The combination of sweet toffee with crunchy roasted is brilliant in these fun desserts. Your kids will love sucking on these peanut brittle pops for an after school or weekend treat.

Super healthy and easy to make, tahini dressing is the making of this simple brown rice and vegetables dish.

Bright, crunchy and very tasty, soba salad with seaweed, ginger and vegetables is a highly nutritious meal. The contrast between the snap of the veges and the bite of the soba noodles is fabulous.

A rich, smooth and warming soup that makes a great starter, a lovely light dinner or a warming winter weekend lunch. This roasted capsicum soup goes well with fried polenta slices.

Dashi is the basic stock used in nearly every Japanese dish, from a spoonful or two in dipping sauces to greater amounts in the broths of one-pan dishes, such as the udon noodle soup we've made here.

Warm your body and soul with this creamy sweet potato and fennel soup. It's beautiful served hot straight off the stove-top, topped with crisp parmesan wafers to create a delicious dinner.

Pot-ready mussels come in 1kg (2-pound) bags. They have been scrubbed and bearded and are ready to cook. Some mussels may not open up during cooking; in fact, some will not open after excessive cooking. Don't discard these, just open with a knife or cook a little longer, if you like.

To add real zing to a pile of fluffy mashed potatoes, there's nothing like adding a handful of freshly-grated parmesan cheese. The better the cheese, the better the mash will be. In a pinch, you can use ready flaked parmesan from a packet, but the ready-grated stuff doesn't really cut the mustard here.

These goat's cheese and chive dumplings are fluffy, tasty and perfect for soaking up the last of the creamy beetroot soup.

This creamy custard sauce is traditionally served cold and can be made well ahead of time. If you're cooking for all the family you can leave out the liqueur, or just add it to half of the custard and serve in two different jugs.

Piquant tomato vinaigrette makes a wonderful dressing for tender steamed asparagus spears. Serve as a starter, or as a side dish for a meat, chicken or fish main.

This Thai dish with succulent baby eggplants, tender snake beans and plenty of spiced pork mince is great as part of a banquet-style spread, or served with noodles as a light dinner.

A fragrant Vietnamese prawn soup with rice noodles, coriander and mint. The broth is perfumed by the tender, white bit at the heart of lemongrass.

Pork and veal are the ideal combination if you're aiming to make tender, delectable little meatballs. Smothered in mushroom sauce and served on a bed of fettuccine, they're bound to become a firm family favourite.

Bread sauce is a classic English accompaniment to roast chicken or beef dishes.

Dinner doesn't get much more multicultural than this. With mergeuz sausages originating in North Africa and the traditional Milanese gremolata you'll go round the world with just one mouthful.

A filling salad perfect for a healthy lunch or dinner.

Crème catalana is the Catalan version of the French dessert, crème brulée. In fact, many regions lay claim to the origin of this dish. It's traditionally prepared on fathers day in Spain. We think you should enjoy it all year round.

A delicious meal of capsicum and pancetta stirred through cellentani, a spiralled macaroni pasta. Quick and nutritious.

This dessert is something else, sweet, crisp and fragrant champagne jelly studded with ripe stone fruit and juicy raspberries. A sophisticated end to a lovely dinner party.

A quick and easy garlic chilli pasta, perfect for those nights when you need to throw something together really quickly.

There's nothing like the flavour of home-made jams and preserves. This strawberry conserve recipe uses lemon pips to help with setting, and lemon juice to add piquancy. Delicious.

The perfect starter dish, vegetable rice paper rolls with a sweet and punchy chilli dipping sauce. They also make a great platter of party food, just make sure to have napkins on hand.

Elegant and delicate without sacrificing flavour, this angel hair pasta with salmon roe and chervil is a great dinner party or lunch party recipe.

Three fabulous greens in one dish, this buttery, herby dish of leeks, zucchini and asparagus is an ideal side dish for almost any meat-based main.

A true pea lover, and yes they do exist, might assert that peas straight from the pod cannot be bettered, but this fresh and herby mixed pea salad with mint dressing certainly does its best.

The pine nuts are chopped so they will cling to the beans rather than fall to the base of the dish. Note

A quick, easy and exciting twist on asparagus that works as a side dish, a buffet dish or barbecue platter.

A light and flavoursome Middle Eastern couscous dish with olives and herbs that can be served as a side or as a light meal.

Also known as Risotto Milanese, this classic risotto is traditionally served with Osso Buco but makes also a great simple dinner on its own.

The slightly astringent flavour of quince is the perfect foil to the sweet creaminess of cheesecake, especially when doused in fresh lemon juice. This quince and vanilla cheesecake has our favourite granita biscuit base. Yum.

