Recipe

Feel free to use any combination of fresh herbs in this dish. I used the basil, mint and oregano I had growing in my garden.

Cornish pasties are one of my favourite comfort foods, but it’s hard to find a good one these days. Making your own, although more effort, gives you control over the ingredients and flavours. This recipe outlines a good, traditional base to start with, but feel free to change the filling as you see fit.

Rissoles were a weekly occurrence in our house, growing up with my one-pound-Pom nanna (the English people who paid a pound to come out on early voyages to Australia), but they were dry, over-cooked and usually made from beef. I prefer lovely free-range pork.

You can keep the zucchini raw if you prefer a fresh and crunchy texture or cook the zucchini in hot water for five seconds before tossing through.

This recipe works well in a larger cake tin, too, such as a loaf tin. Just cook it for 10 minutes longer.

Chia jam is one of the easiest recipes you’ll make. You can use any combination of berries, although it doesn’t get more English than blackberry jam!

Risotto isn’t just a lunch or dinner meal, it can absolutely be a dessert or breakfast! I’ve combined my go-to protein-charged grain, quinoa, with the creaminess of coconut milk, raw cacao and cinnamon to give this risotto a sweet edge without the heavy sugar load. You can enjoy it as a nourishing dessert with any kind of fruits. I love stone fruit with this delicious dish.

Porcini mushrooms give this risotto a rich, earthy flavour. If you have leftovers, form them into balls or patties and bake in the oven until crisp on the outside. They make the best burgers.

This is a gorgeous, hearty take on risotto using barley instead of rice, which delivers a lovely chewy, nutty flavour along with a good serve of fibre, selenium, manganese, B vitamins and magnesium.

The traditional rice-based risotto has been given a wholesome twist in this recipe. The buckwheat gives a divine nuttiness to the dish and complements the sweetness of roast pumpkin beautifully.

Risotto is like comfort food to me; it’s warm, soft, a little bit creamy and deliciously flavoured. Once you’ve got a basic risotto recipe, you really can work in any other flavours you like. I’ve created this risotto with two of my favourite vegetables, cauliflower and fennel, plus a gentle citrus twist from lemon thyme. […]

Feel free to use any combination of nuts, seeds and dried fruit in this recipe but be sure to stick to the same ratios. You can make this recipe lunchbox-friendly by replacing the almonds with some sunflower seeds.