Zita has pointed out an omission in the blog’s chicken section, and I agree that no family recipe collection would be complete without ‘Chicken in pancetta’. It is a comforting, home-made invention that often served as a special meal when we marked rites of passage: birthdays, heading off on travels, returning home from university. FeelContinue reading “Chicken in pancetta”
Category Archives: Meat
Christmas stuffing
Christmas is the only time we ever deviate from our traditional Scottish oat stuffing. This sausagemeat one is packed with Christmas flavours and goes with turkey, goose, even roast beef (at a push). If you want to control the cooking time of your meat it’s probably best to cook the stuffing separately, shaped into individualContinue reading “Christmas stuffing”
Chilli con carne
Here is a proper recipe for chilli con carne: ‘proper’ not necessarily because it’s authentic but because it takes time, uses good quality ingredients and avoids the convenient shortcuts (tinned beans, minced meat) that make chilli such a popular meal with students. You need to plan ahead, soaking the beans overnight and setting aside enoughContinue reading “Chilli con carne”
Pörkölt
The Hungarian word pörkölt simply means ‘roasted’ but it has evolved to refer to a meat stew, which in most parts of Hungary is made with beef or pork, with or without the addition of vegetables. Our family version, consisting of pork and mushrooms, is very much my own invention but nonetheless redolent of Hungary.Continue reading “Pörkölt”
Chicken shawarma pie
Rules, especially arbitrary, self-imposed ones, are made to be broken. I am flouting a founding principle of the blog today in choosing to share this recipe, because we’ve only eaten it once, two months ago, and it therefore does not qualify – by any stretch of the imagination – as an established family favourite. I’mContinue reading “Chicken shawarma pie”
Lamb koftas three ways
Lamb koftas or kebabs invariably get an outing during barbecue season. They go well with a range of sauces and sides: houmous, aubergine dip, tsatsiki, tabouleh and Greek salad. We’ll often have a spanakopita and skewered vegetables as well, to keep the vegetarians happy. Our go-to lamb kofta recipe – the first one below –Continue reading “Lamb koftas three ways”
Lamb shawarma with broad bean smash
This is a relatively recent addition to the family repertoire – a recipe sourced from Olive Magazine when we were wondering what to do with a large basket of broad beans from the garden at Garde. Fresh broad beans are ideal – they’re usually in season from late June to mid-September – but frozen workContinue reading “Lamb shawarma with broad bean smash”
Wiener schnitzel
Since you can all make it on autopilot, you don’t really need a recipe for Wiener schnitzel, so my introduction today is going off-piste into linguistic territory. A schnitzel is a thin, breaded, fried cutlet traditionally made from veal; the ‘Wiener’ part means ‘from Vienna’. In Hungary they call the dish Bécsi szelet, Bécs beingContinue reading “Wiener schnitzel”
Easter Lamb
Our holidays with the Taylor family – in Provence, Norfolk and Dorset – are particularly memorable for the food we’ve eaten: sausages and lentils, crab linguine, barbecued mackerel freshly fished by Hugh F-W and, in April 2009, this gorgeous spring lamb with haricot beans and rosemary lemon gravy. I brought the lamb and the recipeContinue reading “Easter Lamb”
Thai beef salad
This meets the qualification for inclusion because it has gone down a storm on the three occasions I’ve made it: first at The Ridge one Boxing Day (maybe 15 years ago); then last year, mid-pandemic, at Granny’s flat in Putney; and, most recently, to celebrate the February birthdays in 2021. My go-to recipe comes fromContinue reading “Thai beef salad”
Years of Practice 