Out of Town

A rich, indulgent tapa that’s easy to make at home. When the guys from Mahou brewery in Spain got in touch and asked if we’d like to create and share a tapa recipe to go with their premium beer Alhambra Reserva 1925, it took us literally seconds to decide what we were going to cook. It just had to be …

I dreamed of making a cheesecake reminiscent of Junior’s but what I ended up making was slightly different. For a start, I really didn’t want to have to make the sponge base which Junior’s has. I know it makes for a lighter base but I didn’t want it to end up with a soggy bottom after a day or two. …

That’s right, good quality food and not it’s not even horrendously overpriced. No wonder this place is so packed. Ever since its opening there’s been a real flurry of excitement surrounding Chiltern Firehouse. For a start you just can’t get in, not quickly anyway. We had to book six weeks in advance for a Sunday afternoon. This is due, in …

Introduction to dim sum… Dim sum may seem a million miles away from corn flakes or bacon and eggs but in Hong Kong and it’s breakfast. Over here, of course, it’s generally more of a lunchtime option and one of our favourites at that. I always think it’s a shame when I see people in Chinatown during the day ordering from …

Make your own chicken parmo at home Let’s get one thing straight. A formed chicken escalope, topped with cheese is NOT a parmo. What’s more, if a recipe uses tomato sauce instead of bechamel, then it’s not a parmo either. It’s a parmigiana, parm, parmi or parma (depending on whether it’s Italian, American or Australian). Parmos can be made with …

This recipe is from Felicity Cloake’s ‘perfect’ column. Black Forest Gateau reminds me of childhood birthdays, when my parents used to buy a frozen one every year from the local Cash & Carry. This one tastes a lot better, believe me. Ingredients  (Serves 8-10) For the pastry layer (if using) 60g plain flour 5g cocoa powder 25g caster sugar 40g …

This is a bit of a mish-mash of recipes. I’ve used Ottolenghi’s recipe for sweet pastry and Felicity Cloake’s recipe for the filling. The culmination of both was a success, if a lemony one. I should have omitted the lemon zest from the tart filling as there was some in the pastry too. This makes double the pastry quantity needed …

The other day, I was flicking through the Pitt Cue co. cookbook, looking for some inspiration. As well as being basically an A-Z of how to smoke and BBQ meat, it also has a surprisingly good dessert section. I quickly decided to make an adaptation of one of their sweet treats. Despite there being several good options in the cookbook, …

The banoffee pie. It just has to be the ultimate crowd pleaser. Even I’m a fan and I don’t even particularly like bananas. It’s also possibly the simplest dessert to make. No cooking required, just basic assembly! Ingredients 250g digestive biscuits 75g unsalted butter 8 tbsp Nestle Carnation caramel 2 large bananas, sliced 300ml double cream 25g icing sugar Few …

It was a friend’s birthday a little while ago so we decided to make her a special cake using her favourite ingredient – Nutella. This recipe is an adaptation of Nigella’s peanut butter and chocolate cheesecake. However, we found the original recipe to be far too sour so it’s been drastically altered. One of the riskiest things to do when …