Courgette and cheese soup

2 tablespoons vegetable (or light olive) oil

1 large onion (or 2 shallots) chopped

1 clove garlic

3 or 4 rashers of smoked bacon, chopped into small chunks

1kg courgettes, chopped

2 litres chicken stock (see recipe)

250g hard cheese (that will melt without going grainy), grated

Salt and pepper

In a large pan, gently soften the bacon, onion and garlic, without browning them. Add the courgettes, and fry for 2 minutes. Add the chicken stock, bring to the boil, and simmer for 10 minutes (or until the courgettes are soft).

Add half of the cheese, and blend well in a liquidiser of with a wand blender. Check and adjust the seasoning, and add more cheese to taste. The cheese shouldn’t overpower the flavour of courgette.

Serve with a swirl of double cream, if you prefer.

Escalope of pork in honey mustard sauce

4 pork escalopes

A little vegetable (or light olive) oil

2 shallots, chopped finely

A splash of white wine

250ml double cream

1 tablespoon grainy honey mustard (or 1 tablespoon grainy mustard and 1 teaspoon runny honey)

Salt and pepper

Heat a griddle pan over a high heat. Oil and season both sides of the escalopes. Reduce the heat to medium. Place the pork in the griddle pan and fry (without moving them) on one side until you can see they are cooked halfway through. Turn them, and repeat on the other side. Remove the escalopes from the pan, wrap them in foil, and set them aside.

Gently fry the onions in the oil that remains in the pan, until they are glossy. Add a splash of wine to ‘de-glaze’ the pan. Add the cream and bring to the boil, then turn the heat down to low. Add 2/3 of the honey mustard. Return the pork to the pan, with any juices that have seeped out. Check the seasoning and adjust. Add a little more mustard, to taste. Baste the pork with the sauce.

Serve with mash or new potatoes, and the veg of your choice. I like finely sliced cabbage, sautéed in a little butter for 2-3 minutes.

Best ever burgers

500g lean beef mince (chuck steak mince is best)

One large onion, grated or very finely chopped

1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage (or ½ teaspoon dried)

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 egg yolk

1 packet salted peanuts, finely chopped

1 tablespoon good olive oil

Black pepper, coarsely ground

Place all the ingredients in a large bowl, and mix thoroughly (with your hands is best). Form into 4 burgers.

Grill or shallow fry for 10-15 minutes. You can serve these ‘medium’, if the mince is good quality and lean.

Serve in bread buns, with mayonnaise and a bit of salad.

Basic Risotto (for Nikki)

approx 1 litre stock
1 knob of butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
400g/14oz risotto rice
2 wine glasses of dry white vermouth or dry white wine
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
70g/2½oz butter
115g/4oz freshly grated Parmesan cheese

You need two pans for this. Heat the stock in one pan. In the other, heat the olive oil and butter, add the onions and garlic, and fry very slowly for about 15 minutes without colouring. When the onion and garlic have softened, add the rice and turn up the heat. Keep stirring.  After a minute it will look slightly translucent. Add the wine and keep stirring.

Once the wine has cooked into the rice, add your first ladle of hot stock and a good pinch of salt. Turn down the heat to a simmer so the rice doesn’t cook too quickly on the outside. Keep adding ladlefuls of stock, stirring, allowing each ladleful to be absorbed before adding the next. This will take around 15 minutes. Carry on adding stock until the rice is soft but with a slight bite. Check the seasoning. If you run out of stock before the rice is cooked, add some boiling water.

Remove from the heat and add the butter and Parmesan. Stir well. Place a lid on the pan and allow to sit for 2 minutes.

Rhubarb ripple syllabub with Kitty’s homemade ginger wine

6 sticks of young (or 'forced') rhubarb

20g sugar

I vanilla pod – seeds only (or ½ teaspoon vanilla extract)

275ml Stichill double cream

4 tablespoons Kitty’s ginger wine

Pre-heat the oven to 140C.

Trim the rhubarb, and slice into 3cm lengths. Lay it on a baking sheet. Mix the sugar and vanilla, and sprinkle it over the rhubarb. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Allow to cool completely.

Reserve a chunk or two of rhubarb for each serving.

Whisk the cream in a large bowl. Add the ginger wine and the remaining rhubarb (including all the syrup from the tray). Swirl, don’t stir, and serve in wine glasses. Top with a chunk of rhubarb.