Looking for some beautifully simple recipe inspiration for entertaining this Christmas and New Year? Then look no further. Mary Berry’s has created a range of delicious new condiments that promise to tickle taste buds throughout the festive season – and beyond.



First up, Mary Berry’s Redcurrant & Mint Jelly is the perfect accompaniment to seasonal lamb or venison, but so much more besides, including as a key ingredient in the following seasonally appropriate dishes:

Duck with redcurrant & mint sauce – pan fry duck breasts to brown and transfer to a small roasting tin. Mix redcurrant & mint jelly with a little water and pour over the duck, roast for 10-15 minutes and allow to rest before slicing and serving with pan fried pak choi, pouring over the baking juices to serve.

Gammon, kale & redcurrant stir fry – fry sliced red onion with sliced smoked gammon steak until golden. Add blanched shredded kale, a can of butter beans and some redcurrant & mint jelly and cook for a few minutes. Great served with mash or rice.

Meanwhile, Mary Berry’s Horseradish Sauce is toastingly hot and the perfect partner for a succulent Christmas roast beef. Or simply add a dollop of horseradish sauce to thinly sliced tomatoes, chopped basil, sea salt and mix for a tasty seasonal appetiser. Alternatively, follow these simple recipes, which are sure to warm the cockles of any guest:

Hot smoked salmon pate with melba toast – in a food processor, blend kiln roasted salmon, some natural yogurt and horseradish sauce together to create a coarse paste. Serve with hot melba toast.

Smoked mackerel, potato & cannellini bean salad – mix chunks of smoked mackerel, cooked and sliced new potatoes and cannellini beans into some lamb’s lettuce and toss with a dressing made from mayonnaise, white wine vinegar and horseradish sauce.

Horseradish roast potatoes – parboil chunks of King Edward potatoes and toss in oil or melted goose fat, some horseradish sauce and seasoning and roast in a hot oven until golden. Great for Sunday roasts – or even Christmas dinner.

Last but not least, Mary Berry’s Hollandaise Sauce is made with free range eggs and is sure to get seasonal parties off to a devilishly good start if mixed with a little crème fraîche to make the base for Devilled Eggs. Finish by stirring in a few tablespoons of Mary Berry’s Apricot & Peach Chutney and a tablespoon of paprika, before seasoning well and generously spooning into halved boiled eggs.

Alternatively, this beautifully smooth and velvety hollandaise sauce is the perfect base for a host of delicious festive holiday breakfasts, including

Smoked salmon & hollandaise bagels – spread halved and toasted bagels with a little hollandaise sauce. Top with cucumber slices, smoked salmon and a spoonful of extra hollandaise sauce.

Or why not try stirring a tablespoon of Mary Berry’s Hollandaise sauce and a teaspoon of Dijon mustard through scrambled eggs just before serving?

All three new Mary Berry’s condiments are available in Tesco now (RSP: £1.50 per jar).

For more information about the Mary Berry’s range of sauces, dressings and chutneys, visit Mary Berry's Foods.

 Next week, October 9th til the 15th is National Curry Week here in the UK!  I was challenged by Tasty Easy Lamb to come up with an Indian Tapas kind of a dish, something quick and easy but also delicious!  You know how much I love a challenge.  As soon as I was asked, the wheels in my food-loving brain started turning. This is what I came up with!


Lamb is such a diverse meat and its really fun to take it beyond the traditional "roasted and served with mint box" that we tend to pigeon-hole it in.  It wasn't really something that I had eaten much of prior to moving over here to the UK, but something which I have fallen totally in love with over the past seventeen odd years.


Curry was also something which I had a limited experience with. I had spent a number of years on an armed forces base in Western Canada, which happened to be the British Army Training Unit in Canada.  I was introduced to Curry there by some friends we made which happened to be British and fell in love.


Meet Curried Lamb Tacos!  I know that Tacos are traditionally a Mexican thing, but bear with me here . . . this is truly fusion cuisine! Indian flavours, with British Lamb . . .  put together with a tex mex twist!


