The colourful world of fruits, vegetables, grains, pulses and funghi provides a wealth of possibilities for delicious dishes. While some dishes listed here are vegetarian containing animal products, they’re easily adapted to a vegan diet by omitting or replacing eggs or dairy with a vegan-friendly alternative. Likewise dishes containing anchovies or non-vegan seasoning can be adapted.
Advieh (Persian Spice Blend) Advieh, Persian cuisine’s all-purpose spice mix, is a blend of equal quantities of earthy warm spices, with the aromatic lift of dried rose petals. Cooks usually grind up a batch from whole spices and store it in an airtight jar to have on hand for seasoning dishes from soups to stews. […]
Coriander & Mint Sauce This slightly spicy coriander & mint sauce is a riff on hari chutney, the traditional accompaniment to that colourful crunchy Indian street-side snack, chaat. My recipe is inspired by a sauce Ajoy Joshi serves at Nilgiri’s Indian Restaurant in Cremorne. I was tempted to call it a chutney, until I remembered […]
Prickly Ash Sichuan peppercorns, those wonderfully numbing little nuggets that are essential to Sichuanese food, aren’t a true pepper but a similar-shaped dried fruit from the prickly ash tree (Zanthoxylum piperitum). This spice has a great aroma, which is amplified by roasting and grinding it. Salt is often considered the foundation of Sichuanese cooking as […]
North Carolina-style BBQ Sauce In the American South, barbecue sauce is as controversial a subject as the barbecue itself, perhaps even more so with regional variations being fiercely defended as the best, the original and the only sauce worth having. My North Carolina-style BBQ sauce is inspired by the mustard-based sauces of North Carolina. This […]
Rice with Fried Garlic & Shallot This simple side dish of rice with fried garlic & shallot is a vegetarian take on the rice served with classic Hainanese chicken rice. The fried shallot and garlic add plenty of flavour without using stock; just remember to salt it well. It’s delicious with trout that’s steeped in […]
Tofu Ria Everyone loves tofu ria – delicious silken bean curd in spicy sauce – even the carnivores! In fact it is one of the most viewed videos on my YouTube channel and has been known to convert tofu haters! Best of all, it’s super quick so perfect for a simple mid-week dinner with steamed […]
Orangettes Like this recipe? You’ll love my online French cooking class featuring the Food of Provence! I started making chocolate-dipped candied orange peel for dinner parties in the 1980s without realizing they had a connection to Provençe. Candied citrus rind isn’t a new thing and I’m sure many people have had the idea of taking […]
Mushroom Duxelles Duxelles is a classic French preparation of finely chopped mushroom and onion cooked down in butter with herbs (usually thyme or parsley), black pepper and salt, sometimes with a dash of cream, Sherry or Madeira. It’s used in a range of English recipes including stuffings, sauces and garnishes and, most notably, in beef […]
Potato Focaccia I love authentic focaccia made with a generous amount of olive oil. My recipe is inspired by Ligurian-born restaurateur, Lucio Galletto, who uses more water and oil in his recipe than many I’ve seen, which is what makes his focaccia so delicious. I love how versatile focaccia is and especially enjoy potato focaccia […]
Cumquat Sambal I’ve eaten Cheong Liew’s cumquat sambal many times. He served it with barbecued hogget at a barbecue for Franz’s 55th birthday and he and Franz served it with lamb cutlets to thousands of people over 2 days at a James Beard festival in New York. Cheong’s given me the recipe several times and […]
