Tag: food

March 2026

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I’m looking forward to a ‘foodie’ adventure at the end of this month. I’m going to Japan. This is a destination which has been on my bucket list for years, so I’m extremely excited to be going there. For me, travelling goes hand in hand with food. Whether I’m going away in the UK or further afield, one of the first things I do after booking a trip is to research the restaurant scene. When time is of the essence, there is nothing worse than wasting a precious hour or two eating in a miserable restaurant that lacks both flavour and atmosphere. Therefore, I’ve been spending a lot of time researching restaurants in Japan. The choice is phenomenal; sushi, ramen, yakitori, katsu, shabu-shabu, gyu-don, onigiri, okonomiyaki… and the list goes on… and on. I’m not going to lie, whilst feeling very excited, I’m a little apprehensive; just recently, I visited Morocco, where I picked up ‘travellers tummy’, so that rather dampened my appetite for adventure! I’m hoping, though, that I’ll return from my trip both healthy and inspired to cook more Japanese dishes at home. To date, I haven’t had much success with the recipes from the few Japanese cookbooks I own. However, I have found that one can’t go wrong with Teriyaki dishes, so this month, in celebration of my Japanese adventure, I’m sharing a classic recipe for ‘Teriyaki Chicken’. It’s a fool-proof recipe that I often cook at home and one that is instantly gratifying with its sweet, salty flavour. I like to serve it with ‘Cucumber Pickle’ and ‘Rocket & Radish Salad with Japanese Dressing’. These two side dishes are recipes that I posted a few years back when I shared a different Terikayi recipe, which was for salmon (recipe here).

Whilst Menu One, ‘Teriyaki Chicken’, is a classic Japanese recipe, this month’s Menu Two has roots closer to home. ‘Lamb Chops with Balsamic Puy Lentils, Herbs & Crème Fraiche’ is a great recipe to have at hand when the new spring lamb enters our butchers in April, but to be honest, it’s a recipe that’s tasty whatever the month. I found it in one of Jamie Oliver’s older cookbooks, ‘Jamie’s Kitchen’; the balsamic lentils are a game-changer!


Hopefully you’ll be inspired to try these recipes. See you next week for my Tuesday Treat!..

Menu One

Chicken Teriyaki (Serves 4)

This is a wonderfully quick and easy supper dish. And extremely tasty! Serve with ‘Cucumber Pickle’ and ‘Rocket & Radish Salad’ (recipes below) plus some sticky rice. I particularly like it with skin-on chicken thighs; the skin keeps the meat juicy and helps the delicious sauce adhere to the chicken. However, if you prefer, you can use skinless thighs.

4 large boneless, skin-on chicken thighs

Sea salt and black pepper

Groundnut oil

For the Teriyaki sauce:

8 tablespoons soy sauce (gluten-free if required0

8 tablespoons mirin

8 tablespoons sake

4 tablespoons caster sugar

  1. First of all, make the sauce. Put all the ingredients in a small saucepan and gently heat until the sauce is hot and the sugar is dissolved. Set aside.
  2. Place the chicken thighs on a chopping board, skin side down. Now, gently cut slits into the meat, without slicing all the way through, by doing this you can flatten the meat with your hands so that the thighs are an even thickness. Lightly season the meat with salt and pepper.
  3. Heat a large frying pan over a medium-high heat and add a little groundnut oil. When the oil is hot add the chicken thighs, skin side down. Cook for 5 minutes, then press down the chicken with a spatula for 5-10 seconds to give the skin a nice sear. Then flip the chicken over and immediately, again, press down with the spatula for 5-10 seconds.
  4. Turn the heat to low, then cover the pan with a lid and steam the chicken for 3 minutes.
  5. Remove the lid and use a paper towel to wipe up the excess grease from the pan (this helps create a cleaner, transparent sauce).
  6. Now, increase the heat to medium and add the sauce. Tilt the pan and spoon the sauce over the chicken, continuing until the chicken is well coated and cooked through.
  7. Remove the chicken from the pan and continue to cook the sauce until it’s thick enough to your liking.
  8. Slice the chicken into slices (if you like, you can use a blow-torch to give a crispier sear to the skin).
  9. Serve on a plate, drizzled with the Teriyaki sauce.

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.

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.

Menu Two

Pan-Fried Lamb Chops with Balsamic Puy Lentils, Herbs and Crème Fraiche (Serves 4)

This is a Jamie Oliver recipe from one of his older cookbooks, ‘Jamie’s Kitchen’. It’s’ loaded’ (as Jamie would say!) with flavour; the balsamic vinegar offers a subtle sweetness rather than overpowering the dish.

