List of All Articles with Tag 'food'

From Monty Python to Minnesota's SPAM Museum, this little packaged luncheon meat has a big cultural footprint.

The US and its allies are grappling with how to avert a global food crisis following Moscow's withdrawal from the Black Sea grain deal and its subsequent attacks on Ukraine's ports and storage facilities.

A baby corn plant and a corn plant are one and the same.

Prices at the gas pump are suddenly surging, causing headaches for consumers and central bankers alike.

Layers of potato interleaved with clotted cream, spinach, a hint of garlic and nutmeg – a dish that will bring you together with people you love,” says chef Emily Scott. “Wild garlic is a perfect replacement for the spinach, when it is in season. It has a subtle fragrance and works in pesto, risottos, pasta, scones and here in this delicious dauphinoise.” Dauphinoise potatoes with spinach and clotted cream Serves: 8 Ingredients: 50g (2oz) unsalted butter 300g (10½ oz/1½ cups) clotted cream 150ml (5fl oz/scant 2⁄3 cup) creme fraiche or Rodda’s double (heavy) cream 1 whole nutmeg, for grating 1.2kg (2lb 10oz) waxy potatoes, peeled (Desirée potatoes work well) 900ml (30fl oz/3½ cups) full-fat milk 2 bay leaves 1 garlic clove, halved lengthways 200g (7oz) baby spinach, washed and stalks removed (wild garlic is a perfect alternative when in season) Cornish sea salt and freshly ground black pepper Method: 1. Preheat the oven to 160C (140C fan/320F/gas 2). Grease the sides and bottom of an oven-to-table dish with a little of the butter and set the rest aside to use later. 2. Place the clotted cream and creme fraîche in a bowl and stir together, then add a pinch of sea salt, some black pepper and a grating of nutmeg. 3. Cut the potatoes into 2.5mm (1⁄8 in) slices. Place them in a heavy-based pan and cover with the milk, then add a good pinch of sea salt, another grating of nutmeg, the bay leaves and garlic. Bring to the boil and cook for 10 minutes (be careful – the bottom of the pan can catch). Drain, discarding the milk, garlic and bay leaves. 4. Carefully layer the potatoes in the buttered dish alternating them with layers of spinach, seasoning each layer with salt and pepper. Make sure the top and bottom layers are just potato. Pour over the clotted cream mixture, making sure the top layer is just covered. Finish the top off with some more grated nutmeg and a few knobs of the remaining butter. 5. Bake in the middle of the oven for 1 hour, or until golden brown and a table knife passes through with ease. Allow to rest. ‘Time & Tide’ by Emily Scott (Hardie Grant, £28).

This recipe is so simple and versatile – I use it to top fruit throughout the seasons,” says chef Emily Scott. “It is lighter than a traditional oat crumble topping, and delicious served with custard or crème fraîche.” Blackberry and peach crisp Serves: 4 Ingredients: For the Amaretti crumble topping: 160g (5½oz) amaretti biscuits 80g (3oz/scant 1 cup) flaked (slivered) almonds 75g (2½oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature 50g (2oz/scant ½ cup) plain (all-purpose) flour 50g (2oz/scant ¼ cup) caster (superfine) sugar For the bramble and peach filling: 350g (12oz) blackberries 6 peaches, skinned and stoned (pitted), sliced (if using frozen peaches, thaw and drain first) 100g (3½oz/scant ½ cup) caster (superfine) sugar 3 tbsp cornflour (corn starch) slaked with 2 tbsp water Zest and juice of ½ lemon Method: 1. Preheat the oven to 200C (180C fan/400F/gas 6). For the crumble topping, blitz the amaretti biscuits with the flaked almonds in a food processor to a rubble. 2. In a mixing bowl, rub the butter and flour together to resemble breadcrumbs, then add the sugar along with the almond rubble and mix together. 3. Spread the mixture out over a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes until golden. Allow to cool. 4. For the filling, place the blackberries, peaches, sugar, cornflour mixture, lemon zest and juice in a heavy-based saucepan and slowly bring to a simmer, stirring all the time to allow the sugar to dissolve. Cook until the fruit is tender. 5. Transfer to an oven-to-table baking dish and sprinkle over the amaretti crumble topping. Finish off in the oven for 5–6 minutes. Don’t forget the cream. ‘Time & Tide’ by Emily Scott (Hardie Grant, £28).