Quick, easy and delicious!  I used leg of lamb steaks, well trimmed and thinly sliced and then chopped.  The meat is lean and fabulous.  This gets marinated for about 15 minutes in a fusion of Indian curry spices with  splash of hot green pepper sauce (which I have just discovered and love, LOVE) . . .  I chose to use a Madras Curry Powder because I wanted some heat . . . but if you are not fond of heat you can use a milder one.




a good mango chutney


I semi freeze my lamb steaks prior to cutting.  Trim off any fat or sinew and cut them into very thin strips crosswise and then, cut the strips into small bits.  Put the meat into a bowl.  Add the garlic, ginger, coriander flakes, curry powder, chili powder, salt, black pepper and green pepper sauce.  Let sit for about 15 minutes.


Heat the oil in a large skillet.  Add the onion and cook until softened.  Add the seasoned lamb.  Cook and stir over medium heat until browned.  Pour in the beer.  Bring to the boil, then cover tightly and simmer on low for about 15 minutes, or until the lamb is tender and most of the liquid has evaporated.


Heat your flatbreads or tortilla boats according to the package directions. 


Place the heated breads/boats onto a serving platter.  Place some shredded lettuce in each and top with the cooked lamb mixture.  Garnish with a dollop of raita and some mango chutney and serve immediately.


I also tested some of these in those soft flour tortilla boats that you can buy in the shops now and they were equally as delicious!


 Lamb!  Its a fun, easy and delicious meat!  Something which you can enjoy any day of the week, or even when you are having a fun evening with friends!  Adaptable and great to work with.  Let your imagination take you away!



Happy Curry Week and भोजन का आनंद लें  बोन अप्पेतित! Namaste! 

In the summer months when we want something that little bit heartier for our dinner, the slow cooker becomes my best friend.  If I don't want to be heating up the kitchen, the slow cooker is the way to go!  I have three slow cookers.  One in a large size for making dishes large enough to feed over 4 people, and two smaller ones which are perfectly sized for two people, a round one and an oval one, because a small round one doesn't always cut the mustard when it comes to slow cooking.  A small oval one is perfect for small roasts, hams, etc.


Slow cooking lends itself perfectly to creating delicious dishes like this Lamb Tagine I am showing you here today.  A Tagine is traditionally a Moroccan dish. I love the flavours of Moroccan food. 


Moroccan cuisine is a delicious mix of Arabic, Andalusian, Mediterranean and Berber cuisine with a dash of European and Subsaharian influence thrown in for good measure.  Think what we traditionally see as warm baking spices . . .  cinnamon, ginger, mace, nutmeg and cloves  . . .  with some heat through in from cayenne and black pepper  . . .  and lemon.  They love to use preserved lemons . . . leafy things like coriander . . .  rose petals.  And this is by no means a complete list, but merely a hint of the deliciousness involved.



They also love using tomatoes, dried apricots, dates, prunes  . . . I love savoury dishes with dried fruit involved, and this one is just wonderful using both  apricots and prunes  . . . and zest of oranges . . .



The sauce is fragrant and delicious . . .  sweet and savoury at the same time, with a tiny bit of heat, but not overpoweringly so . . .



The sauce/gravy is thickened with ground almonds or what you might know in American as almond meal, which lends a slight nuttiness into the mix . . .  and then there is the sweetness of that oh so tender lamb  . . .



I can only think now that they were not very good lamb chops  . . .  because I have never had lamb over here that smelled like burning wool, or tasted like it for that matter.  I truly love the taste . . . young tender lamb has a delicate almost sweet taste.  Older lamb can taste a bit gamey, but its not bad either.

Heat the oil in a  skillet.  Add the lamb and cook over medium high heat until golden all over.  Scoop out and put into a small slow cooker. Add the onion and garlic to the pan, and cook gently to soften.  Add to the slow cooker and stir into the lamb. Add the stock, zest and orange juice, honey, apricots, ground spices, mint and ground almonds.  Stir well to combine.  Cover and cook on low for 4 to 5 hours.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Garnish with the flaked almonds to serve.

