
Orange blossom water would make a magical addition to your store cupboard.

Brussels sprouts are really quite versatile.

How can something that's 95% water be so divisive? Alone among vegetables, the poor, innocent stick of celery elicits the most vicious attacks.

The combination of lentils with rice or bulgur is the absolute height of Levantine comfort food. I could eat it every day.

Just-poached vegetables show off their natural attributes and taste fresh and light in a way you never get with roasting or frying.

The moment to tell my barber I was gay just never came up.

The smells of slow cooking spread around the house and impart a unique warmth matched only by the flavour of the food.

On many occasions, an informal buffet and casual seating offer a little more intimacy than a loud gathering around a big table.

Amaranth, the world's most nutritious grain, is available from health food stores.

When it comes to the battle of the molluscs, cephalopods win tentacles down.

Cobnuts have a fresher flavour than any other nut I know of and go very well with autumnal fruit and light cheeses.

Vegetarian and frugal it may be, but the chickpea is one of the most versatile ingredients you could keep in your cupboards.

Taleggio is the perfect cheese to melt over a warm dish.

Date syrup is a natural sweetener that has wonderful richness and treacly depth; I drizzle it over semolina porridge.

A quick shallow fry is a great way to transform leftovers, and no more so than in the case of risotto.

I can't stand recipes that don't have background.

Souffles don't deserve their reputation as potential disasters.

Urfa chillies are a Turkish variety that are mild on heat but big on aroma. They're sweet, smoky, a lovely dark red, and go with just about anything.

If I must choose between healthy and tasty, I go for the second: having only one life to waste, it might as well be a pleasurable one.

Herbs deserve to be used much more liberally.

You don't need a machine to make pasta: a rolling pin and a fast hand can create a smooth, if thick, sheet.

Many ingredients are called 'earthy,' but none comes as close to fitting the bill as buckwheat. I'm mildly obsessed with the stuff.

It's hard to beat the rough texture of steel-cut oats, with their slight resistance against the teeth.

Swiss chard is undervalued in Britain. It's a great substitute for spinach and keeps its shape well.

Call me tacky, but I love the union of sweet and sour, even in some now-unloved Oriental dishes incorporating pineapple and ketchup.

The combination of olive oil, garlic and lemon juice lifts the spirits in winter.

Jerusalem artichokes have a great affinity with nuts. I love them with chopped walnuts or almonds, lemon juice, garlic, herbs and plenty of olive oil.

Manouri is a Greek ewes' milk cheese that's light in colour and texture. It's fresh and milky, and goes well with other subtle flavours.

It's well worth making your own harissa, but there are some very good commercial varieties.

I have to admit that I can't take a whole fig and eat it on its own as I would a peach or mango. It's just too much.

Tagliatelle comes from the word tagliare, meaning 'to cut.' Tagliolini are simply thinly cut tagliatelle.

Lebanese mezze, Cantonese dim sum and Basque pinchos have all evolved over years and are designed to make sense together.

The unlikely combination of potatoes and pasta does appear in some Italian recipes.

Long-, medium- and short-grain rices differ in the amount and type of starch they have.

Sweet potatoes are ideal for lazy days: just bake, then mash and mix with yogurt, butter or olive oil.

Greek yogurt with some olive oil stirred in can transform many dishes.

The tang of tamarind is a great way both to flavour and lighten up slow-cooked savoury dishes.

Rice and vermicelli is a common combination in Arab and Turkish cooking - it has a lighter texture than rice on its own.

Chipotles, which are dried jalapeno peppers, give out a terrific smoky flavour - they're warm, earthy and usually not too spicy.

For my money, celery hasn't got a mean bit of fibre in its body, and we all need to start being much nicer to it.

Miso makes a soup loaded with flavour that saves you the hassle of making stock.

Almost every culture has its own variation on chicken soup, and rightly so - it's one of the most gratifying dishes on the face of the Earth.

Some heat, some spice and plenty of citrus are the building blocks of many North African fish dishes.

Most men say they can cook pasta, but I think you should find a little bit of an unusual angle on your pasta and make that your signature dish.

Steaming maintains some of the aubergine flesh's texture, which doesn't happen if you cook it in any other way.

In certain European cuisines, vegetables are cooked a long time. I take the term 'al dente' and use it for vegetables.

There used to be a time - it isn't so much the case now - that vegetarianism was some kind of religion, and either you belong or you don't belong.

Apart from its famous healing properties, manuka has a strong, woody flavour.

Vegetarians in general don't like me.

I like to add something unusual to a dish.

Middle Eastern cuisine has the same depth of ingredients and processes as other cuisines. They just haven't had as much exposure.

Brunch, for me, is an extended breakfast that should be enjoyed whenever you have time properly to engage in cooking and eating.