The festive season is firmly behind us, my sons have returned to their homes and I have been left with some, (not much) leftovers in my fridge. I don’t know about you but I hate to throw any food away, I have to do something with the odds and ends in my fridge. I catered…
Lunch
Thai Spiced Chicken Soup
Chicken soup is often a staple when you’re fighting a cold or flu but did you know that homemade chicken soup actually has health benefits too? Cuddling up with a bowl of hot chicken soup is the best cure for colds in the winter months, according to researchers. A study found that chicken soup could…
Warm Winter Salad of Beetroot, Kale & Creamed Goats’ Cheese
I’ve enjoyed the pleasure of growing my own vegetables, for a few consecutive years, but the french partridge and pigeons feasted more on my bounty than myself! I gave up. The location of my garden is just too exposed to the local wildlife! So when I discovered a local supplier Maxwell and Webb Potager who were…
Smoked Mackerel Salad with Miso Dressing
If you asked me what my perfect lunch would be I would say without doubt salad! Spring, summer and autumn. This lunch offering has a great balance of flavours, with a miso dressing, yielding a rich umami flavour. Salty, sweet, bitter, and sour—these are the four types of taste we recognise. Is that really all…
Brined Salmon with Creamy Dill Infused Potatoes & Lightly Pickled Cucumber
Most of you are familiar with Gravad Lax, a popular delicacy in the English-speaking world, and English has naturally adopted the short version of its name, gravlax. There seems to be endless ways to flavour this fish from beetroot, horseradish to gin and juniper. You may not be aware of the lesser known Swedish classic…
Chilled Cucumber & Crayfish Soup
I was lucky enough to be invited to Chilterns Food Magazine’s first Birthday Party at The Blue Tin Produce Farm Shop a couple of weeks ago. This publication is fabulous, it champions producers of the Chiltern Hills area, one of which is Tims Dairy, a family business located in Chalfont St Peter, Buckinghamshire, and is…
Laxpudding (Swedish Salmon & Potato Pudding)
Midsummer is upon us and Swedes are fairly well tuned into the rhythms of nature. At this time, many begin their long annual summer break and everyone is in a hurry to get things done and prepared during the relatively short summer season. Midsummer’s Eve is celebrated in the countryside and on the day before,…
Beetroot & Horseradish Cured Gravad Lax
Gravad lax these days is so readily available, the lightly cured salmon with a scattering of chopped dill, I find the commercial versions often taste incredibly similar and the accompanying mustard sauce can be too acidic and intense. The salmon I ate in Sweden, prepared by my mother and grandmother always tasted so fresh, with…
Wild Garlic, Asparagus and Camembert Tart
When Wild Garlic (Ramsons) emerges you know that Spring is on its way. The marvellous mild garlic taste of cooked Wild Garlic makes this tart recipe a great way to welcome back the return of the sun after many months of Winter. It’s one of the season’s first plants to forage, wild garlic is easy…
Swedish Fish Soup with Saffron Rouille
If ever you find yourself in Stockholm at the Food-hall (Saluhall) at lunchtime you will do well to join the local shoppers and office workers in a bowl of fish soup. Swedes like to eat lunch early, we’re talking midday or even earlier! You’ll find yourself sitting at a table where you will be jostled…
