Recipe – Persian Omelet
Persian Omelet What Persians call omelet is more like what I would call scrambled egg with tomato. It’s usually not a pretty dish, but it is a tasty one that appears on almost every breakfast menu in Iran. Typically the egg is finely scrambled so that it’s a creamy red mass, I opt for a […]
Recipe – Bacon from Heaven
Bacon from Heaven There seem to be as many recipes for this cake as there are cooks; my simple version is inspired by the one Edite Vieira gives in her wonderful book The Taste of Portugal. She says that it originated in the Middle Ages in a convent (as so many Portuguese desserts did) and […]
Recipe – Chocolate Mousse
Chocolate mousse has never gone out of fashion because it simply tastes so good (and is so easy to make). The trick to good mousse is keeping it as light as possible, so when adding the egg white and cream gently fold it in without stirring more than necessary, better to have a slight unevenness […]
Recipe – Turkish Breakfast
Turkish Breakfast I loved every meal in Turkey – but I think breakfast, kahvaltısı, was my favourite. It was so different from what I grew up with and I never tired of it. Each morning, my travelling companions and I sat down to a plate of chopped cucumber and tomato (so fresh and ripe it […]
Recipe – Japanese Cheesecake Pancake
The Japanese are masters at taking something from another culture and making it their own – their super-light and springy cheesecake is a great example. It’s sometimes called cotton cake, jiggly cake or soufflé cake because it’s so light and fluffy. I’d heard it’s tricky to master, but thought I’d give it a try for […]
Recipe – Zabaglione
Zabaglione Zabaglione is a deliciously frothy combination of egg, sugar and wine that’s best eaten as soon as it’s made. It originated in Italy hundreds of years ago and migrated to France where it became known as sabayon. Sicily’s famous fortified wine, Marsala, is often used to make zabaglione, though any dessert wine works well […]
Recipe – Hamin Eggs with Cumin Salt
I first tasted this dish in the mid ‘90s at Middle Eastern restaurant Fez in Darlinghurst, and it became my go-to breakfast dish. Years later I discovered that it’s the long slow cooking that gives hamin eggs their creamy texture and brown onion skins that add the beautiful colour. In Israel these eggs are called […]
Recipe – Crema Catalana
Crema Catalana One of my favourite Sardinian sweets is bianchini, moreish little meringues studded with toasted almonds and lemon zest. Making them (or any meringue) means leftover egg yolks, and a perfect excuse to cook this classic Spanish dessert which is also very popular in Sardinia, a reminder of the Catalan influence there. The traditional […]
Recipe – Caribbean Flan
This simple dessert is similar to a French crème caramel or Spanish flan, except it’s a bit denser. The Caribbean version uses condensed and evaporated milk as fresh milk was not always readily available in the past. It’s sometimes also made with coconut milk, and then it’s called flan de coco. Serves 8 Ingredients 5 […]
Recipe – Coconut Jelly
Coconut Jelly This light, slightly sweet, fluffy jelly treat, often seen as on yum cha trolleys, is also a popular finish to a spicy meal in Malaysia where it’s known as agar-agar kelapa. Makes 16 small squares Ingredients 1 cup water 80g castor sugar 1 tablespoon powdered gelatine 100ml coconut milk (see note) 2 egg […]