Recipes

Simon Bajada

Imqarrun il-forn evokes memories of lunch at my grandmother’s. If this wasn’t on the table, it was often in the fridge. My cousins and I would fight each other over the irresistible crusty edges (which are helped along by a dusting of semolina in the baking dish). This dish is found in cafes and bakeries all over Malta and Gozo, sold in small aluminium containers for an easy lunch. The recipe is similar to Timpana, but less grandiose and without pastry. The exclusions make it easier to bring together any night of the week (though ingredients such as chicken livers, boiled eggs and peas can be included if you like). Baked macaroni doesn’t reheat well, but I find it delicious eaten cold from the fridge on a hot summer’s day.

Genevieve Taylor

When you quickly bake feta you are rewarded with the most amazing texture, kind of squishy and almost mousse-like — perfect for scooping up with crunchy pitta toast! As an absolute cheese addict, I would quite happily eat this all by myself for dinner with salad and not much else, but it’s also great as a sharing plate with some other dishes. Hot honey is addictive and widely available to buy, but it’s such a doddle to make and a good thing to tuck into the corner of a smoky barbecue when you are smoking something else. You can adjust my guideline quantities below to what you have. Use half a jar of honey or use less chilli; if you like it hotter, use more chilli; if you don’t like the texture of the flakes, strain it after warming. This makes way more than you need in one sitting but stores practically forever!

Editor Jenny Linford · The Kew Gardens Cookbook

Recipe by Özlem Warren. During one of my culinary tours to Turkey, we had a Turkish cooking class at the Bizimev Hanimeli Restaurant, near the charming Sirince in the Aegean region. We made lightly battered, delicious cauliflower fritters as part of our class. Inspired by this dish, I created this version and tried baking cauliflower with beyaz peynir or feta, dill and onions in the oven. The result was a great success — baking brought out a sweetness in the cauliflower which balanced nicely with the sharp feta; a lovely dish, packed with flavour. Diced red pepper also works well in this dish. I serve this baked cauliflower with cacik yoghurt dip with cucumbers and shepherd's salad with sumac onions. It can be served hot or at room temperature with a grilled main course and lemon wedges on the side.

Flora Shedden · Winter in the Highlands

I love bread sauce the most. I have a recipe for a more traditional bread sauce in my first book, Supper, served with lots of brown butter and sprouts, if you are inclined. But this recipe is brilliant for the organised folk. It can be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator before baking for up to 2 days, or in the freezer for up to a month. Defrost thoroughly overnight and bring to room temperature for 30 minutes before cooking as normal. The end result has a lovely golden top and delicious soft stodgy bread sauce underneath.

Katie and Giancarlo Caldesi · Recipes From Venice

Barley and chestnuts were staple winter foods at one time as they could be kept for months, often saving people from famine across Europe. Both, in my opinion, need a bit of a kick with flavour. In the Veneto you would be able to add the end of a leg of prosciutto but we have replaced that with bacon. With the addition of a Parmesan rind this becomes a flavourful, creamy, risotto-like soup that will bring comfort on the chilliest of days.

Michael Anthony

We make these mini-biscuits as a snack in the Tavern, but I'll make them anywhere, anytime. Try them for breakfast, split in half and topped with a spoonful of scrambled eggs and melted Cabot Clothbound Cheddar; it's a favorite, made by Jasper Hill in Vermont. Since the biscuit dough balls can be frozen and then baked straight from the freezer, it's easy to keep some on hand. (You can make bigger biscuits if you like; just increase the baking time.) If you have the time, freeze the mixed dry ingredients overnight. When the dough is really cold it is more difficult for gluten to form. Less gluten means softer biscuits.

Romy Gill · Romy Gill's India

This baby white onion curry is a delicious dish that puts these small, tender onions at centre stage as the main ingredient. Also known as pearl onions, they add a mild sweetness to the curry, complementing the yoghurt and spices. My dad used to make this onion curry for us when the pearl onions were in season. In New Town, West Bengal, there were so many different communities living side by side, all of whom migrated for work like my dad. Way before he married my mum, Dad learned to cook this dish by watching what others did when they shared their recipes with each other. Do not skip the pricking of the onions as this technique enhances the overall taste.

