Serves 4-6 broad beans 250g, shelled weight spinach 500g feta 400g filo pastry 6 sheets, about 270g melted butter for brushing sesame seeds 1 tsp Set the oven at 200C/gas mark 6. Put a saucepan of water on to boil. Tip in the broad beans and leave to cook for 7-10 minutes until tender. Drain [...]

Ingredients 1/3 cup walnuts 1/2 cup flour 1/2 cup low-fat (1%) milk 1 large egg 1 large egg white 1 tablespoon light olive oil 1 tablespoon butter, melted 1 tablespoon butter, melted 2 teaspoons granulated sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/3 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger (2 ounces) 1/4 cup fresh lime [...]

Baked chicken with wheat, lemon and dill Serves 4 whole wheat 250g chicken jointed into 8 pieces butter 30g rapeseed oil 1 tbsp chicken stock 400ml lemon 1, squeezed dill a small bunch Baked chicken with wheat, lemon and dill. Photograph: Jonathan Lovekin for the Observer Put a saucepan of water on to boil. Rinse [...]

100g cured Spanish ham, preferably in 1 chunk 2 tbsp olive oil 60g unsalted butter ½ small leek, finely diced 60g plain flour 500ml whole milk, hot Nutmeg, to grate 2 free-range eggs, beaten 150g panko breadcrumbs 25g manchego or other hard cheese, finely grated 1 litre olive oil, to fry 1. Dice your ham [...]

  Basic duck roast Method: Preheat the oven to 190C (375F). Place the duck on a clean chopping board and remove any excess fat from the neck and body cavities. Rinse the duck thoroughly, inside and out, under a cold running tap and pat dry with a paper towel. Pierce the skin of the duck [...]

Ingredients Butter, melted, for greasing 4 eggs, separated 2/3 cup superfine sugar Pinch of salt 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, sifted 1/2 cup red currant jelly, warmed 1 cup blanched almonds, sliced   How to make it 1 Preheat oven to 400ËšF. Grease Swiss roll pan with melted butter. Line with sheet of parchment paper, and [...]

Celeriac salad (V) I like to begin a rich meal such as this with a piquant, crunchy salad. The cider in the raisins adds the festive note. Serves eight. 100g raisins 400ml cider (or apple juice) 400g celeriac, peeled weight 2 eating apples 200g Puy lentils, cooked 1 big handful flat-leaf parsley, tough stalks removed [...]

Our love of certain foods is often commensurate with how messy they are – it’s impossible to slurp spaghetti, gnaw barbecued ribs or nibble a toffee apple and maintain a level of decorum that might please a demanding aged aunt. And the pomposity-busting power of such dishes leads us to love them all the more. They [...]

Meatballs may be modish, but I think they’re best done simply: beef and pork, peppery parsley, sweet onion and the aromatic anise of fennel seeds, lightened with breadcrumbs and quick fried to give a deep brown, caramelised crust. If they were good enough for Lady and the Tramp … Serves 4 6 tbsp milk 1 [...]

Eid-ul-Adha is in essence a red meat lover’s carnival of dreams. It is a time when people can indulge in this guiltiest of culinary pleasures without any qualms, as the indulgence is divinely decreed. To aid in this excess and to broaden our horizons, chef Abdullah Tarek has provided recipes that are not typical Eid [...]