Notes about Recipes in this book

• Caramelised apple, ricotta and hazelnut pancakes

  • raybun on January 02, 2017

    These were a perfect way to start the new year. The orange juice and zest really added to the caramelized apples, and the pancakes are light and fluffy. The hazelnuts added to the mix add a nice crunch, definitely a repeat recipe.

  • saarwouters on September 18, 2017

    These were great for a Sunday morning! The flipping over of the pancakes was a disaster in the first batch (probably because of my very old pan, or lack of flipping skills...) So I baked the pancakes and apples separately. Yummie!

• Wholegrain nasi goreng with spinach

  • Boffcat on May 05, 2019

    I can't comment on how authentic or otherwise this tastes (it lacks the "fishy" component I'd usually associate with nasi goreng, but I'm no expert), but we enjoyed it, and it would be a good template for using up whatever vegetables (and indeed protein) you had to hand - I used carrots and spinach. I was worried that 125g of cooked rice wouldn't be nearly enough for two people, and used closer to 200g as that's what we had leftover, but in fact that was probably overly generous and I could have trusted the recipe more. (Mike might disagree, of course...)

• Roast sweet potato, pancetta and maple loaf

  • raybun on January 20, 2017

    I was intrigued by the ingredients and really wanted to love it, but the pancetta didn't do anything for me. The family didn't appreciate it very much either. I think it would have been fine had I omitted the pancetta, as the rest of the cake had a nice texture and taste.

  • Boffcat on May 11, 2019

    Very good - the preparation is a little bit of a performance as you have to first peel, chop and roast the sweet potatoes, but the final loaf is moist, flavoursome and unusual enough to be interesting. I reduced the maple syrup slightly (to just under 2 tbsp) and used streaky bacon in place of pancetta (predictably, it needed a much higher temperature than 170°C to crisp up!). If omitting the pancetta/bacon I would be tempted to substitute an alternative for both texture and additional flavour, as I felt it was a welcome inclusion. My loaf took 1h10 to cook.

• Parsnip, mustard and Comté soup

  • Silverscreensuppers on May 29, 2017

    Yum yum! If I make this again I will add a bit more mustard to give the soup more bite. But then, I am a mustard maniac!

• Lentil, feta and spinach fritters

  • kashley on February 05, 2017

    This is a great pantry meal.. Used frozen spinach with no problem. Leftover batter held until next day. Even my meat loving husband loved these fritters.

  • caitmcg on November 18, 2018

    Agree these are delicious, and the herbed yogurt accompaniment is a nice complement. They reheat well in a toaster oven.

• Herby Puy lentils, greens and smoked mackerel

  • catmummery on April 27, 2026

    this time made with hot smoked salmon; actually had all the ingredients. Delicious. Added a little more lemon and some seeds for texture.

• One-pan creamy squash pasta

  • sarahj22 on August 22, 2017

    Enjoyed this - an easy, tasty and comforting weeknight dinner. I didn't bother peeling the butternut squash and used 'fresh greens' instead of the cavolo nero. The flavours feel quite autumnal but the lemon juice brightens the dish. I'm sure I'll make this again during the colder months.

  • Mayandbill on November 09, 2022

    This recipe is available online here: thehappyfoodie.co.uk/recipes/one-pan-creamy-squash-pasta/

• Sausage and wild garlic linguine

  • Boffcat on May 05, 2019

    While this was nice, it wasn't particularly memorable, and I wasn't convinced the pesto showed the wild garlic to best advantage: I've been more impressed with wild garlic salsa verde.

• Black dal

  • Boffcat on May 24, 2019

    This was nice, but I feel my search for the perfect dahl makhani continues. It seemed very susceptible to catching on the bottom of the pan while cooking, to the point that it affected the quantities of finished dahl - the recipe suggested it would serve 8-10, but I felt mine wouldn't really go further than 6. Perhaps cooking it in a casserole in a very low oven would avert the burning issues I had. This version of dahl makhani seems to use fewer spices than most; I would probably try a recipe with more complex/layered spicing next time, though perhaps copy Georgina Hayden's approach of an extremely long cooking time and building richness through alternating milk and water, rather than relying in excessive quantities of butter or cream.

