Kaha bath is Sri Lanka’s celebration rice served during festivities. It’s turmeric-gold, fragrant with whole spices and coconut milk. Serve it alongside the black chicken curry with a bowl of pol sambol and you have the full Sri Lankan experience — golden rice, near-black curry and white sambol; gentle warmth, deep intensity and bright. heat.

This is a village-style dish from Sri Lanka’s southern coast and one of the oldest cooking techniques on the island. It’s concentrated, dry and intensely flavoured, closer to a braise than a soup. The tamarind adds a sour brightness that cuts through the dark spice. The curry leaves add a very distinctive flavour but if […]

The key thing that makes this special is the cashew layer, even though it’s still good without, but then it’s just a chia pudding. This batch of cashew cream yields 2 cups — freeze some and decadently enjoy the rest. If the season’s too early for fresh mango, use frozen or sub for any seasonal […]

French toast has always been a standalone favourite, but then add some quality bacon, a bit of fresh fruit and you’ve suddenly got an excellent brunch worthy of any day of the week. Ask your butcher for quality, double-thick-cut bacon. As a final touch, if you can serve with kefir, crème fraîche or mascarpone you […]

Satisfying, fresh and a little different with both the okra and raw noodles, this is pretty simple to pull together. If you can’t find okra or don’t have a raw vegetable spiraliser, you can still create a similar experience by swapping in some green beans and rice noodles. This version is great though, so mentally […]

This dish was originally designed as a reluctant acknowledgement that the predictable yogi style or nourish bowls were actually pretty fun if done well and you’re in the mood. It thrives or wilts upon the quality of your ingredients, so if you can’t find a tasty unpasteurised miso and a proper kimchi, then step back […]

Here’s a quick version of a classic with all the goodness of the original without the hassle of the mayo and excluding grape as the sugar saps brain power.

This works as a quick bite. The brunch with friends version presented here needs a touch more prep and shopping. If you don’t have time to chargrill your breads and sardines, a bit of toast and a quality sardine from a can will still provide all you need.

Taramasalata is one of those foods that you generally have to avoid if you are gluten-free as breadcrumbs are used to pull the dip together. This version skips the crumbs completely and so you end up with a richer, more thick mayonnaise-like dip. You’ll still need a good quality piece of toast or cracker to […]

Slow-roast spiced pumpkin alone is a great side, but then dressed up it becomes a quick, easy winner that punches way above its weight. Za’atar and sumac are now available at most supermarkets and will make the difference if you can find them. This recipe is featured in Eat Well Magazine 61    

There are multiple ways to slow cook pork, but the shoulder cut in particular needs to be done lower and slower to achieve maximum succulence. It feeds the masses, is good value for money and results in high satisfaction levels. Leftovers provide excellent downstream meal options from brunch to broth. I prefer to make it […]

Korean cuisine has a beautiful way of balancing sweet, nutty, savoury, and umami flavours. The sweet potato noodles here are probably my favourite part and normally available in the supermarkets. You can pull this together in a hot wok if you have one or use the step-by-step version below. For the meat, I like to […]