Mmmmmm falafel.  There are few things tastier than those little deep-fried balls of crunchiness, and the flavours of the salads and sauces that they come with are pretty special as well.  Our reader Becky has helpfully given us a recipe for falafel that avoids deep-frying, and makes it a healthier choice.  It’s also an easy [...]

This is a very tasty, cheap and easy midweek supper containing one of my favourite ingredients, fennel. Unbelievably good roasted. This served two large portions, but would easily stretch to three lunches or lighter dinners. The parsley brings some much needed colour and an added freshness to the dish. I only use wholewheat penne; it [...]

I’m determined to find sick and twisted ways of forcing history’s five greatest foods – anchovies, honey, mustard, raspberries, and chicken wings – to live together in one tiny room and swap each other around in surprising combinations (I know, I know, mustard is a condiment not a food). Honey and mustard are in love, [...]

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 book Modern Mezze; check out more of her books here. Mezze are so versatile: they make [...]

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 keepers and nibbled on some goats cheese with a Greek Orthodox monk. Some of the [...]

Bread doesn’t have to mean sandwiches and breakfast toast. As these Nigel Slater recipes show, bread can make a summer salad more substantial or make a side dish more filling. His ‘Salad of peas, beans and bread’ is an unusual combination and the perfect dish if the usual leafy salad doesn’t quite satisfy or fill [...]

Vietnamese cuisine is fresh, subtle and really satisfying. Vietnamese lime grilled prawns are a great bbq recipe that is simple but exotic. I had them at many beachside locations on my Honeymoon in Vietnam. The combined flavours of lime and pepper give the prawns a citrus kick that is quite unusual. Vietnamese pancakes are also [...]

Well, if like me, you’re planning on having a few over for food and want to serve up some interesting finger food; Arancini are the perfect and elegant bite for when people are standing around with drinks. They are deep-fried rice balls made from saffron risotto rice with a mozzarella centre. You can also fill [...]

Following on from Wednesday’s post on quick and easy recipes that can be thrown together after a hard day at work, here are some more hassle free dishes for you to try. I have included a couple of desserts that could be thrown together at the end of a dinner party when you don’t want [...]

I work mostly from home but I have been working quite a bit in the city lately. Living in the sticks and having no car means I have to contend with an epic journey home. After enduring the longest Dublin bus journey in history (even longer than the 17 bus route), I then have a [...]