Simple courgette fritters are perfect for a quick lunch or light supper, and they are very seasonal. I know the courgettes are available all year round in the grocery shops, but they now have a lot of flavour, and this is the time for many beautiful dishes with this humble vegetable. Although the word fritters conjures up deep frying and greasy dishes, the patties are light, and the cooking uses little oil. The courgette fritters can be eaten straight out of the pan or warm with a dollop of crème fresh. Find the recipe here…

There aren’t many contemporary sources that confirm the origin of this condiment. Bread and Butter Pickles were allegedly a Depression-era staple due to their high availability and low-cost ingredients. They can also most likely trace their roots back to the early 1920s and Cora Fanning from Illinois, who made the pickles with the surplus of little cucumbers and exchanged them with a local grocer for household staples like bread and butter. Whatever the story is, these tangy and sweet crunchy cucumbers are an excellent addition to sandwiches, burgers and wraps. They are a great summer condiment when cucumbers are in season. Find the recipe here...

This is my last culinary discovery and a favourite among other sauces. I’ve actually known Tartare Sauce for ages, but never eaten a homemade version so delicious like this. The sauce is great for fish – fried or steamed, fish and chips, amazing with sandwiches, cold cuts and perfect for homemade beef burgers. It’s not the condiment for people on a diet or those, who don’t like rich dips. It’s only for those who love full flavours. The Tartare Sauce consists of finely chopped hard-boiled eggs, cornishons, flavourful shallot, with a pinch of black pepper and homemade mayonnaise. It’s very easy and quick to stir up.  Find the recipe here

The meatballs hold together better if you choose quite fatty pork such as pork shoulder. Cook the whole batch even though you don’t intend to eat them all at once – they reheat nicely and also freeze very well. Fry the meatballs over medium heat until golden brown, served over creamy mashed potatoes, with easy apple and beetroot salad. This dish can make a perfectly satisfying dinner after a busy weekday, it's tasty, warming and very comforting. Find the recipe here.

Look at this bowl of goodness, full of aromatic and spicy flavours that will warm you up, fill you up and give you a lot of energy. This dish originated in Northern Mexico or Southern Texas is known as Chilli (in the US and Canada) or Chilli con Carne (in Australia and the UK) and is a beef stew cooked with onion, tomatoes, spices and beans. The latter has been disputed by chilli fanatics as the earliest chillis did not contain beans at all. Chilli con Carne should be cooked for at least 45 minutes, however the longer it simmers on the hob, the better it gets – its flavours develop, the meat is more tender, and the sauce becomes richer. I serve chilli with fluffy rice, a dash of sour cream and avocado, but you can eat it with tortillas or tacos. Find the recipe here..

Red Onion Marmalade goes well with pâté, charcuterie platter, hard cheese, on a burger, with roast pork or beef steak. It’s sweet, soft and aromatic as it was cooked for some time in red wine and balsamic vinegar. Red Onion Marmelade is great freshly made, however, it gets even better the next day as the flavours have time to combine.  It takes only one hour to have it ready so make a double portion as it disappears quickly. Find the recipe here…

This is an easy vegetarian dish, very soothing and comforting. You can whip it up in 20 minutes, so it’s great for a quick dinner or lunch. All you need is a small courgette, a few mushrooms, green peas small onion, chicken or vegetable stock and the orzo. Orzo is small pasta shaped like a large grain of rice, usually made with semolina. It’s available in most supermarkets and very handy when you are out of ideas for a homemade meal. Top the orzo pasta with parmesan, fresh parsley, and serve warm.  Find the recipe here..

I like to keep it simple: a ripe avocado mixed with a pinch of salt and a squeeze of lemon juice. But you can add whatever you like: hot peppers such as jalapeño or serrano, finely chopped onion, coriander and tomatoes. The secret of good guacamole is a perfectly ripe avocado smashed with the fork or pestle in the mortar. It's best eaten right after being prepared because the avocado oxidizes and turns brown. Guacamole can be prepared in advance but must be refrigerated in an airtight container, sprinkled with lemon juice, and covered with a piece of plastic wrap. Find the recipe here

This is a type of relish-like salsa commonly used in Mexican cuisine. A simple combination of fresh tomatoes and onion, serrano or jalapeno chilli peppers, lime juice and coriander, generously seasoned with salt, is also called salsa fresca, salsa Mexicana or salsa cruda. You can enjoy Pico de Gallo with tortilla crisps, Totopos, tacos or quesadilla. Make it a few hours in advance to let all-natural juices combine and marinate together, providing the salsa with more flavour.  For those who can’t stand fresh coriander - use parsley instead. Find the recipe here...

This is a simple side dish, full of Mexican flavours and heat, cooked from ingredients everyone has on hand. The delicious, albeit quite an apparent combination of black beans and tomatoes has been enhanced with spicy chilli flakes and aromatic ground cumin. Mexican Black Beans with Tomatoes get more flavour with time, so prepare this dish in advance and keep it in the fridge at least overnight. Reheat and serve warm with tacos or Mexican crisps Totopos. Find the recipe here.

The secret of excellent gazpacho is fresh, natural vegetables at their season’s peak: yellow tomatoes, melon, bell pepper and cucumber. You can keep the gazpacho wholly vegetarian, and vegan using only olives and diced vegetables as a garnish or serve it with chorizo, cured ham and shrimps. The chunky soup is easy to make; it comes together quickly in the food processor. Refreshing chilled Golden Gazpacho is perfect for lunch on hot summer days. Find the recipe here…

Ratatouille is a traditional Provençal vegetable stew, fragrant with garlic and thyme. It is excellent to have it on hand for a quick lunch or as a side dish for dinner. You can serve it warm or cold, on rice, with roast meat or a baguette. Aubergine, courgette, onion and pepper must be cooked separately in olive oil before being combined with diced tomatoes, tomato paste, chopped garlic, and herbs and stewed until all vegetables are tender. Use the vegetable at the peak of the season; then, you will get the perfect flavourful Ratatouille. Find the recipe here

You can vary the vegetables according to your taste or what’s in season and make this Tarte Tatin a great starter or accompaniment to any meat meal. I’ve used new root vegetables, onion, and chicory, a few pieces of chilli pepper, thyme leaves – as simple as that – and homemade rough puff pastry. Serve Roast Vegetables Tarte Tatin warm, with a glass of cold white wine. Find the recipe here...

