Sometimes there’s no need to over complicate something, especially when you want to keep the flavour of the main ingredient, in this case a lovely fresh piece of fish.

Here’s a really simple way to barbecue a whole seabass and add a little extra flavour that really compliments it. Now all you need is the sun!

Serves 2

• 1 whole seabass, gutted and washed
• dried dill
• salt and pepper
• ½ lemon, cut into thin slices
• 1 sprig of a fresh herb, such as rosemary or thyme

Cut a few slits on both sides of the fish and lightly sprinkle with the dill, salt and some pepper. Rub into the fish.

Lightly salt and pepper the inside of the fish, then stuff with the lemon slices and the sprig of herb.

Use a wooden skewer to ‘sew’ the fish together. This helps keep the lemon in place when you flip it over during cooking.

Place on your hot barbecue and cook for 10 minutes, turning over once, or until the fish is cooked through.

Serve with a salad or other barbequed goodies, or just pick at the fish as is.

I quote “This is not Vietnamese but it is Oriental and used lots of the ingredients we have in the restaurant. Makes a great starter and can be made well in advance for a dinner party. The original recipe was taken from a book that Ed Baines gave Stephen called ‘Entertain’. It is sooooo lovely!”

Serves 6-8

• 125g coriander seeds
• salt
• grated zest of 4 limes (need the juice for dressing)
• 1kg of fresh tuna (nice thick piece ideally)
• 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil

For the dressing

• 10cm/4 inch piece of ginger, peeled and grated
• 3 Thai red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 5 tablespoons of vegetable oil or light olive oil
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce (Kikkoman if possible)
• Small bunch of coriander, roughly chopped including stalks

Dry roast the coriander seeds on hot wok/pan and then grind them to powder as much as possible.

Mix this with the salt and the lime zest and pour out onto a tray.

Roll the tuna in the mix to cover entirely.

Heat up a little of the oil in a frying pan and when it is smoking place the tuna in and sear each surface until it is dark or blackened. Important to have a hot pan as you don’t want the tuna to cook through. The tuna should be raw apart from a little strip round the outside.

Once done put the tuna on a clean plate in the fridge.

Make the dressing by adding ginger, chillies and garlic to a bowl a mash it to a pulp (pestle and mortar is perfect for this) or end of rolling pin.

Add to it the juice of the limes and transfer to the serving bowl.

Mix in the oil, then the soy then the coriander.

Allow it to rest and the favours to infuse.

To serve, slice the cold tuna thinly and lay out on a serving plate.  Spoon over half to two-thirds of the dressing and serve the remainder with it.

I’ve had some Very Lazy Garlic in my fridge for the last week or so and today I’ve finally been able to put it to the test! If you’re not familiar with this product it’s basically finely chopped garlic in white wine vinegar. It comes in a little jar and is perfect when you’re feeling very lazy!

I was a little concerned that the white wine vinegar would leave a taste in whatever I cooked, but am happy to report that is not the case.

This simple pea soup is perfect for a quick lunch. There’s a lovely flavour of sweet peas, a hint of mint and a final taste of garlic, which makes it something special.

If you’re interested in checking out Very Lazy Garlic, then visit their website where you’ll find a whole range of lazy products. If you’d like to try this soup anyway (and you should) then just cook a teaspoon of finely chopped garlic with the onions.

Serves 4

• ½ onion, chopped
• 1 tsp Very Lazy Garlic
• 1 pint of frozen peas
• 1 vegetable or chicken stock cube
• 2 pints boiling water
• 1 tsp dried mint
• 2 tbsp fat free Greek strained yoghurt, or creme fraiche
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• salt and pepper

Pour the tablespoon of olive oil into a large saucepan placed on a medium heat. Add the chopped onions and fry for a few minutes, before adding the garlic and frying for another couple of minutes.

Measure out your peas by pouring them into your measuring jug, then pour into the pan, followed by the stock, boiling water and mint.

Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

Add the yoghurt and whiz to a smooth soup with a handheld blender. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

Tip: This is great with bacon and croutons. Before making the soup fry 1 rasher of finely chopped bacon and 1 slice of bread chopped into squares in a tablespoon of olive oil. Once crispy leave on a sheet of kitchen roll. Sprinkle over the soup before serving.

