We couldn’t do a cookbook without one of our all-time fave dinners in it. We have this at least once a week. It is utterly divine — soul food at its best. The mac is a great way to use up any random bits of cheese in the door of the fridge. We usually serve this with a tangy garden salad (for balance)…

These delectable crunch-parcels are one of the most popular toppings for udon and soba in Japan, and it’s easy to understand why. They start off crunchy and sweet, and over time the batter absorbs the broth to make for fabulously juicy mouthfuls…

Uugghh. Cooking. If you’re thinking nope, nope and ABSOLUTELY nope, we feel you. There’s cricket to watch, there are lawns to neglect and there are beaches calling your name. Stuff the kitchen. In this golden week between Christmas and New Year…

Just in time for New Year, here’s another simple side. Because honestly, who needs complication at this time of the year. And let’s face it, most festive cooking comes down to roasting some manner of bird, or baking a ham…

We generally have a fair bit to say and are seldom short of a word or 300 but sometimes, the brains at LSC go into Fully Fried Mode and we just don’t know what to say. Right now it’s hot, it’s the end of the year and we’re running out of words. Enter ChatGPT…

Can we have a ‘heck yeah!’ from the crowd for the mighty mandoline? We love this labour-saving slicing device SO MUCH; it might well be our fave kitchen gizmo ever. It makes short work of precision cutting, giving prep that professional, consistently neat edge…

We know you’re astute so you’ll have noticed a bit of a theme around here lately; namely that at LSC, we’re in complete Christmas denial. We’re unprepared for the tinsel, drunken work parties and Mariah C on a constant loop everywhere we. freaking. go…

We heard you wanted some dead-easy sides for Christmas feasting. You didn’t? You’re getting some anyway. Such as this recipe from the ‘so-Frenchy-so-chic’ school of vegetable thought, which translates to not splashy, not majorly ‘on trend’…

Yeah. It’s actually Christmas time. So no need to panic or anything. How is it here already? What happened to 2024? Who pushed the accelerator button on the year? WDK. But one thing we do know is it’s not too late to make these sweet, citrus pickles to go with your…

Dunno ‘bout you but when we’ve got nothing better to do, we love pondering our navels, then asking the universe all manner of weighty questions. Like, what’s a Clootie Dumpling? Why did the Imam faint? How did the duck get cold and the dick cop its spots?…

Want to teach your kid to cook a main course dish they can’t really eff up? Soy Sauce Chicken. Out of inspo and don’t know what to cook? Soy Sauce Chicken. Need a dish that everyone will shut the heck up about and not whine “… but I don't like it”? Soy Sauce Chicken…

Mussels. So simple to cook, so delicious to eat and so darned good for you. An excellent source of lean protein, iron, selenium, iodine and omega-3 fatty acids, we should all be eating them more. There’s so much healthy stuff lurking in those shells…

This showstopper of a dish originates from the Chittagong district, and is traditionally served to welcome a new groom into the bride’s family. Mellow, lightly spiced and creamy, the skinless chicken is melt-in-your-mouth and flavoursome throughout thanks to slow cooking and bhagar or tempering of golden fried onions…

When it comes to bhorta, aloo, or potato, is at the top of most people’s lists. It’s one of the tastiest and most versatile versions of this mashed dish, and is an essential feature on the Bangladeshi culinary map. Best of all, it can be made by anyone, irrespective of budget or ability. The potatoes are either baked or boiled…

As a child, and being one of the eldest grandchildren, I was lucky enough to enjoy leisurely breakfasts with my late nani (maternal grandmother) whenever I visited my grandparents’ home. For me, this was my time with my grandmother, sitting at the kitchen table and being served a portion of doi chira in an enamel bowl…

Holy banging bangers, Batman; can sausages actually get better than their lovely, snag-y self, or what? We reckon they can and here’s Exhibit A… our sausage ragu. Perfect for tossing through pasta, it’s easy to make and is brilliant during these…

When you don’t just want cake, you want damned epic cake, here’s your gig. A marble cake by any other name, this one is all about intense chocolate flavour, shot through with bright pops of orange. And if you stuff up the marbling and end up with more of an…

You don’t have to travel in Turkey very far before encountering this dish; it’s popularly served as a mezze. And – here’s a quick language lesson – ‘mercimek’, Turkish for the red lentils, is pronounced ‘mer-ji-mek.’…

Translating to ‘brothy rice’, this soupy brew is yummo, like all Spanish cooking generally is. Simple, with direct flavours and not a tonne of ingredients, it’s easy to whip up. The Moors brought rice to Spain in the 8th century and today it’s cultivated in Andalucía…

If your Mum, like many Mums, committed culinary crimes against leeks, you might be scarred for life. We’re talking boiled, suffocated in white sauce and… oh, shudder. We just can’t with the leek memories. Happily there are entire cuisines who cook this skinny green veg with…