On one of my visits back to the US, I walked into a bagel shop and bought cream cheese to take back to London. Yes, I’m serious. Scallion cream cheese, specifically. What you might call spring onion and Philadelphia if you’re not American (or Canadian?). It was a really good scallion cream cheese. And it was $5 for a small carton that I wasn’t even sure would survive an 8 hour flight.

Once I’d finished every last speck, the mourning process began. Wistful flight searches. Daydreams about when I could next get a creamy, oniony, freshly made smear onto my bagels. Then I started thinking big. What if I could make my own scallion cream cheese?

Something to rival those neighborhood bagel shops from back home.

And so I set out to whip up a scallion cream cheese recipe for those of us who can’t get this wonder spread.

The fridge stable 8 month old pre-packaged stuff is not the same and I’m not going to pretend it is. Keep on keeping on if you love it, I don’t want to stomp on your flower garden. But really, this is so much better.

Put me, this scallion cream cheese and a few bagels in a room together, and I can guarantee there won’t be any left. But I know everyone isn’t like me, so I’ve come up with other easy ways to polish off your pot of scallion cream cheese.

Quarter scallions lengthwise, then finely chop them. Combine with milk, salt and cream cheese and that’s it! If you have the patience, let it sit in the fridge for a few hours before digging in.

 Bonus: Rainbow bagel, because it was so ridiculous I just had to.

Ideas for using up your scallion cream cheese

Stir it into a quiche. Stir it into the eggy quiche mix, then layer it with your favorite quiche ingredients. Maybe spinach or ham, or whatever you have in the fridge.

Layer it into your 5-6-7 layer dip and break out the tortilla chips.

Stir it into vegetable pasta.

Option 1: Cook up some asparagus or tender stem broccoli (or both) in garlic, then add a squeeze of lemon juice and lemon zest. Stir the cream cheese into pasta, gently incorporate the green vegetables and top with grated parmesan.

Option 2: Pump up a super-easy lasagne-style pasta bowl.

Pile it onto a baked potato, sweet or otherwise. Top with chopped bacon, pan fried mushrooms or just fresh herbs.

Stuff it into chiles, cover them in bread crumbs and bake for pepper poppers.

Serves 2 tbsp

Scallion (spring onion) cream cheese

5 minPrep Time

5 minCook Time

10 minTotal Time

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On the Counter

• 180g (8 oz) container of cream cheese (I use Philadelphia)
• 2 scallions/spring onions
• 1 tsp milk
• 1/4 tsp salt

What to Do

• Quarter the spring onions, lengthwise. Slice them finely
• Scoop the cream cheese into a bowl, and add the milk. Break up the cream cheese then stir to combine and thin out the cheese.
• Add in the salt and spring onions, and stir until the spring onions are evenly distributed.
• Put the cream cheese back into its container and refrigerate.
• It's good right away but tastes a lot better if you let it chill for at least a few hours.

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Do you like granola? I like granola. But I hate paying £4 for a box with 3 pieces of walnut and one cranberry. If you’re with me, join me by making your own! And might I suggest you give my granola recipe a try…

It’s really easy to scale your granola making up or down. You can also create your very own granola blend. Once you have the proportions down, anything is possible. Mine is lightly sweetened, but you can amp it up to your taste. More sweetener will also give you bigger clusters. For a vegan version, sub in maple syrup – but use less, as maple syrup tends to taste sweeter.

You can use different kinds of nuts, too. I’ve made it with hazelnuts and pecans, Brazil nuts and walnuts, and have even gone as far as a three-nut combo. Crazy, I know.

Add in your own flavorings – a sprinkle of cinnamon or a few drops of vanilla go a long way. Get creative with your crunchy granola self!

Once you have a vat of toasted granola, you might wonder what to do with it besides shoving it straight into your mouth.

Sprinkle that sweet, nutty, homemade granola on top of plain (full fat obviously) Greek yogurt with jam. Sometimes I go off the deep end into DIY territory, but hear me out. You can turn that yogurt into any flavor you want it to be. Strawberry, apricot, blackberry bourbon… just try telling me dyed-pink yogurt sounds better.

