This is delicious and goes perfectly with a bowl of warm couscous. It’s better to ask for the meat in one piece so you can cut it into big chunks yourself – the pre-cubed stuff is usually cut too small and will disappear into the sauce.
Wine Suggestion: If you’d like to keep to the theme a good, dry Oloroso sherry works well, but if you’d rather a red like we did tonight, something from a warm vineyard region may hit the mark … just make sure it’s balanced and not too hot from alcohol. Our choice was a treasured bottle brought from OZ many years ago of Hanging Rock’s Heathcote Shiraz. Dense and textured in youth this opens up and retains a freshness and layered velvetiness over many years of cellar aging too.
Spanish lamb with sherry – serves 4
1kg lamb shoulder, trimmed of excess fat, then cubed
1½ tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, roughly chopped
1 red pepper, deseeded and sliced
1 yellow pepper, deseeded and sliced
1 green pepper, deseeded and sliced
2 cloves of garlic, finely grated
½ tsp paprika
250ml medium sherry
250ml lamb stock
generous pinch of saffron threads
1 tbsp sherry vinegar
1½ tbsp honey
1 tbsp finely chopped parsley
couscous, to serve
Heat 1 tbsp of the olive oil in a large casserole and brown the lamb in batches, then set aside.
Add the ½ tbsp of oil to the casserole, then add the onions and peppers and cook until the onions are golden and the peppers have softened. Add the garlic and paprika and stir for a minutes, then add the sherry and bring to a simmer.
Return the lamb to the casserole, along with the stock, saffron, sherry vinegar and honey. Season and bring to just under the boil. Turn the heat down, cover the pan with a lid and cook very gently for 1½ hours, stirring occasionally.
Remove the lid from the casserole and continue to cook for another 30 minutes to reduce the liquid to a gravy-like consistency and the lamb should be very tender.
Serve with some warm couscous.
(Original recipe by Diana Henry in BBC Good Food Magazine, October, 2017.)
Such a lovely recipe, and you can of course use smoked salmon. We like smoked trout from Goatsbridge which is a local supplier. Recipe inspiration from the new Ottolenghi book – Comfort. You must have a green salad and a glass of white wine to serve. If you have a mandolin it will cut the potatoes and fennel just right.
Wine Suggestion: Weserved an oddity/one-off from Chateau Hureau from Saumur in the Loire. They grew a low quantity of Chenin Blanc grapes in 2022 due to frost so decided to make a Blanc de Noirs from Cabernet Franc for a bit of fun. Only available at cellar door it’s both crisp and fresh, but significantly has bags of texture which this dish needs. Look for whites with a touch of skin contact, or aged on lees as a substitute.
Potato, fennel & smoked trout bake – serves 4
200ml milk
425ml double cream
2 anchovies, finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic, lightly smashed with skin on
1 lemon, skin finely shaved into strips
2 tsp fennel seeds, finely ground
850g Yukon gold or red potatoes, peeled and sliced into ½ cm thick slices
1-2 large fennel bulbs, thinly sliced
4 egg yolks
10g dill fronds, roughly chopped
20g chives, finely chopped
20g parsley leaves, finely chopped
1½ tbsp unsalted butter, softened
200g smoked trout (or smoked salmon) slices, roughly torn
for the lemon butter sauce:
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp capers, roughly chopped
40g unsalted butter, fridge cold and roughly chopped
Heat the oven to 170C fan.
Put the milk, cream, anchovies, garlic, lemon strips and ground fennel into a small saucepan. Place over a low heat and warm for 10 minutes, making sure it never comes to the boil. Give it a stir now and then and press on the solids to get plenty of flavour out of them. Remove from the heat.
Put the potato and fennel slices into a saucepan and cover with cold, salted water. Bring to the boil and cook for 6-7 minutes or until just tender. Drain and set aside.
Whisk the egg yolks with ¾ tsp of salt and a good grind of pepper in a large bowl. Strain the infused milk into the eggs, pressing on the solids against the sieve. Whisk to combine.
Combine all the herbs in bowl. Measure out 2 tbsp and reserve for the butter sauce.
