A Carluccio's convert

I've been sitting on the fence about Carluccio's for quite some time.

Sure, it's a good idea - decent Italian food for a reasonable price with not so many frills. Antonio Carluccio is a fantastic ambassador and I like the idea of being able to shop for ingredients in the restaruant too. On the other hand, national chains always make me feel as if I'm eating in an airport or shopping centre. And I'd prefer them to change the menu more with the seasons.

But recently the branch near my office has started a takeaway lunch bar. Right inside the door there's a bubbling vat of soup, tempting salads, fresh bread and heaps of pretty cakes. Just behind there's hearty hot dishes - freshly-made pizza, risotto and smells-to-heaven lasagne. And, in the grand scheme of Smithfield eateries, it's not at all badly priced.

The cauliflower soup with parmesan and black pepper is wonderfully comforting on a cold day. Mozzarella and tomato salad is bursting with spring-like freshness. Focaccia crunches with chunky salt.

I'm a convert - can you tell?

Yummy sausage-based discovery

I'm always after new food ideas and I scour delicious magazine avidly each month. I fold over the corners for anything I fancy trying; I judge the success of each issue by how many foldy corners wadge together at the top.

Of course, many corners represent foolish pipe dreams - sashimi plates I'll never dare to make and ice cream for which I don't have the requisite equipment. But, each issue, there will be a gem. Usually noodly, sometimes salmony, but increasingly sausagey.

A couple of months back I found this: sausages with creamy lentils. It takes around 40 minutes to make, so it's just about achieveable as a quick mid-week meal. And, boy, is it easy! Minimal chopping, hardly any stirring, plenty of leave-it-and-see time. I pimped it slightly, of course - I didn't bother twisting the sausages into smaller versions (because that's just weird), I left out the garlic and fresh coriander and used creme fraiche rather than yoghurt. But whatever - do what you will. That's the joy of food, as far as I'm concerned - we all know how to make things for our own taste.

Anyway - go and try it. Get the recipe here: http://www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/recipes/sausages-with-creamy-lentils

PS: makes good leftovers too.

Another one bites the dust

Remember when I listed my favourite restaurants earlier this year? Remember how there were three I added at the bottom - ones that would have been at the top of the list but had closed down?

Well, it would appear to be a curse.

Cocoon, my number one choice, has now closed. A modern Japanese restaurant is opening in its place this month, but that's not the same. Really, it's not the same.

Cocoon - I salute you. We had many a happy evening with you and you opened our eyes to Wagyu beef, black cod and (most importantly) good sake. Boo hoo.

PS: If anyone knows what's happened to Honami (used to be Cocoon's sommelier) please do let me know.

Spanish food for Christmas

Christmas time, ho ho ho. I'm quite traditional about the whole yuletide thing, particularly when it comes to food. Each year I fend off suggestions of a goose, chicken, pheasant or duck for Christmas dinner because turkey's just what you must have. Similarly, satsumas, sprouts, chocolates and cheese are the order of the day (not necessarily together, but certainly in rapid succession).

This year, however, we decided to create our own hamper for Christmas full of indulgent things we love. And for me that means breaking slightly from tradition. The things I love includes Spanish ham, olives, marcona almonds and cava.

So, this afternoon I went to Brindisa in Borough Market to stock up on luxury Spanish food for Christmas. I've never been there before - clearly a serious oversight! It's the best shop in the world, bar none. I mean, I love Fortnum and Mason, particularly at Christmas, but they don't feed you samples of ham, cake and olives the second you walk through the door!

Brindisa smells like a delicatessen in Spain and every surface is heaving with bottles of olive oil, pulses or nuts. There's an obliging young man expertly carving a leg of delicious ham on one side, a young girl handing out cake on the other and a stack of chillies in the middle. My eyes were on stalks the second I arrived. I bought some of the delicious ham, carved for me and lovingly wrapped. I also bought melt-in-the-mouth olives, almond cake and some plan marcona almonds. Simple food, not messed-with or fussed-over.

So, this year we'll have a little slice of Spain in with our ever-so-English Christmas fayre. Feliz navidad.

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Floret. The best a man can get.

