Pork with blackberries

Casting my eye back to August which I have still shamefully not started, let alone completed, I used this as my Sunday lunch meat dish. As the others in my regular household are either vegetarian or vegan, it’s a real treat when my boyf’s son comes to stay and we can have a meat fest.  This was incredible - the meat beautifully tender and delicately flavoured but the gravy was out of this world, really make the dish work as a whole.  I’d recommend this recipe to anyone - it’s a real showstopper.

Summer cake

It won't escape anyone's notice that it is now firmly autumn, but today felt like an early summers day, with sunshine and a light breeze and as I was in a baking mood I cast my eye back to July and gave this a go.  For a simple almondy cake, this really delivers on complex flavour and is wonderfully moist.  Luckily it worked out as the temperature wasn't included in the recipe and so was anybody's guess.  I thought of it as a technical challenge on the Bake Off and as I already had the oven on 160 for 3 hours making pig cheeks (Nigel's recipe, with apples and cider), I bobbed the cake in alongside and hoped for the best. 

Salmon and courgette cakes

The best I can honestly say about this is that it was alright.  I would never actively choose to make myself (or even choose to eat in a restaurant etc) a fishcake - it's just not my bag.  This was such a faff to make too, taking the best part of 2 hours all told (obviously with resting time included) and so was just not worth it and I wouldn't make again.  Let me make clear though that there was nothing intrinsically wrong with it, just not for me.  You can't win them all Nigel.

Fideuà

Again, I've deviated from Nigel's original recipe by not using fresh seafood to make this, mainly because my fishmonger doesn't open on Mondays and I really wanted this for lunch - I'm also cooking just for me rather than for 6 and didn't want loads of expensive seafood to go to waste.  My pasta was the thinnest I could find but was clearly not thin enough as you can see in the photo, but all of this mattered not a jot as this baby was all about the flavour.  It was so delicious that every mouthful was a total joy.  Well done Nigel!

Gooseberry ice cream

Blink and you miss them is the case with gooseberries so I got straight on the case when I saw them in the shops today.  Oh, and this ice cream is top notch!  Really flavourful and the natural sourness of the gooseberries make it fantastically refreshing.

Gazpacho

I'm sure I've said before, but I don't like cold food and so never look forward to making this kind of thing but was pleasantly surprised today.   Today is a baking summer's day of the type Nigel suggests is required for gazpacho.  A vegetarian friends was round and so I offered this and we both absolutely loved it.  It was also a great way to use up some of the odd bits I'd bought for salad early last week.  I'm a convert - it is delicious.

Warm roast chicken. Chilled sweet melon.

I deviated from the recipe here and used a thigh and 3 legs rather than the 3 breasts suggested by Nigel, as that's what I had left in the fridge having been barbecuing a couple of days ago.  I think Nigel is right that this is all about the juices, but I found it ultimately a little unsatisfying as a main meal - even on a blisteringly hot day, as it has been today, so I'd probably not make this again.

Fillet of beef with basil and lemon courgettes

Initially, I thought the meat was slightly on the peppery side for my tastes, but the sharpness of the lemon in the courgettes toned down the pepper heat.   This was a perfect meal for me, combinine two of my fave ingredients, although at £40 per kilo fillet will remain a rarity in my household, particularly when I love fat in a steak!

Roast lamb with ciabatta

This should be roast lamb with olives and ciabatta so, again, I've had to deviate as I'm allergic to olives and therefore simply left them out.  I also, as I always do, swapped olive oil for walnut oil.   I love lamb, I love fried bread, so I was really looking forward to tonight but I actually found this far too sickly, the bread soaked uall the oil and was just too much for me.  The lamb was beautifully cooked though and I'll have leftovers, minus the bread for lunch tomorrow, possibly with the mayo left over from earlier today.

Salmon in chilli mayonnaise

Nigel fans, and who knows maybe even Nigel himself, may be sat at home right now wondering what has happened to his actual recipe, which was for wasabi mayonnaise.  But I really, really dislike the flavour of wasabi and so couldn't do it to myself.  I almost didn't make the mayo at all due to last week's disaster but gave it another go - and I'm very glad I did because I now know how to do it properly - I reckon I was using the wrong bowl and utensils last week.  I added a little bit of crushed chilli paste to the mayo to give it a kick but for me the umami loveliness in this dish comes from the salted crispy skin crumbled in at the end with the purple radish sprouts.  Obviously I wasn't able to buy the radish sprouts on their own but spotted them in a bag of mixed leaves and so picked them out - I managed to get 10 individual leaves I think.  Also, I am no lover of cold food so again deviated from Nigel's recipe by baking my salmon first.  For a meal that I was dreading making and thinking I'd just have a mouthful to taste it, I wolfed it all down and it was amazing - yes, amazing!  I think that this would be a lovely starter with little toasts maybe.

