Basic Perfect Omelette

Beat the eggs with a fork in a bowl, just enough to mix the yolks and whites, but without adding too much air to it. Season with salt and pepper. If you like, you can add 1 tablespoon of water/milk to make a lighter or creamier omelette. Heat the butter in a non-stick heavy-based frying pan over a medium heat until it starts foaming. Pour in the egg mixture and, as it starts to set, push the edges to the middle with a spatula and lean the pan to let any raw egg on top cover the bottom again. Shake the pan to prevent the eggs from sticking. Repeat this until half-cooked, leaving some of the creamy egg on top. Add your chosen filling (if you want one), lean the pan again to move the omelette and gently fold it in half. Slide it on to the plate.

Mushroom, Bacon and Tomato Omelette

Seed and dice the tomatoes. In a heavy based non-stick frying pan, heat the olive oil and fry the bacon slices until golden on both sides. Set them aside. In the same hot pan, fry the sliced mushrooms until softened. Set alongside the bacon. Beat the eggs with a fork in a bowl, just enough to mix the yolks and whites, but without adding too much air to it. Season with salt and pepper. If you like, you can add 1 tablespoon of water/milk to make a lighter or creamier omelette. Heat the butter in a non-stick heavy-based frying pan over a medium heat until it starts foaming. Pour in the egg mixture and, as it starts to set, push the edges to the middle with a spatula and let any raw egg on top cover the bottom again. Shake the pan to prevent the egg from sticking. Repeat this until half-cooked, leaving some of the creamy egg on top. Add the mushrooms, bacon, diced tomato and cheese. Lean the pan to move the omelette to the side and gently fold it in half. Slide it to the plate.

Poached Eggs with Roasted Stuffed Mushrooms

Peel the mushrooms remove stalks. Clean the stalks and mince in a food processor. Filling: chop the garlic and parsley finely. Slice the bacon into strips. In a pan, fry the bacon until golden. Drain and return its fat to the pan. Fry the garlic for 30sec, add the minced stalks and stir. Add the wine and boil until the mixture dries up. Turn off the heat and add the parsley and fried bacon. Season the filling with salt and pepper. Fill the mushroom cavities, cover with breadcrumbs and parmesan and roast in a very hot oven until the tops are golden (10 minutes). In another pan, bring about 10cm of water to boil and turn the heat down to a simmer. Stir in the vinegar. Break the eggs separately in a bowl, bring them very close to the water and let them fall gently over a bubble stream. With a spatula or spoon, try to ensure the egg whites don’t spread too much. Cook them for 3 minutes exactly, so that the whites are cooked and the yolks are still soft. Serve over the hot mushrooms.

Steak and Kidney Pie

Cut beef and kidneys into big cubes. In a bowl, mix the meat with the flour. Heat the oil in a heavy-based frying pan and brown the meat on all sides. Do this in batches so as not to overfill the pan. Transfer into a saucepan. Deglaze the frying pan with the wine and scrape with a wooden spatula. Pour this liquid into the saucepan. Sweat the minced onions in the frying pan and add to the meat. Season with the Worcestershire sauce, mustard, tomato purée, bay, thyme, salt and pepper. Cover the meat with water, bring to the boil, then turn down the heat to a gentle simmer. Cover and cook for about 1 1/2 hour, until the meat is tender. Check the seasoning and let the filling cool down. Sweat the halved mushrooms in a frying pan and add to the filling. Spoon in to a pie dish, brush the edges with yolk and cover it with the pastry. Make a little hole in the middle to let any steam out and make decorations with the trimmings. Brush with a mix of yolk and water to glaze and bake in a 200C oven for 30min until golden.

Cullen Skink

Parboil and cut the potatoes into cubes. Melt the butter in a saucepan and stir fry the chopped onions until softened. Pour in the milk and cream and heat. Add the cubed smoked fish and simmer for 5min. Add the potatoes and cook for a further 5min. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve, garnished with a sprinkling of parsley.

