Leeks for St. David’s Day! At least since the 1700s, the people of Wales have celebrated St. David’s Day (March 1st) by wearing a leek in their hats or on their clothes. Why a leek? There’s some story about a battle in a leek-field, but clearly the main reason is that leeks are actually growing …
Category Archives: Main Dishes
Leek and potato soup
A base for many soups Leeks are, like celery and chives, one of the first plants available in the spring, because they’re stalks and not leaves. So leeks are a great seasonal food for early spring. Leek and potato soup is great by itself, but it’s also a good base for many other soups. Add …
Lasagna
Make it quicker by making your own pasta I used to feel lasagna took too long for a family dinner, because you had to first boil the noodles, then assemble the lasagna, and then bake it – too many steps. But now that I can make my own pasta, it’s a snap. How to make …
Lamb stew
Housewarming party in January: What to make for fifty people coming to a housewarming party in January? We made a great deal of finger food, but we also wanted to have a hot stew that would do for dinner if people didn’t eat before they arrived. I came up with this stew, which has very …
Lamb meatballs with plums
Not quite Ottolenghi This is another in the series of recipes adapted from Ottolenghi’s Jerusalem – this one, a way to use up some summer plums and basil. Ottolenghi’s version called for dried figs, if that sounds better, and for mint and cilantro instead of basil. This takes about an hour. How to make lamb …
Hot and Sour Soup
Chinese soup Half an hour, one pot and a small frying pan, and mostly stuff you already have lying around your kitchen How to make hot and sour soup: Start half an hour before dinner. Put a saucepan half full of water or chicken broth on the stove (enough water to make soup for everyone), …
Galette with zucchini
Got a lotta zucchini? If you’re tired of stuffed zucchini and stir-fried zucchini and everything else zucchini – and especially if you have some sauteed zucchini left over from another night – this is a happy new way to eat up all that zucchini. If the zucchini’s already cooked, this galette doesn’t take long, is …
Falafel
Now that I’ve made it, I can see why falafel was so popular in the Islamic world, where cooking fuel was expensive! This is a way to cook beans that requires almost no fuel, as opposed to boiling them where you have to keep a hot fire going for a couple of hours. How to …
Eggplant and ground lamb
From Ottolenghi’s Jerusalem Well, except for Ottolenghi’s version (which I’m sure is delicious) requires three hours of slow cooking, and needs paprika and tamarind sauce. Whereas this version requires about half an hour of cooking, and more ordinary ingredients. Everyone loved it though. How to make eggplant and ground lamb: In a large frying pan, pour …
Duck with cranberries
A Paris recipe My sister created this recipe when she was living in Paris, and posted it on her blog. Her main idea was to show that you didn’t have to sweeten cranberries in order for them to taste good. It was a huge hit at our house, although I think it’s easier to make …