July 2025 favourites list

Welcome to this month’s list, and my most recent cooking experiments.Happy reading, happy eating, and happy cooking!

Food writing

This edition of Catherine Phipps’ newsletter on pressure cooking is a gem, as Catherine allows her son and his friend (on work experience as recipe developers) take over the newsletter. The explanation of the science of pressure cooking is particularly helpful: https://catherine244.substack.com/p/a-tale-of-too-many-tacos-or-not-enough

Kitchen tips

If you love baking but don’t want to waste a whole egg just on eggy wash, Allie from Lifehacker has tried out replacements and reviewed them: https://lifehacker.com/food-drink/best-egg-wash-replacement

Home made stir fry sauces are much better than the bland, overly sweet ones in the supermarket. I’ll make an exception for Tean’s Gourmet or Asian Home Gourmet from the Chinese/Vietnamese grocery shop. For what it is worth, I make a stir fry sauce for noodles with Shaoxing rice wine, hoisin sauce, light soy sauce, and oyster sauce. https://www.theguardian.com/food/2025/jul/15/why-homemade-stir-fry-sauces-are-always-better-than-shop-bought-kitchen-aide

Chicken stir fry with my special homemade sauce

Chef José Pizarro says: ‘Anyone can cook Spanish food – you just need the right basics’. He shares his tips on tomatoes, caramelising onions, cooking rice, and perfecting tortilla: https://www.the-independent.com/life-style/food-and-drink/features/jose-pizarro-spanish-cooking-recipes-basics-tips-b2781025.html

Summer means summer holidays. We explore new horizons and eat new foods. Here the people from BBC Food give some helpful advice on how to recreate those magical holiday dishes at home. https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/articles/recreate_holiday_dishes

Time and money saving cooking tips from Amy Sheppard, the author of The Aldi Lover’s Guide To Cooking: https://archive.md/HTQL0

Summer obviously means barbeques. So here are some recipe ideas from the high and low ends of the spectrum: https://www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/the-ultimate-barbecue-menu-recipe-ideas-from-simple-to-posh

Here are some barbequeing tips from a professional. Because we can all do with a little help! https://www.standard.co.uk/going-out/foodanddrink/barbecue-tips-professional-b1237430.html

Recipes

After a chat on Bluesky with foodie and world traveller May about using baked beans as a cross cultural mashup base, I was so honoured and pleased that she wrote up the recipe for us. Here is it – Chinese (Hokkien influenced) baked beans with minced pork: https://www.eatcookexplore.com/chinese-baked-beans-with-minced-pork/

 

May's Chinese baked beans with rice

Top chef Simon Rogan of L’Enclume’s summery recipe for Hake with a beetroot salad with watercress. https://www.greatbritishchefs.com/recipes/hake-recipe-beetroot-salad-watercress

Using Nigella’s dressing as inspiration, I made a roast chicken and glass noodle salad, with some veggies I had left over from a stir fry: https://www.nigella.com/recipes/turkey-and-glass-noodle-salad

 

Glass Noodle salad with Nigella's dressing

Tom Kerridge’s new TV show has him travelling around Spain exploring restaurants, home cooking, and ingredients. This stew with white beans (Alubias) can be served with grilled pork chops, or crusty bread, or by itself: https://www.marksandspencer.com/c/food-and-wine/cooking/recipes/223900/barbecue-pork-chops-with-spicy-white-beans-recipe/

Food and travel

Kavey's travel blog posts are always a treat, but this special on pinxtos in San Sebastian is unmissable. If the foodie paradise isn't on your bucket list yet, it certainly will be! https://www.kaveyeats.com/favourite-eats-san-sebastian

Food writer Nicola Miller has written about how fridge magnets are the perfect souvenir of our travels in this article for Waitrose Food Magazine. As a fellow collector of fridge magnets, I heartily agree. Scroll to page 71! https://digital-mag.co.uk/waitrosefood-magazine/july2025/

 

Mushroom and porcini risotto

My other writing

I wrote this advice for wannabe barristers on mini pupillage. It’s shadowing a barrister for anything from 1 day to 1 week, with tips on what to do and what not to do (do not be late!): https://snigsclassroom.blogspot.com/2025/06/what-to-do-on-mini-pupillage.html

Music

I was introduced to Nick Drake's music in the early naughties, and it immediately found a place in my heart. All three of the albums he produced in his lifetime are excellent, but Five Leaves Left is my personal favourite. So this deep dive into the making of the album on BBC Sounds has been a treat. Thank you to my Bluesky friend Mark Baxter for putting me onto it.

