“Unusually for an Asian nation, the Vietnamese have a fondness for coffee – a taste they acquired from their French colonisers. (Interestingly, Vietnam supplies the world coffee trade with much of its robusta beans, most of which end up as instant coffee.) The left-over syrup keeps well and tastes delicious spooned over ice-cream.”

Calm your farm if you’re up in arms over the thought of syrupy, sweet tomatoes. They’re a fruit, doh! If rhubarb can be a vegetable that masquerades as a fruit, then tomatoes can reclaim their fruitiness and appear in dessert situations. So there…

This recipe was an essential part of my growing up and has been handed down through generations, so I really felt that it was essential to include it. Brawn was considered a real treat when my mother made it after my father killed a pig. Traditionally we had it sliced on toast with Worcestershire sauce for breakfast…

A very pretty and slightly more sophisticated play on a classic. Make ahead, which I love to do when entertaining, because it’s one less thing to do on the day. TIP - can be made up to 2 days in advance…