Pomegranate, fennel and toasted pinenut salad.

This is hardly a recipe.
But, it is a quite pleasing little number of a salad and one which certainly cheered me up no end yesterday, a day blighted by gloomy weather (where is mr blue sky when you need him), a pending cold and a serious case of Monday blues.
The stars of this salad are [...]

Tagliolini cacio e pepe or Tagliolini with pecorino and black pepper

When in Rome, do as the Romans do
In terms of eating as the Romans do, well, that has provided me with absolutely no problem whatsoever and quite simply, an extraordinary amount of pleasure. Adapting to he Roman way of life on the other hand has been slightly more problematic, but that is another very long [...]

Quince poached with cinnamon and black pepper

There is an old gnarled quince tree in my parents garden, the house I grew up in, which gave us an abundant crop each year. I have to admit though, probably the greatest pleasure for the Roddy children came from hurling the rock hard windfalls at each other in our boisterous garden antics, I seem [...]

Rabbit braised in cider.

I really really like rabbit, eating rabbit that is. I have been feasting away since I arrived in Rome where Coniglio alla cacciatora (hunters style rabbit) graces almost every trattoria, osteria and restaurant menu. To my mind, it is a massively underrated meat which is not nearly as popular as it should be – but [...]

Gateau au chocolat fondant de Nathalie

Ok, I am in shock, really in chocolate gateau shock.
I knew this recipe would be good as it has pretty top notch origins, namely Trish Deseine whose recipe was made by Kate (don’t know her, but would like to be her friend) for Molly aka Orangette. I found it whilst doing some task avoiding blog [...]

Puntarelle alla Romana

This unusual salad is a Roman speciality and a pretty splendid one at that, crispy, deliciously bitter curls of tender young puntarelle shoots tossed with a dressing of anchovies, garlic, vinegar and olive oil. Now is the season and its lasts until February, personally, I will be making the most of it.
I had never encountered [...]

Parmesan, mustard and garlic scones

Are baking away in the oven while I sit typing, the kitchen and whole flat are filled with most glorious smells – which, I should add is no great odour achievement considering our flat is really the size of a very very large wardrobe. I am however just a little nervous about the final results [...]

Piedmontese peppers

I have always had a strange love/hate relationship with peppers and a irrational loathing for green ones. I profess to not like raw pepper of any colour however handsome they look and sweet they taste, a ring of raw pepper as salad decoration can spoil my day, but, I love gaspacho and that is full [...]