Lunch

Beef stroganoff is great comfort food! Tender strips of beef and mushrooms are sautéed in butter, then swirled with sour cream to make a creamy sauce. Serve with rice, mashed potato or pasta

Curious Croppers provided Luca Villari with the most amazing tomato varieties for this salad. He's used a mixture of ‘Spanish Red’, ‘Orange Blossom’, ‘White Doris’ and ‘Little Miss Sunshine’. If you ever get the chance to visit the Clevedon Farmers’ Market, stop by their stall and sample their fantastic selection of tomatoes; they also supply restaurants and Farro Fresh.

Sfoglia di mozzarella is a very thin layer of mozzarella which looks similar to a pastry sheet. Stuff and roll it, then slice it up just before serving.

A quick and easy yet healthy and filling meal!

Deliciously warming, this creamy chicken and sweet corn soup really hits the spot on a cool evening

Pesto spaghetti gets the lighter treatment with the addition of zucchini ribbons. Sliced chicken breast and shavings of parmesan complete the picture

This creamy seafood chowder is irresistible, especially when served with crusty bread and a sprinkling of chives

A creative and tasty way to try and get the kids to eat their veggies whilst also bringing out the inner child in all of us!

Spiced freekeh with cucumber and garlic minted yoghurt brought to you by Australian Women's Weekly.

These hotdogs are an easy-to-make meal that the kids will go crazy for! Frankfurters are sandwiched in a soft bun with bacon, cheese and jalapenos... delicious!

Instead of taking a trip to your favourite burger joint, why not create your own homemade burgers with your own creative twist? This lamb burger recipe features lamb shanks that have been cooked until tender

Roasting or grilling fresh figs intensifies their gentle flavour. Dousing them in balsamic and adding dabs of creamy blue cheese? Well, that just makes them heavenly! Serve these little gems on bread, alongside a salad, as a light lunch or simple supper.

Creamy pumpkin soup with an added walnut crunch. Perfect for lunch or a light dinner. And it's suitable for diabetics.

This quick and easy family meal is bursting with deliciously tender vegetables and hearty lentils, making it the perfect choice for a midweek dinner.

Serve up a family feast that’s so delicious, they won’t even notice how healthy it is!

Serve up a family feast that’s so delicious, they won’t even notice how healthy it is!

Serve up a family feast that’s so delicious, they won’t even notice how healthy it is!

A simple and scrumptious dish that can be made in minutes!

A simple and scrumptious dish that can be made in minutes!

The combination of salmon with beetroot and watercress in these burgers make them a flavour bomb!

This tart is fun to make and simply gorgeous to eat!

The marriage of walnuts and blue cheese is a culinary relationship that has stood the test of time. In this salad, which is perfect for late summer and autumn, our happy couple are joined by earthy, crimson-veined beet leaves, pear and pomegranate to create a passionate wee dish full of crunch and salty creaminess. Serve it with a dark sourdough loaf and a glass or two of wine. Recipes and styling by Fiona Hugues. Photography by Jani Shepherd. Gatherum Collectif.

This recipe sings with flavour! Get your hands on as many tomatoes of different varieties, shapes, sizes and colours that you can – just make sure they’re all top-quality tomatoes.

In this salad, bite-sized pieces of duck are teamed with fresh sweet plums, sharp rocket, tart lime juice and salty nuts – sweet, salty and sour all happening at once. Delicious. Recipes and styling by Fiona Hugues. Photography by Jani Shepherd. Gatherum Collectif.

Schiacciata is a Tuscan-style flatbread traditionally made with flour, yeast, salt and water – I’ve added a little rosemary for variety. It’s baked in the oven then brushed with olive oil once it comes out. Use wild mushrooms if available but otherwise substitute whatever mushrooms you have access to. Lardo is a salami that has been made since the time of the Ancient Romans from cured fat, rosemary and spices. Use fresh broad beans in season; at other times, use frozen ones, which are just as good.

Tender lamb shanks with an exquisite red wine sauce.

Perfect for a quick, delicious and filling seafood lunch.

Rich and flavoursome Spanish-style paella with prawn, crab and mussel.

This delicious recipe is a fusion between the classic Hawaiian pizza and the Italian calzone. It's grilled instead of baked, allowing it to be on your table in under 30 minutes - perfect for a weekend family dinner.

Pizza, but not as you know it. These deliciously crisp pockets are filled with a hot bacon, ricotta and pea filling to create a quick and tasty after school or work treat the whole family will love.

Quick and easy stir-fry packed full of flavour and warmth.

Laksa is a fragrant, spicy noodle soup which generally includes coconut milk, shrimp paste, lemongrass, garlic, lime and palm sugar. To save preparation time, we’ve used a ready-made paste.

The Star's Sydney's Executive Chef, Uday Huja, has shared his signature fried chicken recipe with us, a popular dish featured at The Harvest Buffet. Perfectly golden and crispy, the chicken is soaked in buttermilk to achieve juicy, tender meat every time.

A light and fluffy cake with a deliciously zingy syrup drizzled on top.