Pour some milk on it, cow or otherwise. Sprinkle it onto ice cream. Put it on a fruit crumble. Tweak your cranachan. (If you have any other suggestions, I’d be happy to try them.)

Feel like everything is out of your control? Start small with granola. Then take that slow-release energy out there and tackle the world.

Crunchy nutty granola

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On the Counter

• 200 g oats
• 75 g nuts
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1.5 tbsp coconut oil
• 75 g dried fruit

What to Do

• Optional first step: Sieve the oat dust from your oats.
• Preheat the oven to 160C/gas mark 3/325F.
• Combine the coconut oil and honey. On very low heat, melt them until the mix is thin and runny. This is especially handy if it's cool in your kitchen or your honey is crystallized. Stir to combine.
• Chop the nuts into pieces about the same size (or slightly larger than) an oat.
• In a large bowl, combine the oats and nuts.
• Drizzle the oil and honey on top, stirring the oat mix as you go. Stir until evenly coated. Dig deep!
• Spread the mix evenly onto two baking sheets.
• Bake for 10 minutes.
• Gently mix in the dried fruit and bake for another 10-15 minutes. Don't let it go further than lightly golden brown.
• Cool before storing.
• Mix your granola into yogurt, on top of ice cream, or enjoy it as a cereal with milk.

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In case you haven’t heard, kale will probably save your life. If you’re drowning, kale will swim out and rescue you. If you’ve fallen and you can’t get up, kale will call an ambulance and get you a pillow while you wait.

Luckily, kale can also be pretty tasty. Is there nothing you can’t do, kale?

Kale also does great work as a counselor. If you’ve had too many, oh, I don’t know, Cadbury eggs recently, a bowlful of kale with a zingy dressing will assuage your guilt.

It’s a simple concept, a kale Caesar salad. Strip it, steam it, dress it, eat it.

A kale protip I only learned recently: After thoroughly washing it, you can strip the leafy parts from the stems. Just tear it off from top to bottom easily.

Skip the croutons if you’re gluten-free, or just make them with GF bread. I’ve never used it for croutons myself, but apparently it works.

Psst… If you’re looking for a dairy-free (or vegan) version, you can always substitute the yogurty Caesar for this tahini dressing. Just saying…

Serves Serves 2

Kale Caesar Salad

15 minPrep Time

20 minCook Time

40 minTotal Time

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On the Counter

The croutons
• 2 slices of barely-stale loaf bread, ideally sourdough, and ideally not sliced bread
• 2 tsp olive oil (extra virgin if you have it)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• a few grinds of fresh black pepper
The kale
• 100 g kale without stems
• 1/4 tsp table salt
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Juice from 1 lemon wedge
• Parmesan or vegetarian hard cheese
The dressing
• 2 tbsp plain unsweetened yogurt
• Lemon juice from about 1/4 of a lemon
• A dash of Worcestershire sauce, or 1/8 tsp vegetarian miso paste
• 1 medium clove garlic, minced finely. (Don't use a garlic press as it will be too strong)
• Pinch of ground sea salt or table salt

What to Do

The croutons
• Chop your bread into about 2 cm (0.5 in) cubes. If it's very stale, you might need to drizzle oil on it to start and give it a few minutes to soften before chopping. If you do, skip the oil in the next step.
• Preheat the oven to 180C (350F). Toss the bread cubes, pepper and salt together.
• On a rimmed baking sheet or dish, spread the cubes out so they're one even layer.
• Bake for 5 minutes.
• Toss them around so other sides get exposure.
• Bake for a few more minutes, until golden brown, but check on them frequently.
The kale
• Thoroughly rinse and dry the kale.
• From the bottom strip the leaves from the stems in as few tears as possible.
• Lightly salt the torn kale leaves.
• In a steamer over a boiling pot of water, steam the kale for 5 minutes or until tender and still a vibrant green.
• Once it's ready, rinse it under cold water or give it an ice bath. You don't want to cook it any longer.
• Now, either rub (or toss if you're feeling lazy) the leaves with olive oil, then add a few squeezes of fresh lemon juice and toss it together.
• You can make the dressing in advance, or while the kale is steaming.
The dressing
• Combine yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, salt, Worcestershire sauce. Stir together thoroughly.
The salad
• Once it's finished, top the kale with dressing, croutons and some freshly grated Parmesan or vegetarian hard cheese.