Bangers and Mash

Quarter the potatoes and boil them in salted water until soft. Slowly fry the sausages, in a heavy based frying pan over a medium heat, turning them from time to time until firm and cooked (20min). If you want to speed up the process, you can cover the pan for a few minutes. Set aside and keep warm. For the gravy, slice the onions thinly and stir fry them in the sausage pan with butter until softened and golden. Stir in the sugar and flour. Once incorporated, add the vinegar and wine and boil to release the alcohol. Pour the stock/water and let the gravy cook uncovered until reduced and slightly thickened. Adjust the seasoning to taste with salt and pepper. Finish the mash: drain the hot potatoes and mash them in the pan. Add the milk over a medium heat. Turn the heat off and stir in the butter, seasoning with salt and pepper. Serve the bangers on the mash and dress them with the gravy.

Fish Pie

Peel, quarter and boil the potatoes until soft. Drain and mash them with the 3 tablespoon butter and 1/2 cup milk. Season well. Cut the fish it into cubes (removing the bones). In a saucepan, add the chopped onion, carrot, celery, cloves, bay leaves and 3 cups of milk. Bring it to the boil and then simmer for 10 min. Poach the whole prawns in the liquid for 3-4min. Drain and set the milk aside to cool. Peel the prawns and discard the rest. Boil the eggs for 8min until hard. Cool them down in cold water, peel and cut into slices. Melt the remaining butter in a pan, stir in the flour and cook for 1min over a medium heat. Start pouring the milk in gradually, stirring strongly until blended. Cook for 5min, stirring constantly. When thickened, season well with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Heat the oven to 200C. Line the fish cubes and cooked shrimp in an ovenproof dish. Pour in the sauce, chopped parsley and line with the egg slices. Spoon the mash over the mixture, fluff the top with a fork and sprinkle with cheese. Bake for 30 mins until golden.

Cottage Pie

Dice the onion, carrot and celery. In a heavy based frying pan over high heat, stir-fry them until soft (about 4min). Add the meat and garlic, stir for a further 4min until brown. Pour in the wine and let it reduce almost completely. Add the Worcestershire sauce, tomato puree, the herbs tied with a string (bouquet garni), the stock and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the thickened. Season well with salt and pepper.

Boil the potatoes, skin on, until you can easily stick a knife through them. Strain, peel and mash with butter. Stir in the egg yolks and season with salt and pepper.

Pull out the tied herbs and spoon the meat into the bottom of an ovenproof dish. Layer the mash all over it and form peaks with a fork. Sprinkle it with the parmesan cheese and bake in a 180C/350F oven for about 20min, until golden.

Lancashire Hotpot

Heat the oven to 180C, Gas 3. Trim any excess fat from the meat. Core and quarter the kidneys. Heat a little oil and butter in a heavy frying pan. Brown the chops on both sides, and then the kidneys all around. Lay them in an ovenproof dish. Add the rest of the oil to the pan and stir fry the onions for about 5 minutes until softened. Dust the flour over the onions and stir well. Toss the rosemary leaves (without stem), thyme and bay leaf into the pan. Add the wine and cook until almost completely reduced. Pour in the stock and season well with salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to the boil, then pour over the chops. Slice the potatoes into 0,5cm rounds and line 2 layers on top of the stew, brushing in between and on top with butter. Bake covered for 1h and uncover for the last 30min until the potato is golden-brown and the meat is tender. Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.

Liver, Bacon and Onions

Cut the liver into 3/4in-2cm thick strips. Soak it in the milk or wine for as long as possible (from 30min to 1 night) in the fridge. In a heavy based frying pan over medium heat, drizzle a little olive oil and fry the bacon until crispy. Set it aside. Slice the onions and add to the same pan, with the bacon fat. Stir fry for about 10min, until softened and golden. Transfer the onions to a serving platter and keep warm. Drain the liver and pat it dry with paper towels. Season the flour with salt and pepper, and use to coat the liver strips. In the same very hot frying pan, melt the butter and fry the liver strips for about 2 min, until golden brown, but still pink in the middle. Serve them over the onions and break the bacon pieces over it.