I've been awfully busy lately and busy often means little time to cook or eat out. I haven't had many particularly noteworthy food experiences for a while.

This evening, though, I stumbled upon an unexpectedly delicious find. A recipe in Waitrose Food magazine caught my eye and I did my usual adaptation jobbie.

I love cauliflower, so I'm always tempted by cauliflower cheese. But this had the added bonuses of broccoli and bacon lardons too.

So, steam some broccoli and cauliflower florets (fairly small ones) for 3 or 4 minuted - or longer if you prefer vegetables a little bit mushy, like I do. In the meantime fry bacon lardons for a few minutes until they start to brown. Drain the vegetables and put them in a big ovenproof dish with the lardons and plenty of black pepper. Pour over some cheese sauce (you could make the sauce, but it isn't really a particularly rewarding thing to make and shop-bought ones are pretty good). Top it all with some breadcrumbs mixed with loads of parmesan shavings. I sprinkled even more parmesan on top as well, because I was in a cheesy mood. And that's it - stick it in the oven for 15 minutes.

I ate it with a roasted chicken breast, but I bet it goes well with loads of things. Ok, I know it isn't haute cuisine but it was completely delicious - try it!

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Hot off the press

I didn't like bread when I was a child. I wasn't very keen on sponge cake either; my childhood was a non-stop succesion of left crusts and party food forced down with a cup of tea (not a big fan of fizzy drinks either).

As a grown-up I've learned to tolerate bread, although I still don't much like the flabby sliced stuff. So, no sandwiches for me, which means lunchtimes are a constant challenge of imagination and resourcefulness!

Since discovering the panini press in our kitchen at work I've worked out that almost any kind of bread is better if you toast it. Even an uninspiring cheese and tomato sandwich becomes bearable after 2 minutes of heat and squishing. But, of course, the strong suit of the press is the panini itself. Oh, the endless variations of fillings! I've become so addicted to making paninis that I've even bought a press for my kitchen at home, too.

So, what should you fill it with. Well, funny you should ask! You know how good Thai food has a perfect balance of the four flavours - salty, sweet, sour and spicy? I've worked out the formula for a perfect panini: something meaty, something tangy and something melty.

Try it: you can't go wrong! The meaty thing doesn't have to be meat, it's essentially anything with a lot of umami, like mushrooms. The melty thing is usually cheese, and a particularly robust cheese could be both meaty and melty. To get you started, here's my five favourites.

• Bacon, brie and onion relish.
• Chicken, goat's cheese and yellow pepper.
• Ham, mozzarella and sun-dried tomatoes.
• Tuna, mozzarella and rocket.
• Portobello mushroom, mozzarella and spinach.

There, that'll get you on your way. Now, go and be creative. Then come back and tell me your favourite inventions.

Cous cous I said so

Since I got back from Morocco, the question I've been asked most is "how was the food?" People ask it in an envious, anticipatory way as if I'm going to tell them tales of world-class cuisine. I'd expect such hushed reverence if I said I'd returned from, say, Paris or rural Italy. But Morocco?

Many of my holidays are based around food experiences: you've probably noticed by now I'm quite partial to food! But when I booked the trip to Morocco I wasn't expecting world-beating cuisine. It turns out I was astute in my expectations.

Ok - Moroccan cuisine has the potential to be fantastic. The country grows fantastic fresh produce and makes use of a wonderful array of spices. There's a few well-known national dishes - tagine, cous cous, pastille, kefta, harira - and they're often cooked very well indeed. But ... it's all a bit....well, samey.

We travelled quite extensively around the country, from the west coast across to the Sahara in the east, across the Atlas and back over to the southern west coast. We experienced busy modern towns, old medinas, small villages, tiny outposts and touristy ports. We ate in fancy restaurants, family-run riads, remote service stations, small cafes full of locals, tourist traps and mock-European places. And my overriding food memory of the country can be summed up in one word: tagine.

There's a few exceptions. The 'Berber pizza' is worth a try, and reminded me of a lamb pasty. Some of the traditional Moroccan salads presented as appetisers in all the typical riad restaurants are delicious. The seafood in places like Essaouira makes a real change and is perfectly cooked. But these things stick in my mind primarily because they're exceptions. Most lunchtimes, wherever we'd just arrived, the menu choices were tagine, cous cous or kefta. Always in the same order, too - "tagine, cous cous, kefta" - like a menu mantra!