Grease an ovenproof dish with ½ tbsp of the butter. Spoon a third of the potato and fennel over the base and grind over some pepper. Sprinkle over half the herbs and lay half the smoked trout over the top. Repeat with half the remaining potatoes and fennel, season with pepper, then add all the remanining trout and the rest of the herbs. Arrange a final layer of potato and fennel on top and carefully pour over the egg mixture. Grind over some more pepper and dot over the remaining butter. Bake for 45 minutes or until set and just golden. Remove from the oven and rest for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile make the lemon butter sauce. Put the lemon juice into a small saucepan on a medium-high heat and bring to a bubble. Allow to bubble for 1 minute, then add the capers and butter, a few pieces at a time. Whisk until smooth and creamy, then remove from the heat and stir in the reserved herbs and some more pepper. Spoon over the dish and serve warm with a green salad.
(Original recipe from Ottolenghi Comfort by Yotam Ottolenghi, Helen Goh, Verena Lochmuller & Tara Wigley, Ebury Press, 2024.)
We recommend a trip to your local Polski shop for some smoked sausages, plus you’ll be able to find lots of other goodies while you’re there. Our local one has some very friendly and helpful staff willing to help navigate the differences in sausages… of which they have many.
Wine Suggestion: This dish works well with Spanish reds, especially Tempranillo based ones and the one we enjoyed tonight was the Cantos de Valpiedra from Rioja which we find particlaurly refined and elegant with a gentle undercurrent of warm spices.
50g shop-bought crispy onions, to serve (optional)
FOR THE MUSTARD CRÈME FRAÎCHE:
75g crème fraîche
1½ tsp Dijon mustard
1½ tsp wholegrain mustard
Rinse the lentils well, then cover with lots of cold water and set aside.
Mix all the ingredients together for the mustard crème fraîche and put it in the fridge until needed.
Heat ½ tbsp of olive oil in a large casserole, over a medium-high heat. Add the sausages and cook until brown on all sides, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
Add another 2½ tbsp of oil to the pan and add the onion, celery and green pepper. Cook for 12-15 minutes or until the vegetables are turning golden. Add the garlic, thyme, bay leaf and chard stalks and cook for another few minutes. Add the tomato purée and cumin and cook for a further minute.
Drain the lentils and add them to the pan, along with the stock, 1½ tsp of salt and a good grind of black pepper. Bring to the boil, then turn the heat to low and cook for 30 minutes, covered, until the lentils are cooked through. Use a stick blender to blitz one side of the pot for maximum 30 seconds, to break some of the lentils up. Add the chard leaves and stir them in.
Add the sausages to the pan and simmer for 10 minutes, or until the leaves have wilted and the sausages are warmed through. Stir in the parsley and divide between warm bowls. Spoon the crème fraîche on top and the crispy onions if you have them.
(Original recipe from Ottolenghi Comfort by Yotam Ottolenghi, Helen Goh, Verena Lochmuller & Tara Wigley, Ebury Press, 2024.)
Lovely flavours and smells in this. We don’t have a blender but a food processor did an ok job – a blender will give a smoother sauce.
Wine Suggestion: We think this dish suits a white with a complex mix of fruit, herbal and mineral flavours and some of the best with this combination come from Sicily. Tonight the Casematte Grillo Pharis which is grown facing the straights of Messina and made in a combination of large oak barrels and concrete. Smooth and deep with a lovely Sicilian citrus twiest at the end.
Miso butter greens pasta – serves 4
60g unsalted butter
5 cloves of garlic, chopped
½ tsp fennel seeds
½ tsp chilli flakes
100g broccoli, chopped
400g cavolo nero, discard the stalks and slice the leaves
¾ tsp salt
2½ tbsp white miso paste
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
500g orecchiette
extra virgin olive oil, to serve
Melt the butter in a large pot on a medium-high heat. Wait until it bubbles, then add the garlic, fennel seeds and chilli flakes. Cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes until the garlic smells cooked.
Add the broccoli, cavolo nero, salt and 250ml of water. Stir, then cover and turn the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring every few minutes, for 8-10 minutes or until the greens have wilted and become tender.
Scrape the contents of the pan into a blender or food processor and add the miso and olive oil. Blend until smooth, you can add a little water if you need.
Rince out the greens pan, fill with water and bring to the boil (don’t add salt as the miso is salty). Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions and reserve a mug of the pasta cooking water before draining.
Drain the pasta, then return to the pot and add the sauce. Add enought of the cooking water to get the sauce to a nice consistency. Taste and season with salt if needed.
Spoon onto a serving platter and drizzle with olive oil.
(Original recipe from Dinner by Meera Sodha, Penguin: Fig Tree, 2024.)
