It is spring. That means lamb season again. This year I propose another recipe using delicious abbacchio, which is the Roman term for spring lamb. Almost any restaurant in Rome, refined or rustic, offers wonderful abbacchio dishes this time of the year when the meat is at its most tender and full of flavour.

My mother, Jessie, used to make large batches of strudel and would often give one or two of these sweet, fragrant pastries as a gift to family and friends. When I decided to attempt strudel making myself, I opted for my mother's choice of puff pastry rolled extremely thin as the casing. I looked through cookery books to guide the composition of the filling and chose that prescribed by Claudia Roden in The Book of Jewish Food and, while I have now modified the components of that filling, the proportions remain the same.

Passover brings back memories of holidaying in France and coming down to a buffet breakfast laden with croissants and pastries while clutching my box of matzah. However, if you are staying at home, you can turn breakfast into a treat by making Matzah Brei.

Say Pesach, say prunes. And everyone laughs. Or winces. It is not as if we don't eat them any other time but, come Pesach, we all end up decking the halls with industrial quantities of dried prunes, apricots, figs and apples. Not to mention bottles of unspeakable, imported prune juice simply because they are there and they are kosher for Pesach and because you have gone into hysterical panic mode in case the entire family dies of thirst all for the want of a sip of prune juice. It is not so much a festival as a state of emergency.

Baccala is dried salt cod. Before cooking it, the dried fish needs to be soaked in cold water for two days until tender and the water needs to be changed numerous times to remove the excess saltiness. You can also buy it already soaked and ready to cook. Baccalà can be difficult to find in the UK and the de-salting procedure is time consuming, but you can also make this recipe with fresh cod - it is delicious and easy to make.

I have been busy writing a new book, 100 Top Pasta Dishes, so every night for six months if anyone asked what was for dinner, it was always pasta. If it were it any other food my children would rebel but pasta is so versatile I haven't heard a squeak from them. Here is a sneak preview from the book which is published in May.

Makes 6 portions

Ingredients
9 sheets, not pre-cooked or fresh lasagne

Tomato Sauce
● 2 tbsp olive oil
● 1 large onion, peeled and chopped
● 1 garlic clove, crushed
● 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
● 2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes

I have always loved baking bread, cakes and puddings at home. Now that I work for our family run flour mill I'm experimenting in the kitchen more than ever. Rich chocolate hazelnut shortbread is the perfect sweet treat for this time of year. Its really more-ish and will have the whole family coming back for more, but is easy to make in a food processor. These shortbread pieces are delicious at tea or coffee time.

Makes 12 pieces

Ingredients
● 260g plain flour
● 100g unrefined caster sugar
● 40g cocoa powder
● A pinch of sea salt

When the teenage son of Sicilian friends came to stay, he walked into the living-room and visibly paled. “Where is papa?” he asked. Papa? Well, there’s a photo of my father on the shelf. Would that do? “No, no. Papa! Il Papa!” Uh-oh. No picture of Pope here. Boy, had he come to the wrong house. Jews had not figured large in his Catholic upbringing. I don’t think it had quite registered he was coming to stay in a Jewish household amidst the exciting prospect of seeing Manchester United play at home.

This tasty recipe can be made in less than 20 minutes. Salmon is such a good food to include in your diet as it is rich in essential fatty acids, which are good for the heart, brain and your skin. I make a light cheese sauce by simply mixing together crème fraiche, vegetable stock and freshly grated Parmesan. Poach the salmon until just cooked and then toss this with the lightly sautéed colourful spring vegetables, fusilli pasta and mix with the cheese sauce. It could not be simpler and it is a dish the whole family can enjoy.

Makes four 4 portions

Ingredients