I did have one outstanding tagine: spiced chicken pieces with onion and tomato topped with a fried egg. It made a change from the standard chicken and lemon, lamb or meatball ones. Of course, I can't for the life of me remember the name of it! Anyone?

During our stay we found a leaflet listing the top restaurants in Morocco. I don't know who did the choosing! We were fortunate enough to visit three of them during our stay. One was completely overrated, one was pretty good and one - Le Patio in Essaouira - was outstanding. I ate fish with an olive cream followed by a delicious apple tart. The food was a fusion of traditional Moroccan and European; it still made use of excellent local ingredients but broke away from the menu-mantra. I feel a bit sad that my favourite food experiences in the country were the non-authentic ones, but that's the way it was.

Before I went, I asked someone on Twitter how he'd enjoyed the same tour a few years ago. He said it was excellent but "there's only so many tagines you can eat". My sentiments precisely.

Spring, spring, spring

Spring is in the air and Easter is here, which immediately makes my food-brain turn to springy food. Eggs, asparagus, mushrooms, cabbage, watercress, beetroot, spring onions, etc.

One of my stand-by Easter lunches is scrambled eggs on toast with asparagus. It's dead easy to make and deliciously light. Add a bit of smoked salmon, if that's your bag.

Another favourite at this time of year is savoy cabbage and spring onions mixed into mashed potato, served with roast chicken or sausages. I may also try it with an oven-baked salmon fillet.

This evening's dinner will be tagliatelle with assorted mushrooms, spring onions, asparagus and a creamy sauce. Again it's awfully easy to make - just remember to add the cooked pasta into the sauce and vegetables, rather than pouring the sauce onto the pasta. It's the Italian way, apparently!

There: a whole post with no splash of red wine! Well, it's spring - rose or white would be far more appropriate ...

Soupy water

A colleague recently came into the office with a huge container full of carrots. Apparently she had a big bagful at home and felt obliged to munch them before they went off!

I immediately suggested she made carrot and coriander soup: it was my first thought. Other people later suggested carrot cake or batons to dip in hoummus, but I stuck to soup. I'm a very soupy person.

And then I realised I go around saying I'm 'soupy' but haven't made my own soup for ages and have a fairly limited repertoire of recipes.

So ... answers on a postcard, please. Let me know your favourite soup recipe by adding a comment here. And I'll make some, and tell you how I got on!

Cottage with an orange roof

I've just discovered cottage pie with sweet potato mash on top. Yes, I know I'm well behind the times!

Folk say it's better for you, but I'm not sure exactly why. In my book it just makes a nice change and tastes more interesting.

Cottage pie is surely one of the easiest and most satisfying things to cook. Just bung lean mince, chopped onions, carrots, beef stock and a bit of red wine in a frying pan and fry it until the mince is cooked. At the same time peel a couple of sweet potatoes, chop them into small cubes and boil them until soft and squishy. Mash the potato (on its own - no need for butter or any of that malarkey). Then you layer it all in an ovenproof dish with the potato on top and shove it into an oven for 20 minutes.

It makes great lunch leftovers too, and I've got a cunning tip for transporting it effectively. Set aside a small portion of each (mince mixture and potato) before it all reaches the oven. Place them side by side in a tupperware container to make sure it doesn't all go mixed-up and soggy. The next day, microwave the whole thing for a few minutes and layer it onto a plate, like a little orange-roofed cottage!

Moussaka for cattle farmers

Traditional Greek readers may wish to look away now.

A few weeks ago I had a sudden fancy for a moussaka. I didn't really know what one was and had never even it before, but saw a delicious-looking picture in Gordon Ramsay's World Kitchen.

Much to my disappointment I discovered it contains lamb mince, not a favourite in our house. But once I had the idea in my head I wasn't to be stopped and decided to try making one with beef instead.

