• FeastsandFestivals on June 22, 2012

  Totally agree, and wonderful if you have a 'what on earth shall I cook tonight ?' moment. Just go to the same date in this and there you have an answer....

• MelMM on August 05, 2010

  Slater's books are always a good read, but this one in particular reads as more like a memoir than a cookbook. It's a fascinating and honest look at how the writer actually eats on a day to day basis, and yes, sometimes it is just a pizza delivery. Of course there are also recipes, and some real winners too.

Notes about Recipes in this book

• A wonderfully moist, fresh plum cake

  • Jane on October 15, 2012

    Perfect fall dessert. As he says, very moist. Juicy slices of plum encased in tender almond cake studded with nuts (I used pecans rather than walnuts because I prefer them). It looked really pretty too - many slices of fruit sink but enough sit on top surrounded by browned almond batter for a good presentation.

  • Jane on April 26, 2020

    I was looking for an almond cake with plums and this popped up in my search. When I looked at the Notes I found I had made it back in 2012. I enjoyed it just as much this time. I used 4 large plums - as mfto says his plums must be tiny if he used 16.

  • mfto on August 02, 2015

    p 276 Today is the 3rd day since I baked this cake. I just had a piece for my breakfast and it is still delicious. My plums were not fully ripe, tart but flavorful. That is the way I like most fruit. My husband is a fruit lover and on the first day he said the cake was delicious. On the second day he had a piece but I was afraid to ask. Here's the thing. The title tells it all. Yes it is "wonderfully moist" to me but some might say "too moist". Perhaps it should be classified as a cake cobbler if there is such a thing. The recipe calls for 16 plums! A blogger I consulted watched Nigel make the cake on TV and reported that his plums were tiny. She suggested 4 or 5. My plums were large and I used 4. He also urges the use of a large metal spoon for folding in dry ingredients. I used a large rubber spatula which worked fine. The blogger also recommended a teaspoon of almond extract. Very good call. My cake took 40 minutes and was perfectly cooked.

  • eliza on September 18, 2022

    Very nice cake, however we found it a bit too sweet and I thought it a bit too moist. I used about 10 plums in mine. The search for the perfect plum cake continues. Update: I froze the extra pieces and they kept very well and defrosted perfectly.

• Fresh borlotti with olive oil and focaccia

  • Breadcrumbs on September 10, 2011

    p. 293 - Fresh beans are a summer treat and we tend to enjoy them most in the simplest of preparations. This is one of those recipes where the finished dish is greater than the sum of its few, high quality parts. Borlotti beans are tossed into a pan of boiling water and left to bubble away until tender. While Nigel has you toss them in all alone, I decide to add a couple of whole cloves of garlic because we love garlic and, it is fresh, delicious and abundant at the moment. Beans are then drained, tossed w some garlic and drizzled w a little olive oil. Garlic is then sliced and warmed gently in olive oil before adding the beans to coat. This mixture is then supposed to be tipped onto a plate atop some freshly washed arugula. For their first appearance on our table, we elected to simply eat the beans straight-up atop some crostini. Simple, buttery with a hint of garlic and a slight grassy flavour from the Corsican EVOO, these were a delightful addition to our antipasti table.

• A really good spaghetti Bolognese

  • Breadcrumbs on September 10, 2011

    p. 21 Guess what? Nigel was right, this truly was a really good spaghetti Bolognese . . . and the best part was how quickly it came together yet still managed to deliver big, complex flavours. Oh I know, I know, it’s not winter but there was a chill in the air on a rainy Sunday last week and this recipe just called to us . . . even though Nigel made it in January! A couple of notes on execution: I used the Cuisinart to finely chop the veggies for speed and ease and, I diced vs finely chopped the mushrooms as we prefer their meaty texture.I served this with spaghetti which I tossed in the Bolognese prior to serving w some fresh parmesan grated atop. I do believe that the stock plays a significant role in this dish and I happened to have some uber-rich veal stock on hand which I used. We thoroughly enjoyed Nigel’s Bolognese, it had well balanced flavours that were surprisingly deep given the short cooking time.This hit the spot on a cool, damp summer’s eve. Two forks up!

