Green apple & kale salad

For ➍
3 cups ribbed & chopped kale or borecole
handful of chopped parsley
1 cup cooked black lentils
1 green apple, diced
1/2 English cucumber, diced
½ cup toasted pumpkin seeds
1 cup shaved Parmigiano, or feta or goat cheese
dressing
one clove garlic
1 tbs honey
1 tbs Dijon mustard
juice of 1 lemon
¼ cup pumpkin seed oil or extra virgin olive oil
salt &pepper

In a large salad bowl, combine the kale, parsley, lentils, apples, cucumber, pepitas and parmesan.
For the dressing, blitz everything in a food processor or blender, with salt and pepper to taste, until the garlic is smooth.
Pour the dressing on the salad and toss well to coat. Garnish with more cheese if you wish. The salad will keep in the fridge for a full day and slowly loose it's crunch from there.

Pollo arrosto all'arancia, limone, e zenzero (Jewish chicken with orange, lemon & ginger)

For ➍
1 lemon
1 roasting chicken, about 2.5 kg
grated zest 1 lemon + lemon cut into quarters
grated zest of 1 orange + orange cut into quarters
3 tbs peeled & grated fresh ginger root
salt & freshly ground black pepper
5 tbs margarine, melted, or olive oil
4 tbs fresh lemon juice*
10 cl fresh orange juice
3 tbs honey
orange sections for garnish

Preheat an oven to 190°C. Cut the lemon into quarters. Rub the outside of the chicken with one of the lemon quarters, then discard. In a small bowl, stir together the lemon and orange zests and 1 tbs of the grated ginger. Rub this mixture evenly in the cavity. Put the lemon and orange quarters inside the bird. Place the chicken on a rack in a roasting pan. Sprinkle it with salt and pepper. In the now-empty small bowl, combine the melted margarine or olive oil, lemon and orange juices, honey, and the remaining 2 tbs ginger. Mix well.
Place the chicken in the oven and roast, basting with the citrus juice mixture at least 4 times during cooking, until the juices run clear when the thigh is pierced with a knife, about 1 h.
Transfer to a serving platter and let rest for 10 to 15 m.
Carve the chicken. Garnish with orange sections.

* Use 4 tbs pomegranate juice in place of the lemon juice.
**Roast in a Dutch oven for about 1 h /kg.

Ginger arrived in Italy with Arabic traders or North African Jewish immigrants, so it's likely that this is a Sicilian or Livornese recipe. Most Italians would use ground ginger.

Halloumi saganaki

For ➍-➑
2-3 tbs olive oil
225 g block halloumi or kefalotiri cheese
1 small free-range egg, beaten
3 tbs fine semolina
2 tbs clear honey
1 ts black sesame seeds
1 ts dried oregano
freshly ground black pepper

Heat the olive oil in a non-stick frying pan.
Cut the halloumi horizontally through the middle. Dip the halloumi slices in the beaten egg then roll in the semolina. Fry on a medium heat for a couple of m on each side until golden-brown.
In a separate small pan, warm the honey. Serve the halloumi cut into squares, drizzled with warm honey and sprinkled with sesame seeds, oregano and black pepper.
Serve as a special mezze.

Halloumi salad with sweet chilli sauce

For ➋
3 fresh red chilli peppers
2 tbs liquid honey
1 lime, halved
1 block of halloumi 225 g
salad leaves of your choice
extra virgin olive oil to taste

Cut 2 chillies with seeds into rings. Remove the seeds from the third and cut the pepper into small pieces (this to get the full sharpness, remove if desired more seeds). Put the peppers in a small pan with a thick bottom, together with the honey, and squeeze 1 ts lime juice from a lime half on top. Put the pan on the smallest pit of the stove and bring the contents to the boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for 4 m. Stir frequently and keep an eye on the pan, otherwise the contents will foam over the edge. Remove the pan from the heat.
Put a few salad leaves on 2 plates and pour as much oil as you want.
Cut the unused lime half into pieces and if desired place a piece on each plate.
Cut the block halloumi into 8 pieces. Heat a frying pan of cast iron or with a thick bottom. Put the slices in the hot pan and fry them without oil for 30-60 s, until the bottom has brown stripes. Turn the slices over and bake the other side until it is brown.
Put the halloumi on the lettuce and spoon the lipstick red chunks of chilli in their honey glaze over the cheese. Eat the dish immediately.

