Artichoke Bruschetta

Having passed my viva in November, I'm turning over a new leaf - or perhaps simply reclaiming old habits - to discuss good tucker again! Which starts with what's in my fridge at the moment: artichokes. I could eat them by the bucketload. I stare enviously at them in WholeFoods and other supermarkets I can't afford. I sometimes pick them up and wonder what life would be like if I could casually splash out and lay down big bucks for these crinkly green beauties. In my imaginary life I'd have a dog too. And heck, a car parking space. And a garden. I'm living the London dream.

Zesty Smoked Salmon and Broccoli Tartlets

On a recent trip to Scotland in which she raided a well-stocked farm shop, my Mum picked up a packet of smoked salmon trimmings. I’ve heard of them of course and just assumed they were cheaper because they were scraps, which is true but holy moley, they’re also as smoky as anything! As the outer parts of smoked salmon, trimmings are exposed to the full whack of smouldering woodchips in the smokehouse. I actually needed to soak ours in milk for an hour to reduce the pungency but after that they were good to go! The default recipe for trimmings seems to be paté; which has never appealed to me. Equally sacrilegious when it comes to smoked salmon is the prospect of a quiche; if you buy it smoked, you don’t cook it! Come on, people don’t buy whiskey to flambé, or stir caviar into a risotto, do they? However, with my trimmings so unbelievably strong I had to make an exception to my rule, labelling them “tartlets” in the hope of getting away with it. Plus, the salmon was actually on the turn and cooking it seemed to be the best option. I’m sorry most of my recipes deal with semi-rotten foodstuffs from the back of our fridge; that’s what cooking’s all about, isn’t it?

Sprouty Side Dish

People associate sprouts with Christmas but my Dad wants them with every single meal in the winter months. He buys bag upon bag of them, silently depositing them in the fridge as wordless suggestions for me each week. Luckily, I’m a huge fan too and can eat them by the bowlful, even if he shouldn’t; sprouts are high in potassium, which actually interfere with his anti-rejection drugs! Apart from this risk factor, the primary problem with Daddy’s sprout consumption is that he’s a massive traditionalist and turns his nose up at anything other than a pure boiled “farty sprout”. My favourite take on sprouts is definitely the single cream and chopped chestnuts route but I decided to give this recipe a go because I was feeling guilty about a packet of marvellously rooty multi-coloured baby carrots I’d ignored but refused to throw out. It worked nicely as part of a hot buffet but would go really well as a side dish for dinner; try it with something gamey like pheasant or venison.

Scotch Broth

Everyone’s getting so excited about Christmas but we haven’t got any of our decorations up yet! We don’t normally put our tree up until about the eighteenth, so in the meantime I think there’s time for a quick non-Christmas post. We’re big on soups in our house and if there isn’t any soup, then there’s a strong chance that Daddy won’t actually eat lunch, which is really annoying because he ends up wandering the house and invariably getting into a stink with one of us. With the days getting even shorter and even colder, it’s important that his immune system is tip-top so I often find myself slipping as much nourishment as possible into soups to trick him.

"Spanish" Paella

Not having set foot on Spanish soil, my experience of paella so far hasn’t been that great. A market stall in northern France does shine through in my memory; heaving with onlookers all ogling a steaming pan the width of a double bed, we fought our way through the crowd for a family-size portion of the stuff, studded with spindly langoustines, peppers and tomatoes. But of course that was good; I was ten for god’s sake and it was the holidays!

Edinburgh- and Dundee Lemon Sole

I love Edinburgh, and the thought of getting on the train and chugging up there once a year is enough to keep me going when things get tough. Taking a few days off from the MA, Roger and I packed our bags for a few days of relaxation: but more importantly, food. We’re always the first to hit the Steak and Mussels place at the bottom of the Grassmarket, and had an excellent last night meal there comprising of steak for Roger and oysters, followed by cream, bacon and whisky mussels for me. Scrum-o.