Home Made: Good, honest food made easy

truffle oil for drizzling

1

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tbsp roughly chopped chives

salt and black pepper

Serves: 4 generous portions

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: about 40 minutes

1 Heat the oil and butter in a large frying pan on a low-medium heat, add the onions and garlic and cook for 8-10 minutes, until softened.

2 Increase the heat and add the mushrooms – it will look like a huge amount but they do shrink so much. Throw in the parsley and about 1 teaspoon of salt, then grind in some pepper. Cook, stirring, for a few minutes, until the mushrooms have shrunk enough to fit comfortably in the pan. They will give off some liquid; continue cooking for about 20 minutes, until the liquid has evaporated and the mushrooms are completely tender.

3 Put the mushroom mixture into a food processor along with about 150ml/5fl oz water and blitz – you don’t want it completely smooth, but leave it fairly thick.

4 Transfer to a saucepan and add 300ml/10fl oz milk and the crème fraîche. Add more milk if necessary to get the soup to the right consistency. Bring to boiling point and check the seasoning – be very generous with the pepper. As I said before, the soup at this stage does not look appetizing! However, as it heats through, the smell and taste are amazing.

5 Serve the soup in warm bowls, add 1 teaspoon of crème fraîche in the centre of each, drizzle the truffle oil over and sprinkle with chives – delicious.

Sweet potato and carrot soup with a chilli oil sprinkling (#ulink_6324d1a5-23fb-56cd-9fcc-674735ef4377)

I like to serve this soup as a first course, or alongside a sandwich to add a warming element to a quick lunch. It’s great for using up stray carrots and sweet potatoes from the fridge drawer! If you are reheating the soup, you may need to add a little more stock to thin it.

2 tsp fresh thyme leaves

6 tbsp chilli oil

2 tbsp olive oil

2 medium onions, peeled and roughly sliced

1 garlic clove, peeled and roughly chopped

750g/1lb 11oz sweet potatoes, peeled and diced

400g/14oz carrots, peeled and sliced

2 knobs of butter

2 Parmesan crusts

1 sprig of rosemary

about 750ml/1

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pints stock (I use chicken)

salt and black pepper

1 small tub of crème fraîche to serve

Serves: 6

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 1 hour

1 Before doing anything, place the thyme leaves in a mortar and pestle and give them a good grinding. Add the chilli oil and leave to infuse while you make the soup.

2 Heat the olive oil in a large pan on a low-medium heat and fry the onions and garlic for 8-10 minutes, until softened. Add the sweet potatoes, carrots, butter, Parmesan crusts and rosemary (still in a whole sprig), season well with salt and pepper and let them sweat down until they start to soften. This tends to happen quicker if you cover the pan – use tin foil tightly sealed around the top of the pan if you don’t have a lid – I spend far too much time trying to find lids!

3 Once the vegetables have started to soften (and not before, as we want to intensify the flavour of the vegetables), add the stock and bring to the boil. Cover the pan and simmer for 20-25 minutes until the vegetables are really tender.

4 Once you have reached this stage, remove the Parmesan crusts and the rosemary sprig with a slotted spoon and scrape off any melted softened bits of Parmesan into the vegetables. Tip the soup into a blender and whiz until completely smooth. Return to the pan and check the seasoning.

5 Transfer to a warm serving bowl or bowls and serve with a spoon of crème fraîche in the centre, then drizzle over the thyme-infused chilli oil.

Simply CHICKEN & DUCK (#ulink_fc00f3f8-41d1-5664-b09e-41cc6c1fea93)

We all love chicken, especially as individual pies on our plates, or spooned out as a wonderful thick stew from the huge pan bubbling on the stove. On warmer days, or when we’re not so hungry, a light stir-fry or simple grilled chicken breast with a fresh green salad always goes down well. A roast chicken is equally simple to prepare and will keep the children at the table for ages, picking away at the bird; and if there’s any left over it will do for a soup, a salad, or to fill sandwiches. Don’t think of a roast just as a winter dish, either – a roasted chicken can be flavoured with summery citrus flavours and herbs and taste just as delicious with new potatoes and salad as with a load of roasted vegetables and gravy.

Chicken is fantastically versatile – whether it’s the whole bird or specific bits of it. I love using thighs in particular: the cheeks of meat on the bone are so succulent and always retain their juiciness (even in slow-cooked one-pot dishes that have been on the stove for hours and hours by the time Gordon and I get to eat). On a practical level, too, thighs are the most economical cut to buy.

Although chicken in any form is one of my favourite speedy ingredients for weeknight meals, duck is a delicious alternative – and one that’s no longer such a luxury now that it has become more readily available. Duck might be a tiny bit pricier than chicken, but it’s just as easy to cook and is a tasty and impressive dish to serve to friends or family. I like to leave the skin on when cooking it because, although duck is a lean healthy option, the fat that is released during cooking keeps it beautifully moist. You can always remove the skin once it’s cooked. I think the main ingredient of a dish should always be its focus and it doesn’t need to be disguised with other flavours; it should just be simply prepared in order to bring out its delicious taste.

Gremolata chicken (#ulink_8e0523c0-363a-505c-b102-5940d9cb5f6d)

This is unbelievably quick and simple but the results are delicious. I usually serve it with roasted new potatoes and lots more salad.

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 egg white

2 tbsp olive oil

2 handfuls of rocket leaves

1 lemon, cut into wedges, to serve

black pepper