A week in Sicily getting fat and happy 🍋
We stayed East, mixed it with the locals, and ate some truly inspiring food. Listen with sound for Johnny and I going b2b with our dulcet tones
I made a map of all the places with commentary, if you want it message and I’ll send it!
Key points: anything named Trattoria is very good, don’t eat the yellow snow in Etna, don’t get tricked by the car insurance that roads are VERY DANGEROUS, they’re actually fine and we survived (don’t drive a big Nissan qashqai into the small small towns)
@murgowinery@zafferanorestaurante@barbeddamatri@trattoria_la_bettola_@trattoriafontanadercole@caffe_sicilia_noto #sicilyroadtrip #sicily #sicilyfood
Said farewell to two icons of my life - my beloved gramps and grams - Joy and Stanley, who left us just 8 weeks apart. The truest of true love stories - 74 years of marriage and they couldn’t bear to live without each other.
Remembering their humour, their impeccable style, their curiosity and all they did in their long, fulfilling lives.
They taught me many many things. My grandpa taught me my first swear word, how to prank telemarketers, how to give a good speech, how to use my car horn properly. His jokes were famous in our family, often toeing the line between hilarious and offensive. My grandma taught me how to worry about people, and worry some more, the joy of learning new hobbies and skills no matter your age, the art of hosting, a love of musicals and singing - sometimes all three of those combined. She taught me that if you say ‘sex’ and look at the camera it’s not only the perfect smile, but the photographer always laughs. They loved the Wolseley, and we’d go together for birthdays, anniversaries, any occasion. My grandma would always nick as many Wolseley branded hand towels as she could fit in her small purse, and display them proudly in her guest bathroom. They were vibrant, silly, abundant, vivacious.
Together, they taught me the meaning of family, of consistently showing up for those you love, of being present, and of always doing the right thing, no matter how tough it might be.
My grandpa said at my grandma’s shiva (Jewish period of mourning) - ‘they say young people have ambition, and old people have memories. All I wish for all of you here is to go out and make memories like I’ve done.’
I’ll remember them forever. ❤️
My boyfriend @johnny_kiernan is very clever and catered a 200 person wedding for the delightful @kabrunt and @claudiafrag0so
Here’s a look behind the scenes, we had a laugh and a jolly and cooked some fantastic food from fantastic suppliers.
Johnny’s available from the summer for private work and yes I am now his agent with a 95% cut.
Lovely pink things for the start of spring. 🌸 And a rhubarb and custard contribution/appreciation.
Don’t fear poaching rhubarb (I once did). Slice it on the bias, weigh it, then add 25-30% of its weight in sugar. Water should just be covering it. Trick is to not let it boil, just gently simmer it until it’s just tender and holding its shape. Better to go slightly over than under I say. Keep it in its poaching liquid, it’ll get pinker, and then keep in the fridge and have it on porridge, with yoghurt, with all desserts.
Baked custard with poached rhubarb
3 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
1-2 vanilla pods (or a generous tsp of vanilla paste)
200ml whole milk
300ml double cream (so I didn’t have any cream leftover which takes up too much fridge space)
50g caster sugar
2 tbsp rhubarb poaching liquor
Set oven to 160 fan
In a medium bowl, add eggs and mix. Split the vanilla pods with a knife, scrape out the seeds and place seeds into the bowl with the eggs and mix well.
In a medium saucepan, add the milk, double cream, sugar and the vanilla pods. Bring to a simmer until the sugar has melted, and let cool slightly and give some time for the vanilla to infuse. Remove the pods, then temper the egg mix, slowly whisk the cream mix into the eggs little by little, until fully combined. Pour into a baking tin - i used an enamel one.
Place the filled tin in a deep sided roasting tin (steady hands so you don’t spill any) then into the oven and then add boiling water so it comes halfway up the sides. I had to boil my kettle twice to get enough water in there. Bake for 15-20 minutes (check after 15). It should have a little wobble still and it will firm up as it cools. I like to fridge it and then take out 30 minutes or so before serving to bring it to room temperature. Final fancy twist - add a generous layer of sugar to the top and brulee it, why the hell not I say. Also if your custard has taken on any colour that you’re not happy with (I wasn’t) it helps to hide any blemishes. If you don’t have a blowtorch - place under the grill for a few minutes until burnished.
Food that’s got me through winter plus some musings:
1 and 2. Beef tartare in all forms (rump steak in the freezer for the perfect softness, thanks @johnnykiernan for teaching me). Rump steak makes this a mid weeker for me, serve on chicory or crisps depending on who you are as a person
3. Celery salads - paired with heaps of parmesan, lemon and any toasted nut. There is no more heavenly crunch to me
4. One pan roasts - mainly beef and celeriac. Washing up is so lonesome
5. Sticky toffee pudding but doubling the sauce
6. Hainanese chicken rice, my forever death row meal
7. Martinis any chance I get cos wine makes me fall asleep at the table and that’s no fun for anyone
8. Pad Kra Pow - with Thai basil as I always struggle to get my mits on holy basil. We’re slinky and we move
9. Cantonese steamed egg - my preference to custard. It’s set and it’s savoury and you can cover it in chilli oil
10. Making doughnuts from scratch is lovely and laborious and accepting that making a pistachio creme pat is nice but all anyone ever wants is jam (including me)
11. Leftover chicken and all the fresh ginger and spring onion I have the energy to chop for leftover chicken rice soup
12. Coriander and soy sauce steamed fish, it’s always intimidating handling a whole fish but trust me steaming it is easy and you’ll feel really smug and go to sleep happy
Very surreal being a Feb/March cover girl for @waitrose food mag. Pick up a copy in your local Waitrose and you can have my toothy grin staring at you whilst you have your morning coffee.
