Alan Rosenthal

This is a very simple soup recipe that’s delicious served hot or cold.  What makes it special is the balance of sweet, smooth and earthy beetroot and salty, crunchy slightly bitter olives. Recipes are always about balance and I think this hits the nail quite nicely on the head. Dehydrating the olives takes a bit of time but it’s super ...

I’ve been fascinated by Persian cooking for some time now. It’s so wonderfully fragrant and fresh, overflowing with vibrant herbs and warming spices and there’s a balance of sweet and savoury that’s second to none. I’ve cooked a few of Najmieh Batmanglij’s (a true guru of Persian cooking) recipes in recent years and she’s taught me quite a different way ...

Many recipes are merely starting points, the foundations for a skyscraper's worth of variations, alternatives and tweaks. For me, a recipe shouldn't be seen as gospel; it's there to give you ideas and inspiration rather than represent the only way. As Nikki Segnit explains at length, in Lateral Cooking, a recipe is merely one expression at a single point along ...

I love spanakopita, the delicious Greek pie, filled with feta, ricotta and spinach and veiled in wonderful flaky filo pastry.  Taking the base recipe as a starting point, I’ve changed things up a little by using a spice blend more akin to Middle Eastern cooking; sumac and ground allspice give the filling a wonderful warmth that perfectly combines with fresh ...

These delicious Greek inspired patties are aromatic with oregano, mint, lemon and cinnamon and come served with a pink sauce that will brighten anyone’s day.  Enjoy them hot, straight from the pan or at room temperature, al fresco, on a picnic.  I love the texture of the small pieces of halloumi that caramelise in the pan, but if you prefer, ...

I love cavolo nero’s rich iron flavour.  This, combined with caramelised garlic and crushed chilli flakes, makes for a great pasta sauce that takes literally minutes to make.  The recipe below is pretty versatile; if you don’t blitz the cooked cavolo and leave out the pasta, you’ve instead got yourself a great side veg; two recipes in one!  When I ...

Sometimes it’s good to go back to the classics.  My Crop Drop bag this week was overflowing with red onions, courgettes and aubergines and so, despite being a little early in the season, had ratatouille written all over it. I have memories of rather bland ratatouille as a child growing up (sorry mum) but I learnt, at some point in ...

Chargrilled cabbage with sriracha butter, and blue cheese - aka buffalo cabbage Taking the flavours and textures of buffalo wings (or buffalo cauliflower florets), I’ve created this great little recipe for white cabbage.  Chargrilling the vegetable gives it a wonderful smokey flavour and the sugars in the sriracha caramelise with the butter making something quite delicious.  If you don’t have a chargrill ...

It’s a crime to throw away cauliflower leaves. You’ve essentially got two vegetables in a cauliflower; those pure white florets being one, and the leaves being another.  The leaves have the familiar flavour of cauliflower, but with a little less intensity. You can rub them with oil and seasoning and bake in a hot oven until crisp, or, as in ...

Pumpkin, sage and nutmeg are a match made in heaven; add some softened leeks and Parmesan, a rich set custard and some pastry and you’ve got a tart to die for! Making tarts can be quite time consuming, especially if you’re making your own pastry. It’s also, in the case of vegetables, often necessary to intensify their flavour by cooking ...

This super easy recipe was inspired by a couple of sources; The first was a wild rice casserole that I cooked not so long ago from Heidi Swanson’s book Super Natural Every Day; the second is a recipe I learnt at a course at Cookery at the Grange in Somerset over 20 years ago that combined grated courgettes with parmesan, ...

I’ve been reading a fair number of Italian cookbooks of late and found myself inspired to cook a pasta recipe where the principal ingredient in the sauce is onions.  Cooking onions slowly leaves them incredibly rich and sweet and transforms their texture into something silky and indulgent. I was lucky enough this week to be sent a fair few from ...

SCarrots really are an unsung hero.  Not only are they good for you, but they’re also deliciously sweet and brighten up the dullest of days, especially when cooked like this!  Even in the depths of winter, this recipe will bring some warmth to your table. The quantities here will serve 4 as a starter or side.  Alternatively, it will easily ...

I love fennel both raw and cooked; finely shaved and covered with a delicious orange and sherry vinegar dressing, it’s delicious.  Equally, roasted, or pan fried it’s hard to go wrong.  Here, I’ve chosen to gently cook the fennel in butter until soft and sweet and then bake it with salty olive tapenade and creamy goat’s cheese on a (shop ...

Tartiflette is a classic wholesome dish from the Savoie region of the French Alps, perfect after a long day skiing or hiking because it’s full of cheese and cream!  That being said, occasionally, on a cool day in less energetic climes, it’s a great treat. Traditionally, it's a layered dish comprising of sautéed onions, smoked bacon lardons and potatoes (cooked ...