This has lovely flavours and best cooked a couple of days in advance. Make sure to cook the lamb until it is really soft and tender.
Wine Suggestion: this dish works great with Aussie Shiraz, like Kilikanoon’s excellent Killerman’s Run which has the obligatory pluminess over a very refined and fresh backbone with gentle pepper spices.
Lamb Rogan Josh – serves 4
4 tbsp rapeseed oil
700g lamb neck, cut into bite-sized pieces
6 whole cloves
1 small cinnamon stick
2 bay leaves
2 large onions, thinly sliced
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
5cm piece of ginger, peeled and finely grated
1 tbsp of ground coriander
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp paprika
¼ tsp ground cardamom
15g bunch of fresh coriander, finely chopped
200ml thick Greek yoghurt, plus extra to serve
1 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
100g red lentils
300ml chicken stock
steamed rice, to serve
mango chutney, to serve
extra fresh coriander, to serve
Heat 2 tbsp of the oil in a large pan. Add the lamb in batches and fry until well browned, then set aside.
Add another 2 tbsp of olive oil to the pan, then fry the cloves, cinnamon stick and bay leaves for a few seconds. Add the onions and stir-fry for 6-7 minutes, until browned. Add the garlic, chilli and ginger and fry for 2 minutes, then add the ground spices with the fresh coriander and fry for another minute, stirring.
Add the yoghurt, 1 tbsp at a time, frying for about 30 seconds between each addition and stirring constantly.
Tip the lamb back into the pan and stir in the tomatoes with the lentils and stock. Season to taste, then cover and simmer gently for 2 hours or until very soft and tender. The sauce should have reduced and thickened.
Serve the lamb with steamed rice, mango chutney and some fresh coriander.
(Original recipe from Neven Maguire’s Comple Family Cookbook, Gill Books, 2016.)
A tasty side dish that is similar to Spanish Patatas Bravas but with the flavours changed up. Usefully you can make the sauce in advance and re-heat just before serving.
a handful of fresh coriander leaves, chopped, to serve
crumbled feta, to serve
FOR THE SAUCE:
olive oil
2 garlic cloves, bashed and thinly sliced
250g (drained weight) roasted red peppers from a jar, roughly chopped
400g tin chopped tomatoes
1 heaped tbsp rose harissa
1 tbsp caster sugar
Heat the oven to 220C/200C fan/Gas 7.
Line a baking tray with paper. Mix the spices with the garlic oil. Put the potatoes into a large bowl, pour over the spice mixture and toss to coat. Spread them out evenly on the tray, season with some salt and pepper and roast for 30 minutes or until crispy and cooked through.
To make the sauce, drizzle some olive oil into a saucpean, add the garlic and cook over a medium heat for a couple of minutes. Add the peppers, tomatoes and harissa and season well with salt. Cook for another couple of minutes. Stir in the sugar and cook over a medium heat for 20 minutes, stirring regularly. Remove from the heat and whizz until smooth, then taste and adjust the seasoning.
Serve the potatoes on a platter with the sauce poured over and feta and coriander scattered over the top.
(Original recipe from Flavour by Sabrina Ghayour, Aster*, 2023.)
This recipe works well using fillets that have been grilled with fennel seeds and a bit of dill rubbed into the oiled sides before putting on the barbecue. However as we had a whole fish we adapted cooked it whole with some rosemary and lemon. Either way it’s handy to have a temperature probe to make sure the fish is up to 60C and therefore cooked. You can of course pop a pan on your hot barbecue and cook the spinach on there too, we usually cook the sauce indoors.
Serve with steamed, waxy (or baby) potatoes. And a big shout-out to Goatsbridge trout farm for the magnificent fish we bought online from them; superb!
Wine suggestion: Oaky Chardonnay all the way with this, so choose what ever is best in your local wine merchant.
BBQ trout with spinach & cream, serves 4 (depending on the size of the fish … our left-overs lasted all week)
1 large trout (1.5-2kg), scaled and gutted
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
6 bay leaves
2 garlic cloves, bashed
1 lemon, sliced into rounds
a few springs of rosemary, fennel or marjoram
For the spinach & cream:
a knob of butter
1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
250g spinach, washed and thick stalks discarded
150ml double cream
a small pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Take the fish out of the fridge at least an hour before you want to cook it.