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I can’t promise these will fit into everyone’s New Year resolutions. If you’re planning to waste less food – yes. If you’re intending to read more books… probably not. Vegetarian/vegan for January? Trying to eat healthier? I got you. Want to donate more to charity? You’re probably better off here or here.

These are nachos, but not the kind you get at a baseball game, or from a pub with a loose definition of the term nachos. They can be as home-made (and as healthy) as you want them to be. You can buy most of the ingredients pre-made. You do what you gotta to enjoy your nachos.

Here’s what I do, and I’ll try to clue you in on where you can save time or keep from buying a load of ingredients.

Whenever we have burritos, there always seem to be tortillas leftover from a pack of 8. I hate wasting food, so I often freeze the remainders until they’re ready for future burritos, or turn them into baked tortilla chips. Sometimes it’s hard to keep them for long enough to turn them into nachos because they’re so addictive. You’ve been warned.

Note for vegan eaters: If you can get your hands on a smooth cashew spread, it’s a delicious cheese alternative. And this is coming from an avowed cheese addict! Just dollop some on top of your nachos, or use it on the side as a dip. I first tried Gozo, a great option for those local to London.

New Year’s Resolution Nachos

Serves: 2 as a main, 4 as a snack

baked tortilla chips (see below)
200 g refried beans
5 or 6 pickled jalapenos, chopped (optional)
50 mL (1.5 oz) sour cream (optional)

guacamole or… 
2 avocados, peeled, seed removed and chopped
the juice of 1/4 lime
pinch of salt

jarred salsa or… homemade pico de gallo
10 cherry tomatoes, diced
1 shallot or 1/4 medium red onion, diced
a small bunch of fresh cilantro (coriander) leaves, chopped
1 red chile pepper, chopped (leave the seeds in if you like it spicier)
the juice of 1/4 lime
pinch of salt

grated cheddar cheese or… cheese sauce
50 grams (1.7 oz) cheddar cheese, grated
2 tbsp milk
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp flour

What to Do

Mix the pico de gallo ingredients together and set aside. It’ll taste better if it’s had some time to sit.

Combine the avocado, lime juice and salt. Crush it up and set it aside.

Heat the refried beans, either in the microwave or on the stove top. I add a splash of water to loosen them up a bit. On the stove top, it should take about 5 minutes on low-medium heat.

In an oven-safe dish, spread your tortilla chips out so they’re in as few layers as possible. Top with hot refried beans, pico de gallo, cheese sauce and guacamole. (If you’re using grated cheese, top with beans, pico de gallo (or salsa) and sprinkle the cheese on top, then put them in the grill/broiler for a few minutes to melt the cheese.)

Top with japalenos and dollops of sour cream. Serve immediately.

Baked Tortilla Chips

4 10-inch (25.4 cm) whole wheat tortillas
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt

What to Do

Preheat the oven to 150C/300F.

Slice the tortillas into triangles, or as close as you can get to triangles. You can get about 10 chip-sized pieces per tortilla.

Put the pieces in a bowl and add oil and salt. Top the bowl with a plate or another bowl, hold tight and shake to coat the tortilla pieces.

Spread the tortilla pieces in one layer on a baking sheet (or a few, depending how big your sheets are).

Bake for 5 minutes, then check on them. If they’re not brown and crunchy yet, check on them every 2 minutes. They go from perfect to burned in no time.

Happy 2016! My resolution for the first week of this year is to share this post, so I’m going to start the year on a high note.

Blogging is fun, but it can also be tough sometimes.

I could have started one of those stream-of-consciousness sites where people write about whatever it is they’ve done over the weekend, with photos of a soap dispenser in a restaurant bathroom, or deep insights into their favorite Instagram memes.

But I didn’t, so here I am.

The reason I’m even getting blog-osophical is that I ended 2015 with blogger’s block. Cooking is still happening, and some of it has been fun and very successful (some less so) but it just doesn’t make it online. No photos (ok maybe a few), no testing, no tweaking.

