This is the best recipe for the classic Greek spanakopita I know – believe me when I say I have tried dozens of them during my lifetime. It’s inspired by my friend Elena whom I met on the tiny island of Paxos one hot and sultry evening. She used to run a teeny tiny little…
Tag: Rocket
Corfu Market Salad with Cumin-roasted Squash, Wild Rice and Black Beans with a Honey Mustard Dressing
I felt a little bit guilty about ordering a 500cl bottle of ice cold retsina at lunch time – errr, just after 12pm – following a hot hour of shopping at the farmer’s market in Corfu town last summer. Not for long though because it was such a pleasure to sit for another blissful hour…
Greek Spelt, Roasted Red Pepper and Chickpea Salad with an Oregano and Lemon Dressing
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 alongside one another on a bench cracking pistachio shells as…
Umbrian Rocket and Walnut Pesto
‘When we first started cooking, dishes like lasagne and cannelloni were treated with suspicion. Few people knew what to expect. Thirty years ago these dishes were virtually unknown to the British population; only a few who had travelled to Italy had tried them. These dishes always had to be described in great detail before people…
Livorno Cannellini Bean, Tomato and Ricotta Salata Salad
On a recent trip to Tuscany, I was astonished to discover that the covered markets in both Lucca and Pisa had been closed down. It seems that even the Italians are succumbing to pre-prepared food that can be grabbed on the go. Indeed, one man I spoke to who reminisced fondly about the dishes his…
Sicilian Pea and Ricotta Salata Bruschetta
The word ‘ricotta’ means re-cooked and ‘salata’ means salted. Ricotta Salata is a Sicilian cheese made from the whey part of sheep milk which is pressed, salted and aged for at least 90 days. It is milky white in colour with firm texture and a refreshingly salty taste (similar to Cheshire cheese). It’s great for slicing, crumbling and…
Istanbul Sweet Potato and Bulgur Wheat Koftas with Tahini and Lemon Sauce
Our Turkish friends, Selçuki and Ali, are brilliant cooks and, knowing that I’m constantly looking to enhance my knowledge, they always put food at the centre of our plans when we’re in Istanbul (I love a plan which is somewhat of a challenge for them because Turks like to act spontaneously. This is a source…
Camargue Red Rice Salad with Goats’ Cheese and a Wholegrain Mustard Dressing
Once upon a time, long, long ago, I lived with a very rich man whose life was a heady mix of high-powered business and the procurement of the trappings of wealth. All of this was lost on me of course because I would happily live in a shack on a beach so long as it…
Warm Tarnais Le Puy Lentil Salad
The term Le Puy green lentil can only be used to describe lentils that come from Le Puy in the Auvergne region of France where they have been grown in the nutrient-rich volcanic soil for over 2,000 years. Highly revered for their refined peppery flavor and ability to retain their shape after cooking, they stand head and shoulders…
Cardamom and Dill 