Serves 1

• 1 handful of new potatoes
• 1 rasher bacon, cut into strips
• Splash of olive oil
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Handful of chopped parsley

How to make hot new potato salad

1. Boil new potatoes until just cooked through.

2. In a frying pan, fry bacon until beginning to crisp, then add new potatoes and combine well. Add a splash of olive oil, salt and pepper to taste and parsley. Combine well and serve warm.

• 1 cup caster sugar
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 cup water
• Zest of 2 lemons
• Juice of 2 lemons
• 900ml cold water
• 2 large sprigs mint

How to make Steve’s simple lemonade

1. Bring caster sugar, honey and cup of water to the boil in a small pot and simmer for 2 minutes, until sugar is dissolved.

2. Pour hot syrup over zest and lemon juice in a large jug. Allow to cool slightly then divide between 2 x 700ml bottles. Add a sprig of mint to each bottle. Add enough of the 900ml cold water, to each bottle, to fill. Cap and chill for at least 2 hours before serving.

3. To serve, dilute the lemonade to taste with cold water and ice. Add more mint as desired.

Serves 4-6

• 150g spring onions, trimmed
• 100g chickpea flour (i.e.gram or besan flour)
• 50g plain flour
• ½ tsp ground coriander
• ½ tsp fine sea salt
• A good pinch of cayenne pepper
• A good pinch of black onion (nigella or kalonji) seeds
• 3 tbsp finely chopped coriander, plus extra to serve if you like
• 100-130ml beer or water
• Sunflower or groundnut oil for deep-frying

For the radish raita

• 200g firm radishes, trimmed
• 100g fresh, soft goat’s cheese
• 300g plain yoghurt
• 2-3 tsp chopped mint
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

How to make spring onion bhajis with radish raita

1. Make the raita first. Slice the radishes into 1-2mm discs. Place the goat’s cheese in a small bowl and mash well with a fork, then mix in the yoghurt a little at a time. The cheese doesn’t have to be blended smoothly with the yoghurt - in fact it’s nice if there are a few little lumps. Fold in the radishes and mint and season to taste. Set aside.

2. Finely slice the spring onions on the diagonal and set aside. Sift the flours, ground coriander, salt and cayenne into a bowl. Mix in the black onion seeds and chopped coriander, then gradually pour in the beer or water, stirring as you go, until you have a smooth, thick batter. You may not need all the liquid. Add the sliced spring onions and stir until well coated.

3. Pour the oil into a deep, heavy-based saucepan (or a deep-fat fryer) to a depth of 8-10cm and place over a medium heat. The oil should be hot but not too hot, to allow the spring onions and flour to cook through without the outside of the bhajis burning. Test the temperature by dropping in a cube of white bread: it should turn crisp and golden in about a minute - no faster.

4. Drop heaped teaspoonfuls of the batter into the oil and cook for 3-4 minutes, until deep golden brown. Don’t overcrowd the pan; cook them in batches of 3 or 4, tops. Drain briefly on kitchen paper and then serve with the radish raita, sprinkling with a little chopped coriander if you like.

Serves 4-6

• 100g chickpea flour (gram or besan flour)
• 50g plain flour
• Pinch of curry powder
• ½ tsp fine sea salt
• A good pinch of black onion seeds (kalonji or nigella)
• 100ml beer or water
• 150g mushrooms, thinly sliced
• Sunflower or groundnut oil for frying

How to make mushroom bhajis

1. Whisk the flours together in a large bowl with the spices and salt. Add the beer or water and whisk to just combine. Add the mushrooms and stir to combine.

2. Pour the oil into a deep, heavy-based saucepan to a depth of 8-10cm and place over a medium heat. The oil should be hot but not too hot, to allow the mushrooms and flour to cook through without the outside of the bhajis burning. Test the temperature by dropping in a cube of white bread: it should turn crisp and golden in about a minute - no faster.

3. Drop heaped tablespoons of the batter into the oil and cook for 3-4 minutes, until deep golden brown. Don’t overcrowd the pan; cook them in batches of 3 or 4. Drain briefly on kitchen paper and then serve hot.