Light your barbecue, you will need a gentle heat to cook the fish through. Scrub the bars of the grill with a wire brush so it’s nice and clean, then lightly oil the bars. Let the grill get really hot before you put the fish onto it so the skin doesn’t skick and crisps up.
When the barbecue is ready to cook on, rub the olive oil all over the fish and season all over with salt and pepper. Put the bay leaves, garlic and lemom slices into the fish belly. Lay the fish onto the hot grill and cook for 2 to 3 minutes – then check the underside to ensure it’s not cooking too fast or burning – if it looks ok, continue to cook for 12-15 minutes on the first side, then use a couple of spatulas to turn the fish over, don’t worry too much if the skin tears a bit. Scatter over the herbs, then cook on the other side for the same amount of time. The fish is cooked when the the flesh flakes away easily from the bone – we find a temperature probe helpful too.
Gently lift the fish off the grill and serve with buttery new potatoes and the spinach with cream below.
FOR THE SPINACH & CREAM:
Put a large frying pan over a medium-high heat and add the butter. When the butter bubbles, add the garlic and allow it to sizzle for about a minute, without colouring.
Roughly chop the spinach if needed, then stir it into the garlicky butter until it wilts right down. Add the cream, nutmeg andn plenty of salt and pepper, then stir until thickened.
(Original recipes from Outside by Gill Meller, Hardie Grant Quadrille, 2022.)
This is a dish we cook when we get home late and need something quick and tasty. You can easily pick up the ingredients in a supermarket on the way home.
Wine Suggestion: the more we taste them, the more we like how versatile Verdicchio is, even the entry level Villa Bianchi from Umani Ronchi in the Marche. There’s just the right level of texture and viscosity for the creamy richness, and zip, zing and minerality for the fish.
Hot-smoked salmon, gnocchi and spinach bake – serve 4
This is a very tasty curry despite the short list of ingredients. Even though it’s simple, it’s perfect for a weeknight and not too spicy for children or other sensitive palates.
Wine Suggestion: We usually find most Pinot Grigio’s a bit nondescript for our tastes, but have been exploring and enjoying a number from Trentino and Friuli recently and think they go quite well with mild curries like this. Zuani make their Sodevo Pinot Grigio in a fairly standard way, though from well tended and lower yielding vineyards. The big difference is both the soils, and keeping it on the fine lees after fermentation. Look out for this last step and you should find a wine that stands out amongst the sea of ordinary Piont Grigios.
Easiest ever chicken curry – serves 4
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 tsp finely grated ginger
1 small onion, finely chopped
500g chicken breasts, cut into strips
2½ tbsp curry powder, plus an extra 2 tsp
1 x 400ml full fat coconut milk
375ml chicken stock
½ tsp salt
200ml frozen peas
a large handful of coriander, chopped
Sprinkle the chicken with the 2 extra tsp of curry powder and some salt and pepper.
Heat a splash of oil in a large, deep frying pan, the remove and set aside.
Add the rest of the vegetable oil to the pan and cook the garlic, ginger and onion over a medium-high heat for a few minutes. Add the 2½ tbsp curry powder and continue to cook for another 2 minutes.
Add the coconut milk and chicken stock to the pan, then simmer rapidly for about 20 minutes or until reduced and thickened. Add the chicken back in towards the end to cook it through.
Add the peas and salt to the curry and cook for 2 minutes, season again to taste and sprinkle over the coriander.
Everyone loves a piece of barbecued chicken. This was has a tasty herb marinade.
Wine Suggestion: to hand a bottle of Domaine Gayda “Sphere” Chardonnay and we were pleased with the match. Southern French sunshine, organic vineyards, cooling mountains behind, limestone soils, wild ferment and aging on lees in a mix of concrete tanks and barrels.
Barbecued Chicken – serves 6
3-4 tbsp olive oil
½ tsp English mustard
3 tbsp of chopped herbs – we used parsley chives and tarragon (you could also use thyme)
a little grated lemon zest
a squeeze of lemon juice
a small garlic clove, very finely chopped
1 chicken, jointed
Combine the oil, mustard, herbs, lemon zest and juice, garlic and plenty of black pepper in a large bowl. Slash the chicken in a few places, then toss the pieces in the marinade and leave in the fridge for at least an hour or up to 4 hours.
Get your barbecue fired up.
Before cooking, pat away any excess oil, then seasson with salt. Grill on a moderately hot barbecue, turning often, until cooked through (best to use a meat thermometer and check for 74C). The breast pieces should take about 15 minutes on the hotter part of the barbecue and legs and wings on a cooler part for at least 25 minutes.