150g Puy lentils

1 small handful of fresh thyme leaves, picked

1 clove of garlic, peeled and finely sliced

Extra virgin olive oil

12 lamb chops

Sea salt and black pepper

4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 handful of fresh parsley, leaves picked

1 handful of fresh basil, leaves picked

4 tablespoons crème fraiche

  1. First of all, put the lentils in a saucepan, then cover with water. Bring to the boil and cook gently for around 25-30 minutes (or according to the packet instructions), until the lentils are tender but still holding their shape. Drain and set aside.
  2. Bash up the thyme and garlic in a pestle and mortar. Add a good glug of olive oil and then rub this over both sides of the lamb chops. Season with salt and pepper, then place them between two pieces of cling film and use the bottom of a small saucepan to flatten them out to about 1 cm thick.
  3. Heat a frying pan, add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and fry the chops for about 2 minutes on each side (depending on thickness), until golden. When the chops are cooked to your liking, remove them to a plate and rest whilst finishing the lentils
  4. Wipe the pan to remove any fat. Add the balsamic vinegar, bring to the boil, scraping up all the goodness from the bottom of the pan. Add the lentils, parsley and basil. Heat through until the herbs have wilted. Season to taste with salt and pepper and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
  5. Divide the lentils between 4 plates and place the lamb on top, with any resting juices poured on top. Serve with a dollop of crème fraiche.

February 2026

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I’m sure that we’ve all had the experience of taking a bite of a dish and being catapulted back in time. Our food memories are incredibly strong; not only is our brain triggered by a dish’s flavours, but also its smell, texture and even the sight of it. Many of the recipes on Menu Mistress are closely linked to my memory bank – just a glimpse of a recipe can transport me to past experiences, people and places. For example, last summer, whilst in Italy, I cooked ‘Pasta Diavola with Burrata & Basil’ quite a few times (it’s so easy!), since returning, just the idea of it propels me to our sunny Italian terrace with its relaxed summer mood. Another recipe, ‘Daddy’s Curry’ (the name is a give-away here!), is one of those childhood recipes which never fails to evoke many memories. Meanwhile, ‘Peppered Fillet of Beef with Port Sauce’ takes me to a New Year’s Eve dinner with old friends. I could go on and on…

Just recently, this link between food and memories really captured my imagination when I rediscovered a recipe in one of my files. It’s a simple recipe, in fact, I can’t quite believe that I haven’t shared it with you before (so many recipes, so little time!!). Seeing this recipe again for a ‘Pea & Pancetta Sauce’ took me straight back to my first trip with my Italian class; on that occasion, we went to Bologna. Bologna is a foodie’s dream; in fact, it’s nicknamed ‘La Grassa’ or rather ‘The Fat One’, referring to its abundant and high-quality cuisine! During our trip, apart from eating at every opportunity, we had a cookery class at the home of Rita Mattioli, who introduced us to this simple sauce. Just a few months later, I discovered that chef Rick Stein had also visited Rita in Bologna and was raving about his lunch with her – the aforementioned pasta dish! This month, finally, I’m sharing it with you so that you too can make your own happy memories…

Menu One, ‘Farfalle with Peas & Pancetta’, is incredibly easy to make. There’s no need to serve it with fresh pasta made from scratch (as Rita did), I simply use dried pasta – Farfalle goes particularly well with this sauce. This month’s Menu Two, ‘Coconut, Lime and Chilli Spatchcock Chicken’, has completely different flavours. It’s the perfect recipe to give your taste buds a little ‘zing’ on a cold February day. I’ve made this on numerous occasions for friends and family. However, the particular memory that this recipe brings to mind is the time that I made it for my friends, Maria and Alan; I was so busy chatting and enjoying myself (and a few glasses), that I took my eye off the ball  – this can be a common occurrence when I’m entertaining! Anyway, I forgot to add a key ingredient, the coconut milk, to the roasting tray. I discovered this error when removing the roasted chicken from the oven, so I had to improvise and add the coconut milk to the sauce at the end of cooking! Fortunately, it turned out alright (with a little reduction and extra seasoning!), not quite as tasty as it should have been, but we had wine and good company, so all was forgiven! What would cooking memories be if we didn’t make a few of these mistakes?!..

I hope you enjoy these recipes and that they inspire you to make some foodie memories in your kitchen!

