The Botanical Kitchen
Recipes, travel and the occasional rant
There is a beast on my allotment. Something that’s nibbling at the few plants we have in the ground. This is what it’s done to our wonderful kale which is all but gone. With sowing season now fully underway, I decided to pull out the final scraps and rework the bed for something new. Rainbow chard […]
I really can’t get enough beetroot at the moment. We’ve harvested so much over the summer and I still have about 30 growing away nicely on the allotment. I’ve roasted it, eaten it raw, mashed it, boiled it and pickled it. We’ve even put it in chocolate truffles which were very lovely I might add. […]
This coconut masala is adapted from the lovely book Mr Todiwala’s Bombay. Please also take a look at the okra. The tomatoes soak up the coconut really well and I’ve added a little extra of the coriander seeds and cumin seeds, garlic and a tarka with curry leaves to give this dish more flavour. A tarka is […]
I am a huge fan of okra. This wasn’t always the case because they can become a huge sticky mess and taste awful! The trick is to make sure they are washed and dried carefully with a teatowel so there is no trace of water when you cut them. The water meets the inside and […]
I made this quiche for Episode 2 of The Great British Bake Off. I hadn’t really made much quiche til I started recipe testing for the show because I’ve never been a huge fan. I am now a convert. Quiche is such an easy meal. Served cold or warm it’s filling and nutritious and there […]
I never made pastry until last year. It all seemed a bit of a faff with all the waiting around – while it’s resting in the fridge…while it’s blind baking…while it’s cooling…blah blah. I’ve learned now that it’s best to make when I go running. I’ll whizz the pastry up in the processor and then […]