Onion and coconut flatbreads

Thinking of the tragic deluge currently destroying huge swathes of Queensland makes me think of a couple of truly fantastic friends over there, who thankfully are not in any immediate danger but still suffering all the same, takes me oddly to Sri Lanka with Michelle (from the beautiful Yeppoon; you see, it makes sense eventually) and one of the best foreign sorties I think I've ever had.

The food over there is so remarkable in its simplicity, and I struggle to remember where I have ever had dishes with such impact through less fuss. In Sri Lanka, there is naturally a heavy use of coconut oil in their cooking and I am pretty sure there is a tendancy to throw some of the oil into their flatbreads too. You can often find coconut oil in health food stores or in good ethnic groceries. If not, you can substitute it with coconut cream instead. One thing which has always fascinated me is that even the most primitive of kitchens there have some sort of a food processor - this is needed for this recipe to get the right blend of onions, no lumps needed!

Here's me doing mine the other night in a chilly Washington, and below is the master at work last time I was in Sri Lanka.

1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
200ml water
400g strong flour, plus extra for dusting
2 tsp fine sea salt
50ml coconut oil (or coconut cream)
Vegetable oil, for frying

Place the onion and water in a blender and purée.

Sift the flour and salt into a bowl. Make a well in the centre and add the onion and the coconut oil. Stir the mixture with a butter knife until the dough comes together. (Add a little extra water, a tablespoon at a time, if the mixture seems too dry.)

Place the dough on to a floured board and knead for 5-10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with cling film and leave to rest for 20 minutes.

Divide the dough into eight 50g pieces and shape into round balls. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough into thin circles and cover with a sheet of baking parchment.

Heat a non stick frying pan over medium heat. One at a time, fry the dough for 3-4 minutes on each side until golden brown at the edges. Drain on kitchen paper and cover immediately with a clean towel. Repeat, cooking the rest of the dough. Serve warm, preferably with a fragrant chicken curry with plenty chilli bite.

Blackened salmon with orange yoghurt sauce

Dinner the other night was just this simple; a piece of salmon purposely blackened to within an inch of its poor mistaken life, yoghurt and lemon rice. A plate of sliced cured sausage, and a piece of brie split in half with a bit of truffle and mascarpone stuffed inside. A couple of home made pickles chucked in for good measure, and eating at home has never been quite so rewarding indeed.

Our poor salmon is much maligned, and doesn't really deserve the negativity it gets, but will reward you with a bit of work and creative effort. It was not so long ago really when poaching was the only method we turned to for this fish, but the delicate flavour of salmon really comes through when it is charred brutaly on the outside, all the while protecting the centre to cook effectively with its own steam.

This recipe serves 4 as part of a selection of tapas or 2 as a main course

300g salmon fillet, skinned and boned
2 tblsp vegetable oil
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp dried oregano
½ tsp Spanish sweet smoked paprika
½ tsp cayenne pepper
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
1 tsp cumin seeds, lightly toasted
1 tsp fine salt

For the citrus yoghurt
300ml Greek yoghurt
zest and juice of one orange
60ml extra virgin olive oil

Cut the prepared salmon fillet into 2.5cm cubes. Coat the salmon in one tablespoon of the vegetable oil and then set aside in a large dish.

Combine the thyme, rosemary, oregano, paprika, cayenne, garlic, cumin seeds and salt in a small bowl. Generously coat the salmon cubes in the spice mixture and leave to sit while you prepare the citrus yoghurt.

Put the yoghurt, orange zest and juice and the olive oil in a bowl and, using a small whisk, combine, then set aside. Heat the remaining vegetable oil in a large, non-stick frying pan and cook the salmon for 3-4 minutes, turning frequently until it's golden all over.

Serve warm with cocktail sticks and the yoghurt sauce for dipping as a canape.

Turkey sandwich

The Boxing Day sandwich was a triumph. But now we're back on an even keel, and the New Year well under way, the sandwich we only ever associate with leftovers is making a stand in his own right.

Slices of slightly dry turkey, a crumble of stuffing, a couple of bacon wrapped chipolatas if you're lucky and possibly a sliced cold roast potato or two; all evened out by the token healthy crisp of some salad leaves and a smear of mayonnaise and you no better a sandwich you'll construct all year.

