what we eat & drink – the recipes

(Neal Street, Covent Garden, and the FOOD FOR THOUGHT vegetarian cafe in the 1980s, where we were first inspired to stop buying meat & fish)

Life, as I have only just begun to realise (why did it take this long?), is all about becoming more and more inquisitive about the natural world around us, the one we really depend on, and less all the virtual crap that we can otherwise get immersed by. Life is also about acquiring new skills.

For example, at the age of 67, teaching myself to play the drums (rumba & flamenco), and how to create tasty and healthy meals.

This page is dedicated to the more successful recipes we have created, and each time there’s a new one I will photograph it and post the recipe here. First though, some basic information.

None of these contain fish, meat, dairy, eggs, or ultra-processed ingredients. They are though generally on the spicy side, so if you don’t like yours hot simply reduce the amount of cayenne pepper/ chilli to suit.

There are no specific instructions on how to prepare the vegetables, that’s for you to decide, we all have different ways of doing these things, but for newbies out there the thicker it is the longer it will take to cook.

Preparation can take up as much as 75% of the time to prepare a meal, so make sure your knives are always kept sharp. I use a flat 6″ chainsaw file for this.

You’ll soon realise I am a big fan of curly kale and cavolo nero. When preparing these it is best to discard all the hard stuff (stems and veins more than 1 mm thick). But with cauliflower and broccoli you can eat virtually all of it, including the thick stems, just cut them into smaller pieces so they cook in the same time.

Unless stated all the cooking is done on a mid-low heat.

Most of the recipes here are for six servings (ie batch cooking). Neither of us has the time to prepare meals one at a time, so this is what we’ve settled on. You can refrigerate after cooking for 48 hrs or freeze what you don’t need. A tip on re-heating, always do it slowly on a low heat, that way it won’t stick to the bottom of the pan. We also buy (all our non-fresh ingredients) in bulk, which is not only a lot cheaper, but if you buy enough are usually delivered free of charge. For example, the organic spelt and rye flour we use we get in 25 kg sacks, as the shelf-life for these is at least 6 months.

With regards to kitchen implements, we like to keep it basic here, so really there are only two recommendations.

A cast-iron wok, which we do most of our cooking with and has the benefit of staying hot longer than stainless steel, plus is large enough for the batch portions (6 or more) we prefer. Ours measures 37 cm in diameter and holds 4.5 L.

And a cast-iron manual meat mincer. Not a big fan of electrical kitchen gadgets, this is perfect for making the burgers and hummus with. You can either find them second-hand on eBay, which is where we got our first one, or buy new. I personally recommend going for an all stainless steel model and a 4.5 or 5 mm disc.

Where tinned beans are mentioned in a recipe this is solely as a convenience for those just starting, we actually prefer to use dried beans and cook them in a pressure cooker. This way they have much more flavour/ nutrients and do not contain any harmful preservatives. As a very rough guide (worth checking on the internet), one 400 g tin of beans is the same as 1/2-3/4 cup of dried beans. Always soak them the night before.

Rice is featured a lot. I’ve listed it here as basmati, but actually we prefer brown/ whole grain. Basmati is a lot simpler though. If you wash it thoroughly (to get rid of the starch) first, then soak in a bowl of boiling water for an hour, followed by cooking, the taste is better. Or, as I prefer, wash/ soak for an hour in cold water/ then cook for two minutes in a pressure cooker. 1/3 of a cup to 1/2 a cup per person is a good portion.

Use the best extra virgin olive oil you can afford, it will make all the difference to the taste, and is much healthier than cheaper oils.

If you’ve not come across them before, apple cider vinegar, plant-based sweetner, tamari and miso all help to impart the food with a unique unami taste. For apple cider vinegar (ACV) we recommend an organic type and make sure it includes the Mother. We buy ours in 5 ltr quantity. Sweetner is Agave syrup. Tamari and miso we buy in 2.5 ltr & 1 kg sizes.

And now, finally, to the recipes. Please free to adapt and hone, and let me know what you think. I will also be updating them regularly, so if you’ve downloaded one a while ago check the newest version.