The first stage is very similar to making a lasagne. I fried steak mince with chopped red onions, tomato puree, a dash of red wine, roughly chopped fresh tomatoes and loads of black pepper. At the same time I fried some thin slices of aubergine on the griddle pan, with very little oil.

At this stage I should explain how to make a delicious white sauce, but life really is too short. I bought a carton of fresh cheese sauce instead.

Then comes the fun bit: layer the aubergine, mince mixture then cheese sauce in a large ovenproof dish, finishing with the cheese sauce on top. I followed Gordy's suggestion of grating some cheddar on top too before putting it in the oven for about half an hour.

The result is probably woefully unfaithful to Greek cuisine, but delicious and warming. I served it with some focaccia and green salad, and lashings of red wine. It goes down perfectly on a rainy evening with plenty of quiz shows on TV.

Grazing obsession

The Graze box craze is no longer a craze! It has gone on long enough to become a way of life. In fact I can't imagine how I coped before!

Rather than the initial excitement and novelty, I now think of it as a hassle-free way of getting my requisite snacks for the week. Plus there's getting over the boredom factor by having someone else choose random treats for you.

Two very enthusiastic thumbs up.

Just brie!

It works just as well without the bacon, too. Just brie and the cranberry sauce. I'm just quality-checking it as I type!

Graze skies

Thanks to the delivery of the latest delicious magazine (I received the subscription as a Christmas present - hurrah!) I found out about Graze.

It's based on a simple premise: we know we should snack on small portions of delicious, nutritious nibbles throughout the day but we're too busy, lazy or unimaginative to provide ourselves with sufficiently tempting snacks. This is particularly pertinent for office workers, although I find I'm just as bad when I'm at home, personally.

Graze sends you a box of goodies, divided into 'just right' portions. They're certainly delicious and nutritious, aiming to provide at least one serving of fruit alongside something a bit more decadent. There's a huge range of snacks on offer, and you rate what you've received online; the bit where you browse the website and mark which food you love, like or want to try is almost as good as the eating bit! I spent a whole lunch hour rating snacks last week. It's worthwhile when your box arrives at the office containing the likes of wasabi coated peanuts and fresh pineapple slices.

The good news is that they're currently offering a free trial box, followed by one at half price. You do have to sign up, but it's easy to cancel or suspend deliveries at any time. Visit the Graze site and enter the code GB6C7QT to take advantage of the offer. The even better news is that for every 'friend' I recruit using this code, Graze will donate £1 to the Rainforest Alliance on our behalf.

Start grazing - it's the future.

Calendar girl

I love January. It's so ... new. I'm still on a high from Christmas (the turkey and mincemeat takes a while to leave my bloodstream) and everything is 'new for 2010', or whichever year we're beginning.

I don't, you understand, love it in a 'fresh start, new resolution, clean slate, start over' kind of way, as magazines and TV adverts tell me I should. That sounds ghastly - having to start afresh. I can't think why I'd want a clean slate, unless the year before had been particularly horribilis, like the one the Queen had that time.

Rather, I like January because I get to do the same all over again. It's like last year ... again. There's another winter, Easter and spring are just around the corner, Pimms will be in fashion again soon enough. Even Christmas will be along again before we know it.

I'm particularly excited about all the food I can eat again. Sad to eat the last mince pie? Never mind - the season will be around again at the end of this year. Missing pancakes? Shrove Tuesday is coming right up. Didn't get a chance to try all those fantastic salad recipes last summer? Never fear - a new year is here.

I love the predictibility and sameness of a new year starting. I'll start digging out all my old recipes in date order and getting excited about the approach of asparagus season, not to mention my delight when autumn's apple day comes a-knocking!

What about Sweet Pea?

I saw a thing in a Spanish supermarket I've been dreaming of for quite some time but never seen before. They sell teeny tiny bottles of olive oil.

I'm rubbish at quantities, but these are 'dinky' little (technical term) bottles sold in packs of five, each with a cute little screw-on lid. Each contains just enough for dressing your salad, dipping your bread or frying a few portions of onions.

All those times I've eaten a dressing-less salad for lunch because I didn't want it to wilt before it reached the office. All the picnics with no oil for my ham and bread. All the camping holidays (well, just one ... ) where I've had the chance to fry, but not wanted to take a big bottle of oil.

