So it’s getting to that time of year… the BEST time of year. Fine, I won’t start wearing my Christmas jumpers and cheer until the 1st December, but I will start prepping for Christmas lunch (yes, really) and thinking about gifts. Haters gonna hate.

A few years ago I made homemade gifts for some of my friends, partly because I was totally broke yet didn’t want to come across as a total Scrooge. This was back when salted caramel was having a ‘thing’ and everywhere I looked there was salted caramel this and salted caramel that. It seemed like a sign, so off I went and picked up a cheap candy thermometer to get the party started. The resulting caramels were deeelicious, and received as thoughtful and “so cute”. Winning.

Finding myself in a similar predicament to that cold and penniless Christmas, I’m getting my Martha Stewart on once again and am planning an array of homemade treats to gift to friends. I’m thinking jams, nut butters, cookies – the works. And these devilishly buttery salted caramels are definitely making a comeback.

Although these sticky sweet mouthfuls of joy may seem intimidating, it’s more about patience and keeping a watchful eye on the temperature than actual skill. Heat two pans of cardiac arrest, mix them together and heat again – voilà.

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SALTED BUTTER CARAMELS

Makes 60 caramels

Ingredients

150g soft light brown sugar

125g golden syrup

100g unsalted butter, cut into cubes

250ml thick double cream

150g caster sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

Smoked sea salt flakes

Method

You’ll need: a candy thermometer, parchment paper to wrap the candies in, or if you’re a fancy so and so, candy wrappers.

1. Firstly prepare a tin for your caramel to set in by greasing with sunflower oil and lining with parchment paper.
2. In a pan add the brown sugar, golden syrup, butter and cream and place over a low to medium heat. Heat the mixture until smooth and hot, stirring occasionally. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside.
3. In a heavy duty pan add the caster sugar and 2 tablespoons of water, and start to dissolve over a low heat. Once dissolved you can bring the heat up a little and keep melting the sugar syrup until it caramelises and turns amber in colour. NOTE: You don’t want to stir the syrup unless there are specific spots where the sugar isn’t melting, rather whirl the pan.
4. Once the sugar syrup has caramelised, remove the pan from the heat and pour in the butter and cream mixture, while exercising caution – this stuff is H O T.
5. Put the pan back on the heat and pop your candy thermometer in. Bring the mixture up to 250°f and then immediately remove from the heat. Stir in about 1/2 teaspoon of smoked salt and a teaspoon of vanilla bean paste, then pour into your prepared tin and sprinkle the top with extra smoked salt.
6. Leave (out of the fridge) for at least 5 hours or overnight before cutting into small squares and wrapping individually. These will keep for a good 2 weeks stored in an air-tight container.

First time? The first time I made caramels I followed David Lebovitz’ recipe, which provides detailed advice and guidance for anyone making caramels for the first time. He instructs to heat the caramel until 260°f, basically resulting in a slightly firmer candy. The above recipe makes beautiful, melt in your mouth, soft candies.

Tre settimane fa sono stata a Roma, la città eterna. Era la mia prima volta a Roma, e la bellezza della città era quasi travolgente. Ecco alcune foto che ho scattato durante i 6 giorni che ho trascorso passeggiando per le strade della città, senza un pensiero al mondo.

Three weeks ago I was in Rome, the eternal city. It was my first time in Rome, and the beauty of the city was almost overwhelming. Here are some photos I took during the 6 days I spent walking the streets of the city, without a care in the world.

Hello Sunday!

Obviously this is my favourite day of the week for many a reason. For starters I get to lounge around in bed in my pyjamas with panda eyes and messy hair without being judged, but mainly I love Sundays for the food. Being British it is expected that Sunday results in a roast, any kind of meat (or fish!) will do, it just has to be done in the oven. Be it a last minute kind of thing, a quick skip and a hop down to your local for a few slices of roast beef with a Yorkshire, or a premeditated and carefully calculated feat in the kitchen, the fruits of the pubs or your oven-slavery will undoubtedly be devoured in a matter of minutes. That is what Sundays were made for. They were also made for this.

Recently my amazingly talented brother was part of a production at the Royal Exchange in Manchester, so after 2 months when I heard he was coming back down to London for one day only I knew exactly what I had to do – Sunday lunch, a roast pork belly to be precise. What I love about pork belly when roasted is that it inevitably gets a pulled-like quality and it is juicy, melt-in-your-mouth hell yes kind of good. And the crackling. Ohhhh I can’t even talk about it without salivating.

Yes pork takes longer than other roasting options, but it is relatively fuss-free and absolutely worth it. Rub, roast, eat – simple.

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Roast Pork Belly

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

1.5kg pork belly

1 red onion

5 cloves of garlic

1 cooking apple

1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

Olive oil

2 fennel

300g carrots, left whole

1 lemon

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 300°c
2. In a pestle and mortar, grind the fennel and mustard seeds until a coarse powder.
3. Score the fatty layer of the pork, cutting through the fat but not into the meat itself. Either roast it flat or roll it up and tie it with butcher’s string – your call.
4. Rub the pork with olive oil, chopped rosemary and the fennel and mustard seeds and season liberally. Arrange the sliced apple, onion and garlic cloves in the baking pan and place the pork on top. Roast for 10 minutes until the skin starts to blister, then reduce the heat to 170°c and continue to roast for a further 2.5 – 3 hours.
5. For the fennel and carrots, add to the pan for the last 45 minutes of cooking, drizzle with olive oil, add the zest of a lemon and season well. Turn the vegetables half way through cooking.
6. Remove the pork from the pan, wrap in aluminum foil and leave to rest for about 15 minutes. Leave the carrots and the fennel in the oven with the onion and apple etc that the pork was roasting on to help them really caramelise and get even more moreish.
7. Serve with apple sauce and mustard, of course.