The number has grown so large it would take to long to scroll down them all, so I’ve headed them with a list, which has links on you can click to take you to a particular recipe. Theses are in two groups, the first are the more regular items:

The second the meal recipes, starting with the most recently added:

herb & bean dhal

click here to download recipe

smoky kidney bean stew

click here to download recipe

african sweet potato stew

click here to download recipe

pauline’s cashew paella-risotto

click here to download recipe

cauliflower curry

click here to download recipe

pauline’s hearty sweet potato soup

click here to download recipe

bean ragout

click here to download recipe

dal makhani

click here to download recipe

chickpea curry

click here to download recipe

jalfrezi

click here to download recipe

moroccan chickpeas

click here to download recipe

hungarian goulash

click here to download recipe

biryani

click here to download recipe

nduja aubergine & chickpeas

click here to download recipe

green pulao

click here to download recipe

mumbai potatoes

click here to download recipe

spicy moroccan carrot soup

click here to download recipe

hearty lentil, butter bean & greens soup

click here to download recipe

quick curried salad

A salad that you can eat at any time of the year.

click here to download recipe

north indian kidney bean curry (ramja)

click here to download recipe

vegan sobrasada

This is without doubt the best breakfast spread I have ever had, sublime on hot toast.

click here to download recipe

beetroot bourguinon

click here to download recipe

chilli sin carne

click here to download recipe

smoky butterbean and orzo soup

click here to download recipe

spicy lentil bean stew

click here to download recipe

goan vindaloo

Despite the name this is a very mild curry, though you can simply increase the red chilli flakes to make it hotter.

click here to download recipe

borscht

click here to download recipe

white bean balls in garlic tomato sauce

click here to download recipe

aubergine & bean stew

click here to download recipe

korma

click here to download recipe

kale pesto pasta with mushrooms

click here to download recipe

curried pumpkin & ginger soup

click here to download recipe

cuban black bean soup

Teamed here with spelt & rye sourdough bread (recipe below).

click here to download recipe

rogan josh

click here to download recipe

tomato & bean soup with noodles

click here to download recipe

saag aloo

click here to download recipe

pauline’s curry

This is one of our staple meals. Served with Naan bread.

click here to download recipe

curried cauliflower and sweet potato soup

The photo doesn’t do justice to the amazing taste of this soup. It can also be used as a curry.

click here to download recipe

irish stew

A very warming recipe for a cold day. It does contain beetroot, so if you are not a fan then just substitute your favourite root vegetable(s). Same goes for the smoked paprika (not to everyone’s taste), simply use the ordinary kind of paprika. For more information about making cashew cream, visit the chapter make your own plant milk & plant cream.

click here to download recipe

spaghetti bolognese

click here to download recipe

rice and beans

I got the idea for this from a wonderful Peas & Rice dish we had in an authentic (ie not for tourists) Bahamian cafe in the back streets of Nassau. The only time on that trip we felt comfortable eating out.

click here to download recipe

fresh herb tea

For at least six months of the year in Shetland it is possible to go out and pick fresh herbs to make tea. Not only does this taste so much better than dried herb tea, every day is a different selection. This one was the fresh new growth of rose petals + catnep + blackberry leaves + nettle + three types of mint + daisy + mugwort + yarrow + valerian + tarragon + common figwort + silverweed. Always pick the newest part of the plant and steep in boiling water for 10 minutes.

mushroom stroganoff

click here to download recipe

pan con tomate

This is one of the many things I really miss not being able to live in Spain any more, tomato on toast. It doesn’t look that special, but paired with an espresso (or cafe as it is properly called) this makes for the perfect breakfast.

To make at home all you need is a good quality sweet tomato, small to medium size. Simply grate it into a bowl and spoon on. That’s all.

hummus

Have you noticed that shop-bought hummus doesn’t taste like it used to? That’s because the food industry has dramatically reduced the amount of chickpeas and tahini they use, replacing them with a lot more water, then whipping it into a foam. Luckily, making your own is simplicity itself.

click here to download recipe

Featured here on sourdough toast, recipe to make your own bread further down.

veg makhanwala

click here to download recipe

selma’s basmati rice

This is a very tasty alternative to simply cooking the rice. It’s from Selma, who owns the amazing Seabreeze Guest House on the seafront at Portobello, near Edinburgh. Well worth staying at if you are visiting the area, especially for her breakfasts!

click here to download recipe

brussels sprouts curry

click here to download recipe

spicy bean burger

click here to download recipe

minestrone

click here to download recipe

sourdough recipe (tried & tested)

Regardless of what the books tell you, there are no rules to making bread and the sooner you embrace that the quicker you will become a great (intuitive) baker. Experimenting is the only way to understand and succeed.