A more modest version without sauce.

Okonomiyaki sauce

For ➍
4 tbs ketchup
1½ Worcestershire sauce
¼ ts mustard
1 tbs rice cooking wine or sake
1 ts soy sauce
1 tbs honey (use 2 if you like a sweeter sauce)
⅛ ts ground ginger

Combine all sauce ingredients in a small saucepan and let simmer for 3 to 5 m, until smooth and thick.
Serve with okonomiyaki.

Boudins d'Amay (Belgian pudding sausages with sweet potatoes, turnips & parsnips)

For ➍
4 boudins blancs de Liège (white sausages with pork meat, bread and marjoram)
4 boudins noirs (black pudding sausages) with raisins
4 parsnips
4-6 sweet potatoes
3-4 rutabaga/swedes (purple turnips)
1 tbs honey
4 onions
2 ts sirop de Liège
4 garlic cloves
3 ts mustard
4 ts cranberry jam
fleur de sel
Espelette pepper
olive oil
butter

Dip the unpeeled parsnip in salted water and boil for 15 m. Cool in ice-water, rub the skin off.
Cut the parsnips into thick slices and brush them with olive oil. Sprinkle with fleur de sel, and toast the slices on both sides on a grill. Drizzle with (mandarin) oil and give them a whirl with the pepper mill.
Meanwhile put unpeeled sweet potatoes, in an oven @ 200°C. Roast for 45 m.
Put 4 unpeeled onions in the oven and let them yarn. Peel the sweet potatoes, rub the sweet potatoes with olive oil and a little sesame oil, sprinkle with fleur de sel, a little Espelette pepper and honey. Put the sweet potatoes in a baking dish with butter and bake them a little more.
Peel the onions, arrange them with some crushed garlic cloves in a baking dish. Peel the rutabaga turnips, cut into cubes. Fry them briefly in olive oil and add them to the baking dish. Brown a little butter and spread over the turnips. Sprinkle with fleur de sel and pepper. Put the baking dish in the oven for 40 m @ 180-200°C. Toss a few times.
Mix 3 ts mustard with 4 (or more) ts of cranberry jam.
Slice black pudding sausages with raisins and white Liege tripes. Fry in foaming butter.
Arrange the sweet potato, roasted parsnips, turnips on the warmed plates. Dress the turnips with a spoonful of syrup of Liège. Put the sliced sausages next to a generous serving of the mixed mustard. If desired, garnish with parsley and sesame seeds.

*Alternatively, clean and slice the vegetables. Steam for 20 m and grill them lightly.

*Or peel the vegetables, cut  into small parts, preheat an oven to 200°C, put the vegetables on baking paper (each in  small group of its own), spray with olive oil, bake them for about 25 m. Dress the vegetables with honey, mustard & jam, butter, as indicated in the recipe.

Papaya & halloumi watercress salad

For ➍
salad:
200-250 g halloumi, sliced
1 ts ghee*
1 medium punnet of cherry or baby plum tomatoes, halved
4 huge handfuls of watercress
1 medium red onion, finely sliced
1 medium ripe papaya or half a large one
1 large ripe black skin avocado, flesh scooped out & sliced
1 handful of pine nuts, or substitute pumpkin/sunflower seeds
dressing:
extra virgin olive oil
raw apple cider vinegar or lime or lemon juice
sea salt & black pepper
a squeeze of raw runny honey

Take a large flat serving dish and distribute the watercress (you can roughly snip into the stems a little for slightly more elegant eating).
Scatter the tomatoes, onion and avocado over the bed of watercress and sprinkle on a touch of sea salt if desired.
Gently toast the pine nuts in a dry frying pan and set aside.
Halve the papaya and scoop out the seeds.
Using a flattish spoon, scoop out thick slivers of the papaya flesh and pile onto the salad. If you're struggling to make it look nice then try slicing or cubing the fruit.
Ask everyone to be seated as this salad is best consumed when the halloumi is hot from the griddle/pan.
Heat the ghee to a high temperature in a large frying pan and lay down the halloumi slices without overcrowding (you might have to do this in batches if your pan is too small).
Fry the halloumi for approximately a minute on each side until each piece takes on a golden brown colour.*
Lay them across the salad.
At the table, sprinkle over the pine nuts, drizzle over a generous amount of olive oil, a squeeze of honey, a splash of vinegar and a good grinding of black pepper.

