I tried to make creamy polenta four times, following recipes, including Felicity Cloake’s usually spot-on Guardian pages. Every time it would land on the plate with a thud and be a solid block by the time we were eating. Now, there’s nothing wrong with a block of polenta: you can slice it and pan-fry it, …

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After buying a whole lemon sole and then butchering it to pieces with my general purpose kitchen knife, I indulged myself in the purchase of a shiny new Sabatier filleting knife. Which is a bit weird, because I’ve always been a total minimalist in the kitchen: one knife, one chopping board, one wooden spoon and …

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This is useful. It goes insanely well with goulash but would work with anything you’ve got that has gravy to soak up. Or, heck, just as an alternative to bubble-and-squeak. Mash 200g potato nice and dry, then beat in 1 egg, 50ml olive oil and 100ml warm milk. Put 120g plain flour in a bowl …

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