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. I first cooked…

These little tarts are made in a muffin tin. Think Portugese custard tarts; the pastry similarly flaky and the filling equally wobbly. As they cool, a deceptively pale thin crust might split allowing a glimpse of the tempting dark mousse beneath. Use your fingers or serve with forks and lemony crème fraiche or fromage frais….

Any mince, from goat to sausage, lamb, beef or veal, duck or chicken makes deliciously different ragu. I used good quality minced beef for this one and the background hint of spicy nduja gave soul and a hint of heat. As I happened to have some wrinkly cherry tomatoes in need of eating up, they…

I sometimes think I could fill a book on ways to get a second meal from the remains of a roast chicken dinner. Apart from stock, which I always make with the bones and debris of the bird, there is usually enough meat to add to other ingredients to make a substantial soup, pasta sauce,…

This is a very quick, cheat’s version of a popular Spanish dish called fabes con almejas. Instead of boiling my own beans, I chose Navarrico’s fantastically creamy large butter beans that come in a rich, silky gloop that shouldn’t be wasted. It’s a big jar – 700g, 500g drained weight – and is exactly what…

The sweet and sour tanginess of Seville orange marmalade adds an unconventional tang to this orange and saffron, cardamom-seasoned chicken biryani with chunks of golden mango. The dish smells wonderful as it cooks, sending exotic wafts of cardamom and orange mingling with chicken and rice around the kitchen. It’s a usefully good-natured dish and can…

I once served this soup, first popularized by Jane Grigson in an Observer article in 1969, to a sophisticated Parisian and asked him what he thought it was made of. Artichoke, he wondered, or potato and carrot? The guessing game went on until he`d run out of vegetables. My triumphant revelation of parsnip left my…