Fantastic Flavours

My five, favourite, foodie items of the moment

You know that feeling when you taste something you’ve had countless times before, but this version is just THE BEST? That’s what my writing this week is all about: five flavours I want to introduce you to (if you haven’t found them already) that, if you’re anything like me, will knock your socks off.

Marmellata di Limoni  

My first recommendation can be summed up simply as “sunshine in a jar”. I discovered this Sicilian lemon marmalade by Crosta & Mollica recently on the shelves at Waitrose. The striking design of the lid and label caught my eye and, as I had never tasted lemon marmalade, but love pretty much any marmalade, I decided to give it a try. It’s a revelation! From the moment of unscrewing the lid, the citrus scent hits the nose and makes the mouth water.

Spread on hot buttered toast, the zesty chunks of fruit sit proud of the spread and the taste, for me, instantly conjures up the ideal of breakfasting under perfectly blue skies overlooking the shimmering Mediterranean (I can dream).

Apparently Sicilian lemons have a unique sweetness unequalled anywhere else in the world, owing to the perfect growing conditions of the climate coupled with the rich volcanic soil around Mount Etna. Having discovered this luscious, tangy, lemon preserve I’d have to agree. It’s become a must-have on the shelves of my pantry cupboard.

Unearthed Gouda & Cumin olives

Until I tasted these olives, I had no idea that Gouda cheese with added spices was a regular ‘thing’. The semi-hard cow's milk cheese from the Netherlands, is named after the town where it was originally sold, rather than specifically made, and its slightly chewy texture lends itself perfectly to the addition of fennel, caraway or cumin seeds as a flavouring.  These pimento-stuffed green olives, come with chunks of Gouda cheese and cumin seeds and are absolutely my favourite, white wine-accompanying snack these days. I have many converts - perhaps you’ll become one too.

Organic, ‘Wildflower’ set honey from Littleover Apiary.

Whenever I take down a jar of this honey from the kitchen cupboard, I immediately think of the first UK national lockdown in 2020. Not, one would imagine, the happiest of associations but, in fact, I remember feeling incredibly content at that time. First of all, there was the glorious weather: do you remember how the sun started shining in March and barely stopped for months? I can’t ever remember a spring like it. It’s especially hard to imagine now, as I look out now at yet more rain, wind and grey skies in what has been the wettest 18 months on record for England since the Met Office began collecting data back in 1836.

That sunny spring in 2020, there was no-where to go and no-one to see. Restrictions that, admittedly, were incredibly difficult for those who lived alone or in a small flat with no outside space, were, for me and my family an enjoyable and unexpected release from the busy everyday lives we were used to leading. After 24 years as editor of British Country Living Magazine, I had retired in October 2019, which was, as it turned out, serendipitous timing. When Covid hit, I didn’t have the stress of having to get a magazine out while working from home, cut off from my colleagues.

No longer at the beck and call of corporate masters, I could spend my time as I pleased and that, coupled with the weather meant lots of gardening. My plot has never looked better, before or since. The dry weather meant far fewer slugs than I normally have to contend with, so I was able to grow pretty much anything with impunity – even hostas, which I have since given up on as a lost cause. That summer they looked superb.  

Do you remember everyone got into baking sourdough? I didn’t bother, having discovered that I could buy an excellent loaf locally. Each sunny morning began for me, sitting at a table in the garden, with a cappuccino and a slice of toasted sourdough spread with the exceptional Pure Organic, ‘Wildflower’ set honey from Littleover Apiary.

Aside from a sublime taste and texture, the honey comes with fine credentials. Based in Derbyshire, Littleover is still run as a family company and all their honey is raw and produced to organic standards with no chemicals, heat-treating or pasteurising. They have won numerous taste awards, use recycled packaging where possible and donate 10% of their profits to charities worldwide. Top marks all round for this perfectly smooth, gently sweet spread. The best honey I have ever tasted.

Croquants de Cordes

I rarely choose any recipes that take a lot of preparation time: much as I like to cook for friends, I’m just not prepared to give up an entire day to do so. One way of cutting back on time and effort is when my husband and I share the cooking: he will do the main course while I do starters and puddings. I have two standard offerings for the pudding course when friends come for dinner.

The first is meringue with cream and strawberries or raspberries and blueberries. It’s a classic combination that always works either as Eton Mess or Pavlova. I sometimes make a Pavlova, because I love the chewiness of the meringue, but often, for ease, just use shop-bought meringues crumbled into bowls, with the soft fruit and whipped cream on top. It takes seconds.

My other regular is Nectarine and Blueberry Galette, a rectangular, puff pastry base spread with a mix of apricot jam and cream and topped with slices of nectarine and blueberries, sprinkled with Demerara sugar and cooked in the oven for 15 minutes. I prepare it in advance, apart from sprinkling the sugar on just before it goes into the oven – it’s a Nigella recipe and works a treat.

Both these sweets are quick and simple, but more recently, I haven’t even bothered making a pudding and have instead served cheeses – a Roquefort, Brie, Manchego or Quartz Cheddar and Red Fox which is a fabulous, aged Red Leicester. I have learned from having tapas, that I love nothing more than a little of lots of different flavours and this applies to sweet as well as savoury courses. With the cheese I serve a selection of accompaniments – grapes, dates, slices of ripe pear, a bowl of tangerines and some sweet, bite-sized Baklava from our local Mediterranean Store.

Then I discovered these gorgeous little French biscuits again, at Waitrose. (I deviate to say that you must watch the Michael McIntyre sketch about the store on Youtube and see if you recognise yourself - I certainly don’t have the Range Rover!)

I serve these sweet treats with a glass of white port and decaf coffee. They are exactly what is needed at the end of a meal to finish off with a little “something sweet”. “Croquant de Cordes”, it says on the pack, are “deliciously crunchy almond biscuits, a speciality of the town of Cordes sur Ciel in the south of France made by a local family bakery”.

The internet tells me that Croquants de Cordes were created at the end of the 19^th century by Jacques Sicard, a pastry chef from the medieval town. With just a few simple ingredients, flour, sugar, better, eggs and a handful of almonds, it would seem they are also incredibly easy to make, so I might have a go.

They are crisp, sweet and incredibly moreish. Once opened and exposed to the air they go soft quite quickly, adopting the texture of Amaretti, so they are still rather lovely but if you want them crunchy, as they are meant to be, there is nothing else for it – you just have to finish them immediately!

La Española Extra Virgin Olive Oil

This last addition is not so much about the content, although that is, in itself, an excellent Spanish virgin olive oil, but rather more about the container. The square, green glass bottle is topped with a clever pourer such as those used on oil bottles in Italian restaurants. This means the oil flows out much more slowly, so it is easier to add a drizzle of oil to a pan or to salads without completely overdoing it and drowning everything in the process

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