There is nothing more comforting than a roast chicken – a go-to every week and something my family are always happy to see,” says chef Emily Scott. “The chorizo, lemon and rosemary create a wonderful gravy of buttery golden juices; with the potatoes and garlic, it really is a delicious one-pot recipe.” Roast chicken with chorizo, garlic and rosemary Serves: 4 Ingredients: 1 whole properly free-range chicken (about 1.5kg/3lb 5 oz) 50-100g (2-3½oz) unsalted butter, softened 6 rashers of unsmoked streaky bacon 2 lemons, halved 8 rosemary sprigs 12 garlic cloves, left whole and unpeeled 2 tbsp olive oil 300g (10 ½oz) chorizo, thickly sliced 500g (1lb 2oz) small new potatoes, left whole Cornish sea salt and freshly ground black pepper Method: 1. Preheat the oven to 200C (180C fan/400F/gas 6). Place the chicken in an oven-to-table roasting dish. Rub the breasts and legs with the butter, season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, then place the streaky bacon over the breasts of the chicken (this protects the breast meat for the first part of the cooking, keeping the meat moist and adding delicious flavour. The crispy bacon becomes the cook’s perk). 2. Place the lemon halves and most of the rosemary in the cavity. Arrange the garlic cloves around the chicken in the oven dish, then drizzle the whole chicken with the olive oil. Roast in the oven for 15-20 minutes until the bacon is crispy. 3. Remove the dish from the oven, remove the bacon and set aside. Baste the chicken with the buttery and lemony juices, then arrange the slices of chorizo and small potatoes around the chicken with the remaining rosemary sprigs. Return to the oven to roast for 45 minutes–1 hour until the chicken is golden brown and the juices run clear (test by inserting a skewer into a leg). 4. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Carve and serve with the buttery, golden juices, with the roasted potatoes and chorizo, accompanied by greens or a green salad. ‘Time & Tide’ by Emily Scott (Hardie Grant, £28).

