This classic Italian dish is pure comfort food with layers upon layers of melted cheese, pasta and hearty beef mince.

Everyone loves a perfectly cooked steak, especially topped with delicious herb butter, and this recipe does exactly what it says on the tin. Best served with freshly made french fries.

A traditional North African dish, this vegetable tagine is spiced with cumin, coriander, caraway seeds and more, and is divine served with a fragrant lemon couscous.

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.

Cooking fish on the bone adds bags of flavour to the flaky white flesh. Make this spiced version the star of your next special meal.

Sweet, sticky and delicious Chinese barbecued spare ribs are bound to become a firm favourite.

Slow-roasted lamb shanks with tomato and olives that will melt in your mouth. The richness of the sauce adds another layer to the already intense, deep flavours of slow-roasted lamb.

The contrast between soft, silken tofu and crispy fried noodles is just one of the things that makes mee krob so utterly moreish. Good thing it's good for you too!

Smoked paprika gives this Spanish-style pork ribs with chorizo a deep, smoky flavour. Being able to toss everything in one pan, pop it in the oven and sit back until it's time to serve makes it a fabulously easy weeknight dinner recipe.

Make ahead: This recipe can be made a day ahead. Suitable to freeze. Not suitable to microwave. Note

This nourishing beef and barley soup makes a satisfying and hearty one-dish meal for any season.

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.

This savoury and delicately spiced Moroccan-style vegetables with couscous makes a hearty, healthy and delicious vegetarian meal.

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.

Fresh ginger dressing really brings this prawn and avocado salad to life. Perfect for a light lunch on the deck with friends, served with crusty bread and dry white wine.

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

Quick, tasty and packed full of goodness, this delicious Asian stir-fry combines chicken and oyster sauce to create a real flavour sensation.

Keep everyone happy with hearty veal and tasty vegies that the whole family will love. There's no need to tell them it only took 30 minutes to make.

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

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

A side of salmon topped with a herb and walnut crust makes a spectacular centrepiece for a celebratory meal. Ask the fishmonger to pin-bone the salmon. Or, you can remove the bones from the centre of the fillet with tweezers. Rub your finger firmly over the flesh and you will be able to feel the bones.

With tender, juicy slices of roast beef and scrumptious bearnaise sauce, this is another French concoction that looks and tastes like a masterpiece.

Tender grilled Moroccan lamb on burghul salad, a Middle-Eastern-style cracked wheat salad with nuts and herbs, makes a lovely light lunch.

A classic family favourite, this beautiful roast chicken dish is full of flavour from the baked fennel and garlic, and best of all you can cook almost the whole meal in one pan.

Sticky pork fillet basted with char siu sauce and served with crispy roast kumara makes a bright and tasty mid-week dinner. Best served with steamed rice to soak up the delicious juices.

Pork is often ignored when it comes to choosing a meat base for curries, but cooked well you get a tender bite with a delicate taste that carries the strong flavours of curry sauce beautifully.

This oven-baked risotto with spicy Italian sausages is one of those fabulous one-pot, no fuss recipes that make mid-week dinners a pleasure rather than an ordeal.

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.

Whole fish always make for a sensational centrepiece when you're entertaining. If snapper is unavailable, use any of your favourite whole, firm-fleshed fish for this recipe.

White bean puree makes a delicious low-carb alternative to traditional mashed potatoes and a delicious side for tender pork cutlets with grilled cherry tomatoes.

This class Thai green chicken curry, made with freshly prepared green curry paste, is a revelation; fragrant, spicy, creamy and delicious. Serve with steamed rice and lime wedges.

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.

Indulge in the taste of the Deep South with this Cajun-spiced steak.

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.

Quick, juicy and tender, these roasted pork fillets with orange make a great mid-week dinner. Serve with some crusty bread and a green salad.

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.

To make a super quick dressing for this dish, just stir some of the chives through sour cream and serve on the side.

Chicken topped with salsa verde and served on a bed of creamy polenta makes for a deeply satisfying dinner.

Fish fillets with a couscous crust are light and super-crispy. Delicious served with a tangy caper mayonnaise.

Cheese and spinach tortellini baked in tomato pasta sauce with mushroom, zucchini and tomato.

Lamb cutlets with olive salsa, polenta and fennel; a great dish for special occasions.

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

Add some gourmet elements to the beloved Aussie pie with chunks of steak, succulent vegetables and crisp pastry crusts.

Rich eggplant and tender veal make this parmigiana recipe an enduring classic, fresh sage and bocconcini finish the dish beautifully. This is one of those dishes that quickly become a firm family favourite.

Pumpkin, spinach and toasted pine nuts go together beautifully in this creamy, filling risotto.

Make this chicken with honey and prunes tagine as sweet and sticky as you like it, the sesame and spices help cut through the sweetness and balance out the whole dish.

This is a simple, savoury dish that hits just the right spot on a cold, dark evening. The port gravy is the perfect accompaniment, and is best poured with a free hand.