  • VineTomato on November 26, 2017

    Absolutely delious! It is the first meat bologanese I’ve made in 10 years - normally I’m a quorn and lentils spag Bol kind of person, but had this strange craving. I used white wine in place of the red (I heard that Mary Berry did it so it must be okay!). Very, very good but not as healthy as the quorn version!

• Roast tomato soup with basil and olive oil toasts

  • Pangur Ban on August 20, 2014

    Recipe suggests holding some veg whole to add texture. But, not all tomato skins liquidized properly, and were unpleasant when eating soup, so all needs blending and sieving. Added some chopped roasted pepper as a garnish which worked well, both from flavour and texture perspective.

• Spiced breaded mackerel with smoked paprika

  • Pangur Ban on August 20, 2014

    Absolutely delicious. Worked perfectly on fillets. The breadcrumbs would probably work well on lots of different types of fish.

• Salmon and dill fish cakes

  • wester on September 30, 2020

    Easy and tasty, enjoyed by the whole family. Nobody bothered with the sauce though.

  • Zosia on November 04, 2022

    Very good, even made with pink salmon. I also skipped the sauce.

• Sautéed chicken with spices, fennel and cream

  • wester on November 07, 2016

    Good everyday food. Whole family liked it.

  • catmummery on July 22, 2024

    quick and easy, yummy chcken supper dish; mildly spiced so like a 'cheat' creamy mustardy curry. Will go on rotation

• Slow-roasted lamb with chickpea mash

  • wester on April 12, 2016

    Just made the chickpea mash, which was good. I added a pinch of cumin too, as I happen to like cumin with chickpeas. I also increased the amount of oil.

  • Ganga108 on February 26, 2022

    Just made the chickpea mash (#vegetarian). Very very good.

• Chicken broth with noodles, lemon and mint

  • wester on October 07, 2018

    A nice simple soup - dinner actually on the table within ten minutes. I used basil instead of cilantro as that is what I had, and that worked well. I thought there was a bit too much lemon, and I thought it needed some ginger. It was fine to add this at the table, and m,aybe next time I'll add the herbs at the table too (son dislikes green leaves).

• Chicken salad with watercress, almonds and orange

  • wester on March 09, 2017

    Like the previous reviewer, I made some substitutions based on what was on hand. Like the previous reviewer, one of the changes I made was using slivered almonds and toasting them (instead of pumpkin seeds) with the soy sauce, and like her, I thought this was fabulous. The rest of the salad was good too, a nice combination of flavors and it can handle some modifications. Maybe add a bit more acidity, some lemon juice, next time?

  • L.Nightshade on August 01, 2012

    I approximated this salad with ingredients on hand and available. I had leftover grilled chicken, which still had a little bit of (cheese-less) pesto clinging to it. The chicken, along with orange sections, goes into a dressing made of red wine vinegar, olive oil, and whole grain mustard. This goes over watercress. I can never get watercress, so used upland cress and some curly lettuce. The salad is topped with almonds and pumpkin seeds. The recipe calls for pumpkins seeds to be tossed with soy sauce and roasted. The only pumpkins seeds I could get were roasted and salted. I used them, left the salt out of the recipe, and toasted slivered almonds with low salt soy sauce. I like this technique, the soy sauce dries on the nuts, making them pretty snackable. I had to bat someone's hand away to keep enough nuts for the salad. Very nice, easy salad, it worked well even with my ingredient modifications. The oranges and the toasty nuts work well with the chicken and the mustardy dressing.

  • Thermomixit on January 05, 2019

    Fresh, with different textures, making it a delicious salad

  • kellilee on January 30, 2022

    This easy-to-prepare salad is flavorful and filling. I made several substitutions based on availability: stone-ground mustard instead of whole grain mustard; whole almonds with skin instead of whole, skinned almonds; and a blend of spinach and arugula instead of watercress. The cooked chicken I used was from a rotisserie chicken. This main-course salad stood alone (no need for couscous or Lebanese tabbouleh).

• Chicken with mustard seed and coconut milk

  • wester on November 07, 2016

    Pretty nice, but Jamie Oliver has a similar recipe (with tomato and curry leaf) that I prefer.

• Chicken with vermouth, tarragon and cream

  • wester on May 03, 2018

    The same recipe also appears in Real Food.