• 2-3 tbsp rapeseed or olive oil
• 6 good sausages, cut into large chunks, or 4 pork chops (or 4 of each)
• 1 glass of dry cider or white wine
• 2 onions, chopped
• 1 leek, sliced
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 1/4 to 1/2 celeriac, cut into chunky cubes
• 2 medium floury potatoes, such as King Edward, Maris Piper or Desiree, peeled and cut into chunky cubes
• 1 large parsnip, cut into chunky cubes
• 1 bouquet garni (a bay leaf, 2 sprigs of thyme and some parsley stalks, tied together with string)
• 1 tbsp chopped parsley (optional)
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

How to make sausage and root vegetable stew

1. Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a casserole or large saucepan. Add the sausages (and/or chops) and brown them well over a medium heat - if you’re using chops, you might need to do this in 2 batches. Transfer them to a dish.

2. Pour the cider or wine into the casserole and stir to deglaze, scraping to release any bits of caramelised meat from the base of the pan. Pour the pan juices into the dish with the sausages (and/or chops).

3. Heat another 1-2 tbsp of oil in the casserole, add the onions, leek and celery and cook gently for 10 minutes or so, until softened. Then return the sausages (and/or chops) to the casserole with their juices and add the celeriac, potatoes and parsnip.

4. Tuck in the bouquet garni, season with salt and pepper and add enough water to almost cover everything. Bring to a very gentle simmer. Cook uncovered, or partially covered, very gently over a low heat (or with the lid on in the oven preheated to 140°C/Gas Mark 1) for about 1 hour, until everything is tender.

5. Take out the bouquet garni and check the seasoning. The potatoes should have started to break down and thicken the liquor a little. If not, just mash some of the vegetables against the side of the dish with a fork. Scatter over some chopped parsley, if you like, and serve.

Hugh: ”These are indulgent and delicious, but also very quick and easy to make. I sometimes replace 100g of the flour with 125g ground almonds, and add a few drops of almond extract to the mix, to create lemony frangipane muffins - these are lovely served warm, with cream, as a pudding. If lemon curd isn’t your thing, try one of the variations below - the chocolate muffins are always popular with kids.”

• 225g plain flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• A good pinch of sea salt
• 100g caster sugar
• 1 medium egg
• 125g plain yoghurt
• 125ml whole milk
• 75g unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
• 150g lemon curd

How to make lemon curd marble muffins

1. Put 12 large paper cases into a muffin tray. Put the flour, baking powder, salt and caster sugar in a large bowl and whisk lightly to aerate and combine.

2. Mix the egg, yoghurt, milk and melted butter together in a jug. Pour them into the dry ingredients and mix lightly, stopping as soon as everything is combined - it’s essential not to over-mix or you’ll get dense, cakey muffins.

3. Spoon a some mixture into each muffin case and top with a generous ½ teaspoonful of lemon curd. Add a final spoonful of muffin mixture to encase the lemon curd and three-quarters fill the cases.

4. Bake in an oven preheated to 180°C/gas mark 4 for about 30 minutes until golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Eat on the day you bake them, ideally while still slightly warm.

Variation: jammy muffins

Replace the lemon curd with your favourite jam, first beating it lightly to soften slightly. Thick, fruity jams work best - a strawberry jam containing whole strawberries is perfect.

Variation: chocolate marble muffins

Replace the lemon curd with 150g chocolate hazelnut spread (warm it gently first, so it’s easier to marble).

Variation: fruity muffins

Replace the lemon curd with 1 large, or 2 small ripe bananas, thoroughly mashed; or 75g blueberries; or 75g stoned and halved cherries; or 75g raisins or other dried fruit, such as chopped dried apricots. Stir the fruit into the mixture lightly and quickly, just before piling into the cases.

Serves 4

• 1 glass dry white wine
• 100g caster sugar
• 300ml double cream
• 6 passion fruit

How to make Donal’s passionfruit syllabub

1. Put the wine in a small pan and add the sugar. Heat gently, stirring, just until the sugar has dissolved, then leave to cool completely.

2. Whip the cream until it holds soft peaks. Carefully fold in the sweetened wine. Scoop the pulp from five of the passion fruit and fold that in too. Pour into a serving dish. Finish off with the pulp from the final passion fruit. Serve chilled.