Had such fun developing the recipes for this one, and fulfilled my annual pancake quota 10x over. A lovely and simple cherry and pistachio pancake feasting platter I hope you make on pancake day and all year round.
A beautiful mag full to the brim with recipes and content including a wonderful feature on chicken and rice that I can’t wait to cook up, well done to the whole team @foodielucy@rosiebensbergfood@addiecookin_@leah.hyslop
Such fun shooting with the talented @lizziemayson and @kittycoles@___james.davies
Brussels season is my favourite season. I eat them weekly, or whenever I can, on rice, stir fried, with an egg. Perfection. They also deserve to be treated naughtily, and enjoyed like a bar snack. I ate deep fried Brussels all over New York, served with dip so garlicky it burns your tongue. I wrote this recipe to try and recreate that bar snack moment at home, minus the deep frying cos I’m lazy. Recipe in the comments for you, you can also see the full video online on Waitrose.com. If you don’t eat bacon, leave it out, up the lemon and garlic and top the dip with crispy onions. They’re very moreish and deserve to be gobbled like a Christmas Turkey.
You’ll be seeing my dear friend @szroksauce and I regularly in Waitrose food mag, focusing on a project or technique. The brief for December was buns (thanks @foodielucy ). Fluffy pillowy sticky buns that you might want to gift someone you love, or chomp alone, with 3 ways to flavour them. I was inspired by the bun of all buns - the saffron, cardamom tea cake from @toadbakery , and how I could recreate some of its loveliness at home. So the recipe photographed is a saffron orange and currant bun, glazed with a syrup using the currant soaking water.
That is not all, there’s also options to customise with different flavour combinations - a salted honey bun (it’s so sophisticated, much more than I’ll ever be) and toasted pecan and maple. I love these buns and hope you do too. They’re rich and indulgent and a really enjoyable project bake, that isn’t overly difficult, give yourself time to do it. The mag is in store in Waitrose now (there’s so much in there, can highly recommend) along with all the ingredients you need to make these bun babies. If you can’t make it to Waitrose I’ll send you the recipe, just ask nicely. I have refrained from making bun related innuendos but you don’t have to.
Magical mystical weekend in Bruton, having the meal of a lifetime at Osip for @johnny_kiernan birthday. Booked one of the rooms and felt like an adult sleepover, heading upstairs after all the gorging. Every detail is thought of; it’s tranquil, welcoming and not stuffy, and really special.
I forgot all my clothes as we rushed out of London, so nice. Johnny literally gave me the clothes off his back 😂 played a small French boy for the night.
We got sat at the chef’s table and took in all the action, the service was cheeky and fun, which was unexpected, and made the night all the more enjoyable. Breakfast the next day was also such a treat, cold cuts, granola, pear and cardamom buns. Definitely wasn’t hungry but how could you not. Thank you @osiprestaurant
What a thrill to see my recipes in print (and on the cover!) with my dear friend @szroksauce . Cooking professionally was only a niggling dream five years ago, got to celebrate these things nowadays. If you want these in print, get to your local Waitrose and snap one up.
I was briefed to come up with 3 recipes to pair with a selection of wines at Waitrose, not an arduous task. The wines are real nice, too (and it’s 4 for 3 right now, so go wild).
1. Braised chicken with fennel, leeks and golden broth. You could do this super low and slow, I’ve made it before where I’ve stuck it in a low oven for a couple of hours, the chicken will be pale but it’s fall off the bone vibes (chicken skin doesn’t always have to be crispy)
2. A cheeky one, turning Jewish girl dreams into a canape/snack - ‘everything’ salmon bagel bites. Recipe gives you enough seasoning to keep for sprinkling on anything you fancy, including your love interest, if you like.
3. Braised brisket with tomatoes and cheesey polenta. This one can also go for much longer in a low low oven if you want to just pop it in and forget about it and go to the pub. Also works well with cheesy orzo. @laurapirkis knows
Please make them and let me know if you do, or else.
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A lil reminder - Waitrose oven temps are conventional - so please drop 20 degrees if you’re cooking in a fan oven. You can find the recipes online on Waitrose.com now (or search Waitrose and my name, you’ll find a very shoddy LinkedIn profile and tweets from my Avril lavigne days, probably).
Photos: @laurajayneedwards
Food styling: @seikohatfield
Styling: @maxwhrobinson
Art direction: @katv85
