spices

Moroccan Ras El Hanout Chorizo and Chickpea Salad

I had some ras el hanout in the back of the cupboard and thought I better use it for something. As it’s Middle Eastern chickpeas came to mind and I thought I’d do a tasty salad. This salad was amazing! The spicy chorizo, warming spices and zingy preserved lemon. I am also addicted to semi…

Tandoori Chicken Salad with a Mango Dressing

I love tandoori chicken and poppadoms with the yummy chutneys, the mango is my favourite. So to get an Indian hit I thought I would turn it into a salad. Rather doing a whole leg of chicken, I changed it to chunks. For the poppadom element I used flaked almonds and finally for the mango…

Tenderising Pork Brine

This is the equivalent to buttermilk chicken. I always think pork chops can be a little bit stringy and slightly chewy. I don’t like eating pork pink so this is such a good way to keep the pork nice and moist without worrying about cooking it too much. You can put any aromatics in it….

Homemade Tomato Salsa

I didn’t realise how making my own salsa would taste so much better than the shop bought varieties and of course there isn’t any nasty preservatives or funky named substitutes in a homemade salsa. It is also so versatile you can add anything you want regarding the herbs and spices. This is perfect as a…

Baked Paprika Chicken with Cumin, Orange and Olives

Yum! This dish has everything, spices, herbs, fruit and a delicious gravy. This is perfect for this time of year and the best part is you can just pop it in the oven and leave it to do it’s thing (maybe a glass of wine while you wait) I forgot how much I love orange…

Leftover Lamb Tagine with Harrisa, Olives and Chickpeas

So for Easter we cooked a shoulder of lamb and as there is only two of us two fur babies we had a lot leftovers. In the past I’ve made leftover lamb hotpot and Ragu so fancied a change and I’m in love with sweet paprika at the moment and I also had some bags…

Indian Spiced Lamb Chops on a Lentil Dal

I love dal and I love lamb so the 2 together are a match made in heaven. I am slightly addicted to garam masala and the great thing about making your own is you can adjust the spices to your own taste. The juicy lamb and lentils compliment each other perfectly. Ingredients For the lamb…

Summer Squash and Lentil One Pot Curry

I love dished that you can just throw everything in a pot and it looks after itself. The base recipe I used for this was lightly spiced so I cranked it up to our taste and added in garam masala. Summer squashes are a lot more softer so easy to work with. I bulked it…

Moroccan Spiced Lamb on Warm Hummus

I tried a version of this in a pub on the outskirts of Croydon which is Paulie’s stomping ground. I thought it sounded exciting and it was really tasty. As I love loads of flavour I added a lot more spice to mine, they only used cumin but I added more for a depth of…

Spiced Duck Breast with a Soy Sauce, Honey and Ginger Sauce

Happy new year let’s hope 2019 is good to us. Over Christmas I really did eat what I wanted so I’m ready for some healthy food. I had an urge for some Asian flavours but something really simple. This duck dish worked perfectly with the spiced crispy skin. I had broccoli with mine which worked…

Spice and Herb Potted Wild Rabbit – Christmas Prep

So I have potted my rabbit ready to mature for Christmas. Mine made 4 jars so I ate one after a few days which tasted so delicious on toast. I have 2 jars in the fridge maturing for Christmas and gave the final jar to my parents. I first tried potted rabbit in London at…

Zaalouk with Crispy Halloumi and Olives

I wanted to try a different recipe other than baba ganoush with charred aubergine. I found this recipe on the olive magazine website. It has all those middle eastern flavours I love, smokiness from the spices and aubergine, sweetness from the tomatoes and freshness from the coriander and lemon. I used a spoon to pile…

Wild Duck Breast with Orange Braised Chicory and a Spiced Sauce

I am so into the wild duck at the moment, it is full of flavour and so tender. I love five spice duck so thought I would make a spiced sauce to go with it, my gosh it was tasty. It went so well with the orangey soft braised chicory. Each flavour works in harmony…

Corned Beef, Griddled Chicory and Walnut Salad with a Pommegranate Molasses Dressing

I love proper corned beef, the spices really penetrate the meat and it also just melts in your mouth. The Chicory or endives do need a sprinkle a sugar and caramelisation as the leaves are so bitter. The walnuts add a nice crunch and you get a citrusy sweet flavour from the pomegranate molasses. Ingredients…

Fragrantly Spiced Lamb and Sweet Potato Curry

This curry is full of flavour and is really comforting, the smells you get from the kitchen are so yummy and make it really satisfying to eat. It has a lovely spice flavour and a hint of heat but it doesn’t blow your head off. Lamb takes on spices really well and the potato makes…