Coming to Find You by Jane Corry Recipe by Jane Devonshire
Author
Novelist, creative writer, tutor and even a journalist, Jane Correy wrote for tons of magazines and journals.
An interesting fact about this months author, at least I thought so, was that she was writer in residence of HMP Grendon high security male prison, and at the same time taught at Oxford University and an outreach tutor for special needs groups.
She’s a frequent guest on radio shows and a regular speaker at conferences in England and abroad.
Now, Jane Corry lives in Hertfordshire with her husband and youngest son.
In an interview I read about Jane, she writes that she “can’t remember not writing” Going on to say that when it came to the maths and science subjects, she wasn’t a fan.
Beginning her writing love with short stories and poems. Her first published piece was a letter which appeared in June & Schoolfriend and a prize was won with a poem she entered into a competition in her local paper, The Harrow observer.
Once she finished university where she read English, Jane got a job as a trainee magazine journalist. This led to a lot more work on a lot more magazines, Parents magazine, Woman and Womans Own and a regular contributor to The Daily Telegraph. During this time, Jane came into contact and interviewed celebrities and groups like Abba, Zandra Rhodes and Julie Walters.
It was Jane had her first child she began to go freelance and carried on this way for twenty years, still writing for magazines and been published as a romance writer.
While working as a writer in residence at a high security mens prison she had the idea for her first book which catapulted her into the top ten on the Sunday Times best seller list.
I think that Coming to Find You, was Jane Corrys eighth published book,
Jane Corry
Book
Written in a duel timline, After Nancys step brother murders her mother and step father, she runs back to her grandmothers Cornish Inn, Tall Chimneys.
Her step brother is convicted and she hopes her world can go back to normal.
The press follows her and are convinced she isn’t the innocent daughter she is presenting to the world, believing she knows more and had more to do with her parents killing.
As she settles in to what she hopes is a quiet life, she discovers Tall Chimneys has its own secrets, from history (war time era) and the present.
From prison, her step brother continues to hound her and it all comes to a head bringing to light the truth about past and present.
Coming to Find You is Foodie Book Clubs February Read
My Thoughts
I quite enjoyed listening to this book, with its themes of guilt, secrets and courage it, even though it spans two timelines, it felt smooth and not too jarring between times.
The theme of the book was interesting and even though I’ve read books with two timelines, this was one of the better ones, with interesting story lines and strong characters in both of them.
As the pressure builds up with scandals in both timelines, the author has made each of the characters complex enough to maintain my interest throughout.
From this book, I would read more of Jane Corrys fiction books, and I would recommend this book to others.
I give the book a 4 egg rating.
4 Egg Rating
Recipe
Our recipe for this month is another throw back to the times of the pandemic and our Lockdown Lunch era.
Read on to find out all about Jane Devonshire, 2016 MasterChef champion. The full recipe she gifted us it here to and a link to our Foodie Book Club YouTube channel to watch Jane doing her live cook.
Chef
Jane Devonshire, one of our fabulous Foodie Book Club Chefs, cooked up a storm for our Facebook Live Lockdown Lunches, and I didn’t expect anything else from her.
Way before Jane became 2016 MasterChef champion, she was a champion to her family, cooking for her husband and four children was the inspiration many of the dishes which helped her become MasterChef champion.
Jane was the only one to be surprised about winning MasterChef, everyone who watched her, could see how much talent she had and as the weeks progressed, how much her confidence in her own abilities grew.
Jane shared, “Winning MasterChef was a complete surprise. I decided that I wanted to experience as many things as I could. I wanted to throw myself into everything,” As with everything in her life, she did just that.
After her success on MasterChef, Jane took the opportunity to work with other talents in the culinary industry.
Michelin-starred chefs such as Michael O’Hare, Marcus Wareing, Michel Roux Jnr and Atul Kotchar to name a few, as well as appearing on numerous TV and radio programmes including BBC Breakfast, Loose Women, South Today and Woman’s Hour.