Instead I’m going to round up some of my favorite recent recipes from the big sites like BBC Good Food (seriously the best) and fellow bloggers.

Here’s what I’ve been making lately:

Cod with Lemon and Tarragon (Nigel Slater)

I found this recipe in Eat, a Nigel Slater cookbook, but lots of his recipes are published in the Observer/Guardian. It’s really easy but looks and tastes much more complex. I got the best cod I could. It makes a difference.

Char Siu (Burp Appetit)

When it was time to release the pork belly from its freezer hibernation, I tried this. I had no idea char siu could be so easy at home! Next time, there will also be buns.

Vegan White Bean Chili (Bon Appetit)

Warm and full of winter veggies. I add a lot less water so it’s less like soup, and use canned beans instead of dried, because I am not organized enough to soak beans a day in advance.

Blueberry Crumble Traybake (Holy Crabness)

This one first came into play for a summer barbecue, back when blueberries were in season. Though mine weren’t nearly as pretty as Emma’s, they were gobbled up without any hesitation.

Apple Cider Doughnuts (NY Times)

There is no craving like a homeland craving, and I decided I wanted cider doughnuts. Keep in mind cider doesn’t even mean the same thing here as it does in the Northeast US, and I’d never made doughnuts before…

But doughnuts I got. Delicious, cidery, imperfect doughnuts. (Props to Brambletye Farms, who make an unfiltered apple juice that worked so well in this.)

I haven’t had a lot of energy or creative cooking inspiration lately, for whatever reason. I can’t pin down exactly what it is, but I feel like time is slipping by and I can’t figure out where it’s going. Lately when it comes to cooking, I just to get it done and relax.

In that spirit, and because maybe you’re feeling the same, here’s my my cheaty cheesy sauce. The only caveat – you need to use an actually-flavorful goat cheese. (Step away from the cheap stuff.) Try to get some delicate tasting goat-milk cheeses that don’t have the “goatiness” of a French chevre. Mine is from the local Wobbly Bottom Farms, a new favorite. (Also… that name!)

Cheese is one of the greatest creations of all time. Truly. It’s up there with the internet, Mad Men and contactless credit cards. Did you know that one of the oldest cheeses ever found was from 2300 BCE? So while Stonehenge was being built in England, cheese was being eaten in Egypt.

Cheese is a marvel, I tell you.

Gnocchi with Cheaty Cheesy Sauce (and veggies)

Serves: 4
Total time: 30 mins including chopping and cooking
Note: This recipe is easy to halve, or even make for 1, and uncooked gnocchi is freezable

Cheaty Cheesy Sauce

120 mL (1/2 cup) creme fraiche or sour cream
50 g (2 oz) soft goat cheese
2 tbsp milk
1/4 tsp finely milled salt (or table salt)

Gnocchi with Spinach and Mushrooms

1 kg (2 lbs) gnocchi
60 g (2 cups) fresh spinach, chopped
75 g (about 1 cup) mushrooms, your choice, sliced
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 knob of butter (about 1 tbsp)
1/2 leek, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
1 tbsp of fresh chopped parsley (optional)

In a wide, flat skillet or frying pan, melt the butter until it’s liquid and hot. If you sprinkle a bit of water on it, it should sizzle.

Throw in the leeks and sweat them over low heat until they soften, about 5 minutes. Make sure to stir them frequently so they don’t burn.

Add in the mushrooms and cook them until they release all their liquid. At that point, turn up the heat slightly and cook them for a few minutes longer.

Add in the garlic, stir it up and cook for another 30 seconds, until you can smell that lovely garlicy perfume.

Then toss in the spinach for another 30 seconds, until just wilted. 

Take your veggies off the heat.

If you’ve made your own gnocchi – great work! If you haven’t, don’t worry, it still cooks the same way. In a pot of boiling salted water, cook your gnocchi until it floats, which usually takes about 2-3 minutes.

Drain the gnocchi, saving the water (for now), and add it back into the pot. Add in the veggies.

If you’re feeling super-cheaty, you can stir in the creme fraiche, then the milk, then the goat cheese, until it’s melted and incorporated. Stir carefully, not vigorously, or you’ll end up with mashed potatoes. If it feels a little dry, add a tablespoon at a time of the gnocchi water.