*or you could grill/griddle the halloumi.

♥︎Fat-free orange vinaigrette

For ➍
4 tbs orange juice
2 tbs balsamic vinegar
1 tbs Dijon mustard
2 ts honey
⅛ ts coarsely ground black pepper

Put orange juice, vinegar, mustard, honey and pepper in a jar with tight-fitting lid. Shake until the ingredients are thoroughly mixed. 
Use with oriental or summer salads.

*The vinaigrette will keep a week in the fridge. Shake before serving.

Fish burgers with fennel & quinoa salad

For ➍
600 g pollack (or white seasonal fish, skinned)
3 scallions
1/2 red chilli
a few sprigs of coriander
1/2 lime or lemon
1 egg
60 g breadcrumbs (or panko)
4 tbs flour
dash bland cooking oil (eg. canola or peanut oil)
salt
quinoa & fennel salad
yogurt vinaigrette

Cut the fish into bite-size pieces. Mash in the food processor.
Separate the egg and add the egg whites, along with a splash of lime or lemon juice. Grind everything fine into a chunky puree.
Spoon the ground fish in a mixing bowl.
Clean the scallions and cut them into thin rounds. Cut the red chilli in tiny pieces, chop the coriander leaves and mix everything with the fish, with a pinch of salt.
Sprinkle ground breadcrumbs (or coarser panko) in a bowl.
Rinse your hands clean and dusted with a little flour.
Knead servings of fish mixture into equal patties (150 g a piece). Roll in the breadcrumbs and press gently.
Heat a splash of oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Fry the fish burgers patiently. Give them time to yarn to the core, without burning the outside.
Pour the quinoa & fennel salad. Spoon some of the yogurt vinaigrette over the fruity green and serve the remaining sauce in a separate container.
Place the freshly fried fish burgers on top and garnish the dish with coriander. Serve immediately.

Yogurt vinaigrette dressing

For ➍
1.5 dl (full) natural yogurt
1 tbs white wine vinegar
1 tbs honey
 saved grapefruit juice
 pepper &  salt

Put yogurt in a jar. Add the saved grapefruit juice from the salad.
Add some honey and wine vinegar, freshly ground pepper and a little salt.
Mix the yogurt vinaigrette.
Add to a fennel & quinoa salad.

Kasutera (Japanese cake)

For ➍-➑
2 tbs milk
2 tbs honey
4 eggs
170 g sugar
70 g bread flour, sifted

Line a large loaf pan or two small loaf pans with waxed paper. Mix honey in warm milk and set aside. Preheat the oven in 180°C. Whisk eggs in a large bowl using an electric hand-mixer, adding sugar gradually. Place the bowl over warm water in another large bowl and whisk eggs until becomes light yellow (almost white). Mix the milk and honey mixture in. Add sifted flour in the bowl and mix gently with a spatula. Pour the batter in lined loaf pan and tap the pan gently on the table to release any air bubbles. Bake at 180°C for about 10 m and turn down oven to 135°C and bake for about 40 m, or until done. To check if the cake is done, poke it with a bamboo skewer. If the skewer comes out clean it's done. Flip the pan upside down on a cooking sheet or platter and remove the pan from the kasutera.

Remove the waxed paper and cool the kasutera. Wrap it with plastic wrap until the next day. It tastes better the next day. Cut the kasutera into 2 cm thick slices.

Kasutera is a delicious sponge cake made from a few ingredients. It was imported by Portuguese to Nagasaki, Japan in the 16th century. The word "castella" originated from Portuguese "pao de Castella" which means bread from Castilla.

