Ras el hanout is a splendid spice mix and works beautifully with chicken. The addition of roasted cherry tomatoes and spinach in the final sauce gives it a lovely lift. Serve with basmati rice and a glass of Greco di Tufo. … Read More
This most wonderful of citrus fruits features heavily in the café , whether to make fresh limeade or as a fantastic flavour enhancer to our Far Eastern dishes. Here are three of my favourite ways of using lime in cooking:- Ceviche … Read More
I was fortunate enough, a while ago to be the runner up in the Morphy Richards home cook of the year competition. As I was revisiting these meatballs today in the café, I thought I’d make some subtle changes to … Read More
They say that the temperature has to fall to below 15 degrees before soup becomes desirable. Sales in the café certainly reflect this theory; so much so, we don’t put soup on the menu in the summer. When autumn is upon us, however, we … Read More
This terribly rich and simply fabulous recipe comes from my favourite cookbook, Diva. I cannot believe it’s out of print – it’s simply bursting with the most unusual recipes and this chicken dish makes for a fine dining experience. It’s quick … Read More
Small nuggets of pure comfort with a rich, creamy mushroom gravy sitting on a bed of mash – that’s my kind of Polish comfort cooking. They’re also ready in a trice. One of the café customers told us he couldn’t … Read More
The wonderful pairing of aubergine and tomatoes goes back a long, long way. This dish is simplicity itself and goes well with most meats but I particularly love it with baked fish. Serves 4 1 large aubergine 20 cherry tomatoes, halved … Read More
Although winter hasn’t really set in, I made this soup in the café recently and it went down very well indeed. It’s a simple affair and you can play around with spices to your heart’s content. Serves 4 1 large … Read More