Ingredients - 2 kg quince, washed, peeled, cored, roughly chopped - 1 vanilla pod, split - 2 strips lemon peel (only the yellow peel, no pith) - 3 tbsp lemon juice - About 3 cups of  sugar, exact amount will be determined during cooking Method Place quince pieces in a large saucepan and cover with water. Add the vanilla pod and lemon peel and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover, and let cook until the quince pieces are tender (about 30 minutes). Strain the water from the quince pieces. Discard the vanilla pod but keep the lemon peel with the quince. Purée the quince pieces in a food processor or blender. Measure the quince purée....

Recipe borrowed from Directo al Paladar: Los ingredientes (4 comensales) 400 gramos de verdinas, 16 langostinos, 300 gramos de almejas, ½ manojo de espárragos, 1 puerro grande, 1 cebolla grande, 5 dientes de ajo, 2 tomates maduros, 1 cucharadita de tomillo, ½ cucharadita de pimentón dulce y otra ½ de pimentón picante de la Vera, ½ cucharadita de pimienta negra, 50 mililitros de vino blanco, perejil, aceite de oliva y sal. La preparación Escurre las verdinas que habrán estado en remojo unas 10-12 horas. Pela los langostinos y dispón en una olla las cáscaras y las cabezas, añade una cebolla partida, 1 tomate partido, 2 dientes de...

Ingredients - 2-3 cloves garlic - 150 g butter - 1 handful parsley, finely chopped - 6 scallops, in the half shell - small glass white wine - 1 tbsp finely chopped tarragon - 6 tbsp olive oil - small handful breadcrumbs - lemon wedges, to serve Method Preheat the oven to its highest setting. Crush the garlic, butter and parsley together in a food processor with a pinch of salt. Put the scallops in their shells on a baking tray. Add a splash of wine and a scattering of salt to each shell. Sprinkle over the tarragon and drizzle with olive oil. Cover the scallops with breadcrumbs and put a knob of the garlic butter on top. Bake in the...

Ingredients 2 chicken breasts, diced 2-3 dried red chillies 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 medium onion, sliced 1 red capsicum, sliced 1 inch ginger, minced oil for deep frying Batter ½ cup flour ¼ cup corn flour ½ cup water ½ tsp baking powder 1 egg salt Sauce Juice of 2 oranges 2 tbsp dry sherry 1 tsp minced orange rind 1 tsp corn flour 1 tbsp soy sauce 1 tsp sugar ½ tsp sesame oil   Method Mix up the batter. Mix the sauce ingredients and set aside. Dip the chicken in the batter and deep fry until golden brown. Place the cooked chicken on a plate lined with a paper towel. Remove oil from the pan and...

When it comes to baking, puddings and desserts -barring biscuits-, I’m pretty much a disaster, but I’ve pledged to improve this by practising.  There always seems to be something wrong with what comes out, it’s either too dry, too moist, too chewy, funny tasting…  I’ve finally managed to bake a cake from scratch that is light and spongy and tasty.  Since all my cooking enterprises are based on just chucking it all in and hoping for the best, I’ve taken a scientific approach to this and actually wrote down the quantities used.  The result: a fast, simple and delicious cake that vanished off the plate, I...

There are many variations of garam masala, it’s just a matter of finding the one that works for you. I like this combination, but you can add star anise, fennel, bay leaves, caraway… 1 tbsp coriander seeds 1 tsp black peppercorns 1 tbsp cumin seeds ½ tsp cardamon seeds ½ nutmeg 1 tsp mace ½ cloves 2 cinnamon sticks 1 tbsp mustard seeds 1 tsp whole fenugreek Grind all the spices together in a coffee grinder, store in an airtight jar.  Add towards the end of cooking or sprinkle onto meat, fish, vegetables or yoghurt.  Buy whole spices in small batches, dry roast them first when using in recipes, then grind or use whole, this...