I currently make my sourdough as follows:

With two jars (originally they came with pickles, the 900 gm size). A long-handled metal spoon for stirring right down to the bottom of a jar. A 1/4 cup measure. Large mixing bowl. And finally a Pyrex dish with glass lid (or Dutch Oven) to bake it in (internal measurements of mine are 300 mm x 200 mm x 85 mm).

The term sourdough refers to the unique taste this bread has, which comes from using a live yeast, instead of an instant or dried one. You make this starter or mother yourself and it’s really easy.

Simply add a 1/4 cup of flour (organic wholemeal spelt is the best as it is already full of natural yeasts, or organic rye) in one of the glass jars, along with enough water to make it into a very slack porridge-like consistency (enough to easily pour). Make sure it is thoroughly mixed, otherwise it will go mouldy. Then place in a cupboard somewhere, at room temperature (17C is fine) with the lid off. Repeat this every day for seven days, by which time the jar will be about half-full, starting to bubble, and you are ready to bake bread.

Water. Using water from the mains can kill the yeast (if it has a really strong bleachy smell), so I draw off what I need a couple of hours beforehand to allow the chemicals to evaporate.

Now to the bread making part. Again, this is really simple, but you will need to allow a lot more time than with ordinary bread making.

On the last morning of making your starter (day seven), set aside 400 ml of water, allowing enough time for any chemicals to vent. Stir your starter thoroughly and decant enough of into the clean jar to cover the bottom. This will be the starter for your next loaf, and you repeat the process of adding a bit of flour and water every day for another seven days. Or you can refrigerate it (with the lid on) until you want to start again.

Next, pour the 400 ml of water into the jar with the majority of the starter in and stir thoroughly, then pour this into a large mixing bowl. Then gradually add spelt flour (or any other type of flour at this stage) until the consistency becomes the same porridge as the starter. Cover with a plate and leave in a warm (19C) place until the following morning. This period is known as the first stage of rising.

Next day there will be lots of bubbles and the consistency will be a lot looser. Add more flour, mixing it in with the long-handled spoon. When the dough starts to be less sticky you can use a hand to mix with, until it is possible to lift the dough out in one ball without sticking to your hand. But not too dry. Place back in the bowl, cover, and leave for an hour or two (the exact time is not important). This is the second stage of rising, after which you should begin to see some (it might not be a lot) increase in volume.

Please note that salt is not required in this recipe. Sourdough spelt has enough flavour of its own, and will keep fresh for ten days, without it.

Lever out the ball (which will have become sticky again, but do not add any more flour) into the pyrex dish (which does not need to be greased). Level it flat and smooth using the back of the spoon, making sure the edges are lower than the rest. Put the lid on and leave it in a warm place for at least five or six hours, or until it has risen almost to the top. This is the third stage of rising, and will ensure a perfect chewy crust and light texture. Keep an eye on the rising, as you don’t want it to rise so high it sticks to the lid. As soon as you think it might be about to do that either start with the next stage (below) or move it to a colder place.

Now comes the baking. I think this is the only difficult bit, getting the temperature & timing right. Because all ovens are different, and most are not as accurate as they should be. Ours for example, is 20 C degrees hotter than it says on the dial, it’s also fan assisted so bakes quicker. I find that 140 C (on the dial) is what works best for me, that’s 160 C in real temperature, and for a non-fan-assisted oven add another 20 C, ie 180C. Don’t worry if the first time it doesn’t work, eventually you’ll discover what does. Just don’t try adjusting both the temperature and the time together, stick with one or the other.

