How to make duck rillettes {A very simple duck pâté recipe}

April 17, 2019.Reading time 2 minutes.

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The pâté in France is just <insert drooly face here>. Alex isn’t a fan, so anytime we get a platter in France – often – I get all the duck rillettes and it’s always my fave bit. On some warm crusty bread, already slathered with butter? Maybe with one of those mini pickles or onion […]

Deluxe cottage pie with slow-cooked beef and a dauphinois potato top

April 1, 2019.Reading time 3 minutes.

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Read that title and tell me you didn’t dribble a little bit? Honestly? We’re big on supped-up versions of the classics round here. There’s Alex’s indulgent three cheese, pork and beef lasagne. My ‘most decadent bacon sarnie ever‘. And this roast-risotto mash-up. So, it felt only fair that the humble cottage pie got the Plates […]

Lentil, bean and pea cassoulet with a perfectly fried egg and harissa creme fraiche

March 25, 2019.Reading time 3 minutes.

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Comforting, meaty (yet meatless!) hodge-podgey casseroles are my jam at the moment. For dinner with sausages (have now sampled Linda’s veggie version and can report that they’re pretty good) or like this at breakfast/brunch with a fried egg and some hash browns, ooh and buttered white bread to mop up the sauce… it’s delicious. Basically, […]

Creamy basil pasta with nduja and broccoli

March 20, 2019.Reading time 2 minutes.

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So simple, so satisfying; this is a regular solo-night-in recipe for me. When Alex is away and I just want something quick and easy – and creamy, ’cause his tastebuds err away from that – I either go for carbonara or this. It ticks a lot of boxes. There’s garlic, cream, a little bit of […]

A very easy Tiramisu recipe

March 11, 2019.Reading time 4 minutes.

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My favourite desserts go something like this: Sticky Toffee Pudding (with extra sauce and vanilla ice cream), Tiramisu (in an Italian restaurant) and Hot Fudge Sundae (if you’ll allow me to be incredibly specific, the ‘Rocky Horror’ sundae I used to have on birthdays at the Cooper Dean Harvester in Bournemouth). I’d love to know […]

Carrot gnocchi {Potato-free gnocchi recipe)

March 7, 2019.Reading time 4 minutes.

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Please don’t take this post as an indication that I don’t love potatoes, because me and spuds are most definitely friends. We go way back. Oh, the times we’ve had together, at breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner and in between – who doesn’t love a snacking hash brown? I just had a lot of carrots hanging […]

Nashville-style hothothot fried chicken {just like Howlin’ Ray’s)

March 5, 2019.Reading time 6 minutes.

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Some things you eat and enjoy and then you move on. Some things you eat and enjoy and then want to eat again every day for the rest of your life and daydream about how you could justify a trip over 5000 miles away, plus a two-hour queue in a weird shopping centre just to […]

Cheddar and green chilli pancakes {Savoury ideas for Pancake Day!}

March 5, 2019.Reading time 3 minutes.

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We take Pancake Day seriously in this house. Usually, we set up savoury and sweet stations and keep flipping till we pop, but this year, due to a scheduling issue – we’re off to see Bill Burr for the 300th time tonight – the batter was mixed a day early and we stuck with just […]

{Brunch ideas} Sweetcorn and leek fritters with bacon, avocado and harissa yoghurt

February 27, 2019.Reading time 4 minutes.

At home or in a restaurant, with vats of strong coffee or bottomless mimosas, I’m a big fan of brunch. I like the anything-goes attitude: familiar brekkie-regulars like eggs or faff-free muesli are fine, but so too are burgers and fried chicken, laboured over and dressed up with creamy sauces, spicy coats and truffle shavings. […]

Slow-cooked chipotle beef quesedillas with blue cheese and avocado cream

February 25, 2019.Reading time 5 minutes.

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I promise that’s the last of the Stilton! I will take a break from blue cheese recipes now! Well, for a day or two, at least… Alex sorts the Ocado in our house and I always say it’s like his love letter to me. As well as the usual suspects, he always adds on something […]

3-ingredient Rice Krispie squares {UK recipe: Rice Krispie Treats}

February 22, 2019.Reading time 2 minutes.

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Happy Friday, kids! Here’s a quick pick-me-up in preparation for the weekend. It’s the Rice Krispie squares of your childhood, rustled up in mere moments and using just three ingredients which you might already have in your arsenal – and if not, the corner shop is sure to have it all, no need to even […]

Blue cheese, mushroom and bacon risotto, topped with truffle and garlic breadcrumbs

February 20, 2019.Reading time 4 minutes.

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Earlier this week, in the middle of a working day, I decided I needed to eat arancini. But that requires risotto – which hereon out I’m promising to always have a batch of in the freezer; I will be the woman with a backup risotto, on hand for any eventuality – so I had to […]

How to make oven-baked blue cheese, mushroom and bacon arancini {What to do with leftover risotto)

February 20, 2019.Reading time 4 minutes.

