A good mash doesn’t have to start with potatoes. This recipe from Yotam Ottolenghi brings together sweet roasted squash, savoury miso, chilli and a little cinnamon. It would be rather good alongside our sausages, particularly the Pork and Pumpkin, and makes a lovely side dish for a roast, too.
Recipe by Yotam Ottolenghi, originally published in The Guardian.
Some dishes are worth taking your time over. Fabada Asturiana is a rich, slow-cooked bean stew from Asturias, where creamy beans take on the flavour of smoked chorizo, morcilla, panceta and saffron. It’s a hearty dish for a long lunch, and even better made the day before. This recipe comes from Monika Linton’s Brindisa: The True Food of Spain, shared with permission.
Good bread deserves a second outing. This comforting savoury bake layers bread with caramelised onions, herbs and cheese, then lets everything soak up a rich egg and cream mixture before it goes in the oven. It’s a lovely way to use up odds and ends of bread, cheese and herbs, and a handy dish to prepare the night before when you’re feeding a crowd. Serve it warm with a crisp, fresh salad.
Falling halfway between dried and fresh, they might take a little more cooking, but they’re worth it. Good as a vegetable side, as part of a quick casserole, or in ribollita or minestrone soup. They’re a fantastic bean - the only downside being that they lose their graffiti markings when they’re cooked.
I always think of stuffed vegetables, and fruit, being a bit retro and reminiscent of a slightly pretentious 1970’s dinner party menu - but what goes around comes around and, as I always say to my wife - give your mother a break. Or at least when it comes to her dinner party menus.
Baked apples probably wouldn’t have featured in one of my mother-in-law’s west London dinner parties. They’re more Jane Austin or Mr Sponge's Sporting Tour where they’d probably have featured as part of an enormous breakfast buffet.
They’re actually quite hard to cook as, even when left whole, Bramley apples have a tendency to explode when they reach a certain point. You need the sharp acidity so other apples aren’t really an option - although, if you can get them, Raymond Blanc’s beloved Golden Reinette might be an option.
If you like jazzing up your Sunday roast a stuffed baked apple would be an option but I’d be more inclined to serve them a s a simple supper - with mash and gravy - and maybe an extra sausage on the side.
A Greek-inspired recipe from Chris Sherville (yes chef), these tomato keftedes are packed with ripe tomatoes, fresh herbs, feta and Parmesan, then fried until crisp and golden. A good way to make the most of tomatoes while they’re still in season.
You can use Kilner, Mason or Le Parfait jars but I’ve always had good results with our 400ml kimchi jars. Then you’ll end up with the equivalent of a 400gm can of tomatoes. Our 400ml jars are available for 90p each.
Here's our take on a slightly less traditional Spanish Salmorejo using Brindisa's tomato gazpacho - the perfect compromise for an easy and filling supper.
This spatchcock chicken with sticky miso & harissa is sure to wow any guests you have over this summer. It's simple to put together but the delicious umami and sweet flavours of the marinade give it a mouth-watering and succulently complex taste.