Rhubarb & pistachio loaf cake

Serves 10Prep time: 10 minutesCooking time: 55 minutes A great way to make the most of rhubarb season – this easy loaf cake pairs beautifully with crushed pistachios and a rosewater syrup. Serve it with a dollop of crème fraîche...

Spring onion, walnut & sundried tomato sourdough

Serves 8-10Prep time: 4 hours (45 minutes hands on time), plus overnight proofing.If using instant yeast: 2 hoursBaking time: 4 minutes Bread is a great excuse to bring people together, and this enriched sourdough loaf is a wonderful accompaniment to...

Rhubarb & pistachio scones

Makes 8-10Prep time: 15 minutesBaking time: 25 minutes Scones are the perfect excuse to get everyone together around the table with a cup of tea. This recipe comes together quickly, resulting in an easy-to-handle dough that you can mould into...

Kale & radish panzanella salad served with a honey & mustard vinaigrette

Serves 4Prep time: 15 minutesCooking time: 10 minutes There’s nothing quite like panzanella for a quick and easy meal. And when it’s made with seasonal curly kale, pickled radishes, feta and chunky toasted breadcrumbs – you know it’s going to...

Easter Nests

Makes 8Prep time: 10 minutesCooking time: approx 1 hour Symbolic of the season, packed with goodness and so versatile, eggs are the highlight this month. As any hen keeper will know, eggs are plentiful right now – and may well...

Spring Frittata

Serves 4Prep time: 10 minutesCooking time: 40 minutes This is a flexible frittata, so a range of early season vegetables can be used. If you grow your own veg and also keep chickens, it could end up as a ‘free...

Broccoli, pancetta & cheese pancakes

Serves 4Prep time: 20 minsCooking time: 40 mins Almost like cannelloni, or less spicy enchiladas, these simple savoury pancakes are stuffed with vegetables and pancetta and topped with tomatoes and cheese. I have used high protein buckwheat flour in the...

Cod Puttanesca

A beautiful dish, that tastes of holidays and is intensely warming at the same time. Make the punchy sauce ahead, and just add the fish when you are ready to cook. The use of butter beans is a great way...

Chocolate & rum mousse with lemon & rose shortbread hearts

This is a very rich, creamy chocolate mousse and utterly delicious, but you only need a small portion. I have served in tiny vintage coffee cups that belonged to my grandmother, alongside a crisp shortbread. She always used to make...

Griddled Harissa Chicken

This is literally chicken coated in harissa seasoning and simply griddled. To make the harissa paste, see the ingredients below, or buy ready made.

Jewelled Salad

Orange and pomegranate are in season, naturally packed with nutritious flavours – sweet and sour combine in this mint infused salad. It goes well with the harissa chicken.

Carrot and Ginger Soup

This is a zingy carrot soup that can be made really quickly and from a few simple ingredients. Carrots are naturally high in carotene and ginger is soothing, anti-inflammatory and will even help you fight a cold.

Lettuce Bowl

The hardest part of this recipe is the slicing of the ingredients – think of it as part of your exercise regime, or use a mandoline (not to be confused with the musical instrument). I’ve used the ingredients in two...

Lamb tagine

This is the perfect recipe for entertaining, batch cooking or freezing ahead for Christmas. It’s best made a day or two before, or you can cook low and slow in the morning. This is lovely served with my giant cous...

Giant cous cous with roasted winter vegetables & pomegranate molasses dressing

This goes so well with the tagine or stands alone as a delicious salad. You can make all the elements the day before and refrigerate. Then mix up on the day (you will need to break the couscous up a...

Smoked Mackerel Pâté

Here is an irresistible, light canapé recipe – a lovely starter or gorgeous for a buffet! This is a tasty pâté or dip to enjoy that takes 5 mins to whip up and is packed full of delicious flavours, and...

Spicy smokey sticky party nuts.  

These nuts are show stopping and addictive. Perfect to go with drinks or a lovely homemade Christmas present. Or pop them in a salad. These are a party staple for me but, be warned, they will disappear fast! This makes...

Homemade ricotta with slow roasted pumpkin, sherry, walnut & sage

This is a gorgeous recipe which is simple to make but suitably indulgent for an autumnal lunch or dinner party. I like using Red Kuri squash with its dry and rich flesh which roasts beautiful and pairs perfectly with the...

Rolled pork belly, crushed potatoes, soft herbs, mustard & capers

Pork belly is one of my favourite things to cook and eat, I am obsessed with the gorgeous meat, the flavourful layers of fat, and the constant challenge in making the skin crackle! It’s an endless and generous process. What...

Bay & vanilla panna cotta, roasted quince & crumble

Serves 6 30 minutes prep, plus overnight setting time in the fridge For the quince:Serves 6 Prep & cooking time: 75 minutes prep and cooking time Preheat oven to 180°C. Place the quince halves in a baking dish, cut side...

Nourish to Flourish

Nutrition & Lifestyle Coach Charlotte Lau explores the benefits of incorporating another healthy ingredient into our diets. This month it’s salmon

Super speedy avocado toast

It has become a bit of a cliché, but you really can’t beat avocado on toast! The combination of smooth avocado and crunchy toast is the perfect pairing… top with a poached egg and you have a balanced meal based...

