HONEY-THYME ROASTED PORK FILET

Juicy, pink, tender roasted pork filet with a wonderful honey-thyme aroma. This dish is extremely fast and easy to make, has surprisingly few ingredients, but tastes absolutely scrumptious, which in my book makes it a perfect dish.

The thyme and honey work so well together, with the sweetness of the honey being perfectly offset by the thyme, seasoning, stock and the pork, leaving just the right balance of flavours in the dish. You would be surprised by how little sweetness is actually left at the end, versus the beautiful taste and aroma that develops during the short cooking time.

PEAR AND APPLE FILO CRISP - A CINNAMON-SWEET FRUIT PUZZLE

Imagine Baklava but without the sicklish-sweet stickiness (yes, I know, nothing wrong with that!)... Imagine APFELSTRUDEL, but laid out flat, so that every layer of pastry turns into crispy magic. Imagine sheets of precious, thin, crunchy, buttery filo pastry between layers of sugary cinnamon-scented nuts and breadcrumbs.

And a little fruit with every bite... In other words: apple-filo-cake-heaven... and our latest addiction...  :-) 

GRATIN DAUPHINOIS (POTATO GRATIN) WITHANDWITHOUT CHEESE

'Gratin Dauphinois' is a regional dish from Dauphiné, a historic region in the south-east of France. In its original version, the gratin is made with thinly sliced, uncooked, starchy potatoes and cream. (But no cheese!) A shallow gratin dish is rubbed with garlic halves for flavour, and then buttered. The potatoes are layered inside the dish, overlapping, like fish scales (But still no cheese!) The seasoned cream is added on top, and the dish is baked in the oven until soft and creamy, and with the typical beautiful golden-brown crust on top. (And not a gram of cheese in sight!)

So if you want to call your gratin 'Gratin Dauphinois', then make sure to leave that cheese away! But as for me, I like mine with and without cheese, so there you have it: 'Gratin Dauphinois WITHANDWITHOUT cheese'! Sorry dear people of Dauphiné! I add cheese depending on my mood, or the dish I serve the gratin with: meat, lamb or fish, lean or rich. Furthermore, I use waxy or starchy potatoes, simply depending on which ones I have at home at the time. But I do stick to the one rule to use uncooked potatoes.