Posts by Tom Johnston

For the last few weeks we have been wandering through the Middle East. Last week we sweetened up with a honey cake. I had thought at that time of including baklava, that tooth achingly sweet confection, which comes from…? Larousse Gastronomique describes it as a Middle Eastern creation: it seems to have been present throughout…

Whisper it, but I’ve never, up until now that is, been a great fan of honey. It just tastes, well, sweet. At my advanced age it is just wonderful to be able to stumble on new, exciting food experiences. I wrote the other week about attending Sudi Pigott’s food writing course in Bermondsey. That took…

Last week we looked at a couple of walnut based sauces of Middle Eastern origin. Although the tahini was used to dress a carrot salad, it could easily be used as a dip. That needs something to spread it on. In a horrible culture clash we are as likely as not to serve such dips…

One or two things inspired this week’s column. Firstly, by a certain good chum, not be named (yet), who has been promising me a recipe for months, and recently embarked on a jaunt to Israel. But secondly, I was sucked into the orbit of the stellar force that is Sudi Pigott, foodie extraordinaire. More on…

This week’s guest recipe comes from friend and fellow foodie, Mark Baird. Mark is known in Tom Eats! circles as the RCI, Retired Captain of Industry. Before his recent retirement he ran Diageo almost single handedly, despite one or two people who claimed to be further up the corporate ladder (Head of Alcohol in Society/Head…

2019 has been a horribly disappointing year for strawberries, due, no doubt, to the lack of sun. Raspberries, on the other hand, have been loving the damp and relatively cool weather. The quality has been fantastic, and I don’t remember having such a long season. This week’s recipe is a showstopper to celebrate the great…

Last week we left things hanging with what to do with the heads and shells of the glorious langoustines which, I seriously hope, you did not overcook. The answer, in a word, is stock. If I had to pick one single difference between a pro and an amateur kitchen, I would point to the permanent…

What we’re looking at today is the wonderful Nephrops norvegicus. I first encountered these in Wester Ross in the late 1960s when they were known to fishermen and consumers alike as prawns. Once we started to be inundated with imports from all over, the naming became confusing. The term Dublin Bay prawns was common –…

So you want to cook bouillabaisse? Well, you can’t. Says who? Says The Marseillle Bouillabaisse Charter, issued in 1980 by a group of restaurateurs in the city. The stated objective is to specify the elements of a good quality Bouillabaisse, with the goal to make this local dish better known among customers, while at the…

I am taking my first faltering steps to learn the Czech language. People tell me it’s difficult, but my guess is that learning English pronunciations must be a nightmare.  Take for example the words, therefore, plant, pack, female pig: so, sew, stow, but sow. Or, things in a line, type of deer, propel a boat,…

Vietnamese Chicken and Carrot Salad A few weeks ago, we looked at warm salads. At that time I commended the cuisines of the east for the vibrancy of their salads. Now that we are at last getting a bit of heat, this is a good time to venture there. This one is adapted from a…