Forking Foodie: Favourite Recipes and To-Cook List from Around the World

A small but growing collection...

This is just a repository (more for me than anyone else really, as I'm so absent minded!) of links to recipes I've made and we have loved, as well as recipes I'd like to make and those recommended by friends.

I will try and include links for all the recipes if possible, and keep in alphabetical order, but there may be some only available in books. I will also include links here and there for relevant ingredients or equipment etc. I've used. Some of them will be affiliate links for Amazon which will not make any difference to the price you pay for them (but will help me to fund publishing posts on this blog).

I hope if you visit this page, you find a tasty recipe to try! Where I've had to substitute any ingredients etc., I'll put notes. If you want to add any of your favourite tried and tested recipes in the comments, feel free!

Apples - Russian Apple Marshmallows (Pastila) - Anne Eubank, AO
On the to-cook list.

Aubergine Parmigiana (Parmigiana di Melanzane) - Emily, ITRK
Delicious (and low carb)! I confess, I use my favourite finely chopped tomatoes (Mutti Polpa Finely Chopped Tomatoes) rather than passata, but I'm sure it would be delicious either way (I just didn't have enough passata!).

Bean Curd: Braised Bean Curd Skin with Mushrooms - Sous Chef
An interesting vegan dish, quite tasty.

Beans: Ful Medames (Egyptian Breakfast) - The Guardian
Delicious served with Egyptian flat bread, which are like a more delicate pita, and topped with chopped fresh tomatoes and parsley.

Beef: Beef Fillet, Marmite Mash and Roasted Cabbage - Tom Kerridge
To cook, but keeping quiet about the Marmite!

Beef: Fresh Pepper Sizzling Beef - Jeremy Pang
Highly recommended on Sunday Brunch - on the to-cook list.

Beef: Korean Beef with Banchan and Rice - Donald Skehan SK
One to try, albeit with steak rather than short ribs.

Beef: Mongolian Beef - The Woks of Life
On the to-cook list.

Beef: Ragu made with braised beed - BBCF
To do.

Biscuits: Brandy Snaps - Mary Berry
A great recipe, I am a bit of a flavour freak, so I put two rounded teaspoons of ginger and a pinch of salt in there, but they are absolutely delicious and surprisingly easy to make.

Biscuits: Canestrelli (Italian shortbread-like biscuits with lemon zest) - Rosemary, AIIMK
On the naughty to-cook list.

Biscuits: Chocolate Fudge Crinkle Biscuits - BBCGF
On the definite (naughty) to-cook list.

Biscuits: Ginger Oat Crunch Biscuits - Mary Berry
Delicious looking, definitely one to cook.

Biscuits: Pain D'Almonds (Almond Thins) - SFB
To cook!

Bread: Brioche buns (for burgers)
Just cooked a half quantity, looking very good!

Bread: Easy Crusty White Loaf
Just a simple but tasty white loaf.

Bread: Egyptian Flat Bread (Aish Baladi) - My Cooking Journey
Similar to pita bread, but thinner with a lovely crispiness on the outside from a scattering of cracked wheat bran - good stuffed with falafels (see below) and salad etc. or with Egypt's national dish, often served for breakfast: Foul / Ful Mudammas.

Bread: Grain Free (Keto Almond Flour) Bread - TBMW
GF low carb 'bread'.

Bread: Irish Soda Bread with Treacle - James Martin
To cook - recipe also includes carrot and coriander soup.

Bread: Pita bread - BBGF
Great home made pita breads - I halve the recipe when there's only two of us, and 'knead' in a stand mixer for around 10-15 minutes, then cook on a tray on a pre-heated pizza stone in the oven - you have to roll them out surprisingly thinly to get good results!

Bread: Subway Italian Herb and Parmesan Rolls
On the to-cook list.

Cake: Bailey's Chocolate Cake
Looks very naughty but very nice!

Cake: Malt Loaf - Sarah's Slice
On the to-cook list.

