Pasta salad

Ingredients Pasta, bell peppers, sweetcorn, mayonnaise, grated mozarella  Mayonnaise4 eggs, lemon juice/white wine vinegar, salt, pepper, 1 pint oil (olive or vegetable - I'm using basil today)

1) To make your own mayonnaise - separate 4 egg yolks from the whites (discard the whites) and put in a large clean bowl to whisk (or use the whisk attachment on your blender if you have one). Add the lemon juice/vinegar, salt and pepper and whisk thoroughly, adding the oil ONE DROP at a time until the mayonnaise is thick and glossy. You don't have to use all the oil - I like it quite thick but if it's too thick you can always add a little warm water to thin it back down again.

2) Boil your pasta, adding the sweetcorn right at the end, and then strain in a colander. Run cold water over the pasta to cool it and then squeeze out the excess water.

3) Transfer into a bowl and add diced bell pepper and the grated mozarella, stir through 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise until the pasta is coated evenly.

Moroccan cranberry cous-cous salad

Ingredients Cous-cous, 3 oranges, coriander, garlic, cumin, butter, spinach leaves, red chard leaves, dried cranberries, pine nuts.

Following on from Moroccan cous-cous salad, this is a different serving suggestion.

1) Grate some zest from an orange and then squeeze the juice from all 3.

2) Heat one cup of the orange juice and measure one cup of cous-cous into it. Stir through, cover and leave to cool

3) Heat a tablespoon of butter in a pan and add 2 crushed garlic cloves, stir through adding cumin and chopped coriander to taste. Add more orange juice and stir through.

4) Using a fork, rough up the cous-cous and stir more orange juice, pine nuts, dried cranberries, a little butter and some freshly chopped coriander into it. Service with spinach leaves and red chard topped with the orange zest.

Pea and lettuce soup

Ingredients 1 iceberg lettuce, basil leaves, mint, garden peas, 1 cucumber, vegetable stock

This unusually refreshing soup can be served hot or cold. 

1) Peel the cucumber, dice the lettuce and add into a pint of vegetable stock

2) Add the garden peas, mint and basil leaves

3) When the lettuce and cucumber have softened, blend thoroughly and then parse through a sieve until you a left with a clear, thin soup.

Fish pie

Ingredients 4 large potatoes, milk or cream, butter, parsley, 4 eggs, cod, salmon, smoked haddock, prawns, flour, onions

1) Peel the potatoes and quarter them, then boil in hot salted water

2) Hard boil your eggs, peel the shells from them and slice into halves

3) Layer the fish and prawns in an oven-proof dish and top with the egg halves

4) To make the parsley sauce finely dice half an onion and sautee in a pan with 3 tablespoons of butter. Stir in a little plain flour to thicken, add freshly chopped parsley and finish off with milk or cream

5) Mash the potatoes with a little milk or cream and a teaspoon of butter, pour the parsley sauce over the fish and pipe the mashed potato over the top

6) Bake in the oven for 25 minutes and serve 

Moroccan carrot cous-cous salad

Ingredients Cous-cous, carrot, 3 oranges, coriander, garlic, cumin, butter, spinach leaves, red chard leaves.

1) Grate some zest from an orange and then squeeze the juice from all 3. 

2) Heat one cup of the orange juice and measure one cup of cous-cous into it. Stir through, cover and leave to cool

3) With a vegetable peeler, peel the skin from a carrot, discard and then peel long strips from the carrot.

4) Heat a tablespoon of butter in a pan and add 2 crushed garlic cloves, stir through adding cumin and chopped coriander to taste. Stir the carrot strips into the butter and sautee until the garlic is cooked. Add more orange juice and stir through.

5) Using a fork, rough up the cous-cous and stir more orange juice, a little butter and some freshly chopped coriander into it. Serve with the carrots, spinach leaves and red chard topped with the orange zest.

Thai green curry

Ingredients Quorn chicken pieces, coconut milk, thai basil, coriander, coriander seeds, peas, shallots, garlic, green and red chillis, lemongrass, lime juice, thai ginger/galangal, cumin.

1) To make Thai green curry paste soften the lemongrass in lime juice, then either blend or grind in a mortar and pestle along with the galangal, coriander seeds, cumin, garlic and finely diced shallots. The number of chillis that you add should be to taste. A true thai curry paste will use about 30 green chillis but if you're not great with spices I would go for 6-8.

2) To make the curry sauce separate the cream from the coconut milk (turn your tin upside down before opening and pour the milk out, or spoon the cream from the top and leave the milk in the tin) and spoon into a hot wok.
Cook on a high heat, stirring continually until it has reduced by 1/4.

3) Add 3 or 4 spoons of the thai paste to the coconut cream and stir through.
Add the Quorn chicken pieces (or real chicken of course!) and some chopped red chilli for contrast. Stir through.

4) Add some peas and the rest of the coconut milk. Simmer for 10 - 15 minutes and stir through the finely chopped coriander and thai basil.

5) Serve with wild rice and naan bread.

Whore's carbonara

Ingredients brandy, hazlenut butter, courgette, cream cheese, linguine, thyme, mushrooms, bacon, brie, almond butter, garlic,

1) Drop your linguine into a pan of boiling water.

2) Crush some garlic and chopped thyme and sautee in a second pan with a knob of butter and a teaspoon of hazlenut butter.

3) Dice a handful of mushrooms (I used shitake) and 3 slices of bacon into lardons and stir into the butter. Add a shot of brandy and stir through.

4) As the mushrooms begin to soften stir in a tablespoon of cream cheese.

5) Using a potato peeler, shave razor thin strips of courgette and drop into the pan of pasta

6) Drain the linguine (separating the courgette) and add to the pasta sauce along with a generous knob of brie (I used Coeur De Lyon - fabulous honeyed taste) and stir through.

7) Serve topped with the courgette

Poicamole

Ingredients 400g garden peas, parmigiano, mint leaves, basil oil, almond butter Serving suggestion spread on sliced bread, crackers or dunk tortilla chips.

1) Shell your peas (frozen peas are absolutely fine for this) and either boil or steam for 6-8 minutes.

2) Strain in a colander and pour the peas into a blender. Add a good handfull of chopped mint, a dribble of basil oil and start to blend.

3) As the peas are blending add 2-3 teaspoons of almond butter, a good pinch of salt, 6 teaspoons of grated parmeggian and pulse thoroughly.

4) I served this spread on La Brea honey and wheat baguette but, like guacamole this would be great with tortilla chips dunked in it.