See you next week for my Tuesday Treat…

In the meantime, do you need some new tunes for your kitchen?… check out what I’m cooking to: Music to Cook to…MenuMusic Twenty Nine (here!).

Menu One

Farfalle with Peas and Pancetta (Serves 4)

This recipe takes me straight back to my first trip with my Italian class; on that occasion, we went to Bologna. During our trip, apart from eating at every opportunity, we had a cookery class at the home of Rita Mattioli, who introduced us to this simple sauce. Just a few months later, I discovered that chef Rick Stein had also visited Rita in Bologna and was raving about his lunch with her – this pasta dish! It’s not a particularly sophisticated recipe, but its simplicity is very comforting, particularly when you need a quick midweek supper dish. It’s incredibly easy to make; there’s no need to serve it with fresh pasta made from scratch (as Rita did), I simply use dried pasta – Farfalle goes particularly well with this sauce.

100g shallots, finely chopped

30g butter

200g pancetta, diced

500g frozen petit pois

1 bay leaf

Sprig of thyme

400ml chicken stock

70g parmesean cheese, grated (plus more to serve)

400g farfalle (gluten free is required)

Sea salt and black pepper

  1. Melt the butter in a pan over a medium heat and sweat the shallots for 4 minutes or so until soft. Add the pancetta and cook for a further 4 minutes.
  2. Now add the peas, bay leaf, thyme and stock, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes.
  3. Finally, stir in the grated parmesan, mix well and season with salt and pepper
  4. Meanwhile, cook the farfalle, according to the packet instructions, until al dente.
  5. Drain the pasta and add to the sauce. Stir to combine and serve with more freshly grated parmesan.

Menu Two

Coconut, Lime & Chilli Spatchcock Chicken (Serves 4)

This is the perfect recipe to give your taste buds a little ‘zing’. It’s a super easy, beautifully fragrant roast with a delicious broth. I like to serve it with rice. Thank you to cookbook writer Seema Pankhania for this wonderful recipe!

How to Spatchcock a Chicken:

On the backside of the chicken, using a pair of strong kitchen scissors, cut along either side of the back bone to remove it, then flip the chicken over and press down very firmly on its breast bones, it will give a satisfying crack as it flattens! Some people like to insert skewers to help keep the chicken flat during cooking but in my experience they make no difference, so I prefer not to use them as they make it more difficult to carve the bird.

Click here to watch the video on me spatchcocking a chicken on my Instagram Page!

1 chicken (about 1.5kg), spatchcocked (see above or as your butcher to do it!)

400g shallots, peeled and halved if large

1 x 400ml tin coconut milk (separated into 200ml portions)

Juice of 3-4 limes, plus extra wedges to serve

Handful of coriander and Thai basil to garnish

For the marinade:

1 tablespoon coriander seeds

1 tablespoon black peppercorns

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

1 teaspoon chilli powder

1 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons fish sauce

2 tablespoons dark soy sauce (gluten-free if required)

5 birdseye chillies, plus one extra sliced to garnish

6 garlic cloves

4cm piece of ginger, peeled

3 tablespoons light brown sugar

  1. Combine all the marinade ingredients in a blender and blitz to a paste. Rub it generously over the chicke, front and back. Place in a large container, cover and marinate for at least 1 hour, ideally overnight.
  2. Arrange the shallots in a roasting tin and top with the chicken, skin side up. Pour 200ml of the coconut milk into the tin. Roast in a preheated oven, 200’c fan, for 50 minutes or until the skin is blistered and the bird is cooked through.
  3. Remove the chicken and shallots to a serving platter. Transfer the roasting tin with all its cooking juices to the hob, add the remaining 200ml of coconut milk and bring to a simmer. Stir in the lime juice, season.
  4. Serve the chicken with the shallots and coconut-lime sauce with a scattering of the herbs, extra sliced chilli and wedges of lime.

‘Blast From the Past’ Recipe

Menu MistressLeave a comment

Spatchcock Chicken with Rosemary, Garlic and Chilli (Serves 4-6)


January is the month for getting our diets back on track after December’s festive feasts. So, with this in mind, I thought I’d re-share this recipe, which was one of the first recipes I shared back in 2020! It’s a recipe which I go back to time and time again. It’s my healthy day recipe. When I feel that I’ve overindulged, I love the subtle seasoning of this chicken and enjoy it simply served with a good green salad. I try to resist baby roast potatoes on the side, but they sometimes win the battle (recipe here)!..