Transfer to a warm dish, sprinkle with a little more seasoning and leave to rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.
(Original recipe from River Cottage Everyday by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Bloomsbury, 2009.)
Wine Suggestion: a little indulgent, but we wanted to see how a bottle we picked up in the Loire from the winemaker was developing: the Domaine de la Taille aux Loups Montlouis les Hauts de Husseau. A crystalline Chenin Blanc from the neighbouring area to Vouvray, this was exciting, racy and edgy and exceptionally youthful. It may not be super cheap, but we’d argue still a bargain given the quality, complexity, depth and potential to age superbly. We’d even conjecture that it’s a very good option to top white Burgundy. The remaining bottles we’ll try to ignore for a few more years if we can resist.
Salmon, veg and black bean tray bake – serves 4 to 6
2 red onions, cut into wedges
2 sweet potatoes, cut into chunks
2 red peppers, cut into strips
2 tbsp sesame oil or olive oil
1 head of broccoli, cut into florets
400g tin of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp rice wine
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
5g fresh ginger, grated
½ tsp Chinese 5-spice powder
1 tbsp sesame seeds
fresh coriander, chopped
FOR THE SALMON:
600g skinned salmon fillet, cut into large chunks
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp runny honey
Heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/Gas 6.
Put the onions, sweet potatoes and peppers into a large roasting tray. Drizzle over 1 tbsp of sesame oil and toss to coat, then season with salt and pepper. Roast for 20 minutes.
Toss the broccoli in the other tbsp of sesame oil and add to the roasting tin. Mix the beans with the soy sauce, rice wine, garlic, ginger and Chinese 5-spice powder and add 100ml of water. Pour this around the veg and cook for another 20 minutes, turning the broccoli over after 10.
Toss the salmon in the soy sauce and honey and place on top of the vegetables. Roast for another 8-9 minutes, or until cooked.
Serve sprinnkled with the sesame seeds and coriander.
(Original recipe from The Hairy Bikers One Pot Wonders by Si King and Dave Myers, Seven Dials, 2019.)
Just look at that stack of barbecued lamb … and it tasted fantastic! We can’t recommend this recipe highly enough. Served successfully with this chopped salad.
Wine Suggestion: We’re enjoying the wines from Portugal at the moment and for this chose the Quinta de la Rosa Tinto. From quite a special part of the Douro this wine has evolved over the past 30 years, ever since the winery pioneered dry Douro wines, into an elegant and sophisticated red with spices, dark fruits and a lovely minerality and freshness.
Barbecued spiced leg of lamb & harissa butter – serves 4 (or more if you get a leg of lamb the size of our one)
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp hot smoked paprika
1 tsp sumac
½ tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ras el hanout
8 tbsp Greek yoghurt
1kg boneless leg of lamb, butterflied
FOR THE SPICED BUTTER:
100g butter, softened
1 tbsp rose harissa
½ lemon, juiced
1 tsp ground cumin
Make the spiced butter by mixing the butter with the harissa, lemon juice, cumin and a pinch of salt. Set aside.
Mix the spices and yoghurt with a pinch of salt and some pepper. Lay the lamb on a tray and spread the yoghurt mixture over both sides. Leave to marinate for at least 20 minutes at room temperature or chill to marinate for longer.
Get your barbecue going and wait until the coals turn ashen, then lay the lamb on the grill and cook for 15 minutes on each side for pink or longer for well done – we recommend a meat thermometer to get your barbecued meat cooked how you like it.
Lift the lamb onto a platter and spoon over the harissa butter, then leave to rest for 10-15 minutes.
Carve the lamb on a board, then serve with the butter juices spoon over.
(Original recipe by Tom Kerridge in BBC Good Food Magazine, August, 2024.)
We’ve had mixed success with these all-in one pot pasta dishes with some working really well and others not quite! We were pleased with this one which worked out really well. Delicious sauce and lovely fresh flavours.
Spicy prawn spaghetti – serves 2
2 tbsp olive oil
1 courgette, diced quice small, about 1cm pieces
165g pack raw peeled prawns
zest and juice of ½ lemon, plus wedges to serve
2 cloves of garlic, sliced
1 tbsp harissa paste
½ tbsp tomato purée
2 tbsp vodka
2 biggish tomatoes, roughly chopped
600ml hot veg stock
150g spaghetti
½ tsp fine sea salt
75g feta, crumbled
a handful of rocket, to serve
Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a large sauté pan, then add the courgette and cook for a few minutes, until just starting to colour. Add the prawns and season lightly with salt and black pepper. Stir for a couple of minutes until the prawns are pink and just cooked. Squeeze in some lemon juice, then tip into a bowl and set aside.