  • Astrid5555 on June 06, 2013

    A real keeper, quick and easy for a weeknight meal. This recipe produces juicy, creamy, tarragon-flavored chicken thighs, which even the kids liked. Thus had to substitute vegetable stock for vermouth. Served with asparagus and potatoes as a side.

  • joneshayley on June 26, 2020

    Rich creamy and delicious! A great way to use ingredients to their best. Served with greens and steamed new potatoes. I did cook the chicken longer (5 minutes in the pan with sauce ) and put the thighs under the grill to crisp the skin for 3 minutes- despite browning beforehand I feel that in every chicken in sauce recipe , if you don’t re crisp it beneath the grill , the skin is somewhat flaccid.

• Chickpeas with harissa, basil and ham

  • wester on June 05, 2022

    Good and easy but not brilliant.

  • Zosia on July 24, 2014

    Really flavourful warm salad that makes ingenious use of the delicious liquid that exudes from the roasting eggplant and tomatoes by including it in the dressing. I used half the oil but did add more harissa and red wine vinegar to flavour the chickpeas. I didn't bother to crisp the prosciutto, just added it as is.

• Goat's cheese puddings

  • wester on May 09, 2016

    Nice and simple, with a golden brown crust and a moist interior. Good for both vegetarians and low-carbers. My souffles took a bit longer than stated in the recipe, about 20 minutes, possibly because my pots were less shallow than used in the recipe.

• Dal and pumpkin soup

  • wester on October 30, 2016

    Nice sturdy soup, spicy but not too spicy for our kids (10) and their friends (7-10). A good soup for those occasions when you don't know how many you are going to feed and at what time. The onions were good, I thought the cilantro wasn't really necessary.

  • RosieB on July 17, 2016

    This was a nuce tasty soup. I sweated the onion and garlic in olive oil before adding the pumpkin and lentils. The onion topping added a different dimension to the soup.

  • Emily Hope on October 11, 2011

    This was delicious and pretty simple to make (C made it)--warming and healthy, too! Don't skip the onion topping, it really makes the soup. Things I changed: used madras curry powder instead of chili powder, added some fresh chili to the onion/garlic soup base for heat. Also boiled the squash with the lentils rather than separately, as that seemed a pointless extra step. Onions needed about twice as much oil as he suggested to cook properly. Served with an arugula and apple salad.

  • sharifah on January 10, 2013

    I swopped the pumpkin with butternut squash, otherwise I followed it exactly - lovely and delicious. Quite a spicy soup. Should've read Emilyhope's comments first before I made the soup and would've shortened a step!

• Pork and lemon polpettine

  • wester on January 19, 2016

    Excellent bold flavors. I also like the frying instruction - simple and down to earth yet it resulted in a lovely crust and a soft interior.

  • okcook on February 19, 2012

    Quite nice. The meat balls are quite fragile and soft. Nice lemon flavour. Make a test small meat patty to check for seasoning before forming them.

  • joneshayley on May 05, 2018

    The flavours here are bold and brash. The reduction salty and aggressive. An unexpectedly full and rich dinner. Would work well with green beans or salad. Perhaps even a mashed potato to soak up the stock and meat reduction.

  • Zosia on February 28, 2021

    Very lemony and delicious. Mine weren't as robustly flavoured as they should have been as I had only 2 - albeit quite large - anchovy fillets but they were enough to add a little something extra to the meatballs.

  • kellilee on February 01, 2022

    This was our second Nigel Slater recipe in a week (we made Chicken salad with watercress, almonds and orange the night before). My substitutions due to availability were minimal: my breadcrumbs were not fresh, and my Parmesan was shaved. I bought anchovy fillets for the very first time in my life. I know that this is the umami but pulling them out of that oily tin was still my least favorite part of making this dish. I was proud, however, to share the "mystery ingredient" with my husband when he didn't guess it. He was not nearly as shocked as I expected. Oh well. Thanks Nigel for stretching my flavor buds. Meatballs came together easily. I liked the floured baking sheet idea for cooking them up. I served the meatballs over basmati rice with juices from the pan but wish I'd used up some of the spinach and arugula that I had in the fridge instead of or in addition to the rice.

