THE SUN-SOAKED PLATE...Mediterranean recipes for family and friends

One of nature’s seasonal gifts right now are plump, shiny skinned aubergines. They are one of my favourite summer ingredients as they are great at soaking up all kinds of flavours and work brilliantly in stews, tagines, curries and smoky Middle Eastern dips such as Baba ganoush. Aubergines also marry perfectly with lamb in the classic Greek dish, Moussaka, but I think that a little smoke and the flavour of the grill are what aubergine does best, so give yours some quality time over an open fire, on a barbecue, in a griddle pan or in a very hot oven. If you resist the temptation to separate them from the heat before they are totally deflated and almost burnt, you’ll be able to enjoy those silky strands of intense flavour in a multitude of exciting ways. The other day I just sliced a few aubergines, brushed them with spices and olive oil, seasoned them well with sea salt and threw them on the grill. After 2-3 minutes on each side I placed them on a large plate and scat...

At the restaurant we always offer a refreshing chilled soup during the summer months, and it’s invariably some form of Gazpacho. They are light and fresh, very healthy and utterly delicious!   From humble beginnings, Gazpacho has gone on to be the most revered and well-travelled chilled soup in the world. This refreshing soup has provided nourishment, quenched thirst, and sustained a body working in the hot sun for centuries. It even got a mention in the classic novel Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes when it was first published in 1605 and Gazpacho has been part of the fabric of Spanish culture ever since. Apparently, Cervantes completed his masterpiece in prison due to irregularities in his accounts while working for the government so he was probably starving at the time and longing for some fresh, tasty food.   Long before tourism, Andalucía was the poorest region of Spain.   Gazpacho, like most of the regions dishes, was considered “food of peasants” and was...

One of my favourite Mediterranean summer treats are delicious, fresh figs. Sweet, fragrant and juicy…they are one of life’s finest fruity pleasures. Ideally they are consumed sun-warmed straight from the tree and I must confess that occasionally, while I’m driving around the island and see a beautiful tree fat with ripe figs, I just have to pull over and devour a couple before happily continuing on my journey. Apparently, Mallorca was one of the largest fig producers worldwide some years ago and near the village of Llucmajor, you’ll find Son Mut Nou , an experimental farm of 15 hectares specializing in the cultivation and study of figs and fig trees. Thousands of fig tress grace Son Mut Nou finca and there are over 600 varieties hailing from all corners of the Balearic Islands, the main land, and other far away, exotic lands such as China, Syria, Cyprus, Greece, Egypt, Italy, Australia, South Africa, Israel and Japan, including one from Fukushima! ...

  I really love the summer, but as the days get longer with clear blue skies and long, hot, sticky nights, the intense heat can sometimes be a little too much to bear. At times like these we need to find some refreshing, delicious ways to us cool down and a frozen ice cream is very tempting and often hits the point. The truth is whether you’re 8 or 80, you’re always the perfect age to enjoy a lovely ice lolly but if you take just a little time to make them yourselves at home, they can also be a healthy, thirst-quenching snack.

Zucchini Time A courgette tastes of the sun and makes for a perfectly simple summer supper. They are their best from June to September, so we should be making the most of them right now. I love courgettes just simply sautéed in olive oil but they are extremely versatile and can be cooked in so many different ways. Choose small courgettes that are firm to touch with a glossy, unblemished skin. Avoid soft, squishy courgettes. They do not need peeling. Slice off each end and prepare as recipe directs. It's best not to boil, as they will become mushy and lose their flavour. Try courgettes sliced thinly and eaten raw, cooked on a griddle, in a stir-fry, Stuffed or fried in a light batter as chips.

Many years ago I lived in the south of France. After a long day in the kitchen I would literally have to survive on Gauloises , café noir and Pastis , but on the occasions the sulky, sullen French Chef would let me escape the hot, steamy kitchen for an hour or so in the afternoons, I’d head straight to a tiny, little food stand down the road that served the most amazing sandwiches I’d ever tasted…the “Pan bagnat”.   Literally meaning wet bread, all you have to do is cut a small, round loaf or a ciabatta in half and scrape out most of the inside. Fill this with chopped tomatoes, spring onions, peppers, olives, capers and anchovies and drizzle with a little olive oil and red wine vinegar. Replace the top and serve. It's basically a Nicoise salad in a roll and it was utterly delicious. A simple salad Nicoise is still one of my favourite summer recipes. Even today there still seems to be so much debate about what actually constitutes a true Nicoise salad. According to Niço...

Over 100 delicious Mediterranean recipes! ORDER NOW! Classic Mediterranean food through a modern lens. From sun-drenched shores to cool, lush valleys, the unique climate of the Mediterranean has long been associated with delicious, simply prepared food abundant with flavour. In recent years these remarkable ingredients have been utilised by the region's best chefs to create a cuisine that builds on the history and traditions entrenched in the areas food and reinterprets them into something new: A Modern Mediterranean cookery.  In this book, Marc Fosh, the Michelin-starred chef behind Palma de Mallorca's Restaurant Marc Fosh, takes us on a tour of the bountiful produce of the Mediterranean and shows us how to harness its flavours in new and exciting ways. Organised into 18 chapters by key ingredient; covering everything from tomatoes, garlic, almonds and olive oil to octopus, chorizo, saffron and truffles, the book is a love letter to the Mediterranean and ...

They might look intimidating, but artichokes are simple and delicious. Ok, I know they can be a little fiddly and they do need a lot of care and attention to prepare, but once you’ve got the hang of it becomes easy and you’ll wonder why you never bothered to prepare and cook them before. The artichoke has a long and interesting history. For many years, although it was cultivated and eaten in Italy, it was unknown in France. During the 17th century it was thought to be an aphrodisiac and women were not allowed to eat them! Fortunately,

Winter can sometimes feel like the least generous season for cooks, a barren and lean time of year as we wait patiently for spring to arrive with all its rich bounty and colourful, sprightly ingredients to entice us back into the kitchen. It is, however, the perfect time to indulge in old fashioned, heart-warming dishes designed to keep out the cold and revive flagging spirits and jaded palates during gloomy winter’s days.