Emily Scott has called the UK’s southernmost county home for 25 years, but the chef’s roots in the region go back even further. “I spent a lot of time in Cornwall as a child, because my grandparents had a house down here,” says Scott, 48, on a video call from her home near Newquay. “And also in France, because my grandfather was half-French and they lived out in Provence.” Born in Sussex, she moved to the picturesque village of Port Isaac aged 23 and married her first husband, a fisherman, and the couple had three children, Oscar, 21, Finn, 20, and Evie, 18. “Sadly, I divorced the fisherman – or not sadly, I’m not sure – but actually, it’s all very amicable. “But I chose to stay in Cornwall… and my career has just grown and got better and better.” Scott’s first foray into food was the seaside Harbour Restaurant in Port Isaac, followed by eight years running the much-loved St Tudy Inn gastropub and rooms. Now, she’s creative director (“I’m not apron-on as much as I used to be”) at Emily Scott Food, the restaurant that sits on the sea wall at Watergate Bay. What unites all these culinary outposts? “I’ve been banging the simplicity drum for a long time – my food’s all about seasonality, but also not too much faffing around.” That ethos is evident in her second cookbook, Time & Tide, which includes plenty of one-pot main dishes, simple suppers and satisfying bakes. “It’s about times of day,” says Scott, who lives with her partner Mark Hellyar, a winemaker, and her children. “There’s a lovely chapter called ‘morning cafe’ with lots of nods to my French roots, because that’s just a very natural thing for me. We’ve got ‘rise and shine’, meaning breakfast time, we’ve got ‘seaside soirees’.” The recipes reflect Scott’s trademark Cornish-French fusion with seafood – scallops, mussels, mackerel, crab – taking centre stage alongside French culinary classics like beurre blanc, bouillabaisse, ratatouille and creme brulee, while Cornish sea salt and clotted cream appear on many an ingredients list. The book cover features a quote from American actor and foodie Stanley Tucci, who has become a friend. “It’s just been a very natural coming together through food,” says Scott. “You know, when you see him on television in his Italy series, he genuinely is that person. He genuinely loves food and wine, and that’s what connects everyone in my view.” The chef and author didn’t always have such a favourable view of feasting. She had anorexia in her teens and was forced to drop out of school. After going in and out of treatment, she was offered the opportunity to go and work in a hotel restaurant in France. “It’s quite a normal thing for people with eating disorders to end up in food, I think, because, I mean, you can’t give up food,” Scott says. “I just ended up – kind of through choice – just recovering, and turning my rather unhealthy relationship with food around, and finding the joy of cooking for people.” In 2021, the restauranteur got the chance to cook for some very important people when she was asked by the Cabinet Office to cater a dinner for world leaders at the G7 summit in Cornwall’s Carbis Bay. “They were looking for something slightly different – they didn’t want the very formal, old school, white gloves [style],” Scott says. “I submitted my menu and told them I’d be giving them tea towels as napkins, and we’d have French Duralex glasses, mismatched cutlery, that kind of thing, and they loved it.” On the menu was melon gazpacho, turbot with miso beurre blanc sauce, and strawberry and elderflower pavlova, followed by “little mini ice creams for the petit fours and Cornish fudge we made. So it was all quite nostalgic nods to the seaside”. What was it like emerging from the kitchen at the end of the meal to greet diners including then UK prime minister Boris Johnson, US president Joe Biden, French president Emmanuel Macron and German chancellor Angela Merkel? “It was literally like, you know when you go to a friend’s house for dinner, but you’re really late and you turn up and everyone’s had a drink? I was suddenly surrounded,” Scott recalls. “President Biden had his arm around me, I had Macron and his wife signing my book, because my book had come out the day before, then I had Angela Merkel saying, ‘We must get a photograph now, come on’. It was quite a moment really.” Even better, the proud mum got to share the experience with her kids: “Oscar, my eldest, and my partner’s daughter served the world leaders, and my son Finn was in the kitchen cooking as part of my team. I thought, as a parent, I’m done!” Plus, the feedback on the food from the VIPs was top notch. “They loved it. And what was so nice is I said to [the organisers], ‘I want them to be relaxed. I want them to stay longer’,” Scott says. “The secret service were like, ‘They ran over time, they were so relaxed’. We did our job.” ‘Time & Tide’ by Emily Scott is (Hardie Grant, £28).

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Sweet and smokey, melt off the bone BBQ pork ribs and a zingy, Asian-style slaw are this week’s match made in heaven. Ideal for family get togethers and al fresco dining, this showstopper summer dish requires zero-fuss cooking. Serve with cold beers and pitta breads to mop up the goodness. BBQ pork ribs and slaw Serves: 4 Ingredients: 800g BBQ pork ribs 1 tbsp hoisin sauce (optional) For the slaw: 2 carrots, peeled into ribbons ¼ red cabbage, shredded ½ fennel bulb, finely sliced ½ red chilli, deseeded and finely diced 1 tbsp root ginger, grated 2 tbsp sauerkraut 2 tbsp hot lemon sauce 2 tbsp chopped coriander Method: To cook the pork ribs, wrap them in tin foil and bake them in the oven at 150C for 1-1.5 hours, or if you have a BBQ, use that! Remove them from the tin foil and increase the temperature of your grill to 200C. Grill for 15-20 mins, basting regularly with the remaining BBQ marinade (and hoisin sauce, if you’re using it). To prepare the slaw, peel your carrots into ribbons and toss them in a large bowl with the shredded red cabbage, finely sliced fennel, and sauerkraut. Add in the grated root ginger, chopped red chilli and coriander. Instead of mayonnaise, try adding hot lemon sauce to your slaw for a zingy, spiced version. Mix well and season to taste, then serve alongside your BBQ ribs. Read More Five dinner ideas from around the world to try this week Hi Barbie! Nine cocktails inspired by the doll’s most iconic outfits The National Portrait Gallery’s new restaurant is fabulous upgrade Three barbecue recipes to try that aren’t burgers The dish that defines me: Alex Outhwaite’s Vietnamese bun cha 3 TikTok-approved recipes for picnic season

