Posts by Tom Johnston

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…

Taken for granted by many whose only use for it is to garnish a G & T, the lemon is an underrated kitchen essential. A cooking tool, to prevent your butter browning further when frying fish or chicken; a fundamental in most Middle Eastern recipes; an invisible flavour enhancer to add that little extra zing…

Carry out a survey for the best known Italian cheese, and what would the results be? Gorgonzola? Less popular than it once was. (I remember my Dad telling me about this blue cheese that was so strong it used to walk across the plate. Perhaps, however, he was referring to Danish Blue, and, yes, I…

We’re really not great at salads here in Scotland. Yes, we now grow plenty of the ingredients, but our way of assembling them seldom gets the taste buds going. From the Far East, on the other hand, there are wonders to be had, served with vibrant zingy dressings. But you have to source the appropriate…

After last week’s column, we had a minor domestic. The current Mrs Johnston took me to task for omitting one of her more celebrated oeuvres (and there are many), to wit her famous blinis. I contemplated including them today, but we are battered out. The breadcrumb is the thing. And here I shall pause for…

I can’t remember how the idea of an article on breadcrumbs came to mind. In the interim, I glanced at a pub lunch menu, which proudly offered diners the choice of having their fish either battered or breaded. What a nation of sophisticates we have become. So, taking things in that order, let’s start with…

As nearly one third of the world’s cauliflowers are grown in India, it is no surprise to find it featuring in so many curry dishes. Perhaps the best known is Aloo Gobi, the hearty mixture of cauliflower and potato. Recipes abound: I offer my version, cherry picked from others. Don’t worry too much about your…

I wrote last week of the incredulity of hearing of a dish entitled Cauliflower Steak. Far from being an oddity these days, it has become an important part of the vegetarian cook’s repertoire. I’ve done a bit of research and suggested a couple of ways of doing this, one oven baked, the other started in…