I hope you will take advantage of your slow cooker this summer and make this delicious Moroccan stew!  I think you will love it!  Bon Appetit, or as they say in Morocco, بالصحة و العافية!  Now that's what I would call a tongue twister, lol Serving it with peas and rice is so, so  . . .  well, English.  In Morocco you would probably have it with couscous!

I love all of the baby new potatoes at the markets at the moment.   The Jersey Royals are in the shops now, and I know that not all of you have those available to you, but there are also other tasty new potatoes out there to be had.  They are not so good for mashing ( I had a bad experience with that when I was younger, DUH! Live and learn!) but are great boiled until tender and served with herb butter, or for use in potato salads.



They are also great boiled and then roasted like this. These little babies get all crispy on the outsides . . . and stay moreishly fluffy on the insides.

That final breaking open, cracks the skin so that some of that tasty fluff pours out and crunches up a bit in the final baking . . . with the help of a bit of Olive Oil.



A few flakes of sea salt . . . a good grinding of black pepper . . . and some fresh rosemary leaves . . . and you have tasty little bits fit for a king.

These even make good appetizers especially when you use the really tiny ones and serve them with a creamy dip . . . adjust the times accordingly as smaller ones won't need to bake as long.


We love 'em just as they are.   Great with beef, fish, chicken, pork or lamb. 



*Smashed Roasted New Potatoes*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe


This is a great way to cook baby new potatoes. Crisp on the outsides and soft and fluffy inside.


16 small new potatoes, unpeeled
2 TBS light olive oil
a few sprigs fresh rosemary
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper


Preheat the oven to 230*C/450*F/ gas mark 8. Place a baking tray into the oven to heat.


Toss the potatoes together with 1 TBS of the oil to coat. Spread them out onto the hot baking tray. Roast in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven. Flip the potatoes over and then gently squash them down with the back of a large metal spoon. Strip the leaves from the rosemary sprigs and sprinkle over top along with some sea salt and black pepper. Drizzle with the remainder of the oil.


Return to the oven and bake for a further 10 minutes, until the potatoes are crispy and golden brown.

I really love Jersey Royals.  They are a tad bit sweeter than normal potatoes and have a very unique flavour due to the provenance of them and the way they are grown!  Mmm . . .  I wish everyone could try them.  In any case this recipe will still be tasty with any new potato.  Bon Appetit!

Deviled eggs have to be one of the easiest things in the world to make and one of the most popular dishes on the salad table. Men absolutely love them as well. I am not sure why that is, but, it's true. If you bring a platter of deviled eggs to a pot luck party . . . you will be the most popular person at the party and everyone will be scrambling for your recipe! Tis true, cross my heart.

Some people like to put pickle relish and all sorts of other things into their picked eggs . . . but I like to keep it simple and it works. These eggs quite simply have nothing but mayo, some grainy mustard and a bit of seasoning in them. I cannot tell you the number of times a week I had to make these little babies when I was working as a Chef in the big house down south. There had to be a plate of them in the refrigerator at all times. They just loved them. They're a portable snack too.

Perfect in the picnic basket as well. You can put them together in pairs and wrap them up as a set. You just put the filling sides together and there's no mess at all. Easy peasy, lemon squeasy. I do think these are the best I've ever eaten myself. I like to garnish with a few fine-chopped fresh chives . . . the green looks so pretty against the egg yolk and the flavour is so mild it takes nothing away from the eggs themselves. Look for a few hints below on making hard boiled eggs.


Note:  If you are not serving these right away, cover and chill in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve.  Dust with paprika just prior to serving.


Tips for Creating Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs:

1. Older eggs are a lot easier to peel than newer eggs. I always use eggs that at least one week old, if not older. If you have eggs that are close to their expiration date, so much the better. It's true!