Sometimes dinnertime is not just about satisfying our hunger. It’s a chance to embark on a culinary adventure from the comfort of our homes. To elevate your dining experience this week, we’ve curated a selection of five diverse and sustainable dinner recipes that celebrate global powerhouses of flavour while keeping an eye on our ecological footprint. Transport yourself to the bustling markets of Morocco with an aromatic vegetarian taigne. Embracing the harvest of the season, this hearty dish brings together the earthiness of butternut squash and carrots with the protein-packed goodness of chickpeas. Topped with a zesty lemon-dill sauce, the baked salmon dish below offers a refreshing twist to your taste buds while delivering a dose of healthy omega-3 fatty acids. A true taste of British comfort, a classic beef and mushroom pie is a hearty masterpiece that showcases locally sourced beef. The recipe also minimises waste and maximises taste, making it an economical choice for families. Capturing the vibrant colours of the Mediterranean, stuffed peppers are a celebration of wholesome and vegetarian goodness. Filled with couscous, chickpeas and a medley of vegetables, this dish burts with nutritious delights. Lastly, journey to the aromatic landscapes of Thailand with a tantalising green curry. Tender chicken thighs dance harmoniously with fresh vegetables, bathed in a luscious coconut curry sauce. Bon appétit! Spiced vegetable tagine This Moroccan-inspired vegetarian tagine is bursting with flavour from seasonal vegetables and aromatic spices. It’s perfect for a cosy dinner and packed with nutritious goodness. Serves: 4 Prep time: 15 minutes | Cooking time: 1 hour Ingredients: 2 tbsp olive oil 1 large onion, finely chopped 3 garlic cloves, minced 2 tsp ground cumin 1 tsp ground coriander 1 tsp ground cinnamon ½ tsp ground ginger 1 butternut squash, peeled and diced 2 carrots, peeled and sliced 1 tin (400g) chickpeas, drained and rinsed 1 tin (400g) chopped tomatoes 500ml vegetable broth 100g dried apricots, chopped Salt and pepper to taste Fresh coriander leaves for garnish Method: 1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and garlic, sauté until softened. 2. Stir in the ground cumin, coriander, cinnamon, and ginger. Cook for another minute until fragrant. 3. Add the butternut squash and carrots, tossing them with the spices. 4. Pour in the chickpeas, diced tomatoes, vegetable broth, and chopped apricots. Season with salt and pepper. 5. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover the pot, and let it simmer for about 1 hour or until the vegetables are tender. 6. Serve the tagine over couscous or rice, and garnish with fresh coriander leaves. Baked salmon with lemon-dill sauce This delicious and sustainable salmon dish is baked to perfection and served with a zesty lemon-dill sauce. It’s a delightful dinner that’s easy to prepare and full of omega-3 fatty acids. Serves: 2 Prep time: 5 minutes | Cooking time: 20 minutes Ingredients: 2 salmon fillets 1 tbsp olive oil 1 lemon, thinly sliced Salt and pepper to taste ¼ cup (60g) plain yogurt 1 tbsp fresh dill, chopped 1 tsp lemon zest 1 tsp lemon juice Method: 1. Preheat the oven to 200C (180C fan). Grease a baking dish with olive oil. 2. Place the salmon fillets in the baking dish. Season with salt and pepper, then lay lemon slices on top of each fillet. 3. Bake the salmon for 15-20 minutes or until it flakes easily with a fork. 4. While the salmon is baking, prepare the lemon-dill sauce. In a small bowl, mix together the plain yogurt, fresh dill, lemon zest, and lemon juice. 5. Serve the baked salmon with the lemon-dill sauce drizzled on top. Beef and mushroom pie This classic British beef and mushroom pie is a comforting and hearty dish, perfect for a family dinner. The tender beef and earthy mushrooms are enveloped in a rich gravy, all wrapped in a flaky pastry. Serves: 6 Prep time: 20 minutes | Cooking time: 2 hours Ingredients: 500g beef stew meat, diced 2 tbsp vegetable oil 1 large onion, finely chopped 2 garlic cloves, minced 250g button mushrooms, sliced 2 tbsp plain flour 500ml beef broth 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce Salt and pepper to taste 1 pack (320g) ready-rolled puff pastry 1 egg, beaten Method: 1. Preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan). 