Cake: Orange Marmalade Polenta Cake - BBCGF
The original recipe from the magazine also adds 2-4 tbsp marmalade to the mix (presumably warmed up in a small pan), and adds the glaze to the marmalade pan before glazing the cake.

Cake: Pear Almondine - Raymond Blanc, CR
On the naughty to-cook list (GF).

Cakes: Black Bean Brownies - BBCGF
Chilli element optional!

Chakalaka - Imma, African Bites
Delicious, I followed the recipe apart from substituting the fresh tomatoes for a 400g tin of tinned tomatoes and a tbsp or so of tomato puree. Highly recommend! Also, I think it's one of the most fun names for a dish to say out loud!!

Cheese: Cheese Straws - BBC
I up the seasonings a bit, sprinkle with poppy or sesame seeds, then twist them before putting on the baking tray. They come out and are more softish than crispy (unlike the puff pastry ones you buy from the shops). Nice warm, or leave them in the oven for longer if you want them crispier.

Cheese: Gruyere Cheese Twists - PYF
One to make, they look like the ones from the Hambleton Bakery, and I think they'd be nice with seeds sprinkled on one side before twisting them.

Cheesecake (Basque, 'Burnt') - Simon Rimmer, SB
Just delicious! (And GF).

Chicken: Alvin's Drunken Chicken 2.0 - from Masterchef Australia 2022
One on my to-cook list.

Chicken: Butter Chicken (Old-Delhi style) - Vivek Singh, BBCGF
Purely because I didn't have the full amount of ingredients the last time I cooked this, I only had 500g of large vine tomatoes, so I used a can of my favourite chopped tomatoes (Mutti Polpa Finely Chopped Tomatoes) and also to make it a quick cook, I have been known to buy ready cooked charred chicken tikka (pieces or mini fillets, which I then chop into chunks).

Chicken: Butter Chicken (Easy) - Romy Gill, RSK
On the lazy to-cook list.

Chicken: Chicken Thighs with Crispy Skin cooked Sous Vide - Anova / Kenji
If you want to store them in the fridge, or in the freezer without getting freezer burn.

Chicken: Charred Chilli Chicken - Clare Smyth
On the must-cook list.

Chicken: Chiang Mai Curried Chicken Noodles (Khao Soi Gai) -BBCGF
A spicy one to cook. Another recipe option here - I made the pickled chillies and shallots from the BBC recipe (plus an extra chilli and a pinch of sugar) and I used 500g boneless skinless chicken thighs and kept them whole. I did a sort of combination of the two recipes: I fried 2 banana shallots and three garlic cloves (all finely chopped) in coconut oil, added 90g Thai red curry paste (Thai Taste), 1 rounded tsp ground turmeric, 1 rounded tbsp mild madras powder (basically a cheat to making a fresh curry paste from scratch), stirred until fragrant, then added 2 x 400g tins coconut milk, and 250ml chicken stock. Soy sauce is more authentic, but I used fish sauce to keep it gluten free and lime juice, and a pinch of soft brown sugar. Then I let it simmer for a while. I used flat rice noodles to keep it gluten free, and as I was using the deep fat fryer to make the crispy noodles, I tossed some rings of brown and red onions with salt and cornflour and fried until crispy as an extra garnish. I went a bit rogue here, gently sauteed the chicken thighs in coconut oil before adding to the sauce and simmering until cooked through and tender. Meanwhile, prepare / assemble the rest of the garnishes: chop a small bunch of coriander, and finely slice 3 spring onions on the diagonal. Slice a lime into wedges. Put out together with the shallot and chilli pickles, chilli oil, the crispy noodles and crispy onions. Cook one nest of noodles per person, according to the instructions, and if you want to, stir fry some veg - I like sliced red pepper and beansprouts, but it's optional (and not authentic), put the drained noodles into warmed bowls and let everyone help themselves to chicken, sauce, wet garnishes and finish by topping with the crispy garnishes (or plate up for them)! Messy bowl photo for reference... oh, and don't throw away the vinegar from the shallots and chillies - if you make them the day before, or save leftovers until the next day, the vinegar is infused with loads of flavour, so I've kept it (after filtering through a tea strainer) to add to spicy dressing!