Preheat the oven for five minutes, then place the dish with the lid still on, on the middle shelf (this will steam cook the bread, using the trapped moisture in the dough). Bake for 45 minutes. Then remove the lid (which is why it shouldn’t be allowed to rise too high, as you’ll never get it off otherwise) and continue baking for another 15 minutes. Then switch off the oven, but leave the loaf inside with the door closed for another 15 minutes. Take out and allow to cool in a cold room for at least hour, so can start to shrink a bit and naturally peel away from the dish, after which you should be able to slide a knife around the edge and the loaf will tip out. Place upside down on something like a sieve, to allow the air to dry the outside thoroughly, which will still be very damp and soft. The drying process can take a couple of hours or all night, depending on the room temperature/ humidity. But it is very important to make sure the outside of the loaf is dry before storing, otherwise it will go mouldy. When it does feel totally dry, store in a cotton drawstring bag. It should then keep fresh/ soft/ and chewy now for at least seven days, and still be edible for several days after that.

This recipe makes a loaf that weighs around 1.45 kg, which incidentally is 650 g heavier than a similar sized artisan loaf bought from a shop, because the lighter one is full of air. If you want to make a lighter loaf simply use less water. Nothing else needs to be altered.

Then, when you feel confident with all that, you can start improvising. Having recently tasted a Spelt & Rye loaf I am now using organic rye flour for my starter. It doesn’t seem to make a massive difference to the taste but the rye is certainly a very active starter. You can also substitute beer or stout for water, the possibilities are endless.

pizza dough recipe

I love proper Italian soft, thick crusts on a pizza, so if you do too this is the recipe. Makes enough for four proper servings.

The night before heat 220 ml of water and pour into a large mixing bowl. When it is cool enough (body temperature) add one teaspoon of dried yeast (or sourdough starter – 1.25 cups) and one teaspoon of honey. Stir. Then add Type 00 flour until the consistency is like porridge. Cover with a plate.

In the morning, with a long-handled spoon, add more Type 00 flour until it is no longer sticking to the bowl but is still elastic/ sticky inside. Cover and leave until the afternoon.

An hour before cooking oil a large tray and roll out the dough into it in a round pizza shape. Add your toppings then place in the middle of a pre-warmed oven. Mine is set to 200 C (actual 220 C/ fan-assisted). Bake for 10 minutes.

dundee-ish cake

4 bananas

1 – 1.25 cups of olive oil

2 tablespoons of treacle or molasses

1 lemon, grated to include skin, pith & juice

(25 ml)

1 teaspoon of sodium bicarbonate

(or baking powder)

30 gm ground almonds

230 flour (we use spelt)

300 gm sultanas

150 – 230 gm glace cherries, cut into

quarters

140 gm walnuts, broken into small pieces

120 gm dates or prunes, chopped

10 almonds, to decorate (optional)

Squidge the bananas in a bowl until they become completely liquid. Then add the treacle and lemon juice. Mix together. Sieve and fold in the flour. Add bicarbonate of soda and almonds. Add sultanas, cherries and walnuts. Mix well. The consistency should be like treacle, add a little more olive oil if it seems too dry, otherwise it will end up crumbly.

Pour into a greaseproof paper lined cake tin (we use one which has a removable base and side which unclips), 24cm diameter, 6.5cm deep. Decorate with whole almonds if you want

Bake in an oven, on the middle shelf, for 50 minutes at 115C (20C higher if not fan-assisted). You may have to experiment with this as most thermostats are not that accurate and size of ovens differ. Our last oven was gas and we set it to Mark 2.75 for 75 mins.

When the time is up test with a needle, or see if it still wobbles when shaken, if it does then put back for another 5 minutes.

The amount and proportions of nuts, fruit and treacle can be varied to taste.

A dish of water on the bottom of the stove will help to stop drying it out during cooking.

easy sauerkraut

This is really easy and not only much tastier than shop-bought, healthier (shop-bought has been pasteurised, killing off any goodness). Both as a natural probiotic (you need this for good stomach bacteria) and its anti-cancer properties.

I make enough each time to fill two one litre jars.

What you need:

a two-litre sauerkraut crock or two-litre Kilner jar. A large mixing bowl. A long wooden spoon. A pestle or something similar. Two one-litre jars with lids (optional for storing the sauerkraut).

2 kg of vegetables (cabbage, carrot, turnips, parsnips, garlic, spring onions, radishes, chillies, whatever you want). 40 gm of sea salt (or 2% of the weight of the vegetables).

Allow up to an hour to do the first stage. Start by weighing out the vegetables to calculate how much salt you need. Then prepare the vegetables. Grate the carrot. Remove and discard the outer leaves of the cabbage. Then set aside a whole clean leaf, in one piece if possible. Slice and dice the rest of the cabbage as finely as possible.

