My Virgin Kitchen: Delicious recipes you can make every day

• Add a combination of Dijon mustard and honey for a honey mustard sauce

MAYONNAISE

I was so surprised when I learned how to make mayonnaise from scratch; it literally takes seconds and is amazingly fresh, plus you can tweak it to your liking and get it tasting exactly how you like. Add things like Tabasco sauce or herbs and spices to start tweaking it further.

MAKES 200ML

1 large egg yolk

210ml olive oil

½ garlic clove

1 tsp lemon juice

1 heaped tsp English mustard

salt and pepper

1. Tip the egg yolk into a small food processor and whizz briefly, then drizzle in the oil in small amounts, pulsing it as you go, until the egg yolk and oil are fully emulsified.

2. Tip in the garlic clove, lemon juice and mustard and whizz until combined and the garlic has been completely chopped through the mixture. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

PESTO

Pesto is easy to get hold of in the shops, but also very simple and even better homemade. All you need is a blender if you want to be super-lazy, or you could use a pestle and mortar.

MAKES 300ML

100g pine nuts, toasted

100g grated Parmesan

large handful of fresh basil

zest of ½ lemon

200ml olive oil

salt and pepper

1. Whizz the pine nuts, Parmesan, basil and lemon zest together in a food processor and then add the oil. It’s best to add the oil gradually so you can tweak the texture slightly – if you want it thicker add a little less oil.

2. Season to taste. This will keep for a couple of weeks in an airtight container in the fridge.

VEGETABLE STOCK

Homemade stocks are so easy to make and can be portioned up and stored in the freezer until needed.

MAKES 750ML

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, peeled and diced

1 celery stick, diced (add the leaves, too)

1 carrot, diced

4 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped

3 spring onions, chopped

handful of fresh parsley

few sprigs of thyme

1 bay leaf

salt and pepper

1. Heat the oil in a large pan over a low–medium heat, add all the vegetables and herbs and cook gently for 10 minutes to soften.

2. Pour in 1 litre of water and season with salt and pepper. Bring to the boil and then simmer for 40 minutes. Carefully strain the stock and discard the vegetables and herbs to leave you with a lovely vegetable stock.

CHICKEN STOCK

When you’ve roasted a chicken for Sunday lunch, don’t throw away the carcass – turn it into stock!

MAKES 1.5 LITRES

1 chicken carcass (broken up)

1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped

1 celery stick, roughly chopped

1 carrot, chopped

handful of fresh parsley

1 bay leaf

salt and pepper

1. Put all of the ingredients into a large pan, cover with 2 litres of water and bring to a fast boil. Reduce the heat, cover with a lid and leave to simmer over a low heat for 1½ hours, skimming any fat from the surface every so often.

2. Strain the stock and discard the carcass and vegetables. Allow to cool before storing in the fridge or freezer.