Vivid colours and powerful fresh flavours to welcome the brighter days of early May Sorrel, asparagus, radishes: at last, some strong colours and flavours. After I’ve doused asparagus spears with melted butter at least once I’m up for something new, so we’ve been eating British asparagus with lemon-spiked gnocchi. The mellow of the cream and soft white fish underwrites the pepper of the seared radish in a quick and sustaining supper. Sorrel adds its vivid splash of green to a fresh and bolstering spring soup. This is food for the brighter days of May ..read more

With a famed pie maker on board, the new ‘British brasserie’ in Paris ought to be glorious. Instead, it’s a huge disappointment Public House, 21 rue Daunou, 75002 Paris, France (+33 1 77 37 87 93; publichouseparis.fr). Starters €8.50-€19.50; mains €19.50-€36.50; desserts €9-€15; wines from €28 It was a simple plan: hop on the Eurostar to Paris and go for dinner at Public House, a new and audacious restaurant in the 9th arrondissement by pie king Calum Franklin, formerly of the Holborn Dining Room. Its mission: to bring scotch eggs, sausage rolls and the best, most golden, flaky pastry creation ..read more

In the right hands, there’s diversity and much to love about grüner veltliner, the signature Austrian white grape, and other local drops Funkstille Grüner Veltliner, Niederösterreich, Austria 2023 (from £12.49, Hay Wines) It’s taken a while, but it does seem as if Austrian wine, a long-neglected part of the classical European vinous repertoire, is finally getting something like its due attention in British wine shops and supermarkets. The country’s wines have, in fact, long been sommelier favourites, thanks, I think, to their ability to combine freshness and ripeness. Certainly, when it comes ..read more

This vibrant green pasta, inspired by a friend, is creamy, savoury and has a deliciously tangy edge A lot of ideas are passed on from cook to cook, and this dish is no exception. I met Joy in January at Pastaio, a central London pasta restaurant. While we were chatting, she told me about a magical sauce that her vegan boyfriend makes weekly in a blender and that they love eating over pasta. After hearing about it, I became filled with single-minded zeal to try making something similar, and here are the results. The silken tofu adds creaminess, the miso and nutritional yeast add big flavour and ..read more

What could be quicker and tastier than a bowl of instant noodles topped with a frankfurter ‘octopus’ and a crisp fried egg? This makes a feast of a meal for one or many. I’ve given quantities for a solo dinner, but it’s very easy to scale up according to how many you’re feeding. It’s also easily adaptable, because you can top the noodles with all manner of things. It’s a bowl of midweek home comfort for me, and something I eat with my own family all the time. This recipe is an edited extract from Simply Chinese Feasts: Tasty Recipes for Friends and Family, by Suzie Lee, published by Hardie Gra ..read more

Adaptability and ease is the order of the day for this tinned fish crostata with chermoula topping and conchiglie with smoked oyster sauce My cupboards are rarely without a tin or two (or three) of tinned fish. Sardines, anchovies, tuna, smoked oysters: they’re all usually on standby, and I’m crazy about all of them. I find them very reassuring, too, because they mean I’m never more than about two minutes from a meal, whether they’re just spread on toast, or mixed with a little Tabasco and lemon juice, perhaps, or some soured cream and herbs. I also use them to dial up all kinds of other dishe ..read more

A Jamaican-style grown-up’s milkshake featuring Guinness, Nurishment and white rum If there’s one thing Jamaican people do well, it’s make punch, and this one is sweet, creamy, addictive and easy. It takes me down memory lane – I remember begging my nana to let me have some and always being told no, because of the alcohol. Eventually, though, I got to an age when I was allowed a tiny glass with Sunday dinner. It’s like a Jamaican adult milkshake, but better. This is an edited extract from Flayvaful: Spice up your Kitchen, by Nathaniel Smith, published by Murdoch Books at £22. To order a copy f ..read more

A big slab of lush, chocolate heaven with a velvety crumb and mascarpone icing, and just made for sharing and showing off I almost never say no to chocolate cake. I’m a sucker for them all, from super-fudgy, flourless ones to intensely dark tortes. But this is the chocolate cake I’ll make for a crowd. It’s an easy, one-bowl bake with a velvety crumb and a milk chocolate mascarpone frosting that brings a luscious, creamy texture. Casual yet decadent. Discover this recipe and many more from your favourite cooks in the new Guardian Feast app, with smart features to make everyday cooking easier an ..read more

Value for money is harder to find these days, but here are a few pointers While we all hunker down in the winter, these warmer days and lighter nights are an invitation to be more sociable, and to just drop in on family and friends, outstay our welcome and drink all their wine. Which used to be OK(ish) when a decent bottle of wine cost between £5 and £10, but is less acceptable now when, unless it’s on special offer, it will more often than not set you back more than £10. Nowadays, I’m constantly doing double takes when I check the price of a wine I’ve tried within recent memory and find that ..read more

If the Italians sitting near me looked confused at their pricey plates of sepia stodge, I can’t blame them I am just a lone woman, eating a pickled egg and asking Poppies to love her. Yet, from my table in the new Portobello Road branch, the love is not reciprocated. Solo dining is one of my specialist subjects, and my advice for lone wolves hoping for a walk-in anywhere is to turn up slightly earlier than the rush, when the staff are likely to be less fractious and dismissive of you turning up to clutter a table. Poppies starts serving its famous fish and chips from 11am, so I arrived 10 minu ..read more