Do British supermarkets sell such a thing? And if not, dammit, why not?

Hurry up with the jamon

In fact I couldn't wait! I went to Meson Los Barilles in Spitalfields to start the Spanish food experience a bit early.

In my experience the food, presentation, decor and service in this place feels fairly authentic. It feels, smells and tastes like many restaurants I've been to in Spain, particularly in the south. A few of the tapas seem a bit 'fancy' but all the staples are there and it's a comfy place to sit and eat for an hour or two.

The ham wasn't great, though (only bog-standard serrano, not 'the good stuff') and I'm hoping to find better in Spain.

Jamon jamon

I'm going to Spain next week, so I'm very excited. I'm mainly excited about the food - in fact I can hardly wait!

I guess Spain isn't renowned for its excellent cuisine, but its signature food is simple and delicious. You don't need to do anything fancy with Pata Negra ham - just slice it. You can't go far wrong with a tortilla espanola or a handful of Marcona almonds. You'd be best advised to put olives in a dish and leave them be, rather than trying to infuse them with garlic oil or stuff them with an anchovy.

I look forward to my annual jaunt to Spain for just this reason: it's easy to pitch up at almost any tapas bar and order some ham, olives, a tortilla and a nice glass of red wine, which will all be delicious. Far better than complicated messed-with food at some fancy faux-Spanish place.

Bog right off

I was more than a little bit annoyed that the government recently criticised supermarkets for offering 'buy-one-get-one-free' offers. An MP complained that this increases the amount of food we throw away, and said we shouldn't "be tempted by buy-one, get-one-free, three-for-two or two-for-ones".

Well, who asked her?! I'll be tempted any time I feel like it, missy. The general public should be grown-up and self-sufficient enough to decide what food they need to buy and withstand a bit of blatant sales temptation every now and again.

I love BOGOF offers and I'd really miss them if they stopped. I buy quite a similar batch of things each week, so it makes a lot of sense for me to get two at the same time and store them. That's what cupboards, freezers and tupperware containers are for!

Rather than penalise those of us who make use of the offers, how about providing recipes for the others to use up their spares?

Thai curry again and again!

Y'know, there's been talk. I haven't been talking, but there has been talk* concerning my fantastic new green Thai curry recipe.

One of the best things about the Taste of London festival was the free brochure, featuring recipes from some of the attending restaurants. I've been interested in learning how to make a good green curry for a while (because I like it but find restaurant versions too hot for my preference). So I was pleased to see that the Blue Elephant had published their recipe in the brochure.

Of course, I shamefully adapted it and took a few ideas from delicious magazine's 'freeze ahead' version too. This recipe should make enough for four modest portions, so if you're cooking for two you can freeze one batch and easily heat it in the microwave later.

I make mine with chicken, so my first step is to cut two large breasts (no comment) into chunks and fry it over a low-ish heat in a big wok, with a bit of vegetable oil. Once it's starting to look a bit cooked, I add three tablespoons (45ml) of green curry paste. This is the only cheaty bit of the recipe: I use ready-made paste, to save all the effort of grinding and blending! The quality of shop-bought pastes varies quite a bit, as does the amount of chilli they use, so shop around until you find one you like.

Anyway - once the paste and chicken starts sizzling happily I add four or five chopped spring onions, half a chopped red onion and one stalk (stem?) of lemongrass cut very finely. You can also add some aubergine or other appropriate vegetables at this stage. After another couple of minutes, add a 400g tin of coconut milk and let the whole thing simmer for 5-10 minutes.

At this stage, add the juice of a whole lime, one torn kaffir lime leaf, a handful of basil leaves and a pinch of fresh coriander. Give it a stir - at this point it should be rather thin. My 'freeze ahead' addition here is to add 100g of ground almonds to thicken and make it go further, but this is a bit calorie-tastic! Without the almonds it may only make two portions rather than four, but it won't be as fattening. If it looks a bit gloopy once you've added the almonds, stir in a few splashes of water until it looks about the right consistency.

And that's you done: serve it with some steamed rice and Thai crackers.

*A bun for anyone who recognises the film reference and isn't ashamed to admit it!