Sometimes you just need to make stuff
This is it, no need to mess with it at all, but you can obviously
This is what cheap olives are for
There's no real recipe for this in terms of proportions, make it how you like and adjust as you go
Crispy skin is what this is all about
Dead easy. You can buy “Baking Potatoes” now and they are fine – they are just big spuds. It’s just a marketing thing – you can use any spud. The fluffier the better – King Edward are ideal.
Not that yellow stuff, this is much, much better
Don't get me wrong, I love standard paella; the yellow one with seafood, saffron, chorizo and tomatoes. It tastes of sun, sangria and sex
Named after one of Meg's school friends, its a bit like coq au vin but tarragon gives it a lovely fresh lift
Do this in a heavy-bottomed casserole and if you can get chicken with skin on so you can roast it and get it lovely and crispy on the outside and gives the stock a lovely flavour. Whole legs are good but if you don't like bones then skin-on breasts are ok
It's not exactly cooking
Well, this is predominantly a food site, even if I am using it to blog about spending a couple of months in Spain.
What a Pulava!
This started as a conversation with Meg about rice (I know).
Fish on toast is the best thing in the world
Well, you know...but this is fabulous!
To do this properly, 1lb of spuds to 1lb of butter. Not healthy but who cares?
Seems silly even putting this is in – how hard can it be, right? Just boil the potatoes – it doesn’t really matter what type but, again, floury makes your job easier.
I'm not a great fan of Salmon but this recipe just works!
Like every fish recipe it's easy to lose your nerve and keep it in for too long. You'll learn how you like it after you've done it a couple of times but this really works
Easy-peasy Lemon (or orange or lime or whatever you want or vinegar for that matter) squeezy!
Ahh, it trips off the tongue but you'll never eat mint sauce out of a jar again! So is it just a posh version of mint sauce? Not really. It has basil and parsley as well as mint and can be eaten with anything: try it with fish, it is fabulous.
Sunny Sunday in Frigiliana
This is a nice bean stew that may or may not be “authentic” but uses Spanish flavours and since I’m in Spain cooking it with things I bought here, I’m claiming its authenticity.
Rice. Lovely, sticky, deeply-flavoured rice. Lick the plate
Risotto is sold to cooks as a dark art that normal people can’t do – it’s all about timing, hot stock and standing around for 20 minutes while it comes together.
"Pan" on anything pisses me off quite a lot: What else would you fry in? Bucket-fried? Even the colonel fries the chicken separately from the bucket he puts it in
Anyway, you can just cook the salmon in the pan on the hob (fry it) or start it in the pan and then put the pan in the oven (pan-roasted). Pan-roasted is fair enough I suppose
We all just love this! Just do it!
This is the original and easiest version using shop-bought pesto. It’s really nice and easy but not as nice as fresh pesto.
