Nigella Lawson's Supper Onion Pie

When I read in the Daily Telegraph that this recipe was considered one of Nigella's best 10 recipes of all time, I had to give it a try. This Supper Onion Pie is similar to a red onion tarte tatin, except that a cheese scone dough is used instead of pastry.

The recipe was quick and simple to put together - the longest procedure is slowly caramelising the onions until they are soft and nicely coloured. The onion layer is flavoured with thyme and the cheese scone dough also has mustard in it for a bit more flavour. I cooked the onions in the same skillet that I used to bake the pie in, which made things even simpler - less washing up!

I found this a pleasant dish to eat, but nothing more outstanding than that. The scone dough was quite thick compared to pastry, and I thought it needed more flavouring - more mustard or some herbs maybe, or even some dried chilli flakes. My husband was even more critical - I was told in no uncertain terms not to make it again unless I could make it more flavoursome - he suggested leaving out the cheese and using garlic and coriander leaves in the base and some suitable spices in the onions.

I don't have a lot of Nigella's recipes in my regular repertoire, but I don't think this is getting into our top 10!

Apologies for the photo of the whole pie - it had to be taken in artificial light. The last couple of months has been so dismal and dark that it's been really difficult to get enough natural light photograph anything well, even in daylight - roll on Spring, and longer days!

Yotam Ottolenghi's Cauliflower Cake

Yotam Ottolenghi is a chef I admire greatly; his recipes often have Mediterranean or middle Eastern influences and he's perhaps best known for recipes based on vegetables - perhaps not 100% vegetarian, but where vegetables take the starring role.

This cauliflower recipe, which comes from his new book 'Plenty More'; is called a cake, but the texture is more like a frittata; flour and baking powder are added to a lot of eggs to give a lighter, but somehow also sturdier, texture than the traditional frittata.

The picture of the cake, which was published in the Guardian Weekend magazine, along with a few others from the book, instantly attracted both of us. My husband liked the pattern of onion rings on the top and I liked the description of something more appealing than a cauliflower cheese! I followed the recipe exactly, although I was slightly short of basil - the plant on the patio didn't really recover from the last harvesting; I suspect it hasn't had enough sun this year. The tin I used was slightly larger than the tin specified - I had the choice of using either a larger tin or a smaller one, and went with the larger one - but the cake still needed the full cooking time to get enough colour on top.

There are lots of big flavours in this cake - cheese, rosemary, onion, basil, sesame and kalonji seeds - and they do rather overwhelm the cauliflower, but nevertheless this is a really delicious and unusual way to use the vegetable. This makes a good dish to eat at room temperature, with a salad or hot vegetables, but is also something suitable for a picnic or buffet table. It's sturdy enough to withstand transportation, especially if it's left in the tin until required, and can be eaten as a finger food.

I can't resist adding this last photo - just to prove that this recipe turned out looking as it should!