If  you get your chicken from your butcher, ask him to spatchcock it for you, alternatively it is very easy to do yourself…

How to Spatchcock a Chicken:

On the backside of the chicken, using a pair of strong kitchen scissors, cut along either side of the back bone to remove it, then flip the chicken over and press down very firmly on its breast bones, it will give a satisfying crack as it flattens! Some people like to insert skewers to help keep the chicken flat during cooking but in my experience they make no difference, so I prefer not to use them as they make it more difficult to carve the bird.

Click here to watch the video on me spatchcocking a chicken on my Instagram Page!

1 x 1.8 – 2.25kg chicken

1 teaspoon of sea salt flakes

For the marinade:

1 tablespoon freshly chopped rosemary (about 3 sprigs)

4 cloves of garlic, crushed

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (about 20 grinds of a pepper grinder)

½ teaspoon chilli flakes

Juice of half a lemon

4 tablespoons olive oil

  1. Firstly make the marinade by combining all the ingredients together.
  2. Cover the chicken all over with the marinade – I use a brush to do this.
  3. Place it breast side up, flattened out, in a roasting tin. Sprinkle over with the sea salt flakes.
  4. Place in a preheated oven, 180’c fan, for 45-50 minutes, depending on the size of your chicken.

Tuesday Treat

Menu MistressLeave a comment

Carrot Cake with Tahini Orange Frosting

Can a cake be healthy? Well, this one’s certainly healthier than most!.. It’s from ‘The Food For Life Cookbook’ by Tim Spector (of ‘Zoe’ fame). He claims that the added benefit of the Greek yoghurt frosting is that the protein and fat will help slow the absorption of sugar into your bloodstream from the cake… so it’s definitely worth a try!.. And it’s delicious; the aforementioned frosting gives a wonderful tartness that cuts the sweetness of the carrot cake. A friend introduced me to this recipe when she served the cake at a luncheon; we were all very impressed and felt rather smug at being so healthy – thanks, Sarah!

85ml extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for greasing

100ml kefir

3 eggs

4 tablespoons honey

85g soft light brown sugar

285g ground almonds

2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

4 tablespoons pumpkin seeds

50g walnuts, roughly chopped

2 teaspoons baking powder (gluten-free if required)

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

Pinch of salt

200g carrots, grated

For the topping:

185g Greek yoghurt

2 tablespoons tahini

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon honey

Zest of ½ orange

2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds

Fresh berries

*You will need a 20cm round springform cake tin, greased and lined.

  1. Put the olive oil, kefir, eggs, honey and sugar in a bowl and mix to combine. Add the ground almonds, cinnamon, pumpkin seeds, walnuts, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt and mix everything until thoroughly combined.
  2. Fold in the carrots and then transfer the mixture to the lined tin. Flatten with a spatula and bake in a preheated oven, 160’c fan, for 45-50 minutes until a metal skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before removing from the tin.
  3. Meanwhile, make the topping. Mix the Greek yoghurt, tahini, vanilla extract, honey and orange zest in a bowl – it will thicken slightly. Spread all over the cooled cake and decorate with fresh berries and a sprinkling of pumpkin seeds. (Store in the fridge covered for up to 5 days).

January 2026

Menu MistressLeave a comment

Happy New Year! Yes, another year of cooking adventures! I’ll be honest with you, there is a small part of me that feels slightly anxious at this thought. I’m always on the hunt for new, successful recipes, but there can be weeks when they’re elusive and I’m left restless in my kitchen. In an exaggerated way, I imagine it’s rather like an author with writer’s block – one moment you’re riding high on success and the next you feel very much lost and out of control. I flourish when cooking goes well. I suppose, to avoid disappointment, I could just keep to all my tried and tested favourites – there’s certainly enough already on this website! However, where would the fun in that be? So instead, I continue to feed my addiction of buying new cookery books and looking online for recipes which will hopefully be ‘winners’. One of this month’s recipes was discovered during a period in which I was struggling to find that aforementioned ‘winner’. Then, whilst searching the book stores, I found Athena Calderone’s ‘Cook Beautiful’, and soon after, I was singing in the kitchen! I thought that this recipe would be a particularly good recipe to share with you at the start of the year. And, I’m hoping that, like me, this recipe will leave you ‘singing’ in your kitchen!..