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

Packed with spicy vegetables, juicy chicken and seasoning, whip up this salad in fifteen minutes.

As a sea-faring people for most of their history, the Portuguese know a thing or two about seafood and what to do with it, as this Portuguese-style seafood stew demonstrates.

Tender and fragrant, these lamb racks with garlic, sage and red onion make a fabulous main dish for a dinner party. The rule of thumb is one rack per adult guest.

Slow-roasting the veal breast with a selection of vegetables adds great flavours to the juices left behind in the pan. Serve this tender, tasty meat on soft polenta with a good splash of the cooking juice.

Salt and Sichuan pepper seasoning does wonderful things to the rich, dark taste of duck. If cooked cucumber is just not your thing, use zucchini instead of the lebanese cucumber.

Delicious Middle Eastern-style kebabs with chicken, lemon and artichoke hearts on skewers, great for both dinner and a party platter.

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.

We used Granny Smith apples for this pork loin with couscous and apples. To simplify making this recipe, ask your butcher to remove any excess fat and butterfly the pork for you.

Chicken slathered with mustard and spiked with rosemary and browned on the barbecue. Delicious served with potatoes and spinach.

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

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

Baking the kumara and honey soy pork in the same dish helps ensure that the pork fillets stay juicy, and allows all the flavours of the dish to intermingle and intensify.

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

If you're looking for some finger-licking chicken goodness, these crispy, salty, spiced pieces are the answer.

A spicy and delicious vegetable dish originating from southwest China. The rich sauce in this recipe adds great flavour to the combination of eggplant, zucchini, beans and potatoes.

Tamarind concentrate is the 'sour' in this hot, sweet and sour vegetables recipe. Made from the fruit of the tamarind tree, the concentrate is sour, tangy and fruity all at once.

Hot, creamy and packed full of spice, this hearty Kenyan chicken curry makes the ultimate comfort food for a cooler evening.

Enjoy all your favourite Mediterranean flavours in one dish with this protein-packed grilled chicken dish, complete with potato and green olive butter.

The perfect simple supper full of fragrance and flavour from South-East Asia. This recipe is actually very easy, but with its fresh yet complex flavours you'll feel you're eating at a Thai restaurant.

A rich and intense beef stew from Trinidad that boasts five spices, as well as chilli, hot curry powder, ginger and garlic. Best to have some yoghurt or milk on hand!

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 recipe can be made a day ahead.

Quick, simple and nutritious, this chilli beef stir-fry is the perfect mid-week dinner on those days when you feel like something spicy.

It can be easy to dismiss making a curry as just too much trouble when you're tired, but this quick fish curry does exactly what it says on the tin! A great, quick and easy mid-week dinner that'll fire you up.

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.

Garam masala added at the last moment is a great way to make sure your curry is fragrant and beautifully spiced. This red lentil, mushroom and spinach curry makes a fabulous vegetarian dinner served with steamed rice and naan bread.

The combination of crisp, salty pancetta and tendy, flaky fish fillets creates a delicious seafood dish the whole family will love. Drizzle with a dash of your homemade caper herb butter for a real flavour hit.

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.

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

A tantalising Thai chicken stir-fry with crunchy beans, sprouts and loads of green onions. It's fast, tasty and packed with good things, the perfect mid-week dinner.

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.

This herbaceous and light Thai chicken and lychee salad is a study in contrasts, of both flavour and texture; tender and crisp, sweet and spicy, it's got it all.

A quick version of the popular starter in many Indian restaurants, we use ready-made tikka paste.

The classic French combination of tender veal cutlets and creamy, fragrant anchovy garlic butter is perfect for a special dinner with friends.

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.

You can use any firm white fish fillet, such as ling or blue-eye, for this tasty fish with thai-style dressing.

Splash out for a summer party or celebration and serve up these delicious barbecued lobster tails with chilli butter.

The perfect hot and spicy chicken for the barbecue, peri peri chicken is tender, juicy and bursting with flavour. Once you've tried chicken the Portuguese way, you'll never go back.

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.

One of the most popular Japanese grilled meat dishes, teriyaki is so easy to prepare at home. Here, we accompany it with fresh baby corn, broccoli and trimmed sugar snap peas. Serve with a bowl of steamed rice.

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.

A zesty and fragrant Thai chicken dish with steamed bok choy from Australian Women's Weekly. A great mid-week dinner option that also makes a tasty weekend lunch.

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

When the occasion calls for a light, tasty dinner you can't go past a plate of salmon steaks with a crisp fennel and apple salad. If you need something slightly more substantial, serve with good bread or a baked potato.

A combination chow mein with chicken, pork, prawn and fried noodles from Australian Women's Weekly.

A fresh, colourful grilled vegetable salad with haloumi cheese; perfect for summer lunches.

A quick and easy stir-fry that gets a lift from the addition of teriyaki sauce.

A quick and tasty weeknight dinner, this hearty steak is perfect served with char-grilled vegetables and fresh basil.