Dad's Cuisine

ROASTED SWEET POTATO AND COURGETTE IN LIME, GINGER AND BASIL DRESSING Add a bit of the exotic to your midweek supper with this roasted sweet potato and courgette in lime, ginger and basil dressing!  Roasted sweet potato and courgette in lime, ginger and basil dressing I can very clearly remember the first time I heard of a sweet potato. I was 11 years old and chatting to my schoolfriend Lizzy, who hailed from Kenya. We were both boarders at our all girls' school in south-East England.  On a cold and dreary Sunday that didn't seem to end, we began lamenting about what we missed most from home, and the conversation inevitably turned to food (it usually does with me). We both desperately missed our Mums' cooking, of course. But then Lizzy mentioned how much she missed sweet potatoes. Now, I loved potatoes in all forms - mash, chips, crisps, wedges: you name it, I'd eat it - but I had never heard of sweet potatoes. "What do they taste like?" I aske...

LENTIL DHAL WITH SPINACH  A mild Indian vegetarian dish filled with aromatic spices that's healthy, tasty and easy to make. Lentil dhal with spinach There are so many variations on recipes for dhal, an Indian staple and one of the few vegetarian meals that Dad actually requests when he goes to an Indian restaurant. I know that Dad misses decent Indian cuisine.  He spent his childhood in Burma and India, so his definition of comfort food is curry , curry and more curry.  When Mum and Dad met, he let her know pretty quickly that the way to his heart was through rock n' roll and food. Mum worked in the music industry and took him along to the best nightclubs and parties to rub shoulders with the stars of the sixties music scene, so the rock n' roll part was covered. And as for curries; Mum - a Welshwoman who grew up in London - rolled up her sleeves and got to work mastering the art of making the perfect curry, learning alongside an Indian woman she met when t...

Baked sweet potato stuffed with spinach and omelette Loaded with protein and fibre, this low-fat baked sweet potato stuffed with spinach omelette is an all-in-one meal that will keep you going for hours!  When I was a student, I can't say that cooking was my strong point. Away from Mum's healthy, varied diet, I survived on burgers, fries and pizza. When I did 'cook', I wasn't very adventurous: it was pasta or baked potatoes on rotation  I'd bake them in the microwave, load them with cheese and far too much butter, scoff them up in minutes and run out the door. Ah, those halcyon days when exercise consisted of dancing in clubs and running to lectures (or the pub), and I laughed in the face of carbs. I ate so many baked potatoes that I didn't go near them for years after I left University. So I decided to revisit this kitchen classic from my student days with this baked sweet potato stuffed with spinach omelette . It's a little more exci...

Caramelized onions and Camembert tart with hazelnut pastry This sweet and savoury tart with caramelized onions and melted Camembert is just the ticket when you want to indulge yourself on a cold winter evening. While preparing this recipe for caramelized onions and Camembert tart , I was transported back to my Mum's kitchen. I would often wander in to find her leaning over the kitchen counter, crying her eyes out and brandishing a sharp knife - no, she wasn't about to carry out a crime de passion ; she was merely chopping onions. And although I did shed a few tears making this, I think I may have found the best way to chop onions without crying - or at least to stem the flow of tears as much as possible.  I really love to make dishes with caramelized onions: they add a delicious sweetness to any savoury dish. I was inspired to make this recipe after my uncle visited my father recently. We hadn't seen him for about ten years, and Dad was thrilled to be ab...

A BIT ABOUT ONIONS Onions are used so often in cooking that their benefits are often overlooked, yet there's so much more to them than meets the (teary) eye! Onions are highly versatile root vegetables that are rich in nutrients, vitamins and minerals, low in calories, and bursting with flavour. What's not to love? As well as Vitamin C, Vitamin B-6 and sulphur, onions contain fibre and add flavour to dishes like curries, lasagne, soups, stews and everything in between.  Let's take a closer look at that most humble of kitchen staples: the onion. Cooking onions Onions come in a variety of colours, shapes and sizes. The most common are yellow, white and red. Red onions are great for adding a touch of color to your dishes, and their mild flavour makes them an ideal addition to salads and dips. Chives, shallots and leeks are also part of the onion family, while spring onions have a lovely mild and sweet flavour. A great many people enjoy eating raw onions ...