All the cut/ grated vegetables go in the mixing bowl (I used two as I don’t have one big enough). As you do this, sprinkle salt evenly throughout.

When this is done let it rest for half an hour. Then the hardest part begins. You need to break down the vegetables so the water trapped inside them is released. Start by using the pestle, then go onto squeezing the mixture with your hands, until the level of liquid is higher than the vegetables.

Now decant everything into the two-litre crock/ jar. Using the long wooden spoon to pack the mixture down as tightly as possible, there shouldn’t be any pockets of air.

When you are finished the water level should be above the vegetables. If not top it up with some water from the tap that has been allowed to stand for a couple of hours.

Place the whole cabbage leaf (or pieces) on top to form a seal.

Then using a glass or cup, weight it down (in my case with stones from the beach).

Finish off by sealing any gap with muslin or similar to keep the dust out.

Now all you have to do is wait, anything between 9-28 days (the longer you can wait the better the taste), keeping the jar at room temperature. When you are ready, decant into smaller jars and store in the fridge. Should last 6 months.

even easier kimchi

I thought the sauerkraut was amazing but then went on to discover Kimchi, which is even better. Really sweet & spicy, plus even simpler to make.

This is what you need to fill 2 x 500 gm jars and 1 partly-filled one.

2 kg of vegetables (peeled & chopped weight) Of which approximately 600 gm is any kind of cabbage including curly kale, 500 gm is beetroot, plus a selection from the following: carrot, leek, sweet potato, red pepper, swede, parsnip, pumpkin, turnip, celery, green beans, plus anything else you think might be tasty….

40 gm salt (2% of the total weight of the vegetables) 1 dessertspoon of sweetner (eg agave syrup)

For the paste

1 tsp of coriander
2 tsp of cumin
1 tbsp of korean chilli flakes
1 tbsp of tamari
1 dessertspoon of sesame oil or tahini
1 tbsp of miso
4 garlic cloves
1 thumb of ginger
1 small sweet apple (Fiji are good)
4 spring onions (chopped)
virgin olive oil

Wash & peel the vegetables, then weigh them to make sure you have the 2 kg in total (remember this is just for the vegetables, not the paste ingredients) and adjust the salt quantity accordingly.

Cut everything into french fries sized strips (approx 5 cm long by 5 mm thick), discarding the tough root and stalk bits.

Now put them all into a large stockpot and add the sweetner & salt. Then using a mortar, pummel everything until it starts to soften. This can take 10-15 mins, so be patient. When they begin to soften you can use your hands to squeeze them instead. You will know when to stop, when liquid appears at the bottom.

Next, transfer to a saucepan, put a lid on and place in a fridge for 24 hours.

The following day start by preparing the paste. Grate the ginger, apple and garlic into a bowl. Add the coriander + cumin + chilli flakes + tamari + miso + sesame oil + spring onions, mixing well and adding olive oil if necessary to create a paste-like consistency.

Cut the spring onions, the white bits finely and the green bits into strips. Then take the vegetables from the fridge and using the lid of the saucepan drain off any liquid into a bowl and save. Then add the paste to the vegetables and using one hand squeeze everything together so it is thoroughly mixed and further compressed.

Then decant everything into the 500g jars, using a pestle as you go to make sure it is packed down as hard as possible and there are no air pockets. When the jar is nearly full add some of the liquid to cover the vegetables and wait for a few minutes to make sure it isn’t absorbed (top it up with some more if it does).

(photo above from a different batch, with beetroot)

Then screw on the lids and store in a fridge for two weeks, after which it is ready to use. Keep refrigerated after opening.

espresso off-grid

If you love coffee as much as me you might like to know how to make it off-grid, ie without the need for electricity.

I grew up in house that worshipped coffee too. My parents had not only an electric percolator, but a spirit heated Cona Coffee maker too, way back in the 1950s and 60s. I remember clearly there also were many coffee bars in our part of London, in fact my mum worked in one. My favourite as a teenager was Bar Italia in Soho, which opened in 1949 and is still there now, looking remarkably unchanged. All these establishments had proper Italian espresso machines. It was also commonplace then to buy coffee not in sealed plastic bags from the supermarket, freshly roasted/ ground at a local coffee & tea retailer.

