Martinis

Cooking four fillets of fish perfectly at home isn’t always that easy; administering heat evenly while not crowding the pan requires a good stove-top and a bit of deftness. Using the griller, however, is a very effective way to cook four or…

As the weather warms up, this hot, sweet and sour salad is an intense palate-enlivener. Serve as a starter before noodles or a rich curry, or as an appetiser with drinks. There’s a decent amount of heat here, but feel free to dial down the…

Temple Bar, the clandestine bar on Lafayette Street that served up martinis, mood lighting and a downtown version of uptown glamour until it closed on New Year’s Eve in 2017, will reopen Thursday. And though the management may be new, it is…

This is quite a rich and indulgent stir-fry, especially if you source a quality piece of free-range pork, which I highly recommend. The combination of the intensity of the sauce, the anise-tinged Thai basil and a properly raised piece of…

Baked ricotta is a miraculously simple recipe base – you can make all manner of dishes with it using different herbs, olives and the like. I particularly recommend the sweetness of grapes, intensified in the oven, with walnuts and the salty…

This is on high rotation in my house: I cook it almost weekly. The sticky soy and garlic on the beef is addictive, while the green chillies, with their gentle heat, bring a real brightness to the dish. Don’t skip the toasted rice, either:…

Making your own five-spice powder might seem like a step you can skip, but there’s nothing like a fresh batch made using carefully toasted spices. So often, items like this have been sitting on a supermarket shelf for quite some time before…

I love the comforting scent of curry in the house and this one, full of warming spice notes, has a round, soft profile. Cooking out the paste at the start is an important step: you want to bring out the fragrance, but don’t let it burn – it…

I have great affection for this salad – it’s a frequent feature of my winter table. Fennel is best at this time of year, as are navel oranges, but I particularly love this salad with another cold-season star: blood oranges. Sweetly tangy…

This Japanese savoury custard is very simple to make at home, although it leaves the distinct impression of its creator having a highly evolved skill set. The key here is to not to rush the cooking, letting the custard set slowly and only…