Notes about Recipes in this book

• Burrata with fennel, roast peppers, anchovies and capers

  • Jane on October 03, 2018

    This was a very fresh and healthy-seeming meal. I liked the combination of fennel, capers, anchovies and roasted peppers with the smooth, creamy cheese. It was very quick to put together - I cheated and used jarred roast peppers.

  • Foodycat on July 10, 2018

    I used caperberries because I'd run out of capers. To me this tastes very Italian, with the very olive oil-heavy dressing and only a touch of acidity from lemon juice. With some nice bread, this would be a good meal on its own.

  • LizzieLozza on April 27, 2021

    Nice in a very 90s kind of way

• Roast tomatoes, fennel and chickpeas with preserved lemons and honey

  • Jane on September 29, 2018

    This packs a lot of flavor. From the harissa on the roasted tomatoes to the caramelized fennel to the preserved lemon dressing there is a lot going on. I found I didn't have chickpeas so I used white beans instead. This is a recipe I will repeat.

  • michalow on August 25, 2020

    This dirties several dishes, but the prep work is pretty quick and easy. I didn't even get around to the preserved lemon dressing, because the veggie components were so flavorful on their own. I tossed the chickpeas in with the fennel prior to going into the oven rather than stirring in at the end, so they absorbed the dressed and were as lemony and delicious as the rest. Scraped the bottom of the harissa jar to get a tablespoon (instead of 1.5) for the tomatoes, and that seemed like enough. Served over herby couscous topped with toasted almonds, and found this very hard to stop eating. Will make again for sure.

  • ksg518 on July 10, 2021

    I've made this several times. It's very good although probably too much work for a weeknight since you dress and cook the tomatoes and fennel separately and make a separate dressing for the final dish. You also have to let it cool to room temperature after roasting. That said, it is very good and the final dressing with preserved lemon is fantastic.

  • Foodycat on September 25, 2018

    It's a bit of a fiddle - you make different dressings for the fennel and tomatoes and then roast them separately, before adding them to the chickpeas and a third dressing - but it's very nice. And with maple syrup or something instead of honey it would be a good vegan main course. I used parsley instead of mint or coriander, and I think mint would have been better.

  • Boffcat on May 29, 2021

    I love this, and it's a great, impressive dish to make ahead. The tomatoes tend to yield quite a lot of juices, so you could probably get away without making the separate dressing if you really wanted to. I'm not sure I'd want to eat it with Ms Henry's suggestion of couscous, though - I reach for bread to mop up all the delicious juices.

• Roast pumpkin and cauliflower with black beans and cascabel chillies

  • Jane on September 29, 2018

    I made this with butternut squash instead of pumpkin and ancho chiles instead of cascabel. It was a very straightforward roasted vegetable dish. There was quite a bit of heat from the chile dressing in which the vegetables roasted. The lime/garlic/cilantro dressing at the end is fairly essential to lift the dish. I think this would be better as a side dish than a vegetarian main.

  • michalow on September 24, 2019

    This is a simple but delicious recipe, featuring a "why didn't I think of that?" combination of ingredients that comes together brilliantly. I did leave the veggies in the oven quite a bit longer than called for (50 minutes instead of 30). The squash (I used red kuri) and onions were perfect at this point, while the cauliflower was cooked but still a bit firmer than I'd like. I'll cut the cauli a bit smaller than the squash chunks next time. Rather than tossing in the black beans, I served the roasted vegetables over a saute of farro, kale, and black beans, then garnished it all with lime juice and zest, cilantro, and halved cherry tomatoes. The result was an unexpectedly terrific meal. Leftovers delicious in tacos the next day.

  • Pimlicocook on December 07, 2022

    Simple but delicious - I added roasted kale, keeping the veg separate on the tray so that each could roast as long as necessary (my butternut squash took some 40min) and it was a perfect vegetarian meal in one. The garlic, lime and herbs scattered on at the end do lift the dish, as DH says. Will definitely make again.

• Mango cheeks in lime and ginger syrup

  • mllamas on March 29, 2019

    This is very sweet. I'd make this with an under-ripe mango next time, or plan to serve over ice cream or yogurt.

• Crostini with crushed broad beans and 'nduja

  • SheilaS on September 15, 2018

    This is beans on toast taken to a whole different level. If serving as a starter, I'd recommend using very small slices of bread. I used a sliced ciabatta and it was satisfying enough to be a light supper on its own. I used frozen fava beans and believe that other beans (in addition to the recommended peas) will also be delicious here.