Add another tbsp of oil to the pan and cook the garlic until it sizzles. Add the tomato purée and harissa and cook for 30 seconds, before adding the vodka, followed by the tomatoes. Pour in the stock and add the spaghetti, the salt and some black pepper. Bring the boil, mixing well. Cook at a brisk bubble, without a lid, for 15 minutes or until the pasta is al dente and is coated in the sauce. You can add extra water at any point if needed.
Tip the courgettes and prawns into the pan and toss until piping hot. Taste and add more lemon juice if you like. Serve in pasta bowls with the feta and lemon zest scattered over and a pile of rocket on top.
(Original recipe by Tasmin Burnett-Hall in Sainsburys Magazine, September 2024.)
We buy the most amazing goat from a farm in Northern Ireland where they raise the kid goats not being used for milk. We think it’s such a delicious meat and so underused. After picking up a shoulder from the farm we just had to try this Spanish stew by José Pizarro and were rewarded amply.
Wine Suggestion: If you can find some, we’d suggest trying a Douro red with this dish. They’re full of flavour and usually not shy on tannins; this dish need both body and tannin to match. Pushing the boat out a bit, but as we had company and it was a weekend we opened something special, Wine & Soul’s Pintas Character red. Made from an old-vine field blend of 30 different indigenous grapes this has bags of personality, style, depth and character (excuse the pun!).
Braised goat with aubergines – serves 6
5 tbsp olive oil
1.5kg goat shoulder, diced into 5cm chunks
1 large onion, finely sliced
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
2 cloves
1 heaped tsp fennel seeds
2 tsp sweet smoked paprika
1 garlic bulb, halved horizontally
1 tbsp tomato purée
450ml red wine
500ml fresh chicken stock
2 aubergines, cut into 3cm cubes
boiled potatoes or crusty bread to serve
Heat 2 tbsp of the oil in a deep casserole dish over a medium-high heat. Season the goat meat , then add to the hot pan in batches and sear until well-browned. Set aside.
Add another tbsp of oil to the pan and gently fry the onion for 10 minutes until very soft. Add the spices and garlic and cook for a couple of minutes.
Return the meat to the pan and add the tomato purée and red wine. Let it bubble up for a few minutes, then add the stock. Cover and bring to the boil, then turn the heat down low and cook gently for 2½ -3 hours.
Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a large frying pan and brown the aubergine all over. Season, then add to the goat and continue cooking for another 30 minutes. The meat should now be very tender and almost falling apart.
Serve with boiled potatoes or crusty bread.
(Original recipe from The Spanish Home Kitchen by José Pizarro, Hardie Grant Books, 2022.)
A delicious pasta dish for when you’re short on time.
Wine Suggestion: Despite this being a very Italian inspired dish our match was the t’Air d’Oc Syrah made by Domaine Gayda in the Languedoc. Coming from the foothills of the Pyrenees this has a wonderful balance of black fruits and a fresh peppery twist which allowed the wine to hold its own with the richness of the dish and then cut through and balance the lemony creaminess.
Rigatoni with sausage, lemon & mustard – serves 4
300g rigatoni
450g herby pork sausages
olive oil
1 tsp fennel seeds
200ml white wine
2 tbsp wholegrain mustard
½ lemon, zested
150g crème fraîche
a small handful of parsley, chopped
Cook the pasta then drain but save a little pasta water.
Remove the skins from the sausages, break the meat into little pieces and cook in 1 tbsp of oil in a non-stick frying pan. Fry until golden and crisp, then add the fennel seeds and cook for a minute.
Pour in the wine and let it bubble up, then stir in the mustard, lemon zest and crème fraîche. Simmer until the sauce is the consistency of single cream, then toss with the pasta, a tbsp or so of pasta cooking water and the parsley.
(Original recipe by Janine Ratcliffe in Olive Magazine, July 2014.)
Back to school routine and quick fixes are required. This one is nice!
Wine Suggestion: An uncomplicated, but tasty dish requires similar from a wine. Tonight’s choice was Graziano Pra’s “Otto” Soave Classico with classic green apple and almond flavours. Fresh and lighlty floral with a gentle texture that helps it pair with food.