It's all about the moment though isn't it really? I mean, a killer Pimms served on a polo field in Gloucestershire at the height of Summer is not the same beast as the one served up in a smoky bar on Kazinczy Street in Budapest in January. As is the fragrance of a tongue numbing green papaya salad with an attack of lime, fish sauce and chilli utterly enveloping your mouth on the streets of Chiang Mai in blistering July, simply not the same at the Golden Sawadee in Bognor on a rainy Tuesday in November.

As it is, I'm not sure there's a terribly wrong time for an honest sandwich, and have to admit to roasting off a decent sized crown of turkey for just this. Far rather take this approach than anything on offer in the deli section at any time of the year. my favourite sandwich moment of the year, executed in January without leftover stuffing etc. shall be constructed from the below array of bits and pieces. All or some will go in this time round, saving the other options for next time. And believe you me, there will be many of those before the 26th December this year...

Turkey, sliced anywhere up to the thickness of your pinkie, still just warm from roasting.
Soft sourdough bread, cold but fresh - dipped lightly in the turkey roasting juices
Crisp grilled bacon –  streaky and smoked preferred
A chutney of some sort - experiment with what takes your fancy, but picalilli gets the nod today
A pickle too - I pickled a gallon of baby onions before Christmas; they're in
Mayonnaise

Salad leaves; crisp green and bitter preferably

Avocado slices have a time and a place on occasion

As does a thin shredding of raw celeriac

A cold beer on the side, and French fries in lieu of the leftover roast spuds

Jingle bells all the way!

Sausage rolls

So, last week we had all our pre Christmas parties on that mental last series of entertaining that just everyone tries to cram before people start disappearing off to the quiet comfort of their families. At work we probably knocked out the best part of 3,000 of these little chaps, but the recipe listed below will happily make 20-25 or so depending on how big you cut them. I have to admit being sick of the sight of them, but will no doubt turn just a few more around for the festive souls at home, just because the smell of a freshly baked sausage roll coming out of the oven is something quite effortlessly calming.

30g/1oz butter
100g/3½oz button mushrooms, finely chopped
1 tblsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp Tabasco
1 pinch fresh thyme or sage leaves, chopped
450g/1lb pork sausage meat
2 eggs, beaten

salt and freshly ground black pepper
450g/1lb ready-rolled puff pastry

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6.

Melt the butter in a large pan and gently saute the mushrooms until soft. Transfer to a large bowl.

Add the Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco sauce, thyme or sage and sausage meat and season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Mix until thoroughly combined, adding all but a splash of the egg reserved for glazing the top of the finished rolls.

Cut the puff pastry into two long rectangles, assuming the sheet is a standard size of approx 18'' x 13''.

Place a layer of sausage meat mixture down the edge of each pastry rectangle, leaving a thumbs width to begind the fold over, then brush each with beaten egg on the larger edge.

Fold the smaller side of the pastry over onto the egg-washed edge and roll to seal. Press down to seal and trim any excess. Cut each pastry roll into 10 or so small sausage rolls.

Place the sausage rolls onto a baking tray and transfer to the oven to bake for 15-20 minutes, or until crisp and golden and the sausage meat is completely cooked through.

Pink grapefruit and vanilla

So here are the two ingredients that happen to be in my top ten must haves knocking around the kitchen: vanilla and grapefruit. I've just received the most delicious package from one of my absolute favourite people ever, Michelle, who sent me them from a wonderful little vanilla grower in Sri Lanka, and they are simply the most heavenly scented vanilla pods I've come across in an extremely long time. Before they were even opened, the smell was remarkable, and reminds me so much of the island, their people and the simplicity they put towards their existence, I cannot wait to go back. Put this with pink grapefruit, which for a reason I'll go into in good time, I can't seem to get enough of right now, and keeping with simplicity, we'll knock up a little sweet refreshment.

This crystalline sorbet has a blissfully tangy, bittersweet flavour. Buying a whole bottle of Angostura bitters for it might seem extravagant, but think of it as a holiday season investment, because it will last for ages. Use it to re-create proper Champagne cocktails, or add a few drops to a glass of tonic water to make one of the few good grown-up non-alcoholic drinks to offer drivers. It's also quite interesting drizzled over roasted root vegetables, too.

Pink grapefruit and vanilla granita

Serves 6-8

500ml freshly squeezed pink grapefruit juice

100g caster sugar

1 fat vanilla pod, split and scraped

2 tsp Angostura bitters

Put a shallow metal tray, such as a scrupulously clean small roasting tin, in the freezer to chill. Whisk the juice, sugar, vanilla seeds and bitters together until the sugar has dissolved.

