Kestrel's Reviews
229 recipes reviewed. Showing 51 to 100Sort by: Book Title 
| Date | Rating | Recipe Title
The River Cottage Preserves Handbook
By Pam Corbin, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall
Ten Speed Press - 2010
Great jam and very easy to make. I will omit the pits next time as I don't think they added anything. Could add a bit of almond extract as desired.
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If you have a lot of apple cores and peels, or a crop of crab apples, this is a nice way to use them. I go a bit lighter on the citrus peel, resulting in a milder flavour.
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This is one of my favourite pickles. I started making it when I had a glut of fennel from the garden and now I grow fennel specially for this recipe. It's mild in flavour with hints of the lemon and black pepper. Very easy to make, keeps forever in the fridge.
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Really great recipe for piccalilli. It tastes good when first made, but improves and mellows after a few weeks. A good way to use cauliflower and beans for the garden. I usually make a bit less than 1 kg of veg and keep the sauce at the same amount and it's just right.
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I grew a lot of garlic this year, so I decided to try this pickle with a few heads. I made a half recipe; note that the liquid portion wasn’t enough to cover, possibly due to the jars I used and the size of the cloves. Used bay and fennel seed from the garden too. Will update this in a few weeks when it’s had time to mature.
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River Cottage Love Your Leftovers: Recipes for the Resourceful Cook
By Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC - 2015
I made a combination of this recipe and the chili beef noodles on the following page. I made the sauce from this recipe, then toasted nuts and cooked noodles from the other recipe. Then combined leftover beef, shaved carrots, and chopped parsley. Sprinkled some dukkah on the finished dish. Very good.
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I'm really enjoying this book and its collection of adaptable recipes. I changed a lot in this dish, but kept the aromatics and seasonings the same. I used rice noodles, leftover beef and changed the vegetables. I used Tuscan kale in place of the spinach and garlic scapes for the beans. I omitted the nuts entirely, but I'm sure they would be delicious. The result was easy to make and very tasty. Will definitely make again.
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This recipe is a variation of a previous recipe in the river cottage fish book, and it"s a really nice combination of flavours and textures. I omitted the onion from mine, and added capers. This recipe is available on the river cottage website. Very simple to make and delicious.
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I used whipping cream and the jam jar method. It takes about 30 minutes of shaking the jar to make butter since you are basically whipping the cream and then taking it too far until the butter separates. A pretty fun project, and an interesting way to use up some extra cream.
Larger amounts of cream can be whipped in the food processor. The resulting butter tastes great.
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River Cottage Light & Easy: Healthy Recipes for Every Day
By Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC - 2014
Excellent soup! Made from frozen roasted garden tomatoes from last fall and my own chicken stock, this was very quick to make and tasted great. I used some sunflower butter instead of the cashews, and added the optional pinch of sugar. Tastes like a blast of summer.
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River Cottage Fruit Every Day!
By Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC - 2013
This is a really nice cake. I used butter instead of coconut fat; the resulting cake was tasty and moist. Will definitely make this again.
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I loved this cake; I did make a lot of changes, however. I made this cake to use up some leftover mincemeat and substituted that for the marmalade and the sultanas by weight. I also made a half recipe. I loved the chunks of apple in the finished cake. I found it was fully cooked in less time than stated; 25 minutes at 350 fan for my half recipe. Mine was a little on the sweet side since my mincemeat was probably sweeter than marmalade. Froze well.
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River Cottage Everyday
By Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC - 2009
This is a lovely cake and so easy to make. I love the addition of ground almonds with the chocolate. I made a half recipe and baked in a smaller tin at 350 convection for 25 minutes. It doesn't rise a lot; the final texture is more brownie like and less like a fluffy cake. Will definitely make this again and again.
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I first made this recipe after seeing it on the program, and it is excellent with different meats including pork, my own salted beef, and even leftover deli meats. The fennel, potatoes, and meat make for a great tasting combo. I don't usually add the mint. Very quick and easy to make.
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These worked well, although I used a different pastry that I had in the fridge. The quality of this dish depends on how good your leftover stew is...I added some peas to mine and really liked them in the finished product. I froze the leftovers and I'm pretty sure they will reheat well. Will definitely repeat these.
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Really good. I reduce the cumin due to personal taste. Freezes well and tastes great.
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I really liked these brownies. Very rich despite the beetroot. I make sure the beetroot is cut fine, put in a little less and spread a bit thinner.
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Absolutely loved this dish! I used about 1/3 of the butter and it was still good, and used large portobello mushrooms. Took a little longer to cook the large mushrooms. We had these on my sourdough seedy rolls with buttermilk cheese sauce and salad. Definitely a repeat.
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The River Cottage Cookbook
By Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Simon Wheeler
Ten Speed Press - 2008
This makes a really good tasting ketchup, and uses tomatoes and peppers from the garden. It's a fair bit of work, but very easy to make. I kept mine in jars in the freezer for longer term storage, but this could be processed in a water bath if needed. I found this excellent with roasted potatoes.
