Olive oil

Salt cod brandade

August 11, 2010
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Remember that salt cod I made the other week? Here’s what became of it. Brandade de morue or brandade de bacaloa, depending on if you’re French or Spanish is a simple emulsion of salt cod and olive oil, most often eaten with bread.  It’s common across France and Spain, and versions of it exist in [...]

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Could the Nordic Diet stop obesity?

January 16, 2010
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There should be little doubt that Britain has a problem with its’ weight. Current estimates rate the level of obesity at around a quarter of the population. That’s a lot of big people. The traditional British diet, heavy in saturated fats and carbohydrates, added to an ever more sedentary lifestyle would seem to be the [...]

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Carpaccio of beef with rosemary

December 30, 2009
A carpaccio of raw fillet steak with tomato and rosemary

There isn’t much cooking involved here, just a little frantic scorching and some very thin slicing. The seared crust of the beef is given a gutsy punch from an excess of rosemary and a good seasoning of salt and pepper.  The brief cooking time leaves the centre of the meat entirely raw. It almost goes [...]

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Turkey and stuffing croquettes

December 26, 2009
Turkey and Stuffing Croquettes

My son just asked why everything he’d eaten over the past two days had turkey in it. It was a good question. We told him that it’s traditional to cram an entire year’s worth of turkey consumption into a single week at the end of December, and that there was plenty more to come over [...]

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How to roast a chicken

July 29, 2009
How to roast a chicken

There are many ways to roast a chicken.  Everybody has a tweak, an opinion, a little trick or two. This is how I do it. I prefer a roast chicken to be simple.  I’ve tried all sorts of ways, including a heart-stopping version involving nearly a pound of butter, garlic, thyme and a lot of [...]

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Cote de porc a la charcutiere

July 19, 2009
Cote de porc a la charcutiere

“Is there any better, more noble, more magical animal than the pig?” – Anthony Bourdain. Probably not, Tony. This dish illustrates exactly what Bourdain means.  It’s quick, easy, cheap but still manages to be quite understated and authentic.  It’s a French classic that showcases the pig perfectly. The key to the whole dish is the [...]

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Indian lamb kebabs

July 14, 2009
Indian lamb kebabs

These skewers of lamb are perfect for the barbecue and make a good alternative to the normal barbecue standards of burnt sausages and undercooked chicken. They’re easy to make, and cook in just a few minutes.  It’s better if the lamb is cooked slightly pink. The flavourings here are most definitely Indian, a heady mix [...]

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Mussels, chips and mayonnaise

June 27, 2009
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A few years ago, we had a long weekend in the vastly under-rated Belgian capital of Brussels, famous for beer, waffles, a statue of a little boy having a wee and mussels. I ate mussels three nights out of four, and on the other night I had a lobster, which came with a starter of [...]

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