Lamb Steaks with Lemon and Mint [#81]

Nigel's three favourite things to eat here - a simple treatment for some organic lamb leg steaks that I cut into escalopes and fried quickly in a hot pan. I added the lemon zest and juice and mint right at the end, rather than frying the meat with it in the pan - I didn't want the zest and mint to scorch or lose their freshness. Served, as Nigel suggests, with new potatoes (dinky little Jersey Royals) to crush into the juices, and a few asparagus spears each as a veg.

Pasta with New Season's Garlic and Pasta with Lemon and Basil [#s 79 and 80]

Bit of a cheat here as I combined two recipes - Carluccio's artisanal cappellacci from Puglia instead of the linguine and spaghetti suggested in the original dishes - simple, but yummy. Cook the pasta as usual and whilst that is happening, grate the zest of a lemon and juice half of it and finely chop or crush two small cloves of new season's garlic (important, this, so it isn't too strong). Shred a handful of basil, grate a good three tablespoons of parmesan, and cut a good knob of butter - about 25g. Drain the pasta, reserving a couple of tablespoons or so of the cooking water, and return to the hot pan. Throw everything in and combine over a low heat until bubbling and hot. I also added some sprue asparagus to give us some greens. Takes almost as long to describe this as it does to cook it! Check out the original recipe here and here

Chickpeas with Harissa, Basil and Parma Ham [#78]

This was so easy a 2 year old - or a husband - could do it. I got a punnet of organic English tomatoes from M&S, and roasting them, with aubergine chunks, cumin and olive oil, is much the best way to flatter their rather exiguous flavour at this time of year. The recipe calls for 180ml of olive oil in total, which is just too calorific for us, so I used much less - probably in the region of about 70ml which was plenty. We have left-overs to take to wok too. Hurrah! Thrifty and tasty - leave the ham out for a perfect veggie - indeed, vegan - dish (although the saltiness of the ham added a delicious extra dimension). Served with olive ciabatta to mop up the copious juices, it was a lovely, easy supper.

Grilled Chicken with Harissa and Mint [#77]

We used chicken breast sliced into fillets rather than the boned legs from the recipe, and they worked well, provided you adjust the cooking time under the grill accordingly. Nice, mildly-spiced supper with some vegetable couscous and local sprouting broccoli. Normally, I use Belazu Harissa, but didn't have any, so used some of a small jar from Marks & Sparks - it was very good, and even had rose petals in. Can't find an online recipe, I'm afraid - basically yoghurt, harissa, olive oil and chopped mint with which you coat the chicken and grill till golden brown and juicy.

Goats' Cheese Puddings [#76]

Totally delicious little souffles, and so much easier to make than traditional ones, being flourless, so no fannying around with a panade. Of course, I reduced the amount of dairy - 100g of Pant-Ysgawn (great name!) goats' cheese for two, instead of the 200g recommended by Nigel, a blob of yoghurt instead of double cream, and about 3 tablespoons of parmesan, rather than the 100g or so that the original recipe stated. Using 3 eggs as the base, this was plenty for two of us. I also used fresh thyme, which the book calls for, though the online recipe states chives. Baked, as Nigel asks, in a shallow plate, which gives more delicious crust for your bucks. We served this with a salad of pea shoots and asparagus with a lemon, mustard and walnut dressing. Perfect for a warm spring night. By the way, this recipe has an immaculate pedigree, originating from Alice Waters' Chez Panisse in California, via Sally Clarke's Clarke's restaurant in Notting Hill, London (where we are dining this weekend - hooray!).

Roast Pork with Lemon and Potatoes [#75]

More of Nigel's favourite lemon flavour, though I used only 1 lemon, which was plenty. What really sang out in this lovely roast pork loin dish, though, is an ingredient uncredited in the recipe title - fennel seeds, which added a most unusual and delicious, almost Italian note - the Italians love fennel in their pork sausages. Really nice recipe, delicious served with local purple sprouting. Started with asaparagus wrapped in prosciutto (more pork!) and we'll finish with a little creamy rice pudding and local rhubarb baked with orange zest and juice. Sorry, can't find the recipe online, but basically, pork loin, chunky wedges of new potatoes, wedges of lemon, fennel seeds and olive oil. Roast it all till sticky and brown and unctuous.

Salmon and Dill Fishcakes [#74]

The Challenge took a back-seat this week, as a busy time at work and socially got in the way. So, nice to get back on track with yet another excellent example of Nigel's brilliance at all things fishcakes, patties and meatballs. He really ought to write a book dedicated to the subject. Anyway, these were delicious morsels that sang with flavour - you do need to be generous with the dill (and, for once, the quantity of mustard Nigel used in the mix was just right!). Served with our first Jersey Royals of the season, some splendid local white sprouting broccoli, and baked mushrooms, we had a healthy and satisfying supper under our belts. Went down well with a bottle of Wolf Blass Yellow Label Chardonnay, a reliable stalwart of ours over the years, whatever the vintage.

