Clare's Budwig Muesli

Feeling a bit bloated after Christmas? Aiming for a fresh, healthy start in 2017? This recipe from Clare Skelton, trader at Borough Market and owner of Flax Farm, is a great breakfast and doubles as a nutritious dessert, bonus! This recipe first appeared on the Borough Market website as part of my series, I Am What I Eat, where I interview Borough Market traders about the foods that are important to them and why. 

"This is one of my favourite healthy foods,” says Clare. “It’s sort of a little treat, but also the basis of the Budwig diet”—a diet used by some people as a form of alternative therapy for a number of conditions. This recipe makes enough for one for breakfast, but it’s also a great dessert.

“It’s uber-healthy but I’ve done it at dinner parties and everybody loves it.” She likens it to eton mess pudding, “but less sweet and with much more flavour”. The recipe is very flexible—you can add whatever spices and natural flavours you like. If you are making it as a dessert, Clare also recommends a bit of kirsch, rum or juices for extra flavour. 

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Cinnamon buns for Christmas morning

This recipe is from the wonderful Arianna Halshaw, baker and pâtissier extraordinaire. Arianna is my colleague at Natoora, but until recently she owned her own bakery, Bittersweet Bakers. Since Arianna started working with us, office treats have taken on a whole new meaning (and my waistline a few more digits).

I arrange cooking classes for staff once a quarter and Arianna has been kind enough to teach a few of these. We did a Christmas special recently where she shared these cinnamon buns for Christmas morning.

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Debbie's roasted beetroot with goat's curd

This recipe from Debbie Vernon, trader at Borough Market and co-owner of Ellie's Dairy, is a great vegetarian dish that's easy to throw together. It is substantial enough for a light lunch, but also great as a starter or side dish. This recipe first appeared on the Borough Market website as part of my series, I Am What I Eat, where I interview Borough Market traders about the foods that are important to them and why. 

Debbie’s passion for good, honest food is rooted in her childhood. There was no supermarket when she was growing up—her parents bought meat from the butcher, bread from the baker and all their fruit and vegetables came from the garden. She loves this recipe because it is simple and delicious: “I don’t do complicated, it’s quick and easy—throw it in and it happens, you know?” 

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#CookforSyria: Bashar's Mugadara

One of the most striking things about Bashar is how warm, generous and overwhelmingly positive he is. Without probing – and you do have to probe – you would never know the trauma that he has been through.

Perhaps it is not remarkable; all of the Syrian refugees I met when I visited Calais were equally warm and welcoming. It was their generosity that really struck me though; these people who had so little were so keen to show us hospitality. It was their way of thanking us for the bags of food we brought and the odd jobs my friends did around their makeshift homes.

Khairun Dhala, who runs the Marhabtayn Syrian Supper Club, tells me that “Syrians are very hospitable people”. One of the aims of their supper club is to show people that and “counter the image of refugees being scroungers or just wanting to take benefits.” It’s a friendly space where people can feel welcome, enjoy a good meal and learn a bit about Syrian food and culture.

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Marcello's margherita pizza

This recipe from Marcello Basini, trader at Borough Market, is probably the closest you'll get to a proper pizza at home. A domestic oven is never going to give you the crisp base you get from a wood fired oven, but Marcello has some great tips to help you get as close as possible. This recipe first appeared on the Borough Market website as part of my series, I Am What I Eat, where I interview Borough Market traders about the foods that are important to them and why. 

“If it’s a good pizza, I like it simple,” says Marcello Basini of Jumi Cheese. “As an Italian my favourite is the margherita.” Marcello uses a ‘mother’ or ‘starter’ for his pizza dough, but as most people are unlikely to have that to hand, I’ve given the option of using yeast as well.

He makes his dough the night before, then knocks it back in the morning and leaves it to rise again until the evening. You can get away with letting it rise for 2 hours first time, knocking it back and then letting it rise again for another 30 mins, but the longer it proves, the better.

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