  • joneshayley on July 30, 2019

    I used peas as per the book suggestion. This is delicious- a nice starter if served in small slices, or a light brilliant lunch/ supper. I love anything with nduja, but the flavouring of the purée is what made this really sing.

• Melon and goat's curd with red wine and lavender dressing

  • SheilaS on September 11, 2018

    This is nice enough. Easy to put together and pretty on the plate but not as interesting as I thought it might be. Slices of melon drizzled with lavender-infused red wine and goat cheese. In the photo in the book, the red wine dressing looks rich and syrupy - as if it was a reduction - but there is no instruction to reduce it. Mine looked more like I spilled red wine on my melon.

• White peaches in chilled Moscato

  • SheilaS on September 08, 2018

    Just delightful. I chose the Cardinale Lanata Moscato d'Asti, described as having peach and honey flavors. I'd normally find the wine quite sweet to drink on its own , but as Foodycat said, it was just perfect here.

  • Foodycat on June 17, 2018

    I tend to think moscato is bland and over-sweet as a wine, but it really works well in this incredibly simple but lovely dessert. I used white doughnut peaches which weren't all as ripe as they could be, but the slightly spritzy wine and peaches played so beautifully together.

  • sosayi on August 22, 2019

    A simple and light, yet delicious, summer dessert. Not too sweet, either. Would make again, for sure.

• Elderflower gin and tonic

  • SheilaS on September 11, 2018

    Since I didn't have elderflower blossoms on hand nor a wish to shake them in a bottle of gin every day for a week, I modified this by adding 1/4 oz elderflower liqueur to my gin and tonic. I always think of a G&T on super hot summer days but this one is perfect for springtime.

  • joneshayley on July 27, 2019

    Beautiful aperitif. A start to a splendid meal.

• Apricot tart

  • TrishaCP on July 02, 2018

    The flavors of this are good. (I did have to throw in a few blueberries because I was just a bit short of apricots. I added them with the almonds.) I didn't love the pastry- it was a bit too thick and crumbly for me.

  • Foodycat on June 29, 2018

    Recipe also online https://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/recipes/10872486/Apricot-and-almond-tart-recipe.html (a couple of changes to the wording) So good. Lovely balance of flavours and a very obedient, crumbly pastry.

• Kir Breton

  • lilham on December 24, 2018

    A very simple red sparkling alcoholic drink. Looks great and so simple to make. It literally is just a bit of creme de cassis with cider.

• Pink grapefruit and basil ice cream

  • celialemos on March 02, 2021

    Infuse the basil and decidedly not too sweet as each note on here mentions. Feels or tricks the brain into thinking it's more like a sorbet or a palate cleanser because of the grapefruit but it's actually an ice cream or it can also be a gelato.

  • joneshayley on July 27, 2019

    Delicious- not too sweet, the basil comes through, and the grapefruit is sweet sour. A perfect ice cream. A perfect end to a wonderful menu

• Smoked haddock and celeriac gratin

  • FJT on October 12, 2020

    This was lovely but very rich. Made with smoked mackerel as I couldn't get smoked haddock. If I made it again I would be tempted to omit the cream and just cook the potatoes and celeriac in fish stock.

  • Pamsy on May 19, 2020

    Comfort food at its best. Wouldn't normally buy celeriac but had 2 bags of frozen, diced, from Waitrose as a freezer back up during CV. Changed the recipe slightly and rather than cream, made a thinnish bechamel. Cubed my potatoes and par boiled for 9 mins adding the celeriac for the final 4 minutes. Used smoked coley from Fishbox delivery. Baked for 45 mins at 190c. Served with carrots and peas for colour. Will definitely repeat.

• Fennel, cucumber and grape salad with pistachios

  • KarinaFrancis on May 24, 2021

    A gorgeous autumn salad that would go with most grilled or roast meat - chicken, fish, lamb. The cutting of the fennel and cucumber on the mandolin somehow makes it more elegant. I don't have white balsamic and figuring that regular balsamic would make it look ugly I subbed in cider vinegar with a touch of honey.

• Spinach and ricotta gnudi

  • KarinaFrancis on May 04, 2020

    Delicious, soft and surprisingly light. We halved the recipe for the 2 of us so didn’t add the onion (because 1/8 of an onion would be silly) and didn’t miss it. We added a few chilli flakes to the butter which I’d do again.

