This chicken is stuffed with an aromatic mixture of fruit, nuts, citrus and spices. The soft fruits melt in the mouth, while pistachios provide texture. The best thing about this recipe though, is that the results far outweigh the effort involved. You end up with something much more exotic than a humble roast chicken.

Recipes taken from Willie’s Chocolate Bible, published by Hodder & Stoughton (£25)

The latest dishes to hit the culinary catwalk from Welsh Lamb add an edgy twist to Britain’s best-loved meals, and with nearly a third of shoppers specifically buying locally sourced food*, there has never been a better time to cut down on your carbon footprint and get cooking with Welsh Lamb.

Got a bit of turkey leftover you Yanks and Yankophiles? Here’s what to do with it.

This 19th century cake is traditionally from the ‘Estremadura” region of Portugal, from the city of Torres Vedras. The original recipe is a secret kept within the family that created this cake. Nevertheless, I present you with my own variation which includes red bean instead of white bean puree.

The Oriental Grocer Wing Yip have come up with some delicious recipes that take only 5 minutes to cook, are packed with fresh vegetables and use a minimum amount of oil.

So, it’s almost the end of National Baking Week but there’s still time left to bake up a lovely cake to please your friends and family. If you’ve not quite settled on what cake you want to make for National Baking Week, have a look at these two recipes using Nielsen-Massey vanilla and see if they take your fancy!

Of all the foods I have tried during my thirty years of existence, nothing comes close to the delights of the mysterious octopus. This mollusc is by far my favourite of all ocean treats. I love it in ceviche with salsa verde, fried as an entrée, roasted with floury potatoes or above all in delicious moist chouriço and red wine rice. It has always been one of the Sunday meals in my parents house.

It’s National Baking Week this week and if like us you’ve over-indulged a little on Cocktail Week and Chocolate Week last week, then why not kick back and bake a few cakes?

Clearly the ladies of the coffee get-togethers in Ireland never intended this name for their recipe but my French friends (my tasting panel) thought the result looked so much like a saucisson that the name stuck.