Notes about Recipes in this book

• Chocolate and beetroot muffins

  • e_ballad on September 25, 2021

    These were very beetrooty - Nigel Slater & Hugh F-W have much nicer versions.

• Chicken and miso noodle salad

  • Rinshin on February 15, 2018

    This salad handles variety of vegetables and herbs well. The ratio of dressing to this noodle salad is twice what you need. Best to halve the dressing. I also thought the amount of togarashi was excessive and was perfect at 1 & 3/4 tsp. I added asparagus and egg slices. Very good tasting and good use of miso and soba. Red miso or brown miso works well. For chicken, used store bought rotisserie chicken. Photo added.

  • hbakke on August 22, 2023

    Tasty dinner. I was out of togarashi so I subbed my own spice blend. The dressing is flavorful and delicious. I would make this again and probably add herbs and more vegetables as that is normally my preference.

• Tomato and red lentil soup

  • e_ballad on July 24, 2021

    Quick & tasty enough, but doesn’t really stand out from other red lentil soup recipes.

• Orange yoghurt cake

  • e_ballad on July 15, 2018

    This was really doughy, with no ‘cake crumb’ to speak of. There’s lots of orange cake recipes out there - you don’t have to waste your time with this one.

• Beef and mushroom pie

  • e_ballad on November 13, 2020

    This was ok, but hardly memorable. The meat could have benefited from a bigger hit of umami.

• Chicken and leek pie

  • e_ballad on December 22, 2019

    I was unsure about this one, given the addition of cannellini beans, but this was a big hit with the whole family.

• Bacon and egg pie

  • e_ballad on December 11, 2017

    Whilst it tasted ok, there were a few flaws in this recipe. If you line a pie dish with puff pastry (base & sides), then proceed to blindbake the pastry, it WILL pool in a puddle at the base. Even after rescuing the general shape by smooching the pastry back up the sides, the base WILL still be soggy. So don’t bother about that step. As I was concerned that the short cooking time would result in raw cauliflower, I cut it beyond ‘small florets’ into almost-julienne: still barely cooked. I’d be tempted to roast the cauli in the time you would have wasted blindbaking, then adding it to the egg custard with the other ingredients.

• Zucchini slice

  • e_ballad on July 30, 2020

    We’re more accustomed to a firmer texture in other zucchini slice recipes, so was surprised that this was more quiche-like in texture. Good, but not enough to distinguish from other recipes.

• Inauthentic tacos

  • e_ballad on August 08, 2018

    We found this quite bland. Needs a different seasoning mix to spark these up a bit.

• Shakshuka

  • e_ballad on March 29, 2020

    An excellent shakshuka recipe, though I still prefer Ottolenghi’s recipe.

• Baked veggies and haloumi

  • e_ballad on October 20, 2018

    A fantastic roast veggie recipe if you don’t already have one in your repertoire.

• Me Mum's sausage hotpot with baked potatoes

  • e_ballad on July 19, 2020

    An old-fashioned favourite. Inhaled by the kids.

• Corned beef with parsley sauce

  • e_ballad on October 04, 2019

    A fairly typical corned beef recipe that will serve you well. Will not usurp the Karen Martini recipe that we prefer however.

• Apricot chicken 2017

  • e_ballad on November 16, 2020

    A perfectly fine recipe, but if looking for a truly excellent updated version of ‘apricot chicken’, the Karen Martini version packs a lot more flavour. Unfortunately, none of the spices came through in this recipe.

• The Mrs' toasted couscous salad

  • e_ballad on November 16, 2020

    Very good side dish. The suggested ‘apricot chicken’ accompaniment overwhelmed it, so I would suggest putting this to better use elsewhere.

• Baked beans

  • Cati on December 25, 2017

    This recipe seems to be the same as in Mr Wilkinson's Favourite Vegetables, where it got a good review.

• Eat Your Books by Jenny Hartin

  A great mix of easy throw together weeknight suppers (Double cheese quesadillas) and meals that take a little effort for a weekend (Prawn dumplings with Asian greens). Something for everyone here.

  Full review