The Botanical Kitchen
Recipes, travel and the occasional rant
I love mangoes. Especially Indian ones. They so so sweet and perfect in puddings. To be honest I could eat them on their own but I couldn’t resist making this super quick tart with some that my lovely friend Kavey from KaveyEats gave me. You’ll need 1 pack of puff pastry 200g Greek style yoghurt […]
We’ve had our blueberry plants for a few years now. They were some of the first we ever grew from seeds. Such a labour of love growing the seedlings on the windowsill, transplanting them into bigger and bigger pots and then finally seeing the fruit. They didn’t yield much fruit at all for a couple of […]
I love frangipane based tarts but sometimes I don’t have the time or energy to make pastry so I just pop the frangipane mixture into some loose bottomed tart tins with whatever fruit or nuts I have lying around. If you’re making them for breakfast, sprinkle some oats on top The timing will vary depending […]
This is such a classic dessert and very simple to make. The pastry cases keep in an airtight container for a couple of weeks so you can make them through the strawberry season. Of course you can also top with whichever fruit you like. You’ll need For the pastry 200g plain flour 100g cold unsalted […]
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 […]
This recipe looks complicated but it honestly isn’t. You can even buy the pastry cases if you really want to. I found this fabulous supplier on Amazon who does all sorts of shapes. Personally I make pastry in batches and freeze it so there is always some handy. You can do this pre-baking which is […]
If you’re a fan of easy desserts like me then you’ll love this tart adapted from Alain Ducasse’s book called Nature. Life is too short to make puff pastry on a regular basis so this recipe uses a good ready made one. You’ll need 1 pack of ready made puff pastry 600g rhubarb stalks 200g […]
I always have a pack of puff pastry in the fridge or freezer and these are brilliant and super quick for breakfast if you’ve got some lovely rhubarb compote sitting in the fridge – or any other compote for that matter! Equally great for individual puddings with custard. This recipe makes four turnovers. You’ll need […]
I know that Bakewell Tarts traditionally have a jam filling but I think they work really well with compotes and curds too. This tart is a great one to make at Christmas time as cranberries are so readily available in the supermarkets. I’ve used a simple compote for the one below but you can also […]
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 […]
If you’ve had a good look round this blog, you’ll notice lots of little food. I’m a big fan. This is such a brilliant recipe. You can have it in the pastry cases as I’ve described below or simply as a little salad inside a leaf of gem lettuce or on top of some parchment […]