Black rice is the mysterious, dark, hidden jewel of the rice kingdom. A jet black, enveloping chasm of colour, a deep unknown place of hidden beauty, sparkling in the shadows. Black rice – the forbidden fruit. It was the forbidden fruit, a royal treat stored only for the Chinese Emperor, his family and concubines. A mere peasant such as myself could be put to death for laying his hands on black rice, a very dark …
Celeriac Soup with Apple and Rosemary
An Inspired Decision. Today is another post that’s been inspired by Yotam Ottolenghi, this time in collaboration with the head chef of his restaurant NOPI, Ramael Scully. The inspiration for this roast celeriac soup recipe came off the back of being gifted the NOPI cookbook, which is an utterly fabulous compendium of gastronomic delights garnered from the hallowed kitchens of NOPI, that mirage of a restaurant nestled just North Of PIccadilly. In the book, they …
‘The Main Ingredient’ and Culinary Prejudices
Forgive me father. It’s confessional corner again, time to lay bare yet another one of my peculiar little nuances regarding food. This time it’s a distinctly partial perspective of mine, a way of approaching food which has taken years to become apparent, and taken quite some time to ultimately dispel. It affected how I planned meals, how I chose recipes and how I did my shopping. This particularly peculiar perception worked to furnish me with …
Rye Croutons with Garlic and Mustard – Video Recipe
Add Some crunch to your lunch Croutons are those crunchy, munchy accoutrements of soup which I have to say, rarely get much sway from me. They seemed like an unnecessary adornment to my soup, because I’m often going to get a large doorstep of toasted bread to suck the liquid life out of my soup and transfer it into my mouth, or I just want to eat/drink/slurp the soup, so adding some small bits of …
Balsamic Soaked Red Cabbage
I’m on top of the world! That’s a bit of a lie in respect of a large swathe of my existence, but physically, I do appear to be sitting on top of the world. I’m not even talking about my body’s physical state of health, although I do try to retain my respectably svelte, snake-like physique (I actually make Mo Farah look like he could do with easing himself away from the buffet). I’m talking …
Parmesan Topped Butternut Squash with Sage
The Back Story I’m sitting here in a frozen state of nervous anxiety today. I’m not frozen with nerves or anxiety, but I’m frozen, I’m nervous and I’m anxious, three experiences that are mingling amongst themselves to make me feel utterly unable to focus on any single thing that I attempt to do. I’m frozen because I decided it would be a good idea to get up today and go to Hampton Court Park to …