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Website: Recipezazz
Loved this technique of cooking potatoes. I did the prep the night before and then just oven roasted the next day. Very good result for very little work. I might play with the balance of flavours next time but otherwise liked it a lot. I used white potatoes and that worked fine.
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Plenty: Vibrant Recipes from London's Ottolenghi
By Yotam Ottolenghi, Jonathan Lovekin
Chronicle Books - 2011
Like the other reviewers, I found this to be really good. It's very easy to make. I used a combo of potatoes and eggplant in mine along with the tomatoes, onions and cheese. I had to reduce the amount of cheese substantially since about 30 g was all I had. I imagine it would be very rich with all the cheese, but we found the reduced amount to be enough. Mine turned out of the pan perfectly, much to my surprise!
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Plenty More: Vibrant Vegetable Cooking from London's Ottolenghi
By Yotam Ottolenghi
Ten Speed Press - 2014
My first recipe from this book, and I found it really easy to make and delicious. I made quite a few changes; I mixed up the onion/garlic/pepper base the night before and soaked the beans. I used small red beans instead of chickpeas and also subbed my own Thai chilies from the garden for the red peppers. The next morning I cooked up the sauce and added everything to my crock pot on low. (I skipped the pre cooking of beans as red beans cook faster.) Then had time to head out to my allotment to do a few hours of work. After 5 hrs I turned up to high and propped open for about an hour to reduce liquid somewhat. Delicious on home made rosemary bread.
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Plenty More
By Yotam Ottolenghi
Ebury Press - 2014
My first recipe from this book, and I found it really easy to make and delicious. I made quite a few changes; I mixed up the onion/garlic/pepper base the night before and soaked the beans. I used small red beans instead of chickpeas and also subbed my own Thai chilies from the garden for the red peppers. The next morning I cooked up the sauce and added everything to my crock pot on low. (I skipped the pre cooking of beans as red beans cook faster.) Then had time to head out to my allotment to do a few hours of work. After 5 hrs I turned up to high and propped open for about an hour to reduce liquid somewhat. Delicious on home made rosemary bread.
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Pizza, Focaccia, Flat and Filled Breads For Your Bread Machine: Perfect Every Time
By Lora Brody
William Morrow Cookbooks - 1995
I made a hybrid of this recipe with the stuffed rosemary focaccia and it made an absolutely delicious stuffed bread. I halved everything to make one 7” bread in a springform pan. I used the rosemary focaccia dough…started with 1/2 cup red fife flour and 1 cup all purpose. This dough needed extra flour to come together. I made the filling with greens from the garden with olives, garlic, and raisins, and threw in a few roasted cherry tomatoes for sharpness. Baked as directed for the dough recipe (20 min at 450 fan) then 3 minutes out of the tin. This bread would be great for company. Rating this as 5 stars despite having to add flour since it tasted so good, and the dough was lovely to work with. An excellent bread that I will definitely make again
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Very good. I ran out of mustard and used 1 cup of spelt flour so had to add a bit more water to compensate. I reduced the salt to 1.5 tsp and used fresh rosemary from the garden. Baked 425 fan 20 min then removed pan for 2 additional minutes.
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Ottolenghi Simple: A Cookbook
By Yotam Ottolenghi
Ten Speed Press - 2018
Great way to use cherry tomatoes and basil from the garden. Truly a simple recipe of pasta, sauce, and cheese, and I'm sure the sauce would freeze well.
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Website: Orangette
These were nice scones. I used white whole wheat flour in mine along with organic apricots. I also added some coarse sugar on top. Very easy to make.
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Website: Nigella.com
A great recipe that uses store cupboard ingredients and is easy to make. A good way to use up overripe bananas and they freeze well too.
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The New Vegetarian Epicure: Menus--with 325 all-new recipes--for family and friends
By Anna Thomas
Knopf - 1996
This soup was fantastic! I had a great harvest of carrots this year so I decided to make this, and it was so good and so simple to make. I made the following slight changes to the recipe; I used slightly more leek and a bit less onion than stated, and used my own light chicken stock in place of the veg broth and most of the water. After puréeing the soup, I added about half the milk and cream as it didn't seem to need that much. Could probably omit most or all of the dairy for a vegan soup if desired. Good sweet carrots are obviously a must for this. Will definitely repeat.
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Another great soup from Anna Thomas. This one is fairly labour intensive (but not difficult) involving caramelizing onions, peeling and roasting tomatoes, soaking mushrooms, and sautéing veggies. I split the work up and it made a really good soup with a great depth of flavour. As usual mine is not vegetarian since I used light homemade chicken stock. A definite repeat.
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One of my favourite soups. It’s essential to use flavourful squash, and I use light chicken stock so mine isn’t vegetarian. Other than that I often make it as written. I also do a variation with squash roasted with ginger and soy sauce. Both are delicious.
