More from life
How not to talk to builders
It’s week eight of the installation of a cheap Ikea kitchen in my flat, and an Albanian builder is slumped…
The death of royalty
The cohorts of Hamas have invaded my neighbourhood. I was walking my dog, Maxi, in the afterglow of a shower…
Dark, bold and perfect for autumn: how to make the perfect honey cake
I did not plan to cook a loaf cake when I embarked on concocting a traditional honey cake recipe. The…
They call me the ‘problem teetotaller’
My guts went on strike last July. I was staying in a hotel and I spent several days sprawled on…
Glorious and nostalgic: how to make corned beef pie
A few weeks ago I was at the super-market juggling a toddler, several heavy bags and, it transpired, no pound…
The timeless beauty of a French apple tart
There is, as the saying goes, more than one way to skin a cat. The same could be said –…
My two tips for perfect aubergine parmigiana
In the middle of an unpredictable Indian summer, here is a recipe from sultry southern Italy which is suitable for…
Tarte tropézienne, the glamorous dessert named by Brigitte Bardot
Is there a more glamorous piece of pâtisserie than the tarte tropézienne? Born in the inherently chic Saint-Tropez, named by…
Fish and chips: the fast food that made me
The last meal my parents had before I graced the world with my presence was fish and chips, so I…
Pavlova: the crumble of summer
Whenever I tell someone that I’m making a pavlova the response is the same: sheer joy. Even the most fervent…
French tomato tart: a simple celebration of summer
Last year, we grew tomatoes for the first time. And we did so with our characteristic enthusiasm, lack of knowledge…
How to make proper vanilla ice cream
I could map out my life geographically and temporally in scoops of ice cream. From the oyster delights handed over…
Cobb salad: a bright idea for summer suppers
They do salads differently in America. Caesar salad, Waldorf salad, even their egg salads and potato salads: they’re big, they’re…
Yoghurt pot cake: the perfect sugary blank canvas
I’m pretty easygoing when it comes to most aspects of cooking. I don’t think there’s much to be gained from…
Confit: the best (and most delicious) way of cooking duck
Of all the myriad ways of preserving, confit always strikes me as wonderfully improbable. The ability to preserve meat just…
Yorkshire puddings: is there anything as satisfying?
My mother, a Yorkshire woman, would occasionally take shortcuts in the kitchen, but not when it came to a roast,…
Chess pie: how to make the flakiest pastry
Chess pie was, in one sense, new to me when I started learning about it a few months ago. I’d…
Bring back the savoury!
For a while now, we’ve been living through a renaissance of classical British cooking: a whole host of restaurants have…
Kugelhopf: a reassuring introduction to baking with yeast
Yeast scares even some of the most proficient cooks. I know home cooks and professionals alike, food writers and fanatics,…
In defence of chicken tikka masala
Chicken tikka masala has become something of a joke. When, in the late 2000s, it was topping lists of the…
A French revelation: how to make Breton galette complête
When we were little we used to go on holiday to the same place in Brittany, a picturesque, quiet coastal…
Sussex pond pudding: the perfect January pick-me-up
I always feel pulled toward citrus at the start of the year. Initially it was subconscious: I’d just find myself…
In defence of duck à l’orange
Duck à l’orange is so deliciously retro, it’s almost a cliché of kitsch. It seems hard to believe that there…