Mint frozen yoghurt

Not sure about this.  I think I went wrong in the instructions and weighed out leaves only rather than leaves and stalks and consequently there are too many leaves in there.  Also, it's too yoghurty for my liking and if I were to give this another go I'd use a custard base for it I think.

Roast duck and apricot salad

Oh, I've been looking forward to this all day! And it did not disappoint.  The apricots, ripe as ripe can be, were the perfect counterpoint to the rich meat and the limey dressing beautifully sharp.  This felt quite special.  Easy to make and really delivering in flavour so it's a definite to make again.

Chicken with new potatoes and sherry vinegar

The recipe in the book is for rabbit with new potatoes and Nigel says 'I daresay you could use chicken' - I did not need telling twice.  As I only cook meat for one these days, the fussy daughter having gone to the fussiest side of food fussiness and gone vegan, and obviously I still have the problem of the chips and cheese eating vegetarian boyf, a rabbit seems a bit of a waste, extremely time consuming in terms of bones and I'm not overly enamoured by the flavour either - it's just alright.  As I get older, and I'm not sure if there is an actual proper reason for this, I like chicken more and more and choose to cook with it more frequently than not.  As with many recipes in this book, those that appear the simplest and least interesting can take you completely by surprise and wow you with every mouthful.  This is the case here.  I am a vinegar lover anyway but the sauce made with the oil, the juices and the sherry vinegar was amazing and the crunch of the cucumber with the chicken meat just worked.  I will most definitely be making this again.

a piquant salad of potato and chicory

And to go with my BBQ (and his mushroom tart) is this lovely offering.  However, I had 2 attempts at the mayonnaise, failing miserably on both occasions - neither thickened to the correct consistency - so I had to resort to shop bought I'm afraid, in this instance a low fat caesar dressing stood in for the failed mayo.  And it worked.  The overriding flavour was a vinegary loveliness from the cornichons and it all just worked.  A good salad (and anyone who knows me will know I don't say those words lightly!).

new garlic and mushroom tarts

On this, what has to be, the hottest day of the year I decide I'm having a barbecue.   I'm very much a Johnny come lately to the barbecue as I've never lived anywhere in my adult life before with the outside space to have one.  When we moved last year to a house with a lovely big garden and patio I put that right, buying a cobined pizza oven/BBQ.  I've not quite mastered pizzas in it though, preferring the barbecue rack.  My vegetarian boyf is obviously not impressed or enthused by a barbie so I made these tarts for him alone for when I'm gnawing on a bone.  I was really pleased that when I handed the plate to him he said in a really impressed sound way 'have you made these?' and he very much seemed to enjoy them, wolfing down two quick smart.

Baked salmon,beetroot and ginger

I've not been particularly looking forward to making this one, truth be told - I'm not a very willing fish eater in general.  Before tucking in I scraped away the majority of the marinade as the flavour was far to gingery for my taste but from then on everything improved.  The flavour combination of beetroot and ginger having coloured and lightly flavoured the fish was so delicate without being invisible and the fish itself, the recipe having been followed to the letter, was perfectly cooked.  I wouldn't make this again for myself but might for a fish loving friend.

Finally, I made beetroot crisps with my peelings today - they were fantastic.

Pigeon and peas

The weather is glorious once again and the barbecue has been pulled out, cleaned and fired up.  I never look forward to the more random recipes that Nigel throws at my, and by random I mean the less usual, like pigeon or rabbit.  But pigeon it is today.  I am also not a particularly confident barbecuer either so completely took Nigel's advice on timing and I have to say it was spot on.  The flavour of this little bird was beautiful and it was cooked perfectly.  My gripe though is about the extreme fiddliness and teeny tiny quantity of actual meat on a pigeon.  The pea puree was outstanding, the flavour perfectly complementing the pigeon and I would definitely make that again.