We are obsessed with herring in myriad forms. Pickled in vinegar or with onion in oil, creamed, fried, it’s served as a cold appetizer or a side dish at any time of year but especially at holiday times like Christmas Eve. This pickled herring should be prepared at least 5 days in advance as the fish needs time to develop its flavour and absorb the aromas of spices. The pickled herring can be served straight from the jar with pickled onions on rye bread, with various sauces and used as the main ingredient of cold salads. Find the recipe here…

A traditional polish delight is served usually on Christmas Eve. This meatless dish can be eaten on its own with a slice of bread or fill other traditional Christmas Eve meals – pierogi z grzybami (dumplings with sauerkraut and forest mushrooms). Sauerkraut is always prepared at least one week in advance as all flavours need time to combine and develop. We use porcini - the most delicious and aromatic wild mushrooms, a few dried prunes to balance the sour taste of fermented cabbage and a large glass of red wine that deepen the flavour of the dish. Find the recipe here…

Crisp bottoms and juicy filling, these Vegetable and Mushroom Potstickers are my favourite dumplings. They're stuffed with carrot, Chinese leaves, Shitake mushrooms, bamboo shoots and fresh ginger filling that burst in the flavours of the sweetness combined with spiciness. The potstickers are pan-fried and steamed at the same time; thus, they're moist and crispy. Serve with a potsticker dipping sauce consisting of Chinese black vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil and minced garlic, spiced up with a sriracha dash for an extra kick. Find the recipe here…

This soup blends perfectly the flavours of fresh garden tomatoes, white onion and garlic. It’s very aromatic, velvety, comfy and healthy. The tomatoes are roasted to perfection in the oven as roasting brings out the sweetness and adds a ton of flavour to the soup. I serve this tomato soup with a dash of cream to create extra texture. French Comtè Gougères make the soup elegant and add an extra flavour to the dish however, it tastes great with a slice of toasted sourdough bread, a freshly baked small bun and sprinkled with grated Parmesan or Comtè. Find the recipe here.

Mackerel is great – extremely tasty, nutritious and packed with minerals and good fish oil. It’s usually eaten smoked, sometimes baked but less often battered and fried. Battered fresh mackerel fillets are delicious, no worse than cod or haddock fillets. They should be sold at the local fish and chips shops with fries, tartare sauce and peas because they make a wonderful British classic. This mackerel fried coated with fresh batter is an excellent rendition of a popular meal. I serve it with Mexican pickled onions, homemade tartar sauce and pulses salad. Find the recipe here...

There're many ways in which courgettes can be prepared and used. I like them baked, stuffed, fried, in pasta, casseroles and salads with other summer vegetables such as peas, broad beans, tomatoes and herbs. So versatile and so delicious. Courgettes are available in supermarkets all year round but are at their best from June until September. This Gratin of Courgettes Rice Garden Peas and Cheese is a dish itself, however, pairs beautifully with many meaty mains. It’s creamy, flavourful and hearty, great for lunch or party. It can also be the star of a vegetarian meal. Find the recipe here…

They are the wonderfully vibrant condiment that goes with pretty much anything savoury – burgers, hot dogs, sandwiches, salads, slow-cooked meats and fish. They add piquancy and a sharp finish to Mexican tacos, tostadas or quesadillas but their flavour doesn’t overpower the dishes. Tangy- sweet Red Pickled Onions are super easy to make and ready to eat in 4 hours. Keep them cold in the fridge up to a week. Use only red onions because they have a more mild flavour. Find the recipe here…

One may think an onion soup is a cold-weather dish but I can eat the soup all year round because I love the sweetness of onions in it. The recipe is simple however not a quick one because the onions need long slow cooking in butter and oil and then slow simmering in stock. But the whole process, which lasts around 1 and half hours is worth the effort and time (we currently are having plenty) as develops the amazing rich deep flavour of the soup. The onion soup should be served hot, even in summer, sprinkled with Parmesan or grated Swiss cheese with the grilled slices of white bread. Find the recipe here…

The Onion Buns originate from Jewish Cuisine and were baked by the Jews who lived in Lublin Old Town, in eastern Poland. At that time the buns looked like pancakes - were flat, very crispy and made with cake flour. They became very popular in the 19th century and were produced by many bakeries in the Lublin region. The original recipe was passed down the generations and... had been changed for years. Today the Onion Buns look like the rolls however their flavour is beautiful and widely valued. My Onion Buns are a bit French because the onion is cooked in unsalted butter. The recipe calls for bread flour and homemade buttermilk which make the buns exceptional. Find the recipe here...

There are a million versions of gazpacho out there. Most of them call for garlic, oil and white bread blended with the vegetables. I prefer a lighter version of the Spanish cold soup, made of very fresh ripe tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion and red pepper seasoned well with salt, cumin and sour cider vinegar. My refreshing gazpacho is served ice-cold with the vegetable garnish, a splash of extra virgin olive oil, Milano Salami and crunchy crackers or freshly baked white bread. The gazpacho is very good on its own, can be a good start to the main meal or as a light lunch on a hot summer day. Don't try to make the gazpacho in the winter as you will get the flavourless salad vegetable puree. Find the recipe here…