Sicily, by the Silver Spoon Kitchen

March 31, 2013
Sicily, by the Silver Spoon Kitchen

Sicily is one of the most interesting parts of Italy, not least from a culinary position. The island’s position as the biggest in the Mediterranean, the ball to Italy’s boot, means that it’s endured attack and invasion from all sides, each successive wave of occupation leaving another layer on the island’s cuisine. The effect has [...]

Read the full article →

Thornbridge Brewery’s Raven

March 24, 2013
Thornbridge Brewery's Raven Black IPA

I’ve recently hit a little Friday evening routine, detouring on the way home from work to plunder the shelves of the brilliant Saltaire Wines (@SaltaireWines) for a bottle or two of Proper Beer. Most weeks, I seem to come away with something or other from Thornbridge Brewery. Thornbridge’s beer is punchy and interesting, and has [...]

Read the full article →

What makes Skrei cod different?

March 17, 2013
Norwegian skrei cod - a Scandinavian delicacy

Cod is very firmly on the endangered list, and we’ve come to accept that its consumption comes with a healthy dose of guilt. That’s no bad thing – trawling has decimated Atlantic cod stocks over the last few decades, with numbers plummeting. That’s true of Atlantic cod – our main source – but stocks in other [...]

Read the full article →

Lamb shawarma, or Mother’s Day lunch

March 10, 2013
A Middle Eastern street food classic, a lamb shawarma - spicy, subtle and wonderfully rich meat, served in pitta bread.

It’s Mother’s Day today. It’s a bittersweet experience, the pleasure of seeing our kids with their homemade cards and bunches of daffodils tinged with the regret of not being able to give my own mum the same things, not being able to hug her and tell her I love her any more. It gets easier [...]

Read the full article →

WIN – tickets for The Cake and Bake Show, Manchester

February 27, 2013
Win tickets to The Cake & Bake Show, Manchester, 5-7 April, 2013

I’ve got FIVE pairs of day tickets to give away for The Cake and Bake Show in central Manchester on the 5th, 6th and 7th of April, 2013. The show features an impressive list of demos from people like Paul Hollywood, Dan Lepard and Simon Rimmer, alongside a full programme of classes and a packed [...]

Read the full article →

Braised neck of lamb with apricots and cinnamon

February 25, 2013
Neck of lamb with apricots and cinnamon

Most of the time, I use fairly standard cuts of meat, the usual things that you find anywhere and everywhere, but the advantage of shopping at a proper butcher’s is that there’ll often be some odd bits on offer. This dish revolves around one of those oddities – neck of lamb. Neck isn’t used that [...]

Read the full article →

Horse meat, and where your food comes from

February 14, 2013
Where does your meat come from? Horse meat, food provenance, accountability and traceability

The scandal of horse meat being surreptitiously sneaked into a variety of products that should have contained beef continues to dominate the news, with daily revelations about fraud and generally shoddy practice in the food industry. Today, there have been arrests, and there will be more. This feels like the very tip of a Titanic-sinking iceberg. There’s [...]

Read the full article →

Latkes

February 2, 2013
Israeli Jewish potato latkes

There are many variations on this simple pancake-style potato dish, from the Swiss rosti, through Polish and Czech versions, landing on an Israeli interpretation, the latke, a Hanukah staple and speciality. Latkes are at their best when made and served immediately. Making the mix too far in advance allows the potato to brown and take on [...]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →