You can’t beat a proper cheese and onion pasty and, when served with piquant Microwave brown sauce (see here) it balances the pasty’s richness and screams ‘British’. You can always make more, as these are good cold and you could take one to work.Next time try...

Leeks are a great vegetable, although they are known as ‘poor man’s asparagus’. This seems unfair, as they can hold their own against the posh spears any day. Try serving this tart with wild garlic; if you can find the leaves at farmer’s markets, take the opportunity...

This is so hearty that you could turn it into a meal by serving it with Leek and Cheddar Welsh rarebit (see here). To save your energy bills, it’s best to cook the potatoes when you are using the oven for something else; you can always keep the cooked potatoes in the...

If you can get hold of heritage tomatoes, they make this simple dish more interesting. Yorkshire Fettle is a cheese which is really an English feta and is less salty than the Greek version. It was initially called Yorkshire feta but there is a story/myth/legend/fib...

Asparagus is a curious thing, it comes and goes so quickly. The official season is 23 April until 21 June … but some people are a bit precious about this. Asparagus does not suddenly become tasteless and woody on 22 June so, if it is still around afterwards, why not...

This is such an easy but impressive soup to make. It requires minimum input, but the end result is an intriguing flavour … so maximum Brownie points. Because the celeriac has a taste of celery, the walnut oil pairs very well, while the apples help to add a little acid...

For this recipe we use fresh beans; you can use frozen but, in the summer, the fresh variety are so easy to get hold of that it’s nice to make use of them. For a variation, try substituting the broad beans with peas and some chopped mint leaves. This dish can be...