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We really enjoyed this dish as part of a vegetarian brunch. I make buckwheat crepes using my standard recipe, but followed the recipe for the filling. The contrast of the apples and onions with the buckwheat and cheese is really delicious. I often use russet apples from the farmers’ market but it’s also good with any tart apple.
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A good guideline for roasted vegetables; I usually add red onions from the garden as well as thyme and parsley. Roast at 400 F for 30 min. More if necessary but watch carefully towards the end.
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Very easy to make although a little time consuming, with a nice combination of spices. I usually serve the stew over couscous and top with sautéed onions and chard. I use Yukon gold potatoes or homegrown gardens types instead of russet. A nice vegetarian meal.
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I really love this vegetable stew. It's another great way to use garden veggies late in the season. I use a light chicken stock and I often substitute some green beans for the kale. The amounts given can be adjusted according to what you have; I sometimes add a few more tomatoes. The white wine adds a lot to this recipe and I always include it. Don’t freeze as texture will suffer.
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The New Laurel's Kitchen: A Handbook for Vegetarian Cookery and Nutrition
By Laurel Robertson, Carol Flinders, Brian Ruppenthal
Ten Speed Press - 1986
Makes a good sauce that is lower fat than your regular sauce. I add a few drops tamari and some melty cheese. Best to eat this fresh
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This is delicious, everyone seems to like it, and it’s a good way to include lentils in a meal. I always add the optional nuts (I use almonds, cashews, etc), and I also switch the raisins for other dried fruits such as cranberries or dried apricots.
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My Paris Kitchen: Recipes and Stories
By David Lebovitz
Ten Speed Press - 2014
Very nice and easy to make. Buckwheat crepes were made ahead, and the assembly was quick. I made mine vegetarian omitting the ham and using some pre cooked veggies from the garden with the cheese and egg topping. Next time I would fold the sides up after just a couple of minutes while they are still flexible. I used regular buckwheat and liked the taste of the crepes. Will definitely make again.
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Made the crepes without the seaweed butter. Very easy, good taste. Added 1 tbsp olive oil to the batter, made as regular crepes in the blender. These can also be made without the blender as the author states. One hour of resting the batter is enough for the water to be absorbed. The small amount of oil helps them not to stick.
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Easy to make and good. Used it on grains and lentils as well as egg dishes. I used my spice grinder to do the peppercorns and corriander seeds and put everything else in the large food processor, and that worked well. I definitely cut back a little on the salt. I didn't have hazelnuts so used cashews and almond for the nuts and sunflower for the seeds. Worked great!
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Very simple and delicious if you have good carrots. On permanent rotation.
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My Bread: The Revolutionary No-Work, No-Knead Method
By Jim Lahey, Ron Manville, Mark Luinenburg, Rick Flaste
W.W. Norton & Co. - 2009
A good way to make olive bread. Can use less expensive olives with good results.
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This recipe uses a soaking method for the potatoes which works well; it needs to be done 90 minutes ahead. I made the recipe as written, but added some cheese to mine. As he says in the recipe, spread topping to the edge as it's likely to burn there. Mine was done in 25 minutes. Very good pizza
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Like Sturlington, this is my favourite pizza dough. Easy and works great.
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This recipe started me on no knead bread ages ago. Very easy and well explained with pictures. I make all my breads this way, (including sourdoughs).
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The Moosewood Cookbook
By Mollie Katzen
Ten Speed Press - 1977
One of my favourite ways to cook squash. I raise the oven temp to 400 to shorten the cooking time and use various types of squash such as acorn and butternut. I also score the flesh of the larger ones such as bigger butternut. I've added the optional currants/walnuts and both are good. Timing for me is usually to bake unfilled squash about 20 minutes, then filled about 15 minutes more.
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Another good way to prepare squash. I use the rice option (sometimes brown or a combo with wild rice), and I think that other grains such as quinoa or barley would probably work. Same cooking times and temps as the other stuffed squash recipes in this book; 400 for 20 min then 15 stuffed.
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Made in India: Recipes from an Indian Family Kitchen
By Meera Sodha
Flatiron Books - 2015
Seeing Kaye's note reminded me that I made these a while ago, so here's my review... I made mine quite a bit smaller than suggested and I found the smaller ones easier to wrap. I'm glad I made a few test samosas since I found that they lose their crispness quite quickly. To make them for guests I froze them overnight and cooked from frozen as directed. That worked very well and everyone liked them. They are quite fiddly to make so be sure to have a good block of time available to make these. Also, the leftover filling was very good as a side dish. Next I want to try them with golden beets from the garden. Overall, a really nice recipe that I've made quite a few times.
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The Lighthearted cookbook
By Anne Lindsay
Key Porter Books Limited - 1988
I always come back to this recipe when I want a tasty, easy stir fry with chicken. Works every time and tastes great.
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A great salad that is substantial enough to have as a meal. I have made it as written but here are my current changes...I use some mayo and yogurt instead of the cottage cheese and yogurt in the recipe, increase the lemon to taste, and usually use only one can of salmon. One of my favourite lunch and picnic dishes ever!
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