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If this is the first page of Plates and Places you’ve landed on, firstly hello! and secondly, go here first. This is the follow-up recipe to a previous post: Blue Cheese, Mushroom and Bacon Risotto, which is very delicious on its own but also the base of my arancini recipe. To make arancini you will […]

Paneer itame (like Wagamama’s, but better and vegetarian)

February 18, 2019.Reading time 4 minutes.

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My most popular post on here is Chicken Itame (despite the god-awful photo that accompanies it), but in recent months I’ve been on a bit of an eat-less-meat kick, so haven’t felt particularly excited about making it. This weekend, I had a craving and swapped out the chicken for cheese – Indian-style Paneer cheese, to […]

Giant pork and apple sausage roll {A quick and tasty idea for your leftover Christmas stuffing}

January 4, 2019.Reading time 2 minutes.

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Christmas has come and gone and all that’s left in my house is a Tupperware of cauliflower cheese, three stray Bounty Celebrations and a bag of stuffing from the butcher. The cauli cheese’s destiny is already sealed (you are going to want to click here), the chocs will sit on the side for another few […]

Wagon Wheel recipe {inc. how to make your own marshmallow fluff}

September 6, 2018.Reading time 13 minutes.

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Happy Great British Bake Off season! I love when GBBO hits our screens for many reasons. It marks the beginning of the end of summer and by this point, I fancy me some bed socks and darker evenings where you can’t do anything but stay in, in front of the TV. That was just reason […]

REVIEW: Parsis Cafe, Leamington Spa

August 16, 2018.Reading time 6 minutes.

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It can be tricky to write a review for a restaurant where during your dinner you were so shitfaced you avoided going to the toilet for fear of falling down the stairs and being rushed to A&E in a town you don’t know very well. But here we are. Okay, it wasn’t *that* bad, but […]

Ice cream sandwiches

August 7, 2018.Reading time 7 minutes.

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These aren’t just any ice cream sandwiches, oh no. They’re Rolo and Ferrero Rocher ice cream sandwiches, held together by one brown sugar and milk chocolate chip cookie and one double chocolate with white chocolate chip cookie. The ice cream is no-churn so there’s no need for an ice cream maker or eggs and the […]

Rare rump steak with pesto and asparagus gnocchi

August 1, 2018.Reading time 4 minutes.

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This dish is perfect for a Friday night in or if you’ve got someone coming over for dinner and want to impress without having to spend hours in the kitchen. Rare rump steak with pesto, asparagus and tomato gnocchi – served with a really punchy red, perhaps – might sound fancy, but it’s super easy […]

An indulgent and egg-free chocolate mousse recipe

July 31, 2018.Reading time 3 minutes.

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Google ‘chocolate mousse recipes’ and most of the results involve eggs and a lot of faff. This chocolate mousse recipe is different. It has just three ingredients (none of which are eggs), takes less than 10 minutes to make and a couple of hours to set and is friggin’ delicious. Light but not too airy […]

Salted caramel and banana loaf

July 29, 2018.Reading time 2 minutes.

I had a bunch of past-their-best bananas and half a jar of salted caramel that needed using up. Put ’em together and what do you get? A pretty damn indulgent take on what’s meant to be a marginally good-for-you take on baked goods. Mission accomplished. This is the way to pimp your banana bread and […]

Roast rump of lamb with Epoisses-cheese risotto and gravy

July 26, 2018.Reading time 6 minutes.

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It’s been a while since I’ve written up a recipe. This is in part due to the heat – I’m eating exclusively oven-less meals and cannot bear to be at my whirring warmth-machine of a laptop when I don’t have to – and partly because I have felt quite uninspired. But I’m back! Today, I […]

Chilli jam

July 25, 2018.Reading time 4 minutes.

I’ve been boring my boyfriend to death for weeks, telling him I want to make my own chilli jam. In my head, I’d already dreamed up my small business venture, selling preserves and sauces, all made by me, at London farmer’s markets and making a fortune. The fact that I’d never made jam, or anything […]

5 things to do in Bologna (and one thing you should definitely avoid)

July 20, 2018.Reading time 18 minutes.

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It’s getting a bit old but that doesn’t make it any less true: Bologna is the foodie capital of Italy. And as well as ample eating experiences, there are also ample drinking experiences. Okay, okay, and great shopping, cobbled streets brimming with ancient architecture, lots of greenery (if you know where to look) and beautiful […]

Lemon and blueberry muffins with crunchy sugar tops

June 8, 2018.Reading time 2 minutes.

Fluffy. Crunchy. Sweet and tart. This mighty muffin recipe has it all! And it is hands-down one of the easiest ones I’ve done. If you’ve got last-minute guests or feel a sugar craving creeping in, these are your guys. Makes 6 large muffins You’ll need: 75g butter, melted 100g caster sugar 1 shot glass lemon […]