Dinner ideas

Fresh broccolini and snow peas with that perfect al dente 'snap' and drizzled with oyster sauce make great sides for fish, chicken and meat cooked with Asian flavours.

You will need to order goat from a specialist continental butcher. This casserole is equally delicious made using lamb. Ask the butcher to butterfly the leg for you. Note

This sweet and sour noodle salad is great for lunch or a light dinner.

If you're feeling like a low-carb light and nutritious dinner this recipe will not let you down. It's also quick and easy and perfectly finished off with a squeeze of lemon.

Dukkah-crusted lamb cutlets with cauliflower.

These classic little Italian dumplings are delicious in a rich creamy three-cheese sauce.

A classic Italian dish popularised in New York by Italian immigrants.

Try this well-loved classic at home, served with a herby tartare sauce and lemon wedges.

Fragrant and authentic Malaysian chicken noodle soup from Australian Women's Weekly.

Use 3kg (6 pounds) turkey marylands if you can’t get drumsticks. Note

A delicious and flavourful Italian sausage and three-cheese lasagne.

Earthy, autumnal and deeply savoury, this mushroom ragu is excellent served on polenta, pasta, a side for beef or veal or even on thick slices of toasted sourdough.

You need 1kg of untrimmed spinach to get the amount of trimmed spinach needed for this recipe. Note

Speedy and spicy, this tasty dish is great served with steamed basmati rice.

This spiced, savoury Moroccan chicken soup will give you a nourishing mid-week boost.

Sichuan cuisine, also known as Szechuan-style, is one of the most popular regional styles of Chinese cooking and is characterised by its spicy and pungent flavours. An ingredient often used is citrus peel; its inclusion offers proof that the dish is native to Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan. Note

For Moroccans, harira soup is a Ramadan ritual.

In Switzerland, this dish is known as raclette and is a staple winter meal traditionally made with Swiss melting cheese.

Any stone fruit will work in this delightfully simple dessert of grilled nectarines with passionfruit yogurt.

A chunky, smoky and delicious Mexican bean and shredded pork soup from Australian Women's Weekly. The ultimate warming dinner dish for cooler evenings.

To save time, you can join two sheets of frozen shortcrust pastry together to cover the pie, roll edges together with a rolling pin. Note

Bolognese sauce, known in Italian as ragù alla bolognese, is a meat-based sauce originating from Bologna, Italy

Sticky glazed pork with a quick and simple cucumber and cashew salad from Australian Women's Weekly.

As your butcher to bone the lamb loin for you. Slice thickly and serve with roasted vegetables and minty peas. Cold roast lamb is delicious for sandwiches the next day, if there is any leftover.

This dish makes a lovely, lighter alternative to regular fish-n-chips. We used blue-eye in this recipe but you can use any white fish fillets you like.

Delicious and crunchy buttermilk chicken drumsticks served with bacon-wrapped corn cobs.

Some nights you just feel like something simple, satisfying and full of clear, bright flavours. This pasta with capers and anchovies fits the bill.

Polenta is the bread of northern Italy, particularly around Venice. One of nature's 'good' carbohydrates, it is extremely versatile; for this recipe it can be kept refrigerated and fried just when required.

You can use seeded frozen cherries instead of the fresh cherries. Note

Serve with salads that shouldn’t be overpowered by olive oil. Note

Suitable to freeze at the end of step 4. Coconut water is the liquid from the centre of an immature coconut. It is readily available in tetra packs and cans from a variety of supermarkets. Ensure it’s labelled 100 per cent coconut water, and that it is not sweetened. Note

The meltingly soft flesh of this slow-roasted duck leg is rich and gamey and perfectly paired with the balsamic vegetables.

Serve with warmed tortillas and a dollop of sour cream. Note

A spectacular Autumn dish for parties or celebrations, or make it in the Spring for a grown-up Halloween celebration.

Rice noodle cakes. This recipe is gluten-free, wheat-free, yeast-free, dairy-free and nut-free. Best of all, it's delicious and makes a perfect light snack or meal for the kids.

Spice up a dull evening with this nourishing and tasty lentil and garlic soup with yogurt.

This cheesy kumara bacon and egg bake is one of those easy one-dish recipes that you really need to have to hand for mid-week dinners and lazy weekends.

Boscaiola sauce is a creamy mushroom and bacon sauce that is perfect for a pasta dish designed to tempt even the fussiest of palates. It's great served on orecchiette as the sauce clings to the big pasta ears, making every mouthful delicious.

This meaty stew is the quintessential winter comfort food. But when you want to take it up a notch, add in these cheesy dumplings packed with the herbaceous warmth of parsley. This one is bound to become a family favourite.

This rissole, bacon and tomato casserole is nutritious, delicious and easy to prepare ahead of time. The perfect mid-week family dinner.

