Features and recipe collections

Cool as a cucumber: they help relieve puffy eyes, sunburn and bad breath. And they are not only good for putting in a Greek salad as these cool recipes prove.

It’s berry time! Berries are both gorgeous and good for you, and a fantastic culinary ingredients, not only in cakes and puddings. Here’s a very berry collection.

Top ten barbecue sides: we all know side dishes, salads, breads and vegetables are much more important than meats on a good barbecue. The latter is a no brainer: sausages and burgers, right?

Best 10 recipes for savoury biscuits and crackers. Cheese biscuits, straws, oatcakes and crackers are as easy to make at home as sweet biscuits.

A breakfast, a dessert, a dressing, a dip, cake and bread: yoghurt is one of the true food heroes. And it’s a star ingredient: just take a look at this collection of recipes.

A little bit of mustard, mayo, hot sauce or chutney can transform the dish by boosting flavours or improving texture. Here's a good collection of less common condiment recipes!

Strawberry season is open! They are now plentiful, ripe and delicious. What to do with the fragrant bumper crop? That is, apart from eating bowlfuls with cream while watching Wimbledon?

Herbs can be so much more than parsley sprinkled over mash. Here is a dozen great recipes that rely on herbs for flavour, from pesto and tabbouleh to a dill sauce and herby breadcrumbs.

Pub grub should be simple, reasonably priced and tasty. It should feature the old familiar classics like pies and burgers. Here’s my collection of popular pub dishes to make at home.

Almonds are gorgeous and invaluable in baking. Look at this collection of delicious almond bakes: from French macarons through Swedish cakes to the Bakewell tart!

Fibre is a hero: it lowers cholesterol, the risk of diabetes and heart disease plus it works miracles in weight management. How to boost your daily fibre content?

Dates are super sweet, jammy and delicious, and a great baking ingredient – who doesn’t love sticky toffee pudding? My collection also includes a savoury recipe!

If you fancy a new way with new Jerseys or Cornish, check these out. Also, always cook too many: leftover potatoes can be prepared in wonderful ways.

Asparagus season starts on St George’s Day but you can buy green shoots from Norfolk or Kent as early as end of March. Cook them simply or you can even eat them raw.

Apart from stuffing our faces with chocolate, we should have a proper, spring-like feast. With a Colomba cake for breakfast and roast lamb or pork for lunch.

Here is a handful of recipes for sweet and savoury rolls and buns, all leavened with sourdough. Honey buns, malted rolls, chocolate bread and walnut loaf – let’s put the starter to action!

A handful of tried, tested and varied recipes that use a sourdough starter or fermented dough. And the first one includes good sourdough starter from scratch.

Chillies, black pepper, sriracha, Cayenne, chilli crisp: that’s what we need for this collection of spicy recipes. Just remember, you can always add more heat to your dish but you can’t take it away!

Baking a loaf is one of the most satisfying experiences, so stock up on a couple of bags of flour, some instant yeast and discover the bread baking miracle.

A leisurely family breakfast is the perfect start to the weekend, and you can both treat and nurture yourself and your household.

Blood oranges are a burst of vibrant colour in the middle of drab English winter. Here’s a selection of recipes featuring citrus, and only a few of them desserts.

My idea of the perfect Valentine’s Day: the two of us in the kitchen, melting chocolate, sprinkling sugar and dribbling icing! 10 delicious recipes for sweet Valentine’s treats to make together.

Creamy pasta is one of the most comforting foods, albeit not very authentic. The bundle of recipes here features the quintessential lasagne, a twist on a carbonara and a classic Alfredo.

You can eat anything: just cook it yourself, and that includes cakes. Here’s a small collection of everyday cakes to cheer up the gloomy start to February.

Veggie dinners are easy with the cupboard stocked up with tins of beans and bags of grain, and the right recipes at hand. Here is a collection of quick and satisfying veggie dinner recipes.

A selection of recipes that involve no fuss in preparing. There are chicken tray bakes, of course, and fish, plus a few vegetarian but deliciously comforting ideas.

Green and white, Savoy and hispi, Chinese and red, cabbage has an ugly name but is a wonderful ingredient, rich in fibre and negligible in calorie content. It lends itself to all methods of cooking as well as raw preparations.

Whether you’re hosting a New Year’s dinner party or it’s just the two of you, here's a handful of excellent recipes for a fine meal. No fancy ingredients needed – except for champagne!

A couple of good suggestions for a low key Christmas meal, plus a few last-minute-decision desserts including lemon posset and mini pavlovas.

You probably have your main Christmas roast material on order or in the freezer. So now all you need is the foolproof method of cooking it as well as recipes for trimmings to prepare ahead.

Is it too early to start any Christmas food preparations? Not at all! Here are twelve bakes that can be started on right now, with Christmas biscuits, fruitcakes and gingerbread.

