Dad's Empanadas

The best thing about making Dad’s Mexican chilli is leftovers. Leftovers = empanadas.

These aren’t traditional Argentine empanadas – the ‘Mexican’ is clue there – but I grew up with them, so they are my fave.

I ate my body weight in empanadas twice over when I visited Argentina in 2009. Empanadas vary hugely from region to region. The best I found were in Cordoba, where they were beefy, salty, juicy and fried. Further North they start adding more sugar or fruits, like raisins, which I am not a big fan of in savoury foods.

I never did find any with boiled egg and green olives – the one element of my Dad’s that he swears is traditional – but Portena at Borough Market (easily the best empanadas in London) use both so it must be a thing somewhere in Argentina.

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Dad's Mexican chilli

I had a craving for my Dad’s Mexican mince recently. We used to get so excited when we were little and came in the door to that unmistakable smell of stewing meat and spices.

Before I moved to the UK it was one of several recipes I made my Dad make in front of me so that he couldn’t “forget” any ingredients. To this day, I still haven’t quite managed to master his “benchmark aioli” and I have always thought that maybe there is something he is not telling me. The Mexican mince, on the other hand, I watched him make step-by-step so there was no room for items to be lost in translation.

Apart from the optional ingredients, this is to the letter. That isn’t to say that it is traditional – I have no idea, my Dad isn’t Mexican – but it tastes damned good and better than any I’ve tried elsewhere, but I have to admit that I haven’t been to Mexico so, until then, I will reserve judgement.

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Hot Cross Buns

Hot Cross Buns are probably my favourite festive food. The smell of the cinnamon toasting and the taste of them – lightly toasted, thickly buttered – makes me feel all warm and cosy. They are one of my ultimate comfort foods.

I agree with Oliver Thring that “Buns are some of the best things to have emerged from English kitchens”. He gives a potted history of the hot crossed bun. I was interested to discover that the symbology is not Christian in origin – pagans also baked buns and breads marked with a cross. For example, in ancient Greece, breads marked with a cross signified the start of spring; in ancient Egypt, similar delicacies were offered to the goddess of the moon and the Saxons “baked breads slashed with crosses to honour Eostre, their goddess of spring and fertility and the source of our word Easter. The four sections symbolised the four quarters of the moon, or the seasons”.

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Sticky Toffee Pudding

Who doesn’t like sticky toffee pudding? I don’t often order dessert and when I do it is usually something light and fresh with citrus or berries, but put sticky toffee on a menu and I won’t be able to walk past it.   

I have great news for you – it may seem impressive and effortful, but it is actually incredibly easy to make. You can also make it in advance and reheat it, so it is a good choice for dinner parties.  

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VttI's Valentines Meat and Two Veg

The new boy has not only agreed to go by the name of ‘Meat and Two Veg’ on my blog, but actually came up with the alias, so what better way to make his debut than with a special Valentines recipe for meat and two veg. I have Kirsty Brown to thank for the inspiration and Regan Collins who she stole it from.

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