Duck legs with mango sauce on a bed of saffron rice recipe
“What are you doing? I thought we were having plums with the duck.” Danny’s eyes flicked across the green mango skins on the chopping board. I had planned to make a duck leg version of our duck breasts in a fresh plum sauce but have overdosed on plums recently. So when I spotted a pile of mangoes in the fridge – waiting to be turned into Mango Chutney I decided to make a little less chutney and use a plump mango as the fruit base for this recipe. I’m pleased that I did. This recipe is really easy and tastes superb – don’t...
read moreMy twist on the Waitrose recipe for Moules Mariniere
Having failed to persuade my partner to share my bag of rope mussels I was determined to make a really great sauce. So I looked at a couple of good foodie blogs for inspiration. Veronica at La Recette du Jour had a great recipe but I didn’t have curry powder. Joanna at Joanna’s Food had a tempting recipe but I was tired and didn’t want to do the maths (her recipe was for 5 kilos). In the end I looked at the cooking instructions on the label for Moules Mariniere. As Danny was getting restive and already grilling some burgers I...
read moreSpiced chicken liver salad recipe
“I’d like a bottle of white wine please. I’m going to try and tempt Danny with mussels tonight.” “Does he have a problem with them?” Enquired John. “When we first met we overdosed on them. But it has been eleven years and I spotted rope mussels on offer today. They looked so enticing.” “Surely after eleven years he’ll want to give them a go.” At the mention of mussels Danny’s face set quite still. “But we planned to have a warm chicken liver salad.” Within seconds he confirmed that he didn’t want to eat...
read moreSam Raithatha’s gently spiced rice (for three)
Danny snaked back from the post run last night holding a Waitrose curry aloft. Like the Olympic torch. “£3.99 down to £1.49. We couldn’t make it for that price,” he beamed. Danny is a chicken Korma sort of guy. He doesn’t like hot, spicy food. “But you only eat mild curries and this is a Vindaloo – look, it’s got a 3 chilli rating.” “Oh.” “Never mind. I’ll whistle up some dishes that will cool down the heat. And we can try Sam’s rice dish.” Apart from having healing hands in common, both Sam and I adore food...
read moreVegetarian asparagus, potato and Parmesan frittata recipe
We were given three chunky bunches of young asparagus. Washed and tied neatly with string. When I dropped them into the basket of the asparagus steamer I suddenly realised the wisdom of the string when they didn’t flop tails above the water or drop through the basket. The three bunches sat upright in the water. The bottoms simmering as the delicate tips basked in the steam. We had a bunch each, served with melted butter and lashings of pepper. Unbelievably good. Ultra fresh asparagus is angel food. Danny leant back in his chair and sighed...
read moreBest budget recipes for 50% or less: Warm chicken liver salad with chicory and pears
These are a collection of recipes inspired by cut price, soon to be out of date, supermarket food. I have discovered that this sort of shopping has made my cooking a lot more inventive and it’s really satisfying to create something delicious out of ingredients that would otherwise be destined for landfill. Many years ago I was very keen on a tall dark stranger that moved up to live with his sister in the vicinity. He invited me to lunch and made a wonderful warm chicken liver salad. I was so goofy and overawed that I was shy and...
read moreBest great budget recipes for 50% or less: Che’s suggestion for great char grilled sirloin steaks recipe
This is the end of the first month of our 2009 challenge – Best great budget recipes for 50% or less. Danny has become an addict of the condemned food counter at Tesco. He drops by most evenings when he does the final post run in Newmarket. The clientele that are attracted to this mini mecca have gradually changed over the past few months. “There were a very smart couple picking through the shelves this evening. There wasn’t much left. The man turned to me and announced, ‘The wolves have already been.’ He clearly didn’t ...
read moreBest homemade taramasalata recipe
Danny lips always go pleaty when I suggest taramasalata on pitta bread for a lunchtime snack. Some might call this a benefit as I could eat a whole tub on my own. But even the smaller tubs are too much for a single sitting. It’s the sort of thing that I long for and then feel replete after a slice of laden pitta bread. The tub is pushed to the back of the fridge and forgotten after my fix. Several weeks later it’s discovered by D on a fridge clearing binge. The thin lips as it is tossed into the bin say it all. Last night I discovered...
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