All rice, all rice! Rice is the third most popular grain globally and rice dishes are wonderful and varied world round, from risotto and paella to jambalaya and golabki.

Whether you want a rich, meaty braise or something hearty from the store cupboard, this is just the collection of comfort foods to fill the kitchen with gorgeous smells: it’s the stew season.

A mast year means we should have tonnes of walnuts and hazelnuts this season for snacking and cooking. This collection is about everything nutty, from savoury suppers to spectacular cakes.

Shop bought, ready-made pastry is a fantastic solution which even experienced cooks reach for very often. Here’s my top 10 ready-made shortcrust, puff and filo pastry recipes, both savoury and sweet.

It’s not a health food, but in sensible quantities bacon won’t do a healthy person any harm. And it is easier to maintain a healthy diet if it’s not drastically restrictive.

Ten standout potato-based main courses, all easy to prepare and deliciously warming, from rustic bakes and gratins, to one-pan wonders pairing potatoes with fish or sausage.

Autumn is the best time to enjoy home cooked food. This collection brings together my favourite recipes for cosy, comforting suppers and bakes with the autumn’s finest ingredients.

They don’t only keep the doctor away: apples are the perfect snack, the perfect fruit, the perfect baking ingredient. So here comes an apple collection: top 12 recipes featuring gorgeous apples.

If you're lucky enough to forage or purchase golden chanterelles, pied de moutons or bay boletes, here is a handful of excellent recipes for wild mushrooms.

Sweetcorn, aka corn on the cob, is one of the absolutely best seasonal autumn offerings. Biting into sweet, plump and juicy kernels slathered in butter – that’s bliss.

Who doesn’t love a raspberry-flavoured sweet or a cake studded with those pink berries? My collection includes cakes, bars, jam and a breakfast bowl.

Shellfish are edible aquatic animals that have a shell, so any ocean fauna except fish: molluscs and crustaceans, or as I call them: shellfish and clawfish.

Blueberries are rightly called a superfood: vitamins, fibre and antioxidants. Health benefits aside, blueberries are amazingly tasty and versatile, not just in cakes and desserts as you can see in this feature.

Sweet peppers are abundant in late summer so this is the time to use them generously in cooking. Here are ten delicious recipes using peppers.

The word 'picnic' comes from the French pique-nique, which can be freely translated as ‘picking at nibbles’. Here's a collection of recipes for tasty nibbles to pack in your hamper.

When the BBQ is fired up, it feels properly like summer. Here’s a handful of suggestions, from burgers to my BBQ special big kebabs with a side dish or two included.

This summer is merciful for British tomatoes so we can enjoy lovely dishes with tomato flavour. From tomato sauce through tarts and rice to tomato sorbet, here’s a tomato-fragrant collection.

High fibre, with a reasonable protein content, easy to prepare and deliciously versatile – no wonder oats have been a breakfast staple for yonks!

12 great vegetarian recipes that even a staunch carnivore wouldn't sniff at. All delicious, nutritious and cooked from scratch.

12 easy and delicious summer dessert recipes, including homemade no-churn ice cream, a fool, a mess and a parfait. Plus a couple of really easy but delightful cakes.

What could be easier than rolling out a sheet of pastry and topping it with vegetables, meats, greens or cheese? Savoury tarts are a marvellous dinner solution.

Few cuisines are as perfectly fit for a party as Spanish is. Tapas – that’s nibbles served alongside a drink. But Spanish vibe doesn’t only mean tapas.

The word "salad" itself comes from the Latin word "sal" meaning salt, referring to the practice of salting leafy greens. Seems fruit salad doesn't qualify! Here's a great summery selection.

Food is the most important element of a holiday in Greece, enjoyed in tavernas, harbour restaurants and kafeneions. Here’s a bunch of recipes to bring back the Greek holiday flavours.

On some particularly balmy summer evenings we can take leisurely time cooking dreamy dinners: delightful food from the fresh produce that summer has to offer.

Isn’t there something satisfying in the bite of a raw carrot, the crunch of fresh cabbage and the sweetness of freshly picked peas? And most vegetables are actually delicious raw.

Meringues are pure magic: sugar suspended in whipped egg whites, two ingredients, the simplest sweet confection in the world: sweets, cakes and biscuits made with just whites and sugar!

Roast chicken is everyone’s favourite roast but I always look forward to picking the carcass clean and using the meat in dishes that may be more interesting than the roast.

Garlic is not a very sociable ingredient, not only amongst vampires. But garlic makes savoury food taste delicious, be it raw or cooked, sliced or crushed.

Lamb for Easter lunch is traditional, but it's too early for new season lamb even when Easter falls as late as this year. Still, late season lamb can be very good and super-flavoursome.