  • iracane on November 14, 2022

    Substituted panko bread crumbs for the fresh bread crumbs and the texture was still light and pillowy. Also substituted chives for the thyme and the flavor profile was still interesting.

• Grilled pork steaks with vermouth and fennel

  • okcook on March 28, 2012

    The pork had great flavour and as long as you let the fennel caramelize as he says they are very good. I chopped some of the fennel tops finely and stirred them in just before serving for some fresh fennel taste. You could add some orange zest at the last minute as a variation.

  • veronicafrance on January 03, 2016

    The fennel is really delicious done this way, and the marinade is excellent too. I used free-range pork loin cut Spanish-style, i.e. very thin slices; it would have been better with thicker pieces. Next time I'd do them on a cast-iron griddle rather than under the grill.

  • dichohecho on May 27, 2019

    Followed Okcook's note and put the fennel leaves on top at the end which was a nice touch. My pork was quite thin so there was a lot of marinade to go round but it wasn't really a problem. Would be nice to have some kind of indication of size! Mine were Sainsbury's pork loin steaks. I also thought the amount of fennel seemed like a lot and I only did half of what he calls for for two - maybe my fennel bulb was big? Again no indication of size. I should've weighed it so I could comment but it was at least the size of my fist... Have added a photo that also shows boiled orzo pasta & steamed purple sprouting broccoli. For the record I cooked from my copy of the book but it's the same as online. I also used generic white wine instead of Vermouth as that's what I had to hand.

• Grilled chicken with harissa and mint

  • okcook on February 24, 2012

    meh, ok. Quick and easy but nothing special.

• Chicken patties with rosemary and pancetta

  • okcook on February 25, 2012

    The patties cook quickly in the oven...less than the 25 to 30 minutes noted in the recipe. Great flavour.

  • Zosia on April 02, 2015

    These had wonderful flavour and were very moist. Because of family preferences, I used only 1/2 an onion and 1 sprig rosemary (approx 1 tsp minced), and used an ovenproof skillet for all of the cooking to save on cleanup . They were done in 20 minutes in my oven.

  • stephengk on March 09, 2023

    Good simple dish and relatively low calorie/fat. Served with a puree of parsnip(70%)/potato (30%) - but of cream, seasoning, nutmeg. Sweetness worked really well with the patties and stock

• Blackberry and apple pie

  • okcook on September 25, 2015

    This recipe doesn't work for me. The pastry was insufficient to make a top and a bottom let alone make decorative flowers for the top as Nigel suggests you do with any leftover dough. There are too many apples. Recipe calls for 1.5 kg which I did weigh out and I had at least two apples worth that would not fit in the pie....should have weighed it. It is in the oven and looks like kids in kindergarten made it! I'm not happy. I am not a baker and this is why. ((-;

• A frosted marmalade cake

  • fprincess on April 21, 2019

    Excellent, very moist, better when completely cool. Made with homemade Meyer lemon marmalade (85 g instead of 75 g) and did not glaze. Cooked for 45 min but next time will cook a bit longer.

  • veronicafrance on March 17, 2012

    This wasn't as marmaladey as I expected it to be. I'd use more next time, maybe 100g instead of 75. It's best to use good bitter marmalade, not the golden shred type. Edit: much better with 100g, a nice marmalade flavour.

  • Foodycat on February 24, 2021

    Lovely cake - really repays very good quality bitter marmalade and good butter. I've made it many times, usually I put a little Cointreau in the glaze.

  • lils74 on October 14, 2017

    Hands down, one of my favourite cake recipes, ever. I even make marmalade each winter, half for the purpose of using it in this cake. I generally don't bother with the frosting. It's moist and delicious, and just very moreish. Don't neglect the step of lining the pan with baking paper or wax paper, as it's a moist cake and doing so helps to keep it together and tidy.

• Warm apricots with orange blossom and pistachios

  • fprincess on June 25, 2013

    Making the best of apricots that are not completely ripe by roasting them with a little bit of orange blossom water. Very pleasant. Photo here: http://forums.egullet.org/topic/143987-your-daily-sweets-what-are-you-making-and-baking-2012/?p=1923220

  • Zosia on July 16, 2022

    Made with substandard nectarines. Baked at 350 (shared oven with nectarine cake) for 35 minutes. Flavour of orange blossom was lost - perhaps it should be added after baking. This method was more like steaming than roasting...flavour wasn't intensified but more like that of the fresh fruit. Nice firm texture.