Gennaro Contaldo · Slow

Babà is a classic Neapolitan dessert which is usually made with rum. In my region, where lemons are plentiful, the pastry shops often make it with limoncello. For this recipe, I decided to give oranges a go and it really works well. Please note, you need to make this at least one day before you intend to serve it as it needs to dry out overnight before being soaked in the syrup.

Emiko Davies · The Japanese Pantry

This sesame sauce is one of the classics of Japanese home cooking, and can be used to dress up any simply blanched or raw vegetables. My grandmother would usually do this with spinach. It’s also delicious with blanched broccoli, green beans, asparagus, raw grated carrots and even non-Japanese produce such as avocado. I also love this on a chilled wobbly block of tofu. For the gomaae, make sure you’re using toasted sesame seeds. If, by chance, you’ve got raw sesame seeds, you’ll need to toast them to a hazelnut-brown colour first. While the gomaae can be made in advance, you want to dice and dress the avocado right before serving.

Angela Clutton · Seasoning: How To Cook and Celebrate The Seasons

This doesn’t just taste of autumn, it looks like autumn on a plate. The burnished plum colours come together with depth from the beetroot, brightness from the quick-pickled blackberries, sweet musky figs and a bed of bitter radicchio leaves. With a tahini dressing and the crunch of a few seasonal nuts for the final flourish. It’s a good one to make ahead. Build it in readiness and just finish with the dressing when time to serve. Keep the pickling liquor from the blackberries to use in salad dressings.

Chetna Makan · Chetna's Indian Feasts

I love aubergine — it has such an amazing flavour if you cook it properly, and this delicious all-in-one meal is the perfect example of well-prepared aubergine combined with the usual basic spices. The addition of curry leaves, tamarind and fresh coconut add lovely tone and texture. If you have leftover rice, it’s the perfect excuse for making this stunning dish.

Alexandra Dudley · Cooking Made Simple

I love this salad. Crunchy and satisfying, it is one that I often make for lunch. The eggs are pleasingly filling, while perky blanched greens and toasted pine nuts deliver on crunch. All you need is a fork and perhaps a wedge of good bread to mop up the last of the dressing. The classic mimosa salad is something you’ll often see on a French menu, and is traditionally made with hard-boiled eggs that are then usually finely grated or traditionally pushed through a sieve. I prefer my eggs on the jammy side and so keep them halved or quartered. I love the addition of green beans for a bit more bite and often make it with green beans alone when asparagus is not in season. Tarragon is wonderful here, but feel free to switch things up with parsley, chives or dill. Toasted almonds, walnuts or sunflower seeds are lovely in the place of pine nuts, too.

Asma Khan · Ammu

Biryani was always made for big celebratory occasions. In my mother’s family, it was usually made with khasi, or goat, and cooked in a giant pot with layers of rice, meat and potatoes infused with spices and saffron. This recipe is a very personal one. This was the biryani that was made just for the five of us – my parents, my two siblings and me. On days when there was some good news, or more typically on days when something had gone wrong – from my brother losing a cricket match or me not doing so well in my exams – Ammu would get this biryani on the table and suddenly everything seemed okay! This is also usually the last dish I eat at home before I make the five-hour car journey from my parents’ home to the airport to catch my flight to London. I always felt that layered in that biryani were things my mother couldn’t say. When the biryani arrived on the table, it felt like Ammu’s secret code, telling me that she loved me.

Arun Kapil

There are so many types of black pudding, from the almost solid, meaty ones with a very piggy flavour, through the cereal-flecked ones to the delicate, almost mousse-like versions. All are perfect for this recipe. This salad has real earthy notes, ethereal truffle oil, crisp winter leaves, peppery watercress and a delicate touch of fragrant anise.

Art Smith · Art Smith's Healthy Comfort

Don’t like brussels sprouts? Let me change your mind with this zesty raw salad. Most people can’t believe what they’re eating and enjoying so much. If you prefer, substitute feta cheese for the Pecorino Romano.