Chicken: Cream of Chicken Soup - Delicious Mag
To cook.

Chicken: Crispy Fried Chicken with Chipotle Mayo - James Martin
Southern style fried chicken. I made with skinless, boneless chicken thighs - then you could make a chicken burger - I did find the flour coating quite salty (even as someone who loves seasoning), so I'd probably reduce the celery, garlic and onion salt to about 2/3 of the quantity another time, but it came out beautifully crispy made with GF SR flour. If you haven't got SR flour, add 4 tsp baking powder to the 300g plain flour (as per Nigella).

Chicken: Korean BBQ Chicken (skin on drumsticks) - Jo Cooks
Very tasty! See below for coleslaw (Korean) that's nice on the side, and cucumber salad (spicy Korean) which goes nicely with it, and some steamed rice).

Chicken: Korean Gochujang Chicken Thighs - Rasa Malaysia
Very tasty -I accidentally put in 1.5 tbsp of Korean chilli flakes instead of 1 tsp, but I'd do that again as it wasn't too spicy!

Chicken: Malaysian Chicken Curry with Dal and Roti Jala - Julie Lin
Looks delicious - I want to make this very soon!

Chicken Noodle Soup - Mary Cadogan BBCGF
A tasty soup, but we found gently poaching and shredding the chicken resulted in drier, stringier chicken than we're used to (and have made this more than once). I think slicing and velveting, with a very quick poach before adding right at the end gives a much nicer, more tender result. Here's how to velvet chicken.

Chicken Noodle Soup (Chinese) - Nagi, RTE
Tasty!

Chicken: Piri Piri Chicken from The Bugle (sauce from scratch)
Requires 24 hours in a 10% brine, then 24 hours in the marinade/sauce.

Chicken, Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken - Jeanette, W&K
Naughty recipe on the to-cook list.

Chicken,Thai Jungle Curry - Hot Thai Kitchen
A very tasty, authentic-tasting Thai curry.

Chicken with Pineapple and Guo Bau Rice - Ching-He Hung, SK
On the to-cook list. Looks like a nice sweet and sour type chicken recipe.

Chilli Oil (Chinese) - Wei, RHS
All I can say is that this is abolutely AMAZING, and once you've made it, if you're a fan of chilli oil, it will go on your regular recipes list!

Chocolate Brownie Pine Cones - Em's Foodie Fix
These look stunning, they'd be amazing for a dinner party, or even Christmas Day dessert!

Chocolate Guiness Cake - Nigella Lawson
Absolutely delicious, moist cake - it seems like a lot of topping, but it's just right - I added some vanilla extract, and couldn't resist a very light dusting of cocoa powder on top.

Chocolate Hazelnut Mug Cake - Vaughn Vreeland, Tasty
On the to-cook list.

Chocolate Fudge Cake with Raspberries - Paul Hollywood, GBBO
One definitely on the naughty to-cook list!

Chocolate: Muscovado Chocolate Truffles - Paul A. Young
Possibly the most delicious truffles ever, and easy to make too.

Chow Mein - Ken Hom
A perennial favourite.

Chutneys: 5 Indian chutney recipes to go with dosas or idlis - Cook With Kushi
I love masala dosas, and have cracked the potato masala filling (although buying the batter is a no fail option for the 'pancake'!) so look forwards to giving these a go.

Coffee and Walnut Cake - Samuel Goldsmith, GTK
Recommended by Laura, who said to make 1.25 to 1.5 times the amount of buttercream if you want to cover the cake thoroughly.

