Food Wine Sleep

I used to fancy myself as somewhat of a runner, although now I tend to get winded running to catch the telephone before message bank picks up. "Hello..pant..pant..pant...Paul speaking." When I was running I used to eat pasta at least 4 times a week and I found myself having to get rather creative if I didn't want to live off a perpetual cycle of Bolognese, Arrabiata, and Boscaiola. That time in my life was when I created this dish. Even though I no longer run, I do still eat this dish as though I were training for a marathon.

Recipes for Chermoula come in all kind of different variations and flavours. This particular recipe, is well suited for seafood, fish or poultry and the use of fresh and dried coriander gives it such a great fragrant 'kick'. It is also great for basting onto your BBQ meat, as an dip for grilled poultry and fish and for 'en papilotte' type of prepeartions.

Every time I make this stuff I end up putting it on virtually every meal I have and it never lasts in my fridge more than a couple of days. The sweetness of it compliments many vegetables perfectly, try it on grilled eggplant. And the spiciness is the perfect addition to eggs any style, as well as virtually all meats, particularly roast chicken. I think I might start making double batches from now on.

Salmon and dill is another one of those unbeatable combinations that has stood the test of time. In this recipe I have included a few ingredients that are very complimentary to both the salmon and dill but still allow them to be the dominant flavours in the dish. This recipe can be made using either smoked salmon (as I've done here) or fresh.

When most people think brussel sprouts, they think of childhood dinners. Dinners where you were still at the table at 9 pm because you couldn't get up until you had cleaned your plate. Or maybe that was just at my house. In any case I recall them being very hard to eat; they made me want to gag to be totally honest with you. To me they tasted like a handful of newspapaer boiled to buggery in cabbage stock, they were that bad. And no offence to my mother, she is a wonderful cook and has taught me plenty about food and cooking, but in the 70's, 'boil it till its grey' was how you prepared vegetables. Which is such a shame really because brussel sprouts, when prepared correc...

I created this dish some time back while browsing the fridge, (to be honest I was giving the fridge the weekly clean and got hungry in the mean time). I looked in the crisper drawer and found a couple heads of radicchio lettuce, 'what can I do with these' I thought. I moved to the cheese drawer and found a little piece of neglected blue cheese, it had been over looked for the last few cheese platters due to its small size, but this neglect had also meant it had aged nicely. 'Blue cheese and radicchio, bitey and bitter' I thought. 'Better get something a little sweet to balance it a touch.' I went to the pantry and pulled out a few handfuls of walnuts tossed them in a pan...

When making this salad you are likely to find as many variations as ingredients. The important thing to remember is it is made by you for you and your friends, so if you're not a fan of certain ingredients leave them out, likewise if you really love a certain item, add a little more. The recipe we have given here is our collective favourite here at chefs pencil. However if we were true to the salads namesake (ie from Nice in France) there would definitely not be any potatoes in this salad.

Semi dried tomatoes, say it to some and they'll scrunch up their nose and make a "yucky" face, say it to others and they'll smile and move closer to you. The difference I think is that some have only tasted the jarred variety, while the latter group has tried the homemade variety or tasted them from a nice deli. The difference is quite staggering; the ones from the jars often taste like an oily shoe with liquorice laces. While a proper freshly dried tomato can taste like you're actually eating a dozen tomatoes, with a bunch of fresh herbs and a whisper of extra virgin all in the one bite. Once you realize how easy it is to do your own you'll wonder why you ever...

Salads are often not associated with the colder months of autumn and winter. This salad however is ideal for the colder months. The soft baby spinach leaves are a great alternative to the crispy summer lettuces, the oven roasted pumpkin is a nice slice of country warmth, and the crispy slightly salty prosciutto makes a nice wake up call to the hibernating taste buds.