Delicious and sustainable

Braised oxtail raviolo with wild mushroom risotto, leek cream, braised cabbage and parsley oil

Fri, 15 Mar 2019 00:00:00 +0000

This recipe was the culmination of my week’s experimentation with braising with not one, but two braised elements. It includes rich meaty oxtail and adds in an element that I would never have thought to braise in the past - little gem lettuces. Add in pasta, wild mushroom risotto, leek cream and a parsley oil, and you’ve got a dinner party dish that packs a real punch of flavour and looks a bit fancy. The centrepiece is the raviolo. One large pasta parcel sat on top of the mushroom risotto. The trick is to use enough of the lovely braising liquid to moisten and add to the flavour of the oxtail without making it too wet. And, of course, keeping enough for the sauce to add onto the plate.

Exploring techniques: Braising

Mon, 25 Feb 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Braising is its own special kind of magic. You take a cheaper, tougher cut of meat and you let it braise gently, bubbling away for several hours. And at the end, you have a thing transformed. All that sinew and connective tissue that would have made eating so difficult and unfulfilling has melted into a rich flavourful jus to go along with what’s become tender-as-you-like meat.

Opus Restaurant, Birmingham

Mon, 26 Nov 2018 00:00:00 +0000

I recently made the trip to Birmingham to carry out an interview for the podcast I do (it’s not about food, but rather broadly-defined change-makers). I figured that, since the interview was scheduled for the afternoon, I might as well see if I could dig out somewhere interesting to have lunch.

Sous Vide Roast Beef

Mon, 12 Nov 2018 00:00:00 +0000

I’ve had my Sous Vide Supreme water bath for a number of years now. Maybe as long as a decade.

Coconut rice pudding and caramel apple tarts

Fri, 09 Nov 2018 00:00:00 +0000

One of the discoveries of spending a week in Tuscany was the budino di riso - little rice pudding tarts - that were on sale in some of the cafes.

Vegan mushroom mousse with squash, chestnuts and sage

Mon, 05 Nov 2018 00:00:00 +0000

I’ve made a mushroom mousse, or a custard, several times in the last year or so. But I invited a vegan friend to lunch recently, and thought that it would be a great thing opportunity to develop a vegan version.

Fabulous Focaccia

Thu, 01 Nov 2018 00:00:00 +0000

It was a sheer fluke that on the final day of my Tuscan holiday, I ended up watching the first episode of the new Netflix show Salt Fat Acid Heat.

Baked Tuscan pancakes

Mon, 29 Oct 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Having spent a week in Tuscany, I came back keen to spend a bit more time exploring the food culture and trying out a few things in the kitchen.

Slow-cooked goat stew

Thu, 18 Oct 2018 00:00:00 +0000

At this year’s Aldeburgh Food Festival, one of the more interesting supplies I managed to get hold of was some diced goat meat. I’d eaten goat just the once - a rather extraordinarily expensive meal I had once in Dubai having gone to speak at some conference or another.

Eating in Tuscany 2

Mon, 15 Oct 2018 00:00:00 +0000

As we entered the second half of the week in Tuscany, we really wanted to see a great food market, and get to the coast where the seafood would be fresh and abundant.