chorizo and bean salad

 

as we move into spring, hot salads are a great way to start lightening the food that we eat without missing out on something warm to eat.

this chorizo and bean salad is a good halfway house as the weather starts warming up as it has all the chorizo’s rich meaty flavours, balanced with the lightness of the lemon dressing (i love the way that lemon zings up any wintery food and makes it more spring, or even summer, like!). we had this as a starter but it’d also work well as an accompaniment to some simply cooked white fish.

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easter lamb

 

lamb at easter is a bit of a cliché in the uk but having a freezer full of the stuff (it amazes me how this sort of thing happens, no doubt as a result of running out and then constantly thinking “i must stock up”) meant that it was a stereotype that i was conform to.

inevitably, i wasn’t willing to embrace tradition completely, instead we had this delicious north-african inspired pie. it was good. it was really good. in fact, this is possible one of the best things i’ve made this year so if you’re a lamb fan and fancy something a little different i suggest you try this out.

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ubriaco, pear and walnut salad

 

ubriaco cheese is a new discovery for me, thanks to my friend jude who presented me with a huge piece recently. and it is a discovery that is definitely worth making if you get the chance.

ubriaco is an italian cheese and the name itself means “drunk.” this cow's milk cheese (pronounced oo-bree-ah-koo) originates from ancient times in the friuli venezia giulia region. it is preserved by immersing it in fermenting wine – usually a mixture of merlot, cabernet and raboso grapes. this process forms a fabulous violet rind.

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happy easter!

breakfast treats

one of the nicest things about long weekends – and the easter four day bank holiday weekend is one of the best – is all the extra opportunities for breakfast treats.

somehow i very rarely manage to find time on a normal weekend, despite having a desire to create some breakfast rituals. i suppose the one we indulge in most often is bacon sandwiches but for the past two weekends we’ve had something new.

that something has been nigel slater’s smoked mackerel and parmesan on toast. in some ways it’s not much different to the mackerel pate i often make but the addition of parmesan makes it very different. cheese and smoked fish is a bit of an odd combination for me and every mouthful sees me checking that i still like it. as of today, i do.

my other recent breakfast indulgence was a trip to the wolseley. the wolseley is in a fabulous old building which is in the style of a grand european cafe – the interior, with its venetian and florentine influences is full of grand pillars, arches and stairways. amazingly, it was originally designed, in 1921, to be a car showroom!

my friend kirsty and i went for breakfast and had a lovely time, i’d thoroughly recommend the wolseley for a breakfast treat. kirsty had poached eggs on toast (which austerely arrived without any butter!) followed by jam and toast while i had a fantastically flavoursome, but quite rich, dish of grilled field mushrooms with liver and bacon. the liver and bacon mix was lightly covered with a thyme-flavoured creamy sauce. delicious. the hot chocolate i had to accompany it was well balanced, and while rich not too sweet.

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