For carb-avoiders, calorie-counters and lovers of extra vegies, spiced cauliflower "rice" makes a great pilaf substitute.

Cool, minty and refreshing raita - so quick to make and brilliant with any curry.

A couple of additions lift a side dish into a hero status.

A classic combo of flavours makes for a salad that's a total pleasure to eat.

The ultimate slashie. It's a dip, it's a side, it's a spread, it's a garnish. This is our version.

When your pork has failed to crackle, just give it the 5-minute stove-top treatment.

A bright, zingy condiment for anything vaguely Mexican - and it takes all of two minutes to make with a stick blender.

This sauce will keep brilliantly in the fridge and is endlessly useful, alongside a grilled steak or a meaty piece of fish (nothing too delicate but something like swordfish or tuna), with prawns or ...

So here we have a typical drawer in my fridge – a small bulb of fennel, one red onion and an old-fashioned warty cucumber bought by my son. There is also half a bunch of coriander, stalks and leaves ...