Notes about Recipes in this book

• Lentil, red pepper and cumin soup

  • Bloominanglophile on January 10, 2015

    This is a lighter lentil soup with plenty of vegetables.

• Meringues with summer fruits and crème Anglaise

  • Astrid5555 on November 23, 2012

    Delicious with any fruit as long as good quality.The only issue I had with the recipe is that my crème Anglaise took more than 30 minutes to reach the desired consistency not the 10 minutes mentioned by the author. Needs to be cooked at a higher temperature in order to thicken quickly and properly.

• Mussels with fennel, saffron and spinach

  • Charlotte_vandenberg on April 17, 2017

    Very nice. Not too much work to make and looks and tastes wonderful. I didn't add extra water in the end, and still there was a lot of bread soaking when the mussels were gone.

  • Frenchfoodie on November 25, 2025

    Tasty and came together quickly. The saffron’s earthiness came across strongly.

• Chick peas with chilli, lime, tamarind and coriander

  • Frenchfoodie on October 26, 2020

    This was incredibly good, deep, zingy and complex flavours with (well stocked) store cupboard ingredients. I didn’t have tamari so used kecap manis and reduced maple syrup. I cooked at a higher heat to reduce the 1h step of cooking the carrots in the sauce though it still took 30+.

• Celery and leek soup with truffle oil

  • Melanie on November 01, 2015

    I have to admit to taking the lazy route on this recipe - I didn't peel the celery or pass the soup through a chinois (or have truffle oil at hand!). So the soup had some texture which was fine, but I wasn't a huge fan of the flavour - I enjoyed the first bowl but not the second.

  • Charlotte_vandenberg on January 24, 2019

    Easy, I didn't pass it through a chinois either, I don't think it was really necessary. The truffle oil did make it more special and added to the overall taste. Will probably make it again.

• Carrots with honey, lemon zest and thyme

  • Astrid5555 on November 23, 2012

    Not sure about this one. Way too sweet for me. Will not make again.

• Broad beans and peas with mint and feta

  • MarthaMary on February 17, 2026

    Delicious.

• Baked ricotta with roasted tomatoes, black olives and basil oil

  • Christine on August 21, 2014

    Made a half recipe of the baked ricotta only. Really delicious with the lemon and thyme (used a lesser amount of dried thyme). Still baked in the same size pan, skipped the water bath, and baked the lower amount of time (30 minutes). The tomatoes called for here would have needed to be started 3-4 hours before (time I didn't have) so I made a tomato-basil-balsamic pan sauce I've made countless times before. Tomato complements the ricotta really nicely, however you want to serve it.

• Baked quince with honey, bay and verjuice

  • Frenchfoodie on November 25, 2025

    My quinces needed at least 30 mins more than the 2.5 given in the recipe. Came out beautifully fragrant. Ignore instructions not to core though, much nicer to do before baking than at the table.

• Roasted squash with roasted tomatoes, feta and basil oil

  • DKennedy on August 28, 2020

    I got this book yesterday and this is the first recipe I am trying out of this book. I subbed butternut squash for the onion squash. Otherwise, followed recipe. The squash was a little bland. I think that is due to the fact that I subbed butternut. The presentation was beautiful, and I added honey after tasting which improved the result dramatically. Next time will start with a sweeter squash or may even sub sweet potato.

• Sweet potato and goat's cheese frittata

  • aargle on February 20, 2014

    This was ver nice and very easy. I made the roasted red onions to add in but didn't bother with basil oil, adding a handful of torn basil instead.

• Tomato and chilli jam

  • DKennedy on September 14, 2020

    This is an Asian chili sauce asked for as a component recipe in several larger recipes in this book. I would recommend going through the effort to make this delicious, jammy sauce. I opted to can it, so it will hold for at least 3 months, but my experience with chili sauces tells me it will hold far longer than that. I used only 1 red pepper and 2 Serranos instead of 5. NB: I also made the oven roasted tomatoes, needed as a base for this sauce.

  • davidthacher on December 20, 2025

    So good I have to share as Christmas presents. Tremendously rich and tangy. Great with eggs, meats, pasta... Freezes perfectly so you get great tomato flavor all year.

• Fine Cooking

  ...culinary tribute to seasonal cooking... Recipes are simple but flavorful and range from refreshingly bright in spring and summer ... to earthy and rich ... in cooler months.

  Full review

• Nord1jus

  ...not only do I love her food, but her cooking 'makes sense' to me - it’s already one of the most frequently used cookbooks in our kitchen, and the results are always lovely.

  Full review