Fig Leaf Martini (Serves 1)

Earlier this year we celebrated Nick’s birthday at a wonderful restaurant, Aulis (see my review here!). It was a wonderful gastronomic experience, I took home many good memories and one of those was this cocktail! It has a fresher, sweeter flavour than a ‘straight’ martini and is dangerously moreish! At Aulis they infuse their gin with fresh fig leaves, it was such a good martini that I was tempted to find some fig leaves and do the same. However, fortunately, I discovered Fig Leaf Liqueur. It’s a great liqueur not only for making this martini but also it’s pretty good with tonic or simply neat over ice. I’ve tried a couple of brands and I particularly like ‘Gibsons Organic Fig Leaf Liqueur‘.

50ml Gin

15ml Fig Leaf Liqueur (See note above)

5ml Dry Vermouth

A handful of ice

Lime peel to garnish

1. Add all the ingredients to a cocktail shaker. Shake until the mixture is well chilled, 15-20 seconds.
2. Strain into a chilled glass and garnish with the lime peel.

Salmon Teriyaki, Cucumber Pickle and Rocket & Radish Salad with Japanese Dressing (Serves 4)

This is a recipe that I first shared back in June 2021. It’s a year-round favourite in my house, but I feel that October evenings deserve this recipe; with the arrival of autumn, the cheerful sweet and salty flavours of this dish are instantly comforting. There are many recipes for Salmon Teriyaki, but this one from Blanche Vaughan (food editor of House & Garden Magazine) is definitely the best that I have come across. It’s not overly sweet, it has just the right balance of flavours, I like to think that it is quite authentic. The ‘Cucumber Pickle’ and the ‘Rocket & Radish Salad with Japanese Dressing’, complete this meal – together with some Japanese rice they make a healthy, fulfilling meal. All the ingredients for the sauce can be kept for ages in your cupboard, so it makes a great last-minute supper (I use the small bottles of cooking sake).

Salmon Teriyaki

4 salmon fillets

1 tablespoon grapeseed oil

10g caster sugar

100ml sake

50ml mirin

50ml soy sauce (gluten free if required)

Sea salt

1. Put the caster sugar, mirin, sake and soy sauce in a small frying pan and bring to the boil. Let the sauce bubble gently and reduce by almost half, until it becomes syrupy. You can do this ahead of time and it will keep, covered, in the fridge for a week or so.
2. To cook the salmon, heat the oil in a frying pan. Sprinkle the salmon with salt and fry for a minute on each side to brown the skin and flesh, then add the teriyaki sauce and continue to cook until the salmon fillets are no longer translucent, basting them with the sauce.
3. Remove the salmon to a plate and pour over the sauce. Serve with Japanese rice, Cucumber Pickle and Rocket & Radish Salad (recipes below).

Cucumber Pickle

1 cucumber, peeled, halved and seeds scraped out

2 tablespoons soy sauce (gluten free if required)

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1-2 teaspoons sugar

3cm knob ginger, peeled and cut into thin matchsticks

Sea salt

1. Slice the cucumber into half-moon slices, toss together with a large pinch of salt.
2. Mix the other ingredients together and add the cucumber. Leave to marinate for half an hour before serving.

Rocket & Radish Salad with Japanese Dressing

100g rocket

150g radishes, halved

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

1 tablespoon soy sauce (gluten free if required)

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

1. Place the rocket and radishes in a serving bowl.
2. Whisk the rice vinegar, soy sauce and toasted sesame oil together and, just before serving, pour over the salad and toss to combine.

Sweet and Salty Crunch Nut Bars

This is the type of sweet treat that every fridge deserves! Having a slice of its chocolatey deliciousness at hand is dangerously indulgent but fantastically fortifying. It’s childlike in its simplicity to make yet with a mix of dark chocolate and salt, it’s a very grown-up treat. We have Nigella Lawson to thank for creating such a wicked recipe – as she herself says it’s all about moderation…(?!)…

200g dark chocolate

100g milk chocolate

125g unsalted butter

3 tablespoons golden syrup

250g salted peanuts

4 x 40g Crunchie bars

*You will need a 25cm springform round tin lined with foil (or you could use a foil tray)

1. Break up your chocolate into pieces and put in a heavy-based saucepan with the butter and syrup. Put on a low heat and melt gently together.
2. Crush the Crunchie bars with your hands into a bowl and add the peanuts. Add the melted chocolate mixture and gently mix until fully incorporated.
3. Tip into the foil lined cake tin. Smooth the top of the mixture as much as you can, gently pressing down with a silicone spatula.
4. Put into the fridge for about 4 hours and, once set, cut into slices. Keep refrigerated until serving.

