Love spicy food but can’t deal with all those different spices?

Spices have been the spice of John Gregory-Smith’s life since he was a teenager, and inspired by his extensive travels in Asia, India, Morocco, Turkey, Lebanon and Mexico (and more!) this book works on the premise of a maximum of 5 spices per recipe.

There’s Kandy Black Pepper and Soy Aubergine Salad (garlic + black pepper + red pepper =3), Grilled Coriander and Mint Chicken (green chilli + garam masala = 2), an easy Prawns with Ginger and Chilli (4) and a luscious looking Mango, Orange and Nutmeg Cheesecake (just 1 – the nutmeg!).  And loads more global recipes where the spices are the wok stars (as Wossy would say).

There are some sweet treats, too, like Mexican Cinnamon Peaches and cocktails (Lemongrass & Ginger Rum Cocktail, Chilli Passion Fruit Martini and when winter sets in we’ll be whipping up a Mayan Hot Chocolate.) Here’s the recipe for Cambodian Caramelized Ginger Bananas with Vanilla Ice Cream (note: we’ve adapted it by using a good store-bought vanilla ice cream but John includes a recipe for a creamy home-made version).

CAMBODIAN CARAMELIZED GINGER BANANAS with VANILLA ICE CREAM (Serves 4…or just 2 if you can’t resist!)

You’ll need: 150g or 5 3/4 oz (or a scant 3/4 cup) of caster sugar, 4 bananas, peeled and halved lengthways, and a 2.5cm/ 1 inch piece of root ginger, peeled and finely sliced…and some good vanilla ice cream.

1) Put sugar and 6 tablespoons water into a shallow saucepan over a medium heat.  Melt the sugar, shaking the pan occasionally until it is bubbling and syrupy and turns a caramel colour.

2) Add bananas, shake the pan, cook for a minute.  Remove from heat, scatter over the finely sliced ginger and carefully spoon the sauce over the bananas in the pan.  Leave for 2-3 minutes, so sauce gets really sticky and flavours develop.

3) Divide bananas onto 4 serving plates and serve immediately with a few scoops of vanilla ice cream and any remaining caramelized sauce poured over (if sauce starts to harden, just warm over a low heat for 2 mins till it goes gooey again).

Published by Duncan Baird, available from Amazon

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We spotted these cheeky little lemon “meringuettes” (is that a word?) by British Larder and just had to have the recipe!  So we asked Madalene Bonvini-Hamel from British Larder in Suffolk www.britishlarder.co.uk if she’d share it with us.  Don’t you love those little peaks?

British Larder Lemon Meringue Pies

Sweet Shortcrust Pastry

• 230g plain all purpose flour
• 140g unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 60g caster sugar
• 1 free range egg
• pinch of salt

Weigh the softened butter, salt and sugar into the bowl of a mixer, use the flat paddle attachment and cream the sugar and butter until fluffy and pale in colour. Crack the egg into a small bowl and lightly whisk. Slowly add the egg a bit at a time to the butter mixture, mix well.Remove the mixing bowl and sieve the flour over the creamed butter, return to the mixer, use with the paddle and slowly mix the flour into the butter; do not over mix. Once the pastry comes together, stop.Turn the pastry out on to a lightly floured work surface, do not knead the pastry, just push it together into flat square.Cover with clingfilm and let the pastry rest for 30 minutes before using.

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

Cut the pastry in half, place one half in the freezer and roll the second half between two sheets of parchment paper. Line 10cm individual tartlet moulds with the pastry and baking beans and blind bake them for 14 minutes. Let the golden brown blind baked tartlet cases cool on a cooling rack.

Lemon Pie Filling

• 2 tins of condensed milk
• 4 free range egg yolks
• 120ml freshly squeezed lemon juice

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C. Mix the condensed milk with the egg yolks, lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Pour the mix in the prepared blind baked tart cases and bake for 8 minutes until just set.

Meringue

• 4 free range egg whites
• 125g caster sugar

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

In a electric mixer whisk the whites until it starts to foam, slowly add the sugar and whip the meringue till soft peaks form. Use a disposable piping bag to pipe the meringue peaks onto the pre-baked lemon mixture. Return the tarts to the oven until the meringue turns golden brown.

Makes about 6 -8

It’s about time we had a cocktail on The Food Shortlist so here’s a stylish Gingertini courtesy of Russian Standard Vodka, for London Fashion Week. Elegant, low on calories and with a nice kick to it, it’s the perfect liquid accessory (one is not enough).

