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.
Salade Verte – How To Dress A Green Salad Like crepes?You’ll love my online French cooking class! A simple green salad (salade verte in French) is the ideal accompaniment to so many dishes, whether it’s made from just one type of leaf or a mixture of several. It may be simple, but it deserves the […]
Some of the oldest American cocktails come out of the South, which makes them some of the oldest cocktails in the world given this style of beverage was at least popularised in the USA. Here are my favourite classic Southern cocktails, using some of my favourite Australian spirits (and a Kentucky bourbon). Each recipe serves […]
Broad Bean Bruschetta Every meal at Lucio’s Paddington restaurant started with bruschetta, a slice of delicious toasted Italian bread, topped with a mound of something seasonal. I love using tender young broad beans during their short spring season to make this broad bean bruschetta. In summer it’s often diced ripe tomatoes; sliced sauteed mushrooms are […]
Caldo Verde(Portuguese Green Soup) Most Portuguese meals, especially dinner, start with soup; many are thick and hearty, using whatever produce is on hand. Caldo verde, meaning literally green broth, is one of the most popular. It’s traditionally made with a local dark green cabbage called galega, closely related to kale which is a good substitute. […]
Sticky Rice with Mango I find any dish with sticky rice addictively comforting, especially a dessert. So I adore khao neow mamuang, sticky rice with mango, which is one of Thailand’s most popular desserts. Glutinous (or sticky) rice is the staple grain of north-eastern Thailand and, despite the name, doesn’t contain any gluten, making it […]
Fresh Fruit with Spicy Thai Salt I was reminded of this classic Thai dish at Viand, when Annita Potter served a simple pre-dessert of pomelo segments alongside a little mound of ground salt, sugar, chilli and kaffir lime. I’ve bought sliced pineapple from Asian grocery stores with a little pod of the salt-sugar-chilli combo, but […]
Focaccia Join my food & wine tour of Northern Italy to discover more Italian regional specialties I love authentic focaccia made with a generous amount of olive oil and had such fun working on focaccia recipes for our Month on the Italian Riviera inspired by Lucio Galletto. Lucio uses more water and oil in his […]
Turkish Coffee For a short time during my travels around Turkey I helped out in a friend’s cay evi (tea house) and became quite a dab hand at making Turkish coffee, called kahvesi. The trick to getting that prized thick foam on top is removing the pot – called a cezve (pronounced jez-VEY) – from […]
Turkish Eggplant Salad Eggplant appears in so many dishes in Turkey that it should be named the country’s national vegetable! And why not – it’s a wonderfully versatile and delicious ingredient, especially when it’s exposed to a bit of intense heat. One of Turkey’s most ubiquitous dishes, patliçan salatası (Turkish eggplant salad) often automatically arrives […]
Fruit Leather Walnut Rolls Fruit leather – qamar al deen in Arabic, pestil or bastik in Turkish, lavashak in Farsi, pastel in Armenian and pastilos in Greek – is popular all over the wider Middle East and Eastern Europe. It’s fruit juice or pulp that’s been dried into chewy strips, originally to preserve excess summer […]