Available on BBC Sounds: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002fy4v

 

Beef and pork ragu with tagliatelle

Please note: as with every monthly Favourites List, all of these items have been selected by me simply because I love them. I do not receive any money, benefits in kind or other incentive for posting these links or recommendations.

 

June 2025 Favourites list

Welcome to this month’s list, and I hope you enjoy my selections and recent food photos of home cooking from my kitchen. 

Turkish Cypriot style lamb and okra stew

 

Food writing

A pleasing, emotional long read from Bee Wilson – kitchen objects and their connection to memory is the topic of “Death, divorce and the magic of kitchen objects: how to find hope in loss”: https://www.theguardian.com/food/2025/apr/29/death-divorce-loss-kitchen-objects

Kavey’s latest cookbook review is Mangal II restaurant’s book of recipes and stories, with recipes tested by Pete and Kavey: https://www.kaveyeats.com/mangal-ii-cookbook-ferhat-sertac-dirik

 

Turkish style tomato and red onion salad

Kitchen tips

Dips with flatbreads and crackers are great for summer picnics and light lunches in a heatwave. But which dips should you take the effort in making yourself, and which can you just buy ready made? https://www.theguardian.com/food/2025/jun/03/which-dips-are-ok-to-buy-and-which-should-i-make-kitchen-aide

If you are in need of new ideas for light summer pasta salads for your lunch box, this is a fun collection with international inspiration: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/summer-pasta-salad-recipes

Recipes

Isabelle O’Carroll shares a recipe for Mussels (delicious and sustainable) cooked in orzo with a panko pangrattato topping: https://heartofeating.substack.com/p/what-fish-to-eat

Isabelle's orzo with mussels

Greek lamb stuffed courgette recipe, topped with toasted pine nuts would be lovely with a simple Greek salad: https://www.olivemagazine.com/recipes/meat-and-poultry/greek-lamb-stuffed-courgettes/

Beans are a great source of protein and fibre, and combined with roasted trout for a Spanish style summer salad: https://www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/recipes/murcia-salad-with-beans-and-trout/ Archive link in case the original does not work: https://archive.ph/rfVmn

From Asma Khan’s latest cookbook Monsoon, her First Class railway curry recipe: https://www.diasporaco.com/blogs/recipes/asmas-first-class-railway-curry

Georgina Hayden’s recipe for gigantes (giant butter beans) with ’nduja: https://archive.ph/1ftTp

Savoury scones are ideal for summer picnics. What about bringing the flavours of Thai Gren curry into the mix? Yes please! https://eatchofood.com/blog/2023/10/3/green-curry-and-onion-scones

Jhal Muri

 

Normally I end with the pop culture picks, but this time it makes more sense to share the TV picks and end with Food and travel. You’ll see why…

TV

Race Across The World, Season 5

As someone who isn’t into reality TV, this show had passed me by until hearing Nick Grimshaw talk about it on Radio 6. I decided to watch the first episode of the current series and was immediately hooked. Yes, some scenes are played for camera, and it seems like the production team help the contestants behind the scenes. But the locations sparked wanderlust, and getting to know the contestants, their back stories, and relationships provided better drama than a lot of scripted TV. The destinations in China are going on my list…

Watch on BBC iPlayer: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/m0002tvs/race-across-the-world?seriesId=m0002tvs-structural-5-m0029sss  

 

Hainanese Chicken rice

Jeremy Pang’s Hong Kong Kitchen

Chef Jeremy Pang, who runs London’s excellent School of Wok cooking school is a natural explainers of the preparation techniques, cooking methods, and recipes in Chinese cuisine. He’s clear, easy to follow, and highly practical. So when I heard he was going to combine a cooking show with travels in Hong Kong, I was immediately sold.

Watch on ITVx: https://www.itv.com/watch/jeremy-pangs-hong-kong-kitchen/10a5696

Food and travel

If you’ve enjoyed watching Race Across The World, here is an article of foodie inspiration for you: https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/articles/race_across_the_world_inspiration

Jeremy Pang shares some of his tips for places to eat in Hong Kong: https://holidays.radiotimes.com/travel-news/inside-jeremy-pangs-hong-kong-kitchen/

 

Thai style seared beef salad

Music

This weekend will be all about Glastonbury. I’m sharing this list on day 2 of the festival, before any of the acts have started. But yesterday I really enjoyed Jalen Ngonda, Gracie Abrams and Self Esteem. And it was always nice to see Franz Ferdinand. I’m looking forward to Ezra Collective and Neil Young.

Please note: as with every monthly Favourites List, all of these items have been selected by me simply because I love them. I do not receive any money, benefits in kind or other incentive for posting these links or recommendations.