Category: Easy Dinners
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10-Minute Peanut Noodles
France may be one of the world’s capitals of cuisine, but not a lot of French food gets churned out of my kitchen. Don’t get me wrong, there are the dauphinois when the weather is colder, then clafoutis – both cherry and peach – when it eventually gets warmer again. Toulouse is famous for its…
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French recipe: Ratatouille Without Aubergine
I hate to admit it, but the Paris portrayed in movies is magical. It’s called the City of Light for a reason, and I don’t know who could leave unaffected by the Eiffel Tower lighting up like a glittering beacon over the city. Well, Gaylord, to be honest. He is Parisian. I don’t think those…
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Fig and Caramelised Onion Flatbreads
And at last, figs are here. The bounty of the season! Let’s frolic under heaving fig trees or shove armfuls of them into our bags-for-life at the market. Make snow angles in the teetering piles of them building up all around us. Or not. You may be thinking that a fig and caramelised onion flatbread…
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Halloumi and Blistered Tomato Panzanella
This week, I’ve been back in the UK. There was my friend’s joyously happy wedding day and I was very grateful I’d found an unopened waterproof eyeliner in my make up bag because woah turned out I needed it – the sniffles from me and my friends during the speeches could have been harmonised. Then,…
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Crab Linguine with Tomato and White Wine
Toulouse is an unusual beast. It proudly displays its terracotta buildings as a badge of honour that declares it belongs in the Mediterranean. I mean, you won’t spot any buildings that glow in the sun in wet and windy Wales for instance. So, you come to Toulouse, bedazzled and seduced. And yet now, this city…
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Coronation Chicken with Roasted Grapes
What I particularly love about coronation chicken is the fact that it’s not much to look at, yet it was conjured into existence purely because it was inspired by royalty. Surely royals eat fruits carved into swans, mousses, and vegetables suspended in aspic? But here you have what is essentially a quick, cold chicken curry.…
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Beer-Battered Fish Finger Sandwiches with Dill Salsa
I don’t have what you would call a busy social life. I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve gone on a night out around the bars of Toulouse. One of these nights was this Friday (I’ve lived here for nearly two years fyi), and even then, I left around 10:30 because…
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French Recipe: Goat’s Cheese and Onion Tart
It may just be residual stress from cookery school, but making a tart – sweet or savoury – is up there in the top five reasons to bring me out in a cold sweat. Various forms of confrontation are another. As is speaking French. But back to tarts; over the last 6 and a half…
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Slow Cooked Lamb Shoulder with Ras El Hanout
I was thinking about this the other day – does everyone have a signature dish? Is there a food you are known for? If you went to a pot luck or, if you’re a generous guest and you don’t like to turn up somewhere empty handed, what would be your dish of choice? For me,…
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French recipe: Dauphinoise Potatoes with Thyme and Nutmeg
This weekend, I made two dishes of dauphinoise potatoes in two days. A tale of two gratins. We mustn’t compare or pick a favourite – just like a careful parent soothing offspring who are indignant to know the truth of the phrase ‘we love you equally.’ This makes no sense to the children who always…