Fluffy and soft and pillowy, with dainty crosses piped not iced, super sticky and messy with honey glaze, hot cross buns are my favourite Easter bakes.

Whole grains like brown rice, bulgur wheat, rolled oats, spelt, millet, barley as well as wholemeal flours are a massage brush for our gut as well as nutritional powerhouses.

Whether you call them prawn or shrimp, these crustaceans are universally loved. And they are as versatile as you can see from the selection of recipes here.

Stir-fries are excellent dishes: healthy, exciting and easily adaptable. If you don't have a wok, in most cases you can use a large frying pan instead. (Also, buy a wok.)

Beef mince is the most popular meat product in the UK and a staple ingredient worldwide. It's good value, easy to cook with and versatile: not only good for burgers or ragu Bolognese.

Beetroot is nutritionally wonderful, and it can give you a natural high thanks to betaine in its content. And it can be really delicious: be it raw or cooked.

Lemon flavour is far more versatile than just in desserts. It is as indispensable in cooking as salt and pepper and lifts the flavour of the most boring dishes, adding a zing, tang and brightness.

Our fibre intake on average is lower than the recommended amount, 30 g. How to boost it? Here's a bunch of recipes to improve the fibre fiasco if we incorporate them into our regular menu.

Going out for dinner on Valentine’s Day? You must be mad and have far more money than sense! Staying in is the thing to do for a truly romantic night with a special but easy dinner and dessert.

Is ‘chocolate cake’ the best two-word combination in the world? Chocolate makes us happy, and anything that makes us happy is good for us, healthwise.

Comfort food actually has the capacity to make us feel better, trigger the release of endorphins and dopamine. And the dish should be warming, soothing or anti-inflammatory.

There’s a vibrant and versatile array of the vegetables whose edible parts we dig out from the ground. Think beyond bland, boiled carrots and you can discover a huge range of cooking uses.

About your resolution to eat healthy, balanced, home cooked from scratch food: chicken is usually the solution to that. And it really needn’t be boring.

What to do with Christmas leftovers? Roast meats needs to be brought to room temperature, and all it takes is to chop it up, add some cheese or sliced vegetables and wrap up in pastry or tortillas.

You know what they say about Christmas dinner, that the only important bit is plenty of piping hot roast potatoes? They are absolutely right! Here are my best Christmas dinner side dishes.

There’s more to veggie Christmas than a nut roast! Featuring mushrooms, pulses and beans, these vegetarian mains will be healthy and delicious.

Turkey or beef? Goose or duck? Beef is often a favourite but don’t forget venison. Alternatively, you could go for game birds or an Italian style roast porchetta.

My twelve breads of Christmas are from all over the world, from Italy to Scandinavia, and range from really easy to the ultimate challenge of traditional panettone.

Cheese, preferably melted, makes any dish better. And it’s nutritionally valuable, adding extra protein to an otherwise plant based dish, for instance.

Considering that anything home baked is miles better than shop-bought, why not bake a batch of bars, squares or slices with good ingredients, and have one or two for breakfast or as a treat?

The only dish better than pasta is a pasta bake. And this collection features recipes that are easy, reasonably quick and extremely rewarding.

Cooking just for number one is the easiest, most rewarding and enjoyable of all cooking activities. My recipe suggestions are for minimum effort and maximum enjoyment.

We've always been on to a good thing in Britain eating beans on toast! Pulses - beans, lentils and chickpeas - are nutritional bombs of goodness. And it’s easy to turn them into brilliant dishes.

Salmon, the nation’s favourite fish, is easy to cook and full of nutrients – no wonder bears feast on it before hibernating. And you (unlike bears) can prepare it in more ways than you expect.

Salmon is the most commonly bought and cooked in the UK, but you might be surprised to find how easy some other fish dishes are to prepare, and how quick fish is to cook.

Mushrooms are sustainable, super nutritious, good for the heart and for the gut. And they are supremely delicious and easy to prepare in a myriad of ways.

Aubergine aka eggplant is one of those vegetables that wonderfully absorb any flavour like a sponge. It is best fried or roasted, and there’s no need to remove the skin.

10 easy and quick recipes for chicken breast fillet, perfect for a weeknight. This is about making chicken breast tasty, flavoursome and more interesting!

Arguably, to enjoy ripe, fresh tomatoes you only need salt, pepper and olive oil, but there is a good pairing or two worth trying plus some wonderful tomato pastry recipes.

For your next kitchen supper, casual entertaining or ‘come round for a bite’, here’s a collection of really easy recipes for dishes that will look like you’ve slaved in the kitchen for hours.

Green beans are inexpensive, delicious and slap bang in season now. They come in many varieties, not all of them green, and some of them not actually beans!

Ten easy summer cakes! The abundance of soft fruit, berries followed by cherries, apricots and peaches, mean we can bake lighter, vibrant and juicy treats.