Melanie Johnson

London

Food Writer and Stylist at Freelance

London food writer, stylist + photographer | Currently food columnist for award winning magazine Country Life | Textile designer | Recipes and photography at:

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Articles

Two quick and easy seasonal asparagus recipes to try this Easter Weekend

1 week ago | countrylife.co.uk | Melanie Johnson

Once a favourite of Madame de Pompadour — member of the French court and mistress of Louis XV — asparagus has long since lost its ‘royal' status, but not for me. I'm excited to see the asparagus season has begun, an optimistic sign that summer really is just around the corner — and the kitchen garden will soon be brimming with a wealth of new culinary offerings.
How to make a rhubarb and Swiss meringue cake that's almost too pretty to eat

3 weeks ago | countrylife.co.uk | Melanie Johnson

Forced rhubarb, which will shortly disappear, is one of early spring's rare seasonal treats. 'Sure, wild garlic is starting to peep through,' says Tom Parker Bowles, 'and English chicory, too, but this is a cusp month that sits, slightly awkwardly, between the last, aged fumble of winter and spring’s lusty thrust.''The plants start their life outside, grown for a couple of years in rich, fertile soil, which fills those roots with nutrients.
An Italian-inspired recipe for lemon-butter pasta shells with spring greens, ricotta and pangrattato

3 weeks ago | countrylife.co.uk | Melanie Johnson

The first tender cabbages of the year are called spring greens — and they're at the peak between April and June.
How to make an ethereal-sounding seafood, spinach and asparagus puff-pastry cloud

1 month ago | countrylife.co.uk | Melanie Johnson

Softly tender and beautifully verdant, baby spinach adds a gentle freshness to dishes.
How to make a bay and vanilla crème brûlée custard tart

1 month ago | countrylife.co.uk | Melanie Johnson

Bay leaves are an excellent tool for infusing dishes with a warm, floral note. They add depth and complexity to dishes without overpowering other flavours.
The greatest cottage pie recipe

1 month ago | countrylife.co.uk | Melanie Johnson

Endlessly versatile and comfortingly familiar, potatoes are at the heart of so many favourite dishes — which perhaps explains how we each get through more than 130kg of them every year. The humble Maris Piper turns to mash very well — and is widely available — but if you want to up the ante, do as chef Gordon Ramsay does, and get your hands on some Yukon Gold potatoes.
Celeriac-crusted cod with chorizo butter and romanesco sauce

2 months ago | countrylife.co.uk | Melanie Johnson

Celeriac, with its knobbly charm, is a versatile root that’s perfect for mashing, roasting or adding depth of flavour to soups and casseroles.
How to use fresh and bold horseradish to liven up salmon

2 months ago | countrylife.co.uk | Melanie Johnson

Fresh and bold horseradish is typically made into a hot-flavoured sauce and served alongside roast beef or fish, such as salmon or trout. But it can also be used as an ingredient in its own right to add an unmistakable kick to things. The root vegetable (it looks a bit like a parsnip) is a member of the mustard family and the leaves can tower up to 1.5m high above ground.
A decadent savoury tart that makes the most of seasonal curly kale

2 months ago | countrylife.co.uk | Melanie Johnson

The only thing better than a normal tart, is a tart with a Gruyère crust. Melanie Johnson reveals how to make one using curly kale, mushrooms and caramelised shallots. So, what’s the difference between kale and curly kale?
'Leeks are the unsung hero of winter recipes’: Melanie Johnson's smoky leek and butter-bean sourdough pain perdu

Jan 23, 2025 | countrylife.co.uk | Melanie Johnson

Melanie Johnson rustles up an easy smoky leek and butter-bean sourdough concoction to see you through the rest of winter.