Ingredients (serves 3-4):

• 225g of chorizo sausage – sliced and skin removed if possible
• 2 red onions – sliced
• 2 garlic cloves – finely sliced
• 1 teaspoon of dried thyme
• 2 x cans of butter beans – drained
• Salt and pepper
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 heaped teaspoon of dried parsley
• Olive oil

Start by putting the kettle on to boil.  In a good pan over a medium heat add some olive oil and put the onions, garlic and thyme in.  Cook for a couple of minutes whilst stirring.  Add in the chorizo and turn up the heat a little and cook until the oil has coloured from the chorizo juices.  Pour in the butter beans and then add just enough boiling water to cover them.  Bring it to a simmer and cook gently for ten minutes or so.  Season generously with salt and pepper, squeeze in the lemon juice and stir in the parsley.  Serve up straight away with some crusty bread… lovely!

Ingredients (serves 3-4):

• 400g of lamb mince
• 2 leeks – sliced
• 1 onion – sliced
• 2 carrots – sliced
• 1 lamb stock cube
• 3 large potatoes – cubed for quicker cooking and easier mashing
• Milk
• Salt and pepper

Start by bring a pan of water to the boil and switch the oven on to 170 degrees C.  Whilst that’s happening put a pan on a medium to high heat on the hob, add a little oil and add in the carrots.  Fry for a couple of minutes before adding in the mince and onions.  Keep stirring for a few minutes.  Add 300ml of boiling water to the lamb stock cube, mix well, and pour into the pan.  When the water in the other pan is boiling put the leeks and potatoes into it and cook until soft.  Keep the lamb mixture on a gentle simmer while the potatoes and leek cook.  Season the lamb with salt and pepper and add in some herbs if you like.  Once the potatoes are cooked, drain them off and then add them back into the pan.  Mash the potato and leek up really well and throw in some butter and milk to turn into a creamy mash.  Once the lamb mixture has reduced to only have a little liquid pour it into an oven dish.  Evenly top with the creamy mash and stick in the oven for 20-25 minutes of until the mash is just browning off.  Serve straight away!

Ingredients (serves 1-2):

• 3-4 rashers of bacon – sliced into 1cm strips
• 2 spring onions – sliced
• 1/2 bag of rocket salad
• 1/2 tablespoon of soy sauce
• 1/2 tablespoon of honey
• 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Start by frying the bacon in a pan, seasoning half way through cooking with salt and pepper.  Once done, tip the pan to drain the oil away from the bacon or pour it out onto a plate with kitchen paper on to soak up the oil.  In a large bowl mix together the rocket leaves, spring onions, soy sauce, honey and olive oil and grind a little salt over it.  Toss in the bacon once dry and eat straight away.  This could be served as a side dish or as a light main.

Ingredients (serves 1-2):

• Chicken thighs cut into chunks
• 1 x thumb sized bit of ginger – finely sliced
• 1 x garlic clove – finely sliced
• 1/2 small jar of hoi sin sauce
• 1/2 tablespoon of soy sauce
• 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil
• 1 or 2 spring onions – sliced
• 3 or 4 pieces of tenderstem broccoli – cut into 2 inch chunks

Combine the chicken, ginger, garlic, hoi sin sauce, soy sauce, olive oil and spring onions and allow to marinate in the fridge for 24 hours.

Heat a pan up on the hob and start frying the marinated chicken on a medium heat.  After 3 or 4 minutes add in the broccoli and cook until the chicken is done and the broccoli soft and sweet.  Serve with salad or fries!  Tasty stuff!

Ingredients (serves 2-3):

• 1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 carrot – chopped
• 1 onion – chopped
• 3 garlic cloves – cut in half
• 1 teaspoon of dried thyme
• 1 bay leaves
• 1 breast of lamb
• 1/2 bottle of cheap white wine (not too cheap though!)
• 2 tablespoons of English mustard
• 50g white breadcrumbs
• 1/2 tablespoon olive oil

Start by heating the oven to 180 degrees C.  Put a pan on a medium heat and cook the carrots, onion and garlic for about five minutes.  Transfer them to an oven dish and sprinkle on the thyme and throw in the bay leaves.  Place the lamb breast on top and then pour over the white wine and about 150ml of water.  Season with salt and pepper and then either put the lid on or cover with tin foil.  Put it into the oven for 2-2 1/2 hours.

Remove the dish from the oven and allow to sit for a few minutes to cool slightly.  Increase the temperature of the oven to around 200 degrees C.  Remove the lamb from the oven dish and place it onto a chopping board.  Put the lid back onto the oven dish.  Remove the string if there is some.  Cover the lamb with first the mustard, then the breadcrumbs and finally a glug of olive oil.  Put the breast onto an oven tray and bake in the oven until the crust is nice and crispy.

Serve with the veg and juice in a bowl, warming through if necessary, and some new potatoes done in the oven with some butter!