Sirloin steak with aubergine

Depending on your point of view I have either skipped ahead to June or cast my eye right back to June (if you remember I did very little cooking last summer due to a house move and general chaos).  I was looking forward to making this, as steak and aubergines are two of my faves, although I generally prefer a rib eye steak.  I let Nigel guide me today for what is most definitely quite a decadent lunch.  Once again the sun is shining and this just felt right.  I'm kicking myself though,  that in my haste to start tucking in, I forgot to add the lemon juice which I had ready to squeeze on the side.  Was still very good and I'd make again.

A little stir fry of squid and pepper

In my opinion it's with this kind of recipe that Nigel excels.  The simplest thing to make but the flavours so well put together than it feels amazing to be eating it.  I had to glance back to the still unfinished March for this but the sun was shining this evening and it felt like the perfect accompaniment to it.  Delicious, delicious, delicious.

Pea and bacon fritters

I can't help but feel that I've missed a stage out here and have gone back to the recipe twice to check and find that I have indeed followed it to the letter.  There was no picture to guide me so I was on my own, and despite them being called fritters Nigel asks that we make croquettes.  After 2 hours in the fridge the mixture was still pretty sloppy but I forged ahead.   It's fair to say that this hasn't been my finest hour but they did taste ok - not good enough to make again as they were incredibly fiddly and took a bit of planning in as they have 2 stints in the fridge.  I'm not sure the bacon taste fully comes through and I'd perhaps have doubled the quantity of bacon had I known that.  What does come through, and in a perfect way is the tarragon.

Chicken with yuzu and sesame

No, me either!  I really feel that Nigel is testing me here with not only yuzu but without warning he threw in 'shichimi togarishi' - I had to look both up and then trekked to the Chinese hyper market near work, which is fantastic and not just Chinese, with Korean, Vietnamese and Japanese sections.  When shopping there yesterday I lolled at the 'English' section, which mainly consisted of tomato ketchup.   Anyway, I passed Nigel's test and found the necessary ingredients and I'm really glad I did.  Apart from being super, super easy to make this it has wonderful flavours, a really delicate hit of spice and  a deep citrus flavour that was more complex than lemon - I can't explain it, but it was great.  I will make this again come barbecue season and imagine this being a staple.

Browned butter, rosemary and honey frozen yoghurt

Erm, interesting is the word I'm going to use for this - not unpleasant, not altogether pleasant, but interesting.  There is a real lemon flavour to it, but as no lemon was added I can only assume that this is the yoghurt coming through. I can definitely taste the rosemary and as I say it's not unpleasant, but I won't be making this again.

grilled fish with soy and sesame

I ended up buying a whole mackerel today and had to fillet it myself, something that a couple of years ago would have terrified me, and I realised how far I've come when I took a knife to the fish without fear. I must say that this is fast food at its absolute best, taking 10 minutes to make at most but delivering a beautiful flavour for that minimal effort.

Tempura vegetables

Astonishingly, I have never ventured into tempura territory as a cook before - I've been there plenty of times as an eater, one of my favourite meals from our local Japanese restaurant being tempura veg with curry sauce.  Inspired by this I sacked off Nigel's suggestion of a dipping sauce to go with the veg and made a katsu curry.  And I've got to say, this was great, and a very authentic fake away.   I used a sweet potato, woodland mushrooms, golden beetroot and chard, the latter two being in this week's veg box, thus killing two birds.

Hemp seed pizza with egg and rocket

My other half surprised me today by commenting positively and without prompt on this- he felt that the hemp enhanced the flavour and that the bread was almost a focaccia.  I have to say this impressed me less and I doubt I'd make it again, although I may adopt the pizza base method for my future pizzas as it was good.  Eagle eyed may see that I've not stuck completely to the brief and have used general salad leaves as that is what is in my weekly veg box this week.

Chocolate fruit and nut slice

Ridiculously difficult to come by the ingredients for this one - thanks Nigel!  I finally found an incredibly expensive 100g bag of mixed crystallised fruits on a recent trip to Sorrento after scouring every shop there!!! I know I'm a month late making this but the house was so full of chocolate and other assorted sweet things over Christmas that I was sure this would go to waste so I've patiently bided my time.  Wow though, this was definitely worth the wait!  The salt elevates this already flavourful delight - before eating it I'd have said there is no way I'm ever making this again as the ingredients were too hard to come by but I think I'll solve that problem by learning to crystallise my own fruits - and it'll be worth it.