2. In a large oven-safe pot, heat the vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Add the diced beef and brown on all sides. Remove the beef from the pot and set it aside. 3. In the same pot, sauté the chopped onion and garlic until softened. Add the sliced mushrooms and cook until they release their juices. 4. Stir in the plain flour and cook for a minute to form a roux. 5. Pour in the beef broth and Worcestershire sauce, stirring to combine. Season with salt and pepper. 6. Return the browned beef to the pot, cover with a lid, and transfer the pot to the preheated oven. 7. Bake the beef mixture for about 1 hour and 30 minutes or until the beef is tender and the gravy has thickened. 8. Meanwhile, roll out the puff pastry and cut it to fit the top of the pie dish. 9. Once the beef mixture is done, pour it into a pie dish and cover it with the puff pastry. Brush the pastry with beaten egg for a golden finish. 10. Bake the pie in the oven at 200C (180C fan) for 20-25 minutes or until the pastry is puffed and golden. Mediterranean stuffed peppers These vibrant Mediterranean stuffed peppers are a flavourful vegetarian option that’s easy to make. Filled with couscous, chickpeas, and Mediterranean vegetables, they are a healthy and delicious dinner choice. Serves: 4 Prep time: 15 minutes | Cooking Time: 25 minutes Ingredients: 4 large bell peppers (any color) 100g couscous 200ml vegetable broth 1 tin (400g) chickpeas, drained and rinsed 1 courgette, diced 1 red onion, diced 1 tbsp olive oil 1 tsp dried oregano ½ tsp ground paprika Salt and pepper to taste Fresh parsley for garnish Method: 1. Preheat the oven to 200C (180C fan). 2. Cut the tops off the bell peppers, removing the seeds and membranes. Brush the outside of the peppers with olive oil. 3. In a saucepan, bring the vegetable broth to a boil. Remove from heat, add couscous, cover, and let it sit for 5 minutes until fluffy. 4. In a separate pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the diced zucchini and red onion, sautéing until softened. 5. Stir in the cooked couscous, chickpeas, dried oregano, ground paprika, salt, and pepper into the sautéed vegetables. 6. Stuff the mixture into the prepared bell peppers and place them in a baking dish. 7. Bake the stuffed peppers for 20-25 minutes or until the peppers are tender and slightly charred on the outside. 8. Garnish with fresh parsley before serving. Thai green curry with chicken Transport your taste buds to Thailand with this aromatic and creamy Thai green curry. Made with tender chicken and seasonal vegetables, it’s a delightful balance of spicy, savoury, and coconut goodness. Serves: 4 Prep time: 15 minutes | Cooking time: 25 minutes Ingredients: 500g boneless chicken thighs, sliced 2 tbsp vegetable oil 2 tbsp green curry paste 400ml coconut milk 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced 100g green beans, trimmed and halved 1 courgette, sliced 2 tbsp fish sauce 1 tbsp brown sugar Fresh basil leaves for garnish Cooked jasmine rice to serve Method: 1. In a large pan or wok, heat the vegetable oil over medium heat. Add the green curry paste and cook for a minute until fragrant. 2. Stir in the sliced chicken and cook until it’s browned on all sides. 3. Pour in the coconut milk and bring the mixture to a simmer. 4. Add the sliced red bell pepper, green beans, and courgette to the curry. Cook until the vegetables are tender-crisp. 5. Season the curry with fish sauce and brown sugar, adjusting the seasoning to taste. 6. Serve the Thai green curry over jasmine rice and garnish with fresh basil leaves. Read More Hi Barbie! Nine cocktails inspired by the doll’s most iconic outfits The National Portrait Gallery’s new restaurant is fabulous upgrade Three barbecue recipes to try that aren’t burgers The dish that defines me: Alex Outhwaite’s Vietnamese bun cha 3 TikTok-approved recipes for picnic season Imad Alarnab: In Calais’ Jungle refugee camp, food restored our faith