Throw the scraped vanilla pod into a jar with white sugar and leave to allow the scent to flavour. Use this vanilla sugar in anything from desserts to sweetening your coffee.

Pour the mixture into the cold metal tray and return it to the freezer for 20 minutes before checking. Once ice crystals have started to form around the edges (in my freezer this took 40 mins), gently lift them with a fork into the not so frozen middle part. Return to the freezer.

Repeat the process every 20 minutes until all the mixture is crystallised (allow 1-2 hours). Scrape the crystals into a lidded plastic container and store in the freezer for up to four days. Serve in glass tumblers that have been chilled in the freezer until frosty. 

The squash continues

The brilliance of using up your fridge leftovers is always a moment of joy. Like rummaging through the wardrobe looking for the first scarf of the winter and coming across the headphones I'd been wondering about for the past six months. Or going to put a new photo in the frame on my desk only to find an old treasure fall out from behind the frame back. 


The pleasance of surprise constantly thrills me and no more than the creation of deliciousness from those half eaten meals and odd cling film parcels which ordinarily would eventually end up as bird food on the window ledge at very best. Soup at times like these has to be your best friend indeed. 


I tend to always have the semblance of a chicken stock of some description lurking somewhere in the freezer but this is habit for me and makes barely a difference to the end result when water does just fine. I had pretty much all the ingredients below after that butternut squash risotto I made the other day, so this was basically as easy as making soup. A little bowl of this lightly spiced soup makes a warming starter for a winter celebration meal.

Butternut squash soup

Serves 4-6

2 tblsp olive oil
Few knobs of butter
2 onions, peeled and chopped
2 bay leaves
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
About 1 litre hot chicken stock
1 heaped tsp mild curry powder
1 large butternut squash, peeled and cut into small pieces
2 apples, cored and sliced with skin on
4-6 thin rashers of pancetta, halved
Small handful of coriander, leaves chopped
Heat a heavy-based pan with the olive oil and butter, then add the onions, bay leaves and a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Stir well, then cover the pan with a lid and cook over a low heat for 5-7 minutes until the onions begin to soften.

Meanwhile, bring the stock to a simmer in another saucepan. Add the curry powder to the onions and stir for another minute. Tip in the squash and add a little more oil to prevent the squash from scorching too quickly. (It will also give the finished soup a velvety texture.) Cook for about 10-12 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the squash is tender and lightly caramelised. 


Throw in the apples at this stage and pour in just enough hot stock to cover everything and gently simmer for another 5-10 minutes. 

Meanwhile, lay the pancetta in a single layer in a hot non stick frying pan. Fry over medium heat until golden-brown and crisp. Turn over to cook the other side. Drain on kitchen paper and allow to cool slightly.

Fish out and discard the bay leaves. In batches, purée the soup in a food processor or liquidiser until smooth. Return the soup to the pan to reheat. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Ladle the soup into warm bowls and garnish with some chopped coriander and a slice of crispy pancetta on top. 

Easy start to Sunday

There's nothing quite like an easy start to Sunday, whether it's to recover from the previous evening's frivolities or to prepare for the family to descend for lunch.  Breakfast is traditionally the most important meal of the day, but the luxury of a lazy breakfast at the weekends, means it often turns into brunch.  

So, if you can't decide whether it's a late breakfast or an early lunch your taste buds are craving opt for something that will cover both.  

Eggs, a staple breakfast component for centuries, have had their fair share of bad publicity, but I've yet to truly believe that they can be anything but goodness.  They bring life to food, get you started for the day, and feed both the brain and the soul.  As long as you have half a dozen eggs in your store cupboard and a decent frying pan you'll always have brunch, and any added extras are just a bonus.

Scrambled eggs, smoked salmon and bagels

Serves 2-3

6 large free range eggs
25g ice cold butter, cut into small dice
1 tblsp crème fraîche
freshly ground sea salt and pepper
Few chives, snipped
2-3 bagels of your choice, toasted

400g smoked salmon slices

Break the eggs into a cold, heavy-based pan, place on the lowest heat possible, and add half the butter. Using a spatula, stir the eggs frequently to combine the yolks with the whites.

As the mixture begins to set, add the remaining butter. The eggs will take about 4-5 minutes to scramble – they should still be soft and quite lumpy. Don’t let them get too hot – keep moving the pan off and back on the heat.

Meanwhile, toast the bagels.

Add the crème fraîche and season the eggs at the last minute, then add the snipped chives. Put the split bagels on warm plates, pile the softly scrambled eggs on top, fold over the smoked salmon and serve immediately.