Otherwise, quickly combine all the cheaty cheesy sauce ingredients in a small bowl, stir them together and then in with the gnocchi and veg.

If you have parsley on hand, sprinkle it over each serving of gnocchi. And … you’re done!

I’ve been lucky to be exposed to Caribbean food through friends back home in the US (specifically amazing dishes from the Dominican Republic), and it reminds me of home when I get the chance to recreate some of it, and use the same flavors and ingredients.

While a lot of Caribbean food has meat, there are some amazing side dishes that don’t, and you can easily turn a humble side dish into the main star. This time, I’m going to share one of my favorite comforting rice dishes – it’s really easy, and you can bump up the complexity with just 5 extra minutes of time, by starting the coconut milk off with a few bonus flavors.

You might have already guessed from the photos and the title, but this not-so-mystery dish is Jamaican coconut rice with black beans. You could also make it with kidney beans or pigeon peas (the traditional Jamaican way) but I had black beans in the cupboard, and I really like them, so in they went.

With a few cupboard staples, you can pull this together about 20 minutes. It’s rich and savory, comforting and exotic, versatile and unmistakable. You can serve it alongside spicy baked chicken, or make it into a vegetarian meal with some spiced up sauteed peppers and onions, and maybe a salad, on the side.

Thanks to Grace Foods for providing the rich, silky coconut milk and the super flavorful and heavenly-smelling hot curry powder in a great basket of treats to celebrate Caribbean Food Week. I also used Grace black beans, but they just happened to be in my cupboard, because they have a great texture and are a great price. The recipe, and the feelings about what I’ve made and used, are entirely my own.

Serves: 4
Time: 5 minutes preparation, 20 minutes cooking

On the Counter

200 g (1 cup) dried white, long grain rice
1 400 mL (14 oz) can of Dunns River coconut milk
1 400 mL (14 oz) can of Dunns River black beans, drained and rinsed
1 large clove garlic, chopped finely
1/2 tbsp Dunns River Jamaican Hot Curry Powder
1 dried bay leaf
2 tsp coarsely ground salt (or kosher salt)

What to Do

Combine the coconut milk, garlic, hot curry powder and bay leaf in a medium sauce pan, and simmer it on very low heat for at least 5 minutes. It shouldn’t get anywhere near boiling.

Give the rice one quick rinse and drain, and then add it to the coconut milk. The rice should be 1/2 the volume of the coconut milk. Add in a little more water if you think it needs it. I use the can, so I can make sure to get all the coconut into the pot. Stir in the salt.

Cook the rice in the coconut milk, covered, on medium/low heat for between 10 and 12 minutes, testing it. You can stir it occasionally to make sure it doesn’t stick. When the liquid is mostly absorbed and the rice is still very slightly chewy, stir in the rinsed and drained black beans. Heat it all up for about 5 more minutes, until some of the black bean-ness incorporates with the rice, and everything is hot.

And that’s it! Spoon it onto the plate or into a big bowl for family-style sharing.

Join me in sharing the Caribbean Food Week fun on Twitter and Facebook.

I have to admit, I surprised myself when I first tried this recipe from the Able & Cole cookbook. It’s not what I’d normally go for, and I’d never try it if it was on a restaurant menu. But we had every ingredient (and not much else), and it was actually really good.

Thinking back though, it shouldn’t be a huge surprise that I’ve been scared off from anything orange flavored.

About 6 years ago, I went to Rome for the first time. There was some really amazing food, but there was also some really dreadful food. One of those meals included the absolute worst dish I’ve ever eaten in a restaurant, and maybe even ever. Tortellini and salmon in a peppercorn sauce.

Doesn’t sound too bad, I know. Bear with me.

So we chat, we drink wine, we watch fellow tourists roam the cobblestone alleys around the Spanish Steps. (Note: don’t eat so close to the big tourist spots.) Dinner comes out.

What’s that? Is that my dish with the 3 shredded pieces of smoked salmon? And a gloopy orange sauce? Well, I’ll give it a try. What have I got to lose?