Pasta with broccoli, anchovy and cumin – serves 4
300g dried fusilli or other short pasta
90ml olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
6 anchovy fillets, drained and finely chopped
zest and juice of ½ lemon
1 tsp ground cumin
370g jarred chickpeas, drained (but don’t rinse)
1 tsp aleppo chilli powder
200g tenderstem broccoli, cut into 2½ cm lengths
30g Parmesan, finely grated
Bring a large pan of water to the boil and add plenty of salt. Add the pasta and cook for 3 minutes less than the time indicated on the pack.
Meanwhile, pour the oil into a large sauté pan and put over a medium heat. Add the garlic and fry for a minute, then stir in the anchovies, lemon zest and cumin, and cook for another couple of minutes. Add the chickpeas, chilli and a good grind of black pepper, mix well and turn off the heat.
When the timer goes for the pasta, add the broccoli to the pasta pot and cook for the remaining 3 minutes. Reserve about 100ml of the pasta cooking water, then drain and add the pasta and broccoli to the chickpea pan. Scatter over two-thirds of the Parmesan, then return the pan to the heat and toss well for a minute, adding enough of the reserved pasta water to make a sauce that coats the pasta.
Spoon into warm bowls, add a squeeze of lemon juice, a pinch of aleppo chilli and the remaining Parmesan.
(Original recipe by Yotam Ottolenghi in The Guardian, 13 Apr 2024.)
Wine Suggestion: Choose a white with a definite Mediterranean aspect. We opened a bottle of Domaine Ventenac’s “Dissidents” Cassandre. Made from Vermentino which is found in quite a few countries around Europe under a load of names. This was dry and tasting of grapefruits with hints of apricot and a really nutty, textural oiliness that matched the olives in this dish. Sunshine with substance in a glass.
Chicken with olives and lemon – serves 3
6 skin-on chicken thighs
2 onions, chopped
1 lemon, thinly sliced
a good pinch of saffron strands
a handful of green olives
a handful of coriander, roughly chopped
olive oil
FOR THE SPICE PASTE:
3 cloves of garlic
a few pinches of smoked paprika
1 tbsp ground turmeric
1 tsp cumin seeds
olive oil
Make the spice paste first by crushing the garlic with a good pinch of sea salt using a pestle and mortar. Add the smoked paprika, turmeric and cumin seeds and grind to a paste, then mix in a couple of tbsps of olive oil or enough to make a paste that will coat the chicken.
Put the chicken thighs in a bowl, then add the spice paste and toss to coat. Cover with cling film and leave to marinate at room temperature for an hour or overnight in the fridge.
Heat a splash of olive oil in a large, shallow pan. Add the onions and soften a little, before adding the chicken thighs and cooking until coloured lightly on both sides.
Add the lemon to the pan and enough water to come halfway up the chicken pieces. Stir in the saffron, season well, then cover with a lid and simmer for 25 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. Add the olives and coriander and serve.
(Original recipe from The Kitchen Diaries II by Nigel Slater, Fourth Estate, 2012.)
This recipe comes from Rick Stein’s Simple Suppers and it is indeed a simple and easy recipe. Ready in minutes and deeply satisfying!
Wine Suggestion: the creamy beans need a buttery Chardonnay, and likewise this works with the prawns too. Pick you own style, or whatever is at hand. For us we were lucky to have Au Bon Climat’s Santa Barbara County Chardonnay which is Californian sunshine in a glass tempered by the cooling breezes and fogs of this part of the world. Full and deep, but fleet of foot and minerally fresh.
Heat the oil for the butterbeans in a pan and add the garlic. Cook for a minute, then add the butter beans and cook for 3-4 minutes or until warmed through. Add the lemon juice and a couple of tablespoons of water, then whizz in a blender or food processor. Return to the pan and keep warm, you might need to add a little more water if it’s too thick.
Chop the garlic and parsley for the prawns together to get a coarse paste. Pour the oil into a frying pan and when hot, add the chilli flakes and garlic mixture. Cook over a gently heat for a minute until sizzling, then increase the heat a little, add the prawns and stir-fry for a few minutes or until pink and cooked through.
Divide the purée between two warm bowls and spoon the prawns and garlicky oil over the top.
(Original recipe from Rick Stein’s Simple Suppers, BBC Books, 2023.)
