Words are one of the principal tools by which we can navigate our complex world, but they frequently serve to...
Eggs recipes
Thyme, onion and Gruyère tart
"There is a charm in making a dish, to the unaccustomed cook, from the excitement of wondering what the result will...
Celeriac Rémoulade
"A good supper is a rare thing today. Gastronomy is like poetry: it has fallen into a complete decadence... The causes...
Pastéis de Nata. Portugese egg tarts.
"No way of thinking or doing, however ancient, can be trusted without proof. What everybody echoes or in silence...
Chicken soup with egg-lemon sauce [Avgolemono]
Back in the seventies, whilst transitioning between impecunious art student and manqué sculptor, I was pleased to...
Lemon Pavlova
As a former wine merchant, often as a guest on lengthy wine tours skipping from one European winery to another via...
Cheese Soufflé
We keep a few chickens, and give or take their seasonal mood swings; we get a lot of fine eggs. And for me there can...
Penne alla Carbonara
As a parent I have always wished for my children to grow up thinking independently, become loving partners and...
Quiche Lorraine
A few notable dishes seem to engage us from a different time zone. Although celebrity chefs seem unable to resist...
Cheese Puffs [Aigrettes au Fromage]
When spare time and inclination are unforthcoming, yet you still feel the need for a fresh, exciting supper, try this...
Salade Niçoise
Some time ago, as an impecunious art student studying sculpture at Goldsmiths College, I paid the rent on a one-roomed...
Omelette
In her book, Mastering the Art of French Cooking (1963), Julia Child offers a sensual introduction to her chapter on...
La Gougère
If Bordeaux wine estates are in the grip of absentee landlords and investment trusts, Burgundy (Bourgogne) in eastern...
Summer Vegetable Tart
Frances Bissell was one of the most acclaimed cookery writers in England in the 1980's. She wrote regularly for The...
Asparagus Tart
“Nature ordained that asparagus should grow wild, so that everyone may go and pick it, yet now we see cultivated...