Food & drink

There is, I have to confess, no need to put the vodka in the blackberry compote that accompanies these, but it does add to the sense of occasion.

What appeals to me about this salad is the combination of lightly poached chicken, bean sprouts, spring onions and herbs with roasted chopped nuts and sesame seeds, and the slightly gloopy fish sauce, lime juice and chilli dressing.

These chickpeas have had their fair share of Insta fame for a multitude of reasons.

This dessert ticks all our flavour boxes.

This recipe, from my wonderful sister-in-law Jenny Corry, is world famous in my family. Stick rigidly to the instructions to end up with perfectly cooked lamb. The varying thickness of the joint means that some bits will be well done while others are delectably pink.

This is a fast and fabulous dinner — put the pasta water on to boil as soon as you get home, keep your wits about you and in under 30 minutes you will be sitting down to eat.

A simple pasta dish that you can whip up in minutes from Claudia Roden's Med.

Enjoy this aromatic Arabian rice as a side dish for a delicious dinner.

With cocktail sauce, avo, tomatoes & crispy pancetta crumbs.

A pleasure to make, this cake is joyous served with a cup of tea.

Serving pulled beef over a small kūmara not only looks attractive but is a clever way to help control portion size. The meat rub for this dish is great – it gives the dish all the flavour it needs. It keeps well, too, so try doubling this rub recipe and keep it in your kitchen cupboard to sprinkle over roast chicken or barbecued lamb chops.

If you thought that risotto was about slaving over a hot stove, drizzling stock into a pan over the course of an hour, think again. This risotto is quick, easy and satisfying. Plus you can fry whatever vegetable is in season to put on the top. Making risotto just became an easy choice.

I created my first version of this tart when I was living in France with Douglas for a couple of months, relishing the crispy pastry, creamy cheese, juicy flavourful tomatoes, fresh herbs and spicy cracked pepper. Back then I used a lovely soft salty white French cheese riddled with herbs and garlic. Naturally, I’ve created a new version of this, and it’s still amazingly good.

Braised in a beautiful balsamic sauce, these slow-cooked beef cheeks are so meltingly tender you could devour them with a spoon! Eight hours of cooking ensures that the braising liquid turns into a luscious, gravy-like sauce. I encourage you to enjoy it spooned over creamy potato mash or fluffy cooked grains such as quinoa or bulgur wheat.

This sticky date pudding is one of my favourite things to make during the colder months. What makes this dessert really special is the hint of ginger and cardamom in the coconut butterscotch sauce. I bet you can’t wait to grab your spoon and dig in! Just remember to get your dates on to soak a bit beforehand. If you don’t need this to be vegan, you can use regular milk, cream and butter.

This recipe has been a fan favourite for over a decade. Cut it into slices for the kids or into tiny squares as a treat with your cuppa. It also freezes well, so you can stash a few squares away for when no one is looking.

This hearty soup is a proper hug in a mug. The ricotta and Parmesan topping really fulfills the 'lasagne' promise, but if you don’t want to bother you can just top it with grated cheese and it’ll still be a winner. The super-cheesy garlicky toasties are a good addition to any tomatoey soup — or just eat them on their own!

This is not exactly the same as perhaps the most precious recipe in my repertoire, My Mother’s Praised Chicken, which found a home in my eighth book, Kitchen, but it owes a lot to it. A family favourite, it’s a simple one-pot dish which brings comfort and joy, and it is my pleasure to share that with you.

I have been making a banana bread with chocolate and tahini on repeat for a while now, and every time I’ve eaten it over the last year or so, I couldn’t help thinking that the particular combination of intense chocolatiness, sweet, texture-softening banana and the rich earthiness of tahini would make the perfect warm pudding.

Sausage rolls will always be über-cool, no matter what anyone says. They're always the first to be nabbed at morning tea, classily dressed-up with a generous splurt of store-bought tomato sauce... crispy, juicy little taste bombs. 

A fruity dish from Ottolenghi Flavour by Yotam Ottolenghi and Ixta Belfrage.

A vegetarian recipe that is simply as good as any steak (with mash), if not better.

With red pesto-layered filo, Cheddar and cottage cheese.

With fragrant spices, tomatoes, cashew butter and yoghurt.