After taking a few months off, Jane realised that she’d found a “new love”. A passion for presenting and chatting to people while demonstrating to audience around the country.
“I love the creative side – teaching, writing, developing recipes,” said Jane “I spend hours in my kitchen just working on new dishes, which is what I’ve always done I suppose. But talking to people about food and presenting to them has been what I’ve really enjoyed the most.”
Drawing from her own journey with gluten free cooking for her son Ben, Jane began her first book, Hassle Free Gluten Free.
At the core of all Janes cooking is her family.
“Food should be a pleasurable experience for everyone. I get such immense pleasure from being able to create moments when we sit and eat together. Who cares if it’s sausages and mash or a macaroni cheese?” she laughs. “It’s about sharing food. Food brings people together.”
Jane was inspired to cook by her Nanny Pearce who was a baker of cakes, her mother whose wholesome traditional fare went hand in hand with her father’s love of the markets.
One of her four children Ben, was diagnosed with Coeliac disease when he was just two years old. This began her journey into the world of gluten free cooking for her family, and now, two cookbooks later (Hassle Free, Gluten Free and out December 24th , Vegetarian Hassle free, Gluten Free) Jane is a master of making gluten and vegetarian free dishes that everyone will love.
So, you can see why I was filled with joy when Jane came on board with Foodie book Club and agreed to share a dish live for Lockdown Lunches
If you didn’t get a chance to catch Jane cooking live, don’t worry, you can watch on the Foodie Book Club YouTube channel.
Jane Deveinshire
Recipe
Roasted Broccoli with Romesco Sauce and Roast Garlic Tahini
I am very lucky as my son Ben will eat broccoli and carrots raw as a snack as soon as he enters the house. This is also a favourite of Sam’s, so much so he asked for the recipe to make it for his girlfriend! The colours are really beautiful on the plate and it tastes delicious.
I love this recipe from my new book Vegetarian Hassle Free Gluten Free, although not the most festive of ingredients the bright red and green of the dish makes it the perfect vegetarian Festive starter or lunch especially if you want something a little lighter
Enjoy,
Jane
Serves 4
For the broccoli
1 large broccoli
sunflower oil
1 small bulb of garlic
sea salt and black pepper
For the Romesco Sauce
125g blanched almonds
225g roasted red peppers from a jar, plus 2 tablespoons brine from the jar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
50ml extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
For the tahini dressing
1½ tablespoons tahini
2–3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½–1 tablespoon lemon juice
pinch sea salt
To serve (optional)
Toasted flaked almonds
Drizzle of chilli oil
Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C Fan/Gas Mark 4.
Method
Cut the broccoli into steaks about 1.5cm thick; don’t waste any florets that fall off, place them on an oiled baking tray with the broccoli steaks.
Lightly coat the broccoli with a little oil and season with sea salt and black pepper.
Cut the garlic bulb in half horizontally and place cut-side down on the baking tray.
Transfer to the oven and roast for about 20 minutes, turning once halfway through.
You want the broccoli to be tender and golden brown on the outside.
While the broccoli is roasting, make the romesco sauce.
Place all the ingredients into a blender and pulse. I like to keep this with some texture in it, so you want a mixture slightly coarser than hummus; chunks of almond are fine.
My tip
If you don’t have a food processor, use ground almonds and very finely chop the red pepper, and combine with the rest of the ingredients.
To make the tahini dressing, squeeze half of the garlic from the roasted garlic into a pestle and mortar and add the tahini. Combine well until it forms a smooth paste and add the olive oil, lemon juice and salt to make a smooth sauce. If you like lots of garlic add more from the roasted bulb.
To serve, place the romesco sauce on the bottom of a plate, arrange the broccoli, including any little crispy bits, over the top and drizzle with the tahini dressing. I like to dress this with lightly toasted flaked almonds and a drizzle of the chilli oil.
My Tips
Don’t be put off by the different processes, they are very straightforward.
The sauce and tahini dressing can be made the day before and kept in the fridge.
Any leftover roasted garlic will keep in the fridge and is great to add to dressings or sauces.
