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”
Tag Archives: Delia Smith
Pears in Marsala
Here’s another trusty old recipe from Delia Smith’s Winter Collection (see blinis, colcannon potatoes, mushroom risotto, hot citrus pudding, pumpkin soup). It’s a 70s classic that has stood the test of time, perhaps because as a fruit-based dish it offers a lighter alternative to the heavy sweetness of other traditional puddings. The original is madeContinue reading “Pears in Marsala”
Pumpkin soup
A chance encounter in Gunnersbury Park last month prompted the recording of this recipe. Running – or rather shuffling – along on my first Park Run since March 2020, I spotted a stall setting up for the fortnightly artisan market and returned to purchase four tea towels on my way home: you can see KateContinue reading “Pumpkin soup”
Blinis
Homemade blinis are a world away from the thick, claggy discs sold in vacuum-packed plastic. Originally from Russia, they’re traditionally made with buckwheat flour, but I prefer Delia Smith’s lighter version which uses a mixture of strong white and buckwheat. You can make these large (approx 10cm diameter) as a starter, or in smaller bite-sizedContinue reading “Blinis”
Hot citrus pudding
The television series that accompanied the publication of Delia Smith’s Winter Cookbook in the 90s made a big splash and inspired a number of family meals that have stood the test of time (Colcannon potatoes and Mushroom risotto being two examples). This excellent hot pudding quickly became a favourite for Sunday lunch. Full of freshContinue reading “Hot citrus pudding”
Pancakes galore
Children’s birthdays chez Collier are celebrated with pancakes for breakfast. We owe this idiosyncratic tradition to the cycle of the moon, its influence upon the religious calendar, and the births of Louis and Rosa just two days (and three years) apart in mid-February: Shrove Tuesday regularly coincides with one of these birthdays. To deflect accusationsContinue reading “Pancakes galore”
Oven-baked mushroom risotto
The traditional method of making risotto involves the slow addition of warm stock and a lot of stirring over a hot stove to produce a creamy mass of al dente rice. This alternative approach, devised by Delia Smith, saves all that bother and leaves the cook free for other worthwhile activities (like polishing off theContinue reading “Oven-baked mushroom risotto”
Colcannon potatoes
Your father’s recently-confirmed Irish heritage justifies the special place this dish touches in our collective stomachs. We’ve been eating it, typically with sausages and a tomato salad, since 1995, when Delia Smith published her Winter Cookbook, and it has reappeared regularly since we signed up for Oddbox deliveries and found ourselves obliged to experiment withContinue reading “Colcannon potatoes”
Beef stew & dumplings
Although it’s trending for all the wrong reasons this week, stew evokes comfortable childhood memories for me. I only started cooking it myself after happening upon an advert in a magazine, when we lived at South Croxted Road: ok, the ad was for Waitrose, but the ingredients are basic and cheap (even cheaper if youContinue reading “Beef stew & dumplings”
Caesar Salad
Delia Smith’s Summer Collection, published in 1993 and followed by a TV series in 2002, prompted a nationwide run on limes and crème fraîche. Her recipes aren’t the most adventurous, and they can be rather wordy, but they always work. I’ve adapted this one a little, and you can always increase the protein content byContinue reading “Caesar Salad”
Years of Practice 