This is possibly my favourite way of using wild garlic. The long, floppy leaves, pale stalks and a few flowers went into this pesto along with equal weights of toasted pine kernels and finely grated Parmesan. I like it thick and spreadable but add more olive oil for a slacker version. I also added a…

Crusty, wonky chunks of sausage meat in a marmalade-flavoured tomato sauce might sound a tad strange but do try it. A mere spoonful of Seville orange marmalade brings a haunting depth of flavour to a simple tomato sauce, giving a rich back drop to faux meatballs and pasta. As the pasta is stirred in at…

This was a huge success when I made it, creamy, plump scallops with their sweet tenderness against very crisp scraps of salty back bacon eaten with a bright green pea puree with a hint of mint. Oven frites – M&S in a green box, ready in 11 minutes is still the favourite – are the…

When I saw tinned pears at knock down prices the other day, I remembered a recipe using them from Alastair Little’s seminal Keep It Simple. Why not, he says, when needing poached pears, use tinned ones. And I did, copying his idea of teaming them with frangipane paste to make stunning little puff pastry tarts….

When I’d been checking out ways to cook meatballs recently, I dipped into Trina Hahnemann’s glossily glamorous but very useable Scandinavian Cookbook. It inspired Pork Meatballs in Lemon Gravy with Carrots and Leeks which I highly recommend but made me want to have a go at making a version of her Swedish Curried Meatballs. They…

Red wine and Seville orange marmalade give surprising depth of flavour to a tomato and onion soupy stew with chunks of spicy chorizo and bigger chunks of meaty pork sausages. Serve with crusty bread and butter or potatoes to crush into the parsley-flecked juices. Navarrico Spanish chickpeas (garbanzos), as I’ve mentioned before, are in a…

This is a dead easy, colourful and delicious fish supper. Either make or buy decent pesto (just google pesto in my recipe section), serve it over a fillet of roast cod (haddock, hake or salmon) with cherry tomatoes roasted with black olives, slivers of garlic and a splash of balsamico and another of olive oil….

Light, elegant flavours here, of leftover roast chicken torn into a bay-flavoured sauce hidden under a cloak of pale creamed cauliflower enriched with crème fraiche and Parmesan. Hidden in the cauli cream, giving bursts of salty creaminess, are nuggets of molten feta cheese. The gratinee finish is home made breadcrumbs and more grated Parmesan. Highly…

Making a meal of salad Nicoise with fresh tuna is a treat indeed. Be sure, though, to cook the tuna quickly, ideally on a griddle or heavy frying pan, to avoid dryness. You want it pink in the middle. Everything, I’m happy to say, can be prepped in advance ready for a quick assembly at…

Quiche and salad can be the dull option but home made quiche Lorraine, the eggy, creamy filling seasoned with salty bacon in decent pastry, is food of the gods. This version cheats with thinly rolled puff pastry, adding chives but not cheese with the bacon. Try it Burgundy-style, with an oak leaf and frisee salad…