  • joneshayley on July 27, 2019

    Wonderful, perfectly soft, rich, but light. Absolutely the highlight of the menu

  • Larkspur on September 07, 2018

    Delicious

  • grindabod on August 20, 2018

    These pillowy clouds of ricotta and spinach are hard not to fall in love with. Easy to make, classy and just delicious. Makes you thankful that butter exists.

• Korean cucumber salad (Oi muchim)

  • KarinaFrancis on April 20, 2020

    Nice side dish to go with any number of Asian dishes, not just Korean. Quick, easy and tasty

  • Foodycat on July 29, 2018

    A very good side dish for cutting through rich meaty flavours.

• Cheddar, onion and spinach tart

  • anniette on October 20, 2020

    Agree with Larkspur and Foodycat. Time consuming. Delicious, though! Made 2 ½ times recipe in half sheet pan. Too shallow—had 2 cups custard left over—my fault, but still lovely. Gave pastry one full turn. Flaky and good. Will make again. (Added bacon pieces left over from a corn chowder recipe.)

  • Foodycat on January 24, 2019

    Incredibly delicious. I added some grated nutmeg because I can't help myself.

  • Larkspur on August 30, 2019

    Delicious but plan ahead as each step takes some time.

• Allioli

  • joneshayley on July 28, 2019

    Very nice aioli.

• Tinga poblana

  • joneshayley on August 01, 2019

    Well worth roasting the tomatoes first. Yet add a smoky depth. I halved the chillis as we don’t like a lot of spice. It was absolutely perfect for us. The accompanying rice compliments it beautifully.

  • Frenchfoodie on June 10, 2019

    Yum, this was good and pretty easy to prepare, just needs time to simmer away. My dried chipotles packed a real punch, even removing early there was quite a lot of heat. Will definitely make again. Pork was tender yet still moist. Agree with previous reviewer on the cheese - you want freshness (sour cream would be nice too), feta is generally a bit strong.

  • pattyatbryce on February 15, 2019

    Very good recipe. I really wouldn't use feta or goat cheese. Prefer queso fresco.

• Arroz verde

  • joneshayley on August 01, 2019

    Delicious! To go with the Tonga this is perfection. Fresh and flavourful alongside the smoky chilli.

• Leg of lamb stuffed with lemon and many herbs

  • joneshayley on July 27, 2019

    As promised, the marinade seeps into and flavours every inch of meat. This will be my go to recipe for lamb. I cooked mine more than Diana suggested, and next time will be more bold and go for the pinker lamb as she suggests.

• Sarassou

  • joneshayley on July 27, 2019

    Brilliant unexpected sauce to accompany the lamb. Tangy , tart and rich.

• Broad beans with lettuce, shallots and mint

  • joneshayley on July 27, 2019

    Outstanding side dish. All of my guests complimented this, it complements the lamb perfectly - as it would any other spring time roast.

• Pan con tomate with anchovies

  • joneshayley on July 28, 2019

    Lovely. The tomato water and grated tomato are so flavourful- this is exactly as I have had it in Barcelona. Delicious and evocative.

• Zurra jellies with strawberries in sherry

  • joneshayley on July 28, 2019

    What a dessert! A tangy flavourful jelly that bubbles on the tongue (the cava) with beautifully dressed strawberries. Visually stunning and just as good to eat

• Courgette, ricotta and pecorino fritters

  • joneshayley on July 28, 2019

    A lovely recipe for light little fritters.

  • Foodycat on May 23, 2018

    My mixture was a really stiff dough, so I added another egg. It took a few batches before my pan was properly up to temperature (so fortunately I wasn't making them for company) but once they were turning nicely they were so delicious. Used 3 large courgettes, which makes them one to remember for the summer glut.

• Roast split aubergines with goat's cheese

  • joneshayley on July 31, 2019

    Soft cheese, tangy sumac and melting aubergine. Delicious.

  • Foodycat on June 18, 2018

    So simple! The aubergine ends up perfectly creamy and juicy, even with just the drizzle of oil after cooking, and the sumac punches up the goats cheese. I'm sure it would be good with labneh if you are a goats cheese avoider, though.

  • sosayi on June 06, 2018

    We grilled our eggplants, instead of roasting in the oven, but otherwise followed the recipe exactly. I might be a little more heavy handed on the sumac next time, but overall a great quick and easy side dish (especially during grilling season). I loved the goat cheese/eggplant combo. Served with the Lamb Kofta and Sweet Pickled Cherries from the same menu, along with WW grilled flatbreads and garlic yogurt.

