Food recipes from James Martin, Lorraine Pascale, Tom Kerridge, Simon Wood and Phil Vickery

TOM KERRIDGE

Salisbury-born chef Tom Kerridge first started cooking for his little brother after school. The menu back then may have been a tad less gourmet than it is in his two-star Michelin pub, The Hand And Flowers, in Marlow, but the ethos was exactly the same.

It's all about "extracting as much flavour as possible" from food, "and making it social", he explains. And that exactly what you get in his third cook book, Tom's Table.

"They're all recipes and dishes that I do eat, want to eat and make at home," says Tom.

One of his favourites from the book is the "phenomenal" green chilli con carne. "It's dry roasted mince, it goes really crispy - tastes fantastic," he says.

Is Tom right? Give it a go yourself and find out...

GREEN CHILLI CON CARNE

(Serves 6-8)

1kg minced pork

1tbsp cumin seeds

1tsp dried thyme

2 onions, diced

4 garlic cloves, finely grated

2 green peppers, cored, deseeded and diced

8 green chillies, chopped (seeds and all)

6 ripe tomatoes, deseeded and chopped

150ml water

1/2 bunch of spring onions, trimmed and chopped

2tsp salt, or to taste

1tsp cracked black pepper

Bunch of mint, stalks removed, leaves shredded

Zest and juice of 2 unwaxed limes

1. Heat a large, non-stick frying pan over a medium-high heat. When it's hot, add the minced pork, cumin seeds and thyme and dry-fry for 10-15 minutes, breaking up the meat and stirring frequently, until it's dry, browned and crispy.

2. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the browned spicy meat to a bowl. Drain off any excess fat, keeping a little in the pan to cook the vegetables.

3. Return the pan to a medium-low heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook for about 10 minutes, until softened. Stir in the green peppers and chillies and cook for a further few minutes, then return the browned meat to the pan. Give everything a good stir and cook for another five minutes.

4. Pour the water into the pan, add the tomatoes and bring to the boil. Turn the heat to its lowest setting and let the chilli bubble away, uncovered, for around 15-25 minutes, until a lot of the liquid has evaporated. You want the mixture to be juicy but not too liquid and saucy.

5. Stir in the spring onions, salt and pepper. Finally, stir through the mint, and the lime zest and juice, and allow to bubble for a couple more minutes. Take off the heat and leave to stand for 10 minutes to let the flavours develop.

6. Serve with yoghurt and tortillas, with a crisp green salad on the side, if you like.

JAMES MARTIN

Following on from the hugely popular Desserts, Sweet re-established James Martin as the king of puddings, with over 70 recipes, from simple classic bakes and family favourites, to lavish showstoppers and - wait for it - an all-important troubleshooting section (Hallelujah!).

Here's our favourite recipe from the book...

PEACH AND CREME FRAICHE CRUMBLE CAKE

(Serves 12-16)

For the cake:

450g self-raising flour

2tsp baking powder

200g butter, plus extra for greasing

350g demerara sugar

6 eggs

150g creme fraiche

25ml peach schnapps or peach juice

100ml peach puree

7 peaches, halved and stoned, or 2 x 400g tins peach halves, drained

For the crumble:

60g plain flour

Half teaspoon of ground cinnamon

30g butter, diced

30g demerara sugar

For the topping:

100g creme fraiche

100g cream cheese

50ml double cream

1. Preheat the oven to 150C/Gas 1 and grease and line a 24cm high-sided, loose-bottomed cake tin. To make the cake, place the flour, baking powder and butter in a bowl and rub together to form a breadcrumb-like texture. Stir in the sugar.

2. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, creme fraiche, peach schnapps or juice, and puree together, then pour onto the dry mixture and mix to a thick batter.

3. Pour half into the prepared tin and tap the tin gently to settle the batter. Place the peach halves, cut-side up, onto the batter in concentric circles, then top with the remaining batter, smoothing over the top.

4. Bake in the centre of the oven for one-and-three-quarter hours until golden and risen. A skewer inserted into the centre of the cake should come out clean - if it doesn't, return the cake to the oven for a further five minutes and repeat. Leave the cake in the tin to cool completely.

5. While the cake cools, make the crumble to go on top. Turn the oven up to 180C/Gas 4. Place the flour, ground cinnamon and butter in a bowl and rub until the mix resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the sugar and stir to combine. Spread out over a baking sheet and bake for six to eight minutes until golden brown and crispy. Set aside to cool on the baking sheet.

6. For the topping, whisk the creme fraiche, cream cheese and double cream together, then spread over the cake while it's still in the tin - this will give you a neat finish. Scatter the crumble over the top to cover the cream, then ease the cake out from the tin.

LORRAINE PASCALE

Simplicity is key for Lorraine Pascale. "It's the way I live and the way I eat," explains the chef, discussing the essence behind her book, Eating Well Made Easy.

"There's no faff - just chop it up and throw it in."

For that reason alone, this pasta dish come highly recommended...