Coleslaw: Nando's Style Rainbow Coleslaw
Tasty! (Nando's style spice rice further down under 'rice', Nando's style peri peri salt on my blog for seasoning fries with... now you just need the chicken!)

Coleslaw: Spicy Korean - Naomi, The Spruce Eats
On the to-cook list.

Cookies: Chocolate and Toblerone Gluten Free - Jane's Patisserie
On the naughty to-cook list.

Cookies: Chocolate Brownie Cookies - Sarah's Slice
On the naughty to-cook list.

Cookies: Millie's style - BBCGF
These also work well with gluten free flour. I prefer to roll into a log, then slice and bake as people want them.

Courgette and Tomato Baked Gratin - Rosie Birkett, BBCGF
On the maybe to-cook list.

Cucumber: Spicy Korean Cucumber Side Dish - Maangchi
On the to-cook list.

Desserts: The Devil's Chocolate (Il Ciocolato Del Diavolo) - BBCGF
A no-bake dark chocolate and amaretti biscuit dessert - looks absolutely delicious for a special occasion.

Desserts: Lemon Meringue Trifle - Donna Hay
Definitely one to try for a special occasion.

Desserts: Vegan Peanut Mousse with Chocolate Ganache - LazyCats Kitchen
One to use up aquafaba after cooking chickpeas

Dim Su: Pork and Prawn - Hairy Bikers
On the to-cook list (minus ridiculous pea topping).

Falafal: Chickpea or 'Fava beans' ( AKA broad beans) - Tori Avey
The Egyptian variety (with fava beans) at the bottom of the blog are on the to-cook list.

Ferments: Golden Sauerkraut - James Strawbridge
Time to test out the kimchi / kraut container! It was very good although not sure whether I'd include turmeric again, or at least, only a pinch.

Fish: - Bouillabse with Creamy Mash (!) - Rick Stein
Looked delicious and relatively easy.

Fish: Mackerel and Salted Grapes with Cucumber, Yoghurt and Fennel - Ben Tish
One of my favourite mackerel recipes - also delicious if you BBQ the mackerel, or use the very lightly smoked (raw) fillets.

Fish: Red Mullet with Romesco Potato Salad - Olive Mag
For when I eventually manage to get hold of some red mullet!

Fish: Salt Hake Brandade in Piquillo Peppers with Thyme and Orange Oil - Ben Tish
From one of my favourite cookery books: Moorish.

Fish: Sea Bass with Sizzled Ginger, Chilli and Spring Onions - BBCGF
A long time family favourite. I like to serve with some steamed rice, and pak choi.

Fish: Tuna Tatare with Ponzu Dressing - JM
To make.

Green Bean Gomaae (Japanese salad with sesame dressing) - Just One Cookbook
On the to-cook list.

Honeycomb - Sarah, Tales from the Kitchen Shed
Really good, I added a pinch of salt to it, took it to 155C and coated in chocolate - delicious!

Lamb: Chops (with rosemary, potatoes and tomatoes, one pan) - Barney Desmazery, BBCGF
A simple dish I'd like to try.

Lamb: Chops - BBQ'd Lamb Chops in a Spiced Yoghurt Marinade with Cashew Pilaf and Chopped Salad (Cachumber) - GBC Kitchen
Lamb tastes promising so far!

Lamb: Chops - Pudina Chops: Spiced, Minted Lamb Chops with Pickled Pumpkin
Delicious, but watch the salt, maybe a 1/4 to a 1/3 of a tsp depending on your taste. I didn't have pumpkin so used de-seeded, deiced courgette. Neither did I have 'degi mirch powder', so I substitued 1.5 tsp kashmiri (mild) chilli powder, and 0.5tsp hot chilli powder, and it turned out really tasty! I also used apple cider vinegar as I didn't have distilled malt vinegar. Still turned out really tasty! I'm sure it's obvious, but for the mint powder, I just blitzed up dried mint flakes in a spice grinder.

