In the summertime, I literally can’t live without this bright green sauce made from fresh basil leaves, pine kernels, garlic olive oil and parmesan cheese. I can eat it daily, spread on fresh white bread, tossed with pasta or gnocchi. Pesto originated in Geona, the capital city of Liguria, the region in Italy and was traditionally made in a marble mortar with a wooden pestle. I find making the pesto easier and faster by using a food processor. Don’t be tempted by a ready sauce from the store, The ingredients are available all year round, and any other ready-to-eat sauce can’t be compared to a homemade version. This recipe shows you how to make pesto at home. Here...

Baked Aubergines stuffed with Mushrooms is a beautiful and delicious summer dish, a must when this humble vegetable is in season. The excellent dish can be served with roast, grilled chicken, baked fish or as a separate vegetable course. The preparation takes some time; however, it’s not complicated, and you may have it ready hours ahead. The aubergine skins are soft and hold the creamy and delicious filling perfectly. Find the recipe here...

This is dark, moist and dense bread with a hint of sweetness - a bit in Lithuanian-style. Barley malt syrup and a little of honey give this beautiful colour of the crumb and a caramelized crust. My recipe uses light rye sourdough starter and a mix of bread and dark rye flour. It requires patience as the sponge needs to be prepared a day before and give it time to rise. But as a reward, the final rise of bread takes only two hours. Malt and Honey Dark Rye Bread is the perfect winter bread which tastes amazing with hard cheese, pickled herring or paté. Find the recipe here…

Gougères are cheese puffs made from choux pastry mixed with a generous amount of cheese. Gruyère is the classic choice but I also use Grana Padano, Cheddar, Emmental or Comté of good quality as the better quality the cheese, the better the Gougères. The cheese puffs can be served with soups or salads but they taste great filled with a savoury sauce, vegetable or meat and make wonderful finger food or canapé when you make them bite-sized. 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.

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…

This is insanely delicious creamy mascarpone dessert, a totally mess-free, easy to make treat that requires very few ingredients. For the compote, I’ve used frozen wild blueberries because they have a beautiful tangy flavour, deep dark blue colour, bring a bit of summer at this time of the year. Its taste matches perfectly to the sweetness of the rich mascarpone cream and the buttery almond crumble. Alternate the layers of the crumble, cream and blueberry compote to compose beautiful and elegant little desserts perfect for the party. Find the recipe here…

Great for a lunch served with a crunchy green salad, as a starter or a savoury bite for any occasion. The Mushroom Tartlets which are extremely delicious and flavoursome, combine flaky shortcrust cases and creamy filling. I used Chestnut Mushrooms which have great flavour and texture but if you have wild mushrooms at hand, use them - they would be even better. The Mushroom Tartlets are quite easy to make and assemble. The filling can be prepared ahead and shortcrust pastry would be more crusty and flaky if it’s kept in the fridge overnight. The homemade shortcrust pastry can be replaced with good quality store-bought one. Find the recipe here…

Everybody loves crackers! Everybody loves cheddar cheese crackers! The mass produced snacks are usually full of bad ingredients such as flavour enhances, preservatives, leavening, contain a lot of salt but not real cheddar cheese. If you think that making home-baked cheddar cheese crackers from scratch involves tons of hard work and time, you don’t know how wrong you are. That will take you no more than 2 hours. You may use any kind of cheddar cheese – mild or mature, any spices you like - grounded paprika, thyme, cayenne pepper. Up to your taste. Cheddar cheese crackers are high-calories snacks but who eats them every day? Find the recipe here...