Spring onion, walnut & sundried tomato sourdough

Serves 8-10Prep time: 4 hours (45 minutes hands on time), plus overnight proofing.If using instant yeast: 2 hoursBaking time: 4 minutes Bread is a great excuse to bring people together, and this enriched sourdough loaf is a wonderful accompaniment to...

Smoked Mackerel Pâté

Remove the skin from the mackerel and check for bones Put in the food processor with all the remaining ingredients (except the lemon zest), add black pepper and whizz to a smooth paste.  To taste: You may want to add...

Roast beetroot & goats cheese salad with maple roasted spicy nuts

Roasting beetroots is so easy and the beautiful earthy flavour works so well with the candied nuts, bitter leaves and creamy tangy goats cheese. All the elements can be prepared well in advance and put together quickly before serving. This...

Festive Feast

We have collected advice from local chefs to revolutionise your Christmas dinner Dennis Duncanson, who is holding residency at The Leicester Arms in Penshurst and The Rock in Chiddingstone this winter, suggests trying something different this Christmas! Turkey is in...

Stuffed Tomatoes

The risotto in this recipe is a worthy dish on its own, but stuffing it into a big beefsteak tomato and baking in the oven turns it into something special. A stuffed tomato make a good starter, light lunch or...

Fame Academy: Eddie Izzard

Emma Garrett, Development Director, Eastbourne College tells us about ex-student Eddie Izzard The Eastbournian Society (ES) is all about building relationships that last a lifetime across our two schools – starting from as early as nine months old at St...

House of Beulah

Using her own professional skills, Zoe Joannou has transformed a classic Tunbridge Wells villa into a glamorous space for modern living I started off interviewing interior designer Zoe Joannou about her own house – but I was soon asking questions...

Easy Edibles

Read Jo Arnell’s words of wisdom and your gardening confidence will grow alongside your supply of home grown veg  Whatever anyone tells you about growing your own vegetables – it’s a lot of hard work, things often go wrong, pests...

Anna’s Top 10 Christmas Planning & Cooking Tips

1. Book an online shop for all your non-perishable items. With most supermarkets you can do this three weeks in advance; so, for delivery on 23rd, book on 2nd December. As you remember items over the three weeks you can...

Family Values: One-Pot Christmas Eve Crowd Pleaser – Asian Beef Stew

If I had to vote on my favourite one pot to feed a crowd, this has to be in my top three. Amazing Asian flavours, meat that falls apart, yet minimal effort, just time in the oven. I made it...

Baked to Perfection

Here, Sevenoaks-based sourdough expert Ilgin Beaton – who, as her company name Just Sourdough by Ilgin suggests, solely focuses on crafting unadulterated sourdough loaves – shares three recipes for you to try at home.    You’ll need: Sourdough Starter There...

Crab arancini

Serves 3-4 as a starter, or 2 as a light main. Prep time: 20 minutes. Cooking time: 35 minutes, plus 1-2 hours in the fridge. Heat olive oil in a saucepan or deep frying pan/small wok and add the rice....

Portrait of a Garden – Great Dixter

Jo Arnell shares her impressions of a year at Great Dixter, one of the great gardens of England, inspired by a new tribute by esteemed photographer Julian Anderson Everchanging, always interesting, often breathtaking, Great Dixter is a fascinating place to...

Parma Ham, Fig & Goat’s Cheese Filo Fingers

  Preheat oven to 180°C, gas mark 4. Dice the figs into small squares, discarding the woody top. Grate the goat’s cheese if you can, or mash with a fork until spreadable. Combine with the figs. Lay the sheets of...

Beetroot and Gin Cured Salmon and Quick-Pickled Vegetables

Remove any pin/large bones with tweezers. Line a deep china roasting dish with clingfilm (avoid metal as the acidity may react with it) and place the fish on it, skin side down. Crush the juniper and peppercorns in a pestle...

School Farms – Kent College

How long have you had a school farm? The School Farm has been in existence since 1953 so is an established and important part of the school. What animals do you have? The Farm has Sussex, Aberdeen Angus cattle as...

Seeds of Success

Hark! Is that the merry thud of the Christmas post, or rather, the post-Christmas post landing on the mat? The arrival of the seed catalogues is - for sad old me anyway - part of the magic of the season....

Baked Eggs with Creamy Leeks

Preheat the oven to 190ºC/375ºF/Gas 5. Generously butter the base and sides of four ramekins. Melt the butter in a frying pan and cook the leeks for 3-5 minutes over a medium heat, stirring frequently, until softened but not browned....

Baked Camembert

Pre-heat the oven to gas 4, 180°C. Unwrap the Camembert and put it back in the wooden box. Slice the apple into thin slices (peel if you wish) and arrange in an overlapping spiral on top of the cheese. Dot...

What’s Hot in the Garden

Thankfully even at the Chelsea Flower Show most gardening trends tend to last more than a year and it often takes a while before a fashion really sets in, which is a relief, otherwise by the time the feature is...

Smoked Venison with Fig and Polenta Loaf, Chestnut, Honey and Fennel Butter

Preheat oven to 170°C. Roughly chop the figs. Put butter and honey in mixer and beat on high speed until pale and creamy. Beat in the egg yolks one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add in the...

Panfried Scallops on Carrot & Ginger Puree

Marinate the scallops for a couple of hours in the juice of ½ a lime and a couple of tbspoons of olive oil Peel and slice the carrots and ginger and put in a saucepan. Cover with water and boil...

Cheese Gougères

Preheat the oven to 180˚C/350˚F/ Gas Mark 4 Place the water, salt and butter in a pan over a medium heat. Bring just to the boil, then remove from the heat. Add the flour and stir constantly using a wooden...

Pumpkin Gnocchi

For the gnocchi: Makes around 20 tiny dumplings. Cook the pumpkin; you can steam it, but I tend to cube and bake for 30 minutes or so with oil and herbs (in this case rosemary) as this gives it a sweet,...

Ham Wrapped Asparagus with Cheese Sauce

Make the cheese sauce; melt the butter in a non-stick pan, add the flour and cook gently for a little while before adding the milk, a little at a time, mixing it in to form first a smooth paste and...

Micro Chic, Eco Style

It’s hard to believe that Claire Potter’s grade II listed cottage in Portslade, on the outskirts of Brighton, is just a slice off the house next door “We think it must have been the kitchen,” she explains, “as there’s a...

Food for Thought

It is hard to believe some of the surveys about children, their eating habits and their knowledge of food. One wonders whether they liven up quiet news days or are simply to infuriate those adults who grew up before main...