Except maybe a tooth because… yep… those are whole peppercorns trapped in thick, gooey bright orange sauce, like future fossilized amber.

And what does the goo taste like? Imagine the cheapest, fakest orange flavored marmalade in the world. And then put the saltiest cheap cuts of smoked salmon in it.

You can understand why it’s taken me a while to embrace oranges again.

Thankfully, for whatever reason, my mental aversions to orange flavor is fading slightly. After all that, I hope I haven’t put you off trying this easy weeknight meal, because it really is good. I promise.

Some recipe notes: You can cut down on the amount of chicken you use if you’re going to bulk it up with sides, like rice and vegetables. I tend to include steamed broccoli, or green beans, and maybe rice if it’s a small portion of chicken.

Adapted from the Abel & Cole Veg Box Companion
Serves: 4
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes

On the Counter

4 (free range) chicken breast pieces, about 900g or 2 lbs, total
2 garlic cloves
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp olive oil
2 oranges, cut into 4 segments each
1 red chilli pepper
pinch of milled rock salt or kosher salt
few grinds of fresh black pepper
handful of fresh parsley

What to Do

Preheat the oven to 200 C/390 F.

Season (aka rub up on) the chicken with oil, then salt and pepper. Put the chicken pieces in a roasting tray, not touching. Lay the orange segments around it.

Bake the chicken for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, chop the chile and mince or crush the garlic. Chop the parsley, too, but set it aside for the end.

When the 15 minutes are up, drizzle honey over the chicken, then sprinkle the garlic and chilli pepper over it.

Put it back into the oven and cook it for another 10 minutes, or until the internal temperature is 80 C/180 F.

Squeeze one or two of the orange segments onto the chicken. Remove it, stir up the juices in the roasting tray, and top the chicken with sauce and parsley.

PS: What was your worst restaurant meal ever?

Just a little peek…

You never know when inspiration will strike. I seem to like the absurd challenge of figuring out what to make for dinner when I get home and root through the fridge and freezer.

This time, the carrots, carrot greens and a summer cabbage made me think “stir fry”, and the salmon made me think “crispy skin”. Sweet potato noodles that I’d picked up in a past life at a Korean supermarket finished it off. Though since my go-to Korean supermarket has been demolished thanks to the addition of a new train line in London, I’m not sure where to go to replace them. (Any suggestions out there? …Bueller?)

If you haven’t tried sweet potato noodles (in Korean: dang myun), they’re like glass noodles but thicker. They’re chewier and slipperier than wheat noodles, and are really light in flavor so you can enhance them with whatever you want – plus they’re gluten free!

I’ve half-heartedly tried meal planning before, but it just doesn’t seem to work. Sometimes plans come up, or Main Ingredient is missing or has gone off…

But maybe that’s how it should be. I don’t think I would’ve thought of this in front of a google doc spreadsheet. I needed to see to be inspired. Thank you, wizened carrots of the crisper drawer.

Serves: 2

On the Counter

Stir-Fry
320 g (12 oz) salmon, scaled (80 g/3 oz piece per serving)
1 tbsp neutral oil, such as peanut, rapeseed or sunflower
2 large carrots (about 300 g or 2 cups)
2 big handfuls of leafy green vegetables, your choice
1 medium onion (about 110 g or 1 cup)
2 cloves garlic
200 g (7 oz) Korean sweet potato noodles

Dressing
2 tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp red chili flakes
1 tbsp naturally-brewed soy sauce (Kikkoman is my preferred)

What to Do

Combine the sesame oil, chili flakes and soy sauce, and set it aside.

Slice the carrots into matchstick sized pieces, and chop the onion. Chop or tear the greens into bite-sized pieces.

Pat the salmon filets dry and lightly salt them on each side. Make sure it’s been scaled or you definitely won’t want to eat the skin.

Heat the oil in a flat, cast iron or non-stick pan on medium heat until shimmering and hot enough to make a drop of water jump out.

Place the salmon in, skin-side down. Don’t touch it for at least 4 or 5 minutes. You’ll need patience. When it’s ready, you won’t have to put in any effort to get the salmon and its skin out of pan. If it’s not easy to pick up with a spatula, leave it alone. That’s how you get the best crispy skin.

