This is an all-time favourite, perfect for so many occasions; as a starter, as part of a buffet or with cold cuts and jacket potatoes. Ideally, you want slim leeks, about the thickness of your thumb but thicker trimmed leeks are what most supermarkets sell. The combination of silky, tender leeks, creamy, Dijon-mustardy vinaigrette with…

This lovely stew suits long, slow cooking and will be even better made one day and heated up the next. Goat loin chops are perfect for it but neck or shoulder lamb or mutton chops would be just as good. I’ve also made it with goat cutlets but these tend to be very fatty, so…

This is a usefully make ahead dinner party dish but is one I’ve made regularly for mid-week meals when I’ve run out of ideas for minced lamb. All the ingredients, except ras al hanout, the Moroccan spice mix that gives the dish its hint of the Kasbah flavours, are store cupboard. The meatballs are smaller…

It’s not so far fetched that a shepherd might have leftover roast duck. I always assume that a ‘real’ shepherd’s pie is made with leftover roast lamb, so why not duck. I found myself facing leftover roast Aylesbury duck recently and tinkered my lamb shepherd’s pie recipe by adding a finely grated orange (always good…

This soup is a fridge raid: half a crinkly Savoy cabbage, a few rashers of bacon, a handful of peas from the freezer and an onion and garlic clove from the stores. I used pheasant stock, also from the freezer and although it gave the soup a noticeable gamey flavour, a chicken or veg stock…

In My Week In Food 5 Jan 2020, I write about making fish cakes with leftover roast cod tail. The mix is approximately equal amounts of fish and leftover mashed potato with chopped flat leaf parsley, an egg yolk, salt and pepper. The mix made 5 plump fishcakes. I floured them, dipped them in leftover…

This mushroom soup ends up almost black with a thick, creamy, fluffy texture. It makes a heartening bowlful with a dollop of something creamy or a crumble of grilled bacon  but becomes more of a meal served over a trencher of toast topped with a soft-poached egg. It could, if you prefer, be thinned with…

I’m very partial to little brown shrimps or crevettes grises as they’re called in France. I buy them shell-on and eat all or whip off their whiskery heads, wolfing them down with crusty bread and butter and a glass of chilled white wine. They’re usually a summer treat although I’m often tempted at this time…

Any short, curly or chunky pasta would work well for this recipe but I particularly like fusilli. It will spring like a bouncy coil as it boils and will trap prawns and peas in a lemony, cheesy béchamel sauce. This is a lovely mix of textures and flavours and a useful rustle-from-fridge-and-freezer sort of supper….

The creamy mild flavour of Dijon mustard goes deliciously well with smoked haddock and gives a mild background tang to this lovely soufflé. Dusting the inside of the deep, straight-sided dish with finely grated Parmesan creates a thin, golden cheesy shell for the soufflé and this crusty carapace is always the favourite mouthful. It’s not…