Food and Wine Matching

The bleak January weather makes me long to be in sunnier climes. The next best thing is to be eating something delicious from somewhere beautiful and exotic, so I’m perusing my Claudia Roden Mediterranean Cookery and Moro Cook books. Both make the connections between southern European and Middle Eastern cuisines and are inspirational. I can’t […]

I’ll concede that we can talk about Christmas now that December has arrived and it definitely feels like party-time. That doesn’t mean there’s any excuse for drinking Mulled wine - my all-time worst drink. Much more fun and festive (& less headache inducing) is a champagne or dry sparkling wine. Champagne Yapp is a lovely […]

October was damp and mild so the snowy start to November in Somerset was a bracing and beautiful change. Weather like this justifies some cosy cooking so we’re looking forward to sausages round the bonfire and hearty soups. We enjoy simple kitchen suppers such as good quality sausages with roasted or mashed butternut squash and […]

Nothing beats a beautiful autumn day – and I can just about cope with the nights drawing in if the compensation is golden low sunshine and delicious autumnal grub. This is the beginning of the game season, mushrooms, nuts and other earthy favours as well as the continuation of all those wonderful fruits: apples, pears […]

Recently returned from the scorching heat of France the appeal of rainy England is waning. To keep the flame alive we’ll be continuing with our summer staples of French dishes at their simplest. On holiday we decamp to the north of the Dordogne - a region of France that is not known for its fine […]

While Jason’s favourite vegetable is asparagus mine is artichoke. Preserved artichokes are fine and my old school friend Charlotte makes a lovely dip by blending them with olive oil, lemon juice and grated pecorino. I was spoiled in Rome where I used to live as the Romans love to cook the little violetta artichokes in […]

Spring has arrived (hasn’t it?) and it’s time for some early stalky veg. One of our favourites is purple sprouting broccoli. A regular weekday supper (for the adults) is short pasta (preferably orrichietti) with broccoli, anchovies, chilli & garlic. I’m afraid, contrary to all cookbooks; I like to use cheap tinned anchovies in olive oil. […]

While the weather is still icy (and it feels as if winter has only just arrived) some warming food is called for. A hearty dish such as ham hock (under £3 from one of our local independent butchers) cooked with butter beans, carrots, onions and tinned tomatoes is a real rib sticker and the leftovers […]

I can never understand the doom and gloom that surrounds January. Yes - it’s the middle of winter, it’s cold, and we’re back to work! Boo hoo, so what? Man up! It is also foursquare in the middle of the Game Season, bivalves abound, there are root vegetables galore, and it happens to include my […]

With the focus on festive entertaining this month, our thoughts turn to the big day and the main Christmas meal. Choosing wines to complement the range of savoury and sweet flavours on the table as well as please all guests can be a challenge so aim for a well-structured menu partnered by wines with broad […]