Nibbles #21
A French-themed menu for two, how to bake the perfect lemon drizzle cake, and the science behind producing the perfect vegan meringue.
Welcome to Nibbles where once a month I share everything brilliant I’ve been reading on the web as well as some general updates from my kitchen, my vegetable garden during the growing season (I need to get out there and finish prepping my raised beds, actually), and other miscellaneous ‘you really need to know about’ updates.
If you’ve somehow arrived here from elsewhere and you’re not yet a subscriber, you can sign up here so not to miss out on monthly ingredient essays (featuring a different ingredient every month), exclusive recipes, sneak peaks into some of my favourite food people’s kitchen cupboards, and the occasional long read!
A little note for my paid subscribers: as I mentioned when I sent you my recipe for Eggs in Purgatory, I’ve not forgotten that I still owe you a tinned tomato recipe, and that will be arriving with you at some stage in March now I’m back up and running with a new oven - I’m so sorry about the delay! Next month you will still receive two more new and exclusive to you recipes (plus a third recipe that is free for everyone!) featuring next month’s new focus ingredient, which I’m off to my usual spot to forage for on Wednesday. I know you now know what it is going to be already…!
How exactly the world get’s it’s crisp (potato chip) flavours.
As with most content that comes out of Vittles you do need to take the clear political bias with a pinch of salt, but this piece on how VAT has shaped and impacted the British restaurant scene is both interesting and informative, and raises some important questions:
Believe it or not I’ve been behind on my reading since before the New Year: GQ brilliantly and definitively ranks the best episodes of British television over the past decade.
Alison introduces the grocery store she’s opened in a way that should strike madly, truly, deeply with anyone who lives and breathes food:
Back before Substack happened and newsletters became fashionable, I was a religious subscriber to Ed Smith’s Rocket & Squash. I’m over the moon that he’s revived it, along with Supplemental, reviewing the recipes that appear in the weekend papers (and now also on Substack) every month:
Also, he teaches us how to perfectly spatchcock a chicken:
Rosie has come up with another stunning menu (with recipes), this time French themed for two.
Sally’s words and photos capture the sheer natural beauty of the place we both call home:
Nicola has achieved something I did not think possible - she’s improved on the classic lemon drizzle cake recipe:
Also from Kitchen Projects, whilst I’m perfectly content to stick to eggs, Brian’s adventures trying to develop the perfect vegan meringue were a fascinating read:
Leah shares the fascinating history of the Jewish blueberry bun:
Alexandra has written a wonderful piece on bitter winter greens, with recipes:
I identify as a cook more than I do a baker, so it takes a lot to make me excited about a new cookie recipe. I am about this one:
Over on the blog I’ve posted two simple dinners for you to enjoy by way of my Anchovy Carbonara (utterly genius (if I may say so myself!) if you’ve never tried the substitute!) and a Lemony Butter Bean Stew with Spinach and Leeks which has honestly been one of my most popular recipes in ages, served just by itself, with crusty bread, or topped with a jammy egg and a scattering of Aleppo chilli flakes.
Over at Project Meal Plan if meal prep is your thing I’ve got a new recipe for Banh Mi Inspired Meal Prep Bowls with a quick pickle salad that were super fun to make. And if you’re not a meal prepper, still check out the recipe because both the wonderfully addictive sriracha mayonnaise sauce is a keeper, as is the method of binding the turkey meatballs with mayonnaise instead of egg to keep them super moist.
For my Macknade residency this month we went for one of the concepts we loved but did not quite make the festive cut when I was brainstorming Italian Christmas ideas with the CEO (who is half Italian): a Southern Italian-inspired Lasagna. Ricotta instead of béchamel, a ragu lightened with the added of pork along with minced beef and white instead of red wine, plus the addition of scarmonza smoked mozzarella, I think makes for a comforting family recipe that is comforting, still familiar, but a little easier to make than the Northern Italian versions I think most of us gravitate towards.
And finally, I made some fantastic Moroccan-inspired hummus with caramelised onions and apricots (inspired by that one in M&S) using Bold Bean Co.’s (gifted) Queen Butter Beans whose thin skins I think make killer homemade hummus, and unusually for me (I prefer a longer recipe writing format) I shared it on Instagram.
Knockout list of links, Rachel! I got so many ideas—including the butter bean hummus you shared on Instagram. Thank you!!!🤗
Ooh got lasagne on the brain now!