Rating: 5 stars

Dynamite Tomato Ketchup

This will sort the men from the boys.

Homemade ketchup is really easy to make, this has the edition of fresh red chillis giving your senses that dynamite effect. There’s no need for fresh tomatoes, tinned plum tomatoes give fantastic flavour with out the preparation plus you get the juice. Most chefs will swear by tinned tomatoes over fresh in sauces and hot pots, they offer much more flavour than the average imported greenhouse grown tomato especially this time of the year.

Fish & Chips

What better way to celebrate than with home-made fish and chips, a perfect treat. I’ll be eating mine in newspaper.

My nana used to make the best fish and chips I was round there every Tuesday after college for her special battered haddock with heaps of chips and ketchup – so British it’s almost unbelievable to think they are an Italian invention.

I’ve made this recipe for two but its easily doubled and don’t forget the mushy peas.

Apple, Fig and Toffee Pudding

It’s a celebration of English apples, Gressing hall celebrate and so do I with this delicious indulgent apple based baked pudding with sticky figs and lashings of sweet gooey toffee oozing all over the top – not-calorie free but who cares once in a while.

Christmas Pudding

Christmas pudding needs time to mature and October is the perfect time to make it. It’s a really simple process and not daunting at all – it’s as simple as weighing, mixing and steaming. The result is a magnificent beast of a pudding oozing with rich plump fruit, deep in colour and as moist as the richest pudding you could ever imagine.

I’ve been making my own Christmas pud for over 15 years first for my customers then for my family and this recipe has stuck with me for the last 6 years of teaching and probably for the next 50. It uses stout and even though I wouldn’t entertain a glass of stout it adds a real depth to the pudding worth its weight in gastronomic tinsel!

Christmas Cake

Boozie ole Christmas cake full of seasonal cheer. Although better made earlier so the alcohol can seep in and mature, its still not to late to make this one. My husband has his with a slice of cheese, a Northern tradition but I like mine just as it is with a nice cup of tea on Christmas eve when the children have gone to bed and Santas mince pie is waiting on the mantle.

Falafel – Chickpea Fritters

Falafels are a chickpea fritter from the Middle East often served in wraps with hummus or tahini* or served in a tomato sauce like meatballs. Falafel takeaways are hugely popular in Amsterdam, served in pitta bread with salad and sauce. Find them in Norwich – Moorish, Ruth’s or Falafel and Friends on the market. (All listed on my directory)