Individual Salmon en Croutes

This familiar dish looks as if it’s tricky and long-winded to prepare, but it is much simpler than the beefy version, especially if you use ready rolled pastry. I’ve made these as individual servings, but you could also use a...

Coconut Prawn Curry

This is a really quick and simple curry – large succulent prawns go well with the spicy coconut sauce. Use either king, tiger or Atlantic prawns – fresh or frozen.

Duck with honey & fennel

Our favourite duck supplier is Creedy Carver in Devon who grow incredible quality free-range ducks at their farm in Devon. The poultry industry has been badly affected by avian influenza so we – chefs and consumers alike – need to...

Strawberry & elderflower buttermilk puddings

Serves 6-8June is when the new season strawberries are sweet and juicy, and the trees are full of frothy elderflower. Together, they make a delightful early summer dessert.

Parmesan shortbread with pesto, slow roast tomato & feta

These crunchy Parmesan shortbreads are delicious on their own, but when topped with homemade pesto, slow roasted tomatoes and feta, they are sublime. All the elements can be made two days before and assembled when needed. Just be sure to...

Smoked salmon mousse on cucumber cups

Light as air lemony salmon mousse on cool cucumber. And so easy to make! The mousse can be made the day before, and the cucumber cut a day ahead and stored in the fridge. Assemble up to a couple of...

Dates stuffed with goats cheese, pistachios & pomegranate seeds

Serves 4 approx as part of a canape selection  These decadent Medjool dates take moments to prepare, but are so delicious and look beautiful. The Medjool date is the king of dates in both taste and size, with a chewy...

Aubergine Caviar on Crostini

Serves 4 generously – feel free to halve or double!  A beautiful vegetarian canapé that can be made up to 3 days in advance, and then assembled on the day. It’s so flavourful and delicious, it can be likened to...

Jazzies

Makes approx 60 jazzies  The Seeding MethodThe seeding method is one way of tempering chocolate that is great for small quantities of chocolate and for home environments that require minimal mess and equipment. 

Courgette, garlic & chilli crostini

This easy, healthy but-so-delicious courgette dip is gorgeous on crostini or pairs beautifully with crisps or cucumber to dunk. Perfect with drinks and the best way to start an evening. Prepare well ahead so it has time to chill –...

Roast beetroot & goats cheese salad with maple roasted spicy nuts

Roasting beetroots is so easy and the beautiful earthy flavour works so well with the candied nuts, bitter leaves and creamy tangy goats cheese. All the elements can be prepared well in advance and put together quickly before serving. This...

Beef daube

This stunning Provençal beef casserole is lovely to have with friends. Make it on Saturday morning to enjoy in the evening or on Sunday – it also freezes beautifully. The long, slow cook makes the beef meltingly soft, and this...

Apple & cherry flapjack pudding

This pudding can also double up as a treat for morning coffee. The crunchy oat topping flavoured with cinnamon is a breeze to whizz together. I use frozen cherries (bonus of no stones) and the apples are roughly chopped –...

Squash, Caramelised Onion and Feta Filo Pie

Filo pastry is tricky to handle as it dries out as soon as you look away from it, so have a damp tea towel/kichen roll handy to cover it if needed – and ensure that all the other ingredients are...

Apple and Rhubarb Lattice Pie

You will need a nice deep pie dish (26cm) and a pastry brush I have made this pie with two types of pastry – shortcrust for the base and puff for the latticed top. It works just as well with...

Easy Fish Pie

Supermarkets sell ‘fish pie mix’ containing pre-cut chunks of salmon, cod and smoked haddock, which works well, but feel free to choose your own selection. I like to go for a white fish, a smoked type and something with a...

Cod with Smokey Black Bean Cassoulet

This gloriously satisfying but healthy dinner is so delicious and really easy to prep. Sweet cod, married with deeply savoury smokey black beans, is heaven on a plate. Prepare the cassoulet in advance if you want – even the day...

Homemade Nutty Granola with Berries & Greek Yoghurt

This a super delicious healthy granola, and so tasty you can enjoy with yoghurt, fruit, milk or even as quick snack on its own. It is so much healthier than the shop bought ones as it has very little sugar...

Watercress Soup with Cannellini Beans

I love the peppery flavour of watercress, which is also incredibly good for you. The cannellini beans, for fibre and protein, create a warming hearty meal of soup. This freezes beautifully so it’s a good one to have on standby. ...

Lemon Roast Chicken with Pomegranate Molasses & Cauliflower on a Bed of Lentils

This dish sounds fancy, but it’s so simple, totally flexible and utterly flavoursome, filling and feel good food. Pulses are so good for our health and longevity. These little lentils vertes are simply boiled while the chicken roasts, and then...

Perfect Prep

Mark Charker, Head Chef at The Bell in Ticehurst, explains how to take the stress out of Christmas cooking by getting some prep work in early All this prep leaves only cooking your festive centerpiece on the big day, and...

Tomato Sauce

Having an easy and delicious tomato sauce on hand, or in the freezer, means that you will always be able to rustle up a quick pasta dish, pizza, or even a flavoursome tomato base for a ratatouille or caponata. Large...

Tomato Tarte Tatin

This is just an upside down tart, most often found in apple form, but for a simple – and it really is simple – savoury version, it works brilliantly with tomatoes, because (in theory at least), the pastry will stay...