Kedgeree is a Indian/British spiced rice dish usually consisted of boiled eggs, fish and parsley.

Oozy and creamy risotto with a spicy bite of chorizo.

Delicious little balls of coconut, white chocolate and dried apricots.

Soft and moist rhubarb muffins from New Zealand Woman's Weekly.

Tataki is a traditional Japanese dish with meat or fish served raw or lightly seared.

A revamped lasagne that's low fat and healthy.

A sweet and beautifully balanced pear and almond cake.

Light and beautifully layered apricot cheesecake slice from New Zealand Woman's Weekly.

Make your own paua sausages with a delicious recipe from The Food Truck.

A fragrant, colourful and delicious cauliflower soup.

Spice up your pork loin chops with this delicious and easy recipe.

These lovely sandwich rolls are perfect for a quick snack. You need to buy ‘cooking chorizo’, which is more like a sausage than the slicing variety, which is used like salami. We use aioli, or garlic mayonnaise, but you could use plain mayonnaise if you prefer.

Quick and easy Asian stir-fry that packs a real punch.

Enjoy this sweet/salty take on oysters with a fresh watermelon salsa topping. It's summer in a shell!

Someone I know intimately will not eat anchovies. However, they are a must in certain recipes, adding balance and saltiness like no other ingredient, so I’ve put extraordinary effort into concealing them in the past. On this particular occasion, though, I decided they were too important to hide and so laid them out in their little salted glory for all to see. Well, lo and behold, the person in question got home famished, stuffed in a piece of tart left over from this photoshoot and exclaimed it was one of the most delicious versions he’d tried in a long time. What? I’ve baked this tart a squillion times before, but apparently the proud little anchovies make all the difference.

Also known as flammekueche, this is kind of a pizza and sort of a tart and originates from the Alsace region of France. Confusion aside, what’s certain is that one piece is never enough – there’s something about this creamy, bacony creation that inspires gluttony. This is my version of a dish that’s perfect for feeding a crowd. I add a little autumnal twist with thyme, onions and extra cheese, and sometimes even sliced mushrooms. Serve it in slices like a pizza or enjoy it as a light meal with a green leafy salad on the side. Photography by Jani Shepherd; Gatherum Collectif.

Kale and walnut vegetarian tarts are a healthy green substitute to pastry. Great for lunch and to take to work.

A poké bowl is a Hawaiian dish consisting of raw fish on rice, a bit like a sushi salad. The fresh flavours of poké bowls are the perfect accompaniment to summer sun and cold beer. Here, the rice is replaced with soft white bread to carry all the flavours of this Hawaiian classic.

Late-night kebabs often get a bad rap, but when you think of the sum of their parts – yoghurt sauce, chicken, hummus, fresh salad and herbs – it’s all good stuff. Recipe by Leisha Jones.

Add some grilled prawns and crusty bread to make this salad more of a meal.

Indulge in the mac daddy of cheese burgers, which comes with all the trimmings. This juicy beef burger recipe is sure to satisfy

Feed the family for less with this easy, but delicious, beef and noodle dish, which equals just $3 per serve. Pictures by Rob Shaw/Bauersyndication.com.au. Styling by Kirsty Cassidy. Preparation by Nadia Fonoff.

These sausage rolls are jam-packed full of veges meaning they're a reasonably healthy lunchtime addition.

Pumpkin, zucchini and feta muffins fit snugly into a school lunchbox served with a sandwich quarter, fruit and crackers.

Mini cheesey, vegemitey scrolls in a lunchbox? Yes please! Complete this school lunch with dried fruit and cucumber sticks.

Lamb meatballs make the ideal lunchbox addition served alongside vege crudite and pita bread.

Vibrant peas, corn and chilli combine with smoked salmon in this zesty salad.

The salty-sweet combination of watermelon and feta is unbeatable, and when served with thin ribbons of beef and radish, it's next level good.

Veges are baked in exotic spices to form this vibrant and tasty chicken salad.

Serve this dish family style in a big bowl with the nuts, chorizo, tomatoes and rocket gently tossed through ribbons of spaghetti.

This Caesar has plenty of hearty cos leaves and broccolini to complement the buttermilk dressing and delicious parmesan shavings.

If you like Caesar salad and prawn cocktails, you'll appreciate this salad of prawns, egg, prosciutto and crispy bagel croutons - just add cocktail sauce!

Witlof (or endive) has a crisp texture and a slightly bitter flavour that works beautifully with earthy lentils and a little blue cheese in this fresh salad

This slaw recipe has shredded rotisserie chicken and blue cheese to take it to the next level.

Using simple ingredients, you can make the tastiest of meals that are no fuss on your long weekend with whanau.

Waitangi Day is a great chance to head out for a picnic with the family – and this is a tasty recipe if you don’t have any luck catching kaimoana of your own!

For me, this recipe brings back childhood memories of our family holidays at Whangamata. Simple ingredients from your holiday-home pantry and freshly gathered seafood make for delicious fritters. These are scrumptious served between two pieces of fresh white bread, on their own or with salad.