Ingredients (serves 2 as a starter or 1 as a main):

• 1/2 loaf of rye bread cut in half
• 10 x cherry tomatoes chopped in half
• 1 large clove of garlic finely sliced
• 1/2 an onion – sliced
• 2 x spring onions – sliced
• Olive oil
• 1 x teaspoon of oregano
• 100ml of white wine
• 1 chicken breast or 2 chicken thighs – cut into chunks
• 1/2 teaspoon of chilli flakes (optional)

In one pan fry the chicken in a little olive oil until golden brown and cooked right through.  At the same time, in another pan, fry off the onions and tomatoes for a couple of minutes in some oil.  When the tomatoes start to go soft add in the oregano and chilli flakes along with the white wine and give it a stir.  When the wine has nearly reduced by half add in the spring onions and continue to simmer.

Just before the chicken and the onion and tomato mix is ready stick the bread into the oven or under the grill with a little olive oil drizzled over it.  Take the bread out when it’s gone light brown and top with the tomato, onion and chicken.  Enjoy!

Ingredients (serves 2):

• 300 grams potatoes
• 100 grams salmon fillet
• 1 teaspoon of dried parsley
• 1 egg
• 1 lemon
• Olive oil
• 1 tablespoon plain flour

Bring a pan of lightly salted water to the boil and put the potatoes on to boil after peeling them and chopping them up into smaller pieces to help them cook quicker.  Half way through the cooking of the potatoes rub olive oil over the salmon fillet(s), place them into a colander and put the colander over the pan with the potatoes in.  Cover the colander with foil and let the salmon steam cook.  Once both the salmon and potatoes are cooked remove the salmon from the colander and drain the potatoes then return them to the pan.  After a couple of minutes mash the potato up until smooth.  Remove the skin from the salmon and flake it into the potato along with the flour, egg, parsley and a good grind of salt and pepper.  Grate over some lemon zest and mix the ingredients together well.

To make the fishcakes, lightly flour a plate and then with a little flour on your hands grab a ball of the salmon and potato mix and form into a 2cm thick circle.  Place onto the floured plate and repeat until the mixture is gone.  Heat a pan up and pour in some olive oil.  Fry the fishcakes for 3-5 minutes either side until lovely and golden brown.  You can serve them with chips, potatoes, salad, veg etc.

Ingredients (serves 3-4):

• 500g of strawberries with the stalks removed and then cut in half
• 75g of icing sugar
• 40g of caster sugar
• 200ml of double cream
• 200g of natural yoghurt

Start by blending to a puree a third of the strawberries along with all of the icing sugar.  Place the remaining strawberries in a bowl and cover with the caster sugar.  Whip the cream in a large bowl until soft peaks appear.  Add in the strawberries, puree and yoghurt.  Divide it up or keep it in the large bowl and refrigerate until you want to serve it up.  Simplez.  I served it on some meringues.

Ingredients (serves 2-4):

• 1 pork loin
• 100g Breadcrumbs
• 2 lemons
• 1 teaspoon of dried rosemary
• 1 heaped teaspoon of wholegrain mustard
• 50g Plain flour
• 100ml Milk
• 2 eggs
• 100g butter
• Olive oil
• 1/2 glass of white wine

Start by slicing the pork loin into 1/2 inch slices and then beat with a meat hammer until half the thickness.  Next, you’ll need 3 bowls.  In the first you should put the breadcrumbs, zest of the 2 lemons, rosemary and salt and pepper.  Mix that together.  In the second you should pour the milk in and then lightly beat in the 2 eggs.  In the third add the flour.  Once those are prepared you will need to dip each pork escalope in the flour then milk and egg mixture and finally the breadcrumbs.  Repeat the egg wash and breadcrumbs if the escalope needs a little more coating.

Once all the escalopes are well coated you’ll need to heat a pan up and melt a little butter with a glug of olive oil.  When the butter starts to foam add in enough escalopes to cover the base of the pan.  Fry on a medium to high heat until golden brown and cook.  Remove the escalopes from the pan and keep warm somewhere while you do the rest of the pork.  The final step is to make the sauce, which you do by melting the remaining butter along with the juice of the 2 lemons and wine, bring the sauce to a boil and then simmering until reduced by half.

Serve the pork escalopes on a bed of mash drizzled with the sauce.  You also add a side salad.

Ingredients (serves 1-2):

• 2 heaped teaspoons of sesame seeds
• 1 tablespoon of soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon of light brown sugar
• 5 shallots – finely sliced
• 3 garlic cloves – finely sliced
• 3 spring onions – finely sliced
• Thumb size of ginger – finely sliced
• 3 or 4 small slices of frying steak per person

After you’ve sliced the shallots, garlic cloves, spring onions and ginger mix them together in a bowl with the soy sauce, brown sugar and a grind of pepper.  Lightly toast the sesame seeds and add half of them into the bowl with the other ingredients.  Mix the beef into the marinade and leave for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes remove the beef from the marinade and fry it on both sides until cooked to your preference.  Remove the beef from the pan and wrap in tin foil to keep warm.  Pour the marinade into the pan and melt in a knob of butter and a glug of white wine.  Bring it to a simmer and reduce it to a nice sauce.

To serve, place the beef onto a sliced baguette, pour over the reduced marinade and sprinkle over the other half of the toasted sesame seeds and some additional sliced spring onion.