Instant coffee arrived not long after that, killing off the art and joy of coffee drinking, save for a couple of Italian coffee bars in places like Soho.

After that it wasn’t until the 1980s that real coffee begun to make its comeback. Spearheaded this time not by independent businesses, but multinationals opening their new-style cafes on every high street. It wasn’t good tasting coffee, never will be, but the new generation of coffee drinkers lapped it up. The rest of us had to wait another 20 years for the emergence of independent micro-roasters. Today, it is finally possible to buy decent coffee beans wherever you live, and there are even cafes offering it too. The only problem has been to make it taste as good at home, with a Moka pot.

Lucky for me I spent 19 years living in Portugal and Spain, where instant and companies like Starbucks never caught on, where virtually all the bars serve consistently good coffee. As they should, having done it for the previous 400 years. At a much more reasonable price too, a fraction of what is being charged in the UK. Sadly for me BREXIT ended all that and I had to return to the UK. So since then I have been trying to find a way to make a decent coffee at home.

It is possible. Obviously not as good as with a proper Italian coffee bar machine, but definitely acceptable and certainly affordable.

My set-up began as in the photo above:

A stainless steel Bialetti New Venus – 2 cup Moka pot, which dates back to 2007 when we were living in British Columbia and still as good today. It’s the 2 cup version, though only really makes the equivalent of one (double) espresso. To buy one new today costs around £30.

An Elma coffee grinder, from Spain, which I swapped with a friend for our electric one when we went off-grid, but can be bought new for around 13 euros.

And a Duraflex LE PICARDIE 130ml insulated glass tumbler (around £1.65 each).

When we moved to Shetland, I still hadn’t heard about micro-roasters, so foolishly bought my beans from the supermarket, which stocked what I thought then were the high end brand names. But after working my way through all of them, none actually tasted anywhere as good as the Delta coffee used in the bars of Portugal & Spain. Which at the time I put down to not having a decent coffee machine at home, but then we made a trip to Edinburgh and discovered not only some excellent independent cafes selling unbelievably good coffee, asked them what beans they were using and where they bought them from.

Thus began an odyssey, to make the best espresso possible.

Coffee is very much like wine. There are an infinite number of varietals, each with their own unique flavours, texture, acidity and aftertaste.

Each are roasted to bring out the best of these qualities. Either light, medium or dark.

Very simplistically, a light roast is rather like white wine, they have the widest spectrum of flavours, and delicate texture. Whereas medium or dark roast are more like reds, with less flavours, but far more texture and a lingering aftertaste.

All beans, as soon as they have been roasted, have a very short shelf-life, so to get the best from them you need to buy in small amounts and use them quickly, preferably within two or three weeks of the roasting date.

Supermarkets don’t want you to know this, which is why you rarely find a roasting date on any of their packaging and a very long (misleading) best-before-date. The best place then to buy your beans is direct from a micro-roaster, who will send them to you by post on a subscription basis. It is more expensive than buying from a supermarket, but what you are getting is not only far better quality, when priced out per cup a lot cheaper than buying it in a bar, even back in Spain & Portugal where typically you’d be paying now about 90p.

Discovering how to make those beans taste as good took me a lot longer, but I’m getting there. It’s been a steep learning curve, which is why I created this chapter, hopefully to save others from having to go through the same mistakes.

So let’s start with the basics.

If the sheer choice of beans seems overwhelming, try the house espresso blend first (it’s what most independent cafes offer, so reliable), which is usually medium roasted.

You can buy these in small packets of 200/ 250 g from different roasters, or opt for a subscription from just one, which gives you the option of changing the variety whenever you want, as well as the frequency of delivery, which is very handy if you run out of beans or don’t use them up fast enough.

Always store your beans in an airtight/ opaque container (the packet they come in isn’t good enough), or even better a vacuum cannister.

Now onto to the nitty gritty.

making a coffee with a moka pot (with grateful thanks to zoeed arshad)

There are four things to consider:

amount of coffee beans

the grind setting

amount of water required

and brewing time.

Collectively known by baristas as dialling-in.

Starting with the beans. Normally you’d use between 18-20g to make a single espresso, but for some strange reason my 2-cup (Bialetti Moka pot) only has room in the filter basket for 13-16 g, the bigger Moka pots however will take the full amount.

