Orange tahini semifreddo with crushed pistachios

Joan Ransley September 26, 2017

This is a very forgiving recipe and does not require much skill to make. Don’t worry about whether the eggs whites or cream/yogurt mix are whipped up enough – if they are white and fluffy they will do. If all the ingredients are mixed together well enough and given enough time to freeze the recipe will taste delicious regardless of what order you put the ingredients together.

The combination of sweet, tangy orange juice, nutty flavoured of tahini and crunchy pistachios are set against the creaminess of enriched Greek Yogurt is a winner.

Elderberry cordial

Joan Ransley September 17, 2017

“It's a cross between a stroke and a rub" says Arthur from his allotment by the Old Bridge, Ilkley as he described the technique required to remove elderberries from their stalks to make elderberry cordial. "If you use a fork or anything like that the little blighters will be all over the place" he continued.

Arthur a lifelong gardener, now in his 80's and with a voice reminiscent of Alan Titchmarsh, gave me clear instructions on how to make elderberry cordial. He recommended pouring a teaspoon or two of the deep, dark purple liquor over ice-cream, taking a little in hot water to sooth a tickly throat and, he gave me a glass of cool, freshly made lemonade spiked with a few drops to try on the spot. The flavours were spicy and fruity and made me think of all kind of other uses for this regal juice. I think it would marry well with apples, plums and pears.

Interestingly elderberry syrup does have a place in the household pharmacopeia as a cough linctus. If you browse the cough medicines along the shelves of any big pharmacy you will come across Sambucus based syrup. The thick linctus soothes sore and itchy throats.

The berries must not be eaten raw but can also be stewed and mixed with other berries in jams and compotes. They are too good to waste so enjoy collecting them and making this gorgeous syrup.

In the melting pot. Yorkshire Post Magazine. June 2017

Joan Ransley June 29, 2017

Most of us buy our day to day food from supermarkets. That’s usually one big weekly shop and a smaller top-up shop for items of food we run out of midweek.

But there is a growing group of curious, ambitious home cooks inspired by chefs such as Yotam Ottolenghi who need to shop further afield to find ingredients to cook dishes from the Middle and Far East, Eastern Europe and Asian cuisines.

But where do you go to buy those unusual ingredients, in the quantities you need to create exciting dishes for a family meal or a big event such as a street party or BBQ without breaking the bank and spending ages scouring the shelves of supermarkets?

I asked experienced chef and baker, Jez Belston, who runs the popular, cult Edward Street Bakery in Saltaire to take me to his favourite Bradford food shops to find everything from bags of za’atar to kaffir lime leaves. Jez has his eye on the unique and unusual ‘foodie’ ingredients at a good price.

All the shops are located within 15-minute drive of each other with parking close by.

Guy Grieve hand dives for scallops of the island of Mull

Delicious. Produce Awards trip

Joan Ransley March 27, 2017

Last year delicious. launched the Produce Awards to find the country’s best artisanal food producers. Earlier this month deputy editor Susan Low and I set out to meet some of the winners from Scotland and northern England. Here’s a behind-the-scenes glimpse of our foray. Look out for the profiles of the winners in upcoming issues of the Delicious. magazine.

Here’s my diary of the trip which is also published on the Delicious. website

James Rebanks - The shepherd's life for Delicious. magazine

Joan Ransley January 1, 2017

In March last year I was asked by Delicious. to spend a day with the best selling author James Rebanks on his farm in Matterdale, Cumbria. I worked with deputy editor, Susan Low who was tasked with interviewing James about his life as a farmer and his recently published book The Shepherd's Life while I photographed James at work with his beautiful Herdwick sheep. It was a bitterly cold day up on the fells with snow lying on the surrounding hills.