Orange Cardamom & Walnut Slices
Great minds think alike… Or so the adage goes. Even so when you ask a dozen or so cooks to make a dish inspired by a single word, it...
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sjfbilton
Feb 14, 20193 min read
Egurdouce
When the Normans invaded in the 11th century they discovered a proliferation of vineyards in southern England. Chiefly managed by...
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sjfbilton
Dec 28, 20181 min read
Christmas Pudding Stuffing
Here’s a suggestion for how to use up any left over Christmas pudding you may have. Makes around 600-650g Ingredients 1 tbsp vegetable...
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sjfbilton
Dec 15, 20182 min read
Old Fashioned Treacle Tart with Coconut & Lime
Treacle is a bit of a Marmite confection. Made from the syrup that remains after sugar is refined it has a slightly bitter flavour and...
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sjfbilton
Dec 7, 20183 min read
Zucche Ripiene (Stuffed Squash)
It’s a shame that Leaves from Our Tuscan Kitchen (1899) or its author Janet Ross not more well known. The book’s sub title is ‘Or How to...
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sjfbilton
Oct 14, 20183 min read
Upside Down Quince & Cobnut Cake
The quince is the trickster of the fruit kingdom. The scent and colour of these deeply aromatic golden globes hints at a succulent,...
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sjfbilton
Oct 13, 20181 min read
Pumpkin Cookies with Hazelnuts & Chocolate
Pumpkins and squash are surely the antidote to dull and gloomy autumn days? Their often gnarly exterior encases vivid and sweet tangerine...
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sjfbilton
Aug 16, 20183 min read
Elizabeth David’s Mulberry Summer Pudding
If you take a stroll around any large garden attached to an historic building (like Charle’s Darwins home Down House) you are likely to...
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sjfbilton
Jul 18, 20183 min read
Mrs Marshall’s Cucumber Ice Cream With Pimm’s Macerated Strawberries & Strawberry Tuile
Agnes Bertha Marshall is widely recognised as one of the first pioneers of modern ice cream making. This recipe is from her Book of Ices...
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sjfbilton
Jun 7, 20183 min read
William Verrall’s Sweetbreads With Asparagus (1759)
Offal is a sorely neglected source of protein in this country. One of my all-time favourites dishes is steak and kidney pudding. My...
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sjfbilton
May 17, 20182 min read
Bride Pie
Adapted from The Experienced English Housekeeper by Elizabeth Raffald (1769) The Bride Pie was the forerunner to the wedding cake (you...
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sjfbilton
Apr 5, 20182 min read
Wheat Berry, Hazelnut and Blood Orange Salad
Recently I was given some wheat berries by Trenchmore who are growing heritage grains as well as producing delicious beef and cider. I...
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sjfbilton
Mar 29, 20184 min read
Dr Kitchiner’s ‘Maigre’ Fish Pie
Although in French the word ‘maigre’ means thin or skinny in terms of it’s English usage it was used to describe non meat eating days...
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sjfbilton
Mar 16, 20182 min read
A Dish of Roman Lentils
A few weeks ago we were besieged by snow and freezing temperatures which inevitably drove me to cook something warming and sustaining....
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sjfbilton
Mar 8, 20183 min read
Sticky Fig Cake
There is something about figs even in this day and age that causes people to titter. With their curvaceous exterior and fleshy pink...
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sjfbilton
Jan 26, 20183 min read
Educating Marmalade
Apparently, the British are the only Europeans to differentiate orange marmalade from other fruit jams. On the continent marmalade can be...
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sjfbilton
Dec 15, 20174 min read
The Mince Pie Antidote
The appearance of the first mince pies in our shops seems to get earlier every year. I spied a small display in my local supermarket in...
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sjfbilton
Dec 4, 20172 min read
Spiced Medlar Loaf
I made my annual batch of medlar mincemeat last week. As always I picked far too many medlars and as a consequence ended up with more...
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sjfbilton
Nov 15, 20172 min read
Carrot Pudding with Caramel Sauce and Buttermilk Ice Cream
Despite living in the intense heat the Victorians who had settled in India were still partial to a traditional British pudding after...
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sjfbilton
Nov 13, 20173 min read
Apician Prawns with Chickpea & Saffron Mash and Artolagana
The story behind this dish is as follows. Apicius, the renowned Roman gastronome to whom the most famous book on Roman food is...
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