• Sweet and sticky chicken wings

  • Emily Hope on December 06, 2010

    These were pretty good, but not quite "sweet and sticky" enough for us, even with an addition of extra honey to the sauce. I tossed the wings in sauce, held back what didn't adhere, and basted with the extra sauce as the wings cooked. Use foil in the baking pan--the sauce that dripped off of the wings onto the foil was burned to a crisp by the time the wings were done.

  • joneshayley on January 21, 2019

    Very nice, the lemon comes through well.

  • lils74 on October 14, 2017

    Cooked these for dinner tonight - delicious and I was not disappointed, which is something I love about Slater's recipes, they have usually always delivered for me. Having said that, I did make a few tweaks. Unfortunately I had no lemons to hand, so used the recommended amount of orange juice plus about a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar for zing. I mixed the sauce in the pan, then added the chicken wings. The sauce was quite runny and didn't coat it well, so I turned the wings often during the early cooking stages and spooned over the sauce when I did so. After a while I just let it be, turning them at the end as the recipe suggests so they can get dark all over. I recommend removing them from the pan or loosening them while they are still hot so they don't stick to the base of the baking pan as they cool. Really enjoyed this and will be trying it again when I have some lemons. A quick and easy supper or snack.

• Thai fish cakes

  • Emily Hope on February 22, 2016

    These were great--the rare meal (at the moment) that all family members enjoyed, even the toddler. Easy to put together and make (though it does require at least half an hour of chill time). My only changes were to add an egg, a bit of sugar, and a bit of red curry paste (from the Lucky Peach 101 Easy Asian Recipes tod mun recipe). Served with the suggested dipping sauce, sweet chili sauce, rice, and a cabbage slaw.

• Orecchiette with ricotta, fava beans and mint

  • EdM on June 15, 2019

    Definitely needed the pepper, oil, and herbs (I used mint), as well as a bit of pecorino Romano, to enhance the mild flavor combo of ricotta and orecchiette.

  • Astrid5555 on April 22, 2015

    Wow, this was good! The mint & broad bean combination really was something different. Can imagine cooking this with frozen edamame or peas when broad beans are not in season. Will definitely repeat.

• Grilled zucchini with basil and lemon

  • L.Nightshade on August 01, 2012

    Pretty much the same recipe in Kitchen Diaries and in Tender. In Tender the recipe calls for salting and resting the zukes, in KD they are just sliced and placed on the grill. Other than that, I think the directions proceed identically. Mr. NS the Griller was (understandably after a rough day) not up to individually watching and flipping a couple dozen thin slices of squash on the grill, so we popped them into a grill basket. We've had plenty of successes with grilling in the basket prior to tonight, but on this occasion the zucchini seemed more like they were steamed than grilled. We missed the char, but otherwise the dish was very nice. The lemon-zucchini-basil combination was bright and summery. If you have the time and patience to tend multiple thin slices of squash on the grill, I think the char would really add something to the dish, but even without, not bad at all.

  • Zosia on July 24, 2014

    A perfect summer side dish for any grilled meat, fish or poultry that's very quick to make. The vegetables were sweet and the dressing bright. I always appreciate it when the author includes the zest of the lemon in the recipe as well as the juice to provide the whole lemon experience of both flavour and tartness. I sliced my zucchini thicker than directed so that I would have more control over the degree of doneness and even then, they took only minutes to cook.

• Seared beef with mint and mustard dressing

  • L.Nightshade on August 01, 2012

    We cooked the steak on the grill, although for the fillet the directions call for browning then roasting in the oven. The steak is accompanied by a sauce made by pureeing grainy mustard, lemon juice, mint, olive oil, and egg yolks. I had discovered I had no lemons, so I substituted lemon agrumato for the olive oil. I did not end up with the creamy mayonnaise texture visible in Slater's photo, perhaps because I accidentally glugged the agrumato into the mix, instead of adding as a stream. But it still tasted great.. This is a fantastic, simple way to serve beef, and it doesn't have to be reserved for a large fillet. The mint, mustard, and lemon really works with the peppery beef. It was great with the New Season Potatoes from Tender, which also have a bit of mustard. Mr. Nightshade declared that Nigel knows what he's doing.