• Lamb kofta

  • joneshayley on July 31, 2019

    These are delicious, I made with turkey mince, which was lovely, but it would be better with lamb. Heavily herbed and lightly spiced, be sure to add plenty of pepper to counter the sweet of the cinnamon. With the cherries this is a great combination.

  • Foodycat on June 17, 2018

    I halved the mixture and just formed it into patties, because it was just for family and I couldn't be bothered impressing. The step of squeezing out the onion is well worth doing. Really well-flavoured kofta. I wasn't sure about the pickled cherries, but I had some in the cupboard (made to the recipe in Salt Sugar Smoke, which is slightly different to the one in this book) so I added them. They worked so well together!

  • sosayi on June 06, 2018

    Delicious lamb kofta, that I think were even better on the grill. The mixture was a bit wet, so I used a double pronged skewer and, once formed, I refrigerated it well before cooking so that it would firm up. I think you'd need that or a bigger flat skewer to keep it together, fyi. Good mix of spices, and the meat played gorgeously with the pickled cherries (which I wish I'd made more of). This recipe makes a fair amount, so I froze half prior to cooking. Even with that, we had plenty for 3 with leftovers for a lunch.

  • stepharama1 on August 31, 2022

    I was very disappointed with this recipe although I'm a fan of Diana Henry. I squeezed the juice out of the onion as directed by the recipe and which was also noted as essential by another reviewer. When I fried the sample patty, the texture was hard and almost rubbery. I'm not sure if it was because of squeezing the juice from the onion or if it was because my ground lamb was too lean. To fix the problem, I soaked some fresh bread crumbs in half and half and added some additional seasonings - urfa chile and whole mountain cumin (the spicing directed in the recipe was a little bland and lacked oomph). This resulted in a kofta that we really enjoyed.

• Sweet pickled cherries

  • joneshayley on July 31, 2019

    Surprisingly delicious and so complementary to the kofta from the same book.

  • sosayi on June 06, 2018

    We had these with the paired Lamb Kofta and the mix of spices, herbs and gamey meat with the sweet pickled cherry was outstanding. I only prepped them a day in advance, but they were still good. I'll have to see how they change over the next week, but don't be put off if you don't make them that far in advance. They still will taste great.

• Turkish coffee ice cream

  • joneshayley on July 31, 2019

    This is beautiful, coffee and cardamom complement one another perfectly and in the sweet creamy ice, they are fragrant and beautiful. A very grown up ice cream.

• Strawberry and buttermilk ice cream

  • ksg518 on June 09, 2020

    Just delicious. Very easy to make since there is no cooking but I would only try this with ripe in-season berries.

  • Frenchfoodie on June 12, 2019

    Crazy good, sherbety strawberry delight. Easy to make, beautiful colour, great taste. A winner!

  • Frenchfoodie on November 11, 2019

    Stunningly good, smooth and sherbet-like (as promised in the recipe). A hit with adults and kids. I used just buttermilk, not 3/4 buttermilk and 1/4 sour cream.

• Leeks with Breton vinaigrette

  • Foodycat on July 02, 2018

    Incredibly delicious dressing! I grilled baby leeks on the bbq instead of steaming larger ones. Will make again.

• Jenny's sago gula melaka

  • Foodycat on July 08, 2022

    I think of sago pearls as being bigger than tapioca, so I was worried that the cook time would be wrong but it was absolutely spot on for my pandan tapioca. So delicious - the pandan-infused gula melaka syrup is lovely.

• Arroz negro with romesco sauce

  • Foodycat on April 01, 2019

    I just added the raw squid to the rice a couple of minutes from the end. It was tender and delicious. This is also one of the nicest romesco sauce recipes I have tried.

• Tuscan grape bread and Italian cheese

  • Foodycat on February 25, 2019

    I've made a few different versions of Schiacciata con L'uva over the years but this has been the best. I actually added the raisins and marsala to the dough, and kneaded it with the dough hook on the mixer - so it was very wet - and then did an 18 hour rise in the fridge, before knocking back, shaping and putting back in the fridge for 4 hours for the second rise. Absolutely delicious. We had it with taleggio and a beautiful ripe goats cheese.

  • e_ballad on March 03, 2020

    A tasty recipe, though you really need to shove all of the grapes deeply into the dough - I pushed them to embed them into the surface, but they were all perched precariously when it came to unveiling the final product. Make sure that you don't skimp on the herbs.

• Wild mushrooms and potatoes

  • Foodycat on September 22, 2018

    I used a mixture of girolles and button mushrooms, but I wish I had access to fresh ceps - they would be ideal for this. It's a bit of a fiddle, doing the bits separately, but it is delicious.

