Today's recipe harks back to the simplicity of great cooking, using the bare minimum of ingredients to create a simple red onion chutney which tastes utterly beautiful. This simple relish contains all of the delicious zingy sweetness that a good chutney should have. It's utterly beautiful slapped atop splinters of crusty bread alongside a summer spread of meats, fish, salad or during a sun drenched picnic.

Delicious & Simple Red Onion Chutney

Gavin Wren Basic Ingredients, No Added Sugar, Recipes

Today’s recipe harks back to the simplicity of great cooking, using the bare minimum of ingredients to create a simple red onion chutney which tastes utterly beautiful. This simple relish contains all of the delicious zingy sweetness that a good chutney should have. It’s utterly beautiful slapped atop splinters of crusty bread alongside a summer spread of meats, fish, salad or during a sun drenched picnic.

Earlier this week, I decided to make a red onion chutney, jam, marmalade, whatever the hell you want to call it. I’m going with chutney, I think jam or marmalade needs more sugar and less vinegar. Anyway, my first port of call was research – to the internet! Barrages of recipes, flavours and ideas had quickly engulfed my reading list proposing a vast range of styles and names for a red onion relish. People were extolling the benefits of multitudinous ways of making this simple… come and read more…

A quick, versatile and tasty vegetarian carrot and chickpea salad that you can add your own ingredients to for if you want to experiment. Made with carrots, chickpeas and parsley, it's a simple base that gets flavoured up with sumac, yoghurt, lemon juice and tahini so that there's no chance of your taste buds left wanting. It makes a great side dish or just fill your bowl and have it as a main course!

Carrot and Chickpea Salad with Sumac Yoghurt

Gavin Wren Main Dishes, Recipes, Salads, Side dishes, Vegetarian

Today I’ve made a quick, versatile and tasty vegetarian carrot and chickpea salad that you can easily play around with and add your own ingredients if you want to experiment. Made with carrots, chickpeas, red onion and parsley, it’s a simple base that gets flavoured up with sumac, yoghurt, lemon juice and tahini so that there’s no chance of your taste buds left wanting. It makes a great side dish or just fill your bowl …

BBQ paprika sweet potato skewers with a lemon tahini sauce make a fantastic vegetarian and vegan BBQ grilled side dish to serve up this summer or can go with meat, fish and cheese really well. Using just sweet potato, and red onion coated in warming paprika, plus a sauce of tahini, lemon juice and gentle cinnamon, topped with coriander, these skewers are sure to make everyone around the lunch or dinner table happy!

Paprika Sweet Potato Skewers with Tahini Lemon Sauce

Gavin Wren Recipes, Side dishes, Vegan, Vegetarian

This recipe is a vegetarian and vegan hit for the BBQ, and your meat eating friends won’t mind because these also make a fabulous side to go along with meat or fish as well. Sweet potato skewers coated in warming paprika with a creamy tahini sauce drizzled over the top make a great addition to any BBQ spread. Yawn. I’m sitting here today, feeling thankful that I have got through a ridiculously turbulent few weeks …

A bright, citrus and sweet courgette and orange bread salad that just screams summertime! Tangy, sharp orange and sweet dried apricots mix perfectly with olives, capers, pine nuts, parsley and sweet red onions to create a flavour filled salad. The roasted courgette and onion sit with the orange dressing and play against the added crunch from the stale bread at the bottom. It's the perfect make ahead summer lunch or side salad to sit with some grilled fish, meat or squeaky halloumi.

Courgette and Orange Bread Salad

Gavin Wren Main Dishes, Recipes, Salads, Side dishes, Vegan, Vegetarian

A glut of courgettes has descended on our world. If you grow your own you’ll found the cheeky blighters hiding behind leaves and sneaking up on you. Even if you don’t grow your own, you can walk into a supermarket and pick up a large pack for very little because they are one of the most abundant vegetables in the UK at this time of year. Today’s recipe makes use of these abundant, seasonal vegetables, …

How to cook onions and how recipes lie to us

How to Cook Onions and How Recipes Lie

Gavin Wren Basic Ingredients, Food Education, Food Techniques, Writing

Today I’m looking at how cooks and chefs around the world have lied to us about how to cook onions, misusing terms like sauté, caramelise, sweat and fry along with frankly ridiculous suggestions of cooking times. So if you really want to know your onions, read on, and I will expose the real truth about onions. Hold the Front Page! It’s time for a News of the World style exposé of the food world. Time …

Slow roasted root vegetable tian

Slow roasted root vegetable tian

Gavin Wren Recipes, Side dishes, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian

Back in 1984 when Whitesnake released a song called ‘Slow An’ Easy’, big, permed hair was everywhere on grown men, along with awful double entendre permeating almost every sing title. Everything they created was about either love, or, errrr, loving. I’m dragging this questionable music, which seems to have aged in a way I never expected (i.e. well), back to the fore because I’m listening to it and the song ‘Slow N Easy’ has just …