• Roast chicken wings with lemon and cracked pepper

  • Astrid5555 on May 01, 2015

    Just the right amount of lemon juice and lemons in order not to be too tart for the boys who usually despise everything lemony. Very quick to make, no marinating required, thus weeknig friendly. Will repeat!

  • sharifah on May 28, 2012

    This was part of my 'chicken wings experiment' to find the best chicken wings recipe in my cookbook collection, and I was disappointed. Although it was easy, and I followed the recipe ingredients, amounts and timing exactly...it didn't taste that lemony and my chicken didn't look as golden as his photo in the book. If I were to do this again, I'd add more lemon juice, and give it another 5 minutes in the oven. But then, I'd probably try another chicken wing recipe!

  • embk27 on June 26, 2016

    A great quick low-prep tea when you're not feeling overly hungry. Right amount of lemon and pepper gives a lovely crispy and tasty skin.

• English apple cake

  • lilham on August 22, 2023

    A simple apple cake, nothing special but good nonetheless. The recipe calls for a square 24cm cake tin. There is too little cake batter to use such a large tin so I used a 20cm sandwich tin instead.

  • lils74 on October 15, 2019

    Made this last Friday to bring to a friend's birthday 'do, but unfortunately was rather disappointed. It wasn't bad, and the others all enjoyed it, but I realized only afterwards that I had intended to make another apple cake recipe that I'd really enjoyed, and I'd thought it was this one but it wasn't. I'm generally a big fan of Nigel Slater's recipes but this one just didn't do it for me. Sigh. Next time.

• A really fast cake with blueberries and pears

  • JFM on August 02, 2012

    Really fast and lovely - I only had blueberries and apricots, but they worked well instead of the pears.

• A radish, mint and feta salad

  • sharifah on December 30, 2011

    Love this salad - nice combo

• Asparagus and lemon risotto

  • veronicafrance on April 21, 2013

    I enjoyed this -- the lemon makes it a bit different from a standard risotto. If you're not a lemon freak like me, you might want to start with less lemon juice, taste, and add more if desired. A useful way of stretching a small quantity of less than perfect asparagus.

• Bream with lemon and anchovy potatoes

  • veronicafrance on February 20, 2015

    Page 245 (it's not in the index). I often do a very similar Spanish recipe with either sea bass or bream, but cutting the potatoes into wedges and adding anchovies made a nice change. The addition of stock made the potatoes meltingly soft.

• Double ginger cake

  • veronicafrance on January 02, 2017

    The mixture for this is amazingly sloppy, more like pancake batter than cake mix, but have faith. It did cook through in the 30 minutes advertised, and rose nicely. Haven't cut it yet (making it in advance of a social event), but the scraps I scraped off the tin after removing it taste good. I think all the fruit/ginger has sunk to the bottom though ...

  • joneshayley on May 03, 2018

    Surprisingly light airy cake. Absolutely delicious, with gingery depth of flavour. The whole family enjoyed this warm with cream and a cup of tea.

  • trentendnz on October 07, 2015

    Dosn't really need the sultanas.

  • emilyrf on February 03, 2016

    I tweaked and tweaked and tweaked this recipe (sorry Nigel!) and it still came out beautifully. I A) didn't use the sultanas (thanks trentendz) because I don't love sultanas in cakes, B) didn't use any stem ginger because they didn't have any at my local Waitrose (!), C) subbed in some black treacle for golden syrup because why not?, D) added 1/2 teaspoon of allspice, mixed spice, chinese 5 spice and 1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger into the butter/sugar mix. and then E) baked it in two loaf pans instead of a big square cake pan. And it tastes so good! I'm thinking about turning it into a layer cake this weekend, sandwiched with mascarpone and blood orange curd.

  • Elbea on October 05, 2020

    This recipe works really well, and could definitely be served warm from the oven as a dessert (custard, cream, or ice cream would be a lovely accompaniment)

• Rosewater and yogurt panna cotta

  • veronicafrance on June 14, 2019

    I was looking for a lower fat version of panna cotta and Nigel is always reliable. I skipped the rosewater and just used vanilla. The yoghurt flavour was a little bit too assertive for me -- I'd substitute some of it for more cream next time. But it was excellent, served with a cherry compote and biscuits.