PASTA WITH LEMONY CHICKEN AND A KALE AND CASHEW NUT PESTO

(Serves 4)

350g wholewheat pasta

1tbsp olive oil

3 large chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized chunks

Leaves from 3 sprigs of fresh rosemary, finely chopped (or 2tsp dried oregano)

Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the pesto:

100g kale, hard stalks removed

1 garlic clove

50g cashew nuts, toasted

25g Parmesan, finely grated

25g fresh vegetable or chicken stock

1tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and put the pasta on to cook for as long as is recommended on the packet.

2. As the pasta cooks, heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Toss the chicken in a medium bowl with the rosemary (or oregano) and salt and pepper. Cook the chicken for about eight minutes stirring regularly, until it's golden and completely cooked through.

3. In the meantime, make the pesto. Whizz all of the ingredients together in a food processor or blender to give a rough paste. Season to taste and set aside.

4. Once the pasta is cooked, drain it well, return to the pan, cover and keep warm.

5. Once the chicken is cooked, tip it in on top of the pasta along with the pesto. Add the lemon zest and stir everything together. Check the seasoning and then divide among the serving plates. Garnish with some ripped basil, if you fancy it.

PHIL VICKERY

The This Morning presenter published his first gluten-free cookbook, Seriously Good! Gluten-free Cooking in 2009 - it has sold more than 250,000 copies to date, with a revised edition out this year.

His latest, Phil Vickery's Essential Gluten-free, was released this month. We tried this recipe and loved it... so will you, even if you don't have any need to stick to a gluten-free diet.

BORLOTTI BEAN, CHILLI AND PINE NUT BAKE

(Serves 4-6)

200g gluten-free pasta shapes (available in all good supermarkets)

2tbsp olive oil

1 x 425g can borlotti beans, well drained

Finely grated zest of 1 large lemon

40g pine nuts

4tbsp roughly chopped fresh parsley

Pinch or two of dried chilli flakes

350ml double cream

1/2 x 10g gluten-free vegetable stock cube (available in all good supermarkets)

200g mozzarella cheese, sliced or 50g Parmesan cheese, grated (optional)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Green salad with rocket and onion, to serve

1. Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/gas mark 7.

2. Cook the pasta for half the time stated on the pack. Drain well. Toss in the olive oil to stop the pasta sticking together.

3. Meanwhile, place the beans, lemon zest, pine nuts, parsley and chilli in a bowl and mix well. Add the pasta to the bean mixture.

4. Place the cream and stock cube in a small pan, bring to the boil, whisk well to dissolve the cube, then pour over the bean mixture and stir well. Taste, then season if needed.

5. Spoon the mixture into a 28 x 28 x 4cm baking dish. Top with the sliced mozzarella or grated Parmesan, if using, and cook for 20-25 minutes or until well browned.

6. Once cooked, remove from the oven and cool for five minutes before eating. Serve with a green salad with plenty of onion and rocket.

MASTERCHEF WINNER SIMON WOOD

Since applying for, and winning, MasterChef 2015, Simon Wood has enjoyed a whirlwind of success. "It's been crazy; it's been the quickest year of my life.

The best but the quickest," quips the Mancunian, who counts stints at Simon Rimmer's Greens Restaurant, Marcus Wareing at The Berkeley, and Theo Randall at the InterContinental among his exploits.

And now he even has his own book, At Home With Simon Wood: Fine Dining Made Simple by Simon Wood.

Here's one of the recipes to try at home...

TWISTED TIRAMISU

(Serves 4)

For the sponge fingers:

4 eggs, separated

150g caster sugar

100g plain flour

1/2tsp baking powder

For the tiramisu:

600ml double cream

250g mascarpone

50ml Marsala wine

2tbsp kirsch

1 tin of pitted black cherries, chopped

5tbsp golden caster sugar

25g dark chocolate, grated

300ml espresso coffee

2tsp cocoa powder, to garnish

Candied cherries, to garnish

1. For the sponge fingers, preheat the oven to 200C and line a baking tray with baking paper.

2. Place the egg whites into a bowl and whisk until you have soft peaks. Add two tablespoons of sugar and continue whisking until it is shiny and you have stiff peaks.

3. Take another bowl and beat the egg yolks and the rest of the sugar until they are thick and pale yellow in colour. Separately, sift the flour and baking powder.

4. Fold half of the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture, followed by the flour and baking powder. Then add the remaining egg whites and add the mixture to a piping bag. Pipe out neat, evenly-sized fingers onto the baking tray and bake for seven minutes.

5. For the tiramisu: whisk the cream until soft peaks form. In a separate bowl, mix the mascarpone, Marsala, kirsch, a little of the black cherry syrup and the sugar. Gently combine with the whipped cream, then stir in the chopped black cherries.

6. Pour the coffee into a large bowl and add half the sponge fingers. Turn them until they are soaked, but not soggy, then layer them into a large serving dish or individual bowls. Spread over half of the cream mixture and some grated chocolate.

7. Then soak the remaining sponge fingers and repeat the layers, finishing with the creamy layer. Cover and chill for at least three hours.

8. To plate, dust with cocoa and grated chocolate and decorate with candied cherries to serve.