It’s not always easy to find tarragon but one of my local shops in Turnham Green Terrace (www.lemonandlimes.co.uk) is very good on herbs and that’s where I found this generous bunch. I love it’s gentle but fresh and vital aniseedy flavour. A tablespoon of chopped leaves went into this creamy chicken dish, the colour darkened…

This is very lazy fish pie. No sauce, just grated Emmental, a fillet of fish per person, spinach, mashed potato and more cheese. The mash is enriched with beaten egg so it holds its shape and crisps as it bakes. For more or less servings adjust the ingredients in proportion. If you want to snazz…

Carrot’s sweet intensity can stand up to powerful herbs and spices. In this beguiling Thai-inspired soup, it also gets chilli and ginger, kaffir lime leaves (available, incidentally, dried in jars) and orange zest, with a final squeeze of lime. Delicious with coriander garlic bread. Serves 4Prep: 20 minCook: 30 min 750g carrots1 large onion, 150g3…

I have two little cast iron frying pans (approx 20cm) and they tend to be used more in the oven than as a frying pan, although both are handy for dry-frying – often called roasting – nuts and seeds and spices for grinding. I always use one when I make Tarte Tatin for four, although…

Nduja is a fearsomely hot, spreadable pork and roasted red pepper paste. Originally from Calabria and once peasant food, its versatility, low cost and deliciousness has caught on, now at Waitrose and M&S. Think of it in the same category as harissa and chorizo, something to liven up all kinds of foods. Last night a…

Next time you are cooking up a storm for six and want food you can make in advance, remember meatballs. I make them with all kinds of mince from beef and lamb to duck and sausages, here though I’ve used minced pork. The pale, flavour-receptive meat is mixed with creamy breadcrumbs, lemon zest, flat leaf…

Intensely sweet little Chantenay carrots turn up like hidden treasure in this variation on shepherd’s pie. It’s a very herby version, with rosemary, thyme and bay, then masses of parsley added right at the end before the mince is hidden under super-thin slices of quickly blanched potato rather than the usual mashed potato. I usually…

Here’s an attempt to make sausages a healthy option. It doesn’t really work, of course, but the lion’s share of cooking is poaching but a final fry with onion, garlic then passata and red wine enriches the dish. I love butter beans but any tinned beans or lentils would work in a dish finished with…

Many of my soups have an element of fridge tidy to them, often laced with over shopping. That was the case here; a lone leek, couple of huge courgettes, remains of a bunch of thyme and single chicken thigh fillet. With a scrounged potato, peas from the freezer and chicken stock (made with a cube),…

Adding a few lamb’s kidneys to a hearty steak and mushroom stew has an incredible affect. The smell as it cooks is rich and intense and so is the flavour and almost fluffy texture of the gravy when you tuck in. Mushrooms, particularly big flat field or Portobello mushrooms, darken the gravy and add a…