Sultry summer evenings sitting opposite the church of San Francesco, a beautiful red brick and lime-washed building with cloisters of dazzling white stucco surrounding a sheltered rose garden humming with bees. When in Lucca, this is the place we are drawn to again and again for aperitivo. As the sun starts to dip behind the…
Tag: Sea Salt
Kremidopita, a Greek Onion Pie with Feta, Herbs and Lemon
Salty from the sea, our feet bejewelled with black volcanic sand, it was was a given during that high summer in Santorini that we would seek respite from the shimmering heat of the beach from midday onwards. A nearby taverna became our favourite. We never ventured inside. Instead we sat on little blue chairs shaded…
Greek Island Tzatziki with Dill and Mint
Originating from the Ottoman Empire, this is my version of the popular Greek dish, tzatziki (known as cacık in Turkey). It’s simply a bowl of authentic Greek yoghurt getting it on with little cubes of crunchy cucumber, lots of finely chopped garlic, briny sea salt, a generous glug of grassy Kalamata olive oil, an audacious…
Elena’s Greek Spanakopita, a Greens, Feta, Anari and Herb Filo Pie
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…
Normandy Cheese and Onion Tart with Mustard and Tarragon
Although this classic savoury French tart originates from the Alsace region in France, this version is inspired by a misty autumnal day spent picking apples in Normandy before crisscrossing the Suisse Normande – a wild, hilly stretch of the Orne valley just to the south of Caen – in search of a bottle of aged…
Levantine Labneh with Green Harissa, Roast Cherry Tomatoes and Dukkah
The nearer to Christmas it gets, the further East I travel for recipe inspiration. I suspect that this is greatly influenced by the boxes of dates we used to be given as a child. You may know the ones I mean, the box had a lacy paper lining and a bright label depicting the three…
Palermo Courgette Agrodolce with Garlicky Ricotta
It’s early morning in the historical centre of Palermo in Sicily and the markets come alive as giant red awnings unfold like sails to protect tables heaving with produce from the already dazzling sunlight. Buckets of foraged asparagus sit alongside bright bunches of wild fennel, battered aluminium pots filled with warm potatoes already cooked to…
Greek Village-style Bread, Horiatiko Psomi
There’s always a freshly baked loaf on our table, something to mop up the juices of roasted tomatoes, to scoop up garlicky hummus stirred with rose harissa or to dip into a bowl of zing-fresh labneh and it’s such a pleasure to bake your own. I forget that sometimes. This recipe for a very simple…
La Cecìna Toscana, a Fermented Chickpea Flour Pancake with Rosemary
It always amazes me that having eaten breakfast in England we can be enjoying a late lunch in Italy looking up to the sun and taking in the aromas of the streets: jasmine blossoms and linden trees fighting for our olfactory attention against smokey Vespas, buttery patisserie, melting chocolate, over-ripe peaches, the pizzeria with its…
Caldo Gallego, a Spanish White Bean Soup with Sherry Vinegar and Mojo Verde
A beautiful bowl of love for late summer evenings, this beautiful aniseed-based broth with lightly braised haricot beans, tomatoes, courgette and fennel is seasoned with a really good Spanish sherry vinegar, chilli and fennel seeds but it’s the punchy mojo verde – a garlicky green herb and garlic sauce originating from the Canary Islands –…
Cardamom and Dill 