Delicatessen Finds

You can't leave me on my own when I am at Borough Market or in a Farmer's Market or a deli. They are places where I can't resist and I have to leave with at least something to use for my recipes. You just need that particular ingredient to change completely the flavour of a dish. It could be a spice, a different kind of salt, an exotic paste to have something new. I have picked few items.

Truffles are so popular lately that you can find truffle products almost everywhere. Among the many companies, San Pietro, based in Umbria, at the heart of Italy makes a vast range of truffles preserves, dressings, pates, flavoured pasta and rice as well as honey and extra virgin olive oils. And I am mentioning just a few. This "Vellutata al Tartufo Nero" is a black truffle sauce that can be used for a very luxurious pasta. Selfridges stocks it and if you want to check more of the extensive production look at www.sanpietroapettine.it

These green pearls of extra virgin olive oil are just so decadent and they will be addictive. It is a vegetarian caviar made with Oro Bailen Arbequina extra virgin olive oil from Spain. Great on salads, on canapes, vegetables and fish they can be found at www.artisanoliveoilcompany.co.uk

St. Ewe Eggs produces free range high quality eggs in Cornwall and I can assure you, because I have used them, that the yolk is bright orange, I made some egg pasta that finally was the right yellow colour and not grey as usual. Recently they have started to sell liquid whole eggs, liquid egg yolk and liquid egg white to cater for  dietary requirements and to use them in baking. No more imperfect meringues or custard. I have seen them in Fortnum & Mason and the best delis and food halls.www.steweeggs.com

If you like Mayonnaise and garlic, you are in luck because Farrington's Mellow Yellow has brought this delicious dressing, light because made with rapeseed oil and punchy for the presence of 3.1% of garlic. Use it on fish, or as a dip for crudites, also perfect  in sandwiches and burgers. You can find it at Waitrose, Sainsbury's, Morrisons and at the Coop. Also Ocado and Amazon are among the online retailers that stock this delicious product. www.farrington-oil.co.uk

A pinch of the right salt can change completely the flavour of the dish. I have quite a few kind of salts and really they can make the boring  scramble egg or boiled potato something else. The Dorset Sea Salt Company has got a great range of flavoured salts as well as the classic ones. Its 8 flavoured salts are harvested on the Jurassic coast of Devon and in their little jars they are so beautiful when  displayed in the kitchen. Try the Apple Oak Smoked one or the Celery one (perfect for a Bloody Mary), or the Chilli one and why not the Lemon and Thyme to jazz up some fish? www.dorsetseasalt.co.uk

These kits of Carnaroli rice comes from Italy and as well as selling the classic rice with no condiments at all, there are these fabulous kits: rice and asparagus, rice and mushrooms and rice and saffron. Perfect for  a quick and indulgent meal when back from work and you fancy something delicious. The Meracinque Rice is a family run business where rice has been harvested for almost 40 years and now 5 gorgeous sisters are following the family business, the "Rice Girls", as I fondly nicknamed them when I have met them. You can find their products at Oil Merchant  . www.meracinque.com

Spice Drops are among the best store cupboard staple I could have ever thought. Just one drop will give flavour to anything you are cooking. I have tried the rose drops in my builder's tea and it was amazing. Check the various ones from saffron, to orange zest, to peppermint or lemongrass just to name a few. And now there are the boxes where you can have all the range for baking, or for flavouring your tea, or you can create your own. Also you can find them at Whole Food Market. www.holylama.co.uk

You might have guessed that I love garlic and I use it when I can. So when I have seen The Garlic Farm stand with all its goodies I was in my element. Their garlic butter with parsley, thyme and black pepper and smoked garlic butter are just delicious. Spread it on a toasted slice of bread for a scrumptious bruschetta, or just add it to a bowl of pasta for a quick no cooked sauce and you will understand why I rave about these two great products. Also they will jazz up any jacket potato or meat and fish. www.thegarlicfarm.co.uk

How many times, watching on TV the crime series Inspector Montalbano you had a craving for spaghetti with cuttlefish ink? Spanish Nortindal produces  this sauce in several sizes from small little jars for family consumption or bigger jars for hospitality. Find it at Basco, an online retailer specialised in Spanish food. www.nortindal.com

Still carrying on with the store cupboard staples, these tuna fillets by L'Isola d'Oro are an absolute treat. Packed in a glass jar the fillets are chunky and when picked them, they flake easily in salads or pasta sauces and thousand of other recipes. They are very versatile and they can be found at Fratelli Camisa online shop together with other L'Isola d'Oro specialities, all of high quality. www.lisoladoro.it

I don't normally go for ketchup but the Truffle Hunter Black Truffle Ketchup is so good that it is my exception. It is made with sun ripened tomatoes and black truffles and it is very smooth. It is perfect on your hamburger and for dipping french fries. Also use it in a very simple tomato soup for that touch of luxury. www.trufflehunter.co.uk