2. Boiled Eggs, should actually NEVER be boiled! Keeping them at a steady simmer is much better. Boiling toughens the yolk. Also, never add salt to the water. I do add a tiny bit of vinegar, which helps them to peel easier.

3. Always bring your eggs to room temperature before boiling. They are less likely to crack if you do this.

4. Don't stack your eggs in the pot. Have them laid out in one layer. If you have too many eggs to do this with, you need a larger pot! You only need about 1 inch of water over the top of the eggs. More than that and it takes too long to boil. Less than that and your eggs won't stay covered.

5. As soon as your water comes to the boil, remove your pot from the heat, pop a lid on and let them set in the boiling water for (17 minutes) large eggs, (20 minutes) jumbo eggs. At the end of that time, drain and then run cold water over them until they are cooled down. Let them sit in cold water for about 10 minutes and then drain. For ease of peeling roll them around and allow the shells to crack while they are still in the water. Let sit for a few minutes.

For ease in peeling these things help alot . . . using older eggs, beginning at the large end of the egg, peeling under running cold water. I usually tap the large end on the counter until it cracks, then give the egg a gentle roll all over before peeling them under a slow running tap. You will get perfect results almost 100% of the time.

I also have one of these hard plastic egg timer thingies. They work a charm and you end up with perfectly cooked Soft, Medium or Hard boiled eggs every time.

And now for a giggle.  Here's a few things I baked over the past few days for Easter that never made the cut for the blog for aesthetic reasons.  In other words, they didn't photograph well.

To make the Sauce, combine all of the ingredients in a saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally until the butter melts. DO NOT ALLOW TO BOIL. Using a long tined fork, pierce the cake 10 or 11 times.  Pour the hot sauce over the warm cake.  Allow to stand and absorb for about ten minutes before tipping out onto a serving plate.  Just before serving, dust with icing sugar.

Cream together all of the frosting ingredients with an electric mixture until thick and smooth.  Spread on top of the cake and decorate as desired.

I don't think I will ever be able to find work as a Cake Decorator, lol. Happy Easter!

So what exactly is Black Garlic?

From Wikepedia:  Black garlic is a type of "caramelized" garlic (in reality, browned by the Maillard reaction rather than truly caramelized) first used as a food ingredient in Asian cuisine. It is made by heating whole bulbs of garlic (Allium sativum) over the course of several weeks, a process that results in black cloves.

The garlic came, already peeled in a plastic pot. It looked a bit like garlic clove shaped black jelly babies. It was soft and slightly sticky.  I tasted a small one just to see what it tasted like.  It was only slightly garlicky, very mellow with an almost fruity balsamic quality. I could not wait to use it.


Place the garlic, vineger, mustard, salt, sugar and pepper into a blender or the cup of an immersion blender.  Blitz until smooth.  With the motor running, drizzle in the olive oil until completely imulsified.  Store in a jar in the refrigerator.








Note - If you cannot get black garlic, you may use plain roasted cloves of garlic.  It will give you a lovely garlic kick without the umami flavour of black garlic.  Still mighty tasty however.  Do try to get the black garlic if you can however, as it is fantastic!



Black garlic is sweet meets savory, a perfect mix of molasses-like richness and tangy garlic undertones. It has a tender, almost jelly-like texture with a melt-in-your-mouth consistency similar to a soft dried fruit. Hard to believe, but true. It’s as delicious as it is unique. This is sure to become a pantry staple.

To find out more about Balsajo Black Garlic, be sure to check out their website. 


Balsajo Black Garlic is available from www.balsajo.com and any good independent farm shops, fine food shops and delicatessens.



Many thanks to the people at Balsajo for affording me this opportunity to try something new!  This has become a new favourite item in my kitchen!  I can't wait to see what I can use it in next. There are plenty of recipes and tips on their site.  That Black Garlic and Parsley Potato Salad is calling my name!

Note - Athough I was sent some black garlic for free to try out, I was not required to write a positive review.  Any and all opinions are my own.