Our reader Katia shared this healthy recipe with us recently. For those who have an aversion to parsnips (you are legion!), you could substitute carrots, sweet potatoes or turnip. Ingredients dash of oil 1 large onion (or to taste) peeled and roughly c…
Bruschetta is one of the most appealing things on the Italian menu, but the white bread makes it a little unhealthy. Our reader Nicola gave us a suggestion for a healthy bruschetta, and also shared a great recipe for baked couscous, another nutritiou…
Have you ever tried black rice? It’s available in most Asian shops but it’s something I rarely see on menus. I first had it in a delicious salad, in an amazing vegetarian restaurant in New York (it was years ago and I have tragically …
Words to describe lamb: warm, comforting, nourishing. Delicious in stew. Everything you’d want on a cold winter’s day. Happy summer. Spring lamb is at its best right now, in the middle of this unseasonably pleasant summer. Whacking it onto …
The slight bitterness of broccoli, the earthiness of potatoes, the spiciness of ginger, and the sweetness of cardamom add up to a really gorgeous soup. It’s perfect for these wet days. I adjusted the recipe for a friend on the Weight Watchers die…
So incredibly simple, wonderfully cheap, enormously comforting, and bursting with curative powers, this soup is the perfect antidote to both the snowy weather and any lurking colds or flus. No sweating, no reducing - this is a Chinese style soup so j…
I’m really loving Anissa Helou’s fantastic mezze recipes, as well as the stories on her wonderful blog. She currently has a lovely tale to tell about chocolates made from camel milk. Here’s two more mezze recipes from her excellent bo…
I’ve been watching Jamie Oliver’s New European Series – so far I’ve seen him in Morocco, Spain and, most recently, Greece. This episode was all about simple ingredients simply put together. He went spear fishing, met up with some bee keep…
News alert! My tomatoes have ripened. Okay it doesn’t warrant such drama but I have managed to produce a considerable amount and I am giddy at the thought of eating this free fruit.
I want the tomatoes to be the star of the show and I came across…
To mark Bastille day, I’m planning a French feast this evening with some friends. Tucking into French onion soup, a classic Coq au vin and a Crème brûlée; a French three course meal doesn’t have to cost a fortune and this menu contains b…
Well the first of my crops are ready to pick. Unsurprisingly, the peas are the first to make an appearance followed by the lettuce. Peas are plucky little fellas that will keep giving and giving and are unbelievably hardy.
I cultivated them from seed i…
I was down in the Hook Peninsula in Co. Wexford last week and I have to admit before I left I wasn’t even sure where it was. I associate Wexford with Rosslare and getting the boat to France each summer, but was pleasantly surprised to discover t…
Calling all soup lovers, today is Gorta’s “Soup for Life” day. This global event urges you to gather your friends, family and colleagues for a get together over a bowl and make a contribution to Gorta’s work fighting hunger and ma…
My sister has just informed me that she has become addicted to lamb. Consequently, she has been inventive in the kitchen again and come up with this little gem, perfect for a light Sunday lunch, if you are brave enough to eat out in the garden (well, f…
My sister has just informed me that she has become addicted to lamb. Consequently, she has been inventive in the kitchen again and come up with this little gem, perfect for a light Sunday lunch, if you are brave enough to eat out in the garden (well, f…
A lighter soup for spring days, carrot and orange is a flavour pairing from heaven. It’s also, like many soups, a good way of using up those slowly dying vegetables.
Ingredients
10 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 parsnip, peeled and chopped
2 stic…
Now’s the best time of year for lamb. Lovely, lovely lamb, so tender and juicy – and pricy.
Last week, I picked up two lamb shanks for about €11.00 and made this recipe from BBC Food. It tastes as good as it looks, with the meat falling off the…
Since being with my partner, I have put on one entire stone. There is no mystery as to why – it is because I have spent too many nights on the sofa with a glass (ahem) of wine and some really good food, which invariably contains all or one of the fol…
At the weekend, my partner and I catered for a friend’s christening. We had the camera ready to fondly take pictures of our food, and exclaim over how great it all looked, but we seriously misjudged our timings. We didn’t have time to lift …
I’m home alone for a few weeks, so I’ve doing a lot of cooking for one. Soups have become my staple: make a big batch and it lasts for a few days lunches and dinners.
With no less than three open bags of red lentils recently discovered in t…
Dunnes are doing a great deal on organic chicken wings at the moment. For €4.99 there are enough wings for three to four people and married with a blue cheese dressing, this is one tasty dish.
I particularly like the ‘Spicy Chicken Wings with B…
At last! I’ve finally discovered the answer to making good chicken stock, and you’re not going to like it. It’s salt. Simply cover your chicken carcass with well-salted cold water. Add an onion chopped in half along with a stick of ce…
For the month of January, The Sunday Times has been offering up a ten-point plan to a better you in the style section. A plan that encourages you to ‘Learn to relax’, ‘Find your purpose’, ‘Revel in strong moments’ an…
This is a simple comforting soup which will make you feel like you’ve just popped into Fort Worth and Miss Ellie has sat you down, poured you a large glass of scotch and then handed you a warm bowl of the eighties.
As celery is so low in calories, I&…
Happy New Year! I hope you all had a lovely Christmas. I’ve spent most of the last week eating, sleeping, and watching TV by the fire, punctuated by the occasional social gathering and repressed bout of guilt: January 4th would soon arrive and no…