Miso & mushroom omelet with kale salad

For ➍
1 tbs miso paste
4 eggs
1 tbs olive oil
200 g mushrooms, chopped
200 g kale, chopped, tough stems discarded (2 x volume of mushrooms)*
½ ts kosher salt
25 g unsalted chopped raw pecans or walnuts
75 g grated pecorino Romano cheese
for the vinaigrette*
1 clove garlic, finely minced
½ ts kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper
4 tbs freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 ts chile oil or chile sauce (optional)
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
2 ts Dijon mustard
2 ts honey

Make the salad dressing by combining the vinaigrette ingredients in a jar with a tight fitting lid and shake well to combine. Taste and add more salt as needed.
Whisk the miso paste with the eggs. Heat a frying pan over medium-high heat and swirl in the olive oil. Add in the mushrooms and sauté for 2 m, or until mushrooms softened. Add in the egg and turn the heat to medium. Let cook for 2 m. Cover and let cook for an additional 1-2 m or until eggs are set.
While eggs are cooking, place the kale in a large bowl. Sprinkle with salt. Using massaging motion, rub the kale leaves together to break up and soften the kale.
When ready to serve, slice omelet in strips. Toss kale with some of the dressing, chopped nuts and pecorino Romano cheese. Serve with omelet.

*use broccoli or cavalo nero instead

**use about ¼

Redfish with endives & ginger

For ➍
600 g redfish fillets
600 g endives
16 new potatoes
1 tbs ginger paste
1 tbs honey
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
flour
salt & pepper

Cut the chicory into chunks. Cook for 3 m in olive oil. Add the ginger and let simmer for 3 m. Add a few drops of balsamic vinegar and let stew. Mix honey through the endives. Season with salt and pepper.
Boil new potatoes  and drain. Fry them un a little oil until golden.
Season the redfish fillets, rub them in flour. Fry in olive oil until crisp.
Arrange the endives on the plate, put the redfish fillet on it, the potatoes beside it.
Decorate with strips of blanched leek, carrot (and pepper) and a half a braised endive.

Sour pork & pepper @ wok

For ➋
100 g Thai jasmine rice
1 tbs sesame seeds
1 ts sunflower oil
250 g pork fillets, cut into finger-width strips
1 red & 1 yellow pepper, deseeded & sliced
2 ts cornflour
2 ts soy sauce
juice 1 lime
½-1 tbs clear honey
½ red chilli, sliced

Place the rice in a saucepan with 30 cl boiling water. Bring to the boil, stir once, cover with a lid and reduce the heat to low. Cook for 15 mns, by which time the rice should have absorbed all the liquid and be perfectly cooked. 
Dry-fry the sesame seeds until toasted golden, then tip into a small bowl and set aside.
Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan or wok, add the pork and peppers and stir-fry for 5-6 m over a high heat until the pork is lightly browned and cooked through. Mix the cornflour and soy sauce together in a bowl, then add the lime juice, honey, chilli and sesame seeds, plus 6 tbs cold water. Pour into the wok and cook until the sauce has slightly thickened, tossing the pan to coat the pork and peppers.
Serve with the rice.

Spinach salad with warm bacon vinaigrette

For ➍
100 g baby spinach
2 large white button mushrooms, thinly sliced
¼ small or medium red onion, very thinly sliced*
1 large egg, hard-boiled, chilled, peeled & thinly sliced**
4 pieces thick-sliced bacon (about 100 g), finely diced
2 tbs red wine vinegar
½ ts honey
½ ts smooth (Dijon) mustard
coarse salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste

Place spinach in a large, wide salad serving bowl. Scatter with mushrooms, red onion* and coins of hard-boiled egg.
In a large skillet, fry bacon bits over medium-high heat until brown and crisp and having rendered their fat.
Use a slotted spoon to scoop them out of the skillet and spread them on a piece of paper towel briefly before sprinkling them over the salad.
Pour out all but 2 tbs of hot bacon fat from the skillet. Reheat over medium and quickly whisk in the red wine vinegar, honey and Dijon*. Pour over entire salad and season salt and pepper.
Toss gently and serve hot.

*Add the raw onion to the dressing in the skillet for the last 10 s to soften it and remove more of the bite, and pour the onions and dressing over the salad together.
**Put eggs in cold water. Bring it to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, set a timer to exactly 10 m, and reduce the heat to medium. Plunge egg in icy water to stop cooking immediately and chill quickly.

Hot Tennessee toddy

For ➊
1 part (3 cl) Bourbon
1 tbs honey
1 cinnamon stick
1 squeeze of fresh lemon juice
boiling water

Pour the Bourbon into a heavy mug.
Add 1 tbs spoonful of honey, cinnamon stick and lemon juice.
Top with boiling water and stir.
Drink before going to sleep.

