This Spanish seafood rice looks like paella, but it’s actually much simpler to cook. It’s a looser, home-style dish made with prawns, clams and mussels — no special pan, no strict rules, just something that works. This is the kind of seafood rice you’ll find cooked at home in Spain. It’s built around what looks…
Category: Region
Lebanese Lamb and Okra Stew (Bamieh)
Lebanese lamb and okra stew, known as bamieh, is built on a small number of ingredients cooked slowly until everything comes together properly. The lamb becomes tender, the tomato thickens into a sauce, and the okra absorbs all of that flavour. There are variations from household to household, but the structure stays the same. Lamb,…
Chicken and Corn Soup (Using Leftover Roast Chicken)
A roast chicken in this house is never just one meal. There’s always something left, and while a quick salad or sandwich is fine, this is what I actually want to make when the weather cools down. Something warm, simple and properly satisfying. This chicken and corn soup uses leftover roast chicken and builds flavour…
Classic Aussie Beef Rissoles
Golden, juicy Aussie beef rissoles with plenty of gravy — it’s the kind of dinner that never really goes out of style. A couple of weeks ago I went out for dinner with some friends at a new restaurant — the kind of place where you’d expect small plates and wine, not rissoles. And yet,…
Fig and Almond Tart
Fresh figs are one of those ingredients that always feel a little special when they appear at the farmers market. Their season is short, and when they arrive piled high on the stall it feels like a small signal that late summer is here. This Fig and Almond Tart was inspired by a recent market…
Eggplant Parmigiana (Melanzane alla Parmigiana Recipe)
The first time I ate proper eggplant parmigiana in Italy, I remember thinking: what have they done to this? The eggplant was silky and rich, the tomato sauce deeply flavoured, and the cheese used with a much lighter hand than many versions I’d tried before. Instead of feeling heavy, the whole dish felt balanced —…
Spanish White Bean & Clam Stew (Fabes con Almejas)
This Spanish white bean and clam stew is a simple, deeply flavourful dish made with tender beans and fresh clams in a light, savoury broth. Known in Spain as Fabes con Almejas, it’s the kind of recipe that feels rustic but surprisingly elegant. I first had Fabes con Almejas in Oviedo, in northern Spain. White…
Authentic Lebanese Toum (Garlic Sauce)
If you’ve ever ordered Lebanese charcoal chicken from somewhere like El Jannah, you already know this sauce. Proper Lebanese toum is thick, white and fluffy. It doesn’t run off the spoon. It holds its shape, and the second it hits warm chicken, it melts in — no longer just a sauce, but the flavour that…
Mushroom Ragù
This mushroom ragù is rich, slow-cooked and deeply savoury — the kind of sauce that feels comforting without being heavy. Built using classic Italian technique, it relies on finely chopped mushrooms, olive oil, red wine and time to create depth and body. Rather than slicing the mushrooms, they’re chopped finely and cooked down slowly, allowing…
Traditional Carbonara
If there’s one pasta dish that’s endlessly misunderstood outside Italy, it’s carbonara. Creamy versions with bacon, garlic or onions are everywhere, but in Rome, carbonara is something else entirely — eggs, extra yolks, guanciale, pecorino, black pepper and pasta water. That’s it. This kind of cooking — where flavour comes from restraint rather than extra…