This is one of my favourite desserts, good served warm or cold. Rose water gives the fruit compote a wonderful flavour and the pomegranates add a crunchy texture that complements the berry fruits beautifully. Pomegranates are a good source of vitamin C and fibre.
Serves 4

INGREDIENTS
1 large ripe peach
2 large red plums
20g butter
2 tbsp caster sugar

This provençal tart is a great starter, served as just a little square on a plate, as it really gets the taste buds going Admittedly, I have served just this tart with a green salad for what was supposed to be a light dinner, and we ended up damn near finishing it all.

INGREDIENTS
12 cherry tomatoes, halved
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 small onion, finely chopped
3 large sliced onions

British-grown rhubarb is still plentiful. Its tart flavour makes it the perfect partner for this pavlova’s sweet, crisp meringue and gooey vanilla cream. Do whip your egg whites well before adding sugar slowly, whisking all the time to make sure all it is incorporated, otherwise the pavlova may brown when cooking.
Serves 8-10

Ingredients

Tiko Tuskadze of the Little Georgia restaurant uses two small, green sour plums which give this very typical Georgian stew its unique flavour. Sour plums are now in season and available from Turkish or Persian shops, but you could substitute a large red or yellow under-ripe plum.
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 90-110 minutes

INGREDIENTS
500g lamb shoulder, cubed

These are delicious served either hot or cold, with jasmine rice or on a bed of quinoa. Make sure that you that choose a mild miso paste — the darker the colour the more salty the paste.

Serves 4
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 50 minutes

INGREDIENTS
2 aubergines
2 tbsp groundnut oil
4 tsp sesame oil
2 tbsp mirin (Japanese rice wine)
1 tbsp sake

From my mum’s tomato ketchup mix to Heston Blumenthal’s salt-only seven-hour cure, when it comes to making burgers, anything goes. In this version I have used a beaten egg and cream crackers. The crackers soak up the fat and help it bind so you should not see them in your cooked burger.

Makes 4 burgers

INGREDIENTS
450g chuck mince
1 medium free-range egg

We are sadly at the tail end of the too-short English asparagus season. I like to peel the asparagus for this pretty tart. It is a lot of work, but worthwhile, as once cooked, they just melt in your mouth. If you cannot find white asparagus, use all green.

INGREDIENTS
For the pastry:
175g butter, softened
250g plain flour
1 egg
2 tbsp milk
Pinch of salt

for the filling:

Royals are the kings of new potatoes. They are nearing the end of their short season so they will now be larger but more flavourful than those harvested in early April.

Try to choose potatoes of equal size so they take the same time to cook. If they are on the large side, slice them after cooking so they don’t absorb too much water.

Serves 8 as a side dish

INGREDIENTS

I have included the colours red, white and blue with red apples, chicken and blueberries to elevate the culinary experience to a royal one. The ingredients make the dish an ideal buffet main course.

Preparation time: 25 minutes plus 15 minutes cooling

Cooking time: 2 hours

Serves 8-10

Ingredients

1 chicken (2.5kg) or 6 large skinless, boneless chicken breasts

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 8 minutes

Setting time: 6-8 hours, preferably overnight

Serves 8 (in 8 wine glasses or 1 large mould)

INGREDIENTS

3 x 330ml cans of lemonade

330ml Pimms No 1

5 mint sprigs

1 large orange

175g (8) strawberries, cut into small cubes

¼ cucumber, deseeded, cut into small cubes

2 white nectarines, cut into small cubes