I’ve recently done something that I hate to do. I’ve culled my cookery book collection. It had to be done. There is only so much space I can lend to my ridiculously large collection; not only can you find them in my kitchen but they’ve also spread to cupboards upstairs and into the cellar where they’re winning the battle for space against Nick’s wine collection… And I keep buying them! So I’ve spent some weeks deliberating on which ones to take to my local Oxfam bookshop. It was a job that’s taken a lot longer than I had anticipated, the problem was that I got rather carried away falling back in love with far too many of them. Along the way I’ve rediscovered recipes I used to love and had somehow forgotten. I also have a new list of ‘must try’ recipes which will keep me busy into 2024 and beyond! Anyway, I eventually managed to remove just eight books from my collection and then made the mistake of going to my favourite book shop on Piccadilly, Hatchards, and buying three new books… perhaps I’m losing the battle?!

Anyway, the good news is, is that one of the recipes that I rediscovered has made it on to October’s menus. Menu One is ‘Lamb Ragu’ which is from an old cookbook by Gordon Ramsay, ‘Healthy Appetite’ (a book that I’ve kept!). I had been making this ragù for years but with the influx of new recipes I had somehow forgotten it; it’s a delicious ragù perfect for the an October supper and now it’s on Menu Mistress I will not be forgetting it again! Menu two is ‘Chicken Alla Cacciatora with Herb & Lemon Roast Potatoes’, I recently discovered this version of the classic Italian dish from cookery writer Rachel Roddy; served with the lemony potatoes it’s incredibly good. Menu Three is ‘Mushroom Stroganoff’, a very tasty vegetarian dish, the addition of cornichons, pickled onions and capers lifts it to higher realms. I found this Jamie Oliver recipe whilst surfing the internet and it’s been a popular addition to my recipe file!

Enjoy these recipes… I will see you next week for my ‘Tuesday Treat’!..

…And…Don’t forget to check out my new restaurant reviews here!

Menu One

Conchiglie with Lamb Ragù (Serves 4)

This is a delicious ragù, the lamb makes a lighter flavoured sauce than those traditionally made with beef and is all the better for it. Naturally, you can make it with other pasta shapes, but the conchiglie with its shell shape picks up the sauce particularly well. The recipe is from Gordon Ramsay’s cookbook ‘Healthy Appetite’ which first came out in 2008; this is one of the recipes that definitely stands the test of time!..

3 tablespoons olive oil

500g lean minced lamb

1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped

1 celery stick, finely chopped

1 large carrot, peeled and finely chopped

1 tablespoon tomato puree

1 rosemary sprig, leaves only, chopped

A few sage leaves, chopped

125ml dry white wine

700g passata

250ml hot water

Pinch of sugar

300g dried conchiglie (shells) or other pasta shapes (gluten-free if required)

Sea salt and black pepper

A good olive oil to serve

1. Heat a large frying pan and add 1 tablespoon olive oil. When hot add the mince and some salt and pepper. Fry, stirring for 8-10 minutes until evenly browned. Tip into a colander or sieve over a large bowl/sink to drain off the excess oil.
2. Meanwhile, in a large wide pan (with a lid) heat the remaining olive oil. Add the onion, garlic, celery and carrot and cook, stirring, over a high heat for 4-6 minutes until lightly golden brown. Stir in the tomato puree and cook for a further 2 minutes. Add the chopped herbs and wine, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan to deglaze. Let the wine simmer until it has reduced to a syrupy glaze.
3. Add the browned lamb, passata and hot water. Stir well and bring to a low simmer. Partially cover the pan with a lid and simmer for 1-1½ hours, giving the mixture a stir now and again, until the lamb is tender. Taste for seasoning, adjust, adding a pinch of sugar if necessary.
4. When ready to serve, cook the pasta according to the packet instructions, until al dente. Drain and immediately toss with a drizzle of olive oil. Divide between warm bowls and spoon over the ragù.

Menu Two

Chicken ‘Alla Cacciatora’ with Herb & Lemon Roast Potatoes (Serves 4-6)

This is a classic Italian dish – chicken cooked ‘hunter-style’; in bygone days that generally meant whatever meat hunted cooked with the available garden vegetables or perhaps some foraged mushrooms. Just recently I discovered this particular version from food writer Rachel Roddy and it has become a favourite of mine as not only is it easy to prepare but very tasty with simple, balanced flavours. You can of course serve it with any potatoes of your choice but Roddy’s recipe for Herb and Lemon Roast Potatoes is particularly good – the lemon, which becomes wonderfully chewy from cooking, adds a delicious dimension.