Chicken Salad with Almonds, Watercress and Orange [#73]

Perfect with the remains of a succulent roast chicken from Sunday. I used pine nuts, toasted with soy, rather than the almonds - we had enough of those in the cake at tea-time! I also substitued walnut oil and cider vinegar in the dressing instead of Nigel's olive and red-wine, which blended well with the orange juice and mustard. With the addition of a few crisp croutons and some sweet iceberg to supplement the watercress, we had a lovely light and elegant main-course salad, ideal after the slightly sweet overload of the day! (well, it is Easter, and we've had no chocolate eggs!). By the way, just 'cos it's a salad doesn't mean we shouldn't still look for the best ingredients. Organic Watercress from John Hurd is really worth seeking out and is in season now through until the Autumn

Lemon-Frosted Pistachio Cake [#72]

What a treat to cook with pistachios, rosewater, frosted rose petals, ground almonds - almost like being transported to some exotic clime. Nigel is right when he describes this as being 'heavy and moist with ground pistachios and almonds'. This is not a sponge like the WI make, but a dense, slim cake, with a sharp little lemon icing (I added lemon zest to make it even more lemony). Lovely with a pot of first flush Darjeeling tea - very elegant indeed. Sadly, I can't find Nigel's version of the recipe online, so do please consult your own copy, or go and buy one immediately if you are unwise enough not to have this book on your shelf.

Orange and Ricotta Pancakes [#71]

Lovely, light, fluffy pancakes, these, the orange flavour sang through from just the zest of an orange. We ate them for breakfast with a drizzle of maple syrup for the full-on Doris-Day-in-New-England experience....sadly, I look nothing like Doris Day, and my hubby isn't a bit like Rock Hudson - Que sera, sera

Lemon Trifle [#70]

Wow! Nigel uses so much cream in his trifle recipe - essentially, lemon posset with more cream piled on top. I cut it down to small dishes of limoncello-soaked sponge and lemon curd, topped with the posset. This will then have a little whipped cream on top and some crystallised violets, to follow our Easter dinner of Navarin of Lamb. We were meant to have asparagus spears wrapped in prosciutto to start, but hubby forgot to get the asparagus...........grrr! Tasting note: lovely, light little trifles, much better for being in small quantities (284mls of double cream for 4 servings rather than the 750 called for in Nigel's recipe!)

Thai Fish Cakes [#69]

Well, we knew these would be good, as Nigel has a very good track record with patties and fish cakes AND Asian flavours. They were just yummy. I didn't make Nigel's sweet chilli dipping sauce, as I had a bottle already, which was fine mixed with fresh lime juice and a little soy. We accompanied these little mouth-popping bites with rice noodles, stir-fried with red pepper, spring onions, mushrooms and sprouting broccoli. Accompanied by another bottle of the delicious, off-dry and limey Hochheimer Reisling (we'll need to order another case from Laithwaite's at this rate!)

Lamb Fillet with Anchovy and Mint [#68]

Nigel seems to have done the impossible and converted me to anchovy! This recipe really doesn't taste fishy at all, and instead is deeply savoury and piquant. A lovely seasoning for a quickly grilled lean fillet of lamb. Will definitely do this one again.....although the cut of lamb isn't cheap! Another example of this challenge making me try dishes I would usually pass over.

Asparagus and Lemon Risotto [#67]

A quick glance at the index of The Kitchen Diaries shows that lemon is by far and away the most dominant flavouring in Nigel's life (followed fairly closely by garlic and mustard, often used together). The use of lemon in this recipe (albeit just 1 lemon instead of the suggested 2) lifted the flavours into something different from the version of asparagus risotto we make week in, week out at this time of year. I tinkered - of course! - and added a little chopped, smoky pancetta. It is a shame that Nigel has just one asparagus recipe in The Diaries, as we gorge ourselves on it at this time of year, being lucky in having the fantastic Rectory Farm pick-your-own a short hop away - the winners of the Pick-Your-Own of the Year Award 2008. Check out their website for the announcement of the start of the asparagus season, and you'll save loads on this most delicious of seasonal treats. Until then, we are making do with Herefordshire asparagus from Marks and Sparks - still good though!

Passionfruit Roulade [#66]

Although this recipe is taken from the December section of The Diaries, it is very suitable for this time of year, with its lemon and passionfruit flavouring. Lovely light, virtually flourless, sponge. Zingy, and utterly delicious, pud after a tomatoey beef potroast. Nigel uses a lot of lemons at this time of year, but they do seem entirely appropriate. Do try this, really very easy and good enough for a posh dinner.

Pork and Lemon Polpettine [#65]

Once again, Nigel triumphs with his meatballs (erm...you know what I mean!). These were zingy with lemon and savoury with thyme, parsley, Parmesan and anchovies. Served with pasta, lightly dressed with tomato and basil, and also some purple sprouting broccoli, they made a lovely, Italian-inspired supper, with a bottle of chilled Italian Soave to help it all down. By the way, we had an aperitif of gin with some delicious bitter lemon from Fever-Tree - not cheap but miles ahead of any other bitter lemon had before! Do try it - from Waitrose, and others, no doubt.

Mackerel with Cumin and Lemon [#64]

This recipe marks the 1/3 way through the challenge! It goes without saying that mackerel needs to be spankingly fresh, not always easy in land-locked Oxford. Once again, though, Hayman's Fishmongers in the Covered Market did us proud. We got them to fillet 2 fat fish for us, then grilled them, doused in the mix of cumin, garlic, lemon juice, cayenne pepper and olive oil. Served with creamy mash and the first English asparagus (from Herefordshire), this made for a lovely supper for a fine Spring evening. It went very well with a bottle of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.