Determining exactly how much coffee you need will become apparent when you’ve ground some and either found there’s too much to fit in the filter basket, or too little. It is also dependent on the type of roast. Light roasts are heavier so you’ll use more, dark less. To make the measuring easier I suggest investing in a good quality coffee scale, one that reads in tenths of a gram.

Grind setting is the next hurdle. For absolute beginners, who may only have a basic grinder, there’s not a lot of choice, you just have to try and get a texture that when you rub it between your fingers feels somewhere between granulated sugar and wholemeal flour.

With a more advanced model, there are a lot more possibilities, too many for a beginner, so I have devised a way to simplify this.

First off, decide where your roast lies on a scale of 1-10, where 1 is the lightest and 10 the darkest. It probably won’t say on the packet, so contact the roaster and ask them.

Then use that number to match with a similar division of your grinder’s settings (for a Moka pot), 1 being the finest for the lightest roast, and 10 the coarsest for darkest roast.

Try making an espresso with that and if the taste is too intense grind a bit coarser next time, too weak finer.

Once you have some ground coffee, calculating how much you need is simply a job of filling the filter basket (shown in the middle of the photo below) and weighing it.

Now on to the amount of water.

A standard (double) espresso measures 60 ml. But to achieve this requires at least 40% more water, as the coffee grinds will absorb some, and there will also be a residue left in the bottom chamber afterwards. The simplest way to calculate how much you’ll need is to fill the bottom chamber to just below the brass pressure valve, then weigh that (1 gm = 1 ml).

Having ground your beans and transferred them to the filter funnel, use a long thin needle (a hat pin is perfect) to distribute everything evenly and get rid of clumps. Then tap the filter hard on a work surface. Do not tamp or compress.

Now boil some water and using a heatproof measuring jug (150 g size is perfect) weigh out the amount you need with the coffee scale and pour it into the Moka pot base, insert the filter funnel, screw everything together firmly (using a heatproof cloth, as the base will get hot immediately), and start the heating process.

The brewing stage and brewing time.

You will need to use the smallest hob/ ring for this, so if you have a 2-cup Moka pot this will require either a trivet (see photo below), to stop it from tipping over, or a stainless steel (Bialetti) heat diffuser plate.

The total time it should take to brew is roughly between 2-5 minutes (for a 2-cup Moka pot). What determines this is basically the grind size, coarse brews quickly, fine slow.

Temperature should be always be the same, like the amount of water. If you are using a gas hob, this is easy to work out, set the flame so it is just inside the width of the base. I am sorry but I have no idea what it would be for an electric/ induction hob.

The ultimate combination of grind size and temperature is when the coffee arrives in the top chamber at a steady stream, not in dribs and drabs, nor so fast it is bubbling and spluttering.

If you are using a diffuser plate you are going to have to heat this up before placing the pot on (a few minutes is enough).

Then with the lid of the Moka pot open start the brewing process.

As soon as it has filled the moat around the bottom of the top chamber, and begun to rise up the central column turn off the heat, as there now should be sufficient pressure to finish the brewing process. If it stops flowing give it some heat again.

As soon as the flow stops you can lift off and pour.

At this point, if you want to know exactly how much coffee you have made, use the coffee scales to measure (100 g = 100 ml).

If everything was done correctly you should not only have at least 60 ml of great espresso, though actually probably more (around 83 ml for a 2-cup Moka pot) .

If not, then there’s a little bit more experimenting (dialling-in) to be done. Do not despair though, it may have taken me every day for a year to get it right, but you have here everything I have learnt. As with learning anything new, it takes practice. Even being able to appreciate the range of flavours requires teaching your palate how to identify them all.

TROUBLESHOOTING

Not enough coffee could be because you turned the heat off too early.

A burnt after-taste (sign of over-extraction), is possibly because your grind setting is too fine, in which case simply change to a coarser one.

Too watery tasting and with an after-taste like lemon juice, is a sign you need to grind finer.

Very unlikely, but your Moka pot could need a deep clean. to do this fill the base with a mix of 50% white vinegar and 50% water. Brew as usual (without the coffee), then allow to stand for up to an hour before discarding. Use a thin bottle brush to clean inside the central column. Don’t forget the deep channel around the inside of the upper chamber. Do all of this regularly.