5 tablespoons olive oil

2kg chicken jointed into 12 pieces (or a mixture of skin-on legs and thighs)

2 sprigs of rosemary

2 garlic cloves

A pinch of dried chilli flakes

Sprig of sage

400ml dry white wine, plus extra if needed

1-2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Handful of pitted black olives

Sea salt and black pepper

1. Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan (with a lid) over a medium-low heat. Working in batches, add the chicken, skin-side down and cook until a golden crust forms, then turn and brown the underside.
2. Chop the leaves from the one sprig of rosemary and finally chop the garlic cloves. Once all the meat has browned, return to the pan and sprinkle with the chopped rosemary and garlic, plus the chilli flakes. Add the remaining whole rosemary sprig and the sage, and season with salt and pepper. Pour over the wine, stir, cover the pan and reduce the heat to low.
3. Allow the chicken to simmer, turning the pieces from time to time until the meat is tender and everything is surrounded by a dense gravy – this takes around 45-60 minutes. If at any point the pan seems a little dry add a little more wine.
4. Remove the lid for the last 5 minutes of cooking, add the red wine vinegar to taste and the olives, stir, and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Serve with herb & lemon roasted potatoes (below).

Herb & Lemon Roasted Potatoes (Serves 4-6)

It’s always good to have a new potato recipe ‘up your sleeve’, and this one is one I’ve been cooking a lot lately!.. The crispy potatoes are wonderful with the herbs whilst the lemon becomes deliciously chewy with cooking.

1.2kg potatoes

8 tablespoons olive oil

A pinch of dried chilli flakes

1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed

1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped finely

1 teaspoon fresh sage, chopped finely

4 slices lemon

1 tablespoon dried oregano

Sea salt and black pepper

1. Peel and chop the potatoes into 3cm cubes. Tip into a bowl and add the oil, chilli flakes, garlic, rosemary, sage, lemon slices, half the oregano and some salt then mix well.
2. Tip onto a baking tray and spread out evenly. Bake in a preheated oven, 200’c fan, for 30-40 minutes, turning the potatoes at least three times. Add the remaining oregano in the last 5 minutes.
3. Serve when crisp and golden, and piping hot.

Menu Three

Mushroom Stroganoff (Serve 4)

This is a very tasty vegetarian dish, the addition of cornichons, pickled onions and capers lifts it to higher realms. I found this Jamie Oliver recipe whilst surfing the internet and it’s been a popular addition to my recipe file!

400g mushrooms (mixed or chestnut), torn/cut into quarters or thickly sliced depending on their size

1 red onion, sliced

2 cloves of garlic, sliced

4 silverskin pickled onions, sliced

2 cornichons, sliced

4 sprigs fresh flat-leaf parsley, leaves and stalks chopped but kept separate

1 tablespoon baby capers

Olive oil

50ml whisky

¼ teaspoon smoked paprika

80g half-fat crème fraiche

1. Place a large frying pan over a high heat, add the mushrooms and red onion and dry-fry for 5 minutes, stirring regularly. Drizzle in 1 tablespoon of olive oil, add the garlic, pickled onions, cornichons, capers and the chopped parsley stalks. After 3 minutes add the whisky, and carefully light with a long match. Once the flames subside add the paprika, the crème fraiche and chopped parsley leaves. Toss together and loosen with a splash of boiling water for a saucy consistency.
2. Divide between plates, sprinkle over a little more paprika if desired and serve with fluffy rice.

Dillusion Cocktail (Serves 1)

I recently came across this cocktail scrawled on a scrape of paper among my recipes. I was straightaway reminded of a fantastic evening many years ago at Dabbous, a restaurant (now closed) that was chef Ollie Dabbous’s first venture; he’s since gone on to bigger things with Hide, a restaurant on Piccadilly. I vaguely remember that the food that evening was very good but it was this cocktail that left its mark on me! It’s incredibly fresh made with gin, elderflower cordial, cucumber and dill – perfect for lifting a late September evening, or any other for that matter!..

2 large slices of cucumber

1 small bunch of Dill

50ml gin

15ml lemon juice

15ml elderflower cordial

1 teaspoon sugar syrup

Handful of ice

1. Crush the cucumber and dill together in the bottom of a cocktail shaker.
2. Add the remaining ingredients and shake together with a handful of ice.
3. Strain into a glass and enjoy!