Leek and Blue Cheese Soup (4-6)

This is a great way to use up any leftover blue cheese which is past its best. Cashel or Stilton cheese work well, and a little Roquefort in the mix will give the soup a more gutsy flavour. The recipe is from ” Real Food” by Nigel Slater and the soup can also be served chilled.

Cheesy Leeks on Toast (2)

A divine combination of soft, sweated leeks, melted cheese and crusty bread from ” Hugh’s Three Good Things” by Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall. If you like you could add a smear of mustard to the toast or add a few thyme leaves to the leeks while they sweat. You can also use finely sliced red onions instead of the leeks, sweating them gently in butter for at least 20 minutes. Lightly fried mushrooms also work well instead of, or in addition to, the leeks.

Butter Bean, Goat’s Cheese and Chard Frittata (4)

We love to eat frittata and I am always delighted when I get a recipe for a new version. This is from the recently published ” One Pan Beans” by Claire Thomson. This chef and food writer lives very near to me and we share the same local shops on our doorstep. I eagerly await every new publication and am slowly but steadily cooking my way through her books. I think the latest count is 11. She also now has her own recipe website named after her first book 5 Oclock Apron.

Chicken Savoyarde (6)

This simple to make chicken dish is great for special occasions, and is another old favourite. Serve with buttered new potatoes and a crisp green salad. The dish was created by Tim Withers of The George and Dragon Pub in Rowde, Wiltshire two or three generations ago. It was first shared by Simon Hopkinson, but I found it in ” Well Tempered Food” by Tamasin Day- Lewis.