• Seville orange tart

  • Foodycat on March 01, 2019

    I was NOT having a good baking day. I think the times given are inaccurate (I checked the orange slices at 25 minutes baking and they were unusable charcoal crisps, I baked the tart for 40 minutes and it was firm and cracked a bit) and even though I read and re-read the method, and thought it was weird that it wasn't there, I kept missing the zest added to the filling, so mine just had juice. And it STILL tasted lovely. It took 8 Seville oranges to give me 225ml juice.

• Onglet with roast beets and horseradish cream

  • Foodycat on September 22, 2018

    Each element of this is worth doing on its own - excellent horseradish cream recipe, and a really good technique for cooking onglet, which can be a tricky thing.

• Tonno del Chianti

  • Foodycat on September 16, 2018

    So delicious and so simple but good grief it makes a mess - the process of pouring off the cooking liquid left me and the kitchen absolutely coated in grease.

• White beans with red onions, parsley and lemon

  • Foodycat on September 16, 2018

    Delicious with the Tonno del Chianti. The process of cooking the beans with aromatics and then adding them to more flavourings was fiddlier than I usually do with beans, but the end result was excellent.

• Tomates Provençales aux anchois

  • Foodycat on July 02, 2018

    Too hot to have the oven running, so I did these in a foil dish in the kettle bbq. Lovely summer vegetable dish.

• Spatchcocked chicken with chilli, garlic, parsley and almond pangrattato

  • Foodycat on May 20, 2018

    I didn't do the onions, and cooked the chicken on a charcoal grill for 45 minutes. Really delicious - the pangrattato is wonderful and I want to put it on other things, maybe just on spaghetti aglio e olio, or over a cauliflower cheese.

• Crab cakes with cucumber pickle

  • Foodycat on July 30, 2018

    I only made the crab cakes - they were very good. Delicate, and they need to get a good crust on them before you flip them, but a lovely taste and texture.

• Crab, tomato and saffron tart

  • Charlotte_vandenberg on July 31, 2020

    Even more delicious on the next day. The dough was flaky and cooked perfectly, we used crab from a tin.

  • Boffcat on May 29, 2021

    Delicious, even if budget doesn't stretch to saffron and crab - I've also made a more everyday version using smoked salmon and chives, and enjoyed it just as much.

• Pumpkin with shatta and black barley

  • e_ballad on May 21, 2018

    I’d trust Diana implicitly when it comes to matters of the kitchen, however, I’m not about to repeat the instructions to half-roast the pumpkin, toss in spiced butter, then continue roasting. The mush was tasty though, as was the fiery shatta & mellow black barley. A great dish, but I’d add the spices from the beginning of the roasting.

• Rye bread with radish butter and salmon caviar

  • meginyeg on May 13, 2021

    Used regular radishes. Really tasty. Definitely will make again.

• Rhubarb, marmalade and rosemary cake

  • grindabod on September 01, 2020

    Impulse bought what I reckoned would be the last of the season's rhubarb (I was right) and ended up using it in this cake. It was absolutely wonderful. The rosemary gives the cake a curious herby tinge and the marmalade makes it feel quite classy. Loved every last crumb of it.

• Raspberry, blackberries and figs in late-harvest Riesling

  • Frenchfoodie on August 25, 2020

    I just used a bog standard semi sweet wine and this was still delicious and looked good - turning a gorgeous pink colour from the figs. Frozen rasberries worked well, added not long before serving.

• Slow-roast duck legs with sweet-sour plums

  • Frenchfoodie on November 12, 2019

    This was lovely. I rendered the duck legs a little so I could toss par boiled potato in the fat and roast together. The real star was the plums though. The fruit I used was very disappointing raw but the cooked plums were amazing, deep, rich, tangy and a bit christmasy without being overwhelming. I cut the sugar by almost 1/4 and used dark brown (muscovado). The only other change was to use english mustard rather than yelliw mustard seeds.

• Gooseberry and almond cake with lemon thyme syrup

  • nzxnick on December 22, 2020

    Beautiful recipe absolutely fantastic dessert. Cooked it slightly longer than recipe indicated knowing it was going to be drenched in syrup. Placed gooseberries were perfect and I would not swap Creme fraiche for cream.

• Pear, blackberry and hazelnut cake

  • Meylerl on February 05, 2020

    Very moist, consider adding some of the blackberries part way through cooking so they don't all sink to the bottom

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