A toddy is a traditional drink in North England, mixing whisky with hot water or milk and some spices, meant to cure a cold. The name might have been derived from a Scottish nickname for whiskey. The American versions mostly use Bourbon, or, as in Wisconsin,  brandy. Sometimes the water is replaced by ginger ale, omitting the cinnamon. This is the version preferred by Tennessee whiskey distiller Jack Daniels.

Figs in syrup

For ➋
10 cl lemon water (1 lemon needed)
50 g sugar
1 tbs honey
½ whole clove
10 walnut halves
10 very fresh figs
10 cl plain yogurt
¼ ts vanilla
chopped walnuts

Cut a thin strip of peel about 5 cm long from lemon.
Squeeze juice from lemon. Add water to measure 10 cl.
In a small saucepan combine lemon peel strip, lemon juice mixture, sugar, honey, and clove. Bring to boil and reduce heat. Cook and stir until syrup is thickened and bubbly.
Remove from heat, discard clove and lemon peel. Cool slightly.
Insert 1 walnut half into each fig. Place stuffed figs in individual dessert dishes.
Stir together cooled syrup, yogurt, and vanilla. Spoon yogurt mixture over figs.
Cover and chill. At serving time, sprinkle with chopped walnuts.

Banana frozen yogurt

For -/+ ➊ l
3 large mashed ripe bananas
2 ts lemon juice
50 cl vanilla yogurt or strained (Greek) yogurt
1-2 tbs honey or to taste

In a large bowl, combine bananas, lemon juice, yogurt and honey.

Chill at least 4 h.

Pour into ice cream maker and follow directions for freezing.

Serve with preferred fruit. Or with caramelized pineapple.

*Alternatively, mix 700 g Greek yogurt, 2 tbs sugar, 1 ts vanilla extract in a shallow bowl or plastic box, fit for the freezer. Put in the freezer. Every 45 m, spoon through the mixture. It would be ready to eat after 2.5-3 h. Scoop the frozen yogurt in serving bowls. Serve with pieces of mango, strawberry, berries, chocolate, etc.

Spring chicken with fennel & potatoes

For ➍
4 spring chickens (tied), 450 g each
1 clove garlic
8 tbs mustard
8 tbs honey
a pinch each of ground laurel, dried thyme, dried sage (or oregano or rosemary)

2 fennel bulbs
a splash Noilly Prat, a dash pastis (or some white balsamico)

600 g potatoes
a few sprigs parsley
1 tbs olive oil
300 g butter
salt & pepper

Rinse the fennel. Slice each bulb into 8 wedges.Melt a knob of butter in a large pot over medium heat.

Put the fennel in the hot butter and bake for 2-3 m. The bottoms might slightly caramelize. To braise the fennel, add a splash of Noilly Prat and a dash of pastis. Cut a round, the size of the pan, out of a sheet of parchment paper. Pour some water into the pan and place the paper on top of the fennel pieces as a soft cover. Turn heat down to low. Let cook for 25 m. Turn over the slices and cook for 10 m more. Season with pepper and salt.

Cut a knob of butter into cubes. Put in a mixing bowl. Peel and crush the garlic. Mix the pulp with the butter. Add a whiff of various dried herbs. Add some salt and pepper.

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Remove the rubber band or string off the birds. Fill each spring chicken with a good knob of herb butter. Re-tie the fowl. Take a baking dish or roasting pan, rub each poussin with a knob of butter and then put them in the dish.

Mix the honey and mustard. Use a kitchen brush to rub the chicken with the sweet and sour mix. Put a few knobs of butter in the baking dish. Fry the poussin 20 to 25 m in the oven.Open the oven door occasionally and spoon the juices over the poussin. Remove the cooked bird from the oven and sprinkle with some juices.

Meanwhile, peel the potatoes and boil them in lightly salted water until al dente. Cut them into thick slices or bite-size pieces. Melt a knob of butter in a frying pan and add some olive oil.

Bake until golden and season to taste with a pinch of salt and some freshly milled pepper.

Chop fresh parsley over the potatoes and shake the pan gently.

Launch the grill of your oven. Remove the strings that hold the fowl.

Cut each chicken in half, through the carcass. Use a sharp knife. Put the fowl in the roasting pan with the legs up. Spoon some juices over the meat and put it a few m under a hot grill.

Serve on a large plates: potatoes, a few pieces of braised fennel and a halved poussin.

Spoon some of juices over chicken or serve it separately in a gravy boat.