So, Menu One is ‘Pan-Roasted Chicken with Shallots & Dates’ from the cookbook, ‘Cook Beautiful’. Who would have thought that a few dates, olives and shallots could shine so wonderfully with a chicken breast?! Menu Two is ‘Simple Goan Fish Curry’. This recipe, which is from the cookbook ‘Simple’ by Diana Henry, may be ‘simple’, but it’s packed with flavour. Make sure your store cupboard has the ingredients at the ready for this delicious curry, which is easy to cook any day of the week.

So, 2026 here we come…Enjoy!..

Menu One

Pan- Roasted Chicken with Shallots & Dates (Serve 4)

Ok, I know that all the recipes I share are delicious, but this one is particularly good!.. Who would have thought that a few dates, olives and shallots could shine so wonderfully with a chicken breast?! Thanks to the cookbook ‘Cook Beautiful’ by Athena Calderone for this fantastic recipe. You’ll need an oven-proof frying pan – a cast-iron one is best. Caldrone suggests putting the pan in the oven first to get it really hot to brown the chicken breasts – a great idea if you have time on your hands (and remember the handle will be hot!).

4 bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts

2 tablespoons grapeseed oil (or sunflower oil)

60g unsalted butter

10 shallots, peeled, larger ones halved lengthwise

4 cloves garlic, smashed and roughly chopped

8-10 sprigs of thyme, divided

120ml dry white wine

360ml chicken stock

8 Medjool dates, pitted and halved lengthways

100g green olives, smashed and pitted (I use Nocellara olives)

1½ tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 lemon, zested and juiced

Sea salt and black pepper

  1. Place your largest oven-proof frying pan in a preheated oven, 230’c fan, for 15 minutes (see note above). Pat the chicken breasts dry and generously season on all sides with salt and pepper. Carefully remove the hot pan from the oven and place it on the stove. Add the oil and heat over a medium-high heat until very hot. Working in two batches, cook the chicken, skin-side down, until the skin is crispy and golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the chicken to a plate, whilst you make the sauce.
  2. Drain off all but 1 tablespoon of the oil from the pan. Over a medium heat, add 30g of the butter, and when melted, add the shallots. Cook the shallots for 5-6 minutes until caramelised and golden. Add the garlic, a few thyme sprigs, and a further 15g of butter, and season with salt and pepper. Toss with the shallots and continue to cook until they begin to soften, 5-7 minutes.
  3. Add the wine and reduce it by half. Add a few more thyme sprigs and the stock. Simmer over a low heat for 15 minutes, until reduced slightly. Check the seasoning and add the dates and olives to the sauce.
  4. Return the chicken to the pan, skin-side up and place in the oven, 230’c fan. Roast the chicken until it’s cooked through, about 20 minutes.
  5. Transfer the chicken breasts to a plate, set them aside and keep warm. Return the pan to the stove over a medium-high heat. Add the vinegar to the sauce, simmer until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, 3-5 minutes. Remove it from the heat and stir in the remaining 15g of butter and the lemon juice. Check the seasoning. Return the chicken to the pan and serve immediately, garnished with the remaining thyme and lemon zest.

Menu Two

Simple Goan Fish Curry (Serves 4)

This recipe from the cookbook ‘Simple’ by Diana Henry, it may be ‘simple’, but it’s packed with flavour. Make sure your store cupboard has the ingredients at the ready for this delicious curry, which is easy to cook any day of the week..

4 teaspoons coriander seeds

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

4 dried red Kashmiri chillies

2cm root ginger, peeled and finely grated

4 garlic cloves, crushed

1 teaspoon turmeric

Sea salt and black pepper

2 tablespoons sunflower or rapeseed oil

1 onion, finely chopped

1 large plum tomato, finely chopped

400ml can of coconut milk

1 tablespoon palm sugar or soft light brown sugar

2 teaspoons tamarind paste

1 green chilli, deseeded and finely sliced

500g firm white fish fillets, skinned and cut into 3cm pieces

2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves

  1. Toast the coriander, cumin seeds and the dried chillies in a dry frying pan for about a minute. Crush in a mortar and pestle, then mix in the ginger, garlic, turmeric and 1 teaspoon of salt.
  2. Heat the oil in a sauté pan over a medium heat and fry the onion until soft and golden. Stir in the spice mix. Cook for a couple of minutes, then add the tomato and cook until soft. Add the coconut milk, sugar, tamarind and green chilli and bring to just under the boil. Immediately reduce the heat and simmer for about five minutes, until slightly thickened. Taste for seasoning
  3. Season the fish all over, then add to the sauce and simmer gently for about 4 minutes until cooked through. Check again for seasoning, add the coriander leaves and serve with rice.