I was thirteen years old when I first learned to make pizza. I was visiting family in Leicester when, on a visit to a book store, I came across Antonio Carluccio’s An Invitation to Italian Cooking. I bought the book, published the year before, after a brief flick-through of its glossy pages, and set to…
Tag: tomatoes
Stir-Fried Tofu with Aubergines
Great food doesn’t have to keep you tied to the kitchen for a whole evening. Sometimes you just want to get in and get it done, which is one of the many reasons stir-fries are great. This one is packed with flavour and can be ready to eat in the time it takes you to…
Richard’s Homemade Hot Chilli Sauce
With an endless variety of chilli sauces on the market, it’s understandable to ask the question ‘why bother making my own?’ It’s a perfectly reasonable question. There are a lot of really good chilli sauces out there that don’t cost much more than a pound to buy, which is cheaper than buying the ingredients and…
Sweet Pepper & Tomato Soup with Ciabatta Croutons and Basil Oil
As the cold weather creeps in and the nights grow ever longer, our appetites begin to change as our bodies yearn for that long-lost instinct of hibernation. We crave warmer, more substantial food to sustain us through the late autumn and winter. We want that sensation of heat and comfort that grows with every mouthful,…
Shredded Kale with Cherry Tomatoes and Tamari Dressing
This side dish is super quick to make and will go with just about any East Asian main you care to add it to. The kale is fried on a medium-high heat in sesame oil until wilted, then tomatoes and garlic are added to give a wonderful vibrant colour and flavour. The dressing is poured…
Salad of Vegan Halloumi and Tomatoes with Cashews and Potato Bread
This is one of those ‘what have I got in the fridge?’ recipes. My wife, Samantha, had bought some potato bread that she wanted me to do something with, and we had some leftover Vegan haloumi in the fridge that needed eating. These, and a few other miscellaneous ingredients, and you’ve got yourself a good…
Braised Tofu Kebabs
I was the guy who stumbled drunkenly at one in the morning into the kebab shop and ordered the nastiest greasy donner I could get my hands on. I always felt like crap afterwards, but I never learned my lesson. I would get drunk again and I would once more be swaying in a queue…
Creamy Kale Polenta with Roasted Tomatoes
I am deeply in love with polenta. When I have it I think to myself ‘why am I not having this all the time?’ It’s true that it can be hard work to cook, and it does make a mess of the pan, but don’t let any of that put you off. Polenta is awesome,…
Aubergine and Cherry Tomato Bruschetta with Green Olive Tapenade
Bruschetta are a versatile lunch to have on a relaxing day. Toasted bread topped with just about anything you can imagine. What’s not to love? I’ve kept to a Mediterranean theme with mine: pan-fried aubergines and tomatoes with a little bit of salt and garlic, served on an olive tapenade and topped with rocket and…
Vegan Quiche Lorraine
Who hasn’t enjoyed a quiche at one time or another? For most of us in our pre-vegan days, this enjoyment came from packaged quiche bought from the chilled section of the supermarket, its top wrinkled slightly from the cold and the pastry soft. Rare was the opportunity to taste a quiche fresh from the…
