Towards the end of my pregnancy with Zach I gave up work and immersed myself in Michel Guerard`s seminal gourmet dieting book Cuisine Minceur. To use the book successfully it is essential to surrender to the regime. One dish that really appealed to me was ratatouille with eggs poached in red wine. Intrigued by his…

In my early days as a restaurant critic I fell in love with Lebanese food. I learnt to cook it at home thanks to Claudia Roden’s A Book of Middle Eastern Food and later through regular visits to (sadly, long-gone) The Phoenicia in Kensington. This was where I’d take sons Zach and Henry for a…

Here’s a simple way of making a colourful, interesting stew with meaty chipolata sausages and creamy butter beans, the flavours given a hint of Greece with tomato and oregano and snap of chilli. It’s the sort of meal-in-a-bowl that tempts greediness, so be warned. Serve it alone or with green beans. Serves 3-4Prep: 30 minCook:…

Garlicky nuggets of pork in a fresh tomato sauce thickened with chickpeas and spinach is a terrific combination, the dish mindless to make. I used particularly meaty pork belly slices but any lean pork is suitable. The meat should have a slight chew that works well with the mealy texture of chickpeas, chilli-flecked tomato juices…

This is a very quick simplified version of an authentic Thai green curry. The preparations are all done first, in much the same way as you would if you were making a stir-fry. Hence, chicken is diced or prawns shelled, an onion chopped, beans topped and tailed, a can and sachet or two opened, and…