Rhubarb and Cod

Strawberry Icebox Cake

June 27, 2024 No Comments

Icebox cakes enjoyed their heyday during the 1920s and 30s. They were devised as a more approachable version of a Charlotte or a trifle. The dessert was rolled out as part of a marketing push for a kitchen appliance called the icebox. The use of pre-packaged cookies and cans of sweetened condensed milk enhanced the accessibility of the dessert. The most famous icebox cake recipe appeared for years on the back of a box of Nabisco’s Famous Chocolate Wafers. Today’s Strawberry Icebox Cake swaps the chocolate cookies and vanilla cream for strawberry wafer cookies and strawberry ruby chocolate whipped cream. The cake is finished with a frosting of Chantilly cream and a dusting of blitzed freeze-dried strawberries.

Custards & Puddings, Starters

Asparagus Mousse with Tarragon Oil

June 20, 2024 No Comments

Jump to Recipe

Okay, so these Asparagus Mousse Cups look intimidating. You put edible flowers on anything and it’s “Hello, tasting menu”. But despite its bespoke appearance, this is not a difficult recipe and it’s an excellent starter particularly when temperatures soar and you’re looking to get a meal off to a refreshing start. These cups feature a butter-poached asparagus mousse topped with a pool of homemade tarragon oil. Chive blossoms and wood sorrel decorate the edges to create a whimsical dish that will delight and impress guests like no other. So let’s make ‘em!

Grains & Legumes, Snacks, Starters

Smashed White Bean Toast with Garlic Scape Pistou

June 7, 2024 No Comments

Jump to Recipe

Earlier this week I brought you hand-formed pasta and today I give you beans on toast. Culinary whiplash much? What can I say? I contain multitudes. Sometimes I’m in gourmet mode, other times I’m the farthest thing from it. Today’s Smashed White Bean Toast with Garlic Scape Pistou falls somewhere in between. It requires only slightly more effort than a trashy home-alone meal. But the taste, well, that has “gourmet” written all over it. Complex but low-maintenance – a home cook’s dream. So let’s make it!

Pasta, Vegetarian

Beet Ricotta Sacchetti with Pea Shoots

June 3, 2024 No Comments

Jump to Recipe

These Beet Ricotta Sacchetti feature homemade beet-infused pasta fashioned into wee parcels. The pasta gives way to a creamy whipped ricotta filling punctuated with fresh garlic and preserved lemon. After a brief stint in salted, boiling water, the sacchetti is tossed in a chilli-infused brown butter sauce and topped with crisp pea shoots. If you’re thinking “That sounds labor-intensive”, you are not wrong. But I have to tell you, these babies are well worth the effort. Plus, they freeze like a dream, so it pays to stock up.