Hip, Hip, Hooray! The newsletter is 3 today.
A recipe index and a retrospective
Today WTYCT celebrates its 3rd birthday. On this day in April 2022, I kicked things off with a Vietnamese Sour Fish Soup and there have been a riotous 119 newsletters and over 125 recipes since! I’m taking today’s newsletter as a bit of a retrospective, sharing a new Recipe Index and some of the most popular recipes from the past 156 weeks. But I will be coming at you very soon with a new Wild Garlic recipe which I hope will surprise and delight your personal tastebuds as it did mine.
I can’t quite believe it’s been 3 years of me sending my silly little recipes and thoughts to your inboxes. On a personal level, this newsletter has (quite fittingly) seen me through 3 house moves in 3 different suburbs; a year of fertility troubles; a pregnancy; and now the bringing up of a baby with all the wonderful and challenging times that entails. What a crazy old world! I love it!
I wanted to commemorate this birthday with something that felt a bit momentous, so below you’ll find:
Your Top Three most cooked recipes – as told by you
My top three personal favourite WTYCT recipes (this was very hard!)
And Three Wild Garlic recipes, as it is the season after all…
More importantly, I’m also today publishing a Recipe Index of every single recipe and meal that has appeared on the newsletter, organised by meal type. I hope this comes in handy as you make your meal plans!
Thank you so much for reading the newsletter over the weeks, months and years. It means the world. A particularly large thank you goes out to you paid subscribers who allow me to keep buying ingredients, testing recipes and sharing my cooking with you. I’ve got some exciting Interviews and Recipes coming up just for you that I hope you are going to love. I’ll also be talking a bit more about our weaning journey with our little boy. Because I’ve found my calling and it’s making food that Eli likes to eat! Truly never felt a joy like it.
Without further ado…
Lemony Lentil and Leek Orzo
The healthy hit. This 5-ingredient, 20 minute treat makes the most of the three L’s: lemons, leeks and lentils. Sometimes, you simply must take the L. No losses here though. Only wins.
Cabbage Pasta
The weird and wonderful one. This is a pasta invented by my brother, with very little reference to Italy. Because sometimes that's what you want. I’m not scared.
Portuguese Tomato Rice
The one that’s better than risotto. This dish doesn’t expect too much from you. Its refreshing tomatoey-ness makes it the most moreish partner to a piece of fish or chicken. I have been told that it is a great one for weaning a baby, and I shall be trying that myself very soon. (Thanks Colette!)
There was also a significant number of votes for Broccoli Gnocchi (a recipe from before Substack that you’ll find here!)
Saag Aloo
This is a curry I make on repeat, and will continue to throughout my entire life. I have been trying to recreate my favourite Babur dishes since kingdom come. And this rendition of Saag Aloo is the closest I’ve got in the confines of my own kitchen.
Buffalo Chicken Pie
I make a lot of pies – as you’ll see in the Recipe Index – but this is the one I cook the most. It’s everything I want in a chicken pie: spicy, creamy and a bit surprising. It doesn’t rely on a flour-heavy white sauce, which I love. I make it every autumn and winter at least a few times and I was so glad I made it again for my freezer when I was heavily pregnant.
Leftovers Sunday Sauce
This dish gives Spag Bol a run for its money, and I mean that. It comes into its own in the summer when barbecue leftovers might grace your fridge, but you can make it any time of year with some bones and ribs from the butcher and you’ll be so glad you did. It’s so richly meaty, so heaving with the results of the maillard reaction, and if you don’t exclaim “wow” when you eat it I would be very surprised… I’m quite proud of it, can you tell?
Wild Garlic Cheese Pide (scroll to the bottom)
I love pide because they feel more special than pizza and are much easier to make in a domestic oven. These are stuffed with a wild garlic and cheese mix and topped with eggs and what’s not to love about that?
Wild Garlic Spanakopita
A deep dish spanakopita is a beautiful thing to have and to hold and enjoy at room temperature for days to come. It’s the ultimate lunch on a sunny day and it’s even better when it’s made with some wild garlic that you got for free.
Wild Garlic Shokupan
This is the wild garlic recipe I’m most proud of! A beautifully bouncy and delicate pale green bread with a subtly garlicky flavour. With its wild garlic butter it’s a match made in heaven, and a great pairing for soup, or vehicle for a sandwich or scrambled egg for breakfast.
See you soon for another Wild Garlic wonder and the lowdown on what we ate in Seville earlier this month!