I never watch cookery programmes on TV as, generally speaking, I like to make up my own culinary concoctions. That's the fun of cooking.
In a like manner, I only give magazine recipes a glance, knowing that the authors of them have to provide the editor with so many words to fill the space, usually too many and too time-consuming to follow and cook. And the chefs also seem to like to add an ingredient or two that you do not have at hand, or possibly not even heard of.
So I was surprised to see two recipes in a glossy magazine that I could relate to. They were both unnecessarily lengthy and time-consuming as expected, but easy to condense and simplify.
The first was a heated-through salad that involved frying garlic pieces in olive oil until just browning before adding pepper and salt, chopped fresh tomatoes and chopped red pepper flesh. The interesting part was to add finely chopped lemon that had been boiled beforehand. I have since used some chipped pickled lemon with equal success. For fresh and lovely lemons I grow a small tree in a pot in the garden. It does not produce a great crop, but those it does produce have a wonderful taste. I suppose it is because the lemons are freshly picked. The dish, when heated through gently in a frying pan with the lid on, is left to get cold before being consumed.
The second recipe was a way of forming a spaghetti sauce. Into a frying pan put plenty of olive oil, pepper, salt, lots of chopped garlic, plenty of black olives, with their stones out, then chopped, and anchovies. I have to go to the Portuguese quarter of London to find the kind of anchovies I like, in brine, pale and shiny. But the dark tinned ones will do just as well. Cook this sauce for a short time to amalgamate the tastes, and add it to hot spaghetti (12 minutes boiling).
To be in line with the "glossy" chefs who are inclined to use an unusual item, I do add to both of these recipes and many others, my own secret ingredient (it may not be secret at all). They are pickled peppercorns. Just put ordinary black peppercorns in a glass jar with a non-corrosive lid and cover well with vinegar. (I use my own home-made variety with a "mother of vinegar". But that's another matter.) When softening, they add a tasty crunch to many a dish.
