Baked potatoes on a bed of salt
One of my go-to tricks whenever I do baked potatoes is to bake them sitting on a layer of fine salt in the tray…
Don’t waste your mushrooms: freeze them as purée
You can’t freeze fresh mushrooms, because their water content is far too high. So when I’ve got some I won’t use this week, I…
Mushroom pâté (and the mushroom purée behind it)
You know me and waste. Fresh mushrooms don’t freeze well, so I roast any spares low and slow with butter, garlic and thyme at…
Frozen prawns: why I buy them and how to defrost safely
I nearly always buy frozen prawns. Unless yours come straight off the day boat, frozen-at-sea prawns are fresher and tastier. The “fresh” ones in…
Croustades: my canapé cupboard secret
Croustades are little edible bread cups for canapés. You can make them yourself, but frankly it’s a lot of hard work. I buy them…
Runner beans: three top tips
Someone asked me how to get more flavour into runner beans, so here are a few of my favourites. Blanch and chill. A trick…
Dry roasted nuts
Homemade dry roasted nuts: perfect with a drink, brilliant to have in a jar when friends drop round, and so much nicer than anything…
Spreadable butter: which one’s best?
I only ever use butter. In cooler months it lives in the butter dish, but in this heat it’s either in the fridge or…
A few notes about eggs
A quick egg reminder. For hard-boiled eggs, older is better, because the older they are, the easier they peel. For poached eggs, you want…
Space-saving tip: keep your counters clear
A little kitchen organisation tip for you. To keep my counters clear, all the utensils I use every day (spatulas, tongs, the useful bits…