The croutons will float and the bacon will sink, leaving a nice surprise at the bottom of the bowl!

This is an easy recipe for Osaka-style Okonomiyaki, which is basically a Japanese omelette, but much tastier. It’s something which I really enjoyed eating in Tokyo, where you prepare it yourself on large hot plates.

Luckily for us it’s easy enough to make at home with readily available ingredients and a non-stick frying pan! The taste is pretty similar to the classic Okonomiyaki, and very much open to experimentation. You could add different meats, prawns, or make it Vegetarian. I hope you enjoy it.

Serves 2

Okonomiyaki

• 130g plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 150ml water
• 3 eggs
• 100g washed and shredded cabbage (tough parts removed)
• 2 slices of ham, thinly chopped
• salt and pepper
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil

Simple Okonomiyaki sauce

• 1 tbsp tomato ketchup
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Mayonnaise

• 2 tbsp mayonnaise
• 1 tsp cider vinegar or white wine vinegar

Garnish

• 2 washed and chopped spring onions

Mix the flour and baking powder together in a large bowl. Add the water and whisk until most of the lumps have gone. Add the eggs and continue to whisk until combined.

Sprinkle in the cabbage and ham, season with salt and pepper and mix together.

Place a large non stick frying pan on a medium heat and pour in the vegetable oil. Once it’s hot spoon in the mixture and use a couple of spatulas to flatten it to around 1.5cm thick. Push in the edges to keep it round in shape.

Cook for around 5-7 minutes. Once the edges start to brown carefully flip over and cook on the other side for a further 5-7 minutes. Once cooked through slide onto a plate.

Mix the Okonomiyaki sauce ingredients together and spread over the top, then combine the mayo ingredients together and drizzle on top. Sprinkle with chopped spring onions and eat.

Moules Marinieres is a classic way of cooking mussels in France and they are perfect at the moment. They are high in protein and low in fat, and what fat they do contain is rich in Omega 3. They are also a superb source of minerals and are great to share with a couple of friends; I adore any food that can be picked up in the fingers and eaten informally, it sets the tone for relaxed pleasure.

Everyone has their own method of detaching the mussel from its shell, my preferred way is to choose one half of a shell as a tool that I push under the “foot” and gently lever, then it becomes a spoon.

Here’s a recipe for some delicious pancakes that you can enjoy today, Shrove Tuesday, or any other time of the year.

This is similar to my sweet pancake recipe, only it has the addition of buckwheat flour which gives the pancakes a richer, nutty flavour, similar to a crêpe – perfect for topping with your favourite filling, which for me is ham and cheese.

Lentil & basil savoury pate is made from brown lentils and despite it looking somewhat bland, it screams with flavour. I wanted to share this to dispel that myth of lentils being boring veggie food for ageing hippies.

It is easy to make and full of protein and fibre. Absolutely fab on homemade crusty bread or as a sandwich filler.

Here’s a really quick recipe for tomato soup that you can make and serve within half an hour. It’s a beautiful colour, tastes great and is healthy! There’s no need to make this more complicated than it has to be…

This is probably the first of several experimental recipes using gesiers - what the British call gizzards, part of the giblets that go into a good chicken stock. They are a speciality here in South West France and I have just opened a 5 kilo tin!

My neighbour taught me how to confit gesiers by salting overnight, rinsing and drying, then simmering in duck fat for ¾ hour before being packed into glass “Kilner Jars” covered with duck fat and then sterilised. They become tender and packed with flavour and can be kept in a cool place for several years.

You will frequently find them as a starter served warm on a bed of lettuce so if you see Salade de Gesiers on a menu, take the plunge, it is a delicious experience.

This is a very simple recipe for a classic Chinese dish. The chicken is battered and fried which gives the tangy lemon sauce something to stick to, whilst keeping the chicken juicy and tender.

I’ve tried many different recipes for lemon sauce and the one I’ve created here is by far the best and easiest I’ve made. I hope you like it!