3 d. ago Three barbecue recipes perfect for this weekend's 26°C weather

Alexander James, of All In A Box, shares his favourite springtime recipes

Society

5 d. ago MasterChef winner defends John Torode and admits 'I feel awful'

Thomasina Miers became the first winner of a new look MasterChef when it launched in 2005, but now she has spoken out on what she thinks of the recent allegation against John Torode

Politics

7 d. ago Thomasina Miers’ recipes for lamb koftas with buttery tomato sauce and cacik

A Turkish feast of grilled lamb koftas with spices and dill in a rich tomato sauce, and a must-have yoghurty cucumber dipSeveral years ago, I was stranded in Istanbul because of the Icelandic eruptions. I wandered through the ancient city and was astounded by the beauty of the place – and just as much by its food. I tasted grilled meats cooked over open fires on the streets, and had a kofta dish served with cacik, a classic cucumber and mint sauce, that was so intensely delicious that the moment has been distilled in my memory. Mince, with good provenance and the right amount of fat to carry flavour and lend moisture, is a kitchen hero. Here, it delivers an astoundingly good dinner inspired by that meal, and which shouldn’t break the bank. Continue reading...

Politics

8 d. ago Hand pies and spiced lamb: Maria Bradford’s Sierra Leonean home cooking

A West African spice-coated rack of lamb, plus pasty-like pies made with plantain pastry and stuffed with feta and onionTomatoes are an integral ingredient in west-African cooking, and are generally used alongside onions and chillies to create a flavourful and versatile base for sauces, soups and stews, and, of course, jollof rice. We often make a mother sauce of tomatoes and onions, then add spices and seasonings such as chilli flakes, garlic, ginger, nutmeg and cumin for a moreish bold and fiery pepper sauce. Continue reading...

Society

9 d. ago How to make perfect fresh tomato pasta – recipe | Felicity Cloake's How to make the perfect

With such a simple dish, and so many ways to make it, can one really distil the ultimate version of pasta al pomodoro crudo? Our resident perfectionist finds out “How many versions of fresh tomato sauce can there be?” Catherine, the generous winner of a charity auction to help me with the research for this column, asks when I tell her what recipe we’ll be making. On the contrary, I tell her, I’ve had my work cut out to narrow the selection here down to a mere seven, not least because the simpler the dish, the more argument there is over how it should be prepared, especially in a place as passionate about its food as Italy.Happily, I’ll have a lot of assistance, because Catherine has raised yet more money for Hospitality Rides (a fundraising initiative for two very worthy industry charities, Only a Pavement Away and the Licensed Trade Charity), by selling tickets to get other people to do my job for me, effectively. In an attempt to sweeten the deal, I tell my assembled minions (all ...

Politics

4 w. ago Grilled sardines and tomato and anchovy pie – Irina Janakievska’s Balkan recipes for summer

A tomato, olive and anchovy pastry pie, and grilled sardines with a funky fermented green tomato sauceAlong the Adriatic coast, sardines are usually grilled over an open fire (na gradele) and served with lemon, excellent local olive oil and blitva, a side dish of young swiss chard, potato and garlic. Fresh sardines are key (they should smell of the sea) and do cook them whole (the heads add wonderful flavour and the small bones soften during cooking). On the Croatian island of Vis, two beloved pogačas (bread)– viška and komiška – tell a tale of friendly rivalry. Both are savoury bread pies (pogača being the word for bread and similar in both composition and etymology to Italian focaccia) filled with onions and salted fish (typically anchovies or sardines), a nod to the island’s ancient fishing and seafaring heritage. The key difference? Tomatoes. In Vis town (one side of the island), they’re absent; in Komiža (the other side of the island), they’re essential and cooked down into a r...

Politics