This fresh, protein-packed pasta with zucchini, tomato and ricotta is an easy, tasty mid-week dinner that makes it easy to stick to your meat-free quotient.

This Thai seafood soup will certainly warm you up, with plenty of herbs, garlic cloves and red chillies.

Rizogalo is a traditional Greek-style creamed rice pudding that can also be served cole. Often spiced with cinnamon and lemon peel, it is also delicious served topped with nuts and honey.

Spaghettini is just spaghetti cut finer, and it makes a wonderful base for this vibrant freshly made pesto sauce. The more strands of pesto-coated pasta there are in every mouthful, the better.

Garganelli are little pasta squares rolled into a tube, which can be ridged or smooth. We chose ridged garganelli for this tomato, olive and anchovy pasta as the little ridges help the sauce cling to each piece.

Essentially a simple spicy pilaf, green rice is a great side dish for any number of mains, but especially good with Asian-style crispy-skinned chicken and Cajun-spiced fish.

Quick and easy as it is, this pappardelle with chicken and creamy mushroom sauce makes a surprisingly luxurious dinner for a dish that's verging on a store-cupboard classic.

No time to make lasagne? Try this fantastic and easy asparagus, bacon and parmesan tortiglioni.

Similar to creme caramel, cinnamon flan has the same delicate custard base topped with a burnt sugar caramel, but with added spice.

This is one of those throw-it-together-in-a-flash recipes that come in super handy mid-week, when you're flat-out but still want to eat well. Linguine with tuna, lemon and rocket is a classic pantry special.

Asparagus and baby beans just dripping with garlic butter make a fabulous green side for just about any meal.

Tender, succulent lamb shanks and creamy black-eye beans together make a hearty soup. Serve with crusty bread and a liberal sprinkling of freshly chopped coriander.

Savour this flavoursome winter warmer brimming with capsicum, onion and tomatoes. This smooth, thick soup contrasts nicely with crunchy parmesan wafers.

A classic version of a classic dessert, you can leave the sherry out if you're cooking for all ages.

If you want to whip up something a little bit fancy in a flash, this rocky road ice-cream is brilliant. You can make it as simple or gourmet as you like, we used Cherry Ripe instead of plain chocolate.

These tasty little Greek-style cheese and spinach filo triangles are delicious served with a squeeze of fresh lemon. Great as finger food or for an after-school snack.

Deliciously creamy and packed full of the goodness of yellow split peas, this tasty dip is perfect enjoyed with veggie sticks or cracker as a afternoon snack or starter.

Wasabi mayonnaise is a cinch to make and is also great in cooked tuna sushi and California rolls.

Super quick to put together and pretty as a picture, these warm caramel sundaes will win you lots of new friends. Any leftover caramel sauce can be kept in the fridge for another day.

Olives, artichokes, red onion and basil make sure this warm gnocchi salad is just bursting with colour and flavour. It makes a great lunch, starter or light dinner.

This Middle Eastern-style salad is a spicy and fragrant delight.

Red curry paste, coconut milk and coriander give this Thai-style pumpkin soup its unique flavour, while tender pieces of chicken thigh turn a bowl into a meal.

Heavier on the pasta than a classic minestrone, this soup is an excellent choice on a cold winter's day.

A super fast, easy and healthy pasta salad with garlic vinaigrette. The herbs add a lot of flavour to this recipe; purple basil, also known as opal basil, has an intense aroma and longer shelf-life than sweet basil.

Can be made two weeks ahead; keep refrigerated. Note

Steaming this fabulous Thai-style steamed fish is best done in a bamboo steamer, but if you have a metal one just loosely wrap the whole parcel in baking paper.

A fool is a traditional English dessert made from cooked fruit mixed with whipped cream. You need about four trimmed stalks of rhubarb for this recipe.

A great source of both fibre and vitamins, plus calcium.

It's actually quite easy to skin whole hazelnuts. Just roast in a moderate oven for 10-15 minutes, then wrap in a tea-towel for one minute for the steam to loosen the skins, rub inside the towel to remove skins and then cool.

With red wine, French bread, onions and gruyere cheese you're already on to a winner, but it's the homemade beef stock that makes this French onion soup one of the best.

Simple, smooth and creamy, buttery mashed celeriac is a fabulous side dish, either in place of or as well as mashed potato.

An Italian version of egg drop soup that literally means "little shred", stracciatella is warming, comforting and totally yummy. Best served with crusty bread and a simple salad.

Conchiglioni is the ideal pasta for these ricotta and spinach stuffed pasta shells, but you can use cannelloni in its place.

These classic red dyed eggs are traditionally enjoyed at Greek Orthodox Easter.

