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A warm Christmassy tipple

Serves 2

2 apples (quartered) 50g caster sugar 2 large cinnamon sticks 200ml water 2 cloves

Put all these ingredients in a saucepan, boil, then simmer for 30 minutes

Pour into a glass jar.

Add

2 sprigs of mint 1 cinnamon stick 50 ml Calvados (apple brandy) - add to the warm liquid

Seal the lid of the jar and give it a shake. Enjoy!

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Sign of a good crumble 🍑🍐

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Ceviche with tiger's milk 🐯

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Rhubarb bakewell tart for Easter Sunday

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Rye't on sister #breadpun

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Annual NYE dessert-off My offering: Chocolate profiteroles with salted caramel sauce

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Homemade roasted butternut squash, walnut, parmesan and thyme half-moon pasta aka. Mezzelune di zucca e noci Gino D'Acampo recipe

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Homemade 🎃 pie

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Pretty autumnal cup ☕

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Mushroom trio ravioli with burnt butter sauce & sage

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Raymond Blanc’s Carrot, cumin and barley summer stew from Kew on a Plate

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Festive loaf

500g Strong white flour

150ml Warm milk

100g Butter, softened

2 Eggs

1tsp Allspice

1tsp, Cinnamon

1tsp Vanilla extract

100g Golden caster sugar

7g Dried yeast

1tsp Salt

125g Sultanas

75g Raisins

50g Dried apple, roughly chopped

2-3tbs Apple brandy

Zest of half an orange

1tsp Preserved ginger

2tsp Mixed peel

60g Hazelnuts, roughly chopped

Put the raisins, sultanas and dried apple in a mixing bowl and pour over the brandy and leave to steep overnight.

Put the flour, milk, butter, sugar, eggs, yeast, salt and spices into a mixing bowl, combine everything together and knead for 10 minutes until the mixture is smooth and elastic.

Leave the dough in a warm place to rise until doubled in size.

Butter and flour an 8” round cake tin.

Once the dough has risen, knock back and place the dough on a work surface and pat out flat, sprinkle fruit, nuts, mixed peel and ginger over the dough and roll up. Gently knead the dough to incorporate the fruit and nuts.

Divide the dough into seven pieces and roll each piece into a ball. Place the balls into the prepared cake tin. Loosely cover with cling film and leave to prove in a warm place for about an hour.

Bake in a preheated oven for 45-60 minutes at 160C.

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Chicken and bulgur wheat

Serves:  4 Preparation time:  15 minutes plus resting time Cooking time: 35 minutes

You will need 500ml chicken stock About 8 strands of saffron 4 tbsp oil 6 chicken thighs, skin on and bone in 1 red onion, peeled and finely chopped 2 celery sticks, finely chopped 1 cinnamon stick, snapped in half 2 tbsp tomato purée 175g bulgur wheat 50g raisins 100g feta cheese Handful of mixed freshly chopped parsley and mint (optional) Salt and pepper

Method

1. Make up your chicken stock, add the saffron strands. Leave this to sit and infuse while you carry on with the rest of the dish.

2. Heat two tablespoons of the oil in a large saucepan over a medium to high heat. Season the chicken generously with salt and pepper. Once the oil is hot, add the chicken skin-side down (this may have to be done in batches) and fry for three to four minutes before turning to fry for a further three to four minutes. The flesh and skin should be nicely browned. Transfer the browned meat to a plate.

3. Add the remaining oil to the pan (if needed) and tip in the chopped red onion and celery. Fry over a medium to high heat for three to four minutes until the onion becomes soft. Turn down the heat if the onion starts to burn. Add the cinnamon stick and the tomato purée. Cook for a further two minutes, stirring frequently. Add the bulgur wheat and raisins and return the browned chicken thighs to the pan. Mix all the ingredients together for two to three minutes.

4. Pour in the infused stock and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, clamp on a lid and leave to cook for 15 minutes, stirring delicately every now and then. After this time, turn off the heat and leave to sit for a further 10 minutes, covered. The bulgur wheat should have absorbed the chicken stock and expanded. Remove the lid and ‘rough up’ the bulgur wheat with a fork. Serve with crumbled feta and fresh parsley and mint (if using) sprinkled on top.

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DF Mexico @ The Old Truman Brewery

I am fortunate enough to have many fond food memories of Mexico so after receiving news of DF Mexico from the likes of 'The Nudge' and viewing their exciting and slick website (http://dfmexico.co.uk) expectations were high.

We were seated at one of their many booths, a key ring was attached to our table and we were given the low down on how to order. Reminiscent of places like 'Meat Market' and 'Nandos' you note your table number, choose your food and order at the counter - remembering to bring those all important hot sauces back to the table with you...no biggie!

We started off with a Classic Margarita - iccy, boozy and refreshing, just as it should be.

Then came the food – a pork pibil torta, ‘big boy’ burrito accompanied by corn chips with guac, chilli chips with chipotle mayo and cup of corn. 

The torta was nice but the brioche was a little fussy for the deliciously subtle flavours of the pork and made the whole thing a little sweet.

The ‘big boy’ burrito was anything but ‘big boy’ – it was the bare minimum size you would expect for a burrito let alone ‘big boy’ and for an extra £2 you would expect more than just some additional chips and guac.

The highlight of the meal had to be the cup of corn – served in a mug – the corn was delightfully seasoned with lime, herbs, onions, mayo and a sprinkling of cheese. Each mouthful seem to transport us back to the streets of Mexico City where we first tasted corn cooked in this way, and frankly I could have eaten a bucket of the stuff.

We finished off the meal with soft serve icecream topped with Dulce de leche and candied peanuts…nice.

Certainly glad we visited DF Mexico but looks like we will have to return to the streets of Mexico!

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Peckham Pils

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Next best thing to having our own allotment!