Menu Natural at Marc Fosh Restaurant It’s hard to believe that the humble cauliflower is now deemed to be trendy and so much in vogue that the once-unfancied brassica has usurped kale as the hipster vegetable of choice. But is it really that surprising? For a vegetable it’s endlessly versatile and makes a great centrepiece. You can sauté it and blend it to add smoothness in sauces and a creamy texture to soups, but I love to simply roast it. Roasting isn't usually the first cooking method you think of for cauliflower but the results are quite delicious. It can be cut into thick slices and tossed with a little olive oil or butter, some fresh herbs and finished in the oven or roasted whole. It may just be a regular, humble, garden cauliflower, but there's something really exciting about seeing it come out of the oven whole. I often flavour

Who doesn't start the New Year pledging to begin a new healthier lifestyle? I do it every year. This year I’ll undoubtedly promise myself again that I will join a gym, eat more vegetables and salads, lose a little weight and try to go jogging at least 3 or 4 times a week and…undoubtedly it won’t happen! Annually we all make New Year resolutions in an attempt to start afresh and turn over a healthy new leaf and not surprisingly eating a healthier diet and losing weight generally tops the list of most people. But here's the cold, hard truth about New Year's resolutions: They don't work. While we believe these resolutions will make us better people once the calendar flips from December to January, the truth is that most of them are forgotten after a week or two. Miss a day at the gym, or skip a 1,000-word daily quota on that novel you

Tis’ the season to be jolly, eat turkey, Brussels sprouts, mince pies, and shuck a few oysters. Oysters are one of those great celebration ingredients. In season during any month that has an ‘R’ in it, September to April, oysters spend the Summer fattening up their plump little selves for their long Winter’s hibernation making them sweeter and crisper than at any other point in the year during the chilly winter months. In many countries around the world such as France and Spain, oysters feature prominently in celebrations for Christmas and New Year’s and between 50% and 70% of all oysters eaten are shucked and slurped up between these two holidays. The Olivar market in Palma has been in a period of transition over the last few years

  Only when you understand and respect the essence of an ingredient can you properly come to enhance its flavor through cooking. Guided by nature, our kitchen will reflect the seasons. Thinking globally and sourcing locally is not just politically correct; it's also personally rewarding for the farmer, the chef and the diner. Everybody wins. Fosh Farm is set in the beautiful location of Finca Son Mir, where the rhythms of the seasons are at their most apparent. Our Mediterranean, culinary garden, surrounded by red earth and olive trees, grows unique, seasonally appropriate crops using organic and sustainable techniques.

“In the flames of the fire lives something that can help ingredients reach their fullest potential.” These are the words of Bittor Arguinzoniz, the chef/owner of an extraordinary restaurant, high in the hills of the Basque country. His rustic restaurant, Asador Etxebarri has revolutionised the simple art of cooking over a flame and has attained a cult-like status, Michelin stars and was recently voted number six in the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list.     The barbecue is now fully established as high-end food and Bittor infuses every course with smoke from the homemade goat butter to the caviar-size spring peas to the grass-fed

--> I spent a little time in the company of Silvia Anglada recently. Her restaurant, Es Tast de na Silvia is the certified epicentre of Slow Food in the Balearic Islands, located in Cuitadella (Menorca). As I watched her cooking and explaining her philosophy, I soon realised that Silvia is incredibly passionate about the food we eat, where it comes from and how it is grown. She has been at the forefront of the slow food movement in Spain over the last few years and her restaurant promotes the use of locally produced, seasonal, biodynamic foods. She believes deeply in a reconnection with the lost rhythms of nature, the traditions of the past and working the land. She also believes in producing and eating great, local food in a relaxed, sociable way and wastes absolutely nothing from any of her ingredients in the kitchen…her delicious dessert was flavoured with juice from the “inedible” skins of broad beans!

              Wild asparagus or “Ttrigueros” as they are known here in Spain, grow all over the Island of Mallorca in March and April.  The locals spend hours scouring the fields and roadsides filling their baskets with them.  Growing wild throughout the Mediterranean, the Romans are believed to have been the first to domesticate asparagus . After the fall of the Roman Empire, asparagus was cultivated in their monastery gardens, along with medicinal herbs. Cultivated for more the 2000 years, asparagus will grow wherever it can find a good footing. Wild Asparagus loves secluded hedgerows and undisturbed country roads. When choosing asparagus , look for firm, brightly- coloured spears with tight, crisp tips. (Very large stalks tend to come from older plants and can be tough.). If the stalks bend without breaking it’s a good sign that they have definitely seen better days. Asparagus is usually boiled or steamed, but can...

--> One of the biggest food trends for 2018 is the fermentation of foods. From Asia’s top chefs refining age-old recipes of kimchi, miso and fermented tofu to artisan producers around the world making craft beers, all-natural sourdough bread, or the finest organic chocolate, to “food nerds” experimenting with bubbling jars of kombucha , fermented food is growing in fame and finding its way into the repertoires of the worlds top chefs in restaurants all over the planet. Yes my friends, sauerkraut is now sexy! I think the growing interest in fermenting is tied to a bigger food movement that is concerned with the provenance of food … people want to know the story of what they eat. In the past, all food had a story – where the berries were picked, how, when, where and what was hunted. Over time, supermarkets have made us lose our connection with food. I believe people are now looking for more variety and individuality in their food as most mass-produced food is aimed at the...