Gingertini  

How to make a Gingertini

50 ml / 1.9 fl oz Russian Standard

15 ml / 0.5 fl oz Dry Vermouth (just 32 calories per oz)

Lemon Twist

Slice of fresh ginger

Combine ingredients, including ginger, with crushed ice in a mixing glass. Stir well, strain and serve in a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with ginger.

(What’s “cheers” in Russian?)

Read up on the Art & Science of Vodka, here:

www.russianstandardvodka.com/#/en/the-art-and-science-of-vodka/history-of-vodka/

There’s something so easy and breezy about Bill Granger, our favourite Aussie chef.  First, we thought it might be his beach side home location that was responsible for his TV series’ sunshiny Saturday feel…

…but Bill brought his own sunshine to Blighty for Bill’s Tasty Weekends – remember when the sun shone on Camber Sands in Sussex as he rustled up those French Toasts Stuffed with Nectarines?

This ultimate collection is a lovely book for the change of seasons.  You’ll find breakfast, brunch, lunch, naughty baked sweet things and dinner ideas here, and as you’d expect Asian dishes and modern comfort food sit comfortably side by side.

130 recipes in one (heavy) modern classic, Best of Bill is out now, published by Murdoch Books.

AMAZON

Some sun-dried tomato products are…well…just too “sun dried” for my taste.

But I was on a no-bread week when I discovered Hawkshead Relish’s Sundried Tomato & Garlic Chutney and what happened next was embarrassing.  By lunchtime I was dipping thin slices of ciabatta from the local bakery into this jar of deliciousness and having trouble stopping.

Bursting with a fruity tomato flavour and the odd whole clove of sweet, soft garlic, serve this with drinks and you’ll have a small crowd gathering next to this “dip” – it’s fabulous with bread and cheese and almost impossible not to dip in and out of this jar packed with Tuscan flavours. It might also work over pasta, probably good as a dressing for a cold picnic-style pasta salad made with something substantial like rigatoni?

Hawkshead Relish do a Michaelmas Chutney, with fruits and spices, as well as an excellent Red Onion Marmalade with Balsamic Vinegar, and more chutney and relish varieties… Pear and Date, Plum with Port, Apricot and Cranberry…and that’s just three of them.

Go on, take a dip (but perhaps buy two as you’ll be hooked!)

Sun Dried Tomato & Garlic Chutney - £3.75/180g

www.hawksheadrelish.com/shop/2/index.htm

Hello Nudo!  Have you met The Three Tenors yet? They’re extra virgin olive oils (with a difference).

Extra Virgin First Cold Press, with Chillies and with Lemons are members of the rather large Nudo family (there are seven in total, including Mandarin, Garlic, Basil and Thyme).  The Thyme oil which we tried tastes like virgin olive oil “marinaded” in fresh thyme – subtle and nicely not overpowering.  The Lemon oil is fantastic. Sicilian lemons are driven at breakneck speed back to Nudo’s own press where they’re stone-milled with olives from Abruzzo, to make a Lemon Oil that tastes deeply but not overwhelmingly lemony and without a hint of bitterness.

Grilled Lemon and Thyme Mini Pittas

Mix Nudo’s Lemon Oil with a little sea salt, a sprinkling of finely chopped fresh thyme – and some grated lemon rind and juice if you prefer – and then brush onto mini-pittas and grill (for crispier ones, grill the underside of the pitta bread first (plain) then flip over and brush other side with the olive oil mix and pop under the grill).

Olive Oil Chocolate anyone?

If you’ve never had a dark truffle made with olive oil (no, neither have we) then give your tastebuds a test-drive with Nudo’s mandarin, chilli and lemon oil-flavoured oils – they sound intriguing.

What’s for Sapa?

Nudo also make Sapa, a sort of balsamic vinegar alternative which has a sweet toffee/maple syrup type aroma and smoky taste (also called petimezi in Greece) which is slowly cooked down from grapes for 24 hours then aged in wooden barrels for up to a year.

Adopt An Olive Tree Details

Last but not least why not adopt your own Italian olive tree? It costs £65 (€105) and Nudo will send you:

1. Spring package (all the extra virgin olive oil from your tree)
2. Autumn package (three flavoured extra virgin olive oils)
3. A personalised adoption certificate and booklet about your tree

NUDO OLIO D’OLIVA – The Three Tenors Boxed Gift Set £18/3 x 250g from www.nudo-italia.com 

The British love affair with Indian food is hotter (excuse the inevitable pun) than ever.  When the lovely “Indian Nigella”, Anjum Anand blazed a trail with Indian Food Made Easy she inspired many an Indian dinner party at home. Then there’s celebrity chef Atul Kochhar whose Benares restaurant in London is a modern legend. Now, the young and rather brilliant Aktar Islam is  stamping his signature style on Indian cuisine.