A restaurant in London has sparked criticism over its decision to introduce a minimum spend next month that will see solo diners charged double for their meals. In August, Alex Dilling at Hotel Café Royal, which boasts two Michelin stars, will increase the prices of its tasting menus. Currently, a five-course tasting menu costs £125 per person, while it’s £175 for seven courses. However, from 17 August, the restaurant will increase its prices by 11 per cent, bringing five courses to £165 and seven courses to £195. This is due to an increase in supplier costs and rising staff shortages in London, due to Brexit, that has put pressure on the business. For those dining alone, though, the new minimum spend means solo visitors could be charged a minimum of £330 to visit the restaurant due to the volume of requests they receive. However, the restaurant confirmed that they keep one to two tables for solo diners for every service without the minimum spend. So solo diners who book within 24 to 48 hours of their required booking time could be able to swerve the minimum spend depending on whether those tables are available at the time. Nonetheless, the initiative sparked outrage on Twitter, with commenters quick to point out the joys of dining alone, and how solo diners are often stigmatised. “F*** the Hotel Café Royal then… Solo dining is one of life’s great pleasures,” tweeted one person. “Oh great news. Yet another penalty for being single,” another added. Hugh Smithson-Write, who works in restaurant PR, tweeted: “A classic example of making the customer the problem, rather than finding a solution. “If you get ‘many solo diner requests’ how about you reconfigure your dining room to accommodate that and maximise the revenue? This is the very opposite of hospitality!” Victoria Sheppard, chief executive at Alex Dilling at Hotel Café Royal, told The Independent: “Since achieving our two Michelin stars the demand for solo dining has increased dramatically and whilst we make every effort to accommodate solo diners, we also have to be considerate to the running costs of our business. “That said, we are increasing our opening hours from 17 August and will be able to accommodate more solo diners (without any discretionary minimum spend). 95 per cent of our solo diners requesting tables since we implemented a discretionary minimum spend when we are at capacity for solo diners have been more that happy to proceed with their booking, enjoying wine pairings or champagne of wine alongside their meal. “Nightclubs in our local vicinity have minimum spends for tables or hotels you pay the same price whether one guest or two which is never under dispute.” Read More Michelin star chef Marcus Wareing gives controversial answer to the best pizza in London Tom Kerridge addresses backlash to his £35 fish and chips at Harrods: ‘They shout at me’ Chef defends viral chicken recipe after TikTok backlash: ‘PSA to the seasoning police’ Restaurant with ‘tips are a privilege’ policy sparks intense backlash on social media Cher is launching a gelato brand called ‘Cherlato’ Popeyes widely mocked for attempt to join ‘girl dinner’ trend