Lamb: Lamb and Turnip Summer Hotpot - Olive Mag
Works with swede too. Some 'interesting' ingredients (e.g. mange tout, that I'd substitute for something more robust).

Lamb: Lamb Hotpot - JM
To cook (albeit minus the kidneys for me!).

Lamb: Lamb Shank Curry with Mauritian Mango Kutcha - Shelina Permaloo
To cook.

Mapo Tofu (Spicy Silken Tofu, Mince Pork and Rice) - Kaitlin, TWOL
On the to-cook list.

Naan Bread - Miriam Nice, BBCGF
These were really tasty - I rolled them as thin as I dared to, sprayed my pan with neutral oil, as the first one stuck, and either flipped them or used a blow torch on the bubbles on the top.

Ninja - Recipe Inspiration
Soups, Smoothies, Drinks and Desserts etc.

Paneer: Kadai Paneer - Cook with Manali
Well rated, paneer with peppers, on the to-cook list.

Paneer: Tandoori Paneer Skewers with Mango Salsa -BBCGF
To Cook

Pita bread - Eli, My Greek Dish
These are more flat breads that you wrap around your filling rather than those you split in half, and made in a way slightly unfamiliar to me, but they were tasty and enjoyed.

Pork Pie, Hand-raised - Nokz Majozi on SKJM
These looked really good.

Rice: Arancini with Marinara Sauce and Roasted Garlic Mayo - various recipes as below
The wild mushroom risotto (I use chicken stock, and we eat two modest portions as risotto, before spreading the remainder out on a tray until it's cooled, adding 125g finely diced mozarella, stirring in, then spreading out, covering and placing in the fridge overnight, or for at least an hour or two).

Meanwhile, if you're making them gluten free, make your own panko style breadcrumbs by cutting the crusts off approximately 8 slices of GF white bread, blitzing them, and drying them out in a low oven (Gas mark 1, approximately 30-40 minutes, turning frequently, making sure they don't brown).

Then roll your arancini into golf ball sized balls (I find it easiest to cut the chilled rice into even sized squares first, maybe 3 by 4, giving you 12, or 4 by 6, giving you 24 (depending on how big you want them).

Dip the balls in the batter (see here - I used 125g GF plain flour, and 50g cornflour), then coat thoroughly in the breadcrumbs, and fry in batches in a deep fat fryer set to 170C until golden brown (if you do a tester one, you can time how long it takes and check it's hot all the way through before frying the rest).
Sprinkle with a little flaky sea salt and serve with your choice of sauces, my favourites are below, and maybe a simple dressed Italian style salad.

Marinara sauce (I use 2 tins of Mutti crushed tomatoes, and fry the onion until browned on the cut side before adding the other ingredients, I also add a handful of fresh basil right at the end.)
How to roast garlic (needs longer than the recipe says, maybe 40-50 minutes)
Follow the recipe for roasting garlic (I only use salt, not pepper), put a good slug of mayo into a small bowl, squeeze out about half the bulb of roasted garlic, finely chop, or squeeze through a garlic crusher, then add to the mayo and mix thoroughly. If you do this the day before, it gives time for it to develop flavours. Have a taste, and if you like add a little squeeze of lemon or more garlic.

Pork: Vietnamese Caramelised Pork (Mince) Bowl - Recipe Tin Eats
Looks like a delicious and different way to use up some of the pork mince in the freezer!

Puddings: Brioche and Butter pudding- Nigella
I added the zest of an orange to the custard, put a thin smear of marmalade on each brioche slice, dotted with a little butter before baking.

Rice Cakes: Korean Cylinder Rice Cakes - Maangchi
On the to-cook list.

Rice: Help Yourself Rice Salad - BBCGF
A tasty rice salad that can live in the fridge for a few days as a lunch or side dish - I omit the tuna, and add fresh basil and sundried tomatoes, or similar.

