The Botanical Kitchen
Recipes, travel and the occasional rant
I was invited to the Harvest Festival at The Eden Project to talk to people about Baobab and take up the challenge to create some recipes. This was my savoury offering which worked really well. The baobab powder brought out the citrus of the lemon and gave the bhajias a light tang. You’ll need 300g […]
We planted radishes in our allotment just before the start of the school holidays and within weeks we had a lovely crop. We bought a cheap packer of multi-coloured radish and each colour seemed to vary in taste It was also interesting to experiment with the development of that spicy taste these little fireballs are […]
I wanted to share with you the story of Draupadi. She’s a mum like me. She’s also a grandmother that I aspire to be one day. She lives in a remote village in Uttarkhand in Northern India. She’s part of a unique, tribal community that sadly suffers from discrimination, violence and exploitation because of this […]
This year already seems full of ‘New Year, New You’ posts and ideas for healthy eating after the excesses of the various festivities this time of year holds. So I thought I would join the bandwagon and share the one dish which I revert to in times of detox, sickness and cleansing – Kicheree. (Our […]
It’s Diwali time! There are many stories associated with Diwali but the most famous is the return of Lord Ram to Ayodhya after forty years in exile. The story goes that after rescuing his wife Sita from the evil clutches of the Demon King Ravan, he returned home accompanied by his brother Laxman and devoted […]
This is a super simple, super quick frittata recipe. I’ve used it for my girls in their school picnicsand I thought I’d post the recipe up to honour Italy’s win over England in Euro 2012 Quarter Finals. You can make all sorts of substitutions with whatever fillings you like. You can also pour the mixture […]
I discovered rocket late in life – a few years ago when I was having lunch with a friend I noticed she was eating this green stuff that I had always thought was ‘garnish’. She told me it was Arugula. As you might have guessed she’s American. I’ve also heard it called Ruccola in some […]
We have a family tradition which we observe most weekends. Pizza Saturday. It’s rather silly really but we like but it’s a good excuse to leave a little dining formality behind and enjoy a TV dinner with The X factor, Britain’s Got Talent or most recently The Voice. My girls are rather obsessed with Jesse Jay. […]
I love eating fresh carrots but I read that more of the lovely beta carotene is released during cooking. I had a few old ones lying around that I decided to use up for a quiche style supper. To make them (About 6) For the pastry 200g plain flour 100g cold unsalted butter Pinch salt […]
I was sent some Black Garlic to try recently. It was during a savoury biscuit phase I was going through while freelancing at home. I was determined to create great tasting savoury biscuits for my girls to enjoy with a glass of milk. I came up with these. Enjoy! You’ll need 50g butter 100g oats […]
This recipe is from the book “Nature” by Alain Ducasse. I have adapted the dip to include some lovely Black Garlic as I was sent some to try. You can buy this now at most supermarkets or order online in the US via Black Garlic or in the UK via South West Garlic – an […]
I love courgettes at any time of year and this quick dish combines them with lemons and herbs to make a great canapé filling. If you don’t fancy making puff pastry, use shortcrust pastry or even toasted ciabatta pieces. The courgette filling can be made a few days in advance and kept in the fridge. Don’t freeze […]