Ideal for kids and adults alike, these juice burgers with mustard mayonnaise are sharp and tasty.

Garlic and rosemary smoked lamb is delicious served cold the next day, as well as while still hot.

A true classic of British cooking, steak and kidney pie is a rich and sumptuous dish. If you haven't cooked with kidneys before you could ask your butcher to prepare them for you.

Spinach, lemon and parmesan give a huge flavour boost to this tuna mornay pie with a creamy mashed potato topping. Warming, filling and utterly delicious.

Exquisite and flavourful pan-seared lemon and anchovy chicken with garlic pumpkin.

If breadcrumbs are not brown, place dish under hot grill for a few seconds, until crisp. We used cannellini beans, but you can use any white bean if you like. Duck marylands have the leg and thigh still connected in a single piece; the bones and skin remain intact. Note

A fast, easy and fragrant green curry chicken with snow peas.

Fresh spinach and ricotta agnolotti is found in most supermarkets’ refrigerated sections. You can substitute ravioli or tortellini for the agnolotti, but none should contain meat or poultry in their filling. Note

Use the best quality mince you can for these gourmet beef burgers, you'll be glad you did once you taste them!

If you have an electric pressure cooker you won’t need to reduce the heat to stabilise pressure, your cooker will automatically stabilise itself. Always check with the manufacturer’s instructions before using. Note

Sweet and sticky lamb loin cutlets with a plum glaze make a nice change from the usual. Continue the Chinese theme and serve with fried rice.

Arborio rice is traditionally used in Italian risotto to produce its characteristic creamy texture. It is available in the rice section of supermarkets.

Serve slices of this moreish pizza at your next party and watch as they quickly disappear.

Loaded with peas, mushrooms, zucchini and herbs, this creamy noodle dish is delicious and filling.

Let your guests unwrap their own fish “package” at the table so that the spicy aroma wafts up from the plates and enlivens their appetites. Foil can be used if banana leaves are unavailable. Many supermarkets and greengrocers sell bundles of trimmed banana-leaf squares; they can also be used as placemats for an Asian meal. […]

Have you always wanted to roast a goose for Christmas day? Here's your chance with this simple recipe. Don't let the addition of chicken giblets put you off, they help the stuffing graduate from delicious to amazing!

Mexican beef and bean quesadilla stacks with a zesty guacamole

With a creamy seafood filling and golden pastry lid, these mouthwatering individual pies make for a lovely family dinner.

For an easy, speedy weeknight meal, whip up this delicious prawn and snow pea stir-fry.

Kids will love these cheesy potatoes stuffed with mince.

This smooth and buttery lemon sauce is so delicious spooned over grilled fish and served with a light salad.

Lasagne is always a satisfying dish. A lovely slosh of red wine and the addition of mushrooms make this recipe particularly hearty. No one will go hungry tonight.

Roast beef pizza. Yes indeed. Suspend your disbelief at least until you try this brilliant example of British and Italian fusion, complete with horseradish, brought to you by Woman's Day.

Try this classic family meal with the added flavour of creamy mustard sauce.

Also known as corn dogs, these battered sausages are a favourite among the kids.

Quinoa (keen-wa) is a gluten- free seed, with cooking qualities similar to rice. It is available from health food shops or delis. Note

This green pea soup couldn't be easier to make, and is livened up immeasurably with the addition of mint pistou. A great light supper on a warm summer evening.

Succulent lamb shank pieces combine with chunks of vegetables to make this spice infused soup.

Steak and egg is a classic in the repertoire of traditional Portuguese cooking. Sherry and a good slug of red wine add depth and complexity to the sauce, with chilli adding a good slug of heat.

With juicy, tender pieces of scallop and crab you'll keep coming back to this spicy warm noodle salad for a flavoursome and quick meal.

Warm, comforting and packed with gorgeous veggies, this soup acts as a perfect pick-me-up on a cold day.

Nasi Goreng literally means fried rice, and what you see is what you get. With an egg on top.

Coconut-poached chicken on thai vermicelli salad sounds exotic, and tastes delicious, but mostly makes use of pantry staples. A great mid-week dinner.

Osso buco is another term that butchers use for veal shin, usually cut into 3cm to 5cm thick slices. Serve this osso buco with artichoke and lemon on a pile of creamy polenta for a comforting winter meal.

As if juicy pork cutlets on creamy mash wasn't already temptation on a plate, the Brussels sprouts fried with bacon and peas are gorgeous enough to entice even the fussiest eaters.

This olive oil and garlic mashed potato is smooth, buttery and deliciously garlicky. If you prefer a milder, sweeter garlic flavour, you can add the cloves, uncrushed, to the water while the potatoes boil and then mash it all together.