We love barbecuing our food and when a bunch of plums came our way just had to give this a go. We made too much plum sauce and it was lovely at breakfast with our granola, and then with some sausages another night as well. You can make both sauces in advance.
Wine suggestion: we think this worked really well with Domaine Ventenac’s “les Dissidents” Paria, which is a charming Grenache from the south of France near Carcassonne. Bright and minerally, this is perfectly ripe, but steps lightly with a mineral freshness and effortless weight.
Tahini lamb chops with plum sauce – serves 4 to 6
2 racks of lamb, divided into 12-14 single chops
100g lamb’s lettuce or baby chard or similar
4 plums, halved and stones removed
FOR THE TAHINI BBQ SAUCE:
150g tahini paste
1 clove of garlic, crushed
2 salted anchovies, chopped
1 tsp pul biber
2 tbsp pomegranate molasses
100ml water, plus more if needed
1 tsp flaky sea salt
FOR THE PLUM SAUCE:
6 plums, cut into eighths and stones removed
50g sugar
1 clove of garlic
1 whole dried chilli, cracked in half and seed discarded
1 tsp Szechuan pepper
1 bay leaf
3 tbsp pomegranate molasses
½ tsp flaky sea salt
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
Put all of the tahini bbq sauce ingredients into a small food processor and blitz to a smooth thick paste, you might need a little water.
Put the plum wedges, sugar, garlic, spices, bay leaf and pomegranate molasses into a small frying pan, place over a high heat and bring to the boil. Cook for 5 minutes until the plums soften and start to fall apart, then remove from the heat and stir in the salt and vinegar.
When the barbecue is ready to cook on. Brush both sides of the chops with about half of the bbq sauce. Grill the chops for a couple of minutes, then turn them and brush with more sauce. Grill for another 2 minutes then turn and baste again. Repeat this until the chops have been cooking for 6 minutes on each side, then remove and set aside.
Put the plum halves on the barbecue, cut-side down. Grill for about a minute to just warm a little, then remove.
Scatter the lettuce over a large platter and top with the chops and plums. Serve with the plum sauce on the side.
(Original recipe from Chasing Smoke by Sarit Packer and Itamar Srulovich, Pavilion, 2021.)
You should be making this curry in late summer / early autumn when the tomatoes are just bursting with ripeness. It’s really only worth it if you can find amazing tomatoes, grown for flavour, rather than a consistent size and shape. We buy ours from a farm shop and you can really taste the difference.
Wine Suggestion: Tomatoes we often pair with higher acid and tannic reds like Sangiovese. However, combined with the creamy coconut and yoghurt we eased off on the acidity and chose Frasca La Guaragna Barbera d’Asti which has a mellow softness and depth. Both wine and food are comforting as the nights begin to turn colder.
Tomato Curry – serves 6
5 star anise
10 cardamom pods
1 heaped tsp cumin seeds
1 heaped tsp coriander seeds
1kg top quality, very ripe tomatoes, lots of different sizes, shapes, and colours if you can
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp coconut oil
a big sprig of fresh curry leaves
a large onion, finely sliced
5 cloves of garlic, finely sliced
1 or 2 red chillies, finely sliced
40g fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
2 x 400g tins of full-fat coconut milk
50ml natural yoghurt
cooked brown rice, to serve
fresh coriander, to serve
Heat the oven to 200C fan.
Line a large baking sheet with parchment, place all the tomatoes on top and drizzle generously with the olive oil. Season well with salt and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour. The tomatoes should be slightly caramelised but not totally collapsed.
Meanwhile, heat the coconut oil in a large heavy-based pan over a medium heat. When the oil starts to shimmer, add the spices and fry for 1 minute or until fragrant. Add the curry leaves and sizzle for a few seconds before adding the onion, garlic, chillies and ginger. Season generously with salt and mix together. Cook the onions over a low heat for about 15 minutes or until they are well softened.
Pour in the coconut milk, then rinse out both tins with a little splash of water and add that too. Simmer gently for about 40 minutes, or until thickened, then turn off the heat. Put the yoghurt into a bowl and pour in a ladle of curry sauce. Mix well, then pour the yoghurt mixture into the curry. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.
Gently add the baked tomatoes to the curry sauce, taking care not to break them up. Serve with brown rice and fresh coriander leaves.
(Original recipe from The Farm Table by Julius Roberts, Ebury Press, 2023.)
Jono & Jules do food & wine 