Cleaning afterwards. When the pot is cool enough to handle, take everything apart and thoroughly wash everything. On the top part you can use a stiff brush for the underside filter/ silicon gasket, to remove any grounds. With the funnel blow through to ensure this is clear. Then leave to dry, do not reassemble before using again.

Eventually the silicon (for stainless steel or rubber for aluminium) gasket will need replacing. They last me about a year and I always keep a stock of several just in case they get hard to find. When you replace one make sure you also use this opportunity to clean the holes in the two metal filters using a sharp pin.

Epilogue.

As this still feels like a very new adventure to me I will be updating this chapter regularly. At the moment I’m still using the same Bialetti Moka pot we bought back in 2007, when we were living in Powell River (Canada). But now I also have a Bialetti diffuser plate, which was on sale at 50% off, and makes a big difference, as well as succumbed to a better quality hand-grinder (Knock Aergrind), plus coffee scale.

I got my first proper beans (freshly roasted by an independent roaster) from Artisan Roast, as they offered a subscription which is infinitely flexible, very important when you never know how long that 250 g bag is going to last. Their website isn’t the easiest to navigate, especially for a novice like me, none of them are, but their customer service (Olivia) is really patient and helpful. I started out with one on their year-round blends – JANSZOON, then tried their COBBLESTONE blend. Both good, but I wanted something even better, so now I am on their single origin bean Bosques de San Francisco.

Learning how to get the best from a 2-cup Moka pot is always going to be a difficult journey. Not only does the filter basket only hold 13.6 g of coffee (instead of 20 g), it is only capable of creating an extracting pressure of 0.5-1 bar, compared to the 9 bar of commercial machines. But then owning one of those would also mean spending out around £1500, so while I learn I can save myself some money.

To give you some idea where I am at the moment, here are my latest settings. Please be aware that these change constantly, as I grapple with all the variables, so don’t take any of it as advice:

coffee beans – 13.6 g.

roast (on a scale of 1-10) – 9

grind setting (Aergrind) – 2.4.0 (which is 9/10 on the Aergrind range for a Moka pot)

tamping – I know I said earlier you shouldn’t tamp, but there are exceptions. When the roast is so dark that the grind is at the very top of the grinder’s settings (ie coarsest), and when the resultant taste is too watery. By tamping you compact the coffee, making it harder for the water to pass through, extracting more flavour.

hot water – 120 ml.

temperature of hob – gas flame the width of the pot

brew time – 3 mins

amount of coffee made – 83 ml

other observations – after inserting the filter into the base I dampened the coffee on the surface with a tiny amount of boiling water

make your own plant milk/ cream/ & white sauce

If you have ever bought plant food substitutes and bothered to look at the ingredients, you will know that there is very little that is wholesome or good for you, and a lot that is downright harmful (ultra processed and additives). Plus there’s all that packaging. Thankfully, making your own is a lot tastier and healthy. It’s also really easy.

Simply choose which nut or grain you want to use and soak (for example) 1 cup of that overnight. Next day drain the liquid and spoon one tablespoon of the now softened nuts/ grains into a liquidiser, adding just the tinniest amount of water to allow the blade to spin freely. If it won’t then add a tiny bit more water. When that is smooth add another spoonful of nuts/ grains and repeat until everything is liquidised. By only using the minimum of water it comes out creamy and with perfect smoothness. If you then want to go on to make milk, just add more water until you are happy with the taste/ consistency. That’s all. No straining or measuring required.

If you want to make your own version of coconut milk, simply:

soak 3/4 cup of cashews overnight (then drain)

Then in a liquidiser put in:

1/4 cup of coconut milk powder, 1.5 tbsp olive oil, 1.5 tbsp lemon juice, 1.5 dsp apple cider vinegar, 1 tsp sweetner (eg agave syrup).

Start spooning in the softened cashew nuts, a few at a time, adding water as necessary (+/- 200 ml).

This will make about 400 ml, the same as in a tin of coconut milk.

If you want to make it as a cream, just use less water. For a white sauce, add 1 tsp mustard powder (and anything else you want, like a pinch of smoked paprika for more of a bite).

Please note that soya milk and any food containing soya beans, which has not been fermented, has been linked with increasing the chances of cancer in women who have had the menopause. Check with the latest medical research to be sure.