Notes about Recipes in this book

• Spaghetti with ricotta and rocket

  • debkellie on January 14, 2022

    Very tasty, simple dish. Mine was a little gluggy - should have kept some of the pasta water to thin the sauce. Would make again.

  • Tinytoad on September 21, 2014

    p45

• Tuscan pork with warm fig salsa

  • debkellie on October 31, 2021

    After reading e_ballard's note on "cloying salsa"... I decided against the fig salsa (p.138), and used the cider apples from a subsequent recipe (p.142). The rub gave a great flavour to the loin, which I did on a spit roast on the BBQ rather than in the oven.

  • e_ballad on October 08, 2019

    The roast pork loin instructions worked perfectly, but we found the fig ‘salsa’ a bit cloying.

• Rack of pork with cider apples

  • debkellie on October 31, 2021

    The cider apples were very flavoursome.. I decided not to puree them into a sauce , but rather serve them as the golden coloured wedges...

• Chorizo and bean stew

  • debkellie on May 24, 2022

    Simple. Very tasty and perfect for a cool night!

  • Tinytoad on September 21, 2014

    p175

• Pea and haloumi fritters

  • mondraussie on September 30, 2017

    also added fresh corn

  • Tinytoad on September 21, 2014

    p82

  • e_ballad on March 02, 2017

    These were great. Ridiculously quick, they were devoured by the kiddo, who ate them with salsa rather than the oven-roasted tomatoes. My haloumi came in a 200g pack, which is lower than the amount specified - I'm not sure that I would increase the amount in future. Suspect these will be on high rotation at our place.

• Lamb and pasta bake with roasted tomatoes

  • Foodycat on July 26, 2014

    Everyone loves this - but it takes a much bigger pan than you originally think.

  • APaton on July 26, 2014

    Pasta is missing from ingredients: 400g orzo (or risoni) Also oregano is dried not fresh

  • Tinytoad on September 21, 2014

    p54 Fantastic winter main. Takes 2 hours to make.

  • e_ballad on December 05, 2017

    A bit like a youvetsi but uses smoked paprika instead of cinnamon. Very tasty, though we prefer the Greek original.

• Cucumber soup with garlic prawns

  • KIGirl on September 02, 2014

    Only tried the prawns 7/10

• Coddled eggs with crunchy croûtons and smoked salmon

  • KIGirl on September 04, 2014

    I omitted the salmon for a vegetarian option

• Pear and ginger tart

  • KIGirl on September 02, 2014

    I substituted alternate biscuits ( butternut snaps/cookies)

  • Tinytoad on September 21, 2014

    p190

• Lamb and aubergine curry

  • Tinytoad on September 21, 2014

    p180

• Easy masaman curry

  • Tinytoad on September 21, 2014

    p181 Takes 1 hour and 15 mins to cook

• Stir-fry chicken with pesto

  • Tinytoad on September 21, 2014

    p166

• Caramel apple pudding

  • Tinytoad on September 21, 2014

    p219 Need to make sure batter is cooked all the way through

  • e_ballad on June 18, 2018

    We had the same issue as @Tinytoad, where we thought it was well-cooked as the top was quite hard to touch, only to be met by gooey innards! The flavour was great, but be warned, this is a very sugar-rich dish (500g worth once you add it all up!).

• Pasta puttanesca

  • Tinytoad on September 21, 2014

    p41

• Bucatini with salsa verde

  • Tinytoad on September 21, 2014

    p46

• Baked penne with roasted vegetables

  • Tinytoad on September 21, 2014

    p55 Easy, lots of veg, yum.

• Wild-mushroom pizza

  • Tinytoad on September 21, 2014

    p61

• Fig and goat cheese tranche

  • Tinytoad on September 21, 2014

    p66

• Roasted vegetable tart

  • Tinytoad on September 21, 2014

    p70

• Nasi goreng

  • Tinytoad on September 21, 2014

    p74

• Lamb shanks French daube-style

  • Tinytoad on September 21, 2014

    p145

• Lamb stir-fry with coconut rice

  • Tinytoad on September 21, 2014

    p146

• Easy lamb pilaf

  • Tinytoad on September 21, 2014

    p148

  • e_ballad on June 10, 2021

    Easy: yes. Taste: ok. If you want something quick to cobble together for a midweek meal, this will fit the bill, but it lacks the flavour & interestingness of many of the other available pilaf recipes.

• Simple Moroccan chicken

  • Tinytoad on September 21, 2014

    p133

• Fish with asparagus and herb vinaigrette

  • Tinytoad on September 21, 2014

    p114

• Fish Provençal

  • Tinytoad on September 21, 2014

    p118

• Salmon with parsnip purée

  • e_ballad on June 16, 2017

    The recipe worked well, but we found the orange sauce too sweet against the salmon & the natural sweetness of the parsnip purée, though that is likely our taste preference rather than any issue with the recipe.

• Chicken with pesto and mascarpone

  • e_ballad on June 23, 2021

    Wasn’t sure that I’d be able to successfully pan-fry without the filling falling out, so I ended up using the oven grill instead. The time needed in the oven was also much longer than stated in the recipe.

• Little Lancashire hotpots

  • e_ballad on June 02, 2021

    I suspect that the prolonged cooking time led to the meat being so tough. The flavour wasn’t there either. So if bland & chewy is what you’re looking for, this is your dish.

• Tartiflette

  • e_ballad on September 13, 2017

    I may never fit into my clothes again after this dish but I don't regret a thing! Utterly delicious.

• Stir-fried noodles with beef and greens

  • e_ballad on November 05, 2020

    Managed to lose most of the peppercorns in the pan, so lost a fair bit of flavour there. The sauce is also quite ‘heavy’, meaning that the mild-tasting baby spinach didn’t add anything to the dish. Maybe a more robust flavoured veg might work better.

• Pumpkin and goat cheese risotto

  • e_ballad on May 24, 2021

    An excellent risotto. I was a bit skeptical about the pumpkin/pea combination, but it gave this some freshness in what would have otherwise been a very rich dish.

  • Melyinoz on March 06, 2023

    A lovely risotto. As already mentioned, it is very rich.

• Warm brownie puddings with chocolate sauce

  • e_ballad on May 22, 2021

    These sit on the more bitter end of the chocolate spectrum. These weren’t ‘brownie-like’ in any way though, even despite pulling them out a little earlier.

• Chocolate cherry liqueur cake

  • e_ballad on July 02, 2020

    This is a ‘bitter chocolate’ type of cake, which is very dense & rich. Err on undercooking, rather than overcooking.

• Lemon friands with lemon curd and blueberries

  • e_ballad on October 11, 2021

    Delicious & very very easy to make the friands. I didn’t make the curd subrecipe & truthfully, they didn’t need it. The blueberries are served on the side, so if you’re looking for a recipe incorporating them into the friand, keep looking elsewhere.

• Venison casserole

  • e_ballad on June 30, 2017

    Absolutely delicious. Cannot recommend highly enough!

• Smoked fish risotto with poached eggs

  • MarietNL on July 14, 2019

    Super delicious and easy. Will definitely make this again. Used smoked halibut.

• Spanish pork

  • ChrisU_AU on October 01, 2018

    Add some julienne parsnip & butter and saute till softened before adding the broad beans to the same pan. Warm the sauce in the microwave before serving.

• Thai-style pumpkin soup with coriander pesto

  • zudlointeriors2019 on June 20, 2019

    Delicious - the pesto added in to serve - makes the soup sing.