Linda McCartney’s book “Home Cooking” was the very first cookbook I ever bought ‒ back in 1992. I decided to cook and photograph as many recipes as possible from this book.
From: Linda McCartney’s “Home Cooking”, p. 97.
Oven-baked hard-boiled eggs in white sauce with grated cheese.
This is one of the rather heavy dishes with lots of calories but no veg in it. I also found the taste very plain and have added some tomato paste for extra flavour. Another option would be adding some mustard to the sauce.
Gluten-free: Prepare the white sauce with gluten-free flour, such as rice flour.
From: Linda McCartney’s “Home Cooking”, p. 125.
Veggie steaklets with a tomato and pepper sauce, prepared in the pan.
A simple but nice recipe for those who like veggie steaks.
Vegan and gluten-free if the steaklets are vegan and gluten-free.
From: Linda McCartney’s “Home Cooking”, p. 63.
This seems to be the basic recipe for filled eggs- other variations in this book are a little more interesting. But this recipe is a great base from where to start exploring. How about decorating the devilled eggs with some chia kaviar (chia seeds soaked over night in soy sauce)? It will take them to another level and make them really special!
From: Linda McCartney’s “Home Cooking”, p. 127.
A veggie schnitzel, topped with fried eggs.
After having lived in Switerzland for more than 10 years, I am wondering why this is called “Swiss Schnitzel”- for it to be Swiss I would have expected at least a little bit of cheese. But anyway, this is another recipe that seems to appeal to people who like meat but seems to be a bit plain for vegetarians. I do miss some veg here (my husband loved the schnitzel just as it was)…
From: Linda McCartney’s Home Cooking, p. 157
This is number four of the five recipes I did not try out. This recipe contains a lot of uncooked egg which I like to avoid. Instead I tried a variation with plant-based whipping cream and chocolate which also worked well and tasted great.
From: Linda McCartney’s Home Cooking, p. 130.
Halved tomatoes, baked on a bed of crumbled burgers in sauce.
An easy dish that reminds me a little of 1980s cooking and was a little too plain for my taste. My husband and daughter loved it, though 🙂
I recommend reducing the olive oil to 3 tbsp and omitting the butter- otherwise it gets too greasy.
From: Linda McCartney’s Home Cooking, p. 110.
A mix of mozzarella and flour, shaped into croquettes, breaded, and deep-fried. Makes 24 saussage-sized croquettes.
These croquettes were appreciated by my family as everything breaded and deep-fried seems to just taste good…
I found that again, the mozzarella does not give them enough flavour and I would prefer having another kind of cheese with more flavour (e.g. cheddar). Personnally, I did not like the croquettes so much as they were so high in fat and difficult to digest.
When frying, make sure you fry them for long enough (not just until they are golden-brown on the outside)- otherwise they will still be uncooked in the middle and have a very floury taste. Please also be careful when dropping the croquettes into the hot oil or when handling the oil. It is extremely hot!
Gluten-free: Works well with a gluten-free flour blend.
From: Linda McCartney’s Home Cooking, p. 147
This Hollandaise Sauce consisits only of butter and egg yolks, plus a little lemon juice and salt and pepper. I would prefer using just butter and a little salt on asparagus or other vegetables to keep the clean taste. If wanting a more creamy sauce, I think the Divine Sauce (p. 81) is a very good option.
From: Linda McCartney’s Home Cooking, p. 93
One of the five recipes in the book I decided not to try. Again, just as the Cheese and Noodle Casserole (p. 93 as well), this recipe contained too much dairy fat: 205ml sour cream, 455g ricotta and some parmesan to top. Apart from the high calorie count, the recipe is quite plain and not too tempting.
From: Linda McCartney’s Home Cooking, p. 99.
Just what the title says: breaded mozzarella cheese, fried and served warm.
I found this recipe a little too plain as the mozzarella itself does not have so much taste. I would prefer substituting it for some stronger cheese. A family favourite is breaded fried cammembert, served with bread and some cranberry sauce. Heaven! Fried feta cheese is also great- try seasoning it with some za’atar and serve with a drizzle of honey.
Gluten-free: Use gluten-free breadcrumbs.