Dried, ground fig leaves bring a hint of coconut to sweet and savoury dishes. Make this adaptable seasoning yourself if you have access to fig leaves, if not it really doesn’t matter for this recipe because the escalopes will be delicious without. Cauliflower cream is best described as pureed cauliflower cheese but that undersells a…

This is pretty much my standard ragu recipe whatever the meat I use. It is often prompted by the dregs of a bottle of red wine; a funny stimulus to start a recipe but there it is. This version, with spinach stirred in at the end, was piled over tagliatelle tossed with butter and a…

This hardly needs a recipe. Fresh mint is finely chopped, placed in a jug or small bowl, a little sugar added and then a splash of boiling water to melt the sugar and release the flavour. Add vinegar and it’s done. Serves: 4 Prep: 5 minutes generous handful of mint leaves scant ¼ tsp white…

A gloriously simple soup to make, everything chopped up and splashed with olive oil in an earthenware dish with foil lid. Cherry tomatoes, red onion and red pepper liquidized with chicken or vegetable stock. What could be easier? Season it as you like; I added a squeeze or orange and hint of its zest. Sliced…

New potatoes always make me greedy for more but I love leftovers. Apart from potato salads, I love roasting and frying them. The latter is particularly good with bacon, specially smoked bacon or pancetta, with finely chopped spring onions melted in right at the end. If you have flat leaf parsley to hand and a…

Creamy sweet-sour lemon posset is a favourite dinner party pudding because it’s easy to shop for, takes five minutes to make and will sit happily in the fridge for a couple of days. It sets almost instantly but should be served chilled. I’ve winged it with 45 minutes, although a couple of hours is better….

Moutabal is the aubergine equivalent of Lebanese hummus, rich with garlic, lemon and olive oil pounded with smoky grilled aubergine. It’s luscious and silky, giving its creamy richness to these simply seasoned, quickly made chicken kebabs. I matched it with squeaky al dente fine green beans from my extraordinarily prolific front garden plants and a…