Recipes

This combination of ingredients with pasta makes a fine supper for four to five people. And no, it’s not just another version of spaghetti bolonaise…

A pork chop – and may all my ancestors kindly look the other way – is a marvellous thing. And when simmered in white wine and a tangy Dijon mustard sauce, it becomes a special dish at a dinner for two.

Calamari – squid to our friends in the marine biology sector – is a wonderful addition to one’s seafood repertoire. Easy to cook, a marvel to present and a delight to eat, this calamari salad is a true classic. Try it and achieve star status amongst your cooking competitors.

Risotto, a hearty rice-based dish, is also a delicious accompaniment to meat, fish or poultry. Add it to your repertoire of gourmet dishes.

Some rococo banana splits are overwhelmed by ice cream, fudge caramel and even crushed nuts. But in the spirit of good food with minimal effort, we have the Farmer’s Weekly Christmas pudding, designed to hit all your taste buds.

Christmas is full of tradition, and people everywhere recognise the end of the year as a festival. We put together a delicious buttered turkey and roast vegetables recipe to try for Christmas lunch.

It’s no secret: lemon and chicken in combination appear in a wide variety of international cuisines. Here’s an Italian- influenced classic to add to your repertoire of fine home cooking.

The second-best thing you can do with a potato is turn it into gnocchi. Since you ask, the best thing is deep-fried, slap chips. Sticking with gnocchi means you have an unexpected but welcome dish for your guests, easy to dress up with a highly flavoured sauce.

There are times when the harassed lunch-maker wants something quick and easy that isn’t a chunk of ham between two slices of buttered bread. If you are this person, here’s the way to go.

Why did the chicken cross the road? It wanted to be a flattie. A feeble joke, I grant you, but here is one heck of a fine way to cook a fowl. Especially when you add a delicious dipping sauce.

The ideal dish must not only be satisfying, but generate feelings of cosiness and camaraderie. This tasty, heart-warming casserole does it all.

Unreformed carnivore that I am, the vegetable kingdom flickers only marginally on my culinary consciousness. But here’s a brinjal-based collection of tastes and aromas that’s impossible to ignore. It’s easy to prepare too.