester on August 05, 2014

    Too much carbs for me, but husband and kids liked it. It smells great as well. Simple and summery.

• Blackberry and almond tart

  • Thermomixit on March 28, 2024

    I don't know how many times I've made this, it's so delicious!