The fag end of a packet of red split lentils and a few lone vegetables at the bottom of the fridge were the inspiration for this soup. It’s thick and hearty, aromatic and enticing, a muddle of sweet butternut squash and carrot with onion and leek, everything livened up and united by ras al hanout,…

One of the surprising pleasures of lockdown is being able to buy Cornish fish on line (hooked@fishforthought.co.uk), even in obscure parts of our land-locked countryside. Mackerel is abundant at the moment and this simple yet simply wonderful salad is made with grilled mackerel fillets on Dijon mustard-spread toast. I have made a similar version with…

The sight of a billowing bag of spinach at the local shop here in the Black Mountains actually set my heart racing. I’d been craving spinach and I’ve just made this thick, voluptuous soup with it, adding peas for viscosity, potato for thickness and leeks for their gentle onion flavor. I’ll almost certainly serve it…

I like adding unexpected extras to soup and these little meatballs go extremely well with almost any smooth soup from spinach to yesterday’s Butternut Squash Soup, turning it into more of a meal. I was using up a stray 250g bag of minced pork found in the freezer, making 24 little meatballs with the addition…

I love chicken stews and this is a very fine one made with plump chicken thighs, a mound of chestnut mushrooms, finely chopped rosemary and bay, onion and garlic, everything simmered away in white wine and stock in the oven. I served it with roast parsnips cooked at the same time, revitalized leftover mash (the…

I’m forever experimenting with ways to ring the changes with moules mariniere and this is the latest. Inspiration was needed because this particular net of mussels weighed 800g rather than the usual 1 kilo and had a high proportion had broken shells. Why not, I thought, add the other half of a big jar of…

This is a blessedly easy soup to make, just cut big slices of butternut squash and arrange them on a sheet of oiled foil with halved unpeeled onion and garlic. Onion and garlic have their skin discarded, then everything is liquidized with hot stock for several minutes to breakdown the squash skin. I passed mine…

I had to scratch around in my stores to find a can of haricot beans to make this makeshift version of minestrone. I doubt there is a definitive recipe although I think haricot and broken up pasta are defining ingredients in this chunky vegetable soup. I had carrots, potatoes, onion, garlic and bacon, using marjoram,…

Rachel Roddy’s instagram (@rachelaliceroddy) photo of celery, lined up in a gratin dish, en route to becoming Jane Grigson’s celery gratin prompted this latest take on a favourite gratin of mine, leeks wrapped in prosciutto. This in turn is based on a French brasserie dish, often made with chicory. Because leeks are tricky to slice…

This is without a doubt one of the simplest, most delicious soups I know. It’s called Spanish Chickpea Soup in my book The Trifle Bowl and Other Tales (pg 234) but I think this title sums it up instantly and very precisely. Describing it as liquid hummus gives you an idea of what to expect…