Sabrina Ghayour · Persiana Everyday

The roots of this dish come from a restaurant I used to work in where the head chef used to make a Japanese-style risotto using sushi rice, infusing ginger and other aromatics into the stock and serving it with seared scallops. I loved the dish so much that I developed a version with prawns that I often make at home.

Sarah Johnson · Fruitful

This dish is inspired by Skye Gyngell’s exceptionally delicious Prune and Armagnac Tart. When I was Head Pastry Chef at her restaurant, Spring, I wanted to pull the dish into summer with the addition of brighter, floral flavours. A layer of velvety apricot purée is covered with a baked almond custard, and when it emerges hot from the oven it is showered generously with sweet Muscat dessert wine. The result is this exquisite tart which continues to make an appearance on the menu at the start of every summer. Don’t skip the roasted apricots as they bring the whole dish together.

Irina Janakievska · The Balkan Kitchen

Perhaps the most appropriate name for a weekend breakfast, these are apples in dressing gowns (šlafor or šlafrok being adaptations of the German word, schlafrock). It was a happy weekend indeed when my mother made these as a special treat. They would also work very well as a dessert with ice cream, but for me these are the perfect thing to eat on a weekend morning, still wearing your pyjamas and dressing gown.

Jürgen Krauss · German Baking

Marzipan has always been a favourite of mine, and this cake uses it to give a humble apple tart a rich almond flavour and a beautiful creamy texture. German Baking by Jürgen Krauss is published by Kyle Books, £26.00, www.octopusbooks.co.uk

Annie Bell · Low Carb Revolution

The majority of French sausages, or saucisses, are made with 100 per cent meat, give or take the spices, onion and other flavourings, but certainly with no rusk or bread. Increasingly, UK producers are starting to follow suit, given the demand for gluten-free bangers and also ones without any carbs, so it is now possible to buy a good selection in most supermarkets. A pot of buttery mash is as welcome as ever.

Anne Shooter · Sesame & Spice

This is my take on a Victoria sponge: two light coconut and cardamom cakes, sandwiched together with fragrant rose petal jam. Cardamom is probably my favourite spice, its scent so reminiscent of Middle Eastern markets and thick, gritty coffee. Rose petal jam - like perfume you can eat! - is now available in Mediterranean and Eastern European grocery stores.

Anne Applebaum and Danielle Crittenden · From A Polish Country House Kitchen

Poppy-seed cakes are ubiquitous in Poland, and are a traditional part of both Polish and Jewish (and indeed Central European) cooking. The most famous Polish poppyseed cake is the makowiec, which is eaten with special gusto at Christmas. The most famous Jewish poppy-seed cake is probably the traditional hamantaschen, the triangular pastry that is eaten at Purim. Since the former is tricky to cook at home, and the latter often come out hard and dry, we’ve decided, instead, to include a recipe for poppy-seed torte, which is perfectly straightforward and equally delicious. This recipe calls for soaking the poppy seeds in advance. While it is tempting to skip this stage—and possibly hard to find a strainer fine enough for them—it’s worth doing if you can, because it makes the seeds softer, so they provide less of a contrast with the cake. (The easiest way to strain the poppy seeds is to use a regular strainer lined with cheesecloth.) We’ve also noted that in Poland, poppy seeds are ground

Anna Jones · One Pot, Pan, Planet

Celeriac is a bit of a beast to look at, but looks aren't everything. Beneath that gnarly, knobbly exterior lies creamy white flesh with a sweet, nutty, super-savoury flavour. We eat it raw, in thin shavings, in salads with a mustardy dressing, roasted whole. Here, though, I use it as the base for a stew with some Cheddar-spiked dumplings on top. Food for dark evenings with red wine. Be sure to peel your celeriac thickly to get rid of any green tinges around the edge and any leftover muddy traces.

Anna Del Conte · Gastronomy Of Italy

Every Italian cook has a favourite version of Ragu Alla Bolognese. This is mine, which is my mother's recipe and maybe my grandmother's as well. It is served with tagliatelle or used to make lasagne and other baked pasta dishes but is never served with spaghetti.