Picture yourself sitting at a table for six on chairs painted in a faded shade of Aegean blue, its white cotton cloth billowing in the warm breeze, the sea slowly lapping onto the beach just yards from your feet. Women, invariably dressed in black, sit on a bench cracking pistachio shells as they gossip about…
Sheinkin Fattoush with an Aromatic Green Olive and Za’atar Tapenade
When I used to work there, Sheinkin was one of the coolest streets in Tel Aviv. It was where the beautiful people came to meet with friends, talk about life, listen to music, drink coffee in one of the myriad café-bars and to shop the funky independents (I have a treasure chest bursting with glittering Michal Negrin…
Israeli Slow Roasted Beetroot, Lemon and Mint Hummus
Beetroot is one of my all time favourite vegetables and I just can’t get enough of its earthy sweetness. Sure, it’s messy to prepare but don’t let that put you off. As you will probably know, hummus – a thick paste made from ground chickpeas, tahini, olive oil, lemon and garlic – originally came from the Middle…
Turkish Yoghurt with Mint, Pul Biber & Lemon Zest
Yoghurt is one of the most important components of the modern Turkish diet and, certainly in my experience, there is rarely a table where it isn’t featured in some form or other; as part of a main dish, or as a dip mixed with a copious amount of chopped herbs, in a dessert or even…
Poischichade, a Provençal Chickpea & Sun-dried Tomato Dip
‘Paris, hours in the café, a certain spirit of rebellion, one side a bit too stubborn, the sea, the true, in Bretagne, the walking in Provence, the taste, the passion for literature, the libraries, the beautiful editions, remaking the world in a set of hours around a table and a bottle of wine. Talking without…
Provençal Lemon-baked Ricotta and Gruyère Omelette with French Tarragon and Fresh Chives
As I write this, the sun is shining softly through my open kitchen windows. I can hear birdsong and, in the far distance, the hum of the first grass cutting. Can it be that this long winter is finally receding into history? I am so ready for the brightness of spring and this is evident…
Provençal Haricots Blancs en Salade, a White Bean and Tomato Salad
This salad is perfect. It’s so simple to make and yet it’s capable of delivering a zing-fresh, punchy hit that is hard to resist, especially on a hot summer day served alongside a plate of light, creamy cheese, a freshly baked baguette smothered with tapenade and a glass of chilled rosé or a crisp Sauvignon Blanc….
Greek Kritharaki with Feta, Tomatoes and Wild Oregano
‘Each day had a tranquility a timelessness about it so that you wished it would never end. But then the dark skin of the night would peel off and there would be a fresh day waiting for us glossy and colorful as a child’s transfer and with the same tinge of unreality’ – Gerald Durrell. I…
Bebek Börek, a Spinach & Feta Filo Pie
During the winter months, the beautiful Istanbul suburb of Bebek sits quietly on the European shore of the Bosphorus as if waiting for an errant lover. It was once the favourite resort of Ottoman aristocrats who built their grand summer houses here, dozens of beautiful white jewels glittering against a backdrop of verdant jade. Not many remain…
Neapolitan Ragù of Cannellini Beans with Fragrant Rosemary and Amalfi Chillies
One of the most popular flavours of Neapolitan cooking is peperoncino, the local red chillies that you will see threaded along lines of string and hung across the windows of the teeny tiny domestic kitchens of Naples, and all along the Amalfi Coast, in order to dry in the sun. They are used throughout the year to…