• Peach and blueberry sour cream cobbler

  • chawkins on August 05, 2024

    Very, very good. Not overly sweet with only one tablespoon of sugar each in the topping and the filling, but the amount of fruit provided ample sweetness. The baking time was way off. I covered the top a few minutes before the called for 25 minutes because the topping looked done. I checked again at 25 minutes and the filling was not bubbling at all so I put it back in and forgot the foil, hence the slightly burnt biscuit. Altogether it took 40 minutes of baking for the filling to be cooked and my peaches were huge. I used greek yogurt for the sour cream.

• Lemon-frosted pistachio cake

  • SACarlson on May 26, 2014

    If you can get the crysallised rose petals, use them. If you do the presentation as described in the recipe, this cake is picture-perfect.

• Stilton, onion and potato pie

  • Alro9 on November 15, 2013

    Such comfort food!

• Slow-cooked duck with star anise and ginger

  • joneshayley on October 07, 2018

    Absolutely wonderful dish- it’s aromatic and full of flavour, as well as being very easy to make.

• Avocado and bacon salad

  • joneshayley on April 23, 2020

    A very simple but delicious dinner - the sherry vinegar adds a depth.

• Pork ribs with honey and anise

  • joneshayley on November 07, 2017

    Perfectly balanced flavours- sweet, spicy, sticky umami. This filled the house with beautiful and enticing aroma and did not disappoint. Will definitely make again

• Pumpkin and tomato laksa

  • joneshayley on November 03, 2014

    Beautiful autumnal dish. Even better the next day as the flavours had more time to develop. I added some shredded leftover roast chicken- delicious

  • JJ2018 on November 25, 2019

    This was absolutely delicious I devoured it. It came together quickly and was so layered in flavour. Will definitely make again

  • Elbea on September 21, 2020

    I made this using prawns, and omitted the tomatoes. As I used pre-chopped ginger, chilli, and garlic from a jar (as that's what I had to hand) I found it a little salty overall, but my husband loved it. I'd make this again, but use the fresh ingredients instead of jarred.

• A herb and barley broth to bring you back to health

  • Zosia on August 20, 2014

    More like a vegetable stew than soup - definitely not a broth - the flavour was pleasant but not spectacular. Simmered in the oven with partially cooked barley included instead of stove top, the barley was mush after the first hour (of 2) of cooking. It's probably best to just fully cook it in a separate pot and add it to the bowls at serving time.

• A stunning orange sorbet

  • Zosia on July 24, 2014

    Unlike the ingredients that have been indexed here, the recipe in my edition of the book calls for mineral water and freshly squeezed orange, both of which, I think, add to the "stunning" factor. Surprisingly creamy for a non-dairy dessert, it had a fantastic zingy orange flavour and was beautifully refreshing on a hot summer day.

• Mozzarella with grilled fennel

  • Zosia on June 16, 2014

    Hardly a recipe, just a very tasty combination of ingredients.

• Lamb chops with oregano and tsatziki

  • Zosia on May 22, 2014

    Simple but tasty. I used dry oregano and marinated the loin chops overnight before grilling. The tzatziki was flavoured primarily with mint, which of course went very well with the lamb, but I would have liked a little garlic in it as well.

• Orecchiette with roast tomato and basil sauce

  • Zosia on June 05, 2019

    The sauce was a little thin - that could have been because of the tomatoes I used - but fresh and bright tasting with the bits of charred tomato adding a little smokiness. Very garlicky but also very delicious. I served it with potato gnocchi.

• My very good chocolate brownie recipe

  • Zosia on August 20, 2014

    Decadent, fudgy brownies with an intense dark chocolate flavour. They were a little fiddly to make using the creaming method of a butter cake with lots of dirty bowls at the end, and they took an extra 10 minutes to bake in my oven (to reach an internal temperature of 85C). They were so rich I cut the 23cm pan into 49 pieces. Too rich for me.