CHRISTMAS GINGER CAKES Looking for an alternative to traditional mince pies at Christmas? Spice up the holiday season with these mini ginger cakes. These ginger cakes are part of my rebellion against mince pies. I hate mince pies. There, I said it. I don't hate them completely: I really love the buttery pastry, I love how they smell, and I love the mulled wine that often accompanies them. But I loathe the sticky, sweet stuffing of a mince pie. Despite all my best efforts - and there have been many - I can't bring myself to enjoy them, much to my mother's despair. But these ginger cakes are a fantastic alternative - or even a complement - to mince pies. They're not overly sweet, have a nice spicy kick and combine orange zest, ginger and cloves for a real Christmas flavour.  A few years ago, I offered to host Christmas on the condition there were no mince pies or Brussels sprouts. Mum, being a stickler for tradition, was aghast. I explained that I would be ...

BAKED FALAFEL Packed with tasty herbs and spices, falafel is the ultimate vegetarian finger food that'll have you reaching for more!  I distinctly remember the first time I had a falafel . I would love to tell you it was in a tiny Lebanese eatery tucked away in a hidden backstreet, but it was in the food court of a brightly-lit shopping mall a few miles out of the city. I must have been about 11, and Mum and I were having a girls' day out shopping. (I loved shopping with my Mum. Even if we were just doing a supermarket shop, we always had a great time pointing little things out to each other and people watching.)  As lunchtime approached, we found ourselves uninspired by the usual offerings of Chinese and Italian cuisine, so Mum suggested I try some Lebanese food at a little stand, insisting I would enjoy it. At 11, I knew what I liked and I liked what I knew, so I wasn't thrilled at the idea of trying something different. But I was hungry and tired, so we took ...

BEEF BOURGUIGNON The temperatures are dropping and the sky is grey, which is perfect weather for some warm and hearty beef bourguignon!  Beef bourguignon My parents are people who grabbed life by the horns. Shortly after they married, an opportunity arose that would see them leaving family and friends in London and starting over in Paris. They jumped at the chance and never looked back. My brother and I were born and raised here, and although we maintained close ties with the British community by joining a British sports club for expats on the outskirts of Paris, my parents threw themselves into French life with gusto, and French food inevitably found its way onto our table through fondues, boudin noir and beef bourguignon . Boeuf bourguignon evokes cosy family suppers, bringing comfort and warmth on cold and dark winter evenings. I love making it because you can just chuck everything into the pot and leave it to simmer while you get on with other things and enjoy the...

BROCCOLI AND PARMESAN MUFFINS Fancy some finger food? These gluten-free broccoli and parmesan muffins make a healthy vegetarian appetizer or side dish.  Gluten-free broccoli and parmesan muffins Neither Dad nor I follow a gluten-free diet (I enjoy bread, pasta and cakes far too much), but I know quite a few people who do, and I like being able to offer dishes that friends can enjoy whatever their dietary requirements.  I use the word 'muffin' loosely. It's a bit of a misnomer because these don't contain any flour, and I think everyone can agree that muffins - both the English and American kind - generally have flour in them. But whether we're calling them muffins, broccoli balls or vegetarian meatballs, the absence of flour also means they're really quick and easy to prepare. You can serve them as appetizers or as a side dish to a main meal, and they make a great addition to any picnic basket. Soft on the inside and crunchy on the outside, brocc...

SPICED PUMPKIN SEEDS Get the most out of your pumpkins this season by roasting and spicing pumpkin seeds, and enjoy all the health benefits they have to offer.  One of my abiding images of Dad is him sitting in his favourite armchair, eyes glued to the cricket or rugby match on TV, cold beer in hand, and surrounded by discarded packets of crisps or salted nuts (cashews are a particular favorite). Dad is a snacker extraordinaire. Of course, we're all guilty of snacking, and it's rarely on healthy, reasonable foods like fruit. During these colder months, there's nothing I enjoy more than snuggling up on the sofa under a warm blanket, watching a favourite movie or reading a good book, and enjoying a good old snack. And no matter how much I enjoy it, I always end up with a snack-induced guilt hangover. But these healthy  spiced pumpkin seeds are just the thing to satisfy my cravings and not feel too guilty about it afterwards. This Halloween I had a couple of pumpk...