• Hearty fish stew with almond skordalia

  • TrishaCP on February 16, 2020

    There are so many steps in this recipe, but we thought this was really good. It seemed to me that I was adding a lot of fennel, but it gets tamed by the acid and garlic in the dish. I used sea bass, squid, and halibut in this stew. The squid were a tad chewy following the cook times, so I would add them a few minutes earlier than the other seafood next time. I also only used one lemon, as my lemons were big and the stew was already pretty acidic. I did use the fregola, and it thickened the dish considerably. I would skip the pasta altogether if you want more of a soup.

• Slow-cooked chicken rendang with gentle spiced rice

  • raybun on January 09, 2017

    A really delicious dish! Worth hunting down galangal if you have the time (often in the freezer of Asian supermarkets). Requires quite a bit of attention at the end as there's a few seconds between evaporating the sauce and it catching but so worth it. Looking forward to leftovers.

• Roast harissa butter chicken and cracked wheat

  • raybun on January 31, 2017

    Another excellent recipe from this book. The chicken was very flavourful and not too spicy for my daughter. I served with coucous and Ottolenghi's roast parsnips and sweet potatoes with caper vinaigrette. Delicious!

  • sarahj22 on September 14, 2017

    Really delicious and easy recipe - once you've made the seasoned butter most of the work is done. My mum and I cooked it for my family substituting rice for bulgur wheat as my dad isn't a fan of the latter. You probably lose some of the texture/nuttiness of bulgur but the seasoning also worked very nicely with rice (stick to the method of cooking on the hob with onion, tomatoes and stock but adjust the cooking times). Fresh herbs, lemon and yogurt add a beautiful freshness. Definitely a repeat recipe.

• Adobo brisket with griddled pineapple salsa

  • raybun on January 20, 2017

    We absolutely loved this dish, the meat was meltingly delicious and the pineapple salsa really went well with it. I'll try this in the slow cooker next time for convenience sake. I served it with rice and tortillas.

  • greenqueen888 on June 01, 2025

    Threw all apart from salsa in slow cooker. Worked a treat. Thought too much juice at end but was all absorbed in meat once shredded. Pineapple salsa sets it off perfectly.

• Spiced lamb with dates and herb-dressed farro

  • raybun on February 05, 2017

    This was a really comforting dish, the lamb was very tender and the sauce was mildly spicy. I used pearl barley instead of farro as that's what I had on hand. We really enjoyed it, the little one not so much.

• Whole roasted miso aubergine

  • Boffcat on May 08, 2019

    I felt the tamarind rather ruined this - its sourness dominated the dish, preventing the umami of the miso from making much impact. If making again I'd omit the tamarind entirely.

• Sticky harissa carrots and beets with dates

  • raybun on March 13, 2017

    This was delicious, an excellent flavour combination! An EYB member recommended this recipe to me on instagram and I just happened to have all the ingredients. I threw in a couple of parsnips too, and even my beet hating husband ate it without any fuss. I'll try it with rose harissa next time. Served with roast chicken.

• Killer dressed roast potatoes

  • VineTomato on December 19, 2017

    So, so, so good! Never been a fan of potatoes or roasting them this recipe may have changed my mind. What a thing to discover just before embarking on the blood sugar diet in January where potatoes are a no no. Sigh. Will get another batch in over christmas!

• Almond, oat and raisin cookies

  • sarahj22 on October 27, 2024

    Really tasty and easy. The author says you can sub in any nut butter for the almond butter (she recommends peanut) but since there's a nut allergy in our house I used tahini instead, which worked well. She also says you don't need to blitz the oats, so I didn't bother. I cut back on the sugar by around a fifth and still found them sweet enough.