At the end of each year, I look back on all the food I made on Drizzleanddip and make a list of the 10 most delicious recipes. It’s a tough thing to do because all the food is delicious otherwise it wouldn’t be here in the first place. I’m talking about the recipes that have shone over and above the others and the ones I will make again and again. The sure-fire winners and the ones that keep me up at night as I imagine eating them again.
If you want to check out my best recipes for previous years – because they are all still relevant and super delicious you can find them for 2016, 2015 and 2014.
This year was of those years that was neither bad nor particularly wonderful. It had an amazing highlight, aka my trip to Italy, but for the rest, it sort of ticked over with no major stand out moments. I have a long list of resolutions that tend to roll from year to year and stay in my mind. They are more a set of loose goals that I should probably solidify by writing down and taking more seriously. I often feel like I’m floating around making things up as I go vs being strategic, and I have been very lucky that things always work out. Next year I have a few firmer objectives for what I want to achieve both personally and professionally so I definitely have my work cut out for me. I’m still planning on finding and making the most delicious recipes, maybe even more so, and am committed to delivering the best quality content I can. A few things need to change too. We only really grow when we take ourselves out of our comfort zones.
I’ll kick off the best of 2017 with the sweet ones first so keep scrolling down until you see something you like. You will see that fennel features strongly because I’m a little obsessed at the moment. I hope you have a very happy new year and thanks for stopping by at DrizzleandDip, I so love having you visit my site.
I think this might be my favourite recipe of the year. It’s a perfect loaf recipe that includes so many flavours and elements that I love without it being too sweet. It’s a recipe which I’ve slightly adapted from Donna Hay that uses Halva as the fat element, hitting the global trend of using tahini in baking recipes head on. I’m planning on adapting it using tahini instead of halva and experimenting with other fruit.
Gooey butter cake
I made gooey butter cake for the first time this year and let’s just say I’ll be making it again in my future. A few friends made this recipe too and were smitten, so those votes of confidence ensure its place on this list.
Lemon meringue cheesecake
This recipe takes the best of two of my favourite dessert recipes and combines them into one. I’ve made it in a pressure cooker and a slower cooker to take all the fuss out of the prep. A gigantic mountain of Italian meringue are essential here.
Straight out of the beautiful Venetian cookbook Polpo, this cake is delectable with a lovely bitterness making it ever so grown up.
This is the easiest and nicest recipe for Madeleine’s that I have found thus far and will be my go-to for the future. You could easily adapt other flavours to this recipe.
Avocado, fennel and orange salad
This is so simple and so wonderful I want to eat it all the time.
I loved the two separate components that make up this incredible salad. Smoked paprika giving earthy heat to the new potatoes, and the lemony fennel and radish adding freshness and crunch. Its a total winner.
Trout en papillote with fennel and tomato
This year I discovered the wonders of the home cooking delivery service called UCOOK and this was an absolute winning recipe of theirs. I’ve made it again and it’s simply sublime and also really healthy. The smashed new potatoes with creme fraiche that go with it is also divine.
If the was my favourite sweet recipe from 2017 then this oven baked risotto was my favourite savoury one. I’ve made it a few times and it’s a vegetarian gem. I also loved the oven technique for risotto making which is much less work than labouring over the stove.
This delicious roast chicken recipe adapted from Diana Henry is a keeper and one you will want to slot into your repertoire.
This is the 11th but I couldn’t leave it out. It’s a recipe is from Giles Edwards from La Tete (one of my favourite Cape Town restaurants) and I love it to smithereens. Its cheffy and a little complicated but well worth all the effort.
A few other notable mentions:
Chargrilled zucchini hummus My new favourite hummus, just yum!
Menemen – Turkish scrambled eggs My new best way to scramble eggs.
Thai green papaya salad I’m so excited we can finally get green papayas here.
Who doesn’t love an incredibly quick lemony chicken recipe?
The best Mexican esquites salad I adore the crunchy texture of this warm sald with all those South American flavours. Yum!
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