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Recipes: Perfect peas add extra dimension to almost any dish

WITH their luscious green colourings and sweet taste, peas add an extra dimension to almost any dish. Wintery stews and summery salads can all be livened up with the addition of a few peas, and while there’s nothing wrong with the frozen variety, we strongly recommend stocking up on fresh summer peas, podding them and then freezing them yourself. Read

Recipes: Marvellous Mangoes

THE mango has come a long way in recent years. Until relatively recently they were seen simply as an exotic delicacy to be sampled on trips to the East, now however they sit comfortably as a staple of smoothies, yoghurts and ice creams the world over. Read

Recipes: Tzatziki, Tapenade and Harissa

IF YOU’RE planning a summer holiday this year, the chances are you’ll be crossing the Channel into France or jetting off to Greece or Spain. Read

Recipes: Pepperonata alla campagnola and Peach and amaretto dessert

THIS week we're adding some delicious Mediterranean flavours to your kitchen with two classic dishes from our Italian friends. For those of you who have ever enjoyed a holiday in Italy, these simple dishes will bring the memories flooding back. But for those of you who are yet to visit, this should prompt a swift visit to the travel agents! Read

Recipe: Mediterranean Squid and Roasted Vegetable Salad

IT'S the time of year when our customers are looking for lighter, healthier options, but don't start thinking healthy means boring, salads can be just as tasty and seasonal as any other meal. Read

Recipes: Awesome asparagus dishes

WE’RE over half way through spring already, and just in case the warmer weather wasn’t a big enough clue that summer’s just around the corner, there are a few other hints beginning to show up too – the days are growing longer, shorts and T-shirts are creeping out of hibernation and asparagus is in season. Read

Recipes: Wonderfully rich ice cream

AS PROMISED last week, here are some ice cream recipes. Writing this column brought back the familiar jingle of the ice cream van as a child, running down the road just to get that creamy, sugary taste on a hot summer’s day. Read

Recipes: Banana Nut Brambles and Creme Brulee

SOMETIMES our customers struggle to make it to the dessert menu after eating our homemade bread and a hearty two course meal, but those that have the stamina (and a looser belt fastening!) are never disappointed. Read

Recipes: Try these beautiful burgers

IF YOU search on Google for the word "burger" you get a whole range of American fast-food advertising and quite a few unsavoury images of unnatural looking cheese burgers which do little for the appetite. If you scroll down a bit further, you get an example of the "8,000 calorie" burger, and we don’t have to tell you how many days worth of calories that provides! Read

Recipes: Four recipes focussing on herbs

I DON’T mean to blow our own trumpets here, but we really are spoiling you this week. We’re focussing on herbs and, with four recipes bursting with herb infused flavour, there’s no excuse not to try something a little different this weekend. Read

Recipes: Thai Beef Salad and Minced Pork and Noodle Salad

THE term "fusion cooking" often causes a bit of controversy amongst chefs and restaurateurs. On the one hand, you have those that embrace the borrowing of different flavours from world cuisines and on the other, you have those that believe we should stick to our native recipes and not rely on other flavours to breathe life into our food. Read

Recipes: Time to get the barbecue ready

WITH the bonkers weather we've been having lately, you'd be forgiven for laughing at the mere suggestion that you have a barbecue. Read

Recipes: Aubergine, Feta and Poppy Seed Tart and Caramelised Onion and Three Cheese Tart

THERE aren’t many of us that don’t need to up our vegetable intake. Read

Recipes: Grilled Trout with Warm Walnut Dressing and Trout with Hot Mustard Sauce

WHEN you get hold of a truly fresh ingredient sourced right from its natural origins, it’s hard not to get excited. Read

Recipes: Herb Crusted Scallops with Roasted Tinkerbell Chilli and Seared Scallops with Pea Puree, Crispy Bacon and Mint Oil

SCALLOPS are a real favourite on restaurant menus and are always snapped up quickly when they are served here at The Side Door. Read

Recipe: Grilled pork chop with braised pork belly and cassoulet of chorizo sausage

YOU won't find this on our menus very frequently, but recently we have managed to source some wonderful Cumbrian pork, which is excellent in both quality and flavour. Read

Recipes: Seville Orange marmalade and Seville orange and almond tart

SEVILLE oranges are a truly seasonal ingredient, best used at the very start of the year. Knowing this, we’ve just bought a couple of cases at The Side Door and have designed several recipes below which take advantage of their current freshness. Read

Recipes: Warming soups you can make a whole meal of

WHAT with the simplicity of ingredients and unfailing ease of preparation, we’d all be forgiven for regarding soup as a basic dish used only when we’re stuck for ideas. Read

Recipes: It’s time to leap on taste of wild salmon

FRESH salmon may have come down in price in recent years but its delicate flavour, melt-in-the- mouth texture and succulent juiciness means it will surely always be one of the most luxurious treats. Read

Recipes: Don't crumble at the thought of rhubarb

MANY cooks are reluctant to tackle such an unrelenting and powerful flavour as rhubarb. But don't shy away from this most interesting and underrated of British vegetables. Read