  • JJ2018 on November 25, 2019

    A nice chocolate brownie but for all the effort I don’t think they were materially better than a usual brownie

• Orange and ricotta pancakes

  • Zosia on May 22, 2014

    Lovely, souffle-like pancakes perfumed with orange zest. Medium-low heat worked best for me, resulting in golden pancakes with fully cooked centres. Made 20 smallish pancakes.

  • Varundel on April 01, 2015

    Deliciously, light, melt-in-the-mouth pancakes with a hint of orange. I agree with Zosia - medium-low heat probably best as they brown quite quickly. Lovely with a bit of honey drizzled over the top.

  • chaffinski on July 23, 2024

    Go to pancake recipe- great with lemon or lime too. Much prefer the fluffiness to come from ricotta than stodgy flour and raising agent

• Shrimp and cilantro rolls

  • Zosia on June 10, 2016

    Despite the name, these are actually tasty fried shrimp patties served in a lettuce leaf with a sweet, hot and tangy dipping sauce. Definitely one to make again.

• Vietnamese beef salad

  • Zosia on July 24, 2014

    Loved this! Minimum effort (a little chopping and grilling of steak), maximum flavour.

• Christmas cake

  • Cattyb on December 07, 2014

    Put in 150g of sugar, not the amount stated in the recipe. Separated the eggs and folded in the whites at the end. Drizzled brandy on cakes when out of the oven.

• Pork chops, mustard sauce

  • lils74 on April 01, 2020

    Made this for dinner day before yesterday - I wouldn't have thought to combine mustard and cornichons, but I love both and together they made so much sense; the dish was flavorful and tasty. I substituted a generous splash of of dry vermouth for the wine (was making half a recipe) and milk for cream due to #lockdowncooking, estimating amounts. The milk did sort of curdle but after I mixed in all the other ingredients it didn't look too bad. I ate it, as recommended, with "unbuttered new potatoes" which were serendipitously the only spuds I happened to have, and freshly picked chard from my rooftop plants. Loved the sauce and it was a hearty, flavorful dinner. Will def make this again.

• Bramley apple shortcake

  • embk27 on May 31, 2016

    Really delicious - the pastry is very crumbly and a little tricky to handle when you're lining the tin but it's well worth the effort. The recipe does say this and encourages you to patch up where necessary! I used half the amount of apples with a slightly smaller pie tin than suggested and it was still a really deep pie. It was all gone within an hour of baking so a big family hit.

• Orange jelly mold with lemon and cardamom

  • Pamsy on January 15, 2020

    Really refreshing and made a lovely light end to Sunday dinner. Just as nice the following day.

• A chicken roasted with new garlic and a fresh pea pilaf to go with it

  • Pamsy on December 08, 2022

    What's not to love, roast chicken and rice pilau, Two of my favourite foods.

• An almond and greengage crumble

  • Pamsy on August 23, 2024

    Always buy greengages when I see them in the summer, maybe not the most exciting of plums, but it's now an annual ritual with me. Added 30mls Kirsch to the fruit and sprinkled flaked almonds over the topping. Good crumble for a cooler summer evening.

• A carrot salad

  • Ganga108 on October 17, 2021

    A simple but perfect way to use up carrots, taking just moments to prepare. Add some sultanas if you dare.

• A lunch of baked tomatoes

  • Ganga108 on February 26, 2022

    Always delicious. I often make a large tray of baked tomatoes. Some are used with parmesan as in this recipe, and the rest are used for pasta, fresh chutneys, salads etc. There is a similar recipe in his book Tender as well.

• Baked eggplant with sheep cheese and mint

  • Ganga108 on February 26, 2022

    Wonderful dish! A variation on the classic eggplant and yoghurt. He uses feta, rather than other sorts of sheep cheese.

• An English cheese salad

  • Ganga108 on February 26, 2022

    Lovely! So English!

• Spiced roast potatoes with yogurt and mint

  • Ganga108 on February 26, 2022

    Utterly fabulous!

• Roast pumpkin, spicy tomato sauce

  • Ganga108 on February 26, 2022

    Very good. The roasted tomatoes are wonderful with the pumpkin.

• Way to Garden

  His handcrafted, informal approach to cookery encourages us to improvise and find our inspiration with the moment of the market, and the garden.

  Full review