Daffodil Soup London

This is a decadently delicious tart, and a fine example of how a few basic store-cupboard ingredients can quickly deliver on richness, flavour and visual impact. Who doesn’t have a tin of golden syrup in the cupboard (probably out of date but as it’s made from inverted sugar it really does not go off)? You might think using sourdough breadcrumbs in this is an affectation but I did it for two reasons. I make all my own sourdough at home, so I always have leftover crusts and I hate throwing them away. Plus, I was interested to see whether the slight sourness from the crumb would have any flavour impact on the extremely sweet filling. And it does. It adds a dimension that is subtle but noticeable, and improves the balance of flavours. To make it even simpler, you can use shop-bought shortcrust pastry, or even a pre-baked pastry shell (I won’t judge. Or tell).  And if you’re making your own pastry you could substitute dairy-free spread and make it vegan. You ...

 This is one of those recipes that makes you frown at first, trying to get your head around the is-it-a-bread question that leads to the savoury scone/muffin or all-in-one-quiche debate. There is no solution except to make it and draw your own conclusion, which will be that it is delicious! After all, how can a combination of bacon, cheese and leek be wrong? This lovely loaf (or you could bake the mix in muffin tins) is a brunch crowd-pleaser, especially served toasted with a fried or poached egg on top. For lunch it's perfect served as a wedge with a fresh green salad and for a lighter evening meal you won't regret serving it with a bowl of soup or chilli.  Serve with good salted butter (and extra cheese on the side for good measure). This makes a 750g loaf or 10-12 muffins Ingredients 1 medium onion, diced 250g smoked streaky bacon, diced 1tbsp light olive oil 1 leek, finely sliced 225g self-raising flour A pinch of salt  1tsp English...

I keep a container of the dry mix for this recipe in my cupboard for spontaneous fritter making – everyone should. Most of these ingredients should be in your cupboard, and if not your nearest corner shop will have them all.  These delicious fritters were one of our most popular dishes at the restaurant. They happen to be vegan and gluten free but that was incidental, as they pack a palate-pleasing punch, are satisfyingly crunchy and, when topped with a simple tahini dressing and some toasted seeds, would not be out of place at the breakfast, lunch or dinner table.  The most time-consuming element is making up the seasoned chickpea flour, which can be done well in advance. The rest is a work of minutes.   Also, if courgettes aren’t your thing, you can substitute sweetcorn,   grated  parsnip, cauliflower or potato.  Serves 4 500g chickpea (gram) flour  2tsp salt 1tsp freshly ground black pepper 1tbsp ground coriander 2ts...

Everyone secretly believes they would be the kind of person who would bake their own bread … if only, if only, if only. Bought bread is such a convenience, and so cheap. I spent decades freezing sliced loaves of Hovis Granary and popping them in the toaster as required. But, in the same way that vegetarians lose the memory of what meat tastes like, and decaf drinkers kid themselves that it tastes like the real thing, bulk produced, accelerated yeast improvers and the Chorley method don’t lie: once you’ve made your own bread at home there is no going back. By comparison supermarket loaves taste gluey and bland, and they sit in one’s stomach long after eating, generating wind and bloating and a general air of dissatisfaction. A proper loaf, of real bread, is dense and chewy and full of whatever you put in it – and nothing else! Whether wheat, spelt, rye, corn, oats, seeds and nuts and   fruit, a basic loaf is just flour, yeast, salt and water. Mix them together, add time...

You wouldn't think it would be necesary to have a cheat's version of a Victoria sponge. After all, it's such a simple cake to make ... or is it? Everyone loves a good Vicky sponge - the simple buttery moistness, light crumb and vanilla scent preparing the way for a big hit of raspberry jam. And on the face of it, a VS should be straightforward, with predictably good results: equal quantities of butter, sugar and flour, eggs and vanilla and you're there ... right? Wrong, it seems. Because when I do baking classes, and I ask relatively confident cake makers what they most fear, they tell me it's the VS. The mixture curdles; it won't rise or it sinks in the middle; the crust separates and cracks; it's as tough and chewy as an old brick. One of my pupils astonished me by actually managing to turn out two flat pancakes when the rest of us - working with the same ingredients, measurements, tins and ovens - had done uniformly well. "You see," she ye...

I was asked to cater a private celebration lunch and the star of the menu was to be a whole suckling pig. When you have such a statement main course, I think you need to hang back on the accompaniments and keep things simple but they do also have an important role to play, the most important of which is to mop up all the lovely piggy juices. I wanted something slightly more special than potatoes or bread, so I combined the two and made potato bread. There are quite a few recipes online but in the end I devised one myself and I was really pleased with the results. It went down really well with the lunchers, too. Ingredients You will need 3-400g of cold mashed potato - make extra next time you're cooking, or make it ahead of time. Don't add seasoning or butter to the potato, just mash and set aside.   1tsp dried active yeast (or 1 sachet quick yeast or 15g fresh) half tsp sugar 450g strong white bread flour 12g salt 1tbsp vegetable oil 300-350ml warm water In a sma...