Nigella Lawson

Creamy and rich, each bite of this baked delight (shared by the domestic goddess herself) is to die for! Plus it's only 10 minutes to prep.

This has perfectly balanced oomph: the sweetness of the carrots, that particular herbal freshness of fennel, the mellow citrus tang of clementine (though the zest of half an orange, along with 2 tablespoons of juice, would do), and the aromatic heat of harissa.

I’m not, as a rule, one for flavouring mashed potatoes, but this version is a worthy exception. Because the garlic cloves are boiled with the potatoes, they make their presence felt sweetly rather than shoutily, and the Parmesan provides a gentle tang.

Rich, sumptuous, and celebratory, this is a real feast of a stew. The dark, molasses-like dates melt into what becomes a deep, intense gravy, but they don’t overwhelm it with sweetness; the heady sourness of pomegranate molasses keeps it all in fragrant check. But if, when you taste it at the end of its cooking time, you feel you want a bit more acerbity, just squeeze in a little lime juice.

There is not a way I don’t like a chickpea or, indeed, a time when I couldn’t eat mashed potatoes, and this is a very happy combination of both, while being very gratifyingly its own thing. It offers comfort, uplift, aromatic zing, and ease – just what you want when lacking time or energy or both. While I eat this all the year round, I do think of it as the perfect summer version of a bowl of wintry mashed potatoes. And cold, this bumpy chickpea mash is wonderful as a kind of tahini-free hummus.

One of the most gratifying things for a home cook is to scrummage a meal together out of leftovers. It’s enormously satisfying to ransack the fridge and use up what lies under plastic wrap or is lounging about in the vegetable drawer; it always provides a relaxed, unforced creativity. I certainly would never have thought of using horseradish as a dressing for a tomato salad if I hadn’t wanted to find a way to use up a horseradish root staring beseechingly at me every time I opened the fridge. - Nigella

A rice bowl is a wondrous thing, but often – despite the simplicity of its title – a rather cluttered and complicated one. Here, I have pared it back, to make a gorgeously seasoned rice bowl, with nothing more than a few seeds, herbs, and radishes stirred through it, and an avocado to top it. It’s a simple take on an inspiringly expansive idea. So please use this as a starting point only. It’s very much a non-recipe recipe, and every time I make it, I add something different, depending on what’s at hand. -Nigella

I love thyme and sprinkle it wantonly in my cooking, but I wanted a cake that relied on it as a leading ingredient, not merely as a decorative flourish. Besides, with a rosemary loaf cake under my belt (in Feast), I had no doubt that it would work. And it does. Don’t be alarmed at the amount of thyme in the cake batter, as it doesn’t overwhelm. It charms. - Nigella

This is one of my favourite suppers, although there’s nothing that says you can’t serve this as a vegetable side as part of a more conventional meal. And you could also bolster it further by crumbling in some feta. For me, it is perfect just as it is: the tomatoes almost ooze into a dressing in the oven, and the cauliflower softens, but not soggily. For choice, I’d always use home-cooked chickpeas  (I cook batches in my slow cooker and freeze them in 1½-cup portions for everyday use), but otherwise I like the pre-cooked Spanish chickpeas in jars. Yes, they are more expensive than the canned variety, but the cheapest option is always to buy dried. Don’t feel bad about using chickpeas out of a can, though—I have been known to, myself. One can’t always be so organized to have the freezer stashed with cooked chickpeas, and so I am always well stocked with canned chickpeas. They do work here, it’s just that they won’t be as soft; but then, you don’t necessarily need them to be. The cauliflower and juicy tomatoes can stand some nubbliness. The parsley  is not a garnish—ugh, that word—but used, here, as a salad leaf. And this is also very, very good cold, so if you have some left over, it makes a fabulous box lunch, or provides instant gratification on those days you have to eat fridge-side, with your coat still on, you’re so hungry.- Nigella

We love the vibrant flavours of this juicy steak dish, and you'll marvel with us at how quickly it comes together.

Keep it rustic by baking up these aubergine lovelies with the stalks on. Serve at room temperature with red onion dressing on top.

Little did we know, as we started popping the beans in our mouths like fries, that they'd become a new veggie favourite!