Mediterranean islands, tomatoes and feta
12 June 2023
Travel
UK
In the Daily Mail there’s a whisky distiller’s guide to the West Highlands by Annabel Thomas, founder of Nc’nean, including the White House at Lochaline, as well as Café Fish on Mull and Isle of Mull cheese, along with winning photos from the Scottish Landscape Photographer of the Year. I’ve put this first as I want to go to the West Coast of Scotland next Spring.
The Independent declares that Carmarthenshire’s is Wales’ best secret especially the Wild Drovers’ Way, a three day slow travel road trip. What to do in Windermere is in the Daily Mail.
And then going somewhere flat to Lincolnshire in the Times as well as 20 of the UK’s most beautiful meadows in the countryside including Clattinger Farm, Cricklade, Wiltshire, Dunsdon, near Holsworthy, Devon and Chimney Meadows, in Bampton in Oxfordshire.
The most beautiful seaside villages in the UK, the best beaches and the best outdoor swimming pools in the Telegraph as a cooling, watery end to UK travel.
Europe
Best places in Provence to stay in the Times which includes the most inviting little hotels and is one to bookmark.
Best secret Mediterranean islands in the Telegraph which will be quieter than the over-Instagrammed Santorini, including Favignana off the coast of Sicily which my daughters, aficionadas of small islands loved. By coincidence, they flew to Palermo first for a night, the subject of a city guide in the Independent, and then back to the airport to get a bus to Trapani for the ferry to the island.
A weekend in Florence with Pucci artistic director Camille Miceli in the FT, she likes
Trattoria Cammillo, a Florentine institution and they do an excellent frittata with artichokes and Trattoria Sostanza which specialises in meat.
Tarifa in Spain, a previous backpacker hub thats going upmarket according to the Times.
Restaurants
20 favourite restaurants in London in the Standard from their food critics, Jimi Famurewa and David Ellis including Noble Rot, Bouchon Racine and Brat but not my other favourites, Moro, Morito in Hackey and Brasserie Zedel.
In the Guardian, Grace Dent told the story of Clay’s, an independent Indian restaurant in Caversham, Berkshire serving authentic Hyderbadi food. ‘Clay’s has one of those menus that I feel I’ll keep going back to. Food doesn’t get much more personal than this’.
In the Observer, Jay Rayner went to The Suffolk, in Aldeburgh, Suffolk and wrote:
‘I know it’s all a bit of a self-pleasuring, middle-class Sunday supplement fantasy, one acted out at that place where the land and sea pull and tug against each other….. But I am middle-class and this is a Sunday supplement. It works for me.’
In the Standard, Jimi Famurewa reviewed Lilienblum, Israeli restaurateur’s Eyal Shani’s third opening this year in London EC1, and thinks ‘that slowing down a little might be the best way to move forward.’
In the Telegraph, William Sitwell visited Frog by Adam Handling, in Covent Garden, London WC2 and thought it ‘a confident, beautiful triumph.’ So it should be with the tasting menu for two costing £390 excluding drinks and service.
In the Times, Giles Coren liked Brassica in Beaminster in Dorset.
Recipes
Tomatoes are everywhere this week with tomato summer pudding by Ravinder Bhogal in the FT, and her confit tomatoes with whipped feta in the Independent (pictured above). Chantelle Nicholson’s given her vegan recipe for harissa-marinated tomatoes with butter beans and herb relish in the Guardian and Raymond Blanc’s summer cherry tomato tart with basil is one of the best picnic recipes in the Times along with James Martin’s Marmite cheese straws and Richard Corrigan’s smoked cod Scotch eggs with aioli. How to make a good pizza with a pizza oven by Silvana Franco in the Telegraph; she advises putting a tin of Mutti tomatoes through the mouli to make a sauce and to use Fior Di Latte mozzarella which you can get from from M&S.
Lime recipes from Diana Henry in the Telegraph including aubergines and tomatoes with black lime and honey, a raw salad with lime dressing and peanuts, and a lime and coconut cheesecake with pineapple and lime caramel which I am going to make when there are more than two of us to eat it.
Ottolenghi cooks with feta in the Guardian with a baked feta and dill frittata which has a whole slab of feta in the middle and looks excellent, feta-stuffed koftas with grilled peppers and spring salad with buttermilk feta dressing.
Eleanor Steafel in the Telegraph with hotdogs with gochujang mayo and pickle brine slaw.
Nigel Slater gives recipes for salmon and spinach pie in the Observer as well as grilled gooseberries cooked in elderflower cordial and honey, and then spooned over lemon zest meringue.
Ravneet Gill’s recipe for cherry muffin cake in the Guardian which looks quick and straightforward to make - something I look for on these hot, close days.
Mark Hix in the Telegraph, cooks a meal with duck as its centrepiece, deep fried duck egg and watercress salad along with duck confit with peas and white chocolate truffle torte.
Finally, I love the sound of pav bhaji, curried potatoes and peas on a roll fried with spiced butter by Rosie Sykes in the Guardian, and green eggs, quick easy and full of peas. I always have peas in the freezer and eggs in the fridge and will try them later this week.
Books
Comfort & Joy: Irresistible Pleasures From A Vegetarian Kitchen by Ravinder Bhogal
with an interview here and more recipes in the Independent for broccoli, kale and spinach kataifi pie, and whipped feta and confit tomatoes (pictured above).
Paella, The Original One-Pan Dish: Over 50 Recipes for the Spanish Classic by Omar Allibhoy.
In the Times. different chefs’ opinions on how to make it and recipes for the classic paella recipe, Paella Valenciana and the lazy paella, Arroz a la Inglesa.
Tandoori Home Cooking by Maunika Gowardhan
with easy Indian kebab recipes in the Sunday Times , spiced chicken skewers with achari spice mix, paneer skewers with mint and coriander and salmon tikka skewers with a spicy green chilli chutney.
Simply Scandinavian by Trine Hahnemann
with summer salad recipes in the Times including peach, brie and balsamic almond, hot smoked salmon, spinach and fennel and red cabbage, and pear and walnut.
