Tom Cooks!

We’re starting to get into prime strawberry season,  one of summer’s principal delights. I refer of course to British strawberries, not these ghastly forced things, consistency of wood, which arrive bearing hundreds if not thousands of air miles. But be warned. In the early part of the growing season on this sceptred isle, you will…

As the rain bounces off my window, I have two inspirations for today’s column. The first of these was reading that someone somewhere had decreed May to be the National Barbecue Month. In fairness, the weather in Scotland in May can often be surprisingly good. Sadly, not this year. I have cleaned my barbie in…

Claire Macdonald A few weeks ago I had the great pleasure of meeting Lady Claire Macdonald. Not only meeting her, but getting her permission to reproduce recipes from her huge range of cookery books. We own about a dozen. I commend each and every one of them to you. Needless to say, you’ll never get…

I wrote recently about attending the Masterchefs of GB lunch. There were sponsors a-plenty and we all received a goody bag to take home. Sponsors included The Glenlivet whisky and Bon Accord soft drinks. Not only did the bag have samples, it contained a few cocktail recipes which I thought I would share. But first,…

This is a very short recipe – soup ones always are. I was doing some fridge tidying up before we headed off to London for a few days’ hedonism. In the depths of the vegetable drawer (so often a source of inspiration for off the wall stuff) I discovered a bag of Jerusalem artichokes. It…

I am not a great eater of puddings. You may have noticed that the dessert selection is often missing from the Tom Eats! column. (My simple response is to say that it seems to work for Giles Coren, and he’s made a good living out of his scribblings.) I make an exception, however, whenever I…

Well, it’s Easter and we like to be seasonal, and give you something to celebrate with. To be extra topical, my plan was to feature Paska, a Ukrainian loaf traditionally made at Easter time. It’s a sweet loaf topped with a coiled, three strand braid. It’s usually jazzed up with saffron, raisins and other fruit. The…

These days, were you to go on a programme such as Masterchef and cook scallops any way other than searing in a hot pan, you would be met with derision. It wasn’t always thus. I remember asking a chef some decades ago how one should cook them. Gently in a lot of butter was the…

In Wednesday’s Chef Watch column, Graeme Cheevers chose scallops as his favourite ingredient. He’s certainly not alone in that. It’s a dish I always find hard to overlook on any menu. Like many stars of Scottish produce (especially those from the sea) we’ve moved on a long way from how we used to (mis)treat them.…

On Wednesday, On The Side introduced you to Dougie Bell of Lupe Pintos. Between them, he and his partner Rhoda Robertson have produced three excellent cook books, coveriing a broad range of cuisine from Mexico through the southern states of the USA and on to the Caribbean. The fourth in the series, The Mexican Wrestlers Cookbook was produced…

I seldom follow recipes when it comes to Indian food. I had got very cocky and reckoned I’d cracked it. There then followed a trio of dishes which were, as they might say it in my home town in Fife, pish poor. But undeterred, a pack of chicken thighs in hand and not a great…

And before you start, no potato either. No shepherds or cottagers are involved in today’s offering. As with many of my odder, off the cuff recipes, this was inspired by an item which was needing used. Without being obsessional about it, I dislike seeing food going to waste. A week or two ago I created…

Lime Drizzle Cake This article started with the intention of describing three or four things lime related; however, when I started writing about the lime cake, it brought back to me the extreme trauma of my early experiences of cake baking. Never made a cake, and think you can just pick up a recipe? Pshaw!…

As I wrote on Wednesday, I love limes. Having said that, I don’t go along with those who opine that they are interchangeable with lemons. Sometimes (indeed quite often) you just need that sharp, dish-enhancing zap which you’ll get only from its yellow cousin. But limes can be used at any stage of one’s menu.…

Virtually everyone has their favourite Del and Rodney memory. For most it will be the scene where David Jason tries to lean nonchalantly against the bar, only to discover that the counter had been raised. Great stuff, but I’m still tickled by their French trip. Del, thinking ahead to dinner, asks, What’s French for duck…

I had some interesting responses to last week’s On The Side column which had some suggested resolutions for 2022. For starters, LinkedIn blocked it, as it apparently contravened some policy or other, but they declined to tell me which it was. I’ve included the link so you can judge for yourself. Secondly, a few people…

Despite the efforts of many, including this column, the notion persists that game is just for toffs, exotic and expensive. It is neither, though most amateur cooks will have struggled from time to time to get it right. In the past, I have had particular problems with pheasant. The season closes at the end of…

I have bemoaned on many occasions the fact that we Brits are so unimaginative in our veg cookery. Unadorned, often unseasoned, boiled vegetables are not only depressing, they scream of a cook who, quite frankly my dear, doesn’t give a damn. While Christmas Day requires tradition, there’s no reason why old favourites can’t be given…

Continuing the kale theme from Wednesday’s On The Side column, I’m indebted to the Trotters. To Christopher, without whom I would probably have continued to body swerve its mineral rich loveliness, and who has kindly allowed me to reproduce some of his recipes: and to Caroline, for almost all of the photos. (Observant readers will…

I asked readers for some other Christmas recipes. My good friend, celebrated artist Michael Greenlaw, answered the call. The only problem is that as he is wintering in the Algarve, hearty stews and steamed puddings aren’t on his mind. Still these sound like crackers, so that’s Christmassy enough for me. Coincidentally I was thinking about…

Stephen Harris After Stir-up Sunday in this week’s On The Side, what else could I feature today? I am both grateful to, and traumatised by, Stephen Harris of The Sportsman in Kent. For some years I have been making my own Christmas pud, using a recipe which appeared in The Telegraph some years ago. His recipe makes two…

Having mentioned tiramisu in Wednesday’s On The Side, it seemed rude to let it pass by today’s column. Sadly, it has become a bit of a cliché. You are unlikely to find many dessert menus in Italian restaurants from which it’s absent. Yet the reason dishes become so ubiquitous is that they sell well. Put…

In On The Side on Wednesday we featured Coasts & Waters, the latest cook book from the prolific pen of Christopher Trotter. Many thanks to Christopher for permission to reproduce these two excerpts. The first is an interesting fish curry; the second is a fine explanation of a skill which many have struggled to master,…

Begin with your Banneton Now, whatever you do, don’t misread the title. It does not say An Idiot’s Guide To Sourdough. Such articles with their condescending titles are produced by experts who have decided to descend from Mount Olympus to impart a little wisdom to mere mortals such as you and me. Armed with their erudition, we will…