Paper Palate

So good I ate two - and that after a full roast lamb dinner. Maybe the excellent wine I served with the lamb lubricated to the point of gluttony!

The warmed Chocolate Croissants are simple to prepare and a joy to eat; like many recipes in Delicious. Next on my list to try from the August issue is a Pineapple, Mango and Coconut Salad. Long thin wedges of pineapple, mixed with sliced mango drizzled with vanilla syrup. The coconut part comes in as “toasted strips of coconut.” Add a few mint leaves and a scoop of coconut ice cream and you have a true summer dessert salad.

I’ve just started to use a supermarket on-line shopping service; for my local “within walking distance” shop is up-market and a tad expensive. I need to reduce my weekly food bill! I’ve long planned out my weekly meals and proudly do not throw very much away at all. Armed with this latest Delicious I’ve selected Beef, Spinach and Mozzarella Ragu and Pork Medallions with Verdi Butter.

To keep the veg portions up there is just enough bits and pieces in my virtual trolley to make the Super-food Salad (which comprises smoked mackerel fillets, sliced radishes, broccoli, sunflower seeds and alfalfa sprouts). I skipped on the Duck and Pear Salad - that duck breast was SO expensive! - but a tin of tuna for the Tuna Chili Linguine made it through.

I’m thinking I should invest in a blender. Several recipes I’ve seen recently, including one in an advert in this issue, call for an ingredient pureed. The Focaccia alla Rucola is simply pureed rocket with olive oil, spread on warmed focaccia with a slice of burrata on top. Several of those and a glass of wine would make for a great lunch or lighter dinner. I’ve criticized the advertorial content of Delicious and other food magazines in the past but this recipe - in an advert for Peroni - is from Giorgio Locatelli. So it’s not all bad.

The only problem with on-line supermarket ordering is being limited to what the local branch stocks. The wine list is quite poor despite the store being one of the larger ones in the chain. No listing for the Stamford Brook Viognier as recommended in the Delicious wine section: “Match the lovely apricot flavour with mild curries or barbecued chicken.” At £5.99 it is within my week’s budget, but then I haven’t gone for any curry or chicken this week, so its non-listing matters not! As an alternative I pick a fish dish and a Sauvignon Blanc for a midweek wine and food combination; details coming soon to Spittoon!