Aktar took his Birmingham restaurant Lasan to victory in Gordon Ramsay’s search for the Best Local Restaurant in The F Word last year, and he’s also the only self-trained chef to blow the UK’s most revered Michelin starred chefs out of the water on BBC2′s Great British Menu.

We’re secretly hoping for a cookbook soon, but in the meantime we’ve already drooled over the  recipes on his website www.aktarislam.co.uk

Aktar is passionate about creating innovative, contemporary Indian food and there’s definitely space in the kitchen for that. And for those who think Indian food is too difficult, Aktar’s recipe for Tandoori Style Chicken Drumsticks couldn’t be easier www.aktarislam.co.uk/recipes/tandoori-style-chicken-drumsticks Let the chicken soak up the marinade the day before, then just sear the drumsticks for 2 mins and pop into the oven for 20 – delicious and done!

A quick peek at the Lasan Restaurant menu  http://www.lasan.co.uk/menu.html

  “I’m driven by the desire to create innovative modern dishes that bring together quality local produce with the intricate flavours of the Indian subcontinent”  – Aktar Islam                                                                

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Cheese  Soufflés can be a breeze – if you follow the recipe to the “T”.  Here’s a classic by Elizabeth David from the BBC Food website which looks more complex than it is, because the recipe* (see link below) is very detailed.

As our French teachers told us, “souffler” means puff, or blow while “souffle de vent” is a breath of fresh air. So, what better on a blustery early autumn day than something light, warm and cheesy?

Here are some easy, breezy soufflés and others that are worth the effort, if you or hopefully your soufflé would like to rise to the occasion.

You could try  James Martin’s Twice-baked Cheese & Leek Soufflé…or Nigel Slater’s  Cheese and Thyme Puddings or how about Galton Blackiston’s Gruyere and Bacon Souffle, all crispy bacon, cream and melting Swiss cheese…

Soufflé away!

* All recipes including Elizabeth David’s classic cheese souffle are HERE

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Um… “Cumbrian” and “Mostarda” on the same label? Intrigued?

Lizzie’s Handmade Cumbrian Mostarda is a rich compote-style concoction of dried apricots, prunes and figs in a luscious mustardy-sweet syrup.  Inspired by Umbria but made in Cumbria, it’s one of those almost Christmassy deli-style treats that’ll turn an end of summer picnic lunch into a mini-Italian feast.  Each spoonful of the mostarda is laden with fruit and great with a cheese board, smoked meats or even fish.

Fruity, fabulous and different, this is part of the Lizzie’s Handmade range – we spotted the Cumbrian Frutta Cotta (fruits in a spiced rum syrup made for both savoury or sweet dishes) which we’ve earmarked to try next.

Packed into the Cumbrian Mostarda you’ll find dried apricots, prunes, figs, wine vinegar, glace cherries, Hawkeshead Relish Honey Mustard and spices.

A Bronze Great Taste Award Winner and a perfect example of why British artisan food producers are blazing a trail these days.

420g jar/£5.99

See the rest of the range here: http://lizzieshandmade.com

Peter Sidwell from Channel 4′s series Lakes On A Plate loves bread in any shape or form and these pages are packed with more loaves than you can think of.  If you’ve never made bread or have flirted with the idea of making your own fresh focaccia once or twice,  Sidwell’s enthusiasm is so reassuring you feel you could rustle up anything here.  Here’s a taster: goat’s cheese and roasted red pepper bread, mustard and tarragon swirl and some BBQ’able herby flatbread (hummus, taramasalata and tzatziki at the ready) for starters.

The book starts with breadmaking basics and tips, but quickly moves from everyday breads such as roasted garlic and rosemary, pitta with poppy seeds, carrots and raisins, and coffee, chocolate and roasted pine nut sweet bread (they all sound too exotic for “everyday”, don’t they?) into sweet temptations like brioche filled with Nutella and roasted hazlenuts, apple strudel toasties and a stunning looking honey and lavender tart.

Sidwell gets the most out of his loaves, so even breadcrumbs play a role (in Moroccan herb stuffed chicken) while left over loaves end up in that simple of simplest Italian salads, Panzanella, oozing with ripe tomatoes, garlic, cubed day old bread and onions soaked in olive oil.

Published by Simon & Schuster, Simply Good Bread is out now £14.99