Here’s another recipe picked up from TV (back in 2006). Ainsley Harriott’s quick and low-calorie chicken curry tastes much more complex than it is to make. Serve with mango chutney, raitha and steamed broccoli to make a complete meal. You can keep the rice plain if the embellishments don’t appeal or time is tight. ServesContinue reading “SOS Chicken Curry”
Author Archives: motherrach
Roast Chicken
A roast meal takes time and generates a lot of washing up. Pace Sam and Louis, I think it’s worth it. We always make a small stock for the gravy beforehand and then a big stock afterwards, which can serve a range of meals for the following week (risotto, soup, leeks & quinoa to nameContinue reading “Roast Chicken”
Bruschetta
Roasted pepper and cannellini bruschetta This uses fridge and store cupboard staples that keep well, and it never fails to delight guests. Ottolenghi’s original recipe calls for dried cannellini beans, which require overnight soaking and long cooking, but I’ve found that canned beans work just as well. Apart from the toasting of the bread, allContinue reading “Bruschetta”
Sausages & Lentils
Back in the 90s Dom and I holidayed four times in Provence with Lucy and an assorted company of friends, who all took turns to cook. Some of those meals became legendary (frogs’ legs ‘diving’ into stuffed tomatoes, anyone?). One year we found a Delia recipe in an old magazine: sausages & lentils was pitchedContinue reading “Sausages & Lentils”
Raitha / Tsatsiki
Two recipes in one post this week, because they are variations on the same theme. I usually make raitha with thinner yoghurt and grated cucumber, and I don’t add garlic. The cooling effect of the yoghurt here works well to offset the strong spices of an Indian meal. For Tsatsiki (Greek) or Cacik (Turkish), IContinue reading “Raitha / Tsatsiki”
Lemon Tart
Inside a cookery book (Sophie Grigson’s Food for Friends), given to me by Granny when I was a student, is a collection of dog-eared recipes saved from newspapers and magazines over the years. Frances Bissell’s recipe for individual lemon tarts is among them, originally published in the Saturday Times magazine in November 1997. I madeContinue reading “Lemon Tart”
Lake Palace Aubergines
Is this recipe responsible for converting the vegetable-sceptic Zita? It’s another one inspired by Madhur Jaffrey, who gives it the verbose title ‘The Lake Palace Hotel’s Aubergine Cooked in the Pickling Style’. Works well as a meal on its own, with rice, raitha and chutney, or to accompany a more varied Indian meal. It’s alsoContinue reading “Lake Palace Aubergines”
Red Cabbage
In 1994, when we were living at Gale, I had a small party for my 25th birthday. Baby Sam (six weeks old) received more presents than I did, but one of the presents I got has stood the test of time. Matthew Faulkner gave me a copy of his friend Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s first cookery book,Continue reading “Red Cabbage”
Slow Roast Pork
During our current meat drought (Veganuary 2020), carnivorous fantasies have begun to preoccupy the mind. We started eating this after I saw Lorraine Pascale (fellow JAGS parent) doing it on TV. My version includes a number of modifications. Serve with roast potatoes, red cabbage, apple sauce and another veg of your choice (Carluccio’s carrots orContinue reading “Slow Roast Pork”
Spinach & Lentils
Originally an actress, Madhur Jaffrey became a household name in the UK in the 1980s as an authority on Indian cookery. We cooked loads of her dishes at home and several have become family staples. Spinach & lentils, which I’ve adapted over the years, is cheap and nutritious (sorry, Zita) and makes a great mealContinue reading “Spinach & Lentils”
Years of Practice 