Rachel Allen: TV chef, author, journalist, cookery teacher and creator of simple and delicious recipes you'll go back to again and again.
With highly appealing section titles like: "Store Cupboard; Fast & Fabulous; Five Ingredients or Less; No Cook; and One Pot", Rachel's latest book, Easy Meals had me at hello.
If like me you regularly find yourself spending an absolute fortune at the supermarket only to arrive home to discover you've actually got nothing with which to make a proper meal, Easy Meals might make you think again.
We caught up with Rachel to talk death row meals, Marmite and takeaway treats:
Yes, they are. All of the recipes are fuss-free in a one way or another. Be they very quick one pot (great for the washer-upper in the family) or using ingredients tucked away in your store cupboard. But none of them compromise on goodness and flavour.
Cookery teacher, as this is the core of everything else I do, whether it's creating a recipe, presenting a cookery programme or writing about the merits of root vegetables!
Chicken stock, the base of all of my favourite soups.
Only in that I no longer had all day to cook for a dinner party.
I think the ultimate comfort food has to be buttery mashed potato washed down with some lovely red wine.
Oh, let's see...it depends on the season. If it's summer, then I'd make a pea and mint soup, or chilled gazpacho, then for the main course we would have seafood such as crab and lobster with new potatoes and homemade mayonnaise, followed by strawberry and almond tart.
But if it's winter I'd make roast beef and serve béarnaise sauce, kale, crunchy roast potatoes and then serve chocolate mousse with shortbread biscuits.
I think one of the best meals I've ever eaten was at Ballymaloe House (my husband's family's country house) after a year of being away travelling and eating on a shoestring. I devoured hot, buttered lobster.
Apologies to all of the Marmite lovers out there but yes, it's Marmite or anything containing it.
My mum's roast chicken, crunch roast or butter mashed potatoes and carrots with mint.
Duck pancakes from our local Chinese.
Please let it be something chocolatey...
The following recipe is taken from Easy Meals by Rachel Allen, out now published by Collins, priced £25 (Hardback).