Once your skin is crispy, flip it over and cook for another 2 minutes. Set it aside, covered, or in a low-heat oven.

Cook the noodles in boiling water for 5-6 minutes, until they’re a texture you’re happy with. Immediately rinse them in cool water to stop the cooking process.

While the noodles are cooking, stir fry the vegetables in the pan you used for the salmon. It should take about the same amount of time to cook as the noodles. At the very end, add in most of the spicy soy dressing, and combine it with the vegetables. Save the rest to drizzle on top of the salmon.

Once everything is done, you can mix the noodles into the saucy stir fry, and give your crispy skin salmon a place of pride on top.

I’ve just come back from a week at home in the US, and it was great. For once, I didn’t plan every minute of the trip, and it was a revelation. We even got to drive to DC for an overnight!

Going home is always a mix of experiences – eating home comfort foods, seeing old, great friends, and trying not to get too caught up in nostalgia to the point where I refuse to try anything unfamiliar.

It’s easy to feel like you’re still a part of somewhere when you live far away from it, but turning up and realizing that everything you’re used to has changed can be a downer. Instead of focusing on the romance of the old, I’m trying to focus on the joys of the new.

On that note, here is one old favorite, and two new, from my time back on the US east coast.

The view from my old home, Jersey City, towards Manhattan. The skyline changes but the feeling stays the same.

Tasting flights are the best way to try beer, and this was from Forgotten Brewery in Cherry Hill, NJ. New fave!

A blueberry cheesecake “tart” from Ted’s Bulletin in DC, stuffed with preserves and cream cheese filling.

After a week of eating things like that amazing not-a-pop-tart, though, you can probably imagine where this is going.

Today’s recipe is pretty light, really easy to make and … delicious. (What did you expect me to say?) Versatile maybe? It’s that too, don’t worry.

Special guest: roasted red pepper

Recipe note: You can replace the steak with chicken, pork, halloumi or sea bass, but I think steak works especially well.

Serves 4

On the Counter

Sandwich
1 roasted red pepper, sliced*
250 g (1/2 lb) sirloin steak(s) or boneless skinless chicken
1 tbsp neutral, high smoke point oil like rapeseed or corn oil

50g feta
4 small tomatoes
1 cucumber, about 100 g (4 oz)
2 big handfuls of mixed salad leaves

4 whole grain pitas

Dressing
2 tbsp extra Virgin olive oil
1 tbsp cider vinegar
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp salt
1 tsp lemon juice
Remaining pepper juice

What to Do

Chop your tomato into cubes, peel, seed and slice the cucumber and combine it with the salad leaves and roasted pepper slices. Cube the feta (if it isn’t already), and set it aside.

In a cast iron grill pan (or just a plain cast iron pan), heat your neutral, high smoke point oil on high until it’s shimmering and smoking hot.

Dry your steak or chicken with paper towel, then it salt on both sides. Put it into the pan, and let it sit for a short time.

If it’s a steak, flip it over soon after, and you can flip it a few more times. There is no need to let it sit for long periods of time. A steak that’s 1.25 cm (1/2 inch) thick will take about 10 minutes to cook to medium, with an internal temperature of 60 C (140 F) in mind.

Chicken will take about 15 minutes to cook, and it has to be at least an internal temperature of 75 C (165 F).

As soon as the meat is done, turn off the heat. Slice your pita so you can stuff them, and put them onto the still-hot pan to toast and warm up. (Don’t forget to flip them!)

Combine all the dressing ingredients and whisk them together until emulsified (thick and cloudy looking). Toss it with the salad.

Slice up the steak or chicken, and stuff your pita!

* How to roast a pepper

Place your pepper on a metal baking tray. In the broiler (US), or on the grill setting (UK), roast the pepper until it’s black and blistered. It usually takes at least 5 minutes per side, but could take longer.

Once you’ve roasted the pepper, transfer it to a bowl and cover it with a kitchen towel. This will help loosen the skin by steaming it off, making it much easier to peel. Leave it for at least 5 minutes, until it’s cool enough to touch and peel.

Peel it, slice it and get rid of the seeds and stem.