Rice: Nando's Style Spicy Rice
I reduce the tumeric to 2 tsp, rather than 1 tsp, fry off the onion, peppers and spices then put into a medium/large pyrex bowl and add 450g/ml chicken stock. Cover then microwave for 12 minutes (14 if you double up the ingredients), leave to stand for 10 minutes and then stir in the frozen peas and let heat through for a minute or two (I prefer to use petit pois).

Salads: Avocado and Mango Salad in an Asian-style Dressing - Delicious Mag
To make - maybe also a nice side to fish or chicken, without the nuts.

Samosas (Vegetable, Punjabi) - Swasthi's Recipes
Really tasty filling and a nice crisp pastry - a bit thicker than the soggy thin pastry you'd expect from a supermarket effort, but delicious, and surprisingly easy to roll out and make - watch the video to see how easy they are. It's worth getting ajwain/ajwan/carom seeds as they give the pastry a really authentic flavour.

Samosas with Chutney and Chaat Masala - Tony Singh, BBCF
On the to-cook list.

Sauces: Chipotle Southwest Sauce a la Subway
Just in case you need to make yourself a Subway style sandwich at home, y'know... I use full fat mayo as per the weight, use onion powder and 1tsp garlic salt and omit the salt, then add a generous amount of light mayo to taste plus Henderson's Relish instead of Worcestershire sauce to make it gluten free.

Sauces: Hoisin Sauce
Make your own, the easy way or the more complicated way.

Sauces: Marinara (Tomato Sauce) - Cookie and Kate
I use Mutti crushed tomato for this, and you could add a handful of fresh basil at the end. Good for pasta, or dipping arancini into (I love the mushroom risotto here as a base, chilled overnight - also under rice).

Seafood (other): Prawn Lasagne with Habanero Oil
As mentioned on the Off Menu podcast with Ottolenghi.

Seafood (other): Salt and Pepper Squid with Chilli and Spring Onions - Olive Mag
To cook.

Shellfish: Prawns Deep-fried in Vermicelli Noodles (Khing Sarong) with a Thai Dipping Sauce - JM
To cook. Or another alternative with better instrucions.

Soup: Courgette, Potato and Cheddar Soup - BBCGF
Very tasty! A nice way to use up courgettes.

Soup: Cream of Chicken Soup - Delicious Mag
Definitely going to make this, love a chicken soup!

Soup: Creamy Celery Soup - BBCGF
I added to this 1 leek (as they needed using) and 1 small onion and used chicken stock rather than vegetable, and it was delicious. Also, I seived it after blending to make it really smooth, as it was for a special occasion. Plus a good splash of double cream!

Soup: Rustic Vegetable Soup - Magimix
I like to up the quantities, fry the onions with some olive oil on the 'Stir Fry' setting and add some turmeric, thyme, parsley and grated garlic when I put it on the soup programme. Oh, and a really good glug of double cream at the end! Very tasty and comforting.

Soup: Vegetable and Watermelon Gazpacho
One for the summer!

Squid: Gluten Free Salt and Pepper Squid with Chilli Jam - James Martin
Looks seriously tasty, and GF to boot.

Strawberry Lemonade Cake - BBCGF
On the very-naughty-to-cook list.

Steak with Teriyaki - James Martin
On the to-cook list.

Sweets: Cashew Barfi
Came out a 'treat', good recipe (cardamom)

Sweets: Traditional Indian Sweets - Cook with Kushi
A good selection (although lots of adverts on the site!)

Tofu (home-made) - Mary's Test Kitchen
On the healthy-to-cook list.

Trifle: Gin and Tonic Lemon Meringue Trifle - Donna Hay
Definitely on the to make list!

Vegetable Gyoza - BBCGF BD
To make.

Wonton Soup (Pork and Prawn) - Nagi, RTE
Amazing, highly recommended!

Wonton Soup (Pork) - Wei, RHS
Very tasty, highly recommended!

Wontons: Sezchuan Spicy Wontons in Chilli Oil - Wei, RHS
On the to-cook list.