With summer vegetables as good as they are right now, you barely need to do anything to them to make a sensational meal. Here I’ve combined what’s in my garden with a fantastic dressing that brings it all together into a plateful of summer!

This dish reminds me of the food you get in Portugal – hearty and spicy. Mind you, there it would be served with a double dose of carbs – rice and fried potatoes, no doubt! I make it a more complete and healthier meal by adding boiled eggs for a quick and tasty summer supper.

These stuffed pizzas are full of creamy pumpkin, spiced Moroccan lamb and salty feta to create maximum flavour with every mouthful. They're grilled instead of baked to speed up the cooking time, making it perfect for an after work treat.

These tortillas are brimming with delicious ingredients including lettuce, chicken, salsa, sour cream and avocado, all sprinkled with cheesy corn chips.

A one-pan paella with peas and prawns. Serve with parsley, lemon quarters and zest.

Insanely delicious and full of flavour, this chicken tagine contains warming hints of chilli, paprika, cumin and ginger with preserved lemon, olives and herbs.

This corn and chicken quiche is so simple and delicious. For variety, try adding some chopped cooked bacon to the mix or using creamed corn in place of kernels.

Oooohhh yeah, a classic caesar salad with all the trimmings, including rotisserie chicken, boiled eggs and crispy bacon.

Slices of chargrilled lamb backstrap are divine atop this silverbeet and lentil salad with Greek yoghurt sauce.

Zesty fish fillets pair beautifully with a salad of quinoa, asparagus, zucchini and radish. The ideal light summer meal.

Tofu, cherry tomatoes, capsicum and spring onions are threaded onto skewers and cooked until caramelised and tender. Serve with rice and bok choy.

At this time of year, our vegetable garden is in full production thanks to sunny days and warm soils. Radish and fennel are a whizz to grow and we usually produce way more than we can cope with. This salad is the perfect way to deal with the glut and makes a cooling meal at the end of a long day. Use whatever grilled meat you prefer – I’ve used beef sirloin here but lamb is wonderful too (just add a few mint leaves to your salad mix).

A favourite from the Albion Canteen menu.

Sadly crayfish aren’t as abundant now in the foreshore as in the times when Jani and I were kids clambering around the rocks. Over the holidays there’s often a generous relative or diving mate who will arrive with a juicy cray wrapped in newsprint. This recipe is one both Jani and I loved during our time in the USA – Jani in Nantucket, me in Maine – where lobsters are abundant local fare. It’s a great way to stretch a cray to serve a few hungry holiday goers. For the best results, use the freshest bread rolls you can get your hands on. Photographs by Jani Shepherd and styling by Fiona Hugues; Gatherum Collectif.

Catching sprats is a rite of passage for Kiwi kids, whether it’s on a DIY driftwood-and-string line, in a bread trap, or scooped up in a net. This salad is born from that experience, with sardines as the starring ingredient. They have a short season in New Zealand, so feel free to substitute them for other small, oily fish. Oven drying tomatoes is a doddle and worth the time it takes – the flavour intensity is sunshine on your plate and palette. Make extra and store in an airtight jar covered in olive oil. Photographs by Jani Shepherd and styling by Fiona Hugues; Gatherum Collectif.

I don’t think we ever went on a family picnic without a bacon and egg pie wrapped in a tea towel to keep it vaguely warm until it was devoured. Mum, like her mother, is adamant that this pie should contain only the essentials – none of this tomato, peas, onion or cheese nonsense. It’s still a family favourite and slabs of this get demolished in seconds whenever Mum makes it.

Good picnic food must not only taste great but also travel well. This sausage pie wins on both counts

This Italian-American classic is the ultimate feel-good sandwich. Crispy chicken, spicy sauce and melted cheese – what more could you ask for? Recipe by Leisha Jones.

This is one instance when an under-ripe avocado will come in handy. If it’s too ripe the avocado will go mushy during the frying process. These fat avocado ‘chips’ would also be great served alone as a snack with the jalapeño ranch as a dipping sauce. Recipe by Leisha Jones.

This salad is our summer favourite and a fantastic way to use up tomatoes and dried-up bread. It’s even better as a main meal with chargrilled meats like these barbecued chicken thighs. Photographs by Jani Shepherd and styling by Fiona Hugues; Gatherum Collectif.

This chilled soup is a great “wake up” for the taste buds and ever so refreshing on a hot summer’s day. I tried this recipe at one of the small pintxos (tapas) bars in Spain’s San Sebastian and it turned me into a gazpacho fan – so cooling and light for lunch or supper.

Turkey, fresh mint and coriander, slices of chilli and crunchy cabbage all wrapped up in rice paper – what’s not to love about this fresh and zingy idea for turkey leftovers? After a day of heavy eating these are just the trick for a light lunch or supper.

Oh, how I love ham off the bone when the festive season begins... and oh, how I always overindulge and then tire of it! If this happens to you, try this recipe for scrumptious fritters, crammed full of ham and peas, that no one can ever have enough of!