Saffron Strands

Warm Plum & Citrus Compote Jane Grigson wrote in 1982 of the ubiquity of the Victoria plum.  Since 1840, when a stray seedlin...

Blueberry & Raspberrry Mascarpone Pot On this day of the autumnal equinox the temperature is hovering around 20 degrees C through...

Almond, Polenta and Lemon Cake with blackberry compote Blackberries, or brambles, are probably the most widely foraged foodstuff in th...

Rosie's Blackcurrant and Lemon Posset Blackcurrants don't have the jewel-like appearance of red and white currants but they pa...

Raspberryade The raspberry harvest can get a little out of hand at this time of year.  It reaches a point when even friends and neighb...

Cucumber Salad 'Cool as a cucumber' (idiom) - calm, self-possessed, imperturbable, unruffled.  This most definitely does no...

Cherries & green almonds The first English cherries have arrived with early varieties Inga and Merchant making an appearance at ma...

Raw Asparagus, pea-shoots and mint salad Spare a thought for the asparagus farmer subject to the vagaries of our climate.  Yes, the...

Tortilla It's waiting time on the allotment.  Almost everything is planted - save for courgettes, squash and pumpkins - and te...

The annual Calҫotada festivals are a feature of winter in Spain's Catalunya region.  Somewhere between a spring onion and a leek, cal...

Candied Cedro I'm ending this year on a preserving note.  Though everyone has their sleeves rolled up and heads filled with Chri...

Gooseberries 'Invicta' If you love rhubarb, chances are you also appreciate gooseberries which share an acidity that people s...

Tender II Raspberries It's hard to believe we've reached the longest day of the year as I sit here looking out at thick grey ...

Cannellini Bean and Escarole Soup Having woken to London's first sunny day in weeks, I considered not publishing this recipe for a...

Risotto of hop shoots If I lived in Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Hampshire, Herefordshire or Worcestershire I'd probably be scouring the ...

 Meringue with cream and toasted hazelnuts We've all seen those gigantic puffs of white meringue prettying-up the windows of tr...