A simple pasta salad with bright Mediterranean flavours; a great light lunch or dinner option.

The combination of tender roasted chicken and a creamy pesto sauce goes effortlessly with soft potato gnocchi, creating the ultimate comfort food at home.

A spicy salsa perfect as a dip or sauce for platters, share plates or tapas. This tomato chilli salsa is great served as a dip with fresh vegetables, as a condiment with steak or on a burger.

A truly simple dessert that looks stunning and always feels like a treat, summer berry sundaes can be put together in no time at all.

Studded with whole, poached pears, this vanilla pear and almond cake makes a spectacular centrepiece for any table. Serve while still warm with double or clotted cream for a delicious end to a meal.

Fluffy, fragrant and full of spices, this beautiful yellow coconut rice goes beautifully alongside traditional Indian curries.

Toasted lemon and garlic breadcrumbs add a topping of crunchy deliciousness to this fresh, minted spring greens and goat's cheese pasta.

A saucy, spiced Cantonese vegetable mix designed to be served on top of poached or steamed snapper, grilled white fish fillets or poached chicken breasts.

A versatile and delicious creamy pasta sauce that makes a perfect easy mid-week dinner. You can use any pasta you like for this recipe, we chose penne because so much delicious sauce sticks to every piece.

A creamy pasta sauce that can turn a busy weeknight dinner into something special. You can add ham, mushroom and spinach to the pasta to give it more bulk.

Combine spicy flavours with sour in this classic Asian dish. Filled with alluring ingredients like black fungi, shiitake mushrooms and silken tofu it's an adventurous soup you won't want to miss.

Minute steak is a thinly cut slice that can come from any part of the cow, but is most often rump. It's a tasty and economical cut that can, and should be, cooked very quickly hence its name.

This fragrant veal stock is the perfect base for your homemade soups, casseroles and curries.

This is a beautiful cake, the combination of tart quince, sweet blackberries, delicate sponge and crumble is unusual and exquisite. Quince and blackberry crumble cake is the perfect tea-time indulgence.

This simple platter of chilled soba noodles with dipping sauce, spring onions, nori and wasabi is a complete taste sensation.

Slices of creamy camembert on pumpernickel topped with pear compote make sophisticated canapes for a cocktail party.

There's no need to sacrifice taste for speed with this quick and easy ravioli with spinach, sage and pine nuts. Creamy, toothsome and infused with the delicate flavour of sage, it's a mid-week dinner winner.

A simple and versatile Italian tomato pasta sauce; including delicious traditional variations.

This is the easiest way to make rice without a rice cooker. And, it's one of the basic recipes all households should know!

Rich and smooth kumara and coriander soup is a great way to warm up at lunchtime. The freshness of the herb balances the natural sweetness of kumara.

Totally falling under the category of comfort food, this gnocchi with creamy sauce is a rib-sticker.

You'll find a version of this popular soup in most Asian cuisines, this one has a Thai accent. A light chicken broth with noodles is like balm for the body and soul.

Sweet, dense and oozing with sticky golden syrup, this gorgeous steamed pudding is perfect served warm with a dollop of cream or ice-cream for an indulgent weekend treat.

Discover that simple can still be flavoursome with this zesty egg and lemon soup, a great recipe for traditional Greek avgolemono.

Shredded makrut lime leaves and fresh lime juice add a real zing to this chicken, chilli and kaffir lime stir-fry.

The filling for these delicious little chicken and mushroom pot pies can be made a day ahead, meaning you just have to pop the pastry lid on and bake them when you're ready to eat.

A classic snack, enjoy these pickled eggs on their own, as part of a picnic spread, or atop a sandwich with some sliced meat and vegetables.

You'll want to use the ripest tomatoes you can find to help give this fresh and yummy tuna, chilli and tomato spaghetti a real boost in the flavour department.

This fresh and fragrant Thai chilli lime chicken salad is crisp, fresh and full of flavour.

Steaming this Thai-style chicken draws the flavour of the seasoning right into the flesh of the fillet. If the silver beet leaves are small, use two per chicken breast. If kaffir lime leaves are unavailable, use 2 teaspoons of finely grated lime rind.

If there's a single dish that sums up childhood for many of us, it's spaghetti and meatballs. It's so ingrained in our culture there are even songs written about this dish. Reconnect with an earlier you, sit down with a big bowl of spaghetti and meatballs.

Big pasta shells are perfect for soaking up the delicious, mustardy balsamic vinaigrette on this Greek lamb, feta and eggplant pasta.

Warm your body and soul with this beautiful chicken and vegetable soup - perfect for family dinners on those cooler evenings.

Quick, tasty and filling, this cauliflower chilli spaghetti is perfect for a mid-week family dinner.