Recipe List
COCONUT HOT CHOCOLATE
This is a great way to use up the end of a tin of coconut milk you’ve opened to make soup or a curry, with the added bonus that this rich and creamy hot chocolate is perfect for people who are lactose intolerant. Any type of coconut milk will do, though you might want to add a little less water if you’re using the stuff that comes in a carton. Also, you might want to add a little more or a little less sugar depending on how sweet you like it. Serve with mini marshmallows, if liked.
MAKES: 1 mug
PREP TIME: 5 minutes
COOKING TIME: 5 minutes
STORECUPBOARD
1½ tablespoons cocoa powder
1½ teaspoons golden caster sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
FRESH
100ml coconut milk
mini marshmallows, to serve
1. Combine all of the ingredients with 150ml water in a small saucepan and whisk over a medium-high heat until the hot chocolate is smooth and piping hot.
EARL GREY ICED TEA
I honestly do not understand why in England, this great tea-drinking country, we don’t have a tradition of serving up pitchers of iced tea during the summer months. So I’ve created an ‘English’ version of the all-American classic, using delicately floral Earl Grey tea bags.
It turns out that Earl Grey also makes a rather delicious hot, sweet tea, too. Just stir 50g of golden caster sugar into the boiling water before brewing the tea.
MAKES: 4 glasses
PREP TIME: 5 minutes, plus 5–6 hours chilling
COOKING TIME: 4 minutes
FRESH
5 Earl Grey tea bags
a small handful of ice cubes
a thick slice of lemon, to serve
1. Pour 1 litre boiling water over the tea bags in a large jug and allow to brew for 4 minutes. Allow to cool, then chill in the fridge for around 6 hours, and serve over ice with a thick slice of lemon.
THYME LEMONADE
I prefer to cook with fresh herbs, but that sometimes means a lot of leftovers in the bottom of my fridge. I find leftover woody herbs make simply delicious infused lemonades, which double as great alternatives to fizzy drinks. To make rosemary lemonade, replace the 6 sprigs of fresh thyme with 3 sprigs of fresh rosemary. If you happen to have lavender bushes growing near you, use 6 fresh lavender heads instead. Obviously, you can also use this recipe to make classic lemonade, leaving out the herbs altogether.
While I usually use golden caster sugar for everything, white caster sugar here provides a much cleaner and more classic taste. However, golden caster sugar will work perfectly well, adding a pleasant hint of caramel to your lemonade.
MAKES: 4 big glasses
PREP TIME: 10 minutes, plus 3–4 hours cooling
FRESH
75g white caster sugar
6 large sprigs of fresh thyme
4 large lemons
1. Combine 250ml boiling water with the sugar in a medium or large saucepan. Over a medium heat, stir until all of the sugar has dissolved. Remove the pan from the heat to cool.
2. Add the thyme sprigs to 750ml boiling water and leave to steep while you squeeze the lemons.
3. Add the lemon juice to the syrup. Remove the thyme sprigs from the steeping water, and add the lemonade mixture.
4. Leave to cool completely before refrigerating in a clean sealed jar or bottle for up to 2 days.
CLASSIC MARGARITA
Margaritas are the perfect accompaniment to any type of Mexican food, or indeed anything at all. It is totally up to you if you serve these neat or over ice. You can use any type of tequila to make margaritas, but I prefer to use white tequila as I find it has a fresher, cleaner taste.
To make a pair of beer margaritas, double this recipe and mix the shaken cocktail with a 330ml bottle of light Mexican beer.
MAKES: 1 glass
PREP TIME: 5 minutes
STORECUPBOARD
fine sea salt
FRESH
juice of 1 lime (30ml), plus lime slices to garnish
30ml tequila
20ml triple sec
a small handful of ice cubes
1. Combine the lime juice, tequila and triple sec with a handful of ice cubes in a cocktail shaker or a jam jar with a lid. Shake well, and drain into a glass rimmed with sea salt. You can do this by first dipping the rim of the glass in water, then a dish of sea salt. Garnish with lime slices.
BROWN SUGAR MOJITO
Two of my closest friends are known for their love of mojitos: Kathryn for making them, and Sherin for drinking them! So, I simply had to come up with an easy mojito recipe that anyone (even Sherin, who is a disaster in the kitchen) can put together.
To make an easy raspberry mojito, press 100g (or a very large handful) of fresh raspberries through a sieve to make a seedless raspberry purée. Muddle this in with the sugar and mint leaves.
MAKES: 1 glass
PREP TIME: 5 minutes
FRESH
1½ limes
leaves of 2–3 fresh mint sprigs, plus an extra sprig to garnish
2 teaspoons soft light brown sugar
60ml white rum
a handful of ice cubes
90ml soda water
1. Cut the limes into small wedges. In the bottom of a large glass, muddle together the limes, mint leaves and sugar with the end of a rolling pin or a large spoon. You’re aiming for the mint leaves to be slightly bruised (but not overly so), and for the juice to have started to come out of the lime wedges. Pour over the rum.
2. Add the ice cubes, and pour everything into another glass. Fill the glass to the top with soda water. Garnish with another mint sprig and a straw.
CLASSIC SANGRIA
Otherwise known as a Spanish summer’s day. Really, you can add whatever fruit you want, and if you don’t have any brandy but you do have dark rum, you can use that instead, with good results.
While the sangria will improve during chilling as the flavours from the fruit infuse into the wine, you can make up a jug at short notice by keeping a bottle of red wine and the lemonade in the fridge ready to mix.
SERVES: 4
PREP TIME: 10 minutes, plus 4 hours chilling
STORECUPBOARD
1 teaspoon golden caster sugar (optional)
FRESH
1 small apple, cored and cubed
a handful of strawberries, hulled
¼ orange, sliced
1 bottle of red wine
60ml brandy
60ml triple sec
100ml sparkling lemonade
1. Add all of the fruit to the bottom of a large jug.
2. Add the wine, brandy, triple sec and lemonade. Stir everything well, and taste. Depending on the brand of lemonade you’ve used and the type of wine, it might be sweet enough already. If you think it needs a bit of sugar, stir in the teaspoon of golden caster sugar until it has all dissolved.
3. Chill for at least 4 hours, and then serve in highball glasses or the largest wine glasses you have.
MULLED WINE
You know winter is coming when food markets start to sell fragrant, steaming mugs of mulled wine, perfectly disguised for sneaking back to the library with you.
You want to use a carton of fresh orange juice from the refrigerator section here, rather than the juice of fresh oranges or the stuff you buy to keep in the kitchen cupboard.
SERVES: 4
PREP TIME: 5 minutes
COOKING TIME: 20 minutes
STORECUPBOARD
4 tablespoons golden caster sugar
FRESH
1 clementine
cloves
1 bottle of red wine
200ml orange juice
1 star anise
½ cinnamon stick
1 tablespoon brandy
1. Using a skewer or another sharp object, prick the clementine all the way around horizontally, then vertically, as if you were creating a cross all the way around the fruit. Push cloves into the holes.
2. Combine the wine, orange juice, 100ml water and the sugar in a lidded saucepan. Add the clove-studded clementine, the star anise and the cinnamon stick. Set over a low heat, and stir until the sugar has dissolved.
3. Reduce the heat to the lowest it will go, and put the lid on the saucepan. Leave to simmer for 15 minutes. Add the brandy, and strain the mulled wine through a sieve to remove any broken pieces of cinnamon before serving.
